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THE TOMAS BARRERA
From a photograph by Rafael B. Santa Coloma
The Cruise
of the
Tomas Barrera
The Narrative of a Scientific Expedition to
Western Cuba and the Colorados Reefs,
with Observations on the Geology,
Fauna, and Flora of the Region
By
John B. Henderson
Author of ‘ American DipJomatic Questions’
With 36 Illustrations and Maps
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
New York and London
The Knickerbocker Press
1916
eNsTHSONIA y
JUN 08 1989
“i RARIES
COPYRIGHT, 1916
BY
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
The Knickerbocker Press, Hew Work
PREFACE
HE following chapters are an expansion
of a diary and field notes written
every evening during our cruise. There
are likely some errors in the conclusions
set forth, for no student of nature is infallible.
It is the province of each generation of naturalists
to correct the mistakes of the past.
To all the members of the expedition—especially
to Dr. Carlos de la Torre—and to various specialists
of the U. S. National Museum staff, I am indebted
for valuable assistance. To Mr. C. T. Simpson
I owe thanks for the identification of plants. Fi-
nally I wish to express my gratitude to Dr. Bartsch
for his keen interest as well as his aid.
The large amount of material collected by the
expedition is now being critically studied and
the results will eventually be published in the
Smithsonian Reports.
Since the preparation of the manuscript, we
have heard with much sorrow of the wreck of the
iv PREFACE
Barrera at the Lefia Keys during the hurricane of
last August, with the loss of three of her crew.
The same storm destroyed the house of the fine
old man at Cape Cajon, and no trace of him or his
family has been found. The family of the light-
keeper of ‘‘Roncali,’’ at Cape San Antonio, who
extended to us such cordial hospitality, were also
killed by collapse of their house, and the wireless
tower is destroyed.
j Be
WASHINGTON, D. C.
January, 1916.
CONTENTS :
INTRODUCTORY . : : : : ; I
CHAPTER
I.—OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA -apihea
II—La ESPERANZA : A L AM’
III.—EspPERANZA TO Cayo HvTia . eas
IV.—Cayo HUTIA AND THE REEF . ee SS
V.—SanTaA Lucia TO AZUCAR : 5, 08
VI—PAN DE AZUCAR . : : PAA 2
VII.—AzucaR TO THE COAST . 5 iy EOS
VIII.—Santa Lucia To DiImMAs Bey © i.
IX.—To SANTA ROSIA AND SANTA MARIA. II8
X.—SANTA MariA TO Los ARROYOS Mp ed
XI.—Los ARRoyos : b Br ey,
XII.—Los ARRoyos To Punta CoLoRADO . 141
XIII.—CarE COLORADO TO CAPE CAJON PS 5
XIV.—CapreE SAN ANTONIO d : sESS
XV.—LENA KEyYs TO GUADIANA BAY are
Vv
v1 CONTENTS
CHAPTER
XVI.—OVERLAND FROM LA FE TO VINALES .
XVII.—VINALEsS.
XVIII.—SIERRA DE VINALES
XIX.—SAN VICENTE BANOS
XX.—ESPERANZA TO CAYO LEVISA
XXI—LA MULATA
XXII.—PAN DE GUAJAIBON
XXIJI.—LA MULATA TO BAHIA HONDA .
XXIV.—BaHIA HONDA TO CABANAS
XXV.—CABANAS
INDEX
PAGE
215
224
234
. 245
250
256
262
287
204
299
315
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
THE Tomas BARRERA . ; . Frontispiece
ROYAL PALMS ALONG A ROADWAY ane EA
CEIBA TREE ON THE ROAD FROM PINAR DEL
RIO TO VINALES . ; ; : Be ane 22.
ON THE WAY TO VINALES . : : oti Wel ES
A TypicAL MOGOTE OF THE VINALES REGION 22
VINALES AND EL TUMBADERO : ‘ 3 DPS
VINALES ; : ; ; ; : 5.
CovE OF DELIGHT ? , ‘ , May
Dr. CARLOS DE LA TORRE . : : (Tas
LA CHORRERA .. ; ! é Me tee:
SPINY LOBSTER AND SQUIRREL FISHES . PONT 3:
MZ2ANDRA AREOLATA SHOWING EXPANDED
CoRAL POLYPS i : : : ENR 6
Rock Beauty (In Color) . : : si
A MOoGoTE NEAR VINALES SHOWING SIERRA
VEGETATION . : ; : : ty faa
Cusan Topt (In Color) : : a Y-
Vii
Vill ILLUSTRATIONS
BALISTES VETULA LINNZUS (In Color) . :
Mouse Fisu (In Color)
A SHORE PARTY ABOUT TO LEAVE THE SCHOONER
THE PATRON COLLECTING SPONGES
PYLOPAGURUS DISCOIDALIS IN DENTALIUM SHELL
CuBAN TROGON (Jn Color)
La Fe
TyPICAL CUBAN VILLAGE IN THE SIERRA
COUNTRY
THE CAB OF MARTINEZ
Dos HERMANOS. SIERRA DE VINALES IN THE
BACKGROUND
THE TICK-EATING ‘‘ ANI’’ BIRD
A NATIVE BOHIO IN THE VINALES VALLEY
THE CuBAN PLow. VINALES VALLEY. WALLS
OF West FACE OF EL TUMBADERO IN
BACKGROUND
PoRTION OF EL TUMBADERO, ABOUT 800 FEET
ELEVATION
RODRIGUEZ AND THE ‘“‘ Maja”
LA PUERTA DEL ANCON
Tue MimosA TREE AT SAN VICENTE BANO
ILLUSTRATIONS ix
PAGE
CoOSTANERA DE SAN VICENTE—SOUTH ELEVA-
ROM 7... 252
GUAJAIBON . : : : : EEE op:
fae Gue ‘PABLO’. ©. . 286
RoyAL PALMS L : : 7 28S
Ficus TREES ALONG A COUNTRY ROADWAY . 302
MAPS
DIAGRAMMATIC SECTION ACROSS PINAR DEL
Rio NORTH AND SOUTH IN ABOUT LONGI-
TUDE OF VINALES, TO SHOW WARPING OF
STRATA AND SUBSEQUENT EROSION if PEO
IDEALIZED SKETCH OF SHORE ; é Pete
CaPE SAN ANTONIO . : : : rsa
VINALES REGION . : ; : a) 224
ROUTE TO GUAJAIBON . : : : 3 e206
RouTE Map f : ‘ ; A At End
The Cruise of the “Tomas Barrera”
Introductory
SIX weeks’ cruise along the northwest
coast of Cuba and among the Colorados
Reefs for study of the land and marine
fauna and flora, and its salient geological
features, was the outcome of an original plan fora
single object only.
For some years, as opportunity offered, I had
been making collections of marine mollusks in
Southern Florida from shore stations to the hun-
dred fathom line. This region of the Florida Keys
is faunally Antillean, and the identification of the
large amount of material secured necessitated a
study of the entire marine molluscan fauna of the
West Indies. There is no thoroughly satisfactory
collection of these Antillean marine shells of
moderate depths in the United States and doubt
attaches to the identity of many of the species
I
2 CRUISE OF THE BARKERA
originally described by European authors. The
types of these, that is to say, the actual specimens
described, are in Europe, and their descriptions
and figures are often inadequate and faulty. A
real desideratum then was a full collection of
Cuban marine mollusks to compare with those of
Florida from similar depth zones.
In March, 1914, I consulted with Doctor Carlos
de la Torre in Havana about the details of such
a collecting trip. In his opinion the richest field
would be found among the Colorados Reefs of
Western Cuba, extending from Cape San Antonio
to Bahia Honda, where, within their living coral
breakwaters, a large expanse of shallow protected
sea would likely favor a flourishing marine life.
An additional feature of interest attaching to this
particular region lay in the fact that it is uncharted
and to the naturalist almost unknown. Oppor-
tunity for some real exploration, and for possible
discoveries of interest, would greatly enhance the
pleasure of a visit to the Colorados, and we were
delighted with the thought of untouched coral
reefs, unvisited islands, and many hundred square
miles of crystalline tropic waters. Besides all this,
exceptional opportunities for shore work and
es
Se ee teil Tila a
INTRODUCTORY 3
collecting upon the northern slopes of the Sierra
de los Organos would be presented,—localities of
rich possibilities that had been denied us upon
previous inland collecting trips, on account of their
inaccessibility from the south or land side.
Dr. Torre found that one of a most attractive
looking fleet of white fishing schooners, anchored
under the walls of Cabafias fort, could be char-
tered. With great and unexpected generosity the
owner, Raoul Mediavilla, placed the newest and
best, the Tomas Barrera, at our disposal. This
offer involving equally the generosity of her half
owner, Gaspar Pellicer, brought to our use a
splendid boat and crew, with a skipper-pilot
thoroughly familiar with the waters we wished
to explore. The owners positively declined to
accept any charter price or remuneration whatever,
leaving to us merely the cost of provisions.
Thus materialized our dreams of a naturalists’
cruise in Cuban waters. It was like seeing burst
into full flower a cherished plant one had long and
tenderly nurtured.
With the ample proportions of the schooner and
the possibilities of a much greater range of work
than originally contemplated, Dr. Torre and I
4 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
proceeded to enlarge the scope of the expedition
by inviting other naturalists to join the party.
Mr. George H. Clapp one of the directors of
Carnegie Institute of Pittsburg, my enthusiastic
companion of many collecting trips, was already
preparing to leave for Havana by May Ist. Dr.
Paul Bartsch, Curator of the Department of Marine
Invertebrates of the National Museum at Washing-
ton, accepted an invitation to accompany us, and
his connection with the expedition at once added
new importance to the undertaking. Dr. Bartsch
is a veteran collector of great energy and skill and
is one of the best all-around field naturalists living.
His chief object in joining the Barrera company
was to make as extensive collections as possible
of the entire fauna of the region and particularly
for use in the exhibition series in the new National
Museum building. An attempt is being made by
the museum authorities, in the public exhibition
series, to retain the precise colors of all specimens
that must be kept in preservative fluid. Pigments
have been found that are insoluble in alcohol, but
the problem still confronts the preparators to
employ the exact shades of color. Many of the
marine creatures desired for exhibition purposes,
INTRODUCTORY :
possess such delicate shades of coloration that the
most carefully taken color notes of the collector
in the field fail to furnish the preparator with the
exact data required for the high standard set by
the museum. To meet this difficulty Dr. Bartsch
proposed taking a skilled preparator along, who,
with his paints and brushes, should be on hand
ready to treat desirable specimens before their
colors could fade. George W. Gill, of the museum
staff, was detailed for this work.
An invitation was also accepted by Charles T.
Simpson of Miami, Florida, to join us in Havana.
He was a valuable addition to our company in
that he is an expert in two specialties. He was
formerly, for many years, connected with the
Division of Mollusks in the Smithsonian at
Washington and is a collector of wide experience.
He is especially conversant with the land shells of
the Antilles, gained by several collecting trips,
with the writer, to Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba. As
a botanist, it may be said that his private grounds
near Miami contain a greater collection of tropical
plants and trees than is to be found in any botani-
cal garden in the United States—a fact now
claiming considerable attention by our Agricult-
6 CROISE OF THE BARRERA
ural Department. He is an authority upon the
Antillean flora.
The President of the Cuban Republic, Sr.
Menocal, learning of our proposed expedition,
took a lively interest in its success. He suggested
that the expedition might be turned to some very
practical uses by taking the opportunity to study
conditions of food-fish life among the Colorados, to
the end of better devising means for their protec-
tion and preservation. He asked to have accom-
pany us the Havana Inspector of Fish, Sr. Manuel
Lesmes. As an expert in all matters pertaining to
the Cuban fisheries, we felt that he would be a
most useful man on board. The President further
directed an appropriation to meet certain expenses
connected with the preservation of a series of all
material collected for the University of Havana
laboratories. To look after this and to assist in
every way both in the field and in the daily prepara-
tion of the catch aboard, Dr. Torre detailed a
university museum assistant, Victor J. Rodriguez,
to accompany the party. Sr. Rodriguez proved
to be one of our hardest workers and was always
of the greatest assistance to the naturalists.
Dr. Carlos de la Torre, of the University of
INTRODUCTORY -
Havana, the Dean of Cuban naturalists and an
authority upon all subjects dealing with Cuban
natural history, was our most enthusiastic member
—our guide, philosopher, and friend.
A large amount of collecting material was sent
by the National Museum. There were four large
copper tanks of alcohol of varying strengths,
formalin, copper sulphate for ‘“‘doping”’ the tide
pools, the various narcotizing reagents for expand-
ing and killing specimens requiring such treatment,
apparatus for injecting vertebrates, an amazing
quantity of wide-mouth bottles and jars, instru-
ments for oceanographic work, and many articles
of special use to collectors and preparators, all of
which had been selected with great care by Dr.
Bartsch. In addition to this we had brought from
Miami a twenty-five foot Gurnet dory of excellent
model, equipped with rotary pump and stationary
sieves ranged outboard, a number of dredges of
varying sizes and weights, and other special
collecting apparatus. The launch was in charge of
Capt. S. W. Greenlaw, whose long experience as
skipper of the Eolis in our dredging operations in
Florida made his services invaluable. Strong
and active, a jack-of-all-trades, a fine seaman, and
8 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
expert in handling the dory while dredging or
threading the passages of the reef, Greenlaw
was indispensable.
The various members of the expedition as-
sembled in Havana between May 2d and 5th,
and several somewhat trying days were spent in
extricating our equipage from the labyrinthine
mazes of the Cuban customs. When this was at
last accomplished, the schooner deck presented a
disheartening aspect. We gazed with dismay upon
towering ranges of boxes, barrels, bundles, drums
of gasolene, trunks, suit cases, bedding, and the
constantly arriving crates of provisions. It
seemed an impossible task to stow away this
appalling amount of equipage, and we detected
the covert smiles of our crew, whose modest needs
for a six weeks’ cruise could safely be packed in
any one of our hundred boxes. To add to the
confusion, reporters arrived together with many
friends of the crew and numerous visitors with
cameras. We did not know just who were or were
not going with us from the multitude that swarmed
the deck. The cook worried about the installation
of his stove and the disposition of his pots and
pans. The more immediate essentials among the
INTRODUCTORY 9
provisions were buried beyond discovery beneath
bedding and paraphernalia of all sorts. Everyone
searched for his own particular trunk and suit
case and then for a place to stow them. Two dogs
belonging to the crew barked incessantly at
passing craft and dashed frantically fore and aft
in the discharge of their noisy sentinel duties. A
white bantam rooster, that had fallen into a pot
of green paint, scrambled over the peaks of dun-
nage seeking a haven of safety while marking at
every step our belongings with a green fleur-de-lis.
Boatmen with their little craft for hire ranged
alongside, not caring to leave so novel and amusing
a sight. Our native crew talked excitedly among
themselves using many gestures that to our
unaccustomed observation seemed very threaten-
ing. To extricate ourselves from this chaos
required two full days’ labor.
The Tomas Barrera is the prize member of a
large fleet of fishing schooners of approximately
similar design and interior arrangement. She
belongs to a class of boats known in Cuba as
viveros, which means that she is constructed with a
large tank or well occupying the middle portion
of the vessel and intended for keeping alive fish
10 CRUISE ‘OF THE BARRERA
taken for delivery in Havana. This well freely
admits sea water through holes bored in the
schooner’s sides and is open to the deck above
through a hatch covered by a removable grating.
This vivero proved of greatest use to us. Below,
aft, is an ample cabin with open passageway
forward (on either side of the well) to a forecastle
under the forward deck. Save for the low trunk
over the after cabin the entire flush deck is free of
interruption. A wide bulwark of about eighteen
inches height surrounds the vessel. Under the
long bowsprit is stretched a net, attainable by a
little acrobatic effort along the stays, which
furnished, to one or two at a time, an admirable
retreat for quiet siestas. The cooking arrange-
ments consisted of a series of charcoal braziers
enclosed in a supposedly fireproof casing, braced
alongside the cabin trunk on the port side, the
adjoining portion of the cabin roof serving for a
kitchen table. Sleeping below is not favored in
the tropics so we provided cots which during the
day were stowed away forward under a tarpaulin.
At night these cots were ranged on deck in rows.
In the cabin below were kept all the personal
effects of the party, also an improvised writing-
———
INTRODUCTORY II
desk where all records, logs, etc., were kept.
Unhappily a large amount of provisions of the less
bulky order was also stowed in the cabin, along
with the hundred and one articles of all descrip-
tions which could find no other suitable place.
The confusion in the cabin was generally worse
confounded by the clothes, shoes, hats, and other
personal belongings of the men. A carpenter had
constructed a large folding table for meals and to
servealsofora workbench. Atnightorwhen under
way this was folded and stowed forward out of sight.
The Tomas Barrera is 65 feet on the water line,
20 feet beam, and draws between 9 and Io feet, the
wide beam giving her the appearance of a larger
vessel than the dimensions would indicate. She is
far more strongly constructed than American ves-
sels of similar design, ‘‘stiff’’ and able and carries
a press of canvas which seemed to us too great for
her depth. Thereis no auxiliary engine. Besides
our own Gurnet launch, already referred to, we
had been most generously offered the use of a small
auxiliary sloop-rigged vivero, the Tarpon. She is
a high-powered little craft and served us well as a
tug and for many side excursions into shallower
waters. We also carried a tender.
12 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
Our crew was made up entirely of Majorcan
Islanders and better men and sailors it would be
difficult to find. They were all good seamen,
cleanly in habit, sober, and efficient. Their one .
desire seemed to be to serve us in every way and to
help make our expedition a success. Too much
praise cannot be given them. Our skipper, or the
‘‘Patron,”’ as skippers are called in Cuba, is a man
of exceptionally strong and pleasing personality
and his authority in all matters of navigation was
absolute. His perfect control of himself and of his
men, his good humor, his fine judgment and
common sense, made him greatly respected by all
on board.
The following is a full list of the party:
Patron Gaspar Pellicer
Mate Pedro Juan Matas
Cook Bartolo Palmer
Crew José Riera
Bartolome Jofre
Guillermo Pujol
Engineer of Auxiliary Luis Palormino
Sailor Pablo Lesmes
Naturalists Dr. Carlos de la Torre
Dr. Paul Bartsch
INTRODUCTORY 13
Naturalists George H. Clapp
Charles T. Simpson
Victor J. Rodriguez
- John B. Henderson
Preparator George W. Gill
Fisheries Expert Manuel Lesmes
Director of Dredging Sidney W. Greenlaw
The night of May 8th the Barrera finally de-
parted from Havana with orders to proceed to
La Esperanza, the port of Vifiales, and there await
the arrival of the party. Esperanza is the one
accessible port to be reached overland within the
Colorados Reefs and is, moreover, situated at
about the beginning of the region we wished to
explore. By sending the schooner ahead we could
avoid the open sea run from Havana and at the
same time avail ourselves of a day or two in the
field about Vifiales. Greenlaw and Gill remained
aboard.
CHAPTER I
Overland to La Esperanza
HE line of the Western Railway of Cuba
follows the level central portion of the
island and passes through the famous
- Vuelta Abajo. Just before entering the -
Pinar del Rio province the eastern projections of
the Sierra de los Organos appear. From the car
windows ranges of mountains to the north are
thereafter always in sight, and many of the
station names along the line recall places made
familiar to us by the early naturalists of Cuba,—
Candelaria, Artemisa, Paso Real, Rangel, San
Diego Bafios,—all having a type-locality sound.
The mountains as seen from the cars, however,
do not present the characteristic sierra aspect.
The soil of the plain traversed by the railroad,
called the ‘‘lower valley’? (Vuelta Abajo) is of
deep brick-red color derived from the iron salts
leached out of ore beds that exist in greater or less
extent throughout the hills of Western Cuba. It is
14
ROYAL PALMS ALONG A ROADWAY
Reproduced by permission of the American Photo Co., Havana, Cuba
OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 15
exceedingly rich and contains the peculiar quali-
ties necessary for growth of the finest grades of
aromatic tobaccos. Tobacco fincas (farms) are
everywhere seen with growing crops covered by
great tents of cheesecloth. At Herradura are
met the large fruit farms of an American colony.
The even rows of well-kept trees are agreeably
suggestive of home orchards. It is only when the
American houses of the town come into view that
an unpleasant impression is gained. Pine board
habitations, without a redeeming architectural
feature, contrast unfavorably with the native
Cuban houses, which, however primitive, have a
certain charm for foreign eyes and seem better
adapted to the needs of the climate.
The royal palms (Roystonea regia) are to Cuba
what elms are to New England, poplars to Nor-
mandy, and her great towering pines to Norway,
only, as Artemus Ward would add, they are more
so. One can hardly conceive of a Cuban landscape
without them. They are the botanic glory of the
island. Although introduced into other countries
where climate and soil are suitable, yet they never
appear quite so well as in their native soil. Here,
in attaining their full development, they represent
16 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
the very acme of arboreal grace. In the Havana
province, where a rich limestone soil is the rule,
they reach their greatest splendor of even smooth
straight stem and rich color of leaf. They are
perhaps slightly less perfect in Pinar del Rio where
their presence always indicates the best patches of
soil. The beauty of these trees along the railway
line is often marred, however, by the cutting of
the great leaves for use in thatching the native
houses or bohios, and the alternate thinning and
swelling of the trunks indicate the successive
despoilment of their foliage.
Proceeding west, a gradual change in vegeta-
tion becomes apparent. A _ straight stemmed
cabbage palm (Inodes umbraculifera), tall growing
and of stiff formal appearance, appears more and
more frequently, the royals gradually disappearing.
It suggests at once its near relative, the Floridan
palm, Inodes palmata. Besides this cabbage palm,
one or more copernicious palms of low growth and
large fan-shaped leaves appear, and in places
almost dominate the landscape. Then comes the
Acrocomia lasiospatha, a palm of swollen fusiform
stem, thickly covered with spines, first appearing
singly and then scattered about in groups.
eqny ‘euevary{ ‘0D ojOY_ uUvollawy sy4 Jo uoIsstused Aq paonpoiday
SATVNIA Ol OIH 130 HYWNid WOHS GvOU AHL NO 33HL VWEIFO
OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 17
As the train approaches the city of Pinar, a more
abrupt change in the vegetation occurs. Occa-
sional pine trees appear, and the palms, already
noted, give place to the extraordinary ‘“‘bottle
palms’’ which are confined to the narrow geo-
graphic range of the western central portion of the
Vuelta Abajo. These palms (Colpothrinax wrightit)
carry to laughable exaggeration a swelling in the
trunk which to a far less degree is characteristic
of many other species. This bulbous swelling,
however, is absurdly out of proportion to the
otherwise spindling stem, and the tuft of leaves at
the top is straggling and insufficient, making the
tree seem very grotesque. Simpson’s tender
reverence for all palms often involved him, as their
champion, in heated arguments for their defense,
against the claims for beauty or usefulness we
urged for other types of trees, yet even he
declared that the sight of these bottle palms
was enough to excite the risibles of a sphinx.
This species flourishes only in a soil too poor for
royals.
No very important use for the soft porous wood
of palm trees has yet been found, and their dead
trunks are left to decay. We speculated as to their
18 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
possible use for wood pulp, and entertained the -
disquieting thought of an invasion of pulp mills.
About all the stations along the line, the railway
company has shown good taste in planting many
flowering shrubs, mostly of foreign origin. Among
these one is struck by the blossoms of the Chinese
Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) which present
large splashes of brilliant color. To northern
eyes the greatest charm of these miniature botanic
gardens is in the wonderful Bougainvillea vines
that smother the fences and lattices and sometimes
the station houses themselves, hiding them beneath
a mantle of deep royal purple. The rich color of
this creeper is derived from the two or three last
leaves upon each stem and not from the flower
itself which is an inconspicuous little yellow affair
scarcely noticeable amid the riot of purple splendor.
Some varieties of this wonderful creeper seen at
the railway stations are of a reddish tint equally
startling. Among the trees in the station en-
closures one’s attention is immediately drawn to
the Sacred Ti or Bo trees (the Ficus religiosa of
India). These trees with perfectly round smooth
trunk and ball of dense olive-green foliage have a
decidedly artificial appearance as though intended
eqn) ‘eUvAvH “OD OJOYd UvoIIOWY aY4 Jo UOISsttUJed Aq peonpoida ry
SATWNIA OL AYM AHL NO
OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 19
for huge tubs to line the garden walk of some
Brobdingnag’s palace.
At Pinar we selected two cabs that looked as if
they might possibly hold together as far as the
Ricardo Hotel. The old Ricardo is the human
clearing house of Western Cuba. It is the starting
point for all travelers bound to the tobacco regions
in the sierras. For us it was our last outpost of
civilization.
The next morning (May gth) we started early
by automobile for Vifiales. Those of us who had
made this journey before in a ramshackle trap,
bumping along the execrable road over the moun-
tains, could scarcely realize the change. The
former journey of a day’s length can now be made
in an hour by motor over a fine macadam road.
It is to be hoped that the Cuban Government
will keep up the good roads policy inaugurated
by the Americans during the first intervention.
The sierra country of western Cuba, with its
perfect climate, is one of surpassing loveliness, and
given easier approaches and good roads it should
become a favorite winter resort and playground
for the Americans who gosouth. There is nothing
quite like it in the United States.
20 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
With clanging of bells, shriek of Klaxon, scatter-
ing of children and domestic animals, our chauffeur
fairly shot out of Pinar, taking the Vifiales road
with a rush that made us beg for mercy. Arrived
at ‘“Kilometer 14’’ we stopped to explore a mogote,
the isolated remnant of a limestone sierra, which,
with two or three smaller mogotes near by are the
last surviving portions of a vanished range of
mountains.
As we shall have more to say of mogotes and
their importance to us in our work, it would be
well to explain here just what they are, and why
we were always eager to visit them. The Spanish
language is rich in nomenclature of all that per-
tains to topographical features. The word mogote
(only used in western Cuba) indicates a limestone
elevation more or less isolated from a main range
of mountains and standing alone or at least semi-
detached. The word Joma is applied to a hill
of rounded smooth outline which is generally
composed of slate or sandstone shales along with
the clays and sandy soil resulting from the dis-
integration of those classes of rocks. The different
origins of these two types of elevations give to each
a very characteristic appearance. The mogote is
OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 21
weathered into a more or less precipitous elevation
of white limestone and festooned with the rank
vegetation a rich soil produces. The lomas are
less steep and often quite barren of trees, their
clays and sands affording but scant vegetation.
Usually, however, they are lightly covered by an
open forest of scattered pines and a wiry long grass.
In their valleys and arroyos where moisture is more
permanent, a growth of tree ferns is often met,
but they always lack the rich lush vegetation of
the mogotes, above which the plumes of tall palms
are a distinct element.
All the northern half of the Pinar del Rio
province is a mountain maze of high rounded
lomas, a former elevated plain of some fifteen
hundred feet now eroded into great land surges
without particular alignment or system. Directly
up through the central portion of this mountainous
area are projected a series of more or less parallel
limestone ranges. These great ridges have east
and west axes and attain a greater elevation than
the lomas. They are known as “‘sierras,’’ and
though distinguished by many individual and
local names are called in general the “‘Sierra de
los Organos”’ or ‘‘Organ-Pipe’’ Mountains. The
22 CRUISE OF THE BAKRERA
appellation is not inept, for, like limestone moun-
tains the world over, they have been carved by
atmospheric agency into all manner of fantastic
shapes and often present from a distance this
organ-pipe appearance. ‘They are always very
steep, often displaying vertical walls (paredones)
of quite one thousand feet elevation. They are
densely overgrown, wherever vegetation can find
lodgment, with a very characteristic flora, and
harbor a rich and varied fauna both altogether
different from that of the lomas or of the lower
plains. It is upon the sierras, that Cuba’s astonish-
ing wealth of molluscan life exists. As these land
mollusks cannot maintain themselves away from
the limestone of the sierras, their restricted little
world may be said to consist of the ‘‘continental
area’ of the sierras and the ‘‘islands’”’ represented
by the mogotes. From whatever source was
derived this extraordinary aggregation of land
shells with its many unique species and genera, it is
reasonably certain that it developed to its climax
only since the elevation of these sierras. Since
this elevation, the forces of demolition have been
actively at work, and their original range of habitat
has continually dwindled in area. Their ‘‘conti-
NOIS3auY SATWNIA aHL JO JLODON
TWOIdAL VW
OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 23
nent’’ has been broken into several long series of
interrupted sierras and the innumerable ‘‘islands’”’
mogotes. The constant mutations slowly going
on in all living species are most strikingly shown by
a comparative study of the life, especially of the
mollusks, that have suffered isolation upon the
lesser sierras and the mogotes; indeed the answer
to most of the puzzles concerning the origin and
the development of the Cuban fauna must be
sought in the modified faunas of the mogotes. This
line of investigation, with abundant material
offered for study, becomes a most absorbing one.
In every faunal area of the world there are
certain genera that appear to be more ‘“‘plastic”’ or
quick to adapt themselves to changing conditions
of life. Among land snails the Cerions of the
Bahamas and coastal Cuba, the Clausilias of
Europe and Asia, and the Urocoptids of the
Antilles may be cited as good examples. Many
more could be given of quite the opposite charac-
teristics among genera and species which have
suffered extermination through comparatively
slight changes of environment. Hence for material
for evolutionary study we were always hunting for
mogotes in Cuba and on the mogotes our special
24 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
object of search was the Urocoptids, the ‘‘plastic’”’
upland genus of the island.
We fell upon the mogote at Kilometer 14 with
great enthusiasm, first, because it is so far away
from the nearest line of sierras and is apparently in
the axis of a former range now eroded away, and,
second, because it was our first collecting station
and we had the ardor of great expectations.
At the time of this our first visit here, the rainy
season had not yet set in, and as a consequence of
dry conditions, the collecting was not so good as
we hoped to find it. The land mollusks of Cuba
have but one period of activity which is during the
wet season beginning in May and June, and lasting
until October. During the balance of the year
they remain for the most part in a state of zestiva-
tion, an occasional rain during the dry months not
being sufficient to awaken them to activity.
During the winter months, however, many of the
operculates remain attached to the rocks and can
easily be found. The Helices with few exceptions
hide away beyond easy discovery, though many
of them select less hidden places for the long sleep.
Dead specimens can always be seen in proper
localities and these furnish an index to the fauna.
OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 25
We were pleased at Kilometer 14 to take a Chon-
dropoma and a Urocoptis quite new to science.
A little blind snake, the Typhlops lumbricalis, fell
to our collecting. This primitive degenerate little
creature lives entirely underground burrowing
about much like an angle worm and feeding upon
grubs and insects. Having no further use for
vision the skin of the head grows over the eyes
which may be detected by a careful inspection as
tiny little spots. The diminutive snake seemed
very ill at ease when exposed to the open air and
sought to bury his head between one’s fingers and
to work downward and out of sight. They are
quite common in the soil of the fields and can
usually be found by following a plowman.
Having traversed several miles of dreary pine-
clad elevations the macadam road surmounts the
last Joma and begins a steepish descent into the
valley of Vifiales. Photographs give but a poor
idea of the sublimity of the scene that confronts
the delighted traveler who views for the first time
this exquisite valley. Ranges of sierras on the
north rise abruptly from its level floor, while other
and still higher ones, forest-covered and brilliant
in green and white, tower beyond. Through gaps
26 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
in the ranges, narrow passes open into cul-de-sacs
almost wholly ‘‘land locked’’ by perpendicular
walls; and scattered over the level floorlike surface
of the valley are verdure-clad mogotes resembling
giant ruined castles and ancient battlements.
The great bulk of the sierras dissolves from view
on the east and west horizons where individual
higher peaks, purplish and indistinct, loom up
above the hazy mass. Down in the valley trails
Nike red ribbons wind past groves of royal palms,
cultivated patches of vivid green, and the many
palm-thatched bohios of the natives. Off to the
right-at the foot of a huge mogote, E1 Tumbadero,
lies the little village of Vifiales, its tiled roofs
glistening amid the foliage of its trees. A small
yellow cathedral with bell tower, like some ancient
church in Andalusia, occupies a central square and
guards the faith of the inhabitants. Large birds
float lazily two thousand feet above. We quieted
the motor that we might enjoy undisturbed this
rare scene of beauty.
The valley of Vifiales must not be compared
with the Yosemite or the Grand Canyon, nor with
some famed Alpine passes, for it cannot display
the astounding contrasts of these or many well-
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OHSZQCVEWNL 13 IGNY SATVNIA
OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 27
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 upon so charming a sight. There
are recesses among the Rocky Mountains of
Canada into which one gazes with awe and abated
breath, where the very silence oppresses, and the
beholder instinctively reaches for support to guard
against slipping into the awful chasm below. But
on the contrary, the Valley of Vifiales seems to
soothe and lull the senses. Like the great birds
suspended in the sky we longed to soar above it
and then alighting within some palm grove far
below to rejoice in its atmosphere of perfect peace.
A swift descent brought us into the little village
of pink and blue houses fronted with rows of
columns, and to the inn where our host, of good
memory, greeted us with a cordiality that made us
feel like wanderers returned home.
The little inn at Vifiales is so very old Spanish
that we liked to fancy Don Quixote and the faith-
ful Sancho Panza entering at any moment through
its big open door. Mounted upon Rosinante and
the donkey had they passed quite through the
dining-room to the courtyard beyond, we should
28 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
have had the only touch necessary to defraud the
calendar of some five hundred years and to trans-
port us to medieval La Mancha. What the inn may
lack in luxurious beds and modern conveniences is
amply compensated for by a quality of charm that
made us content the moment we entered. In the
early evening the young people of the town gathered
in the square opposite to parade up and down,
girls together and men together, native fashion, for
inspection and admiration of one another. The
girls’ black eyes flashed sidelong glances against
the bolder gaze of the rustic young men. The
church bell in the open tower above pealed forth a
clanging discord to give notice of service to be
held within. In the street an itinerant orchestra
executed music of a primitive kind. All native
Cuban music is set to a ‘‘time’’ that we Anglo-
Saxons cannot understand nor easily imitate. It
combines an element of negro syncopation with
much monotonous repetition of one note, so char-
acteristic of Moorish music, but it is thoroughly
Spanish in scheme of harmony. The usual
broken accompaniment is more or less strictly
followed; the theme is always suggestive of some
Spanish song heard long ago, but vaguely recalled.
BQN ‘VUBART]T ‘OD OJOU_ UvolIoWYy oy} Jo uoIsstultod Aq poonpoidary
SATIVNIA
OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 29
The drums, a prominent feature, beat a tattoo
that suggests the barbaric interrupted rhythm of
the tom-toms in Haiti. When all appears to be
going well and strong, the music abruptly stops,
only to begin again by repeating one note in
greatly accelerated time. Then it stops for good
as you begin to shuffle your feet in hopeless
attempt to mark the curious time. The final note
is usually not the tonic of the key, hence you are
left dissatisfied and wish the orchestra would
either finish the composition or move away alto-
gether. The curious effect in the rhythm is
produced by employment of two tempos—the 34
and 74—at one and the same time, or, frequently
the mingling of thirds and seconds in a manner
that (on the piano) one hand plays three notes
while the other strikes but two. This sort of music
is heard over all rural Cuba, but in Havana only
at the cheaper places of amusement. Elsewhere
in Havana the music is the same as in the United
States, and the frolicsome American ‘‘rag time’”’
has apparently captured the Habaneros as it has
all Europe. |
To the naturalist in search of specimens for his
laboratory or cabinet, Vifiales is a paradise indeed.
30 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
At this particular point the Sierra de los Organos
may be said to be at its very best. Several more
or less distinct ranges come close together and
offer the great advantage of convenient passes
from one to the other. The collector of land-
shells, or insects, or reptiles, or birds,—the botan-
ist with his herbarium, the geologist with his
hammer seeking to unravel the mystery of the
mountains,—must stand at first a little confused,
not knowing just which way to start, the outlook
being so inviting in every direction. These
calcareous mountains are areas of great concentra-
tion of life, and they are therefore very generous
to him in search of specimens. They are full of
wonderful caves, deep gorges, perpendicular walls,
overhanging cliffs, rivers that appear from under-
ground and disappear again quite as mysteriously.
No one uninoculated with the virus of nature
study can quite understand the feelings of a
naturalist who first stands upon the threshold of
his promised land. The hunter has his thrill at
sight of game and he derives a savage and elemen-
tal sort of satisfaction when he destroys its life.
The fisherman loves the feel of a strike and he too
lives faster as he watches his victim gasp out its
OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 31
life at his feet. But neither of these knows the
intense and more intellectual pleasure of the
naturalist, he with problems to solve, and secrets
of nature to probe. When arrived at last where
the book of nature lies open before him, its
language acquired and its characters understood,
he feels a real exaltation. Our naturalist has
most likely studied in laboratories and museums
among depressing specimens of preserved life.
He has measured bones of dead creatures, dis-
sected their hardened and distorted tissues, but
dreaming always of some happy day when he
may see them alive amid their own surroundings.
We could scarcely curb our impatience to secure
the only cab of Vifiales—a vehicle even more
pitiful than the Pinar cabs—and drive to La
Puerta del Ancon, a narrow pass through the
Sierra de Vifiales and by which the road enters
another beautiful valley beyond. At this place we
knew there were some fine land-shells to be found;
and just ‘‘around the corner,’’ on the north side of
the Sierra de Vifiales, a cove of surpassing beauty,
is the special haunt of one big lusty land-shell
that we much wanted (Cepolis subtussulcata). We
fell upon the spot and in three or four hours had
32 CRUISE OF REE DARKEICA
secured a notable catch of remarkably fine land-
shells, many insects, moths, and butterflies. We
observed on the vertical walls at the Puerta del
Ancon a most interesting plant of the genus
Anthurium with large cordate glossy leaves and
now exhibiting spaths of dull purplish flowers.
This curious plant, with even more curious relation-
ships and which we never observed elsewhere, is
related to our calla-lily and belongs to an order
abundantly developed in the American tropics;
another near relative is our Indian turnip.
In the cove on the north side of the Sierra which
we christened the ‘‘Cove of Delight’’ we met with
a truly remarkable development of many species
of ferns, conspicuous among which are Adiantum
or ‘‘Maiden Hair,’’ Hymenophyllum of delicate
lace-like texture, Davallia with wonderfully cut
leaves, and Jrichomanes with triangular fronds.
From the trunks of most of the trees hang long
grass-like tufts of various species of Vittaria.
When we returned to the inn flushed with
excitement, we chattered about our experience
like so many schoolboys after a ball game.
At the Puerta del Ancon, an excellent example is
furnished of the manner in which the cave forma-
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COVE OF DELIGHT
Tobacco in the foreground
OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 33
tions, always going on within the sierras, break
down the mountains, ultimately entirely destroying
them. The walls on both sides of this pass are
concave and exhibit remnants of huge stalactites.
It is obvious that at one time the sierra at this
point was unbroken and continuous, but that a
cave formed gradually enlarging, until the weight
of the roof carried it down in a great crash. Some
of the remnants of this roof still exist in the form of
great boulders lying within the pass through which
the macadam road is built. This cave formation
explains many of the curious topographical
features of Cuba and Jamaica—the round deep
valleys (hoyos) of the former, and the ‘‘cockpits”’
of the latter.
Cuba is the richest island in the world for land
mollusks. It possesses more genera and species of
greater diversity and loveliness of form and color
than can be found in any other island, or equal
continental area in the world. The total is com-
posed of three faunulas, or elements,—correspond-
ing with the three mountain systems of the island.
While this can be recognized as ‘‘Cuban”’ in the
broader sense, it is nevertheless quite true that
these three subfaunas differ so markedly there is
3
34 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
ground for belief that they possess different origins
and have developed independently. One of these
subfaunas is of the Sierra de los Organos, another
of the mountain systems of central Cuba, and the
last is of the highlands of Oriente or Santiago
province. These three subfaunal areas are equally
marked by the distribution of other Cuban animal
forms, such as the insects and reptiles, but prob-
ably by them not so sharply differentiated, for in
course of time both insects and reptiles could have
migrated more easily than the slow-moving snails,
and could more quickly traverse intervening
regions not suited for a permanent home. Besides
these well-marked subfaunal areas there are three
others less distinctly recognizable owing to their
more composite elements. These are the much
eroded limestone mountains of the Havana and
Matanzas provinces, the Cubitas range of
northern Camaguey, and the low-lying coastal
strip of recently elevated coral reefs which almost
encircles the island.
From whatever source came the Cuban land
snails, whether from some remote land connection
with Yucatan or Honduras, or whether, like Topsy,
they ‘‘just growed” from native origin, it is
OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 35
reasonably certain that the three subfaunal pro-
vinces once constituted three separate islands.
Such was the condition at the close of the Jurassic
period and continued through the Tertiary epoch.
At the close of the Tertiary, the mere yesterday of
geologic time, the Havana province was raised
from a shallow sea and its hilltops appeared as an
archipelago of small islands. These derived their
fauna from both the large islands then existing—
the Organ Mountains to the west and the Trinidad
Mountains to the east. The last chapter in Cuban
geological history has been the successive eleva-
tions of coral reefs built upon her narrow island
shelf. Here we find a suitable home for land-shells
in a limestone rock and soil but with life and food
conditions different from that of the high sierras.
The species that have migrated there from other
and older regions and have survived the changes
of environment have become modified into a group
of almost subfaunal importance.
The remarkable land-shells of Cuba have been
made known to science chiefly through the efforts
of four distinguished naturalists, who combined
with their interest in mollusks an equally great
interest in other forms of Cuban life. The first
36 GRUISE OF THE BARK ERA
of these was a German named Gundlach. Hecame
to Cuba with Louis Pfeiffer in 1830 and died but a
few years ago. Contemplating only a short visit
to the island, so fascinated did he become with its
charms he never again left its shores save for
short periods. His entire life was devoted to the
study of Cuban natural history, and because of a
zealot’s contempt for the material things of life he
accepted willingly the sufferings of poverty as a
price for freedom to study. In his old age he sold
his valuable collections to the Cuban Government
in order to raise money to rescue from want a
family that had formerly befriended him, they
having lost their fortune in the civil wars. I once
asked Torre, who knew him, what manner of man
was Gundlach and he replied: ‘‘He was a saint.”
Charles Wright, an American collector of plants
for Asa Gray and Ghiesbach, spent four years in
Cuba during the latter fifties and early sixties.
With a long patriarchal beard, taciturn and un-
social, he was a man of great physical strength and
endurance. At that time the Cuban mountains
were overrun with brigands and outlaws of every
description and to travel among them required
nerve. Wright, without speaking a word of
OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 37
Spanish, traversed the length of the island afoot
leading a little donkey upon which he packed his
precious collections. For weeks at a time he slept
in caves, ate wild honey, and lived like the ab-
origines. Once, when searching for rare water plants
in the great swamp jungle of south Cuba (Cienega
de Zapata), he was observed, by some startled
natives, swimming in the crocodile-infested black
waters of the swamp, his long beard floating back
while he blew the water from his mouth like a
grampus. The natives thought him to be some
unheard-of animal and beat a hasty retreat while
there was yet time. Wright was a wonderful
collector and some of the finest Cuban species
discovered by him have never since been found,
notwithstanding the fact that he carefully recorded
localities in a journal and in correspondence still
preserved.
Felipe Poey was the third of the Cuban natur-
alists to make known the land shells of the island.
He was not himself a collector like Gundlach and
Wright, but astudent and teacher. He is regarded
as the father of Cuban natural history and his
students from all over the island supplied him with
material for his two-volume work entitled Memoria
38 CRUISE OF SHE BARKERA
sobre la Historia Natural de la Isla de Cuba. The
last of this ‘“‘big four’’ was Rafael Arango who
collected extensively and published a critical list
of both marine and land shells of the island. Many
others have contributed to our knowledge of this
subject, notably the distinguished French natural-
ists Orbigny and Morelet, and lastly, Dr. Carlos de
la Torre, whom we claim as our own, both because
he has received the distinction of an honorary de-
gree of Doctor of Science from Harvard University
on account of his research work in the natural his-
tory of his native island and because he was with us
on our trip. Indeed, he arrived from Havana that
very evening along with Rodriguez and Lesmes.
The next day was devoted to collecting about
San Vicente de los Bafios, a charming spot at the
foot of La Chorrera. Los Bafios, as it is locally
known, is on the way to Esperanza and about
three miles from Vifiales. Here we greatly enjoyed
the hospitality of Sefiora Piad and her interesting
family. There are some warm springs of sulphur-
ous water at Bajios, but the hotel that once
sheltered many guests seeking their curative
effects is now in ruins, the result of a hurricane
that devastated this region some years ago.
————eEeEeEeEeEEE——eE
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DR. CARLOS DE LA TORRE
OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 39
There can be no more perfect and spontaneous
hospitality than is found everywhere in Cuba,
but especially, perhaps, in the western province of
Pinar del Rio. We were many times embarrassed
by the refusal of our rustic hosts to accept pay for
food or accommodation and often in the cases of
peasant families where our entertainment must
have been a burden. Unfortunately many Ameri-
can tourists who visit the country beyond Havana
assume, perhaps unconsciously, an air of supe-
riority over the natives. The sensitive Cubans
detect this and resent it. Throughout a journey
that took us into the remotest wilderness we never
met with a single act of discourtesy and we were
daily taught, by example, lessons in graciousness
of conduct.
Late in the afternoon, after a strenuous day of
collecting on La Chorrera, we took the motor
diligence to Esperanza. The road passes through
superb scenery, especially as it skirts for a mile or
so the perpendicular walls of the Costanera de San
Vicente. This sierra is a part of the northern
range presenting its northern side to the sea. The
motor bus lumbered along across the sandstone
lomas, now bereft of their pine trees by the same
40 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
cyclone that destroyed the hotel at the baths.
The great north range of sierras seemed to rise
higher and higher as we left them behind us on our
route to the coast. We bid them farewell, for a
time, to join the schooner that now awaited us at
Esperanza. At dark we reached the uninteresting
little port, scrambled upon a decrepit dock, and
took the launch for the Barrera. We received a
noisy ovation from Luis and Mulatica, the two
dogs on board.
The Barrera was anchored about two hundred
yards from the dock. A northeast breeze ruffled
the water into phosphorescent whitecaps. Scud-
ding clouds opened and closed to view intensely
bright stars that shone without the twinkle they
have in the north. We groped about the obscure
deck for our beds and turned in, full of enthusiasm
and lively anticipation for the morrow—our first
day of the cruise.
CHAPTER II
La Esperanza
Monday, May 1rith. According to a very
flowery Spanish writer, ‘the glorious star of day
arising from a couch of burnished cloud”’ re-
vealed to us a more hopeless confusion on board
than ever. The Gurnet dory lashed on deck,
looked as big as a Cunarder. The chaos above,
however, was nothing as compared with conditions
in the cabin below.
Before anything else could be done, a second
house cleaning wasin order. The bunks on one side
of the cabin were again cleared for the reception
of our bottles and jars, boxes, electric lanterns, and
collecting receptacles of all kinds—our naturalist’s
lazaretto; the desk,set in the best position for light,
was already overcrowded with reference books,
papers, logs, writing utensils, instruments, and a
multitude of small objects of doubtful use. Our
trunks and bags were on end and upside down.
To open any one of them necessitated doing
4I
42 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
violence to another’s outfit. There was no place
to hang anything except upon the decorative
frame of a mirror and a picture of saints, so the
mirror and saints were quickly concealed behind
a dozen coats and sweaters, so to remain during
the entire cruise. Everyone exchanged his land
costume of khaki and leggings for the nautical
white duck. It is a phase of human vanity te
wish to appear sartorially all right at sea, especially
at the start. There were none to admire our fine
clothes, yet we bedecked ourselves as if to appear
at a yacht club regatta. In a very few days,
however, we were a sorry looking lot of half-
dressed vagabonds, and had it not been for the
painful effects of a vertical sun, we would likely
have reduced costumes almost to the ‘‘altogether”’
and thereby scandalized our crew. The modesty
of a Spaniard or a Cuban and his objections to
nudity while in the water was to us a matter of
some surprise. We always stripped for the morn-
ing plunge and our crew never recovered from
shock at sight of such outrageous immodesty.
If the prospect close at hand was discouraging,
the distant view was truly inspiring. None of us
had ever looked upon the Sierra de los Organos
COSTANERA DEL ABRA
LA ESPERANZA 43
from the sea, and the sight of these mountains
eight or ten miles inland is superb. From Gua-
jaibon, vague and indistinct in the east, to
Azucar in the west—a stretch of seventy miles—
the sierras fill the southern prospect. We could
distinguish the San Andres Range, unknown to
naturalists, the Mogotes de la Sagua, that final
scene of Arango’s exploration when as a feeble
old man and partially paralyzed he had sought to
make a last stand in his labors against the grim
old monster that conquered him a few months
later. After many hardships he reached these
great mogotes only to be driven away by the natives
as a Suspicious character. Next in line comes the
precipitous Mogote de la Mina towering like a
volcanic cone amid a fringe of lower hills; then,
just opposite us, arises the almost vertical twelve
hundred feet wall of the Costanera de San Vicente
—ending abruptly in a deep narrow pass. This is
followed by the equally abrupt walls of the Cos-
tanera del Abra. Off to the western limit of vision
could be seen the curiously shaped Mogote de
Pan de Azucar, and lastly, the indistinct mass of
the Sierra de Pan de Azucar.
Various members of our party had at one time
44 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
or another visited most of these mountains,
approaching them by horseback trail through
other ranges to the south, but Guajaibon on the
east and Azucar on the west remained terra incog-
nita to all of us, and were two of the main objective
points of this trip. How best to reach them we did
not know, but from some points along the coast
we proposed making dashes for them, however
difficult the way. Those who have “‘hiked”’ only
in temperate regions can hardly understand
worrying about a matter of ten or fifteen miles.
In the tropics, however, there is a difference.
Exuberance of spirit and that do-or-die feeling
one has in the northern wilderness ooze out after
a few hours’ struggle in a tropical jungle.
When partial order had been attained and the
launch was transferred to the water, a party was
selected to go dredging, and another, in the
auxiliary, to visit an island not far away to explore
for Cerion. Our search for Cerzon was never-
ending. The various species of this interesting
molluscan genus reported from the northwest
Cuban coast are little known, and as all of us
secretly entertained theories about the evolution
of this group of salt-air-loving land-shells, we were
LA ESPERANZA 45
always keen about collecting them. The dredging
party (Clapp, Simpson, Bartsch, Greenlaw, and
myself) explored the shores of a key and the
waters of a pass between the key and the mainland,
making a number of shoal-water hauls on soft
weedy bottom. The results were a large number of
holothurians, large starfish of several species,
some common sea-urchins, many worms and
anemones, and a few large mollusks. The sieved
dredgings later showed many small species of
mollusks of considerable interest. At one point
we discovered an old tree lying in about five feet
of clear water. Making fast to this, we began a
systematic search among the submerged trunk and
branches for the many forms of marine organisms
that seek such stations, and a notable catch of
crustaceans rewarded our efforts. It was here
that Simpson in his enthusiasm jumped overboard
forgetting to remove an unforgiving watch.
Gill, with his paints and brushes, now being pro-
vided with material, started upon his labors which
never ceased during six weeks of strenuous collect-
ing. From this time on there was never a moment
during the hours of daylight, except when the
schooner was actually under way, that there was
46 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
not at least one party in the field, and the steady
acquisition of specimens necessitated constant
work aboard, sorting, preserving, packing, and
otherwise caring for the catch. Many of the
Specimens required unusual care and attention,
such as those needing expanding by narcotizing.
All material brought in called for immediate
attention, and often the entire force worked far
into the night in order to be able to “‘start at the
beginning’’ the next day. When collecting was
good we scarcely took time to inspect our speci-
mens, so great was the hurry to save them. It
was in this continuous scramble for results, this
never-ending work, that we found keenest delight
and abounding health.
In the afternoon great storm-clouds enveloped
the mountains and a chilly wind from the north-
east, the regular trade, whipped the open ‘‘bay”’ of
Esperanza into a white-capped flutter causing the
launches to dance a veritable rumba astern of the
more steady lying schooner. Dr. Torre was
engaged forward in a conspiracy involving ice and
the grinding of a freezer, so that evening, when
Captain Eduardo Tapia, captain of a Cuban
revenue cutter, came aboard, resplendent in his
LA ESPERANZ 47
uniform to pay us an Official visit, we could offer
him helado de guanabana—or soursop ice—that
delicacy of all Cuban delicacies. When the Amer-
icans discover guanabana as a flavoring for ices
and beverages there will be a great trade in this
delectable fruit. We blessed Torre for this nice
little attention. Our first dinner on deck was in a
stiff breeze that blew the arroz amarillo off our
forks. We had not learned then, as we did later,
how to protect ourselves from the elements.
The Cerion hunting party met with no success
whatever. Their island proved to be merely a
mangrove flat harboring swarms of mosquitoes.
They made some good dredge hauls, however, in
two fathoms of soft bottom near Cayo Arenas.
We slept fully dressed and under blankets, this,
our chilliest night on board.
CHAPTER III
Esperanza to Cayo Hutia
Tuesday, May 12th. A superb morning. At
7 A.M. the air temperature 75°; water 82°. One
cannot resist going overboard with such tempera-
ture combination, in water clear as crystal, and
bottom at fifteen feet seen as through a plate glass.
The morning dip was always a joyful function tem-
pered only by one element of reserve—sharks or
barracuda—here called pizcouas. The subject of
sharks was one that always could be relied upon
to precipitate a discussion on board that assumed
as it progressed all the outward signs of an an-
archistic rally. Men of the Latin race enter upon
arguments with an earnestness and amount of
feeling that perplexes the Anglo-Saxon. Is it not
likely, he asks aside, that these men will do each
other violence? Our fish expert (Lesmes) cherished
gruesome memories of sharks and he was positive
that they are always very dangerous. His eyes
gleam with apparent rage; with quick threatening
48
ESPERANZA TO CAYO HUTIA 49
gesture he suddenly approaches his disputant and
hurls at him an argument like canister hot from
the cannon’s mouth. The other staggers, but
recovering from the charge and reinforced by
others who rush into the wordy affray, he delivers
back an argumentative broadside and the battle is
on. We of the north glance at each other appre-
hensively. Something really should be done to
quell this riot before our fine crew is destroyed
or we ourselves, as innocent bystanders, shall be
injured. Then the cook announces that coffee is
ready and the dove of peace flutters in and the
shark swims out.
This shark debate was never settled. Appar-
ently there never will be a unanimity of opinion on
the subject. There are, however, certain incon-
testable facts to be accepted in any shark discus-
sion: first, there are sharks everywhere in Cuban
waters and big fellows too; second, thousands
of people enter the water and are not attacked;
third, there are authentic cases of ‘‘accidents.’’
A careful sifting of evidence from many sources,
reliable and otherwise, tend to show that the
Antillean shark is not nearly so dangerous as are
certain species living in Australian and South
4
50 CRUISE OF THE BARKERA
Pacific waters, but he will sometimes attack a
man. In shallow water (fifteen or twenty feet),
especially if clear, sharks are timid. Close to
a boat anchored where the bottom can be seen,
a bather is quite safe. In deep water even near a
boat the risk increases. A long swim away from a
boat or the shore is not to be advised. If there is
blood in the water from a wounded man or fish, a
bather is in real peril. There are certain places
where sharks prowl about for food, such as city
dumping grounds, fish-cleaning docks, slaughter-
houses near the shore, etc. To enter the water
there, would, of course, be attended with danger.
They are in fact indifferent lazy creatures of a low
order of intelligence that become instantly aroused to
a frenzy of activity by the smell of blood. At such
times they will attack anything that moves,—even
each other, and are of course exceedingly dangerous.
We relied upon the Patron’s advice entirely and
only kept out of the water when he actually warned
us, and this was seldom. Indeed we dived into the
deep pools of the sand-bars near the reef where sharks
abound and were often in sight, but we dared not
jump overboard in Bahia Honda or Cabafias harbors
where never a shark was seen.
ESPERANZA TO CAYO HUTIA 51
As to the picoua danger, not much can be
said beyond mentioning the general fear of this
aggressive fish. He resembles a huge pickerel or
muskalonge with protruding jaw armed with very
long sharp teeth. He prefers rocky places about
the reefs, especially in the deeper passes, where,
lying motionless near the bottom, he darts at his
prey with a swiftness that baffles the eye. His
sinister appearance, astonishing quickness, and
occasional habit of ranging the waters in schools,
like squadrons of submarine destroyers, have
combined to give him a bad name. This is the
“barracouta’”’ (Sphyrena barracuda) of Florida
and Bermuda, a well-known game fish. The
maximum length is about six feet. As a matter of
fact we feared these far more than the sharks.
Promptly at seven a field party started in the
launch for Cayo Arenas to make a more thorough
exploration for Cerions and to study the abundant
bird life there. Torre, Lesmes, and some of the
crew went ashore for final marketing. At noon all
were mustered aboard and preparations for sailing
began. |
A fine northeast breeze sprung up in the early
afternoon. At three we were under way, the
52 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
Patron climbing the mast better to locate the
channel. Our course took us between the island
and outer reef through a passage of ten or twelve
feet depth, the bottom soft and weedy. The
freshening breeze from astern drove us along
“wing and wing’’ at about six knots, the sea
making up enough to cause anxiety on the part of
some who had not yet found their sea legs. At
7-45 P.M. we anchored near Hutia Light, under
shelter of a little sandy key. As this little islet
lies close within the coral patches we looked
forward eagerly to the morrow for our first
introduction to the actual reef.
After dark we experimented with the submarine
light with most gratifying results. This is simply
an electric light bulb enclosed in a waterproof
globe and connected with a storage battery by a
heavily insulated cable. Lowering this light into
the water, a vast quantity of small marine life is
attracted to it which may easily be captured in
scoop nets of cheesecloth. Large fish will not
approach, but the smaller species, along with
myriads of small crustacea, worms, larval forms
innumerable, small cephalopods—that host of
creatures referred to as “plankton’’—simply
ESPERANZA TO CAYO HUTIA 53
swarm about the light. Fish up to four or five
inches in length circle rapidly about it forming a
revolving wheel of some eight to ten feet in di-
ameter. This we called the ‘Life Wheel.”” Inside
this revolving circumference and nearer the bright
bulb, myriads of plankton dart about confusedly as
though greatly excited and fascinated by it. This
method of fishing brought easily and quickly to
our collections a great quantity of organisms that
otherwise could only have been captured by
uncertain laborious process. The amount of our
catch differed very greatly according to type of
bottom and possibly to weather conditions. This
was one of our most successful nights with the
light. Until one has actually had experience with
the submarine light one can form no true concep-
tion of the abundance of living organisms that
swarm in the warm sea water of the tropics.
Within the circle of bright light about the bulb
every cubic foot of water harbors at least a
hundred living creatures without counting a
vastly greater number of organisms not visible
to the naked eye. Probably seventy-five per cent.
of the whole are larval,—velagers of mollusks, the
megalops of crustacea, newly hatched medusz, etc.
=. CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
A large proportion of the total assemblage are
more or less transparent displaying their internal
anatomy with the clearness of an idealized drawing.
Before transferring the plankton to formalin it
was always placed in bowls of sea water and about
these our crew would gather in fascinated gaze,
their curiosity seemingly never satisfied by closest
inspection of the undreamed of wonders of the
sea. They had thought they knew their sea so
well, After all, all knowledge is relative. Possibly
we who explained these things to the crew knew
but little more about them than they, and possibly
those who have dedicated their lives to these busy
little creatures in the bowl know but little more
about them than we. The recollection of a politi-
cal campaign speech kept intruding, where the
frank orator prefaced his remarks by saying:
“You know nothing about the silver question and
neither do I, therefore I shall explain it to you.”’
CHAPTER IV
Cayo Hutia and the Reef
Wednesday, May 13th. Cayo* Hutia is a real
island and not merely a mangrove swamp as all of
the keys so far examined had, to our disappoint-
ment, proven to be. We landed near the light-
house first to make a search for Cerion, as the
low-lying shore vegetation seemed to offer a
favorable station, but we found none whatever.
Myriads of jejenes (the Florida “‘sand-fly”’ and the
northern ‘‘punkie’’) assaulted us as we waded
ashore. The jejenes are a veritable scourge along
the coastal strip of Cuba. They are too small to
guard against by use of ordinary netting and their
bite is peculiarly poisonous to the newcomer. One
eventually becomes more or less inoculated and
immune against the venom of their bite which
then leaves little or no after-results, however
annoying at the time. Fortunately the tiny
insects cannot operate if any wind is blowing.
« The words ‘“‘ Cayo,” ‘‘ Cay,” and ‘‘ Key ”’ all signify an island.
55
56 CRUISE OF (HE BARRERA
Our stay on Hutia Key was short, for the call of
the nearby reef was very urgent. Beyond the
little sand key we could distinguish dark patches
of this reef with water swirling about them.
There was not enough sea at the time to break
over them and conditions were ideal for a visit.
Those of us who were especially keen about marine
mollusks were always hoping to discover a reef
exposed at low tide upon which we could prowl
about and overturn the dead coral rocks for our
treasure trove beneath. Such places are not in-
frequent along the Florida Reef, and some of them
had afforded us in times past most profitable
hunting grounds. Along the entire extent of the
Colorados we never encountered a dry spot, though
there are many patches where coral heads come
within a foot of the surface.
Fully equipped for reef work the entire company,
excepting Torre and Lesmes, proceeded in the
launch to the sandy key. Each carried a water
glass and as many receptacles for specimens as he
could manage; several brought sieves and one a
‘demijohn of copper-sulphate solution for ‘‘doping”’
the hiding-places among the corals. All wore shirt,
trousers, and canvas shoes. Wading along the
CAYO HUTIA AND THE REEF 57
edge of the key disturbing many nesting birds we
rounded its northern end and struck out directly
for the reef some two hundred yards beyond.
Approaching this, the sandy bottom, at first soft
with grassy patches of Zhalassa, becomes hard,
smooth, and dotted with gorgonians, sponges,
huge starfish, and quantities of short-spined sea-
urchins and many large holothurians. Occasional
small living coral heads (M@andra areolata) ap-
peared and an increasing amount of dead coral
blocks. About the edges of such patches of dead
reef rock waved many plumes of large branching
hydroids. We waded out cautiously to where the
water was breast deep. We were then upon the
inner edge of the main reef upon which any further
progress would have been difficult on account of
the rapidly increasing number of the long black-
spined sea urchins, the diademas (Centrochinus
setosum), and because of the increasing irregu-
larity of the bottom. Caverns opened to view
displaying floors of gleaming white sand and
literally swarming with fish. From holes and
crevices in the dark-colored rocks projected the
long antennz of the large spiny-lobster or crayfish
(Panulirus argus), and a general scuttling about
58 CRUISE.OF. THE BARRERA
of lesser crustaceans was sensed if not always
clearly seen. Ponderous-looking fish (Groupers)
frequented the deeper spots and lazily swam out of
our range of vision. Occasional schools of fish of
about four to five pounds’ weight approached us
and suddenly taking fright would turn in perfect
military precision and dart away. Around and
about all the coral heads and openings in the rocks,
gorgeously hued small fish lingered quite indiffer-
ent to our presence so long as we remained still, but
vanished at any sudden movement to reappear
cautiously ina moment. These brilliantly painted
reef fishes which represent numerous species and
genera are one of nature’s living color marvels—
like butterflies and orchids. Their conspicuous
colors are not protective in any simulation of their
‘surroundings but it is quite possible that they are
protective for quite the opposite reason. ‘Their
would-be enemies possibly can more quickly
recognize in these metallic-hued creatures indigest-
ible morsels that had best be left alone.
The interest of our immediate surroundings,
however, was lessened by comparison with that of
the wonderland in plain view just beyond us, on
the main axis, of the reef. This was not more than
SPINY LOBSTER AND SQUIRREL FISHES
Photograph by Elwin R. Sanborn
Reproduced by permission of the New York Zodlogical Society
CAYO HUTIA AND THE REEF 59
fifteen feet away and could be perfectly seen by
tilting the water-glass at an angle and gazing
obliquely down. Through the refractive and
magnifying medium of water, clear as crystal, all
details were exaggerated in size and color pro-
ducing an exquisite effect. As in some luminous
gleaming atmosphere lay a dreamland where
rocks and stones are alive, and miniature trees and
huge flowers are animals; where the gentle swaying
of its vegetation is indescribably graceful; where
all is aglow in color and grotesque in form; where
all is mystery and enchantment.
The thought comes that this prosaic water pail
with its window-glass bottom has suddenly become
bewitched, to enable one to peer into realms never
intended for mortal gaze. But this fairyland of
the sea, like some fantasy of the imagination, is no
welcome place for the vulnerable body of a human
being. Everything there, however beautiful in its
soft liquid medium, is a merciless enemy. The
black diademas, with long needle-sharp spines,
would pierce his flesh, and the dreaded green
moray eels lurking about would lacerate him like
vicious serpents. The lovely little polyps that
project like tiny pinkish and brown tufts from the
60 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
myriad perforations in the coral heads would sting
him to desperation with invisible nettles. And,
at last, how far could the big lazy fishes be trusted,
should a drop of blood scent the water. Despite
all such warning reflections, what a longing
possesses one to descend into this garden of the
sea, to yield to the hypnosis of the rhythmic
movements of its alge, to creep into its mysterious
caves and hobnob with octopi, the big pop-eyed
groupers, and the rainbow-tinted fish that dwell
within them!
Indeed it is usually the case that the most
seductive places, those blessed spots that make
the strongest appeal to the poetic imagination, are
quite unfit for human comfort or safety. How
often one sees some spot in the tropic jungle,
smothered in cool green vegetation and seemingly
dedicated by a kind Providence for a siesta, yet
forbidden to all, save the newcomer to the jungle.
It was our object as far as possible to secure
good specimens of every living thing, animal
or vegetable, that inhabited the reef—obviously
an ambitious program. We worked strenuously
nearly all day. The Patron frequently gave us
remarkable exhibitions of what might be called the
uvysnea *M “LL ‘Iq Aq ojoyg
SdA10Od 1VHO9 GAGNWdX3 DONIMOHS ‘VLV1IOaHY VWHANVaUIN
CAYO HUTIA AND THE REEF 61
“human amphibian.” Inside the true reef, any
object upon the bottom that was fixed too solidly
for us to detach, he would secure by going down
and wrenching it loose.. He crawled along the
bottom, examined into crevices, and extracted all
manner of creatures that had taken refuge in
such retreats. We had all flattered ourselves that
when it came to diving for things we were not
altogether inefficient, but we stood humbled before
this aquatic man. We at once conceived a new
respect and admiration for the Patron in whose
own environment of jungle and sea we city dwellers
could only make pretense.
Our experiments with the copper sulphate in
open water turned out well, and by it many of
the brilliant little fishes were stupefied and
driven into our nets. While working about these
coral heads in water, chest deep, we were at
first amused and then annoyed by a gentle heave
of the sea which persisted in lifting us off our
feet and redepositing us just a few inches away
from the positions carefully taken for best
capturing our game. Again and again, when all
was set to receive our desired specimen escaping
from some crevice, a scarcely perceptible swell
62 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
would gently elevate us all and our quarry would
elude us. We had all been in the water far too
long when suddenly one of our party relaying
specimens to the launch broke into a lively dash
for shore, and a commotion in the water near him
raised the alarm of tiburon (shark). Although
the shark in question was a very young one and
evinced no interest whatever in us, we seemed then
and there to lose enthusiasm. One casually re-
marked that he had reached his time limit in the
water, and all felt that the balance of the day was
none too long for the preparation and stowage of
our material.
Needless to say, in so favored a locality as this,
we made a notable and remarkable catch. This
consisted chiefly in fine anemones, madrepores,
gorgonians, corals, sponges, echinoderms, worms,
crustacea, and fishes. The paucity of mollusks
surprised us, although we took probably twenty-
five or thirty species.
Although this was the first time we had seen
any part of the actual Colorados, its conditions of
growth at once suggested it to be of that class
known as a “Barrier Reef.” It occupies the outer
edge of a submerged platform which it has prob-
CAYO HUTIA AND THE REEF 63
ably extended seaward to some extent by the
well-known process of reef expansion. No better
example could be presented than that before us to
demonstrate the constant warfare going on be-
tween the upbuilding coral polyps and the hosts
of destructive agents that tend to break down and
destroy the reef. The greater part of the solid
material on this particular patch is dead coral
undergoing gradual disintegration by myriad bor-
ing organisms and giving to the mass of rock an
indescribably rough and altogether fantastic ap-
pearance. Living coral polyps are constantly
finding lodgment upon dead blocks of more or
less altered coral rock and starting anew the up-
building process. As might be expected such new
growth is more apparent upon the outer or sea-
ward portion of the reef, where, in general, the coral
is more flourishing and appears to be growing with
considerable vigor. On the inner side of the reef
are many flattish blocks of complicated structure
which appear to be fragments of coral once rid-
dled and bored by worms and mollusks but now
with crevices and holes filled with sand and cal-
careous mud and the whole apparently recemented
together. In these blocks but little trace of the
64 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
coral structure is noticeable although occasional
shells are imbedded. The generally flat shape is
probably owing to the polishing action of current
swept sand. On the inner portion of the actual
reef the conditions of life do not appear to be
proper for very active growth of the coral polyps
but entirely so for many other organisms of close
relationship, such as anemones and _ sea-fans.
Larger masses of dead coral observed explain their
greater immunity from the various disintegrating
processes by their coating of hard coralline alge.
These stony alge are of exceedingly brilliant color
and give to portions of the reef the appearance of
having been painted in gorgeous hues. One
cannot at once determine just how much of the
massive rock floor of the reef is composed of older
coral limestone once exposed to the air and re-
crystallized beyond easy recognition as ancient
reef rock but now submerged again to form the
base or foundation of the present reef.
I think we were all too much excited by the
intense interest of the place, and too much af-
fected by its loveliness to make the detailed
and careful observations we intended. But other
opportunities were abundantly offered us later on.
CAYO HUTIA AND THE REEF 65
Returning to the schooner in the afternoon we
found that Dr. Torre and Lesmes had gone ashore
at Santa Lucia to investigate the possibilities of
making an inland excursion to Azucar, this being
the point of nearest approach from the shore to
that mountain.
Our first chubasco or rain squall struck us this
afternoon. These chubascos within the north-
east trade belt are very prevalent at this time of
the year. They correspond in many respects with
- our northern thunderstorms but are usually more
severe than the average summer shower of the
United States. With threatening display of angry
clouds, they arise with great suddenness, the wind
reaching a terrific violence for a few moments;
but the storm path is very narrow. There may
or may not be rain or electric phenomena. The
origin of these chubascos is certainly quite the
same as that of our own thunderstorms. A hot
sun expands the air, the colder upper air rushes in
to fill the vacuum, condensing the moisture, and
until the equilibrium is reéstablished a very lively
row goes on. When conditions are right for their
creation an extensive area may be filled with
wandering chubascos that do not necessarily travel
5
66 CRUISE OF THE BARRE eA
in the same directions. When they meet, little
whirlwinds are born that occasionally produce
waterspouts. These are miniature cyclones and
explain very well the origin of the greater circular
storms that so often cause terrible havoc in these
latitudes during the summer months.
Our returning shore party announced thut the
trip to Azucar was not only feasible but easy of
accomplishment on account of a road recently
built by a mining company located some ten miles
inland, and that horses could be obtained at the
mine for the balance of the journey. In fact
arrangements were already made for an empty ore
wagon to take us the next morning to the mine.
This was indeed good news. A party was made
up cf Torre, Clapp, Simpson, and myself. The
khaki and boots were resurrected from the piles
of clothing that littered the cabin floor, and all was
made ready for an early start.
A dredging party in the late afternoon added
another lot of specimens to our already over-
burdened table. These hauls were made in three
to four fathoms (mud) and contained among the
mollusks captured some very acceptable Tellinas.
Dr. Torre had obtained ashore a number of
CAYO HUTIA AND THE REEF 67
chickens and turkeys which were allowed their
freedom on deck until coops for their reception
could be hastily constructed. Luis and Mulatica,
our dogs, resenting their presence, some of the
fowl fluttered overboard. There is probably
nothing so helpless in the water as a chicken or a
turkey. These wretched creatures floated about
frightened beyond making any effort to escape.
We rescued and then regaled them with corn
which they immediately ate as though nothing
had happened. In a moment they were preening
their feathers and uttering sounds of content.
This instant recovery to a normal state of calm
from a situation of the gravest peril seems to be a
characteristic of all animals as distinguished from
man. Cattle, wild with fright, will stampede,
killing each other in their insane flight, and in
another moment will be peacefully grazing. This
sudden readjustment of the mind must be owing
to lack of imaginative faculties. Man considers
the horror of death or thinks of the pain and suffer-
ing that is about to be visited upon him. From
the very intensity of his imagination he derives
a physical shock that unbalances his entire nervous
system,
68 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
The day departed in a blaze of glory to the west.
As darkness fell upon us great banks of cloud over
Azucar seemed to expand with light as continuous
threads of heat lightning played about them.
Every trace of wind died out, the schooner floating
in stolid repose. All was quiet excepting for
distant squawking of water-fowl among the
mangroves of Hutia Key. One by one we slipped
away to bed, or nodded over the submarine light;
but by 9 o’clock a pirate could have boarded us
with heavy tread, save for Luis and Mulatica.
CHAPTER V
Santa Lucia to Azucar
Thursday, May t4th. At a very early hour in
the morning, Torre, Simpson, Clapp, and I left
the schooner in the auxiliary amid a salvo of
shouts consigning us to the care of God. Our
equipment for the journey to Azucar, reduced to
the very minimum, was all packed within one
canvas bag that could be thrown over a saddle.
The personal allowance for each consisted of one
complete change of clothes. There were also some
bags, small boxes, and bottles of spirit for speci-
mens. We took neither provisions nor firearms;
they are not required in Cuba. The food problem
in most islands of the Antilles can only be solved
in one way by the wanderer from the beaten path
and that is by taking the essentials along. In
Cuba there seems to be no region so remote but
that some natives can be found, and wherever a
‘native house is met, there is always food to be had
69
70 CRUISE OF THE BARKERA
and usually acceptable as to quality and cooking.
In the little palm shacks or bohios, without floor
or furniture or comforts of any sort, where grim
poverty has hung out its ragged sign, hospitality
awaits a stranger. Knowing that in some cases
no remuneration would be accepted for food, our
bag always contained certain knickknacks for the
children. On one occasion after a serving of
coffee when a dollar had been surreptitiously given
a child, and we were quite a mile away, the father
came running breathlessly after us to return the
money.
Leaving open water, the auxiliary entered a
muddy river winding about a jungle of mangroves
and landed us at the mining company’s dock, its
point of shipment for ore. A little settlement at
the landing is forlorn beyond description. It is
planted in the most unhealthy-looking site imagin-
able and is still in the makeshift state of newness,
evidenced by unpainted rough boards, and deep
sticky mud. A species of huge horsefly with the
bite of a cobra assailed us as we awaited our team
for the trip to the mine eleven miles inland. All
about are swamps of oozy black mud and button-
wood trees. Bubbles of gas from decaying vegeta-
SANTA LUCIA TO AZUCAR 71
tion below charge the dirty water of many shallow
pools. An army corps of fiddler-crabs scuttled
about in the slimy mush and a fetid odor thick-
ened the air. Clouds of mosquitoes and jejenes
added to the discomfort of our half-hour’s delay,
and the heat was appalling.
We finally embarked in a big ore wagon for our
slow journey inland. Passing the swamp region,
which is but a narrow coastal belt, we entered a
semi-open prairie country of gentle undulations.
There many royal palms caress the eye and groves
of live-oak, scattered about in park-like fashion,
suggest the hand of a landscape architect. Lack
of communication prevents this unpeopled stretch
of rich country from becoming a garden spot of
Cuba. This prairie belt is about two miles wide,
and then begins the hilly region of pine-bearing
elevations—the typical pine lomas already noted
that flank the central sierras on both sides. These
hills are not regularly aligned, but suggest a once
elevated plateau, now eroded into a confused
jumble of rounded knobs of from one hundred to
five hundred feet. They are composed of soft
friable sandstone and shale, iron-stained and dis-
posed in strata much tilted, distorted, and twisted,
72 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
and as far as we could discover, devoid of any
fossil traces of organic life. The company road
winds about through these hills with a gradual
ascent following as far as possible the crests and
ridges of the hills to avoid the washouts to which a
valley course would subject it.
The vegetation of the pine hills is very scant
for a tropical region, the royals entirely disappear
and are replaced by another feather-leaf palm
(Calyptronoma swartzt). On the slopes of the
hills are occasionally found groups of Copernicia
with gray leaves and slender stems, at this time
in full bloom, though quite different from the
stronger growing and richer colored species of the
plain. Here and there in the valleys we noted a
tree fern (Cyathea) which occasionally reaches a
height of fifteen feet. In the lower parts of the
hills was an occasional fine Cezba, or silk cotton
tree, but on higher elevations these are replaced
by the Cashew-nut (Anacardium occidentale)
which flourish everywhere in the poorest soil. The
entire region is thinly covered with tall straight
pines (Pinus caribaea) now mostly dead, the
result evidently of the great hurricane of a few
years ago. Whether this wholesale destruction of
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SANTA LUCIA TO AZUCAR 73
the pines which we first noticed at Esperanza was
effected by the stripping of the leaves or by some
unknown process of electrocution is impossible to
say. The fact remains that millions of pines from
the sierra to the sea and over an east and west
extension of forty or fifty miles have been wholly
destroyed, and yet there are but few evidences of
the trees having been struck by lightning and but
comparatively few blown down. The live-oaks
here, always growing in patches, resemble closely
the Florida tree, but probably are specifically dis-
tinct. A melastomaceous shrub, with spikes of
white, and a Malpighia, with spikes of brilliant
yellow flowers, now in full bloom, are everywhere
found over the hills and form perhaps the bulk
of the vegetation. Two pines are reported from
western Cuba, but we were not able to distinguish
here more than one. The ground is carpeted with
a long wiry yellow grass. In general the flora is the
outcome of the very poorest soil.
The hills become much higher as we approach
our destination. A last turn brings into view the
camp of the Matahambre mine, quite an impos-
ing settlement. With a background of barren
hills, it reminds one of mining camps among the
74 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
foothills of Colorado. Here are all the essentials,
the stables and corrals, the dormitories, the labora-
tories and machine shops, the residence of the
officials, and perched upon the steep sides of the
highest Joma we had yet seen—Matahambre—
are the sheds covering two tunnel openings, with
ore dumps trailing below. The Matahambre
property, though still in swaddling clothes, has
passed the stage of a “‘prospect’’ and is a mine of
proven output and real value. It is privately
owned and its stock is not for sale, a truly remark-
able mining concern.
We were cordially received at the administration
building by Mr. Morse, the director of the mine,
and bidden to a luncheon of luxurious quality.
With great kindness he had already arranged for
horses. We were all provided with good mounts
relieving us from the chief worry and fatigue of
Cuban mountain travel. The trails in the sierras
are often very steep and in the rainy season are
always slippery. A horse not accustomed to them
would soon come to grief, but even among the
mountain ponies, there is a great difference. The
best of them are sure-footed as goats and show much
intelligence in negotiating a bad path, and on level
SANTA LUCIA TO AZUCAR 75
stretches they adopt a fast walking gait or fox
trot. Such a horse is a treasure but is not often
for hire. The usual hired pony has a decided
disinclination to accelerate his pace above a slow
walk, hence the guide, upon his own good horse,
gets far ahead, while we, in constant desire to
catch up, must beseech and belabor our mounts.
When we do manage to increase speed for a few
brief moments, the result is a fearful shaking up.
In steep and slippery places poor horses exhaust
their riders more than themselves. We fully
appreciated Mr. Morse’s courtesy in securing for
us the right kind of animals.
After luncheon we enjoyed an illuminating chat
with our host when he gave us the benefit of his
observations upon the geology of the region and the
occurrence of ore beds in the neighborhood. His
conclusions concerning the geological history of
the mountains and the relation of their limestones
to the flanking sandstone and shales did not fully
coincide with our own somewhat hazy ideas, but
we had to confess that our opinions on the subject
were by no means fixed.
In a driving rain we set forth with our guide
Alvarez leading the way up the steep Loma de
76 CRUISE OF THE BARKERA
Matahambre to its very summit (one thousand
feet). From there we caught a superb view of
Azucar and the ranges east and west. Between us
and the sierra we could trace our route over many
lesser lomas, the path zigzagging along their crests.
After some two hours of travel we descended
sharply into a valley where the vegetation suddenly
assumed the sierra character, and blocks of white
honeycomb limestone appeared beneath a drapery
of leaves and the matted stems of creeping vines.
Here, then, were the remains of an old mogote, far
removed from the main sierra and possibly a
treasure island for us. We dismounted ina hurry
to explore the rocks, exhilarated by land-shell
possibilities. A perfect little gem of a banded
Eutrochatella (E. regina) of the Azucar type of
coloration and sculpture, but of miniature size
rewarded us, but there was nothing else of
importance.
Throughout this region of lesser Jomas we ob-
served many low trees of a species of Spondias,
bearing a plum-like fruit related to the Otahite
apple, which is eaten by the natives. There are
also several species of Ficus, among them F.
crassinervia with leaves resembling those of the
SANTA LUCIA TO AZUCAR 77
familiar rubber tree cultivated in the north for
ornamental purposes. A number of species of
small trees related to our hackberry and of the
genus Celtis are noticeable features of the flora.
One of these, Celits aculeata, is armed with small
hooked spines making it difficult to penetrate
their thickets.
About dark we entered the valley at the base of
Azucar (lower than the mine) and following the
Malas Aguas River eastward along the base of the
sierra we soon reached the tiny little settlement of
El Punto. The ézenda (store) at El Punto is made
glorious only by the good will and intentions of its
proprietor. Our arrival created considerable stir
among the population who no doubt wondered
why three Americanos and the distinguished
professor of Havana should turn up at the Pan de
Azucar. When they discovered that we were
naturalists, the youth of the village started in then
and there to collect anything and everything
that they thought might interest us. It was night
when we arrived quite ready for bed, but we were
obliged to remain up for some time to receive the
consignments of fireflies, bats, and other objects
that the boys brought in. Not until the proprietor
78 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
of the inn closed and barred his doors for the night
Soon there
were no sounds to disturb our sleep except the
9
could we retire to the “guest room.’
scurrying of innumerable rats.
While the shore party was on its way to Azucar,
those remaining on board the schooner put in a
busy day. At 5.30 A.M., Bartsch, Rodriguez, and
the Patron, with Greenlaw, again visited the reef
and some sandspits off the north end of Cayo
Hutia. They ran a line of dredgings between the
coral patches of the reef, taking bottom samples
but finding little life. In the early afternoon a
shower of three inches fairly deluged the earth.
Later, Bartsch, Gill, and Greenlaw, made another
series of dredgings along the mainland shore taking
some new starfish and a quantity of small material.
In the evening the opportunity offered by a perfect
calm was taken to try out the submarine light on
the reef. A position was taken in ten feet of water
immediately over a large mass of Acropora palmata.
The results were excellent in a fine lot of small
crustacea, worms, and plankton. A second station
occupied over a grassy patch also yielded good
returns.
CHAPTER VI
Pan de Azucar
Friday, May 15th. In all tropical regions, the
forests and open glades appear to reach their acme
of splendor in the early morning hours. This is not
owing simply to atmospheric effect, which we so
much consider in the viewing of all landscapes,
but because of the freshness of the vegetation and
the reawakening of all life at that time. During
the prolonged heat of a tropic day, all nature seems
drowsy. ‘The birds cease their calls and disappear;
insect life is less in evidence and the vegetation
itself loses in vigor. After the cool of the night
and a refreshing dew bath, the coming day is
greeted by a general rejoicing. Every plant
thrusts forth its leaves to absorb the sun’s rays
while still tempered by morning mists. All
animal life is rejuvenated and busily sets about its
day’s task with a vim that begins to flag by nine
and is dissipated by ten o’clock. This, of course,
79
80 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
does not apply to the night-prowling creatures
whose daylight hours are spent in concealment,
but they, however, do not figure in the visible forms
that make up our tropical scene.
This same stimulus of the dawn is felt by man
himself. Indeed, below 23° latitude, the success
of the day is largely dependent upon an early start.
In the north there is no such hour upon the calen-
dar as 4 A.M. In the tropics it is the beginning of
the best hours for accomplishment.
At daylight we emerged from our guest room,
assisted our host to remove the barriers from his
doors, and then for the first time we saw Azucar
at close range. Directly before us arising precipi-
tously a thousand feet and heavily draped in
dense vegetation it presents every feature of the
typical sierra.
The east and west extension of the mountain is
about five miles. Farther to the west and sepa-
ratedfrom Azucar by a valley of amile orsoin width
arises the large mass of Pefia Blanca—a moun-
tain belonging to the series of north and south axis
that terminates to the south in a series of high
mogotes about Guane and Mendoza. Aczucar,
itself, marks the western end of the ranges having
PAN DE AZUCAR 81
an east and west axis, and belongs rather to that
particular series called, about Vifiales, the ‘Sierra
de Vifiales”’ and the ‘‘Infierno.’”’ It is not there-
fore an integral part of the Costanera, or northern
range, which is in plain sight from the sea, al-
though it has every appearance of being a detached
extension of that northern system. Between the
western end of the Costanera and the eastern
end of Azucar (centered in a gap of five or six
miles between them) rises the conical Mogote
de Pan de Azucar. The land-shell affinities
of Azucar at once showed its connection with
the Vifiales range and not with the Costanera—
to which latter system belongs the large conical
mogote. It was partially to determine this fact
that we were here, and our eagerness to get started,
while we awaited our horses at the door of the inn
at El Punto, made each minute seem an hour.
We set forth at length with a definite plan of
attack that should enable us to accomplish the
most and cover the greatest possible area in the
one full day at our disposal. Simpson was to
begin collecting immediately in front and work
west—to the end if possible; Clapp and I were
to take the eastern end and work back, while Dr.
6
82 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
Torre and Alvarez were to go on for an examina-
tion of the mogote. ‘This sharp peak is so impor-
tant a landmark to sailors that it has come to be
called the ‘‘Pan de Azucar.’”’ The name is, how-
ever, erroneously given, for the true ‘‘Pan”’ is the
greater mass of the sierra itself, and the so-called
“Pan” should be the ‘‘ Mogote de Pan de Azucar.”
This is in conformity with the localities given by
Arango when he visited Azucar, and the name
is correctly given upon a map prepared by
American army engineers just after the Spanish
War.
There is need of better maps of this entire region.
The old standard maps of the Spanish cartograph-
ers, made half a century ago, are very incorrect,
and their lack of topographical data is a serious
omission. A few sheets prepared by the American
engineers covering parts of this region, though
hastily prepared and without careful triangulation
or positive measurements, are reasonably correct.
Leaving Simpson to attack the Pan at the
nearest point opposite, the balance of us rode
off to the east, fording a river and following the
valley along slippery trails. At a point about
three miles east of the tienda and near the east end
PAN DE AZUCAR 83
of the mountain, Clapp and I stopped. Here is
the house of one Rodriguez who raises tobacco
and gathers mangos and cocoanuts from old trees
surviving the destruction of the ancient finca
(farm) of the rich Francisco Marti. At the very
foot of Azucar this beautiful place, enclosing a large
area within the fertile valley, was once a famous
estate. Ruins of stone buildings now in pictur-
esque decay attest the importance of the place when
Pancho Marti, now many years dead, lived here in
true country gentleman style. A gloomy atmos-
phere now broods over the fields the jungle
is reclaiming. The fine fruit trees are sadly
neglected, and the once symmetrical rows of palms
have followed nature’s less orderly scattering of
their seed. Amid these stone ruins are now the
floorless thatch houses of the present proprietor
upon whom poverty and isolation have set their
mark. But no heartier welcome could have
been offered the stranger by the departed Marti
than is now offered by the living Rodriguez.
He picketed our horses and bade his rather pretty
young wife to fetch coffee. She returned with a
pot of coffee in one hand, a baby supported on her
other arm, and a torpedo-like cigar between her
84 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
lips. It was at this very spot that Arango stopped
fifty years ago and made the first scientific explora-
tion of the region. Since that time the mountain
has not been visited by naturalists, or at least no
published records of such visits exist.
Notwithstanding the labors of Charles Wright,
who, as already noted, for four years collected the
Cuban plants for Asa Gray and Ghiesbach, it would
seem that the botany of the sierra is even yet very
imperfectly known. Standing at the base of
Azucar—or any other typical sierra of the Organos
ranges—one is a little dazed by the heavy mass
of vegetation composed of an infinite number of
species of trees and shrubs. The lower portions
of the sharp elevations are densely covered with
a tangle of vegetation almost impossible to
penetrate. The “pull and haul” vines (Pisonia
aculeata), that in the more favored situations
attain almost the dignity of trees, present a barrier
as effective as barbed wire. The curved spines of
this vine point in two directions and are so dis-
posed upon the stems that they catch and hold
the bewildered victim in a double grip tearing
his clothes and lacerating his flesh. It was to us
a frequent occurrence to become so hopelessly
PAN DE AZUCAR 85
entangled in their painful grasp that without
aid movement in any direction was impossible.
Throughout this mass of vegetation along the base
of the mountains (and up for a short distance)
Celtis aculeata, a small tree with short stout spines,
is always encountered, and one must constantly
be on guard against grasping this tree for support.
Among the wilderness of vines, the spineless
Pithecoctenium aubleti binds the forest in every
direction and is ably assisted by another spineless
creeper, with stems of rope-like strength (a Chio-
cocca), which often makes a tangle defying pene-
tration. These lianes catch one’s feet, bind one’s
arms, or encircle one’s neck in the most exasperat-
ing way. Another, and one of the most curious of
all the creepers, occasionally met in such stations,
is the Bauhinia heterophylla. The stem of this
luxuriant plant is flat and so moulded as to re-
semble a heavy anchor chain. These ponderous
“‘chains”’ lie along the ground, sometimes twisting
one about another and finally ascending out of
sight in the foliage of the highest trees. It pos-
sesses bilobed leaves disposed in pairs, each leaf-
let separate. Everywhere is a mixed assemblage
of tropical trees that cannot at once be determined
86 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
by the botanist—a perfect wilderness of rich, lush,
bright green vegetation. 5
An abundant tree on Azucar is the Gliricidia
platycarpa with compound leaves and bearing
a pink flower very similar in form to our own
sweet-pea blossom. Among other flowering trees
there is an Erythrina, also with large compound
leaves, which bears long clusters of dazzling scarlet
bloom. They illumine the dark green of the
forest like elfin beacons. Another tree of very
scant foliage bears a vivid yellow flower growing
directly from the trunk or larger branches—a pe-
culiarity quite startling to the northern beholder.
Another yellow flower is that borne by the vine,
Mucuna urens, an abundant creeper throughout
the sierra, which climbs to the top of the tallest
trees. These flowers hang in clusters and are
succeeded by large prickly seed pods in which
nestle the red and black ‘“‘sea beans.’’ These
beans, when washed down to the sea, float in-
definitely, and many of them are eventually
cast up on the Florida beaches. When pol-
ished they are sold for ornaments or charms
against evil fortune. It is generally understood
that no one carrying a sea bean in his pocket can
—————— ee
A MOGOTE NEAR VINALES SHOWING SIERRA VEGETATION
Photo Co., Havana, Cuba
ican
f the Amer
ion oO
.
Reproduced by permiss
PAN DE AZUCAR 87
suffer harm through that bogy of bogies—Bad
Luck.
Some of the most remarkable growths of the
sierra flora are the Clusia of various species,
though chiefly C. rosea. This diabolical tree be-
gins its career as an innocent-looking little vine
clinging tenderly to some great tree as it pushes its
tendrils upward to the sun and light. Gradually
it envelops the tree in a network of green stems
which, growing larger and stronger, bind the tree
trunk in an ever tightening grip. In the mean-
time the upper reaches of this remorseless vine in
a deadly caress is choking the leaves of its host.
Gradually the spaces between the vine stems fill
up as they expand, and finally the original tree is
completely enveloped in a solid casement and
soon dies for lack of air and light. As the wood of
the dead tree decays, this curious plant grows in,
filling the hollowing space and becomes an endogen
or complete tree. This Clusia is but one of many
plants of similar habit, but it exemplifies in the
most cruel fashion the remorseless warfare of the
jungle. Here, indeed, is subject for thought.
Is there ‘‘justice’”’ in nature? Does nature recog-
nize a right and wrong? Is there any right and
88 CRUISE OF (THE BATGCERA
wrong beyond the creation of those terms by man?
In the vegetable kingdom we may assume that the
life process goes on guided only by that invisible,
unknowable force within, and free from any
possible influence of mental perversion, and yet
for this vine to reach its maturity and bear seed
it must destroy another life, and this without
animus or enmity or the excuse of self-defense. It
is a wholly unconscious process. Nature study
forces the conclusion that “right” and ‘‘wrong”
are social rather than natural considerations.
I have already referred to some of the commoner
thorny plants of the sierra, but one is so devilish
in its ingenious arrangement of spines that I must
mention it. This is the Malpighia urens, a large
shrub with lanceolate leaves which carry upon their
borders small forked spines pointing in two direc-
tions and delicately attached to the leaf edge by
the slenderest thread. These become detached by
the slightest touch and painfully injure the flesh.
There is also one other “‘aggressive’’ plant fre-
quently encountered about the base of the sierra
—the ‘‘cow-itch” (Mucuna pruriens). This vil-
lainous ground-creeper bears a fuzzy brown seed
pod liberally sprinkled with microscopic spicules.
PAN DE AZUCAR 89
When dry, these spicules are scattered into the air
by any disturbance of the vine and falling upon the
skin produce an irritation which drives one almost
frantic. .
Climbing higher up the talus of limestone blocks;
the area of densest vegetation is soon passed, and
among many species of large smooth bark trees,
all more or less bound in lianes, a number of long
slender-stemmed palms are met, the Gaussia
princeps, with bottle-shaped base. There are
usually a few royals and several species of Thrinax
with fan-shaped leaves. At an elevation of about
one hundred feet the top of the talus is reached,
and there begins the perpendicular paredon or wall
which rises anywhere from twenty to several
hundred feet. Its face may be a solid smooth
expanse of white rock offering no foothold what-
ever for vegetation, or it may present interruptions
in its even surface furnishing narrow shelves where
vegetation can find lodgment. From such situa-
tions exceedingly narrow-stemmed palms (Euterpe
manele) rise to great height, and many cacti
and agave plants cling to their insecure perches.
Of the numerous cacti the most prominent is the
climbing Cereus pitajaya whose rounded small
90 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
stems, covered with little acute spines, festoon most
of the large boulders exposed to the sun. Rhtp-
salis, with long slender drooping stems, hang from
high places; and in crevices, sheltered from the
strong glare of the sun, many species of ferns find
lodgment. One of the most remarkable objects of
the very steep slopes of high altitude is a green,
smooth-stemmed tree with swollen barrel-shaped
trunk, small head, crooked branches, and almost
no leaves whatever. The roots of this extraordin-
ary tree are long, smooth, sinuous, and bright
green, wandering over and under the rocks like
great snakes. They feel soft to the touch and give
a shock to the climber, who, with nerves already
on edge by reason of insecure position, fancies,
for a dreadful moment, that he has seized a boa.
One of the most strikingly beautiful objects in
this bewildering botanic exhibit is a soft wooded
tree with immense palmate leaves which are dark
green above and silvery white beneath (Cecropia
peliata). Ina breeze these great leaves flash their
white under-surfaces in alternation with the rich
green of the upper portion, making a moving
picture that fixes an exclamation point in one’s
confused memory of an overwhelming flora.
PAN DE AZUCAR gr
At the time of our visit to Azucar the rainy
season was well on. The warm moisture-laden
atmosphere insured ideal conditions for the col-
lector, though not for his personal comfort. Pass-
ing the heavy belt of vegetation at the mountain
base to attain the steep talus of limestone blocks,
now dripping wet, we fell upon a collecting experi-
ence most pleasant to dwell upon in retrospect.
Creatures theretofore sought by laborious over-
turning of many rocks now in astounding abun-
dance appeared in open sight. It was not a question
of searching for specimens but rather one of selec-
tion of the best from many. Among land-shells
the large Pleurodonte guanensis, with its elongate
corrugated body fully extended, crawled about in
every direction, sometimes several individuals in
sight. The vitreous Oleacina straminea, with
yellow body and long tentacles, crawled rapidly
over the rocks and vegetation seeking their living
prey. Everywhere the big Helicinids of the Emoda
group were active as well as the lovely smooth
banded Eutrochatella regina, a varietal form con-
fined to this one mountain. We reveled in a
conchological paradise, soon filling our bags and
every available receptacle, even resorting to the
92 CRUISE -OF THE BARRERA ~
makeshift of folded leaves, handkerchiefs, and
hats. Active myriopods darted about the fallen
wet leaves, quantities of the milleped Julus of
more sedate habit ranged the rocks and ground,
and a wealth of insect life invited capture.
While busily collecting, a flash of green and red
darted past and lodged upon a shrub not five feet
away—our first todi.
One of the most beautiful birds of Cuba is this
little todi (Todus multicolor Gld.) which, excepting
for the humming-birds, is the smallest of the
feathered inhabitants of the island. Its entire
length from the tip of bill to tip of tail is about
334 inches. The entire dorsal parts of the bird are
brilliant grass-green. There isa large throat patch
of bright scarlet, bordered by a zone of white at
the angle of the bill, which is replaced toward the
posterior end of the patch by a bright blue. The
under parts are white and smoky and the flanks
are washed with a pale scarlet. This little jewel
of a bird may be found anywhere in western Cuba,
usually in low shrubbery bordering some path, and
he invites your attention by a song, which recalls
faintly a relationship to the kingfisher, for if one
analyzes the kingfisher’s rattling note by repeat-
CUBAN TODY
(Todus multicolor Gld.)
Drawn by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
PAN. DE AZUCAR 93
ing itslowly ona graphophone it gives a somewhat
similar result. The song of the todi is chu-chu-chu,
quickly repeated four to ten times. He has also
‘another note that resembles his name, which is
simply a call-note emitted at irregular intervals.
The song, on the other hand, is often repeated,
and once having learned this note, it is not at all
difficult to findits source. The little chap is quite
fearless and permits one to approach within a few
feet while he sings for dear life, paying no attention
to the intruder. In feeding habit they are fly-
catchers, snapping up insects on the wing, then
returning to the perch and sitting quietly, with
head drawn in, the beak pointing upwards,
patiently awaiting the near approach of another
victim. In nesting habits, however, they resemble
the kingfisher, depositing their pure white eggs in
holes which they dig in the banks of ravines or
ditches.
The todies are peculiar to the Greater Antilles,
one species being found in Cuba, two in Haiti, one
in Jamaica, one in Porto Rico, and another of
unknown habitat. They are general favorites
with the natives on account of their excessive
tameness and lovely plumage. The Jamaican
94 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
species is known to the inhabitants as “robin
redbreast.”’
We also encountered here—as almost every-
Where in the sierras—the Cuban lizard-cuckoo,
generally called by the natives the arrzero, on
account of his note so closely approximating the
call of the plowman to his oxen—‘‘cklk-o-o0-0-0.”
This lizard-cuckoo (Saurothera merlini Orb.) is a
rather large individual, about twenty inches in
length, of which the long, broad tail makes up
three-fifths of the entire length, while the bill
adds almost two inches at the other end. Heisa
veritable clown, of curious, inquiring turn of mind
and extremely amusing in his antics. He can
readily be called by repeating his note. He comes
very near, but always insists on keeping some
branches between or at least he remains in the
shade, thus rendering photographing difficult.
Having responded to your call he will inspect you
carefully, moving his tail side-wise, to almost right
angles with the body or cocking it upward like a
wren. He may then sneak away slyly, almost
like a shadow, or he may spread his wings and
tumble over himself, chattering away as if he had
discovered the most amusing thing in the world
PAN DE AZUCAR 95
and was bubbling over with mirth. At such times
he is so comical that one cannot help joining in his
laughter. The arriero is one of the most in-
teresting members of the Cuban avifauna. The
color of the bird is pale grayish brown with a metal-
lic flush, the throat and the anterior part of the
under surface are grayish, washed with pale
brown, while the posterior portion is pale reddish
brown. The large, broad tail feathers, excepting
the inner ones, which are the longest, are tipped
with white and crossed by a broad band of black
just within the white tip.
During the course of the afternoon we sur-
mounted a low crest at the eastern end of the
Pan and entered a hoyo or crater-like depression
within, on the floor of which some enterprising
families cultivated tobacco. ‘These hoyos, or sunk-
en round valleys within the sierras, are another
manifestation of the cave formations constantly
going on. In the case of all hoyos the roof has
long since fallen in and disintegrated into a soil
of excessive richness, which produces by the most
primitive cultivation a superior grade of tobacco
leaf. As arule the dweller within the hoyo must
obtain water for his family use from rivers without,
96 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
hauling it up the steep sides of the sierra, and then
down again the equally steep sides of the ‘‘crater.”
The paths worn by his little horses seem hardly
fit for a mountain goat to travel.
While perched high upon the rim of the circular
valley, seeking to gather some arboreal Urocoptids
from the trees and at the same time to take in the
superb view, a thunderstorm of great severity burst
upon us. Swirling banks of mist united to form
dark clouds from which lightning leaped in terrify-
ing flashes, and the thunder seemed to rock the
mountain beneath us. In the presence of such
a mighty manifestation of Nature’s forces, man’s
natural powers of self-preservation are feebler
than those of the lower creatures about him. He
alone cannot afford to get wet for risk of illness.
Every animate thing about him cares little for the
wetting or even finds in it a positive benefit to
his life economy. By a superior intelligence the
human animal has built about him artificial pro-
tections—his armor of clothes and the fortress of
his house. Just so much as he has done for him-
self his mother Nature has left for him to do.
When suddenly stripped of his own self-devised
guards, he stands naked among the wild creatures
PAN DE AZUCAR 97
of the earth, the most helpless and vulnerable of
them all. His sensitive skin cannot resist the sun
nor stand a change of more than a few degrees of
temperature. His tender feet cannot bear the
touch of the earth. He is helpless before the com-
mon parasites and would fall before the attack of
any animal of half his size and weight.
It was well towards evening before Dr. Torre
and Alvarez arrived from their long ride to the
mogote and to the Costanera beyond. They had
remained at each just long enough to make a hasty
collection of the land-shells in sight. The return
journey to the inn was made in the dark over trails
the more slippery by reason of rain actually falling,
and the river ford had taken on an ominous look
and sound.
Simpson awaited us at the inn not wholly satis-
fied with his portion of the day’s work. The west-
ern end of Azucar had not proven as rich in
mollusks as he had hoped, but he took a quantity
of cuttings from shrubs and trees for propagation
in his botanic garden in Miami, and many speci-
mens for the herbarium. An experience during
the earlier part of the day, of a kind which occasion-
-ally overtakes the mountain prowler and usually
7
98 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
leaves him somewhat unnerved, had befallen him.
He had just missed toppling over a height with a
sheer fall of fifty feet, having saved himself by
grasping a none too securely rooted tree which for
a moment threatened to go over with him. Before
fully recovering his equanimity and still hanging on
“by all fours” he suddenly found himself gazing
into the face of a maja or Cuban boa,—a not .
altogether sweet-tempered serpent of 8 to Io feet
in length. Simpson, who is not a herpetologist,
simply and tersely described the snake as a “‘big
one”’ which gave such unmistakable evidences of
displeasure at the interruption that his already
excited nerves received a supplemental jolt.
Apparently all of the residents of El Punto were
awaiting our return to the inn to present us with all
manner of “‘curiosities’’ which they had gathered
during the day. There were many fresh-water
fishes and crustaceans and some interesting in-
sects, among which were fine specimens of the
large luminous beetle (Pyrophorus noctilucus L.).
These wonderful beetles are altogether different
from the common North American firefly, and
while no doubt the light-producing processes in
both are the same, the two belong to quite distinct
PAN DE AZUCAR 99
generic groups. These luminous elater beetles are
distributed over entire tropical America and are
represented by several species. This one is about
an inch and a half long and of a black or rusty
brown color. Its light is emitted from two oval
yellow spots on the prothorax and one beneath ex-
tending over a portion of the metathorax and the
first abdominal ring. Unlike our northern fireflies
this beetle emits a steady continuous greenish light
that glows with startling brilliance. The process
appears to be wholly voluntary, for if disturbed (or
when feeding) the beetle shuts off the light and as
suddenly ‘‘switches’’ it on again upon resuming
flight. The physiological-chemical reaction in-
volved in the production of this light still remains
a mystery. Experiments with the bolometer to
measure the heat of the glow have given only
negative results, although this sensitive instrument
responds to the heat of a star. The luminous
efficiency of the glow emitted by the beetle is re-
markably high—96%, and is, for its expenditure
of energy, actually the most efficient light known.
The luminous efficiency of a candle, for instance,
is less than one-half of one per cent.—for a tung-
sten electric bulb about 4%. Notwithstanding
ae CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
this perfection of economy in the production of
a light, the actual candle-power of the light is
extremely low. On account of its rays being con-
fined to green in the spectrum, the light emitted
would be of little use as an illuminant, for it would
distort all objects not of green color. The eye
is most sensitive to green, and the firefly having
produced a light that is restricted to the green
spectrum has succeeded in producing a perfect
light to be seen, but not a good light for the
illumination of objects. But such is obviously not
the purpose of the glow. It is almost certainly for
sexual attraction of other individuals of the species.
This beetle has the curious habit of all chick-
beetles of “snapping” by a convulsive muscular
movement causing it suddenly to leap without
employing either legs or wings. The elfin beauty
of the moving lights through the woods or over
the fields is very pleasing to the sight and inclines
one to accept again his childhood theories concern-
ing fairies.
The party remaining on board devoted the day
to a thorough examination of the shallow waters
along the mainland shore and within the small
lakes of the mangrove shore belt. The dredgings
PAN DE AZUCAR IOI
were not rich, although a number of mud-living
forms, especially worms and some excellent hy-
droids, were secured. Of mollusca, they took
several species of Tellina, one of Levicardium,
some large Bulla, and a number of the Veneride.
Among the dead mangroves bordering the main-
land Bartsch’s party discovered a large rookery of
water-birds. Here they observed large numbers
of breeding Mexican cormorants, some of the nests
containing fresh eggs, while others had almost full-
grown young. Here also were noted the anhinga
or snake-bird; a pair of West Indian tree ducks,
breeding in an old tree; some American egrets,
the reddish egret, the snowy egret, the Louisiana
heron, the little blue heron, the Cuban green
heron, and a yellow-crowned night heron, all
having nests in this colony. In addition to these
they saw between two and three hundred white
ibis, but could not locate their nests, but it is
possible that the time of the visit did not coincide
with their breeding period. This rookery Bartsch
reported to be a rather large one, extending
over a little more than a mile of the coast, and
there appeared to be many thousands of birds
occupying it.
102 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
Hauls of the dredge in the middle of the bay on
harder bottom brought up many ophiurans—one
a new species,—and a number of Strombus pugilis—
an old mollusk friend of Western Florida waters.
CHAPTER VII
Azucar to the Coast
Saturday, May 16th. As the rainy season had
begun in earnest and an afternoon deluge could
with certainty be expected, we decided to hurry
back to the mine before another torrential rain
should make the trails too bad for travel. A longer
sojourn at Azucar, with a visit to Pefia Blanca,
would have been desirable, but the expedition
schedule forbade more than three days for this
particular inland trip.
The chief grievance of the student traveler of
to-day is lack of time. The great naturalists of
a generation or two ago, Wallace, Bates, Belt,
Gosse, and many others of lesser reputation, who
have left us fascinating accounts of their travels,
spent years in the countries they explored. None
can appreciate better than ourselves the inadequacy
of a month or two in western Cuba for any real
acquaintance with its natural history. A hasty
103
104 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
visit, such as ours, can offer no more than a glimpse
at the fauna and flora and that too only in its
particular phase of the season, and naturally no
attempts can be made to inquire into the life
history of the creatures observed. One would
suppose that the rapid transit of to-day, condens-
ing months and weeks into days and hours, would —
yield to the collector additional time in the field.
Such, however, seems not to be the case. Indeed,
the very reverse is the result. The habit of haste
has been bred in us, and we must gallop through
paradise,time-table in hand. The coming aeroplane
packets will still further shorten our days for travel.
With temporary packing for horseback travel
of our very large catch of fragile material it was
quite 8 o’clock before we swung into single file and
began the slippery journey back to the mine. At
the little mogote, surrounded by sandstone hills,
we stopped once again to search more thoroughly
for Urocoptis, hoping hereby to forge another
link in our chain of animal migration and develop-
ment, but no trace of this genus could be found,
despite much grubbing about in the vegetation.
Banks of clouds that early indicated an after-
noon deluge were forming over the mountains,
OLD WIFE; ‘‘'PEJE PUERCO”
Colorados Reefs
Balistes vetula Linneus
Courtesy of U. S. Fish Com.
AZUCAR TO THE COAST 105
and a heavy lifeless atmosphere forbode more than
the usual downpour. We hastened to cross the
streams along the way. The final climb of Mata-
hambre and the steep descent on the north side to
the mine was accomplished just intime. The very
heavens opened as we entered the office building
and received a second welcome by Mr. Morse and
the mine Officials.
The Matahambre mine represents one of the few
successful attempts in western Cuba to extract
copper ore in paying quantities from the sandstones
of the lomas. The copper deposits of this region
occur in faults and are clearly intrusions through
the several fault channels which interrupt the
stratas of sandstones, shales, and slate composing
these hills. Mineralization has taken place on
both sides of the central east and west axis of the
province, but it is principally on the northern side
that ore in workable quantity has been found.
Along certain fairly well-defined channels, con-
siderable iron ore also occurs as a residual or
mantle deposit. According to Mr. Morse—who
has made a close study of the subject—there have
been in this region three distinct movements
which fractured and shattered the sedimentaries.
106 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
The first faulting opened up the formation and
resultedina slight mineralization through the deep-
lying serpentines below. The second movement
refractured and fissured the formation, and at that
time the heavy mineralization occurred. The third
reopened, fractured, and further faulted the strata
and permitted of a renewed enrichment of mineral.
These various movements which opened fissures
through which the mineral welled up and replaced
the sandstones and impregnated the adjacent strata
with copper salts, have left a very complicated series
of faults for the mining engineer to contend with.
His first problem is to chart the slips and verti-
cal changes. Mr. Morse conducted us through
the main tunnel pointing out the fault evi-
dences and demonstrating how a _ disappear-
ing ore-bed can be relocated, without the hazard
of guesswork. Typical analyses of the mixed
sulphide copper ores from the mine show:
Copper 23.39 Magnesia OI
Silica 36.55 Arsenic 02
Iron 13.04 Silver 1.80
Aluminum 7.35 Gold .02
Water 7.80 Lime trace
Sulphur 7.89
AZUCAR TO THE COAST 107
The actual output of the mine and profits accru-
ing, for obvious reasons, are withheld, but it is no
breach of confidence to say that the mine has paid
handsomely and has already netted its owners a
substantial fortune.
The area of mineral deposits is within a strip
extending from the Havana province line west
about one hundred miles—and in width from the
north face of the sierra to the coast—an average
of ten miles. Throughout this area of high sand-
stone hills, copper intrusions as at Matahambre,
are more or less in evidence and no doubt other
rich discoveries will be made. ‘Transportation to
the cost and harbor facilities are serious considera-
tions in this region.
The return trip to the coast was made in an ore
wagon and without incident. As we neared the
coastal strip of swamp we encountered almost our
entire ship’s company who were enjoying a ramble
ashore. They had collected many lizards and
with their guns looked like a lot of pirates on mis-
chief bent. To this accusation they replied with
equal force that we gave an excellent imitation of a
company of bandits, so honors were even. They
climbed into our ore wagon and all sang and
108 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
shouted in the exuberance of health and high
spirits. So disreputable a looking lot of merry-
makers were no doubt eyed suspiciously by the few
natives about the landing sheds of Santa Lucia and
they probably felt relieved when we departed for
our ship a mile or more away.
We had had a better opportunity upon this
Azucar trip to observe the geological features of
the country than had heretofore been presented to
us. The general features here are altogether the
same as evidenced in a cross-section about the
longitude of Vifiales. This consists, as heretofore
observed, of a central high range of precipitous
limestone sierras, with occasional detached out-
lying mogotes, and flanked on both sides north
and south by a wide belt of less elevated rounded
hills of sandstone and shales. The strata in both
are usually tilted out of the horizontal, dipping
northerly on the north side and southerly on the
south, the high limestone sierras of the center
making what would appear to be an anticline along
its east and west axis. The even trend of the
lines is often distorted and partially obliterated,
and the continuity of the strata, as already noted,
interrupted by faults. The sierra limestone some-
AZUCAR TO THE COAST Kole)
times is metamorphosed into various grades of
marble and in some localities well-preserved Am-
monites are found. In the highly altered and dis-
turbed sandstones and the more compact shales of
the /omas no fossils have as yet been discovered.
On the outer edges of the sandstones—to the north
and south—are occasionally found much denuded
patches of overlying Tertiary limestone. In the
deeper valleys among the Jomas evidences of
an underlying serpentine may be detected,—the
basic foundation of the island upon which all the
sedimentaries have been laid.
If the sandstones of the lomas can be accepted as
belonging to a later horizon than the limestone of
the sierras, a simple solution of the geologic struc-
ture of the region is at once suggested. Taking
the limestones to be of secondary age—probably
Jurassic—as indicated by the Ammonites, we may
imagine a horizontal strata of it of considerable
thickness resting upon the serpentine core of the
island and overlaid in the Cretaceous by the sands
and clays of the present lomas. Before, or at the
beginning of the Tertiary, a warping or folding of
the strata along the axis of the Organos Mountains
produced the wavelike conditions of strata shown
110 CRUISE OF THE BARKERA
opposite. The softer sandstone resting upon the
sides of the folded limestone below, yielding more
rapidly to denudation and gradually receding from
the sierras, finally left them exposed and to weather
down in their own peculiar fashion of fantastic
castellated peaks and vertical walls. The sand-
stones, on the other hand, have been eroded more
evenly into smooth rounded hills without particu-
lar alignment or system. Subsequent subsidence
and elevation would account for the occasional Ter-
tiary deposits and the Pleistocene coral rock fringes.
The absolute correctness of this explanation can
only be confirmed by the determination of several
facts—as yet unknown. One would be the finding
of limestone of the sierra series below by borings
through the sandstone, or by the discovery of a
point of actual contact of the two series, or, finally,
by discovery of fossil remains in the sandstone to
determine its age.
As a contribution to the theory of overlying
sandstones, Mr. Morse cited the lack of calcite
about the ore beds lying within the sandstone.
As these ore beds are intrusions from below forced
up in acid solution through the fault channels,
the presence of calcites scattered about the shales
et A eS
na - A ce
IN ABOUT
DIAGRAMMATIC SECTION ACROSS PINAR DEL RIO, NORTH AND SOUTH,
LONGITUDE OF VINALES—TO SHOW WARPING OF STRATA
AND SUBSEQUENT EROSION
a—SANDSTONE
b—SHALES
c—LIMESTONE
d—SERPENTINE
AZUCAR TO THE COAST III
would be an almost certain result, had an overlying
strata of limestone existed. This is, of course,
negative evidence, but nevertheless carries weight.
An objection (also negative) to the hypothesis
of overlying, and therefore more recent, sandstone,
is in failure to find any examples of strata im situ
showing such relative positions. Surely, it might
be urged, somewhere in this area of denuded sand-
stones there must remain some trace of an under-
lying limestone.
In all other parts of Cuba, limestone, wherever
occurring, is clearly superimposed upon all other
rocks and not infrequently only caps the highest
hills. Thus we were inclined to view the situation
in Pinar del Rio with ana priori theory that thesierra
limestone must be more recent than the heavy
flanking of sandstones and shales. Until acareful
recognizance by some trained geologist is made, no
positive conclusions need be accepted as to the rela-
tive ages of the twosystems, but in the light of pres-
ent observation it seems certain that the Organ
mountain limestone underlies the sandstone and
that its present dominance above the other along
a central axis is due first to folding and then to the
more rapid weathering of the softer sandstone.
CHAPTER VIII
Santa Lucia to Dimas
Sunday, May 17th. With the return of the
Azucar party, we resumed our westward journey
toward Cape San Antonio. The morning opened
with cloudless sky and gentle east wind. At 7
o'clock the air temperature was 78° and the water
82°. Our morning plunge precipitated the usual
discussion anent the dangers of sea bathing, but on
this particular occasion the debate was exception-
ally violent, for Lesmes happened to recall an es-
- pecially gruesome shark episode. We narrowly
escaped a general massacre.
Bartsch, Torre, Clapp, and Rodriguez proceeded
in the launch to take photographs of the Lucia bird
colonies, while the schooner was put under way,
and made out through a pass in the reef to blue
water beyond—the inside passage between the reef
and Cayo Hutia being too shallow for the Barrera.
The open sea without was calm; the most sensitive
being spared any doubts.
II2
SANTA LUCIA TO DIMAS 113
Landsmen at sea would surely hail a remedy for
mal de mer, accomplishing its end without paralyz-
ing the nerve reflexes. Seasickness is a nervous
disorder that may be likened to an acute pros-
tration, nausea being merely a resultant second-
ary symptom. Medical treatment would seem to
call for a doping of the nerves. As sensible people
object to ‘‘dopes,”’ the remedy is not desirable. It
is a duty of our nerve centers to warn and protect
us from danger. In an abnormal unstable condi-
tion of equilibrium these telegraphic messengers,
with danger alarms ringing and unheeded, become
wild and crazed, and the entire system of delicate
adjustments goes awry. By a forced reasoning
process our dutiful nerve centers may sometimes
be made to accept the unaccustomed motions as
both safe and agreeable and they become recon-
ciled. This satisfactory subconsciousness may be
brought about, by imagining oneself pleasantly
swaying in a swing or dancing some pirouette.
To combat the unsteady movements but adds to
the nervous panic. |
As the sea was smooth and the water perfectly
clear we were here given an excellent opportunity
to study the reef while slowly crossing it. That
8
114 CRUISE OF THE (BARRERA
the reef is a very flourishing one and occupies the
outermost edge only of the island shelf is altogether
certain. The gradient of depth without the reef
is exceedingly steep, the dark blue of ocean depths
being entered at once upon crossing the barrier.
For lack of proper apparatus for obtaining bottom
samples from the deeper water without the reef
we were unable to determine whether or not a line
of dead reef exists on the slope without. From
other indications, however, we were of the opinion
that the platform (the island shelf) is of fairly recent
submergence to about its present depth and that
the present living reef is too young to have ex-
panded very far in a seaward direction. The
coral polyps find here almost ideal conditions for
growth,—shallow water, high temperature, and a
steady current, richly laden with food sweeping the
edge of the shelf. No rivers with burden of silt
interfere and the water is of exceptional purity.
Along a rising coast successive lines of fringing
reef with occasional inner patches of dying coral
might be expected, the outer ones being in the
most flourishing condition. The Colorados, how-
ever, present but a single line of almost continu-
ous living reef without the inner patches of living
SANTA LUCIA TO DIMAS 115
young coral which would find suitable conditions
on a gradually deepening shelf. There are ap-
parently no young inner reefs to menace naviga-
tion within the outer barrier. A further evidence
of present stability of the platform and the youth
of the reef is furnished by the complete lack of
coral islands along the main line of the reef. Prac-
tically nowhere is the reef exposed save in a few
spots where an exceptionally heavy sea might
uncover a menacing tooth.
The bird-photographing party overtook the
schooner while off Cape Hutia, the light draft
launch permitting a short cut directly across the
reef. Failing wind obliged us to tow for a time,
but soon the northeast trade sprung up and we
bowled along at excellent speed. The sensation
of sailing in a heavy schooner is very agreeable.
Accustomed only to engine-propelled craft, we
enjoyed, as areal luxury, the steady gliding motion,
silent save for the swish of water at the bow and
the straining of cordage. When all goes well with
favorable wind and tide one can idealize in poetic
measure the sailing craft, but with a failing wind
one is inclined, like King Richard, to offer much
for horse-power.
116 CRUISE OF HE BARKERA
At two o'clock we anchored in the harbor of
Dimas, which, like all the “harbors” along this
portion of the coast, is no harbor at all. A dredg-
ing party immediately started out in the launch.
Lesmes gathered his fish-traps and put forth in
the auxiliary to set them. Torre, Simpson, and
Rodriguez proceeded ashore to look for Cerion
and to induce the natives to capture for us a speci-
men or two of the little crow (Corvus minor Gundl.)
that lives here within a remarkably restricted
range.
A final assault upon a stretch of shore line pre-
senting an elevated bank—the first so far seen
—netted us some snakes and lizards, a few crus-
taceans, jelly-fish, anemones, and some mollusks.
There were no Cerzons and our little crow eluded
capture.
Up to the present we were not wholly satisfied
with our marine collecting. The uniformity of the
soft bottom and the generally swampy character of
the shore had not given us the variety of conditions
we hoped to meet. Assurances of our crew that
more favorable conditions would be encountered
farther west made us impatient to get on.
Some wandering chubascos threatened us in the
SANTA LUCIA TO DIMAS 117
late afternoon, but finally resolved themselves into
a sunset of marvelous splendor. We turned in at
dark to be prepared for an early start the next
morning.
CHAPTER Ix
To Santa Rosia and Santa Maria -
Monday, May 13th. At seven we were on our
way with Santa Maria or the Estero de los Cama-
rones as the objective point, for there fresh water
of fair quality is obtainable from a river. Reck-
less extravagance had depleted our supply more
quickly than expected, and the necessity for re-
plenishing our casks was brought home to anyone
daring to ask the cook—the guardian of the tanks
—for a basin of water.
Little wind permitted but slow progress, so a
dredging party took to the launch for a series of
hauls near the reef in four to five fathoms, on
soft weedy bottom. In somewhat shoaler water,
another line of dredgings on harder sandy bottom
of sponge and broken shell yielded the best returns
so far with the dredge. Many Pecten were secured
which flitted about in a tub of sea water on deck,
by spasmodic opening and shutting of their shells.
118
TO SANTA ROSIA AND SANTA MARIA 119
These lively bivalves, like Lima and some allied
genera, possess a row of eyes upon their mantle
edges which, although not likely capable of clear
focused vision, nevertheless are extremely sensi-
tive to light stimuli. A passing shadow causes
every scallop instantly to close his shell, and any
attempt to seize one sets him darting about with
surprising quickness. Rapidity of movement and
ability to elude enemies is not in itself remarkable
even in quite low orders of life, but it is so in
Pecten, because they belong to a group of animals
(Pelecyopda) comprising many genera and thou-
sands of species of slow-moving creatures rarely
possessing traces of specialized visual organs.
If this apparent freakishness of nature were
carried out to the same degree among the higher
orders of animals, we would be justified in expect-
ing species of mammals with undeveloped sense
organs, or races of men with one eye centrally
placed, or possibly a row of eyes up and down the
spinal column or on the ends of the fingers. In
the lower orders specialized organs seem to be
easily attained or lost according to their use or
necessity in the vital economy of the species. One
is forced to the conclusion that all specialized
120 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
organs oi the senses, of digestion, of the circulation,
or any particular function, are in a sense merely
luxuries and extra gifts, for they are not funda-
mental necessities of life. Countless millions of
creatures, possessing none of these perfected organs
of special purpose, live in our world, fight their
battles, propagate their species, and survive, while
numerous higher orders, possessing many, have
failed in the life struggle. It seems clear that the
possession of any perfected special organ imposes
at once a dependence upon it which increases as
the organ develops. A blind scallop would have
small chance, while his near relative the lowly
oyster, who has no eyes at all, gets on perfectly
well.
We took here also some specimens of that
extraordinary looking fish called the ‘“‘toro”
or “‘cow-fish” (Lactophrys tricornis). As these
peculiar ‘‘trunk-fish’”’ (of several species) are
very abundant and well known they have been
figured and described in many books. Their
remarkable feature is a bony carapace that almost
completely envelops the animal and through which
project the tail and fins, the mouth andeyes. Only
these parts are movable, otherwise the body is
TO SANTA ROSIA AND SANTA MARIA 121
rigid. Theshape is also very bizarre. We found
them about rotting sponges, mangrove roots, and
in weedy bottom. }
The feature of the morning’s dredging was a
specimen belonging to an aberrant group of poly-
chete worms of unsuspected presence in these
waters.
About 11 o’clock very threatening weather with
violent wind squalls compelled the dredging party
in the launch to overtake the schooner, a difficult
task for the little craft that made a bad mess of it
in the increasing chop, while the schooner with
straining sails and following sea “carried a bone
in her teeth.’’ Arrived at the Estero the crew
entered upon the laborious task of watering. All
the big wine carboys stowed below were piled
aboard the auxiliary and filled from the sluggish
river that drained a swamp. We regarded with
suspicion this dark beery looking water, but it
proved to be excellent. Bad weather throughout
the afternoon interfered with further collecting
operations and with the preparation, as well, of
previously taken material. However, some dredg-
ing was accomplished, and a later afternoon expedi-
tion to the shore netted us some especially fine
122 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
Medusz and Actinians which were successfully
expanded in the magnesia bath. Among the
trophies of the day were some exceedingly beau-
tiful Aolids of pure white, with edges painted in
brilliant yellow. These nudibranch mollusks are
the veritable butterflies of the sea. Their colors
are startlingly vivid and their schemes of decora-
tion often fantastic and wonderful. This exten-
sive group of beautiful creatures inhabiting all
seas, of infinite variety and of superlative interest,
offer a most inviting field for investigation. Many
genera and species have been described and illus-
trated in color plates, but every day’s collecting in
favorable stations brings to hand specimens that
defy identification and are more beautiful than
any yet pictured in books. It takes a practiced
eye to detect them in the mess of rubbish dumped
from the dredge, for when disturbed these delicate
creatures contract into shapeless little masses that
appear to be of no importance and are allowed to
fall into the discard. When placed, however, in a
jar of clear sea water and permitted to rest for a
time undisturbed, these little lumps of nothingness
gradually unfold into exquisite beings. For pur-
poses of preservation, the beauty of our nudibranch
TO SANTA ROSIA AND SANTA MARIA 123
is like the loveliness of the orchid,—evanescent
and fleeting. Unless killed and expanded with
greatest care the graceful body shrinks into shape-
less distortion in alcohol or formalin and even at
best the glorious colors soon fade. The poor little
creature, bereft of its soul of beauty, presents a
pitiful object for study when finally placed in its
graveyard of bottles upon some museum shelf.
It seems useless, however, to comment upon the
beauty of any one particular object of nature that
happens to fall into our nets. That which we con-
sider beautiful is the approximation of some form
or color accepted in our narrow range of obser-
vation as pleasing. The truth is that all living
things possess a beauty that is almost perfection,
our own personal judgment being a matter of
education. The dullest hued and most incon-
spicuous creatures when studied are transformed
into objects of superlative beauty. Even the de-
spised cockroach and the common edible crab of
Long Island Sound are perfect creatures in their
own way and wonderfully beautiful. We havea
natural abhorrence for worms, because we instinc-
tively dislike anything that progresses in an un-
dulatory motion. It suggests snakes, and snakes
124 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
suggest poison, and poison suggests death. For
such remote reasons, therefore, a worm is taboo,
and from a conventional and probably even an in-
herited point of view, ugly and repellent, but no
phylum of the animal kingdom can offer a more
astounding array of beautiful creatures than does
the Annulata. |
The submarine light brought us a particularly
fine catch at night. )
CHAPTER X
Santa Maria to Los Arroyos
Tuesday, May 19th. An early morning visit to
the river for water (the third expedition for the
purpose) sufficed to fill our casks, while a field party
made a collecting tour farther up the river, return-
ing quite exhausted by the intense heat of the
swamp.
A desperate effort was made this morning to put
the cabin in order. Its confusion was twice con-
founded by the quantity of damp clothes that
had accumulated. Every member of the expedi-
tion by this time had become more or less aquatic.
We entered the water for collecting purposes when-
ever necessary and usually without bothering to
remove clothes. The rigging of the schooner was
always festooned with articles of raiment which,
because of saturation with salt water, never would
thoroughly dry. The coming of the afternoon
rains precipitated hurried raids upon the rigging
to rescue the garments for storage below, and the
125
126 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
result was a hopeless confusion of trousers, shirts,
underwear, and shoes on the cabin floor. Collect-
ing parties returning to the schooner would strip
off their wet clothes on deck and then hasten below
to overhaul the junk pile for something to wear.
Those fine discriminations between meum and
tuum, supposed to characterize civilized man,
became dulled, and the search for clothes was not
so much for one’s individual and particular gar-
ments as for any garments that seemed reasonably
dry and of approximate fit. Thus there were many
good-natured accusations of theft. ‘Some in-
famous scoundrel has stolen my only dry shirt”
was a frequent complaint of the late arrival, and
our crew was always vastly amused by our arraign-
ments of each other upon such serious charges.
Whenever, under dire necessity, one had to tap his
trunk for a fresh article of clean, well-laundered
linen, avarice shown in every eye and little plots
were hatched.
We had by this time seen enough of the coast to
form some definite idea of its configuration and the
reasons therefor, and we had had ample opportun-
ity to study the island-shelf over which we had been
sailing day by day. The rough sketch opposite,
“OVP *90G ‘doar uorssrulsag (SNMuUUIT) O14IStY aUkAYd OAT
SJo9Y SOpeIojOD Yo sayoyed paamy[n3 wos
HS!Id WOSSYSYYS
SANTA MARIA TO LOS ARROYOS 127
though not an actual map of any particular
spot, shows in a simplified form the physical con-
ditions of the shore line and of the submerged
plateau, which are repeated continuously over a
hundred miles from Cape Gobernadora to the Bay
of Guadiana. West of this latter point (to Cape
San Antonio) conditions are materially different.
From the base of the pine-covered hills, usually
two or three miles inland, the coastal strip is
composed of soils brought down by innumerable
small rivers, the topography showing a gentle
gradient shorn of all conspicuous elevations. A
relatively slight sinking of the coast in very
recent time has flooded the shore strip giving
an indefinite shore-line of swampy character. At
intervals of two or three miles are islands of main-
land formation disposed at about right angles
. to the general trend of the shore. These islands
represent the scant remains of low elevations
between the eroded river valleys now “‘awash”’ and
covered by a rather dense growth of mangrove.
Some of these islands have a core of solid land.
Tidal passages have been cut through some of
them, and their separation from the mainland is
not always positive.
128 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
Between the outer ends of the islands and the
coral reefs, a distance varying from one to five
miles, is a comparatively open water-way—the
‘fairway.’ Through the fairway the alternating
tides sweep east and west, keeping the channels
scoured out, save for occasional accumulations of
coral detritus and sand in eddy spots where sand-
bars, partially exposed, have formed by process
of tidal action. These little outer islands, sur-
rounded by elongated east and west bars, are
composed of coarse hard-packed sand, broken
fragments of coral, and vast quantities of broken
shells, and are generally devoid of vegetation.
Within and through the surrounding sand flats are
numerous deep channels with steep banks cut by
supplemental tidal action. The depth of these
passages is about the same as the floor of the fair-
way. It is, of course, obvious that these sand
islands, which usually lie just within the reef,
have nothing whatever in common with the man-
grove islands already referred to. Their formation
in all cases is likely due to some original coral
obstructions on the bottom which offered a trap
for the tide-swept detritus of the reef and which
were further aided by the fact that they happened
SAYOHS 4O HOLSAWS G3aZiivadi
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SUL 9 OD
SANTA MARIA TO LOS ARROYOS 129
to be eddy spots, or areas where the currents meet
and, becoming confused, release their cargoes of
sand and other material derived from the nearby
reef. The configuration of the bars is invariably
lengthwise with the direction of the current, and
attenuate at both ends. The very small part of
the bars usually exposed are gradually building up
by wave action. These bars now form the chief
obstruction to navigation by larger vessels of the
reef-enclosed waters.
Between the mangrove islands projecting out
from the shore at intervals of two or three miles
the depth of the intervening bays is very uniform,
shelving gently from shore to about four fathoms,
mud and sand bottom. In the area between the
ends of the mangrove islands and the reef the
normal depth increases to five or six fathoms and
is uniform and continuous save for the occasional
interruption of the fairway by the sand flats and
bars already described. The bottom within this
area is more diversified, but is usually a mixture of
coarser sand and finer mud in varying proportions.
The bottom, in general, even close to the shore
beaches, seems to be composed far more of material
derived from the reef than it is of sediments from
Q
130 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
the land. Whatever silts are brought down by the
small and unimportant rivers appear to be caught
by the shore swamps through which the rivers
sluggishly meander before reaching the sea. Over
all the bottom there are evidences of deposit of a
certain amount of oolitic mud resulting from the
activities of the denitrifying bacteria that release
the calcium in sea-water solution into infinitely
fine particles calcium-carbonate. The amount
here of this oolitic ‘‘mush”’ is exceedingly small as
compared with the vast areas covered by it in
southern Florida and the Bahamas.
Over much of the bottom is a growth of Thalassa
and other grasses and weeds, especially within the
bays. In the fairway are extensive areas of clean
sand-bottom interspersed with patches of marine
vegetation. Except within a belt adjacent to
the reef there are but few gardens of sponge and
gorgonians.
The last feature of the region, as already noted,
is the reef itself on the outer edge of the island
shelf. It varies in width from a few yards to a
half-mile, and its continuity is broken by numerous
channels across. Some of these afford ample way
for entrance of vessels of ordinary draft.
SANTA MARIA TO LOS ARROYOS 131
The presence of the Gulf Stream, which im-
pinges upon the reefs, together with the high tem-
perature of the water within the outer barrier
(82° to 84° in May and June), would justify belief
that a great wealth of marine life must here exist.
Our expectations in this respect were not fully
realized, a lack of diversity of bottom conditions
probably accounting for it. Itis hardly correct to
speak of a paucity of life within the area described,
but better of a lack of diversity of animal groups
that a wider range of stations would certainly
provide. Throughout the entire length of this
section of coast, there is no trace of shore lime-
stone; none of the Tertiary beds of the east, nor
of the elevated Pleistocene reefs of Cape San
Antonio.
About noon, while proceeding toward Arroyos,
we sighted, just off our course, a large sand flat
with about a half-acre exposed. We dropped
anchor fifty yards from the little island and all
put ashore with collecting equipment. This sand
flat presented an exceptionally fine opportunity
for study of such character of station, and we made
a very thorough exploration of it. Owing to the
shifting nature of the sands the flats seemed to be
132 CRUISE (OF JHE BARKERA
very bare of life, excepting for the many white-
spined sea-urchins, some large stars, and a few
holothurians. All of these creatures, especially
the latter, were busily at work triturating the
coarse sand by digestive action. They eat the
sand for the organic matter it contains subjecting
it to a grinding process. The amount of coarse
sand thus quickly reduced to finer particles is far
greater than one would at first suppose. No doubt
the feeding habits of these echinoderms constitute
an important factor in the breaking-down process
of reef from massive rock to finemud. Eddy rows
of dead shells along the edges of the channels
gave us a fair index to the molluscan species exist-
ing a little farther out on the reef, although they
afforded but few good cabinet specimens. The
excellent taste shown by the short-spined sea-
urchins in the selection of shells for their protective
armament aided us very greatly, and the choicest
specimens were obtained by robbing the urchins
of them. Standing upon the edge of the deep
channels and basins in the flats, we could see with
the aid of our water-glasses quantities of large
fish that swam lazily about their clear limpid
depths. These fish were not the usual reef species,
SANTA MARIA TO LOS ARROYOS _ 133
but those more eagerly sought by the fishermen
for the Havana markets.
Our Patron again distinguished himself by his
aquatic accomplishments. A large shark appeared
in the shallow water, and those near by decided to
capture him. The launch was brought around;
the Patron, poised on the bow with the grains,
watched for an opportunity to strike. The rapid
little launch with throttle wide open dashed about
like a polo pony following the ball. When the
right moment came, the Patron did not merely
hurl the spear, as might have been expected, but
threw himself with it upon the shark in order that
his weight would drive home the sharp points.
Fortunately for the big fish, the grains bent double
on his back and he escaped amid a great splashing
and swirling of water, in the midst of which floun-
dered the Patron. Soon after, we had more ex-
citement in an attempt to capture a huge skate
that flapped his way over the shoals. I am sure
we all felt relieved that our prey had escaped. As
we could have done nothing with either shark or
skate had we caught them, our attack upon them
can only be attributed to a flare-up of our savage
natures—an assault with intent to kill for the pleas-
134 CRUISE OF (RHE (BARK ERA
ure of killing. There is nothing more distressing
than the wanton wish to destroy life. This desire
amounts almost to an instinct and is a surviving
impulse from our carnivorous ancestors of the
cave-dwelling era. In thoughtless and heedless
manner and under the elastic term of ‘“‘sport’’ we
have exterminated many harmless birds and ani-
mals, and now with the opening of Africa we are
destroying the last survivors of the big mammals.
If our civilized women who treat their pets and
domestic animals with lavish kindness could only
realize the cruelties of the plume hunter and the
fur trappers of the north, they would surely find
substitutes for the feathers in their hats and the
fur for their garments. Much has been written
of the egrets and other birds that now approach
extermination through the wholesale slaughter in-
spired by human vanity, and happily there has
been found enough humane feeling to check it.
Less, however, is known of the suffering of the
fur-bearing animals of the north, that perish mis-
erably in the steel traps, if they fail to gnaw off
the imprisoned foot that is lacerated in its steel
jaws. A feeling of comradeship with all living
creatures of the forests meets a response with
SANTA MARIA TO LOS ARROYOS _ 135
many a resultant pleasure. It brings happiness
of a higher quality than can the momentary satis-
faction of a good shot at cost of alife. Life isa
sacred thing. We do not know what it is; we
cannot create it; it is the mystery of the universe.
To wish to take it wantonly can only be explained
on the hypothesis of a survival of primitive in-
stincts. That this must be the case is demon-
strated in the fact that a people, representing the
highest type of civilization and who individually
are the kindest men and women in the world, enjoy
to the utmost the ‘‘sport”’ of slaughtering pheas-
ants by the hundreds and thousands that have
been raised for that special purpose.
With a strong breeze we continued our way,
arriving at Los Arroyos about 6 P.M. and anchored
off the steamer pier. Los Arroyos is a port of call
of a coasting line of steamers from Havana and is
a town of several hundred. As we needed alcohol
and some few provisions, a shore party immedi-
ately landed. Our crew showed much interest
in Arroyos, and all of them made preparations
for a visit to the town. A vast amount of prink-
ing and unlimbering of neckwear followed, and
some of our crew we hardly recognized in their
136 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
new apparel. The reason for all this hair brushing
and cologne appeared later when we learned that
Los Arroyos cherishes a tradition of pretty girls.
The Patron, however, alleged that all good tradi-
tions of Los Arroyos were only myths. While on
the subject, however, he did not mind telling us
that he knew a place where the women were all
beautiful and the men all brave, and that was his
own blessed island of Majorca in the far-away
Mediterranean Sea.
CHAPTER XI
Los Arroyos
Wednesday, May 20th. A combination of cir-
cumstances decided us to remain at Arroyos a full
day. In the first place, May 20th is a day of
fiesta, and Dr. Torre was in demand as an orator
to help out the festivities arranged by the loyal
sons of Arroyos in celebration of this, the Cuban
day of independence. The genial doctor, whom
we called Don Carlos, appearing in his ceremonial
garb of black, proceeded ashore in much state, to
be met at the wharf by the Alcalde and a commit-
tee of distinguished citizens. Greenlaw had also
announced that the engine of the launch had a
distemper that required treatment. ‘The electri-
cal equipment from constant wetting leaked from
every pore of its soggy insulation. We were over-
whelmed with material collected that needed
proper treatment and packing. And finally, a
Havana steamer was due with mail.
By noon the last of the tagged parcels wrapped
137
138. CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
in cheesecloth were consigned to the alcohol
tanks, the last bottles sealed, the remaining snakes,
lizards, and fish were injected with formalin and
stowed away. The actinians and meduse from
the Estero, having received their bath of magne-
sium sulphate and cocaine, started on their pro-
gressive course through the various alcohols. The
last of the material from the Azucar expedition
was finally disposed of, and the satisfaction of
having caught up with our work rested joyfully
upon us. Only Gill with his paints and brushes
toiled on, for his task was, in the very nature of
things, never-ending. What a luxury it would be
upon a collecting expedition to have along a corps
of well-trained preparators to do nothing but look
after the catch! With collectors constantly at
work, the material multiplies very rapidly and
for satisfactory results the specimens require im-
mediate attention when brought aboard. Half
the value of a catch depends upon quick and
skillful treatment, while many groups of ma-
rine creatures brought in are lost if not put
through an immediate process of killing, ex-
panding, and final baths in alcohol. The field
parties usually return to the ship tired, longing
LOS ARROYOS 139
for dry clothes, rest, supper, and bed, and some-
times they are ready for bed without the pre-
liminaries. :
About noon, the Havana steamer, the Antolin
Collado, an ancient side-wheeler, flapped into
port, but alas, brought us no mail.
Vicious-looking chubascos gathered about shortly
after midday, and a hot moisture-laden wind
sapped our energies already depleted by the long
morning’s work. Later, the wind shifted to a land
breeze blowing cool and fragrant with the scent
of trees and bearing to us strains of the curious
Cuban music that was probably a part of the day’s
merrymaking in Arroyos. The effect of a drop
in temperature was like wine. Everyone pulled
himself together and found something todo. The
chickens in the coops forward ceased drooping;
simpson began to pace the deck impatient to
get busy, and making uncomplimentary remarks
about the Spanish-American weakness for fiestas.
Lesmes awoke and began repairing his traps.
Unable to stand further inaction under the stimu-
lus of the cooler air, a dredging party went out in
the launch, now restored, and made a series of
very successful hauls in two to three fathoms, off
140 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
Buena Vista Key. A shore-collecting party met
with less success.
In the early evening Dr. Torre arrived on board.
He was happy but hoarse, for he had made a num-
ber of speeches that ‘‘took”’ and had met witha
very cordial reception. About dinner-time the
versatile Don Carlos was busy forward superin-
tending the making of pineapple ice, and thus in
a way we all of us shared in the celebration of
Cuba's independence.
.
:
.
:
CHAPTER XII
Los Arroyos to Punta Colorado
Thursday, May 21st. Before starting again on
our westward journey another landing had to be
made for fresh provisions ordered the day before.
At 9 o'clock we were under way with all sup-
plemental sail set. The weather outlook was
anything but encouraging. Great banks of storm-
clouds, forming over the sierras, gave forebodings
of trouble, and puffy shifting winds warned us to
be alert. The chubascos were getting more fre-
quent and angry, while the steady northeast
trades were being more and more interrupted by
fickle winds. We were now very desirous of
getting into the waters about the western extrem-
ity of Cuba, for there we believed would be en-
countered more varied conditions of bottom for
the dredge. The extension of land from Guadi-
ana Bay to Cape San Antonio we knew to be
geologically different and we anticipated there
better collecting conditions. Punta Colorado,
141
142 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
until yesterday (geologically speaking), was the
northwest extremity of Cuba. To the west of it
extended for many miles a shallow sea covering
the island shelf. Along the southern part of
this shelf a wide coral reef was built. Then a
Pleistocene elevation of about forty or fifty feet
added this reef to the main island with Cape San
Antonio marking the western terminus. This
recently acquired territory, as might be expected,
presents a very different aspect from that of the
older country to the east. It is low and level but
not the result of denudation, and on account of its
limestone (reef) foundation is heavily forested.
' As we closely passed Points Avalo and Pina-
tillo to avoid the shoals of extensive sand flats
without, the storm-clouds that had obscured the
receding sierras dissolved revealing for a time the
north and south range already alluded to which,
beginning in Pefia Blanca on the north, traverses
the island. This mountain system may be the
result of a second warping that elevated the lime-
stone mass along an axis at right angles to that
of the Organos series. ‘The range, from our pres-
ent point of view, seemed to be continuous to a
point about Guane near the southern coast where
LOS ARROYOS TO PUNTA COLORADO 143
it is then broken into detached peaks of consider-
able height. The last points of land jutting out
from the mainland—Capes Avalo, Pinatillo, and
Colorado—differ from the series of projecting
islands which we had been passing every day, only
in that they are more elevated and consequently
not merely mangrove patches. Upon them are
some houses, but their trees (as along the entire
coast from Esperanza) appeared to be either
dead or greatly injured—probably the result of
hurricanes. Itwasarelieftosee white sand beaches
replacing the monotonous mangrove littoral.
Through some misunderstanding of orders we
overshot our mark at Punta Colorado and sailed
on toward the land dimly discerned beyond—the
beginning of the raised coral reef region already
referred to, that terminates some forty or fifty miles
farther west in CapeSan Antonio. Where this new
Pleistocene peninsula connects with the older main-
land is a deep indentation in the coast called the
Bay of Guadiana at the head of which is the little
village of La Fe. This is the last port of call for
the coasting steamers plying west of Havana, and
from it may be reached by a somewhat uncertain
stage line the terminus of the railroad at Guane.
144 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
Finding ourselves at Punta Tolete, west of
Guadiana, we decided upon a prospecting shore
raid. Our disappointment was great to find the
shore a hopeless mangrove jungle with no trace
of calcareous rock in sight. The exposed coral—
the backbone of the land—was too far back from
the swampy coast to have justified an attempt to
reach it from this point, so we contented ourselves
with making a number of dredge hauls. The
species taken were largely different from those of
any dredgings theretofore made.
We had special reasons for wishing to stop at
Punta Colorado, as a reported sponge bed near the
end of the point gave promise of some good col-
lecting, and an American-owned fruit-farm on the
cape offered opportunity to replenish our supply
of oranges now about exhausted. Accordingly
we put back, coaxing our way against a diminishing
wind. It was too late to accomplish anything
when we finally anchored in the open off the cape,
but a shore party utilized the remaining hours of
daylight for a preliminary survey of the beach.
The bottom hereabout seemed to be of hard
sand and fairly paved with sea-urchins and stars.
At night the submarine light brought us unusually
_
LOS ARROYOS TO PUNTA COLORADO 145
good returns, a notable feature being a fine large
species of Hippocampus—the “‘ sea-horse.”
At dinner that night. we had an instructive
conversation upon man’s ability to accomplish
wonderful feats of strength and agility when under
the stimulus of great fear. The subject was intro-
duced by a member of our crew who had acquired
a good working knowledge of unnatural history
through extensive reading of the Sunday supple-
ments. His imagination, so nourished, peopled
the earth and the waters beneath with many
strange creatures, which, if captured, would neces-
sitate a complete revision of zodlogical classifica-
tions. He recounted with perfect faith the exploit
of a friend who, being capsized upon the reef, found
himself surrounded by sharks. His efforts to
gain a footing upon the sharp corals only resulted
in cruel laceration of his feet and hands. In such
predicament he was forced to mighty effort to
save himself and he then and there accomplished
what might seem, to one of limited experience, a
very miraculous thing. He ran along the surface
of the water for a hundred yards or more—to be
exact, a trifle over an even hundred yards—to shore
and safety. We were all stunned into silence.
ro
146 CRUISE (OF THE BARRERA
From the total of our combined experiences and
reading we could recall no such defiance of the
laws of gravity, save possibly the one of biblical
reference which delicacy forbade mentioning.
Then Dr. Torre forged to the front and saved us
from a humiliating rout. With great solemnity he
told of a friend of his own who had accomplished
what might appear to the ignorant as a wholly
impossible feat. Said friend merely in a mood of
sportiveness was once running around a tree just
to see how fast he could do it. His speed in-
creased until he fairly seemed borne upon the
wings of a cyclone. So great had become his
momentum that he was unable to stop and danger
became imminent lest the strain upon heart and
brain would result fatally. Then it was that a
great inspiration came to him, and like the man on
the reef he also made a mighty effort. Reaching
forward he actually seized himself around the
waist and hanging on for dear life succeeded
finally in dragging himself down. He certainly
saved himself from an awful fate.
We turned in a little apprehensive, for our
anchorage was exposed, the holding ground bad,
and the weather very threatening.
CHAPTER XIII
Cape Colorado to Cape Cajon
Friday, May 22d. Our anticipations of a bad
night were fully realized. The wind howled dis-
mally, creating an ugly chop. At daylight the
Patron, Bartsch, Clapp, and Rodriguez, in the
launch, followed a native fishing sloop bound for
the flats to haul seines. By means of a “silver
hook” they obtained fine specimens of the com-
moner species of fish taken in the sloop’s nets. A
few dredge hauls added but little to the morning’s
foray, the most notable acquisition being a slender
smooth species of Denialzum, new to our collecting,
and some spiny murices. The reported sponge
bottom could not be located, the roughness of the
water preventing any clear view of the bottom.
The American fruit-farm, like the sponges, proved
traditional, and our visions of golden fruit were
dispelled. If there is such a farm it must be
located far back in a better and greener land than
Cape Colorado presents to the view. Possibly
147
148 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
the cheerless dull sky lent some of its own gloom
to the land below as dull skies everywhere are
likely to do. We felt no desire to explore the
country but rather to push on rapidly as possible
to the ‘‘promised land’’ of Cape San Antonio.
Anticipations of great success collecting about
san Antonio had gradually taken on a rosy glow.
Our fancies of the place were stimulated by re-
peated assurances of our crew, that there the par-
ticular marine conditions we sought would be
found. At that point the majestic Gulf Stream
sweeps in close to shore, while rocks and reefs
abound and large tide pools harbor the very aris-
tocracy of marine life. By degrees we even began
to believe that there, beneath an everlasting sun-
shine, the waters were always calm and sparkling,
with no rain to chill, no wind squalls to baffle, and
no choppy waves to vex.
By 10 o'clock we started upon our long run
with every sail set. Our boats—the auxiliary,
launch, and tender—trailed behind in single file.
At first we made fine progress with a strong fol-
lowing wind bellying out the big try-sail, the small
craft astern threatening each other in a race down
followirg seas to overtake the schooner towing
Dee gy eer RR Gal legen gegen epee, ice Giietteee eatnc aN Rage ae eat ee teins Ye
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wiles
CAPE COLORADO TO CAPE CAJON 149
them. Having passed the entrance to Guadiana
Bay we followed, about a mile out, the straight
densely forested shore line of the low peninsula.
Then the wind ceased and a fine drizzling rain set
in. We performed various feats of necromancy
to entice the wind, but by some error in the process
we brought only puffs from the wrong direction.
A succession of calms, hard squalls, and shifting
light airs was meted out to us, and the fine rain
never ceased. Only some attempts to dredge
from the launch during the calm periods seemed
an effective method of bringing wind from the
right direction to our sails and then we would
have to scramble aboard again, and the wind
would at once disappear. Besides this, the launch
engine had caught some new ailment from the
damp air, that left it very weak. We gathered
about it, felt its pulse, and inspected its tongue,
but our solemn consultations took on the funereal
aspect as of those administering the last sad obse-
quies to a dearly beloved engine. Let it be re-
corded that a high-tension jump-spark ignition
system is not the best for exposure to rain and
spray. A low-tension make-and-break outfit is
more reliable under such conditions, and absolute
150 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
reliability of the power plant is of first impor-
tance in navigating about coral reefs.
All, including the crew not on watch, finally
settled down for an afternoon of quiet resignation.
As many as could do so crowded into the cabin
and lay about in various attitudes suggestive of
discomfort or actual suffering. The floor of the
cabin seemed to be an exceptionally hard one,
but this evil could be mitigated somewhat by
gathering together as many clothes as possible
(not already appropriated by others) to form a
thin mattress and by using the edge of a steamer
trunk or suit case for a pillow. It remained always
a question whether it were better to stay below
where there was no air but it was dry, or go on
deck where there was an abundance of air but it
was wet. The solution of the problem seemed to
be found in that the other place was the better,
and a more or less continuous procession of the
discontented crawled up and down the ladder to
test out their theories on the subject.
About 3 P.M. the rain ceased and a fine east
wind sprung up—the normal trade reasserting
itselfi—and immediately life became worth while.
The clearing skies revealed a water horizon back
CAPE COLORADO TO CAPE CAJON 151
of us, the sierras now having dropped out of sight.
On the horizon ahead, tops of trees, apparently
far out to sea and raised high above the water
by mirage effect, gradually developed into solid
forest as we approached. The upright steel
column of the wireless station at Cape San Antonio
appeared indistinct above the forest. Finally the
Cayos de la Lefia, a group of small mangrove
islands lying close into shore, were passed and just
beyond them we anchored at 6.30, about a half-
mile from shore. Two or three miles beyond is
Cape Cajon which, had we rounded it, would have
placed us beyond and west of Cuba, for here the
shore turns for a few miles to the south and then
to the east ‘“‘on its way back.” About midway
along this north and south stretch is the Light-
house “Roncali’’ and this is Cape San Antonio.
It would have been quite possible to round Cajon
and take a position for the night off the light but
our Patron advised against it. The currents there
are strong, the holding very bad, and the posi-
tion exposed to all but east winds. The pseudo-
basin formed by the Lefia keys, the arching-in
line of shore and the projecting Cape Cajon,
offered a better haven with its partial shelter and
152 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
good bottom for the anchor. Although a bad
place in a norther, the chances of one are prac-
tically nil so late in the season.
At last we had arrived. In the failing light we
distinguished limestone rock ashore—at one point
quite clearly discernible. We would therefore
make the Ensenada de Cajon our headquarters
and use the launch and auxiliary to reach all other
points of interest, to visit the light, and to explore
the shores. The Patron warned us, however, that
this was a veritable graveyard of ships and the
place where all bad weather was manufactured.
We turned in early, eager for the morning to
come and end our laborious inaction.
CHAPTER XIV
Cape San Antonio
Saturday, May 23d. Daylight brought a per-
fect realization of our rosy day-dreams concern-
ing the waters about Cape San Antonio. For the
first time in a number of days the sun arose into
a cloudless sky, and a fresh dry atmosphere pre-
saged fine weather. The water about us was
crystal clear. We could see the anchor chain
winding along the bottom through the marine
growths until lost by refraction twenty or thirty
feet beyond. Lying in a cove near the shore were
several large schooners loading sacks of charcoal
for Havana. It was disappointing that the shores
in sight were swampy and fringed with mangrove
and buttonwood. In one spot, however, near
a deserted house toward Cajon Point, was an
indication of limestone rock. At the point of
land nearest us, and opposite our anchorage, ap-
peared a narrow opening into the forest with a rude
dock; otherwise there seemed no break in the
153
154 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
solid forest front, and the country appeared to be
an uninhabited wilderness.
The Lefia keys were obviously mangrove
though probably built upon a core of coral rock.
Looking north, over the open sea, no evidence of
the coral reef, the Colorados, could be distin-
guished. From Antonio to Cape Colorado the
reef lies far out, quite out of sight of land, and
presents a grave menace to ships, being unmarked,
unlighted, and uncharted. It is placed on the very
edge of profoundly deep water and is swept by
currents whose directions, force, and frequency
are but vaguely known.
Torre, Clapp, Simpson, and Rodriguez elected
to join forces in a shore party. They entered the
woods through the little opening at the dock, find-
ing there the terminus of a roughly laid narrow
gauge track, used by the charcoal men to bring
out their sacks of fuel from the interior forests. |
A mule-driven car was captured that had just
discharged its cargo, and was about to return, and
so the party enjoyed the luxury of a ride, which,
however rough, was better than walking along the
widely spaced ties. Traversing a swamp of about
a mile, the party encountered the first solid rock,
COS APG Rte TRB 8 9
A SHORE PARTY ABOUT TO LEAVE THE SCHOONER
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 155
a reef-formed limestone, and there they began a
search for land-shells.
Barring one or two species of Urocoptids taken
by Charles Wright some fifty years ago at La
Jaula, in the extreme eastern end of the peninsula,
there are no records of land-shells from this entire
region. It is, indeed, a ferra incogniia to the
naturalist. As it differs in all physical characters
from the sierra, or the pine loma region, it was
reasonable to suppose that some discoveries of
interest might result from our visit. This country
is of a type that corresponds closely to the flat
slightly elevated coastal strip found south of the
Cienega de Zapatos and also in the south half of
the Isle of Pines. Its forest character is quite the
same and all the physical conditions of life are
wholly similar. We believed that its fauna would
prove to be generically similar but specifically
distinct, at least among the land-shells, and such
proved to be the case to a very large extent.
The shore party was obliged to combat clouds
of mosquitoes that never ceased their ravenous
attack from the moment they entered the woods.
Continuing some three miles farther, collecting
along the way, Clapp and Simpson abandoned the
156 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
car in order to make a short cut of about two miles
to attain the other—the Caribbean side of the pen-
insula. Here, to their great joy, the first Cerion
were taken. Torre and Rodriguez continued in
the car bound for the cape, eventually arriving
at the lighthouse.
The return journey afoot of Clapp and Simpson
through the hot forest and swamps was a heart-
breaking experience. As this was intended for a
preliminary skirmish to get the lay of the land,
note the character of its vegetation and prospect
for the best collecting stations, more time was
spent by them in forging ahead to explore than in
actually searching for specimens. However, the
-land-shells they did obtain were of great interest
and specifically different from anything so far
collected upon our expedition.
Having provisioned the launch for a day (the
engine had revived under drier weather conditions)
and with a great array of collecting paraphernalia,
Bartsch, the Patron, and myself, with Greenlaw
in charge, set out for adventure, prepared to follow
wherever it might lead. We first inspected the
Lefia keys and made some hauls in the narrow
deep passages between the islands where a bottom
Bret :
ed coral patie
Scatter
= Swamp — ~
Deep blue watey
Forest Forest
Thin Forest
2 3 MILES
CAPE SAN ANTONIO
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 157
of soft peaty character thinly overlays a flat rock
foundation. Outside of a narrow belt of such
vegetable deposit, immediately adjacent to the
keys, the bottom takes on the character of a young
reef growth, and through perfectly clear transpar-
ent water presents the fascinating ‘‘marine garden”’
aspect. There are occasional isolated coral heads
of considerable size (Porites), about which hover
many of those brilliantly colored little fish that
seem always to be associated with such stations.
These little sea children of the spectrum find secur-
ity close to the sting rays of the actinians, and
those that do not live about the coral heads and
among the caves and holes of a reef follow closely
under the shelter of floating medusz, relying upon
their poison filaments to protect them from their
enemies. That the streamers of the Physalza,
for instance, afford good protection there can be
no doubt, for nearly every floating ‘Portuguese
man-of-war”’ harbors a little colony of these com-
mensal fish. Such a sea bottom as here found
is a favored station for many sponges, the sea-fans,
purple and yellow (Rhipidogorgia flabellum) and
other gorgonians (G. acerosa, heptogorgia, virgulata,
and Xiphigorgia anceps), Plexaura, hydroid colo-
158 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
nies of large bushlike appearance, and the many
little tree-like madrepores.
It was here we saw our first sponges; they were
exceedingly abundant and large. Of the several
species and their varieties that are sought for
commercial purposes in Antillean and Floridian
waters, I think we noted here about all, but I do
not know that any sponge fishing has ever been
regularly followed in this region. If not, it may
be owing to lack of the only really valuable species
—the “‘Sheepswool’’ (Spongia equina gossypina)
in these waters. None of us were sufficiently
expert to identify the different species merely by
looking down at them through the eight or ten
feet of water, for several of the sponges while
growing on the bottom look much alike to the
uninitiated. This would certainly seem to be an
excellent field for prospecting on the part of the
Key West spongers who are now hard driven to
find fresher fields for their industry. One of the
most usual as well as picturesque sights in South-
ern Florida and Bahaman waters is the fleet of
spongers with their strings of diminutive little
tenders trailing out behind their sloops, and
in each tender the collection of long poles
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 159
with hooks attached. We saw none of these in
Cuba.
Again our Patron acquired merit by his wonder-
ful aquatic accomplishments. Any interesting
looking object on the bottom that we coveted,
needed but to be indicated and he would dive,
never failing to secure it for us. Once, after a
long struggle, he wrenched loose from its moorings
and brought to the surface a huge loggerhead
sponge, weighing quite fifty pounds, his breast
and arms smarting with its spicules. Thus thr
Patron obtained for us a fine lot of choice speci-
mens of gorgonians, madrepores, alge, etc. For
the less obvious life of the ‘‘ gardens’”’ we had resort
to the dredge, although such a bottom is not well
adapted to this mode of collecting. Besides the
difficulty of frequent fouling below, another trouble
beset us each time the dredge was brought up.
This was the usual presence in the net of the dia-
dema sea-urchin (Centrochinus setosum). The long
purple-black spines of this creature are sharp as
needles and minutely sculptured with recurved
hooks. They are brittle as spun glass so the effect
of contact with them, however slight, is to break off
in one’s flesh glassy splinters which defy extraction.
160 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
To make an “‘accident”’ still worse, these spines
are more or less bedaubed with a slimy acrid sub-
stance which acts as a powerful irritant. From
a slight wound on the hand one may suffer pain
even to the shoulder and for some moments actu-
ally feel faint. While these spines may not be
extracted, they do eventually absorb and disap-
pear. One experience, however slight, with a
diadema, is quite sufficient to inspire great respect
for them ever after. During the hours of bright
sunshine the diademas seek cover under the rocks
and coral masses, and their presence is betrayed
only by occasional tufts of their bristling bayo-
nets that project here and there from beneath their
hiding-places. In the late afternoon when the
slanting rays of the sun illumine the reef bottom
less brightly, they issue forth en masse in search of
food and probably continue their slow wanderings
throughout the night. In localities where hiding-
places are few, such as upon sandy patches in or
near a reef, the diademas are always more or less
in evidence. No protective covering—short of a
steel armor—would offer any real security. Con-
stant vigilance and care, when entering their
domain, is the only safeguard.
SNILSISSY MVINAZYD—S3ONOdS DNILOAIIION NOULVWd AHL
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 161
Our bulky trophies soon obliged a return to the
ship for their consignment to the vivero.
Our next point of attack was upon the limestone
outcrop at the deserted house. This dark colored,
hard, and brittle rock arises from the water some
six or eight feet, concaved below by wave action,
and “‘honeycombed”’ above by erosion into a
peculiar irregular surface of sharp ragged knife-
blade projections. This rock, never mixed with
corals nor containing any fossil remains of marine
shells, must be of the same origin as that which
forms the foundation of this entire forested region;
it is generally encountered in Cuba wherever the
coastal strip has been elevated from a previously
shallow sea. The appearance of the rock that im-
mediately lines the shore, not only here, but along
so much of the Cuban littoral, is quite characteristic
and very different from the rock a short distance
back, although, as observed, it must be of the same
origin. This narrow shore belt of very hard
brittle stone of homogeneous structure owes its
hardness and its peculiar appearance to a special
process of weathering resulting from exposure to
the salt spray dashed over it by waves breaking
upon its seaward face—a process to which the
It
162 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
rock farther removed from the beach is not sub-
jected. It is to this salt spray action that the
peculiar quality and the extraordinary carving
into sharp knife-blade projections are undoubtedly
due, but just why this combination of salt spray
with alternate drying and wetting, rain-water, and
sun, should produce this remarkable result I can-
not even hazard a guess.
The appearance of the rock, all of reef origin,
that begins just back of the shore strip and forms
the floor of the entire peninsula is also exceedingly
rough. Itis full of holes great and small, the mass
being tunneled and eroded into a jumble inde-
scribably complicated, but the results of weathering
show rounded edges and never the knife-blade
effect. It is also somewhat less homogeneous
and shows in some places its coral structure.
As practically all the interior of the peninsula
ending in Cape San Antonio is forested, the ex-
posed rock of the forest floor is subjected to a
special form of erosion which may explain its own
peculiar appearance. Every little hole and cre-
vice on the surface receives a deposit of humus,
twigs, and leaf mould which, soaked in rain-water,
distills some organic acids which act upon the
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 163
limestone, tending always to enlarge the holes
and thus eventually to destroy the rock. The
results of such chemical action must provide a
very rich soil, however scant in amount it may
appear upon the surface, for upon this seemingly
unsatisfactory base has sprung, as from the rock
itself, a forest of slowly growing hard woods and a
jungle of lesser but intensive growth. Theroots
of these wander deep down into the crevices
searching out the little accumulations of soil
hidden away below.
When we consider that all this area from Guadi-
ana Bay to the cape is a recently elevated coral
reef, the query naturally arises, Why do we see so
little coral upon it? This, I think, can be ex-
plained for two reasons. Wherever a coral reef
exists, whether barrier or fringing in type, a
very considerable area about it is composed of the
various residues from the breaking down of the
dead portions of the reef. These are the large
and small coral fragments near the actual reef,
the coarser and finer sands, and finally the white
soft mud, assorted and deposited by currents over
areas often many miles in extent. When raised
to form dry land by far the greater part of the
164 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
materials so exposed consist of these various coral
residues, and an exceedingly small portion of the
whole consists of the actual coral itself. Further-
more much of this coral detritus is obliterated as
such by the processes of atmospheric welding into
rock. Masses of coral heads, bored and riddled
by many living creatures, become filled with sand
and mud, shells, and the tests of many lowly or-
ganisms, and when finally exposed to the air and
rain-water the whole undergoes certain changes,
the various component parts being partially dis-
solved and cemented and recrystallized to a greater
or less extent. In such limestones the coral
structure can only be detected by a microscope.
Throughout the Antilles the narrow little strip
of honeycomb limestone upon the shore edge is
peopled by a very similar group of animal forms.
One would naturally suppose that so inhospitable
a station would never be selected by any living
creature for its permanent home, yet the little
assemblage of species here found have become
so adapted to their uncomfortable surroundings
that they are practically never encountered
elsewhere. Several crabs are numerous, particu-
larly the red and black Gonzopsis cruentata. These
ae
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 165
exceedingly lively crustaceans scamper about the
rough surface taking refuge, when pursued, within
the crevices or under projections, and, if persist-
ently followed, leaping into the water. Of this
particular crustacean, as of the majority of the
commoner forms of Antillean animals, little or
nothing is known of either habit or life history.
What a fascinating thing to do if one but had the
time to learn the stories each of these myriads of
creatures could tell. The systematist will be for
ever rearranging his classifications and seeking new
species, and there can be no end to it; but a richer
field is open to the naturalist who will become
personally acquainted with his living beasts and
will study them sympathetically and patiently.
The eternal ‘‘Why?”’ that we all seek may never be
found, but the nearest answer we can ever hope for
must be sought from these little people of the forest
orthesea. Among themollusksofthestation arethe
Littorinas, L. zigzag and L. lineata, showing various
color patterns through an extensive range of local
varietal forms; occasional colonies of L. anguli-
fera are to be seen and most abundant of all are
the two Tectarius, T. nodulosa and T. muricata.
These marine mollusks are in a fair way of becom-
166 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
ing in time Pulmonates. Although they still retain
the normal gills of prosobranch mollusks, they have
acquired power of absorbing into the blood the life-
giving oxygen from the air, if only their gills are
moist, and they pass days and weeks without enter-
ing the water. Other marine mollusks that con-
spicuously inhabit this same sort of station are the
Neritas which seem to be traveling along the same
route towards a terrestrial existence. It is more
than likely that all the great assemblage of land
mollusks have in the remote past a marine an-
cestry, and the gradual process of change from
gills to a lung sack is the result of just such change
of habit as noted in the forms now found upon these
rocks.
About the submerged base of this little cliff we
searched for possible rarer forms of lesser general
distribution. Such stations are usually very pro-
ductive and merit careful exploration. One find
of considerable interest among the mollusks was
a large black Drillia of uncertain identification.
The deserted house perched upon the ledge and
backed by a cocoanut grove has very high ceilings
and is built of hard woods in a manner denoting
something more important than the ordinary
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 167
dwelling or bohio of the Cuban peasant. While
taking an al fresco lunch upon its dilapidated
veranda we speculated upon its history; could it
once have served some modern buccaneers? It
is strange that these Colorados Reefs, so well suited
for piratical enterprise, bear no traditions of the
sort. They were slighted indeed when we con-
sider how thickly planted with Captain Kidd’s
treasure chests is our own Atlantic coast from
Nova Scotia to Florida and how every cove and
beach of the West Indies was once a rendezvous.
We were afterwards informed that this deserted
house had been a filibustering station for the
reception of arms and contraband of war.
While resuming work about the rocks, there
appeared, coming from nowhere in particular, a
young man in the very minimum of tattered
clothes. He poled along silently a very small
boat. We fell upon him for information, he being
the first human we had seen, and we accepted his
invitation to visit his grandparents’ house farther
along towards Cape Cajon.
The approach to a dilapidated little landing
stage in front of their place is through a tangled
mass of turtle pens made by driving stakes close
168 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
together in the soft bottom. The house itself
stands back in a little clearing made in the but-
tonwood swamp and is constructed from the tim-
bers of wrecks, the ribs of which were apparent
in all directions. Curiously enough it is roofed
with excellent red tiles, probably another salvage
contribution from the sea. Having by honeyed
words overcome some emphatic protests on the
part of a large ferocious-looking dog we climbed
upon the wide veranda and shook hands with an
old man of keen bright eyes and quick intelligence.
The women of the household shyly inspected us
from behind doors. They could hardly be blamed
for reserve any more than should the dog for his
ill temper, for we were a most suspicious looking
crowd. At any front door in the United States
we would have been rejected or at best informed
that the wood-pile was in the back yard and that
the price of a piece of pie was so much wood cut
in such and such lengths. The old man is Andres
Soto and a fine type of pioneer. He is the father
and grandfather of a numerous progeny that live
in the same house. One of his sons is the Alcalde
of Cape San Antonio, which means of the lonely
forests in all directions. All of them are turtle
a
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 169
hunters and wreckers and they can read and write.
The usual Cuban sense of hospitality was not
lacking in this remote place and we were served
coffee and made welcome. In a cage hanging .
from the roof of the porch were two native wild
doves (the white-crowned pigeon, Columba leuco-
cephala L.), gentle lovable creatures that cooed
softly. The old man brought out some corn and
told us to feed them from our lips, and these wild
creatures caressed us and begged for a return of
the compliment. Our hearts went out to those
birds. Such admiration had the usual result. To
our embarrassment, the doves were then and there
presented to us, and no refusal of the gift would be
considered nor price accepted. Ifthe women of the
family, who doubtless loved them, ever winced at
the parting, they gave nosign. These doves are now
domiciled in the Zodlogical Park at Washington.
The young man who had brought us to the
house of his grandfather now considered himself
our guide and friend. He spoke of a sand beach
just beyond and we stampeded for it, floundering
‘some two hundred yards through a morass and
then emerging upon just such a stretch of sand
beach as we hoped from the first to encounter.
170 CRUISE ‘OF THE BARRERA
The vegetation back of it was ideal for a Cerion
colony. This is of the true sand soil kind, present-
ing at first low isolated bushes and long streamers
of broad-leaved vines (Ipomea pes-capre) which
sprawl flat over the hot sand under a glaring sun.
This is the most characteristic creeper of the Antil-
lean sand beaches. It bears a purplish fiower.
One wonders how this plant can withstand the
withering heat of a sun-drenched tropic beach,
lying as it does directly upon the hot surface of the
dry sand. Also abundant here is the common
“Sea Grape”’ (Coccolobis uvifera) growing directly
from the sand into tall treelike bushes. Its
leaves are dark olive green with reddish midrib,
and from its branches depend long racemes of
green grapes (purple when ripe). Theseeds within
the grape are large and the fruit itself is hardly
edible. I believe this shrub attains in other places
a height of not less than forty-five feet, but none
that we observed were more than half that height.
There are quantities of a dense-growing dome-
shaped bush bearing inconspicuous white flowers
and, like the Coccolobis, growing directly from the
sand (Tournefortia gnaphaloides). It is related to
our common hot-house heliotrope.
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 171
A fringe of the fan-leaf palm, Thrinax wend-
landiana, forms the outpost of a scrub forest just
back of the beach. The most notable tree of
this scrub is one of some twenty-five feet height
(Chrysophyllum oliveforme) and which on account
of the sheen upon its leaves is called the “Satin
Leaf.’’ These are elliptical pointed, leathery, and
thick, and are of a bronze green above and a golden
brown beneath. It is related to the star-apple
and bears a small round fruit.
The thick leathery leaves of so many of the
sand beach plants as well as of the trees that grow
near must be for some special reason related to
the intense glare and heat of such stations.
In this wood from tree trunks and stems we
made a fine catch of a very small Cerzon of an
undescribed species and took also many Cepolis
superiexta.
There was little to interest us in the flotsam of
the beach. The barrenness of tropical beaches is
often a great disappointment to the northern visi-
tor who recalis childhood days upon the shell-
strewn beaches of his native land. One naturally
expects upon any sea beach, and more than ever
upon a tropical one, to find beautiful shells—and
172 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
large ones too, that reveal from within the muffled
roar of the sea. As a matter of fact most tropic
beaches are too well guarded by coral reefs which
catch and hold anything swept in from beyond;
and as a rule the sea depths beyond are too great
for the ocean surges to affect the bottom and sweep
in loose material. Inside the reef the scouring
force of the great ocean waves is lost and all that
lives there upon the bottom is fairly secure from
danger of being torn from its moorings and cast
ashore. The beaches that met our childhood ex-
pectations for pink shells are those that face a
gradually deepening sea for many miles out and
are unprotected by reefs or shoals.
Greenlaw brought the launch and we embarked
with a good wetting through the surf. Soon after
reaching the schooner we spied the shore party
waving from the charcoal landing and rescued
them. Torre and Rodriguez had remained at
the lighthouse. Simpson and Clapp were quite
exhausted after their day of exceptionally hard
work tramping through many miles of hot mos-
quito-infested forest. The auxiliary was de-
spatched to retrieve the Doctor and Rodriguez
who did not arrive till 9 or 10 o'clock. We had
ee
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 173
begun to feel anxious about them but they seemed
none the worse for wear.
As if to put finish of good measure to a day
of great pleasure, activity, and success, we were
vouchsafed a glorious sunset followed by a quiet
night of brilliant stars. Over the tree tops to the
west flashed the light of Roncali warning any
that might see of dangers near by. To the south-
east, just over the forest top, the Southern Cross
appeared.
Tired as we all were the night seemed too beau-
tiful to lose in sleep and we lingered along the rail
while the cook sang Majorcan songs. Forward,
an occasional spark of a cigarette puffed into a
glow illumined for a second the nose and cheeks
of some member of the crew who also felt the
spell of the night and could not sleep. It was
past midnight when Luis and Mulatica took full
charge of the ship.
- Sunday, May 24th. We determined to devote
this day to anotherinlandforay. The route taken
by the party yesterday along the charcoal burn-
ers’ tram-line offered an opening into the interior,
but the wide swamps made the journey very long
and tiresome. At the deserted house, a ridge of
174 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
dry land presented a possible way back with col-
lecting conditions excellent from the beginning.
We decided upon this for our point of attack, so
Bartsch, Clapp, Simpson, Rodriguez, the Patron,
Greenlaw, and I proceeded in the launch. Torre,
with the auxiliary, set out for the lighthouse
around the point of Cajon to organize and instruct
a corps of native boys, children of the lightkeeper
and a few others, in the methods of collecting
butterflies, insects, and land-shells. The Doctor
had always been very successful in training youth-
ful collectors, having a delightful way of interest-
ing children in natural history.
When we left the schooner no more perfect day
could be imagined, but before we had progressed
a mile, a lively flock of chubascos organized, gave
chase, and not only administered to us a thorough
soaking but filled us with horror and fear by deaf-
ening volleys from their batteries. When these
chubascos, the flying artillery of Heaven’s forces
unlimber their guns, they strike terror and dismay
into helpless mortals below. After an angry chu-
basco with fury of wind and bolts has passed by
and is raging on as though to destroy the very
earth itself we feel thankful that we are only wet
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 175
and not dead. Following close behind these aérial
squadrons come the sun’s rays and a blessed peace
—like a merciful Red Cross—to dry our wet
clothes, warm our chilled bodies, and calm our
ruffled spirits.
After landing us at the deserted house, Bartsch
and the Patron with Greenlaw proceeded on to
explore the waters beyond the cape and to dredge
upon a certain shoal reported to exist well out to
seaward of the reef and surrounded by deep water.
Passing through an old cocoanut grove back
of the house our shore party filed into a path fol-
lowing the ridge. This rocky ridge is only about
fifty to one hundred yards wide and bordered
upon either side by buttonwood swamps containing
some mangroves. The soft black mud of the
swamps is pitted with the holes of fiddler-crabs
into which the little creatures disappeared after
some display of hostility to our approach.
The dry land is wooded with small trees, mostly
the Cuban bast, many low broad-leaved palmetto
palms (Thrinax wendlandiana), and a Metopium
of uncertain species, a poison tree related to our
northern sumacs. Open patches of light scrub
alternate with denser groves of trees, but there
176 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
are here none of the larger forest trees of the
interior.
Throughout the woods were many hermit crabs,
from tiny little fellows, occupying miniature shells
of terrestrial snails, to the big hairy red Pagurids
(Cenobita clypeatus) that laboriously lumbered
along, dragging their cumbersome houses of heavy
marine shells. The habits of these creatures
would make an even more interesting study than
the red Goniopsis of the rocks had one the op-
portunity to watch them day by day. They are,
of course, marine animals with gills; their larve
are aquatic, and the adults spend a part of each
year in the sea. For gills to maintain their func-
tional activity on land it is necessary that they
be kept in a moist condition. This the big hermit
carefully attends to by rubbing them with dew from
the leaves if no pool of water is about. Speci-
mens brought home by Bartsch have been ob-
served to dip water from a pan by their legs and
splash it over their gills although they show no
desire to enter and immerse themselves in the
water. The specimens in captivity prefer rice
to any other diet. Their terrestrial habit is likely
a recent development, but it is certain they pass
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 177
many days far away from salt water, and it is
a little perplexing to understand just how they
manage to get back again for deposit of their eggs
in the sea. The hermits are obliged to ‘‘move”’
frequently, as their habitations do not grow with
them. Those coming from the sea usually occupy
marine shells but later they exchange them for
land-shells if such can be found of suitable dimen-
sions. The limit in size among the inland shells of
Cuba is found in Liguus and Ampullaria and these
are extensively used by them. ‘They are relatively
very light in weight and probably are especially
desirable. The larger species of hermits, however,
must eventually content themselves with the more
ponderous marine shells of Strombus or Livona.
However unnatural and makeshift in character
is the life of the terrestrial hermit, he nevertheless
has succeeded in making good in the competitive
struggle for existence. Although omnivorous in
habit, it seems strange that so handicapped a
creature can manage to find enough food on land.
The rustling sound of these hermits over the ground
tends to keep one’s senses constantly alert, as it
unpleasantly suggests serpents gliding through
dry leaves.
I2
178 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
In all of our dredging operations we encountered
hermit crabs of many species. Probably no sin-
gle group of animals of as high rank in the biologi-
cal series displays a wider range of adaptation
to special life conditions than do the Pagurids.
Many species appear to have chosen some par-
ticular mollusk-shell for their abodes, and in order
to fit comfortably within they have altered their
‘figures’? in most surprising fashion. One case
coming under our observation is especially note-
worthy—the Pylopagurus discoidalis which has
adapted itself, or better, ‘‘fitted’’ itself, to the
long narrow confines of a Denialium shell, the entire
body having straightened and elongated itself out
of all semblance to the usual hermit’s shape, and
one claw has become beautifully modified to
serve as an “‘operculum”’ or trap-door which per-
fectly closes the shell aperture. This modifica-
tion of the claw is no rough amateurish job but
is a perfect accomplishment even to the minutest
details of what a protecting cover should be.
Aside from the wide range of their interesting
evolutionary changes, the Pagurids offer still
more of interest to the nature student. They are
such restless nervous little beasts, so pugnacious,
TIAHS WNITWLN3G NI SITVGIOOSIA SNUNDWdO1Ad
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 179
so alert and busy, so wary and cunning, they
almost tempt one into a suspicion of intelligence
on their part. There is a sort of ‘‘personality”’
~ connected with them which must appeal to any-
one who observes them however casually.
Besides the hermits there were here also many
land-crabs (Cardisoma guanhumz), large repellent-
looking crustaceans, with bluish-tinged ashy gray
carapace, long stalk eyes, and large weak-looking
pincers. The land-crabs here are of the same
species commonly met with everywhere throughout
the Antilles and in Southern Florida. They sneak
about warily, stepping with great caution to make
no betraying noise, or, hiding behind some protect-
ing object, they peep out in most ludicrous fashion.
If cornered they put up a show of fight by rising
upon ‘‘tiptoe’’ in a menacing attitude and brandish-
ing their wide-open pincers. As soon as an avenue
of escape is discovered they make a surprisingly
quick exit. Probably no creature that has come
out of the sea inspires a more general feeling of
antipathy than do these large land-crabs. Yet
they are eaten by the natives in many of the
islands. Throughout a part of the year they
remain inactive and concealed in their burrows
180 CRUISE OP (iE BARRERA
near the margin of swamps, fresh-water ponds,
or close to the shore, the burrows being slanting
and deep enough to reach water. For breeding
purposes they probably seek the sea and possibly
betake themselves to offshore stations, for nothing
is seen or known of them during any period of an
aquatic existence. They never seem to fall into
fishermen’s nets, nor are they caught in the traps
set for edible crustaceans in shallow water. At
certain seasons they appear in countless numbers,
and for a time fairly overrun the land, devouring
everything in their path. Apparently anything
that can be broken by their claws or masticated
by their mandibles serves for food. They enter
houses, rattling and scraping over floors and climb-
ing upon tables. When swept out they sneak
back. When visited by a dreadful carnage on
the part of an outraged housewife or a desperate
gardener, others arrive quite unaffected by sight
of the slaughter of their relatives. On the con-
trary, they are probably attracted by their mangled
bodies which are no longer capable of self-defense.
Such visitation of land-crabs does not last very
long. The main army gradually disappears, never-
theless some remain throughout the year skulk-
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 181
ing about the back yard or under veranda
steps.
This large Antillean land-crab is one of the most
interesting examples of a marine animal that has
become by special adaptation almost wholly ter-
restrial in habit, although he still breathes by gills.
As a matter of fact very little is definitely known
about their life history—even the assertion that
they deposit their eggs in the sea cannot be posi-
tively affirmed. By digging into their deep slant-
ing burrows where they hide most of the day, it
might develop that their young are hatched in
the water at the bottom of their subterranean
retreats.
Among the wet leaves on the ground and in the
little heaps of stone were many fine coleoptera
and myriopods, and about the tops of the shrubs
and low trees fluttered many tempting butterflies.
Processions of leaf-cutting ants marched along in
narrow columns bearing their irregularly shaped
green parasols. Students have made close study
of this numerous tribe of leaf-cutting ants, and the
reports given of their life history and economy
read like fiction. There can be no question but
that these intelligent little creatures have reached
182 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
a high degree of civilization in their well-ordered
communal existence. They understand the value
of division of labor, maintain a police force, raise
crops, and store the residue against famine. In-
deed, most of the essential features of man’s civil-
ization finds a counterpart in the lives of these
extraordinary creatures. Termite nests occupied
forks in some of the trees and their sheltered run-
ways marked many of the trunks. Large solitary
ants with black thorax and red abdomen ranged
about like solitary bandits seeking their prey.
Numerous other species of smaller ants were en-
countered living in colonies under stones and in
rotting wood; groups of nervous yellow wasps
clung to their hexagonal larval cells attached to
leaves, and were busily building them out with
gray vegetable pulp prepared in their mouths.
This little ridge of dry rocky land was the richest
insect locality we had seen. Of birds there were
also many, although in this respect the place was
not notable.
Of land-shells we collected two small Urocoptids,
some small operculates, including a lovely little
Helicina ; a peculiar form of Cepolis (C. cubensis
jaudenesi) was sparingly taken. None of us had
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 183
ever before seen this rare arboreal land-shell.
From the trees a few Cepolis supertexta were
gathered but neither Liguus nor Certon. Alto-
gether we took some fourteen or fifteen species
but only at the cost of hard labor, for land-shells
were scarce and still occupying dry-weather sta-
tions. This fact seemed to us remarkable for the
time of year and after so many daily rains. At
Pan de Azucar we had found all life to have taken
on its rainy season activities. Probably this lit-
tle strip of land is exceptionally dry during many
months of the year and it required more than
ordinary wetting to awaken the estivating mollusk.
We wandered back about a mile finding no new
conditions. The heavy forest was not far beyond,
but this, we believed, could be more easily reached
from the lighthouse. Had it not been for the
generous use of an ointment which had been re-
commended to us by a well-known sporting goods
firm in New York, we could not have withstood
the mosquitoes of this region. It is not likely that
these pests are so bad during the dry winter
months, but at this time the hot moist air filled
them with energy and sapped it from us. They
would have devoured us had it not been for this
184 CRUISE OF THE BARKERA
excellent salve which we applied like butter on
bread. The debilitating moist heat of the scrub
forest was getting in its insidious work. When
we finally returned to the deserted house we were
exhausted and in the physical condition of depleted
vitality that invites any infection.
The dredging party picked us up in the launch
a little later and all returned to the schooner.
The search for an offshore bank or shoal had been
unsuccessful. Several such places are doubtfully
indicated upon a general chart of Cuba (there are
no detailed charts of this region), and vessels have
reported from time to time other uncharted danger
spots off Cape San Antonio. Our Patron insisted
that beyond the reefs and shoals that fringe the
shore there is nothing but deep blue water. At
all events the launch party were unable to locate
any shallows beyond the line of green water.
Bartsch made a number of hauls in seventy-two
feet and a second series of dredgings at an average
distance of a quarter-mile out from a point oppo-
site the light to Cape Cajon, three to four fath-
oms. This is a bottom of coral sand with patches
of grass and sponge and is constantly swept by
strong currents. The results were not brilliant,
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 185
although some material of interest was secured,
particularly some fine calcareous alge quite new
to our observation. Another feature of the catch
was some forty or more specimens of a polychete
worm belonging to the genus Ammotrypane. This
species, quite unknown to us, is an aberrant form
approximating in appearance the Lancelot, which
we at first supposedit to be. There were also some
very acceptable club-spined sea-urchins. Among
the mollusks were an apparently new Calliostoma
and some fine living Pyramidella dolabrata.
The amount of material collected the last two
days had accumulated so rapidly that a suspension
of further acquisition was imperative until a
“clean up’’ could be made. We longed to get
out microscopes and lenses and inspect our trophies
more critically, but such indulgence could not be
permitted. In the field the naturalist cannot
study his catch, nor must he revise his notes. He
can only collect, rest, and collect. Time is too
precious to let a moment slip by without acquiring
more material or roughinformation. The balance
of the day was given over to the least enjoyable of
our duties—the preservation and packing away
of our booty.
186 CRUISE OF THEIBARRERA
About dark Torre arrived from the lighthouse,
in the auxiliary, full of enthusiasm over the day’s
results but, on the other hand, depressed by the
necessity of returning to Havana. A wireless
message had brought him information of a death
in his family. Mr. Simpson regretfully took this
opportunity to return also, he having already
remained away over his time limit. About
10 o'clock at night, the weather conditions being
fine, Torre and Simpson departed for La Fe in the
auxiliary in charge of Matas, the mate, where, all
going well, they expected to arrive in time to take
the early morning stage to Mendoza, some thirty
miles beyond, and thence train for Havana. ‘Their
departure cast a gloom. upon us all, for besides
keenly missing them both, we felt that their depar-
ture marked the turning point in our expedition.
From that time on we seemed to be on the way
back rather than proceeding on.
Monday, May 25th. Having accomplished all
that seemed possible in the two previous days
about the region east of Cape Cajon, we determined
to devote this day to the western extremity of
Antonio and to explore the heavier forests back
of the lighthouse. Cape San Antonio consists
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 187
of two or three miles of approximately north and
south line of beach, the turning point on the north
being Cape Cajon. At the south end the beach
gradually sweeps around to the southeast without
interruption by any very definite points. To
various spots, however, where the curve of the
coast is slightly more pronounced, names have
been given such as “‘ Punta de los Cayuelos,”’ ‘Cabo
Falso,”’ and ‘‘Punta Perpetua.’’ These are merely
map names, rather than locally accepted appella-
tions, and testify to the fondness of Spanish carto-
graphers for special designations of every turn in
the road. As a rule these names justify them-
selves, if only for beauty of sound or meaning.
In about the middle of the cape stands the
old lighthouse, marked in big letters ‘‘Roncali.”
It is a round cemented stone tower perched upon a
rock base above the beach and is of the old-fash-
ioned solid type of construction. The light is of
first order in point of visual range, casting its rays
upon a danger point in the route of vessels bound
to and from Central American ports. Despite
its warning flash, the cape has laid heavy toll
upon passing craft, and the hidden Colorados to
the northeast have gathered to its stony bosom
188 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
many more. Forty miles or so to the east, on the
south side, is a land projection called Cape Corri-
entes which appears from the sea a counterpart
of San Antonio. Vessels from the south seeking
to round the cape are sometimes borne to the
eastward of their course by currents, and first
sighting Corrientes mistake it for Antonio, soon
finding themselves in the Ensenda de Corrientes
with land ahead, to the right and left; but if they
recognize their error in time, they can make good
their escape. Many vessels so confused have
not recovered in time, and their bones upon the
reefs of Corrientes make appeal to the Cuban
Government for a light upon this very misleading
point ofland. Having successfully passed Antonio
from the south, vessels bound for Havana and
the Atlantic—as most of them are—have still to
face even more perilous conditions. While beat-
ing against the northeast trades they fall within
the influence of the lateral wash of the Gulf Stream,
bearing them rapidly eastward toward the line
of the hidden Colorados. For some fifty or sixty
miles north and east of Antonio these dangerous
reefs lie well out beyond sight of land, and to make
them even a greater menace, their proximity can-
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 189
not bedetermined by thelead. Duringtheautumn
and winter months frequent northers of great
severity add to the other propelling forces that
sweep in to the reefs, and during the spring and
summer months, almost daily chubascos of fearful
though short-lived violence obscure the horizon
and lash the waters in this their favorite play-
ground. A light upon the Colorados is as essen-
tial as one upon Corrientes in order to relieve old
Roncali of a triple duty it cannot well perform.
On the beach between the light and Cape Cajon
is a wireless station maintained by the United
Fruit Company for the benefit of its fleet of white
steamers that constantly use this highway. The
station is in charge of a few lonesome Americans
whose only communication with the world is from
the top of the high single tower along the air
routes to the masts of the passing fruiters.
With full collecting equipment, marine and
land, we left the schooner early for the light.
Before reaching Cape Cajon, a company of the
wickedest-looking chubascos we had yet seen, be-
gan forming in battle array with the apparent
intention of annihilating us. The Patron’s words
were pearls of truth,—‘‘this is the factory where
190 CRUISE OF THE WBAKRERA
all the chubascos are made.’’ One series of these
lively little tornadoes came out of the east sweep-
ing along the north coast of the peninsula. An-
other company came sailing along the south coast,
the two groups converging to the cape where they
met to join forces. Then another corps came
booming out of the southwest across the sea from
Yucatan and headed also for the cape. When
all met there was a lively half-hour. We ran in
close under the beach and received our soaking
of rain with the usual thankful spirit that that
was all.
Just in front of the light there is a rickety dock
somewhat protected by reefs just without. This
is the shipping point for a vast quantity of char-
coal. At the time of our visit, the wharf was
piled high with coarse bags of the fuel awaiting
shipment.
For cooking purposes throughout Cuba charcoal
is the only fuel used, and the resulting demand for
it is constant. There are various qualities offered,
by far the best being that obtained from certain
hardwood scrub trees growing in the swampy
coastal lowlands, particularly the Cuban ‘‘bast”’
(Poiretia sp.). Charcoal-burning is the only in-
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 191
dustry of this region. The company operating it
maintains a fleet of schooners and the tramway
already referred to. The life of the charcoal-
burner is a lonely one and full of trouble, for he
must live amid clouds of mosquitoes and jejenes,
and his pecuniary rewards are small.
Landing in a drenching rain we sought shelter
in the lightkeeper’s house where we met with the
accustomed Cuban welcome and hospitality which
we had learned to accept as a matter of course.
Coffee and hot milk (canned) were served in glass
goblets, while the numerous progeny of the house
fanned us to keep off the mosquitoes that other-
wise would have carried us off bodily.
At the light a wall of coarse much-weathered
Pleistocene limestone rises perpendicularly about
twenty feet from the sand beach, and upon this
shelf or platform are built the lighthouse and its
auxiliary buildings and also some few houses
belonging to the fraternity of the charcoal men.
south of the light, the sand beach is interrupted
with patches of rock, sometimes being wholly
replaced by areas of coral limestone (Seboruco),
while occasional reefs project from the shore.
Back of the rocky ledge of the shore is a narrow
192 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
swamp area in which, immediately behind the
light, the trees have been cut revealing across
the open space a solid wall of dense forest of large
fine trees growing upon the dry solid land. Along
this coastal ridge, running southeast, is the track
of the narrow gauge tramway, part of the same
system already referred to and used by the
charcoal men. The track following along the ridge
crosses the swamp area and enters the heavy forest.
The usual coastal belt of scrub growth and sand-
beach vegetation is very narrow or wholly absent,
and the more majestic forest is quickly attained.
This forest is typical of such regions, but is
probably heavier here than elsewhere in Cuba.
This is probably the nearest approach to the “‘high
woods”’ of the low-lying damp regions of Central
and South America that can be found in the island.
The trees are large and vigorous and of many
species including mahogany, gumbo-limbo, Span-
ish cedar, and a host of others that defied our
attempts at identification. A thick growth of
smaller trees and bushes of infinite variety fills
in the space below the high branches of the major
trees and the whole being bound in a living cord-
age of lianes. A great variety of air plants festoon
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 193
the branches of the greater trees. Among the
epiphytes, great quantities of bromeliads, in
particular, Pztcairnias and Catopsis, fasten upon
the branches. Many tillandsias, with unusually
narrow leaves, festoon the limbs of the larger trees.
We observed also several of the Achmeas, with
broad strap-shaped leaves, clinging to the tree
trunks. Orchids were here exceedingly abundant,
both as to species and individuals but few were in
bloom—one, however, an Epidendrum with yellow
and orange brown, and another with purplish, flow-
ers, were noted. We took many specimens of
Oncidium with thick heavy leaves—Brassavolas,
Crytopodium, and Brassia. One unknown orchid,
high up upon the branches of a great tree, had hung
out some lavender lamps that shone faintly and
about which many butterflies and a tiny little
humming-bird hovered. Some flowering shrubs
illumine the edges of the forest, especially along
the clearing for the track, but within its shade few
patches of color relieve the somber green of the
denser jungle.
The endless variety of leaf form is most bewilder-
ing. Huge thick fleshy leaves of very dark green
stand out from the confused mass giving one a
13
194 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
disagreeable feeling of being more alive than leaves
ought to be. They have a yielding, uncanny feel
to the touch and one instinctively avoids them, with
a vague sort of apprehension that they might
enfold and smother one in a cold clammy embrace.
It would take a botanist years of study to conquer
such a flora—such an appalling array of vegeta-
tion. Before it, one stands humbled and rever-
ent; within it, one feels a sense of awe; one calls
to his companion and says “‘let us keep together.”’
Showers continued to fall and many large hori-
zontal leaves poured little cascades upon us as we
disturbed them. Between showers, the air grew
hot and steamy, and the mosquitoes charged in
swarms and clouds. Under foot, the way is ex-
ceedingly rough and beset with holes and pitfalls
in the spongy-looking limestone. Throughout
the forest there appeared to be a wealth of
animal life. Insects abounded, particularly about
the edges of the woods or in any semi-open
spot where some great tree had fallen crash-
ing through the jungle and opening a space for
the light above to flood in. Land-shells, now in
full activity, crawled about the tree trunks and
the stems of bushes or upon the broad palmate
CUBAN TROGON
(Priotelus temnurus temnurus Tem.)
Drawn by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 195
leaves of palmettoes. White porcelaneous Liguus,
with bands of vivid green, their long sluglike
bodies and tentacles fully projected, were busy
rasping with armored tongues the smooth bark of
the gumbo-limbos. The pretty Cepolis supertexta,
black, brown, and yellow, were here abundant,
and a host of smaller mollusks, alive and in perfect
condition, were easily taken. Many birds kept
up a chatter or song but in the thick foliage could
not always be seen. We did, however, catch
glimpses of the supercilious woodpecker (Centurus
superciliarus), the Cuban green woodpecker (Zip-
hidiopicus percussus), and the white-eyed vireo (V.
griseus), the Cuban grackle (Haloquiscalus gund-
lacht). The most strikingly colored bird noticed
here, barring the lovely little todi, is the Cuban
trogon (Priotelus temnurus). Like the todi he is a
well-finished color study from nature’s studio. The
top of his head is metallic purple, the entire back
metallic green, the under parts pale gray (a little
lighter on the throat), the posterior belly and under-
tail coverets scarlet; the primaries of the wing and
part of the secondaries are marked by white bars;
the outer tail-feathers are also tipped with broad
bands of white, the combination giving to the
196 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
bird a strikingly brilliant appearance. The trogon
is inclined to conceal his beauty in thickets and
rarely displays himself in the open. His call
suggests that of our northern cuckoos.
The Patron, with his ancient muzzle loader,
brought down from a lofty limb a large hutia—
the poor wounded beast struggling to maintain
its weakening hold upon the high perch and seek-
ing to wipe away the pain in its side where a shot
had entered. With a look down, as if to measure
the distance of the fall, the wretched creature
toppled over and fell crashing into the jungle
below, to gasp out its life in the branches of a
small tree. When finally recovered it proved to
be a female with young, and a feeling of revul-
sion swept over us, including the Patron himself,
who had committed the murder. We could not
stifle the thought of the little ones that, awaiting
in vain their mother’s return, would finally perish,
miserably beset with the forest scavengers before
they fully starved. What a thoughtlessly cruel
sport is hunting!
The Antilles are singularly poor in indigenous
mammals. In Cuba there are three hutias and
the peculiar ant-eater, Solenodon, which repre-
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 197
sents the entire native mammalian fauna. The
word ‘“‘hutia”’ or ‘“‘jutia’”’ is the Cuban name for
the three species of Capromys inhabiting the island;
of these, Capromys pilorides is the largest and is
generally distributed over the entire area. It
weighs about ten pounds when fully adult and
may frequently be seen in the tree tops of the
forested regions. This is the one the Patron killed.
The other two species of Capromys are not over
half the size of the former. C. prehensilis makes
use of its long rat-like tail for hanging from
limbs, as do our opossums. The third species (C.
melanurus) is confined to the Oriente province.
The distribution of Capromys outside of Cuba is re-
presented by one in Jamaica now almost extinct,
one in the Bahamas, and one, strangely enough,
in Swan Island; there are none in the mainland.
The hutias are all arboreal rodents, but those of
the mountains rear their little families among the
boulders of the sierras where the feeble voices of
the young can always be heard by attentive listen-
ing. Their faint cry is very suggestive of the
peeping of little chickens. In the native peasant
houses one often sees tamed hutias kept as pets.
The species so kept is usually the C. prehensilis
198 CRUISE OF THE BARKERA
which resembles too closely in appearance a huge
rat to be wholly acceptable as a playmate.
The large rodents, as a New World product, at-
tained their maximum development a very long
time ago, during the middle Tertiary. Since that
remote time the group has been a steadily diminish-
ing one, and the extensive land areas over which
they ranged have undergone many changes. Cap-
romys is likely a strandedremnant upon the Antilles,
and its ancestral connections are difficult to trace.
It is a living twig upon a large spreading tree that
is slowly dying.
Reptilian life in such a forest is no doubt very
abundant, but we saw less of it. Two snakes,
hubos (Alsophis angulifer) were captured by
Rodriguez, who was well bitten by one of them
before it could be placed in the bag. The name
‘‘hubo”’ is applied by the Cubans to almost any
medium-sized snake which is not a young boa.
This particular one is a very common species
throughout the island and isa lively rather than
a vicious reptile. A curious habit noticed about
it is the tactics employed to avoid capture. In-
stead of gliding away it is more liable to make
directly for you and in the resulting confusion
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 199
from so unexpected a move it disappears in the
opposite direction to your pursuit. On account
of the charge it has acquired the reputation of
being a bad customer to meet. Its scales are
rather large and smooth. The genus is common
to the West Indian region and is related to South
American forms of the east coast.
Before returning to the light, a survey of about
a mile of the rocky beach was made. Among the
numerous tide pools, in the honeycomb rock, we
found by far the richest littoral collecting yet
encountered. These pools are veritable aquaria
of marine life. Although we took a large series
of mollusks, including Livona, Chiton, Pisania,
Conus, Mitra, and other representatives of the
‘“‘aristocratic’’ genera along with many crustace-
ans as well, we soon realized that here was too
inviting and rich a field for so hasty a visit as the
lateness of the hour would permit.
Our catch was largely augmented by the mate-
tial brought in by the Boy Scouts that Dr. Torre
had mobilized. The children gathered about us
eager to exchange their shells, bugs, lizards, and
what-not, for our pennies. To compute the
amounts due them required a vast deal of counting
200 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
over of specimens spread out upon the light-keeper’s
floor. The entire population of the place gathered
about to witness the extraordinary scene of ap-
parently normal men buying with real money
such trash as snails and beetles. No doubt our
limited knowledge of the local dialect spared us
disparaging comments that falling short of our
understanding, exploded harmlessly about us.
During our hours in the forest, Greenlaw had
made a number of hauls of the dredge in shoal
water off the cape, working as closely as possible
to the coral patches. He had captured some
exceedingly interesting echinoderms and a few
mollusks.
To do any sort of justice to this region, a natur-
alist should remain at least a month or six weeks
in the rainy, and an equally long period during
the dry, season. In that way some definite idea
of the fauna and flora could be obtained and
valuable observations made upon the habits and
life histories of its commoner forms. For the
naturalist, the advantage of a track through the
forest is very great, enabling him to conserve all
his energies for actual collecting work. A light
launch that could be beached in times of rough
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 201
sea, or even a canoe with a portable engine,
would furnish all the craft necessary for explora-
tion of many miles of an exceptionally interesting
coast.
Our return to the schooner involved a stop at
the old man’s house at Cajon to take the lovable
doves and a pair of tree ducks (Dendrocygnea
arborea) added to the original gift. The journey
around Cajon and to the ship was made laborious
by the head-sea that caused our rapid launch to
deluge us with warm salt spray.
The auxiliary had arrived back from La Fe
during the late afternoon, bringing us our first
mail from home, long expected and long deferred.
All sought lanterns and quiet spots to read letters.
One first reads eagerly and nervously, fearful lest
bad news be found. If not, then one goes back
and reads all over again, absorbing every word
in the full knowledge that all is well.
Tuesday, May 26th. Like our political orators,
we again had cause to “‘view with alarm”’ the ever-
increasing bulk of our collections which once more
demanded attention at whatever sacrifice of time.
Accordingly, Clapp and I resignedly set aside this
day for a general clean-up of land-shells and other
202 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
material that had been somewhat slighted in our
eagerness to collect. Bartsch, Rodriguez, Gill,
the Patron, and Greenlaw, started early for the
cape to make a more thorough investigation of the
tide pools and the rocky reefs and to search far-
ther for some of the ground snails in the woods.
The ‘‘cleaning-up”’ process on board continued
throughout the whole day.
When lying at anchor one could generally see
from the schooner’s deck many small fish that
hovered about. At times members of the crew
would amuse themselves catching them with small
hook and line. Of the various species so taken
one is notable by reason of the peculiarity of its
jaws. It is a very slender fish of the gar type but
possessing a greatly elongated under jaw, a pro-
jection into a long sharp beak. The upper jaw
is so short it may be said to have none at all. It
is a species of Hemiramphus (H. brasziliensis ?)
and appears to be very common throughout Cuban
waters. The hemiramphs make long leaps out
of the water and are quick active swimmers. Of
the leaping fishes we frequently encountered is a
Tylosurus though not usually over a foot long.
These slender elongate fish with jaws prolonged
———
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 203
into a beak have a curious way of leaping from the
water and skipping along the surface with sur-
prising rapidity while beating the water with their
tails, the body appearing to tremble violently.
The ‘‘flight”’ is fully fifty feet. As these have not
the expanded pectoral fins of the flying-fish which
serve as ‘“‘wings”’ for sailing through the air, it is
not altogether clear just how the TJ'ylosurus ac-
complishes its long skipping flight, for it cannot be
possible that the initial momentum acquired could
sustain its weight so long above water. If there
are small waves running they appear to bound
from one crest to the next thus seemingly aided
in prolonging their ‘‘flight.”
The field party, aided by Torre’s Boy Scouts,
made a successful raid upon the woods at a point
about a mile farther along the tracks, securing
the Urocoptids and land operculates we desired,
but the chief operations of the day were directed
against the residents of the tide pools. The nim-
bleness and powers of concealment possessed by
many of these dwellers of the pool failed to save
them from the copper sulphate method of attack.
The process is very effective, for it not only makes
easy of capture all that can be seen, but it brings
204 CRUISE OF THE) BARRERA
to light a most astonishing number of creatures
that are not otherwise detected. A gallon or two
of strong solution of the blue salt is emptied into
the pool and results quickly follow. The fish
succumb at once and float to the surface gasping
for air. All mollusks emerge from beneath their
hiding-places and there is a general effort to leave
the pool. The wariest of cephalopods, the small
sneaking octopi, are forced to abandon their
caution and boldly expose themselves. Little
crustaceans that are practically invisible upon
algee or among the rocks, the color of which they
simulate, abandon their color fortresses. Holo-
thurians and echinoids appear from unsuspected
places, and worms with undulating motion swim
to the surface. It is a general stampede, quick
and nervous or slow and deliberate, according to
the nature of the beast.
The tide pools yielded a remarkable catch of
about six hundred fish of fifty-seven species, many
being young of reef-dwellers, quantities of ophi-
urans and other echinoids, many mollusks includ-
ing the octopi, worms of many species, and a fine
lot of crustaceans representing several orders. A
good tropical tide pool, that is, one with abun-
“ ~
ee ele eee ee ee el elle lL a ee
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 205
dant supply of sea water and proper irregularity
of sides and bottom to offer the necessary hiding-
places and relief from the sun, is a veritable
biological world in miniature. To describe it
adequately would require a volume; even a census
of its inhabitants would cover many pages. When
first approached it looks merely to be a basin in
the rock painted in many colors by its alge which
gleam with added brilliancy beneath the two or
three feet of transparent water. Of animal life
one at first sees little. After quietly gazing into
it for a few moments a movement here and there
reveals some living thing of almost perfect color
adaptation. Presently a school of little metallic
blue fish ventures cautiously out from some crevice.
A very slight movement in one corner betrays a
larger fish, the movement being the opening and
closing of the gills, and then the fish is perfectly
apparent and the undulating dark lines of his back
are quite distinct; and then there is a slight blur
of sediment in the spot and the fish is not so plainly
visible, for, in fact, he has gone and the place he
left looks about the same as it did before. On the
floor of the pool there are a number of little highly
colored tufts that were not there at first. They
206 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
are the expanded plumes of worms that withdrew
into their burrows when your shadow first fell
upon the pool. From beneath a rock the tips of
antennz of a spiny-lobster, likely a young one, are
beginning to project out, for he is a very cautious
creature with many enemies. Some particularly
bright bits of color at first accepted as alge are the
mantle-edges of Lima and then it appears that
there are many of them. They are exquisite.
One wonders why he did not see before a curious
fish partially concealed behind a sea-weed; he has
two round spots at either end, one must be an eye,
and it is hard to determine which end goes first.
A surge from without causes an inflow of water,
and the contents of the pool sways slightly.
Something darts in with the inflow, circles the
basin with incredible swiftness, and darts out
again.
One by one new discoveries of animal forms
emerge into view or dissolve from sight amid the
riot of color like the changing pictures on a screen
until one begins to question the normal condition
of his vision, but it is simply the perfection of
color adaptation of the residents of an exposed
station. A large proportion of the fishes are
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 207
the young of reef-dwelling species—marvelously
painted creatures—and so the tide pool becomes
a sort of nursery or training school for the larger
marine world without.
Some time devoted to the reefs that project
from the shore was less profitably employed
although the locality yielded some good things.
Although we had not made as close a study of the
reefs about Antonio as we had of the Colorados
farther east, yet, from such data as we had been
able to gather while dredging or passing from the
schooner to the lighthouse, we felt fairly con-
vinced that the coral patches hereabouts belonged
to the fringing-reef type. No doubt the barrier
reef extends along the edge of the submerged
plateau to some point northeast of the cape, but a
complex of inner reefs about the cape, and indeed
to some extent from Guadiana West, surely indi-
cates fringing reefs. The sea bottom off Antonio
is not charted and is practically unknown. We
could determine the fact, however, that very close
to shore flourishing reef-corals exist in scattered
patches. Deeper living reefs could be discerned
below as far as the transparency of the very clear
water would permit us to see. The Patron in-
208 CRUISE OF THE (BARKERA
formed us that approach to the cape even in light
draft vessels is very difficult even though the
deep blue of the Gulf Stream seems but a stone’s
throw out.
The field party returned to the schooner after
dark reporting rain squalls, great heat, mosquitoes,
and jejenes, even in excess of the previous day.
No doubt they were very bad but they could not
have been worse. Some things are impossible.
Before turning in for the night, we held a round-
robin to decide upon our future best course of
action. Further work about the cape seemed
needless unless several weeks could be taken for
an intensive process of collecting and this, of
course, was out of the question. Another fort-
night would about mark the time limit of our stay
in Cuba, and we decided that the fourteen days
could be better utilized by extending our explora-
tions to the east of Esperanza, giving us oppor-
tunity to visit the great Pan de Guajaibon and to
try out some dredging in Bahia Honda and-Ca-
bafias Bay. By leaving the schooner at La Fe
and proceeding overland to Vifiales we would secure
at least two days’ collecting there, while the boat
was making the return journey to Esperanza.
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 209
This program was accordingly decided upon and
in the morning we would bid the cape adios.
Wednesday, May 27th. ‘The very large catch of
the previous day necessitated considerable labor
before the deck could be cleared for sailing. We
were very desirous also of making a few hauls of
the dredge in deeper water before finally leaving
the cape, and believing there would be ample time
for it, we set out in the launch for the edge of blue
water off Cape Cajon. A number of hauls in four
to six fathoms yielded very poor results beyond
some alge new to us. Further progress out was
prevented by the menace of more chubascos, indeed,
we scarcely had time to take shelter, close in under
the beach at Cajon, before the first of the squalls
struck and deluged us with rain. Following the
chubascos this time there was no sun, and the
elements refused to compromise. A strong wind,
whipping about from one point to another, con-
tinued to blow, and the sea made up into a steep
chop. All hope of further work had to be aban-
doned and we headed for the schooner already
standing out under full sail.
After an hour or two of beating against a strong
wind and heavy chop, the water boiling up through
14
210 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
the lee scuppers and swirling over the deck, and
with weather conditions growing steadily worse,
the Patron advised making harbor among the
Lefia Keys for the night. Although the distance
to Guadiana Bay was not over forty miles the
chances were slight of reaching its shelter before
dark, and the necessity of spending an uncomfort-
able night in the open off a lee shore would likely
result. The little cove of San Juan, sheltered by
one of the Lefia Keys, offered us a harbor which
we gladly accepted. It was an immense relief to
get out of the smother, into the quiet of the cove.
Once at anchor, the tables were put up, the tent
‘‘clean-up” the last
of the catch and get it properly stowed.
The night was bad, rain and wind, but we
raised, and we proceeded to
rejoiced in our snug berth under the sheltering
islands.
It seemed now that the squalls and atmospheric
disturbances of the past few days had been merely .
forerunners of the real storm that had set in.
The Patron explained that this stretch of coast,
from Guadiana to the cape, is the terror of the
fishermen. Mischief is always brewing above, and
safety conditions below are not good—poor holding
CAPE SAN ANTONIO 211
ground, no harbors (save one at the Lefia Keys),
and a shore always a lee one through the prevail-
ing northeasterly direction of the winds. In sum-
mer it is swept by chubascos, in winter it is open
to the force of frequent northers, and between times
it is subject to both.
CHAPTER XV
Lena Heys to Guadiana Bay
Thursday, May 28th. By 5 o’clock we were
under way. The wind had moderated during the
night and held more steadily from the east. Once
clear of the keys, a disproportionately heavy sea
was running, into which we bucked. An easterly
current of about one knot accounted for this.
During the whole tedious day of beating in long
tacks against the wind and the sea, to accomplish
only forty miles in a straight line, we experienced
every kind and description of weather, generally
adverse and disagreeable. The schooner is very
stiff and carried all regular sail. Although she
made excellent weather of it with easy pitch and
roll there was too much motion for work. It was
by far our most uncomfortable day aboard, for
without employment there was no relief from the
contemplation of our unhappy surroundings.
When rain squalls arrived, the crew would
quickly remove their clothes and slip into trousers
212
LENA KEYS TO GUADIANA BAY 213
and shirts of very heavy white wool which they
found preferable to any sort of rubber or oil-skin
protection. One would reasonably suppose that
such a covering would be intolerably hot in the
temperature of 76° (about the day’s average).
There is much that is peculiar about the relation
of the body to air temperature in the tropics.
Very slight changes of temperature, especially a
drop of four or five degrees, are keenly felt. Ona
bright sunny day with a temperature of, say 78°,
one dresses in very thin clothes and seeks the shade.
If a passing shower depresses the glass to 74°, one
may find a wrap comfortable. At 69°, one may
positively suffer with cold, especially if the air is
damp, and a temperature of 60° fairly shrivels
up a community. Apparently a residence in the
tropics, where temperature changes are rela-
tively slight, deprives the skin of its adaptability
acquired in colder climates. Humidity in the air,
whether north or south, greatly increases the effect
of temperature upon the body, but this is even
more felt in the tropics. In New York, for in-
stance, a temperature of 76°, with a high degree
of humidity, would be hot and uncomfortable.
Here it gives a feeling of cold. The dividing line
214 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
in temperature, below which moisture in the air
gives a cold impression and above which it gives
a hot impression, is somewhere near 80°-82°. In
our northern homes we think nothing of a drop of
twenty or twenty-five degrees in half as many
hours, or indeed in as many minutes, and a very
little addition of clothes suffices for bodily comfort.
In the late afternoon we reached Guadiana Bay
and anchored at 6 o’clock about a mile from La Fe.
As we proposed leaving the schooner here to
rejoin her at Esperanza, Rodriguez was detailed
to go ashore and arrange for a conveyance to take
us the next day to Mendoza. A general scramble
below to find suit-cases and appropriate clothes
continued up to bed-time.
What a delight it was to rest upon even keel
in the still waters of Guadiana Bay! To really
appreciate and enjoy the good things of life
one must have experience of the bad.
CHAPTER XVI
Overland from La Fe to Vinales
Friday, May 29th. At daylight there was great
activity aboard the Barrera, the overland party
making ready to debark and the crew preparing
for a continuous journey to Esperanza. Bartsch,
Clapp, Rodriguez, and I were landed at La Fe
before 7 o'clock where we found awaiting us a
three-horse outfit to take us to Mendoza (Paso
Real), a station on the Western Railway near
Guane, the terminus. The journey of twenty-one
miles was completed in a little over three hours.
From the Bay of Guadiana (on the north side
of the island) to the south coast is not over fifteen
miles of low-lying flat savanna. This lowland
area extends east almost to Mendoza, and west for
a shorter distance to a point where begin the ele-
vated coral reefs of the western extremity of Cuba.
This Guadiana region is obviously but a recently
and slightly raised shallow sea bottom, where
reefs, if they ever existed, were smothered under
215
216 CRUISE OF THE BAKKERA
the silt deposited by the rivers bringing down the
sands and mud from the high Jomas and sierras
to the east. In late Tertiary times the western
end of Cuba as already suggested was marked
by Capes Avalos, Pinatillo, and Colorado, and the
then western coast followed thence roughly a line
passing not very far south of the present Mendoza.
The river depositions derived from the sierras and
lomas and poured into the shallow sea immediately
bordering the coast became but little admixed with
coral sand and reef detritus. The elevation of the
peninsula is along an axis coincident with the
south shore, giving to that coast line a more abrupt
appearance (farallones). From the greater ele-
vation of the south shore, the land tilts downward
to the north, ending, as already noted, in a low-
lying swampy area along the north coast. Not
having had opportunity to study the farallones
of the south coast I can only hazard a guess that
the elevation of the peninsula was about two
hundred feet along its axis. The uplift of the
Guadiana sea bottom was much less. The differ-
ences in character and general aspect of these two
regions are well marked. The Guadiana basin is
a flat sandy prairie or savanna with occasional
v1
OVERLAND FROM LA FE TO VINALES 217
slight depressions now occupied by shallow lakes
and very thinly covered by straggling pines (P.
occidentalis), grasses, and some cabbage palms.
The sandy soil is unevenly mixed with clay
derived from the sierras from which source
came also a trace of leached-out iron salts that
now give the characteristic reddish stain to the
ground.
The country traversed along the twenty-one
mile road from La Fe to Mendoza interested us
greatly, as it is different from anything seen before
in Cuba. The general aspect is that of a northern
country, and we were continually reminded of the
pine barrens of Georgia or, better, of the pine
regions of the Atlantic coastal plain of the United
States. The northern aspect is made the more
striking by many wild flowers that carpet por-
tions of the ground, and also by the fact that cer-
tain of these flowers, themselves of northern type,
grow in considerable profusion—a northern rather
than a tropical habit. By removing from sight
the occasional clumps of palmettoes it would be
difficult here to imagine oneself in Cuba, or even
in the semi-tropics.
Barring a few indications of fresh-water shells
218 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
we found no trace of mollusks. Insects were
scarce, save for some butterflies. Of reptiles we
saw none but we were told by the driver that there
were crocodiles in the lakes.
There were many birds. Among pigeons we
noted the West Indian mourning dove (Zenaidura
macroura), the Zenaida dove (Zenaida zenaida),
and the Cuban ground dove (Chempelia passerina
aflavida). The Cuban bob-white uttered its
cheerful note from all directions; this is a smaller,
darker bird than our American quail, but the latter
is also found in Cuba. A rather rare bird that
we had opportunity to watch as it stood stiffly
rigid to avoid detection is the large Cuban sand-
hill crane (Grus nesiotes). These large birds
stalk about the grassy plains near La Fe usually
along the margins of the shallow ponds. The
ubiquitous turkey buzzard is here and the little
Cuban sparrow-hawk (Cerchnets sparveria domint-
censis) is even more abundant. Of other birds
of prey we saw here our only example of Audubon’s
caracara (Polyborus cheriway). The common mock-
ing bird of the south, to whom Linnzus gave the
appropriate name of Adimus polyglottus orpheus,
is usually in evidence if not always by sight.
OVERLAND FROM LA FE TO VINALES 219
Bartsch our ornithologist enumerated twenty-six
species along the way.
Approaching Mendoza, the two large mountains,
‘‘Sierra de Guane”’ and ‘“‘Sierra de Paso Real de
Guane,”’ loom up high and imposing, and a gradual
transition is apparent in the country round about.
The sandy soil changes to clay and the vegetation
becomes wholly different. Royal palms appear
in groups, and the pines are left behind along with
the flowering shrubs and cabbage palms. Ceibas
and hardwood trees with denser foliage are met.
The Pleistocene sea bottom is now crossed and
we emerge upon the older mainland of Cuba—the
old coastal strip. Entering the town of Mendoza
and bumping along its only street, part of the
ancient royal road, we reached the end of our
carriage journey at a tienda opposite the railway
station.
The two high sierras—better called mogotes—of
*“Guane”’ and ‘‘Paso Real de Guane,”’’ directly in
front of Mendoza, are the last mountains of con-
siderable size belonging to the north and south
range, already referred to as beginning in the
north with Pefia Blanca. South of these two
large and steep mountains is a series of small
220 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
mogotes and rocky patches, forming the attenuated
southern end of the range. Just how far they
extend—if to the coast—we do not know, but
probably traces of them might be found even into
the Ensenada de Cortes.
Back of the inn at Mendoza is one of these
small mogotes from which the road builders are
blasting out a pure white limestone for road mac-
adam. We regarded it with hungry eyes, for this
would be our only chance to try out some col-
lecting in this range. We bolted breakfast and
made a dash for the spot with a time-allowance of
just one hour before our train was due. The hour
was well spent, for we fell upon a remarkably inter-
esting lot of land-shells, among which was the
extraordinary Urocoptis dautzenbergiana. ‘The re-
ported habitat of this very locally distributed
snail is the large mountain of ‘‘Paso Real de
Guane’’ and we had not counted upon the good
fortune of finding it upon a small isolated mogote.
We caught our train by a second’s margin. The
railroad passes east through the sierra belt where
the elevations are eroded down to merely a rocky
region of huge limestone boulders, vine-covered,
and very appealing as collecting stations. The
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VINALES 225
paint anointed its sores. But its spirit is broken.
The once haughty vehicle now rattles up to the
inn with many a protesting creak and groan as
though begging for rest—eternal rest. But Mar-
tinez is no believer in rest, while duty still calls.
It was for land-shells chiefly we wished to devote
two days about Vifiales. Although the region
had been considerably worked by various members
of our expedition upon other occasions, there still
remained for exploration certain unvisited mogotes
and parts of the sierra. As before suggested
Vifiales offers exceptional advantages both for
intensive collecting and for study of geographic
distribution, for within comparatively easy access
of the town several of the sierra systems converge,
and are near together. We believed the quickest
solution of all sierran faunal problems would be
found in the mollusks and for a full collection of
these from every mogote and every sierra we felt
the time and labor would be well spent.
A series of four mogotes (beginning at a point
near the road, about a mile southwest of Vifiales)
traverse the valley diagonally toward the western
end of the large masses of El Tumbadero and Dos
Hermanos. These four small mogotes appear like
15
226: » CRUISE OF, THE BARRERA
castellated islands in the green sea of the valley
and are richly clothed in the characteristic sierra
flora. They bear the local name of ‘‘ Los Mogotes
de la Gran Vega.”’
Approaching the first of-the series nearest the
road, we divided our party of four into two parts,
each taking one side of the mogote and working
around to meet at the farther end, thence to pro-
ceed to the next and repeat the encircling process,
and so on to the final end of the last elevation.
In this way, proceeding slowly and deliberately,
we gathered a harvest of specimens from each one.
There had been some rain at Vifiales, but it was
very apparent that the wet season was not nearly
so far advanced as we had found it to be farther
west in the cape region. The mollusks had
scarcely emerged as yet from their winter’s hiber-
nation and had to be searched for more diligently.
The sky above was deep blue and the air felt
dry and exhilarating, contrasting agreeably with
the moisture-laden atmosphere of San Antonio,
although the temperature was quite as high.
The catch from the Vega mogotes represented
but few species; their specific affinities are wholly
with the main range north of Vifiales, showing the
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VINALES 227
mogotes to be remnants of that system and of no
relation to the series now represented by the
mogotes of ‘‘ Kilometer 14.”
Having completed these four hills to our satis-
faction we proceeded next to the west end of Tum-
badero. Here we could expect only to find the
regulation species of the sierra unless possibly
we might stumble upon one or both of Wright’s
‘‘lost’”’ species, a possibility that always stimulated
us to extra effort when in the neighborhood of
Vifiales. Our own collecting for many miles
about Vifiales, as a headquarters, had brought to
our bag many species of land-shells not noted by
Charles Wright, but we had never found even a
trace of the particular two mentioned and to
which he had given the simple locality designation
of ‘‘Vifiales.”” To one, however, he had added
“‘En los paredones de los despefiaderos de Vifiales”’
which means “‘lofty unscalable places.”” In a re-
gion where there is little else than despefiaderos the
designation is not very positive. Wherever this
remarkable Blesospira echinus does live it must be
very abundant, for Wright took enough of them
to distribute specimens very generally among the
collectors of the day. As this genus is unique
228 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
in the one species and wholly different from any
other land-shell of western Cuba (its one affinity
being in eastern Cuba), we were particularly de-
sirous of finding it for anatomical study. An
exhaustive search along the base of the high walls
of Tumbadero, and far up into its recesses, failed
to produce any evidence of its existence. An
equally persistent search along the eastern face
of Hermanos also gave negative results.
About the open fields, and especially, perhaps,
near the base of the mountains, we noted an abun-
dance of the “sensitive plant,’—Mzmosa pudica.
It is a low-growing plant covering with its doubly
compound pinnate leaves the ground in patches of
several square yards. The “sensitive” quality
that gives it its name is displayed in its curious
habit of suddenly shrinking when disturbed.
This shrinkage gives an impression of a sudden
wilting as though the shrub had been scorched.
When touched, however lightly, the leaves of the
entire plant instantly droop and fold up. The
more vigorous the disturbance the wider the area
affected. Can this be some highly specialized
form of protection against browsing animals that
reject dead fodder? This curious contraction of
Guia ..INV,, DNILWa-WOIL SHL
VINALES 229
the protoplasm of the plant cells under the stimu-
lus of a touch is not without parallel in certain
other plants where the quality is developed to
even greater refinement, notably in the fly-catch-
ing blossoms of some well-known species. In that
case the weight of a small insect causes the flower
to close upon and imprison its victim. The
Mimosa soon regains its lost ‘‘freshness’”’ if not
further molested.
The red soil about the base of the sierras like
that of the famed Vuelta Abajo is very rich in the
elements required for the finest quality of tobacco,
and to this purpose the greater part of the valley
is devoted. Cultivation is often extended to the
very base of the mountain walls. Here the alter-
nate crop is corn and malanga. ‘The valley area
is divided into a great number of small farms of
not over twenty or thirty acres, upon most of
which is a small palm-thatched hut or bohio.
Each household must obtain its supply of water
from the nearest river, and this is accomplished
by the laborious process of dragging a barrel upon
runners by horse or oxen, to and from the source,
sometimes quite a mile away. This labor is
constantly going on, usually under direction of
230 CRUISE. OF THE BARRERA
the younger members of the family while the men
are at work in the fields, plowing or otherwise
tending their crops. Stolid oxen, with heads
bowed low under the heavy yoke, strain at the
primitive plow while their drivers shout orders
to them. Oxen not in use, graze in fields fenced
off for them, and upon the back of each sits perched
a black bird, industriously hunting for ticks. When
approached these birds fly in groups to the nearest
fence uttering in constant repetition their peculiar
cry of ‘‘an-nee, an-nee.’’ It is known as the
‘‘ani’’ (Crotophaga ani) and is found everywhere
throughout the island wherever there are cattle,
even to the outskirts of the larger cities. The
bird is black with a metallic sheen, about the size
of a small crow, and carries a peculiar crest upon
the upper mandible. They live upon the ticks or
other parasitic insects on cattle, a decidedly un-
pleasant diet to contemplate. This is by far the
most conspicuous bird in Cuba; the northern
visitor is astonished by the unusual habit of
perching upon the oxen who seem wholly indiffer-
ent to their presence upon their backs. Other
birds hop about in front of the grazing cattle to
catch the insects disturbed by the big beasts
4 eae
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i
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~
A NATIVE BOHIO IN THE VINALES VALLEY
VINALES 231
nosing about the tufts of grass. In front of some
of the bohios are a few flowering shrubs planted
for decoration. Usually about the houses there are
several small naked children, always a dog or two
of ferocious mien, some chickens, a few pigs and
cats, sometimes a goat, generally a parrot, and
not infrequently some gamecocks tethered to
stakes.
Crossing from Tumbadero to Hermanos, a short
quarter-mile over the level valley floor, two of us
entered a bohio to beg a drink of water. A very
old woman greeted us with apologies that she
could not offer us coffee, as she possessed no sugar,
and coffee without sugar, we must know, is like
a soul without hope orredemption. She wished to
know where we came from. ‘From Washington,”’
a place she had never heard mentioned, but, in
general, from the United States. ‘‘Holy Saints,
and how long does the journey take?”’ “Several |
days.” ‘God Almighty, and have you wives and
families there’?’’ ‘‘ Yes, most of us have.”’ ‘‘Christ
Jesus and his Mother of perfect purity, have you
left them there alone?”’ “Yes,’’ we guiltily con-
fessed, “we have, but we are determined to return
to them, come what may.” ‘‘It is well,’’ and she
222 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
accepted some cigarettes as proof of friendship but
not as pay for the water.
The greater part of this rich land is owned by
absentee landlords. There can be no high degree
of stability, political, social, or otherwise, in a
land where the masses of the people do not own
their own homes. The peasant farmer, who can
sit in the shade of his own fig tree after his work
is done, thinks twice before he will exchange his
plow for a rifle in the cause of some plausible
orator who wishes to be president. Cuba must
encourage the small ownership of land in her popu-
lation for no less reason than for her stability as
a nation, even though the system may not make
for the ‘‘economic efficiency’’ of large estates. It
is enough for any country that its manufactures
should be corporate owned and controlled, possibly
even better that they should be, but it is not good
to make peons of peasants.
The rank and file of the Cuban population is
not warlike, nor even disputatious. They merely
ask for security and an opportunity to make a
living. They are, however, impressionable and
temperamental. An orator too easily lashes them
into frenzy with a stock-in-trade recital of their
GNNOYDMOVEA NI OHSGVEWNL 13 JO 390V4 LSAM JO STTIVM ‘AATIWA S3IVWNIA “MOld NWAND AHL
VINALES 233
‘‘wrongs”’ and some sky-rocket patriotism that
would make an American audience laugh. He
does not fight because he likes to, as most Ameri-
cans believe, but he fights for the same reason as
would an American. The difference is he is more
easily convinced that he ought to fight and that by
so doing he will right some terrible economic wrong.
CHAPTER XVIII
Sierra de Vinales
Sunday, May 31st. The town of Vifiales is
dominated by the forested height of El Tumbadero
which conceals from view the main range (Sierra
de Vifiales) to the north. The southern face of
the main range presents an almost continuous
paredon, or vertical wall of rock, extending from
the Puerta del Ancon, on the east, to a western
termination far beyond sight. This paredon is
buttressed by a high and very steep talus covered
with guinea grass and in places by a thin scrub
forest. Above this talus of some two hundred feet
elevation the paredon presents the somewhat un-
usual sierra feature of an approximately horizontal
stratification which is warped and undulating,
showing the effect of former great pressure and
strain. The rock is discolored and considerably
altered by metamorphic process. It is just pos-
sible that the limestone of this southern range of
the Organos Mountains is a shade older than that
234
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SIERRA DE VINALES 235
of the northern system (the Costanera), but the
folding upward of the two was certainly contem-
poraneous. All of the mogotes of the Vifiales
valley, including the large Tumbadero, the Dos
Hermanos, and the many smaller ones scattered
about the valley floor are clearly but fragments of
the main sierra now wholly detached and isolated
by erosion. The ammonites, which Dr. Torre
has been collecting for several years, come prin-
cipally from the rocks of this southern range and
indicate a probable jurassic origin of the limestone.
As heretofore noted, the mogotes about ‘‘ Kilometer
14”’ do not belong to the Vifiales range, but to-
gether with the Cerro de Cabras hills farther west,
represént either remnants of a third line of jurassic
sierra that once followed a course parallel with
the existing ranges, or possibly a later Tertiary
deposit upon the flanks of the older mountains.
We lacked sufficient data to determine this ques-
tion. The westward extension of the Sierra de
Vifiales is locally known as ‘‘La Penitencia’”’
or ‘‘Sierra del Infierno,’’ two names well chosen
in the opinion of anyone who attempts to climb
the talus to reach the walls above.
To surmount this talus was our program for
346s \CRUISEOF THe BaRRER
the day. Possibly the ‘‘despefiaderos’’ of Charles
Wright (where lived the elusive Blesospira ec-
hinus) were these very same paredones, and we
determined upon their exploration. From the
town it is possible to go in Martinez’s veteran cab
around the western end of Tumbadero and to
proceed thence about half-way across the inter-
vening valley extending to the foot of the main
sierra. The balance of the way must be
accomplished afoot or on horseback.
While proceeding along slowly under the shadow
of Tumbadero through an atmosphere surcharged
with the uncomplimentary remarks of Martinez
to the mules and with occasional stops to retrieve
a lamp shaken loose and shed by the cab, we came
to a sudden halt; just such a halt as a motor-boat
makes when the clutch refuses to disengage in
front of a solid pier. Our mules could get over
or under or around every kind of obstacle in the
road yet discovered, but they declined to pass over
a maja snake lying across our path. ‘The size
of snakes depends very much upon the observer’s
state of mind, but this one dispassionately
measured eight and a half feet.
The maja is the only Cuban representative of
RODRIGUEZ AND THE ‘' MAJA”’
SIERRA DE VINALES 237
the large boas. Generally distributed over the
island, it is more abundant in the mountains and
in the swampy coastal regions. It is regarded as
harmless but much disliked by those who raise
chickens, and that includes the bulk of the rural
population. As a sort of reprisal, the natives try
out an oil from the maja’s intestines that is be-
lieved to possess medicinal value. He is a night
prowler not often seen by day. He hides in caves
- and among the boulders of the sierra, or in the
dense foliage of trees. The swamp variety (once
considered specifically distinct from the highland
form) passes the daylight hours immersed in the
water with his elongated head projecting upon
some black root or branch. They depend largely
for food upon the supply of hutias and follow
them relentlessly from tree to tree, the agility of
both being about equal. The snake is hardly
large enough to be a menace to children; however,
there are native records in the Cubitas Mountain
region of fifteen-foot specimens, but such records
need confirmation. The Cuban naturalist, Gund-
lach, whose word should be good, even goes fur-
ther than this and declares the snake attains a
maximum length of twenty-one feet. Barbour,
238 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
who has collected many majas, gives twelve feet
for present-day specimens, and the conservative
Stejneger says an eight-footer is very large. This
is the Epicrates angulifer and is confined to Cuba;
it is very closely related to the Haitian boa. Like
all the boas, they remain for days inactive and
sluggish, but the maja is more than usually irri-
table and resentful of disturbance, striking swiftly
and inflicting a painful though not poisonous bite.
Cuba shares the good fortune of the other islands
of the greater Antilles, in being wholly free from
poisonous reptiles. None of the pit vipers of our
moccasin-copper-head-rattle-snake type, so ex-
tensively distributed over the mainland of North
and Central America, seem ever to have found
lodgment in these tropical islands. The venom-
ous Elaps, represented by a number of species in
South and Central America (and by the coral-
snake in the United States), are also wholly absent
from the Antilles. The only dangerous snake in
any of the West Indies is the fer-de-lance of Mar-
tinique and some other islands of the chain south
of the Anegada channel.
The origin and development of a poison sack
and hollow, or grooved fangs to inject venom into
SIERRA DE VINALES 239
the circulation of a victim, is one of the most in-
teresting problems in biology. There are, for
instance, certain families among the Ophidians
that include genera of both venomous and of non-
venomous snakes. The fact that a development
of the poison glands took place in widely differing
genera and in distant parts of the world, quite inde-
pendently of each other, would indicate that snakes,
as a type of animal life, possess a tendency in that
direction. If, therefore, the poison apparatus is
of benefit to so many kinds of snakes, and all have
a tendency to its development, why have so many
orders of them no such provision? It is probably
true that the majority of non-poisonous species
are the more active snakes relying more upon alert-
ness and agility to meet their life requirements,
while the reverse is generally the case with the
poisonous ones that depend upon their specialized
poison equipment to protect themselves. There
are exceptions, however, as in the case of the king
cobra of India, and to a lesser degree in the fer-de-
lance of Martinique. Among the snakes of our
own country, one cannot fail to contrast the slug-
gish sedentary habit of our pit vipers with the
nervous agility of the harmless forms. As a mat-
240 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
ter of fact in most instances prowess in battle must
be accorded the non-poisonous species, notably well
shown in the case of the king snake of southeastern
United States. One can easily fancy what a per-
fect animal of offense and defense would be a
serpent possessing both the agility of the colubers
and the poison equipment of the vipers. Such a
creature, unless handicapped by some weak spot in
his armor, such as defective sight, smell, or hearing,
would rule over all the other dwellers of the forest.
A number of smaller species of snakes were cap-
tured this day by the intrepid Rodriguez, our
enthusiast in that line of study, who employed
the simple method of seizing them in his hands
and taking the consequences. Courage and
cowardice, when analyzed, become largely a mat-
ter of knowledge and experience. He knew to
just what extent any particular snake could harm
him and hence he could overcome the instinctive
fear we all have for bodies that glide and coil.
To see Rodriguez hurl himself upon a vicious
snake and transfer the writhing creature to a bag
at first transfixed us with horror, and yet a per-
fectly harmless hermit crab lumbering about the
schooner deck would keep Rodriguez nervously
SIERRA DE VINALES 241
apprehensive. In time, however, he worried less
about the hermits, and we, on the other hand, be-
came sufficiently valiant to help in the capture of
his snakes—provided they were decently small
and not too resentful. One of these (a small boid,
Ungalia maculata) Clapp and I undertook to cap-
ture while Rodriguez was busy at something else.
He was probably not over two feet in length but
the amount of excitement and nerve force ex-
pended on our part would hardly be more than
justified in the capture of Lange’s fifty-foot
Amazon snake. Ungalia represents a genus of
smaller Cuban boids. It is also met in other
islands of the greater Antilles and has Central
American affinities.
From the top of the talus, a superb view of the
valley below is obtained. Above, the paredon rises
perpendicularly, though not smoothly as is usually
the case. Here the horizontal strata permit of a
form of erosion that provides many little shelves
and projections upon which air plants and agaves
find lodgment and relieve the monotony of a solid
wall. From above, the sierra forest sends down
long streamers of /zanes and vines that often swing
free from the wall. Here and there clusters of
16
242 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
wasps’ nests hang from the under side of projec-
tions and to these cling bright brown wasps with
amber-tinted wings. These maintain a self-
satisfied noli me tangere attitude, as though con-
scious of the world’s respect, and they ignore our
presence. Less formidable creatures would get
into a flutter of excitement over the near approach
of despoiling man to their nests, but these little
demons rely confidently upon their reputation
and expect no molestation. Needless to say, if
they do get it, it is purely accidental.
We followed the foot of the paredon along the
narrow shelf at top of the talus about a mile where
it abruptly stops and the wall is bare down to the
valley floor. We were obliged to descend with-
out having made a very satisfactory catch of
land-shells.
Proceeding on, a mile farther along the base of
the range, we found an excellent field of operation
in a mass of huge limestone blocks covering quite
an acre in extent and piled up against the mount-
ain side fully a hundred feet. What a mighty
crash there must have been when this mountain
peak toppled to earth from its lofty position.
The rock is now smothered in vegetation of be-
SIERRA DE VINALES 243
wildering variety and bound tight in miles of
green cordage. Here we made a splendid catch of
land-shells, but still no trace of the ‘‘lost species”’
of Wright.
On the return trip to the town time was taken
to survey the western face of the large twin
mogote of Dos Hermanos and also to explore
a small detached satellite of these. Nothing
of special importance was taken from either
station.
At the hotel we found a telegram from Dr. Torre
from which we concluded he would be unable to
rejoin us here for the balance of our trip to the
eastward. This was a great disappointment, for
besides the pleasure of his company we had hoped
for his aid in making the proposed Guajaibon
expedition.
In the late afternoon Greenlaw and Gill arrived
by motor car from Esperanza reporting a good
run in the schooner from La Fe. No attempt had
been made to collect en route. Instead of returning
immediately to the schooner we decided to spend
another day about Vifiales to give the crew a rest
and an opportunity for arun ashore. This would
also enable us to examine more closely the north
244 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
side of the Sierra de Vifiales, and to explore the
river that, flowing under La Chorrera, emerges at
the Bafios de San Vicente. We hoped to get
there some blind fish and crustaceans.
CHAPTER XIX
San Vicente Banos
Monday, June ist. A certain holiday spirit
possessed us this lovely morning, and it soon be-
came apparent from the general levity of the
crowd that no very serious work would likely be
accomplished. To reach the boat by night and
to sail the following day would be quite sufficient.
The boxes and bags of the two previous days’
collecting were made into parcels, bound in heavy
twine, and all the suit-cases and other impedimenta
were packed into the groaning cab, and then as
many of us as could follow piled in on top. We
always felt like cheering when our cab drove up.
Martinez opened the throttle by a snap of the whip
and we rattled and wheezed along the carretera
towards the pass—La Puerta del Ancon. At the
narrow pass we left the vehicle with orders to
Martinez to continue on to the Bafios and deposit
our luggage. Then we proceeded afoot to the
“‘Cove of Delight,’ Clapp and Bartsch continuing
245
246 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
along the base of the sierra beyond. About noon
the party reassembled at the house of Sefiora Piad
and received a delightful welcome from that
hospitable family. We must indeed, have made a
formidable party for any hostess to invite to
luncheon. At the table an amusing incident
occurred, that, for a brief moment, embarrassed
the Sefiora, but set us all into a whirl of laughter,
establishing an eniente cordiale which only the
general appreciation of a humorous situation can
bring about. A venturesome chicken entering
the dining-room suddenly flew upon the dinner
table and made a dive for the nearest platter of
food: -Those sitting close to the scene of the raid
attempted to shoo away the unwelcome guest,
but only succeeded in driving it down the full
length of the table, leaping from one side to the
other to escape threats from every quarter. Dur-
ing this running of the gauntlet, the chicken
managed to step (actually!) into every platter of
food on the table and at the farther end, amid
a general hostile demonstration, it succeeded in
seizing a steak from Bartsch’s plate and carrying
it overboard in its retreat. Any fowl that could
accomplish so much, deserved the booty, but such
eqnyg ‘evuvaeTp ‘0D oJOYd UPolIoury 9Y4 jo uorsstused Aq poonposdo xy
NOONY 130 wlydand V1
SAN VICENTE BANOS 247
obvious justice was not to be allowed. Once on
the floor, a cat leaped upon the meat and two dogs
leaped upon the cat. In the mélée the steak dis-
appeared beyond any possible recovery by the
original thief—all of which shows how little equity
there is in this world.
At the cave we found the river too full for ex-
ploration, especially within the darkness of its
tunnel, so we decided upon a good swim in the
cold water. Having undressed, we stood about
a la September Morn, hesitating a moment to
plunge, when someone reported a snake in the
water; then another noted two more snakes, and
upon closer examination we found the river to be
full of them. They seemed, however, to be very
friendly and confidential, showing no fear of us,
nor hostility, but their presence in the water
dampened our ardor for the bath. They were
less than a yard long, dark brown, spotted, and
with long heads. It is a very common water
snake of Cuba that frequents stony rivers and is
generally known to Cubans as the cativo (Tretano-
rhinus variabilis). It is confined to the island
and is the only Antillean species of a Central Ameri-
can and Panamic genus. I have never observed
248 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
the cativo during the winter months. We took our
bath but with a prodigious amount of splashing.
A notable catch was made here of the exceed-
ingly rare Chondropoma vinalensis which we re-
garded as one of the real molluscan prizes of the
expedition.
Once again we sat under the great mimosa tree
by the side of the carretera opposite Sefiora Piad’s
house, awaiting the regular motor dzligencia for
Esperanza, and chatted with the local school-
master who has the curious conceit of dressing his
boys in feminine furbelows and the little girls in
more masculine severity of attire. Mounting the
big motor-bus we bowled noisily around the east-
ern end of the Costanera, passing close under its
superb cliffs and then across the gloomy pine
lomas to Esperanza on the coast.
On the goleta, we found the Patron and Lesmes
absent, and we were informed that our tree ducks
had escaped; the Patron, aided by Lesmes, was
in hot pursuit. What a hopeless quest! At 9
o’clock that evening they returned worn out but
triumphant in the possession of three tiny little
wood-duck chicks, captured miles away at the
cost of a journey through the wilds of an almost
eqn) ‘euraey ‘0D ojyoyg uvonouwy 94} JO UoIssttustad Aq paonposday
SONVS SLNASIA NYS LY 3341 VSOWIN AHL
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SAN VICENTE BANOS 249
uninhabited country. The escape of the tree
ducks (through no fault of his own) had deter-
mined the Patron, at once, to make good the loss.
The incident showed his fine sense of responsibility.
A glorious night of rare beauty tempted us to
neglect sleep. There is nothing in the world so
lovely as a still cloudless tropic night on the water.
Any description becomes a mere juggling of words
that at last conveys only some physical facts which
may be compressed into a tabloid form of agree-
able temperature and bright stars. What really
makes it so fine is the hypnotic effect upon man
himself, who, exalted by its poetic charm, gives
it the additional qualities which the irreverent
call “‘soul-stuff.”’
CHAPTER XX
Esperanza to Cayo Levisa
Tuesday, June 2d. Proceeding east from La
Esperanza, the fairway between the mainland and
the reef is less wide. The reef draws in closer to
the shore as the island shelf narrows. Various
groups of islands, sometimes with mangrove
fringes, are of the same type of formation as are
the sand-bars and shoals observed farther to the
west, but most of them have sufficient area of dry
land to support a considerable amount of vegeta-
tion other than merely of a salt marsh nature.
The main shore line is also bolder, thus affording
a welcome change from the mangrove and button-
wood swamps that are so monotonous a feature
of the littoral to the westward.
An early start in the schooner availed us but
little, for the air and the glassy surface of the
water were still as in the heart of the doldrums.
The bottom at about fifteen feet actually seemed
too near to make safe a dive from the deck. Our
250
ESPERANZA TO CAYO LEVISA 251
time, however, was not lost by delay in getting
under way, for a few hours of just such quiet con-
ditions were much needed to prepare and pack
the catch of the last three days, and a dredging
party in the launch improved the opportunity to
survey the bottom and select likely looking spots
for several excellent hauls. When the first morn-
ing puffs of the trade came along we stood out of
the bay, rounded Punta Lavanderas, and headed
to the east, gathering headway as the trade finally
settled down to a steady breeze. The greater
number of islands encountered and the closeness
of the reef forced the schooner into ever-narrowing
passages where the decreasing depth scarcely
permitted us to pass. The soft bottom of the
narrow fairway is streaked by grooves cut by the
keels of fishing craft. Several times we stuck,
but skilful jockeying freed us, and we crept on.
For a mile or more the legs of our tacks were
shortened to fifty feet and the bowsprit grazed
the trees as we came about.
A 3 o'clock in the afternoon, having reached a
point under the Levisa Keys and opposite a pass
through the reef of same name, the Patron an-
nounced that the schooner could proceed inside
252 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
no farther. From here on, then, the route to Bahia
Honda must be by blue water, as this was the
last of the passes that could be safely negotiated
by the Barrera. As it was impossible, therefore, to
reach the little harbor of La Mulata (our starting
point for the Pan de Guajaibon) by the schooner,
the only way left for the shore party, who wished
to visit the big mountain, was to proceed to La
Mulata in one of the smaller boats. We calcu-
lated it to be about twelve miles from our position
to Mulata Bay and thence about seventeen more
to Bahia Honda. As we knew nothing of Mulata,
we decided to await the morrow and by making
an early start in the auxiliary we would be enabled
to investigate, with a full day ahead, all the possi-
bilities of food and shelter at Mulata, and the
means, if any, of attaining Guajaibon. In case
of failure, we could at once proceed on, hugging
the shore line and feeling our way across the
reef and rejoin the schooner in the safe haven
of Bahia Honda before night should overtake
us.
Having decided on this program, the auxiliary
was selected with Luis and Pablo as crew. Provi-
sions and water for several days were put aboard
eqng ‘euvary{ 0D o,0YUg UPolIOoWY ayy Jo UoIssIulied Aq poonpoiday
NOILVWAA13 HLNOS—A3LNADIA NVS 43d WHANWLSOOSO
ESPERANZA TO CAYO LEVISA 253
and a full tank of gasolene, giving us a power radius
of about one hundred miles.
The sierra, from our new view-point, presented
an inspiring sight. The great Pan de Guajaibon,
with its three peaks, now seemed to be very near
and it dominated all other surrounding heights.
Through a gap, in the northern series of high ele-
vations, we could distinguish a confused mass of
mountains. One of the highest of these, far to
the south, we decided must be the Sierra de Guira,
which rises well above the other mountains in the
neighborhood of San Diego de los Bafios. La
Guira belongs to the southern range of the Or-
ganos and is a part of the system that encloses
Rangel. It is one of the greater mountains seen
from the car windows of the railway to Pinar.
Between Guira, to the south, and Guajaibon, to
the north, is a rough region of complicated mount-
ain structure, imperfectly known to the map-
makers, and it isa country of much interest to both
biologist and geologist. Having no roads beyond
the merest trails and but few habitations, it is not
an easy region to explore.
Our present interest, however, was sharply
focused upon Guajaibon. In previous trips to
254 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
western Cuba, this mountain had always been a
hoped-for attainment, but, for one cause or another,
none of us had ever reached its base. Approaches
are difficult from every direction and tediously
long except from the north. Even from the north,
its approach is well guarded, for the Bay of Mulata,
its nearest coast point, is difficult of reach from
anywhere.
Guajaibon has twice been visited by collecting
naturalists—the plodding Gundlach and the rapid
traveler, Morelet. Fifty years ago Gundlach
touched the mountain base at two points and took
away a wealth of booty that has made the local-
ity stand forth like an exclamation point in the
published faunal and floral lists of Cuba. In our
imaginations the place had assumed an especial
importance—a naturalist’s paradise of rich abund-
ance. A year before, Simpson and I were scram-
bling about the paredones of Guira and talking of
Guajaibon, when our guide pointed to a hazy peak
of bluish purple far to the north and remarked,
‘‘that’s it,’’ and we fell silent—even on rich,
splendid Guira.
Now, at last, we were upon the very thresh-
old and about to enter our delectable coun-
ESPERANZA TO CAYO LEVISA 255
try, if we could but find the route from the
coast.
The afternoon was spent in an examination of
the Levisa Keys and the reef without. Although
a very light sea was running, it was, nevertheless,
too strong to permit venturing upon the coral
patches—especially as diademas were very abun-
dant. A number of hauls of the dredge were
made among the sandy patches in and about the
reef which proved very profitable.
CHAPTER XXI
La Mulata
Wednesday, June 3d. At 6.30 A.M. the shore
party, Bartsch, Clapp, Rodriguez, and myself,
boarded the auxiliary, amid furious barking of the
two dogs and a volley of adzosfromthecrew. The
schooner at once hoisting anchor drew away,
and we, in the little boat, proceeded on our course
in the opposite direction toward the Alacranes
Keys just discernible on the eastern horizon.
Before going very far, one of the cylinders of our
engine ‘“‘lay down” and refused to “get up.”
Without Greenlaw, who is a wizard with engines
and speaks their language, we felt very helpless.
Everyone, in turn, ‘‘got out and got under,” and
did all that seemed possible to do to any engine.
When hope was about dead and we sat bathed in
gloom the balking cylinder suddenly started and
worked perfectly, and then we forged ahead
through the clear water in a most satisfactory
manner. Without charts or knowledge of the
256
LA MULATA 257
waters, we had some apprehension lest we miss
our mark. ‘Taking a course outside the Alacranes
Keys we continued until the last one was passed
and then turned directly in toward the mainland
coast. Here we discovered a wide open bay of
deep water, with shores wooded to the edge but
with no sign of habitations. Skirting the circular
shore line to locate any evidences of an opening
into the forest we finally decided upon landing for
a reconnaissance where some rocks projected into
the bay. Here, to our delight, we discovered a
path leading back through a semi-open country
with patches of timber. Following this for about
a half-mile we suddenly came upon a tuenda, or
little country store, of the most primitive kind.
It was the only habitation in sight in the midst of
a fine-looking country. The keeper of the tzenda
is a large, efficient-looking man of few words. He
looked us over in solemn silence and appeared to
gather an unfavorable impression. When we had
explained our raison @étre and our aspirations for
Guajaibon, he decided, though apparently against
his better judgment, to have dealings with us and
even to aid and abet us in the accomplishment of
our object. Accordingly we were promised nour-
17
258 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
ishment, beds, horses, and a guide, at which an-
nouncement we could have shouted for joy and
embraced our sphinx-like host. After all our
doubts and misgivings this, then, was really the
‘‘town’’ of La Mulata, the gate to Guajaibon,
and the way was open. From the tenda the
mountain looked not two miles away, magnificent
in its precipitous northern face and great height.
We were for leaving our equipment and making a
dash directly for it, but the man of the tzenda ad-
vised patience and horses. To our distress we
had to wait. A man would arrive later, he said,
who would look after the details and it might be
better to wait for him.
Within the tzenda was an unfloored room, hung
about with sheaves of fodder, onions, garlic, corn,
and sundry leather articles connected with har-
nesses and saddles. At one side was a counter,
behind which were some shelves bare of any stock
in trade. Upon the counter were a pair of scales,
a pile of wrapping paper, and some cord of vege-
table fiber for securing packages, all of which
seemed needless, when there was no one to buy
and nothing to sell. In the ceiling were festoons of
webs among which lurked large hairy spiders, and
LA MULATA 259
sundry rustlings in corners and among the sheaves
of fodder aroused thoughts. A swarm of chickens,
mongrel dogs, and pigs, passed in and out of the
wide open doors. Every few minutes there was a
general clearing out of these intruders by the pro-
prietor, but the task once accomplished, the
chickens flocked back with the assurance of at least
a few minutes’ leeway before another attack.
Later on a handsome young man, bearing a
Winchester rifle, dashed up to the door upon a
spirited horse and dismounted. . With rakish air
he swept in, glanced at us without sign of interest,
and went into executive session with the proprie-
tor. ‘This conference concluded, the young Lochin-
var approached us with quiet reserve and dignity
of manner. He would get horses and serve us as
guide, but the earliest possible start would be the
following morning. He must find horses from the
country around about, and saddles would be hard
to secure for so many, but it could be done. “Adios,
gentlemen’”’; and, like a projectile, he was off upon
his pony. Here was a new genus homo indeed.
In the hope of utilizing, to best advantage, the
day of enforced waiting, we struck off for the San
Marcos River, inland a half-mile distant. The
260 CRUISE OF THE BARKERA
country along the river is exceedingly beautiful.
Although the soil is of the sandstone type it must
contain some admixture of the limestone clays, for
the vegetation is superb and of the rich soil kind.
Splendid clumps of bamboos wave their feathery
plumes over the river, and fine large trees of dark
heavy foliage adorn the landscape. Groves of
the finest royal palms yet observed, even rivaling
those of the Yumuri, add their own peculiar charm
to the scene. Flowering shrubs of many kinds,
now in full bloom, scattered dashes of bright red
and yellow or pink over the earth. We asked our-
selves, why is not this splendid country settled
and cultivated? With the exception of the tienda
and one other house later discovered—the house
of our young Lochinvar—there was not a habita-
tion within miles. Lack of communication alone
can account for it. Some day when the railroad
will be extended from Guanajay, through Bahia
Honda to Esperanza, traversing this lovely coun-
try, it will become another of Cuba’s garden spots
—like Vifiales, the Yumuri, and Mayari in the east.
In the river we captured some crustaceans and
melanians and about its banks a few insects, a
snake, some lizards, and butterflies. We had not
LA MULATA 261
been there nearly long enough when a storm of great
severity made up about the summit of Guajaibon;
with ominous flash and peals of thunder it headed
for the coast driving us to shelter in the tenda.
When, with distant rumblings, the storm finally
passed, the heavy rain clouds disappeared, reveal-
ing again the big mountain. A setting sun tinted
the dissolving mists with a flush of rose, and the
Pan, growing somber in the fading light, took on
a deep purplish cast, seeming to actually expand
and approach us as darkness crept on. Soon
brilliant stars flashed from a cloudless sky, lesser
ones gradually filling in the spaces, and the Milky
Way glowed like filigreed silver. Fireflies began
swinging their bluish-green lanterns in silent signal
to each other. Some tree toads called with bell-
like sound. A herd of cattle drew near to lie upon
the ground, close to the tzenda, and their audible
breathing was the last sound heard as we drowsily
turned in upon some cots placed on the salesroom
floor. The proprietor barred the doors securely
against the fourteenth-century bandits of Spain,
and carrying out our only light, a tallow dip,
_ bolted the door into his own apartment. He
took no chances.
CHAPTER XXII
Pan de Guajaibon
Thursday, June 4th. At a very early hour our
host entered the shoproom where we slept and
opened the doors to the fresh morning air and to
the chickens that immediately swarmed in. Eager
to get started on our journey we hurriedly laced on
our leggings and repacked the canvas saddle-bag
containing all we possessed. At six, our young
Lochinvar, whose real name is Francisco Gomez, or
‘‘Pancho,”’ for short, arrived with four rather tired-
looking little horses that he had gathered the day
before from far and near. Their saddles were of
great antiquity, with practically all straps broken
and mended with pieces of string. The bridles were
a composite of leather remnants, rope, clothes-line,
and string. The stirrups had all suffered operations
of some sort and were bandaged with wire. Pan-
cho smiled faintly as we inspected the outfit and
appeared to enjoy the situation. Thus equipped
we set forth much like four Sancho Panzas in
262
NosivrynS
PAN DE GUAJAIBON 263
attendance upon Pancho who, finely mounted, led
the way, with a Winchester across the saddle and
three deerhounds in leash following eagerly by
his side.
Owing to high water in the San Marcos River,
the more direct route to the Pan was impracticable,
and a longer one to the westward had to be taken
—one that followed along the steep sides of a very
high pine Joma and finally crossed the river much
farther up where the flood would likely be less.
The route we were obliged to choose imposed upon
us a ride long to be remembered. The high loma
of quite fifteen hundred feet altitude presents a
deeply furrowed eastern face and is two or three
miles to the west of the direct route between
Mulata and the Pan. It seemed almost wicked to
have to follow a path that not only took us miles
out of our way, but compelled us. also to accept
added difficulties of travel. All went well enough
as we passed through the lowland country, but the
loma once reached our troubles began. This loma
is of sandstone and shales, upon a serpentine
foundation. It supports the usual scant conifer-
ous forest, but it differs from other Jomas thereto-
fore seen in its exceedingly abundant vegetation,
264 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
particularly in the arroyos (ravines) where the
floral condition almost approximates that of the
sierra in richness. The path is mercilessly rough
and steep. Our sudden and precipitous descents
down the rocky sides of arroyos, our flounderings
through the boulder-strewn beds of mountain
torrents, and our equally steep scrambles up the
opposite sides, repeated again and again through
countless arroyos, got on our nerves. Saddles
turned, girths parted, bridles snapped, and stirrups
fell off, necessitating many stops for repairs, all
to the satisfaction of the horses, however, that
seemed thankful for every accident.
Between the arroyos, the path winds along the
steep sides of the Joma tending always to work up-
wards, and the recent rains had made the trail
very slippery. To make matters worse, our course
appeared to take us no nearer the Pan, but threat-
ened, on the contrary, to convey us quite around
and beyond our goal and then, after traversing all
the mountain ranges of Cuba, to drop us finally
into the Caribbean. Pancho was slyly amused at
our annoyance, but he kept up our courage by
occasional mention of the fact that the path would
soon turn in the right direction and we should
PAN DE GUAJAIBON 265
cease boxing the compass and head directly for
our destination, which at last it did. We madea
final sharp descent into a rain-soaked valley of
limestone soil—a perfect quagmire of slippery clay,
traversed by many streams feeding into the San
Marcos. Fording many of these as well as the
larger river itself, we swung at last into the finca
of San Juan de Sagua, a tobacco estate, situated
at the western end of the Pan and close under the
foot of a southwestern spur of the big mountain.
Guajaibon at last!
The tobacco plantation of San Juan de Sagua
is a very old estate. The owners have cultivated
the rich valley lying within a ‘‘bay’’ formed by
an insweeping curve of the ‘‘shore line’’ into the
western end of the Pan. The mountain rises
everywhere precipitately from its base and is
densely forested. The valley portion, occupied
by the finca, having been reclaimed from the wild.
state, is now a series of open fields bordered by
royal palms and patches of exceedingly dense
growth. There is a central house of some preten-
sion, a barn, a large drying shed of semi-open
construction with high palm-thatched roof, and
scattered about within the palm groves are a
266 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
number of hohios of the natives, who attend the
crops.
The complete isolation of the finca, planted in
this wild region amid towering peaks and heavy
forest, has reacted badly upon its residents who
live so very close to nature. Knowing almost
nothing of the outside world, they are primitive to
an astonishing degree. The effect of isolation in
a wilderness has either a degenerating or an im-
proving effect, according to personality. The
pioneers of our own country, who left their eastern
homes to found an empire in the forests and prairies,
expanded and grew. Whatever of roughness or
even eccentricity of manner or speech they may
have acquired, when long removed from the level-
ing influences of civilization, they did not, in any
sense, become degenerate. They were adven-
turesome spirits to whom the idea of conquering
the wilderness made strong appeal, and they found
in the wilds the very elements best suited and
adapted to their well-being and they developed
into a strong and virile people. Those, however,
who through force of circumstances and with no
love of the wilderness itself, find themselves exiled
away from communities of their own kind, tend
onlay
(Sandstones)
Moms
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fw
about PE
1000° if
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:
:
:
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‘=
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ae Frolling } Sem!-open Country
ss = (Serpentine rocks)
Tr aes ;
Uy WM iia Mtl,
7, 1k “HMMs UA Aas tet day,
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TM ema In Me ‘ Sn)
. = Ca ~
~..0- ia Peak =
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Pan de Guajaibon
(Jurassic Limestone)
Approximate scale
fe) 1 2 3 A 5 Miles
ROUTE TO GUAJAIBON
Salil hana, iy
4,
PAN DE GUAJAIBON 267
to revert backward, just as do well-bred domestic
animals when left to shift for themselves. We
had noticed that among the Cubans, who live in
remote places, physical degeneracy was by no
means the rule. The lesser average size of the
people is a racial characteristic and can hardly be
accepted as a sign of degeneracy, a smaller stature
not necessarily impairing the vigor of the race.
The proprietor of the finca, who was now to be-
come our host, is a dark sinister-looking man with
large bristling mustache. He is of the type that we
have conventionalized in illustration as the man
who broods and foments revolutions. Probably
our host did neither, but merely looked the part.
The women about the place smoked huge planta-
tion cigars, screamed at their children, and created
about them an atmosphere of perpetual turmoil
and fussy inefficiency. The youth of the ranch
exhibited marked signs of degeneracy in overly
large heads, mature faces, and dull perceptions.
As a rule, the Cuban children we met showed a
lively interest in our pursuits and were keen to
aid us in view of financial prospects ahead. They
measure as well in intelligence as do children of
similar age in any country. The little boys and
268 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
girls of this ranch, however, seemed very apathetic
and dull, and they were wholly incapable of sensing
a situation of probable advantage to themselves.
While our stock of Spanish words was limited,
we nevertheless could get on quite well with whom-
soever we encountered, even essaying at times
little pleasantries. As long as we flew low we
had no serious accidents, but here our linguistic
accomplishments utterly failed. With our host
alone could we converse, and with no one else.
About the main house a swarm of domestic ani-
mals prowled about in search of food. Green
parrots squawked, roosters crowed, turkeys gob-
bled, dogs barked, pigs grunted, and above the
animal chorus arose always the cries of the women-
folk directed at the children. These sprawled
about, fell off chairs or steps, and howled at the
slightest provocation. Some peculiar-looking farm
hands hung about sullenly watching us, giving
us the somewhat unpleasant feelings of a visitor
to the dangerous ward of an insane asylum.
The scenery about the finca is fine, although
too shut in by dominating heights and heavy for-
est to be wholly pleasing. Nature here seemed
almost overpowering. The mountain gave a
PAN DE GUAJAIBON 269
curious impression as if about to slide down upon
the vega and bury it under a mass of white boul-
ders. The forest, relentlessly powerful by virtue
of a soil, rich as chocolate and wet with daily rains,
seemed to threaten a stealthy advance, and an
irresistible engulfment of the jfinca and its people.
Soon after our arrival a small deer appeared in
the open, quite near the house, and the greatest
excitement ensued. Pancho seized his rifle and
started after, followed by the male population of
the ranch and all the dogs. Many shots were
fired that viciously echoed back and forth among
the encircling mountains, but the deer escaped.
This is a sub-species of the American deer (Odo-
coileus virginianus) imported into Cuba from some
unknown place and which has become quite abun-
dant in the pine oma country of Pinar del Rio
and in other wild parts of the island.
Pan de Guajaibon is the highest of the Organos
Mountains and hence the greatest elevation of
western Cuba. The exact altitude is not definitely
known but is usually given as about 2500 to 3000
feet, with the base but little above sea level. It
is a Sierra of limestone formation, probably Juras-
sic or Cretaceous, and lies a little to the north of
270 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
the true axis of the Organ Mountains, and there-
fore stands in partial isolation. On the south
side, it is connected by lower ridges and spurs
with a maze of mountain heights, the alignments
and relations of which are not yet correctly mapped
out. On the north side it presents to the sea
(eight or ten miles away) an uninterrupted front
of about five miles of precipitous densely wooded
surface. Its summit is marked by three peaks of
nearly equal elevation. As there are no consider-
able heights directly between the mountain and
the sea, the full majesty of Guajaibon is thrust
upon the observer who sees the mountain practi-
cally from its base to the top. This gives to
Guajaibon a very massive appearance even beyond
that of other individual mountains of the province,
though in reality it is no greater than many others
except in a few feet of altitude. Viewed from
quite near it is no more impressive than is the
Costanera de San Vicente (back of Esperanza),
for it has not the latter’s magnificent vertical
walls, but the mountain is considerably higher.
Faunally, Guajaibon is of great interest on ac-
count of its partial isolation. The richness of
both fauna and flora is, in a measure, accounted
PAN DE GUAJAIBON 271
for by the fact that its rock is but little altered and
crystallized by metamorphic processes and is
therefore softer and more easily decomposed. It
is also likely that its position and height bring to
it a greater yearly percentage of moisture. What-
ever the true causes may be, the Pan and the
country immediately about offer a wealth of
animal and vegetable life in excess of any other
locality we had seen.
The coffee and chicken-with-rice function was
very quickly concluded, and we fairly bolted for
the nearest mountain side, just back of the house,
some hundred yards away. Pushing through the
dense tangle about the base we began a slow ascent
of the confused piles of limestone blocks, all buried
in forest growth and dripping with moisture. The
delights of getting into a region of land-shells new
to our collecting were very great, and especially
when they were so abundant and active. Besides
a wealth of insect life, we found an unusual abund-
ance of batrachians chiefly represented by Hyla
or tree toads, of several exceedingly interesting
species. One of these of truly stentorian voice for
so small a toad is the Eleutherodactylus auriculatus.
This little fellow, of loud voice and long name, we
272 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
could only collect by most intensive work, although
there must have been many about us upon the
trees and shrubs judging from the chorus they
persistently kept up. Such species of tree toads
as live only upon the mountain side of the sierra
must have difficulty in finding water in which to
lay their eggs and to shelter their young during
the tadpole stage. Standing water is impossible
in such stations. We do not know from actual
observation that this species lays its eggs in the
little water-filled hollows of the bromeliads but
such is most likely the case. One or two species
of this same genus found in the lesser Antilles are
known to do this, and what is more interesting
still is the fact that by an adaptation to cir-
cumstances the tadpole metamorphosis of these
toads is entirely passed in the egg, thus requir-
ing no permanent water station. Our little tree
toad here very likely has acquired the same life
habit.
Not more than one hour could be given this
station according to our careful allotment of time.
Feeling that we had scarcely more than glanced
at the place, we reluctantly left to proceed across
the vega to the western end of the main mountain,
PAN DE GUAJAIBON 273
choosing there for attack a spot on the south side
where a small paredon gave indication of a good
locality. This paredon begins at a height of about
two hundred feet, the rocky talus below being
very densely wooded. Our host with some men
carrying machetes accompanied us to this place
and greatly facilitated our ascent by cutting a
path through the jungle. At this spot the rich-
ness of animal life was found to be even greater
than upon the mountain side nearer the ranch
house. We worked feverishly in a drizzling rain
seeking to gather a representative collection of
the fauna. Victor and Pancho, in search of bats,
entered a narrow opening into a cave, from the
chamber of which the muffled sound of shots could
be heard. So abundant was the life of the place,
now in its fullest seasonal activity, that we could
hardly focus attention upon any one thing. ‘Tree
toads chirruped and rang out their bell-like calls
from all sides; myriopods, including some small
Iulus, were about in great quantities, while the
rocks and trees fairly swarmed with mollusks.
None of us had ever seen such profusion of life.
It was to the land-shells we devoted most atten-
tion, not only because we had a weakness in that
18
274 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
direction but because the species were mostly new
to our collecting.
One of the striking forms always in evidence was
the giant Cuban slug (Vaginula occidentalis) which
to our unaccustomed sight appeared to be an im-
possible creature. The largest slug we had ever
seen is the common garden Limax from Europe
and the Northern States (L. maximus), a large
example of which measures in size about one’s
middle finger. ‘This herculean slug is as large as
a man’s hand. Its effective mode of protection
lies in a sticky mucus which it exudes when irri-
tated, otherwise so tempting a morsel of flesh
would soon be appropriated by birds or harassed
by the predatory ants that abound in such forest
station. Unlike most mollusks, the slugs have
no shell into which they may withdraw at an
enemy's approach. They have no teeth with
which to bite nor legs with which to run, but nature
has endowed them with an even better defense,
and they thrive in the midst of a world of predatory
creatures.
The struggle for existence in so favored a spot
is very keen. Those creatures that peacefully
browse upon the vegetation and entertain no hos-
PAN DE GUAJAIBON 275
tile designs upon other living things must possess
highly specialized methods of defense, like our
slug, for no skill in hiding or no scheme of pro-
tective coloration could wholly save them from
the active swarmsof carnivorous insects and myrio-
pods that range over the ground and upon rocks
and vegetation. Vast quantities of mollusks,
notwithstanding their shelly fortress, fall victims
to birds and mice and to other carnivorous mol-
lusks, but just why certain species, conspicuous
through lack of protective coloration, do not suffer
a like fate, is not altogether clear. Upon this
particular paredon are two species of mollusks
(Eurocoptis blainiana and Chondropoma sinuata)
living more or less in coloniés and readily to
be seen by reason of their contrasting color with
the white limestone. Neither of these appears to
be preyed upon by birds, and that they are exempt
from attack by other larger enemies is equally
certain. The only explanation would seem to be
that they are distasteful as food either on accoynt
of some acrid flavor or poisonous quality. A most
striking example of this immunity is furnished by
the very beautiful arboreal snails, Polymita picta
of eastern Cuba, which are most conspicuous ob-
276 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
jects upon trees and shrubs, their bright yellow
polished surface causing them to appear at a short
distance like flowers. Did they not possess some
disagreeable quality as food, they certainly could
not survive in their present exposed mode of life.
Other species of land mollusks inhabiting the same
general locality are forced to keep in hiding during
the daylight hours to escape the attacks of birds
that feed ravenously upon them. ‘The fact that
all land mollusks lay eggs profusely would indicate
a high mortality from natural enemies.
Despite the vast quantity of individual speci-
mens of land-shells found here, the actual number
of species is not great, probably not over twenty
or twenty-five inclusive of the minute forms. This
might be considered high for an equal area in a
northern climate but it can hardly be compared
with the astonishing number of species to be en-
countered in certain Jamaican localities. In one
‘‘cockpit”’ of an area less than ten acres, two of
us had once taken seventy species of land mollusks,
and upon another occasion a locality of about an
acre near Savanna la Mar in Jamaica netted us
the extraordinary total of eighty species. But
these shells were of the greatest interest to us.
PAN DE GUAJAIBON 277
Several of them represented forms described by
Morelet who, in a hasty visit to Guajaibon, seems
not to have taken many specimens, and hence his
species are usually rare and little known. Gund-
lach did more to distribute specimens from the
Pan, but neither are his very abundant in
collections.
Our progress was finally stopped by suddenly
finding ourselves upon the edge of a precipice—
one of those jumping-off places of the sierras, so
completely veiled in foliage as to be unseen and
unsuspected until about ready to fall over it.
While seeking a way out, we were startled into a
realization that night was almost upon us. Our
host and Pancho had returned so we beat as hasty
a retreat as the tangled jungle would permit.
Nothing is so trying to one’s equanimity as an
attempted dash through a tropic jungle. The
slender stems of innumerable vines have a diaboli-
cal way of entwining themselves about one’s legs
and arms, or lifting off one’s hat, as though pos-
sessed with a playful intelligence. Darkness falls
with great rapidity, and to be caught on the
mountains without a light would mean a night
spent in the woods. Such an idea might be even
278 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
agreeable in a northern forest where one could
gather the materials for a camp-fire and lie in
security upon the ground.
We arrived at the house of the finca well done
up with the heat and wet but thoroughly satisfied
with the day’s accomplishment. Our host led
us to sleeping quarters in the tobacco-drying barn
where in company with a number of the reticent
farm-hands, we stretched out for the night upon
some cots.
Friday, June 5th. At five, our party awoke
refreshed and ready for another day’s strenuous
campaign. Herein lies ample evidence that vigor-
ous outdoor exercise, combined with mental ex-
hilaration, furnishes a panacea for most ills. A
body normally prepared for sleep requires neither
springs nor mattress. The term ‘“‘hygienic sur-
roundings”’ could hardly apply here, and the science
of dietetics with its nice proportions of proteids,
carbohydrates, and its measures of calories could
receive but little consideration. Such things
seemed necessary rather to the cities and their
dwellers, where only mental effort counts and ma-
chinery does away with physical exercise, where
sunlight and air are too expensive for general use.
PAN DE GUAJAIBON 279
It is there that the competitive struggle for life,
sustained upon adulterated foods and many stimu-
lants, reduces man to a very real necessity for
constant attention to his weakening organs. Under
such artificial conditions of life everyone’s standing
army of leucocytes becomes disorganized and in-
efficient, and humanity’s war against its greatest
foe, the disease germs, must be fought with ever
newly devised weapons. Hence the importance to-
day of antisepsis, the tons of carbolic acid, the
throat gargles, and serums. Our natural defenses
are becoming worn out. Although nature continues
as always to preserve the fit, science must now
strive harder and harder to keep alive the unfit.
As we emerged from the tobacco barn, clouds
of mist rolled down the sides of Guajaibon, gradu-
ally dissipating as the rising sun gathered force.
Soon came a little breeze, and we spread out our
arms to extend our damp clothes to the wind, as
do the buzzards their wings. The morning coffee
function, amid the hungry animals, was shortened
to the minimum of time, so eager were we to resume
our work. Once aboard our sleepy ponies we took
the shorter route to the coast, making directly
through the lowland forest for La Mulata. This
280 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
is the route that necessitates crossing the San
Marcos in its lower reach. Unless the day should
prove fine we had been duly warned of difficulties
in fording that already swollen stream.
Leaving the finca house our path first led us
across the savanna to the extreme western end of
the Pan; thence turning east it follows closely the
northern base of the mountain, a distance of about
two or three miles. This is a heavily forested
region. The character of these woods differs
markedly from any yet observed. Striking fea-
tures are the great number of trees bearing flowers
of vivid red (suggesting a species of Poinciana),
the prevalence of flowering shrubs, also the ex-
tensive areas of rose-apple (Eugenia vulgaris) now
in ripe fruit. The mountain can only be ap-
proached through exceedingly dense jungle, save
in a few spots where tobacco clearings have been
extended to the actual base. We availed our-
selves of all these openings. Along the entire
northern front the mountain is almost perpendi-
cular to a height of several hundred feet and thence
very steep to its summit. The extreme western
end is dwarfed into a sharp ridge of less inclination
and height, and there we made our first raid. We
PAN DE GUAJAIBON 281
were exceedingly fortunate in the choice of this
place, for not only did we find there nearly all the
land-shells of the Guajaibon list that had failed us
the day before, but we fell upon a veritable con-
vention assembled of tree toads, lizards, insects,
and myriopods. The astonishing abundance of
such desirable mollusks as Chondropoma laizlabre,
Annularia preiret, and Cepolis sagratana filled us
with delight. For this satisfactory abundance we
had to thank the rains. To Rodriguez’s disgust
we saw no snakes, but he recouped in a fine catch
of beetles and butterflies.
None of the other places touched along the base
offered so good collecting—yet no station was
abandoned without some rewards.
Where the path finally leaves the mountain and
turns north through the forest we stopped to take
our last nearby look at old Guajaibon. In fare-
well gaze we were impelled to those same reflec-
tions that Azucar and the forests of Cape San
Antonio had inspired. How insufficient had been
our brief visit! If only we could remain longer!
Each one said to himself, ‘‘I shall return some day,”
but knowing too well he never would. As we lin-
gered hating to leave, the crashing noise of some
282 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
huge falling boulder reached us. Probably this
mass of rock had been poised on high for centuries,
perhaps needing only a last drop of rain to dissolve
its last atom of support and send it hurtling down,
crashing through great trees and dislodging tons
of rock and débris to follow it to earth. Whena
thousand or so generations have passed, Guajaibon
will be a little mogote of vine-clad limestone frag-
ments in the midst of a level plain. Confined
upon the little irregular mound of white limestone
blocks will live an assemblage of creatures, the
dwarfed remnant of a once rich life zone. One
can easily imagine some bespectacled naturalist
prowling about the stones and speculating upon
the fauna, so similar to that of another little
mogote to the west and so different from that of
another one to the south. Our nature student of
the distant future will have the advantage of re-
cords kept through a brief moment of cosmic time.
When all the little mogotes of to-day were great
mountains linked into chains and groups and Dr.
Torre’s fossil sloth, the Myomorthus, browsed upon
their slopes, there were no naturalists potter-
ing about to learn and record the facts as they
found them.
PAN DE GUAJAIBON 283
With a last good-bye we reluctantly turned our
horses into the rose-apple thicket and then entered
the forest jungle. Soon a rumble of thunder
growled its warning from far away. The air
became moist and hot. Every leaf remained
motionless, and the oppressive stillness that fore-
bodes an approaching storm fell upon the forest.
Our horses plunged and slipped in the muddy
path, as they struggled up one ascent and wal-
lowed down another. They splashed into the
swollen streams that flowed through tunnels of
vegetation. The darkness of the forest grew deeper
and the air more suffocating. Perspiration, that
would not evaporate into an atmosphere already
surcharged with moisture, plastered our clothes
to our backs. A flash of lightning suddenly il-
luminated the forest with a vividness that fair-
ly blinded us and caused the horses to jump
with fright. With the resultant crash came
a downpour of rain that may be likened to
the breaking of a dam. We huddled together,
our horses dejectedly standing with lowered
heads.
In about two hours we had passed through the
belt of heavy woods and emerged upon a partially
284 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
open hilltop, fairly aflame with the same red-
flowered trees observed near the sierra.
We observed here a striking bird, present all
along the coastal region, the Cuban oriole (Ict-
erus hypomelas). It is a black bird with bright
yellow shoulders, rump and tail coverts, the under
side of the axillaries of the wing is also yellow. As
a general alarmist he reminds one strongly of our
own cat-bird at home. A little sneaking about
the thicket, as ornithologists must do, will lure
the oriole from his hiding-place and cause him to
scold and revile the intruder. While vociferating
he will often approach close enough to permit of
excellent camera shots. The Cuban green wood-
pecker and the white-eyed vireo are also garrulous
birds that are often met in company with the
oriole. Along the route we saw numbers of small
flocks of Cuban parrots (A mazona leucocephala L.)
and noticed the large holes in the upper portion
of royal palm trunks excavated by them for
nesting sites.
Another hour through sparsely timbered low
hills brought us to the San Marcos River, its
banks fringed with vivid green bamboos. The
water was very high and the current strong, but
PAN DE GUAJAIBON 285
Pablo plunged in and we followed in single file.
Pablo knew just how to fold up his legs in front
and escape further wetting, but, after all, there is
no superlative to wet.
Arrived at the tienda we were surprised to find
Lesmes awaiting us with a pilot. It appeared
he had been worrying about our finding the way
through the reef, when we should finally start for
the schooner at Bahia Honda. Yielding to the
impulse of rescuing us from a possible danger he
secured a local pilot and in a tiny little craft had
put back to Mulata to accompany us ‘“‘home.”’
We appreciated the kindly feelings that had
prompted his actions.
In the evening Pablo extended us an invitation
to visit his mother and sister at their finca near by.
There our suspicions about Pablo were verified.
He was not the ordinary campesino that we had
been justified in expecting but, on the contrary,
a man of education and world experience.. His
acting as a guide and mozo for us had been but
a lark which he had thoroughly enjoyed. We
glanced at each other apprehensively at thought
of Pablo having possibly understood more of
our English than he had admitted. We had
286 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA |
denounced him roundly for the length of the
journey, which, of course was unfair. We found
his family most agreeable.
Before turning in for the night we secured some
specimens of a huge ground toad that appeared
to be quite abundant about the tienda (Bufo pelta-
cephalus). It is one of the largest of all toads,
measuring six and a half inches in length and four
in breadth; it is confined to Cuba. Its affinities
are South American and it has no close relation-
ship with any of our United States species. As
one always associates with animals observed a
certain size as proper and fitting, to discover one
of quite double dimensions is startling.
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THE GUIDE ‘‘ PABLO’”’
CHAPTER XXIII
La Mulata to Bahia Honda
Saturday, June Oth. By six our party in the
little Tarpon was well on its way to Bahia Honda.
With regrets we gazed back at Guajaibon and the
receding ranges to the west, for we had become
greatly attached to the sierra country, to its pre-
cipitous forested heights and rich valleys. We
liked its simple unspoiled people who still retain
the courtesies of a past era. We knew the topog-
taphy and the salient geological features of the
region, and believed we understood them. ‘There
in splendid revelry nature predominates and man,
in his little scattered villages and tiny farms, is of
the smallest incident. Now we were about to
enter an entirely different country where the wilds
are subdued, and man is paramount with his cities,
his commerce, his highly cultivated estates, and
his restless politics.
We proceeded rapidly steering closely into the
shore to avoid the coral patches that became more
287
288 CRUISE OF Wis BATRA
and more frequent. Ugly-looking clouds filled
the sky, and puffy winds suggested a chubasco.
Passing Punta Pereira and the mouth of the Mani-
mani River, a haunt of crocodiles, we entered
waters thickly strewn with dark coral patches.
The main reef now approached very near the
shore. As we made Punta Gobernadora, the way
ahead seemed to be entirely blocked by a continu-
ous line of coral which, beginning at the very
beach, extended in a wide semicircle to the north
and west. Upon this outer barrier the surf broke
with considerable violence creating areas of creamy
white foam. A strong eastern drift opposing the
wind aided us in our course but ruffled the surface
into a steep chop resembling a tidal rip. The
waves prevented a clear view of the bottom but
it seemed uncomfortably close to our keel. Sud-
denly the pilot altered the course heading directly
for the nearby reef. The situation became tense
as all strained their eyes to locate the passage
through, and no one spoke. When apparently
in the midst of the breakers a deluge of warm
spray swept the boat; our engine, short circuited,
stopped. Fortunately the halt was brief; the
engine responded promptly to our coaxing, and we
ROYAL PALMS
ican Photo Co., Havana, Cuba
f the Amer
permission oO
Reproduced by
LA MULATA TO BAHIA HONDA — 289
shot through the welter of white and green into
the blue of safety. The long even swell of the
open sea made easier going and soon we entered the
harbor of Bahia Honda and made the schooner’s
side. Lesmes was right; the pilot had been neces-
sary. Without him we would have been obliged
to await better weather conditions before attempt-
ing that reef passage.
Bahia Honda is a typical example of the “‘flask”’ -
or ‘‘bottle’’-shaped harbors so characteristic of
the Cuban shore. Many of these peculiar harbors
are met in the eastern end of the island where a
series of elevated reefs often provide a strip of
highland adjacent to the shore with a lower drain-
age area behind. The narrow deep harbor en-
trance (the neck of the bottle) represents a cafion
eroded down by a river during the course of a
gradual elevation of the shore; the open wide
expanse of the harbor (the: body of the flask) re-
presents a wider inner valley or a drainage sink,
the present condition finally resulting from a sub-
sidence of the coast and drowning of the valley.
No better demonstration of the process involved
could be imagined than that presented by the
Yumuri Valley and the cut through the limestone
19
290 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA
hills made by the river just before it debouches
into the sea at Matanzas.