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AND 

PORTO 


WITH  THE 
1  OTHER 


OF  THE 

WEST 

INDIES 

ROBERT-THILL 


CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 


n  r,A  AND  POHTO  RICO 

WITH    THK   OTIIKK    ISLANDS 
nr  THK   WKST   IN  DM  - 


THEIR  TOPOGRAPHY,  CLIMATE,  FLOKA. 
I'KODUTS,  IM)rsT!Mi;s.j  ITi  -1'LE, 

POUTICAL   CONDITIONS,   ETC. 


I'.V 

ROBERT  T.  HILL 

OF  THK   IMTED  STATES  GEOLOGICAL  8UBVEY 


NEW  YORK 

HIE  CENTURY  CQ. 

1903 


1808,  1800, 
Bj  THE  CKXTUET  Co. 


T-i  D« 


TO 
PROFESSOR  ALEXANDER  AOASSIZ 

THIS  WOBK  18  DEDICATED   IN  APPRECIATION  OP  HIS 

RESEARCHES  INTO  THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  THE 

WEST  INDIAN  SEAS  AND 

ISLANDS 


ACE  TO  THE   SECOND  EDITH'S 


4  ive  pill*!!*-  having  called  for  a  second  edition 

Ji\_  of  tliis  book,  the  author  has  corrected  the  few  mis- 
prints \\hich  Appeared  in  the  earlier  edition,  a  ml  has  added 
some  words  concerning  Porto  Rico  and  Cuba,  which  he 
has  revisited  since  those  islands  have  come  under  Ameri- 
can military  occupation.  Little  or  no  change  has  l.een 
made  in  tin-  description  of  ( 'ul.a.  for  tin-  simple  reason  that 
the  political  con.litions  are  still  too  unsettled  in  that  island 
to  justify  any  permanent  statement  at  present.  The  de- 
ption  of  Porto  Rico  has  been  amplified  and  largely 
rewritten. 

Several  appendices  have  1 n  added,  .u'ivin.ir  information 

of  present  and  permanent  interest ;  and  a  number  of  new 
pictures  have  l.cen  placed  in  the  text. 

The  writer  acknowledges  with  gratitude  the  many  fair 
:  friendly  criticisms  which  the  work  has  received  from 
the  American  and  English  press. 

THE  AUTHOB. 

WA  .1).  ('.,  March  20,  1899. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   I 

THE  GEOGRAPHIC  RELATIONS  OP  THE  WEST  INDIES 

FACE 

Position  relative  to  the  continent*.     Types  of  the  surrounding  lands. 
The  east-and-west  trend*  of  the  Antillean  Mountains.     Dirt 
enoet  between  the  Gulf  and  Caribbean  basins 1 

CHAPTER  II 

THE  WEST  INDIAN   WATERS 

The  American  Mediterranean.  It«  area  and  littorals.  Distinctness 
from  the  oceanic  basins.  The  currents  and  winds  inducing  the 
equable  temperature  and  conditions  of  life.  The  remarkable  sub- 
marine configuration.  The  great  deeps  and  flooded  mountains. 
Peculiar  aspects  of  the  life  of  the  waters.  Influence  of  the  coral 
polyps  in  making  the  rocks  of  the  islands.  Passes  into  the  Atlantic  7 

CHAPTER  III 

CLASSIFICATION   OF  THE  WEST  INDIAN   ISLANDS 

Their  number,  area,  and  populations.  Antithetic  nature  of  their  ori- 
gin, configuration,  and  resources.  Classification  into  groups  of 
similar  type.  The  Great  Antilles.  The  Bahamas.  The  Caribbean 
chain.  The  South  American  islands  of  the  Trinidad  type.  Reefs 
and  keys.  Their  political  organization 18 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE  GREAT  ANTILLES 

Their  individuality.  Distinctness  of  physical  characters  from  those 
of  the  Tinted  States.  Continental  diversity  of  their  configuration 
as  compared  with  the  monotypic  character  of  the  other  u 

ix 


X  CONTENTS 

FAOB 

The  Antfflean  mounUin  system.     Variety  of  resource*.    Total 
population.    Diversity  of  social  conditions  presented  in  the  four 

,;..',.  ;          ....          .  ........ 

CH.\!Ti:u  V 

THE  ISLAND  OF  CUBA 

Itiysieal  feature*.     Situation,  commercial  and  strategic   posit 
i  .  ~       .uetudoiu,  an-a.     The  configuration.     The  coast  :. 
littornL     AliiintUnce  of  hariwra.     The  bordering  keys..   The  in 
terior  mountain  ranges.    The  plains  of  Culm.     The  cMchiUa*  of 
theeast    The  terraees  of  Quantanamo.    Valleys  and  depressions. 
m,  lakes,  and  swamps.    Caves  and  scenic  features   ....    33 

CIIAITKK    VI 
CLIMATE,   FLORA,  AND   FAUNA 

Temperature  and  pn^ipiution.    Native  trees  and  flo  won*.     The  royal 
palm.     Scarcity  of  —-»-««i«      Birds  rvptileH,  and  iiiMect  life   ..     50 


VII 

IIKM.IH     \M»    >\M1  I 

Natural  hmlthfulnem  of  the  bland.    Ordinary  diseases  due  to  tropical 
:pidamies  and   yellow  fever.     Hygienir  '»ns 


57 

VIII 
GEOGRAPHIC  SUBDIVISIONS 

Administrative  depart ni..nt A.    Numerical  population.     Rename  of  pre- 
vious history  leading  to  present  conditions.    Administrat 

Absolutism  of  authority.     Its   effects  and  influ- 

...-••..:.•• '  J 

rilAl'TKK    IX 
THE  RESOURCES  OF  THK 

Agricultural  supremacy.    The  cultivation  of  sugar.    The  superior 
of  Cuba  for  sugar-culture,      The  plantations  de- 
TobAeeo-cnhure.    The  etfat  of  the  VneKa  Abajo,    Skill 
m  tobaeeo-planters.    Coffee,  fruits,  and  minor  agrirtiltural 
products.    Cattle  and  live  stock.    Minerals  .76 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  X 

COMMERCE  AND  TRANSPORTATION 

PAOl 

lilways,  highways.     Sources  of  wealth.    The  large  com- 

:••«•  ..t  tin-  i.  l.ui.l.     I'liiiinirivial  value  of  the  island  to  Spain. 
Trade  with  the  United  States  .............    86 

CHAPTEB   xi 

THE  PEOPLE  OF  CUBA 

Misooncept  ruing  the  people  of  Cuba.    Degrees  and  var 

of  peopl*  .     '1  h<  five  classes  of  people.    The  Spaniards  and  <>tln  r 
•  iguers.    The  white  Cubans.    Effects  of  disenfranchisement 
and  con  ll..-|.itality  and  courtesy.     Strong  family  at- 

tachments.   The  Cuban  women.    The  laboring  olmmofl     The  col- 
ored and  black  population.    No  danger  of  negro  supremacy    .    .    97 

UIAI'TKK    XII 
OUBAH  <  HIES:  HAVANA 
Large  number  of  cities  in  proportion  to  population.    Havana  and  ad- 


jareiit  towns.  ImposingappMMBM  from  tli.-  ><>a.  and 
location.  The  bay  and  shipping.  Prevalent  building-material  and 
type  of  atvlutr.-ture.  The  central  plaza.  European  aspect  of  the 
nty.  The  Prado.  N«.taKl.-  >trn.-tun>.  Tomb  of  Columbus. 
Charitable  institutions.  Homes  and  private  d\\<  -limps.  The  busi- 
ness  streets.  Street-can  and  carriages.  Places  of  recreation. 
PinardelRio.  Cabanas  and  Mariel  ...........  107 

CHAPTER    XIII 
OTHER  CUBAN  CITIES 

Matanzaa.  Beauty  of  the  surrounding  country.  Cardenas.  Sagua 
la  Grande.  Cienfuegos.  Trinidad.  Santa  Clara.  Pm-rt«>  Prinripe, 
Bayamo,  and  Holguin.  Manzanillo.  Santiago  de  Cuba.  Ouan- 
tanamo.  Baraooa  .................  1-" 

OHAPTEB   XIV 

THE  n-rniE  OF  THE  ISLAND 

The  coniiv  -rial  rehabilitation.    Limitations  of  climate  and 

possibilities.     Opportunities  for  small  farming.    The  reopening  of 


x 

the  sogar- plantation*.    Industrial  openings.    Future  railway  < 

and  public  work*.    Harbors  and  municipal  improve- 
Coniinercial  expansion 134 


XV 
PORTO  RICO— SITUATION   AND   PHYSICAL 

Configuration.  Outline.  Picturesque  topography.  Drainage.  Abun- 
dance of  rivers.  Flora  and  fauna.  Geology.  Climate,  Hygiene 
and  sanitation.  145 

CHAPTER  XVI 
HISTORY  AND  ADMINISTRATION 

Spanish  character  of  its  institutions  and  peoples.  Uneventful 
coarse  of  its  progress.  Government  and  administration.  Re- 
ligion and  education. 153 

CHAPTER  XVH 

TRANSPORTATION,  AGRICULTURE,  INDUSTRY, 
AND  COMMERCE 

Harbors.  Railways.  Highways.  Telegraph.  Diversified  nature  of 
the  agriculture.  Large  number  of  small  farms.  Sugar-estates. 
Coffee-culture.  Menorea.  Importance  of  the  cattle  industry. 
Commerce  and  trade.  Bad  condition  of  the  currency. 

CHAPTER   XVIII 
THE  PEOPLE 

Statistical  details  of  number,  sex,  nativity,  race,  and  literary.  Ex- 
cess of  males.  Small  proportion  of  foreign  people.  Divisions 
i» to  classes.  The  tt  Spaniards  "  (white  Porto  Ricans).  The  giba- 
ros,  or  peasantry.  The  negroes.  Former  conditions  of  slavery 

.  i<;:, 


XIX 
CITIES  OF  PORTO  RICO 

nJuan.  Ponce.  Mayagnes.  Aguadilla.  Arecibo.  Fajardo.  Na- 
guabo,  Arroyo,  San  German,  and  small  towns.  Islands  attached 
to  the  government  of  Porto  Rico.  171 


Xlll 


CHAITF.i;    XX 
JAMAICA 


PAOI 


features  of  the  island.     Its  central  position  in  the 
Weft  Indies.    The  Blue  Mountain 

The  coast  border  and  plains.    Flora,  fauna,  climate,  sani- 


is.', 


CHAPTER  XXI 

JAMAICA  (Continued) 

model  British  colony.  Respect  for  law  and  order.  Early  history 
and  administration.  Agriculture.  Rise  of  the  fruit  industry. 
Commerce.  Railways.  Excellent  highways 202 


CHAPTER  XXII 
JAMAICA  (Continued) 

I  and  villages.  Kingston.  Spanish  Town.  Port  Antonio.  Mon- 
tegoBay.  Rural  life.  The  people.  Excess  of  the  black  population. 
Color-line  and  distinctions.  Dress  and  habits  of  the  blacks.  Folk- 
lot.  <>f  the  negroes.  A  peculiar  alphabet  Dependencies  of  Ja- 


maica 


219 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
THE  ISLAND  OF  SANTO  DOMINGO 

Difficulties  of  nomenclature.  Geographical  features  of  the  island. 
Irregularity  of  outline.  Mountains  and  valleys.  The  Alps  of  the 
Antilles.  Classification  of  the  ranges.  Riven  and  lakes.  Cli- 
mate. Geology.  Fauna 230 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  REPUBLIC  OF  SAN  DOMINGO 

Political  and  social  conditions  of  the  island  as  a  whole.  The  republic 
of  San  Domingo.  Interesting  early  history.  The  present  gov- 
inent  and  administration.  Commerce  and  agriculture.  Min- 
eral resources.  Population.  Predominance  of  mulattos.  Old 
San  Domingo  city.  Early  American  landmarks.  Other  points 
of  interest. 


x  i  v  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  REPUBLIC  OF  I! 

MOB 

Its  mountainous  character.     Extensive  coast-line.     Its  constitution 
and  organization.     Education  and  religion.    Commerce  and  rev- 
enue. Communication.  Cities  (Cape  Haitian,  Port  de  Pauc,  Gonalvei, 
8t  Mare,  Port-au-Prince,  Auz  Cave*).     The  people.    Supremacy 
of  the  blacks.    Race  antipathies.    Personal  appearance  and  domes- 
rdationsof  the  Haitians.    Superstitions.    The  struggle*  f..r  lib- 
he  blacks  not  to  blame  for  the  condition  of  the  republic. 
Island  products  and  commerce 263 

CIIAI'TKU   XXVI 
I  UK   BAHAMAS 

General  geographic  features.  Dissimilarity  to  other  West  Indian 
Islands.  Products  and  population.  Poverty  and  decadence  of 
the  people.  Varied  race  character  of  the  black* 296 

CHAPTER  XXVH 
THE  LESSER  ANTILLES 

il  beauty  of  the  islands.     Distribution  among  many  govern- 
ments.   Differentiation  into  four  types 305 

rilAlTF.I!    XXVIII 
THE  VIRGIN  ISLANDS  AND  ST.  CROIX 

Their  Ant  illean  character  and  position.     Geological  character.    Va- 
in kinds  of  government   8t  Thomas.    St  John.   Virgin  Gorda. 

8t  Croix 309 

cn.MTF.u  xxix 

THE  CARIB1 

Classification  into  volcanic  and  calcareous  subgroups.    The  Am 
Ian    subgroup.    Sombrero.     AnynilU,     St    Harts.    Bt   Mar- 
Barbuda.     AntigUA 


roXTUN IS 

ni.MT! 
VOLCANIC  CABIBB 


Singular  beauty  of  the  islands.     Flora,  fauna,  and  geological 

acter.   Saba.   8t  Eostatius.   8t  Christopher.    Nevis.   Montserrat  320 

CHAPTER  XXXI 
THE  ISLANDS  OF  GUADELOUPE  AND  DOMINICA 

Government  and  resourcesof  Guadeloupe.  Basse-Terra.  Grande-Terra. 
Maria  Oalante.  Desirade.  LesSaintes.  Cities  and  towns  of  Guade- 
loupe. Dominica  the  beautiful  A  fertile  aoil  awaiting  cultivation 

C'HAI'TKK    XXXII 
THE  ISLAND  OF  MARTINIQUE 

Beauty  of  its  landscape.  A  description  of  the  forests.  History  and 
present  economic  condition.  The  city  of  8t  Pierre.  Botanical 
gardens.  Fort-de-France.  The  fantastic  population  .  34A 

CHAPTER  XXXIII 
ST.  LUCIA,  ST.  VI\<  T.M.   i  m.  .-1:1  NVDINES,  AND  GBENADA 

England's  stronghold  in  the  West  Indies.  The  Pitons.  Agricultural 
depression.  Recollections  of  Rodney 357 

CHAITKR    XXXIV 
THE  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ISLANDS 

Trinidad,  Tobago,  and  Curacao,  The  peculiar  geographical  features 
of  Trinidad.  Port  of  Spain.  Political  conditions.  Population 
and  people,  The  island  of  Tobago.  Curacao,  the  capital  of  the 
Dutch  West  Indies .306 

CHAPTER  XXXV 

r.vRBADOl 


coralline  origin  of  its  soils.    GOT. 
population.    The  struggle  for  existence  .  373 


XVI 

CHAI'TKK    XXXVI 
GEOLOGICAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  WEST  INDIES 

General  paucity  of  mineral  resources.  Iron.  Manganese.  Salt 
Phosphate.  Sulphur.  Asphaltum.  Peculiar  geological  history 
of  the  region.  Its  bearing  upon  the  myth  of  Atlantis  ....  380 

CHAPTER  XXXVII 
RACE  PROBLEMS  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES 

Varied  nationality  and  character  of  the  inhabitants.  Condition  of 
the  native  whites.  Possibilities  of  the  white  race.  The  negroes. 
Their  general  character,  habits,  and  moral  condition.  Obiism,  or 
witchcraft 387 

CHAPTER  XXXVHI 
THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  WEST  INDIES 

Vicissitudes  which  have  been  survived.  Depression  of  the  sugar  in- 
dustry.  The  bane  of  alien  land-tenure.  Bad  effect  of  political 
distribution.  Prospective  relations  with  the  United  States  ...  400 


APPENDICES  : 

I    Cuba  since  the  War 411 

II.  Table  of  Distances  between  Towns  in  Cuba  ... 
III.  Islands  attached  to  the  Government  of  Porto  Rico     . 

I\*.  Government  and  Resources  of  Porto  Rico 417 

Rainfall  of  San  Juan,  Porto  Rico 

VI.  Table  of  Distances  between  Principal  Cities  in  Porto  Rioo  426 
VII.  Railway  Stations  of  Porto  Hico .425 


427 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


MAP  OF  THE  WEST  INDUS Frontispiece 

PACXVO  FACE 

TRAVELER'S    PALM,    GARDEN,    8T.    PIERRE,    MARTINIQUE— 

NOT  INDIGENOUS 16 

COCOANUT-PALM8,  PLUMB  POINT  LIGHTHOUSE,  JAMAICA     .  24 

BANIAN-TREE,  BRIDGETOWN,  BARBADOS 24 

PLAZA  IN  FRONT  OF  CAPTAIN-GENERAL'S  PALACE,  HAVANA  32 

GEOLOGIC  MAP  OF  THE  ISLAND   OF  CUBA 40 

MATANZA8 44 

Church  of  Montserrat— Yumuri  Valley,  near  Matanims 

AFTERNOON  DRIVE  IN  RURAL  CUBA 48 

SCENES  IN  CUBA 62 

Drive  to  the  Bellaraar  Caves,  Matansas— Royal  Palms,  Sugar- 
Estate—  Villanueve  Railway  Station,  Havana 

HAVANV         67 

View  in  the  Botanical  Gardens— Fruit-Stand— A  Market-Place 
— "  Loche  a  Domicilio  "— Donkeys  Loaded  with  Wood 

SCENES  IN  CUBA 60 

Pack -Horse  Loaded  with  Rum— A  Funeral  Car 

HAVANA 64 

Plaza  de  Armas  and  Captain-General's  Palace— Templete 
Monument,  Erected  at  Site  of  First  Mass  Said  in  Havana 

HAVANA 72 

Ragla,  the  Brooklyn  of  Havana,  Ferry- Boat  in  Foreground  — 
the  Boat-Landing—Water-Front,  Havana  Bay 

SUGAR-HOUSE  ON   PLANTATION,   CUBA 76 

XTii 


XVI 11  LIST  OF  ILLU8TRATI 

< 
S.T.NT.S    IN    (TIJA 7- 

A  Car-Load  of  Sugar-Cane,  Santa  Anna— Cutting  Sugar-Cane 
with  Machete 


EV  OUU 80 

Huts  on  Soledad  Estate,  near  ttenfuegos— Hormignera  Sugar- 

KM.'it«-,  < 'it-iil  ip'L'""      I'MH  .'ijijilt  s      llan;iM:i>  in-ar  <  'H-M!  ;i« ••^•••* 
MINE  OF  IRON  ORE  NEAB  JURAGUA,  TWELVE  MILES  EAST 

OF  SANTIAGO  DE  CUBA 84 

HAVANA      ....  88 

Morro  Castle  from  the  West- Panorama  of  the  Prado 

SCENES  IN  CUBA 97 

A  Country  House— A  Cuban  Peasant  House  of  the  Better  Sort 
—Peasant  Holding  a  Wooden  Plow 

A  GROUP  OF  NATIVE  CUBAN  INSURRECTIONARY  LEADERS  .  100 

A  CUBAN  TYPE 103 

THE  SAN  CARLOS  CLUB,  SANTIAGO  DE  CUBA 104 

THE  YUMURI  VALLEY  NEAR  MATANZA8,  CUBA       ....    108 

HAVANA ...    112 

Old  Church  Used  as  Custom- House -The  Cathedral 

GENERAL  VIEW  OF  HAVANA  FROM  CABANAS  SHORE        .      . 

MATANZA8— GENERAL  VIEW 120 

VIEW  IN  THE  PLAZA,   CIENFUEGO8 124 

SANTIAGO  DE  CUBA 126 

General  View-The  Cathedral 

SANTIAGO  DE  CUBA 128 

Smith  Key— Morro  Castle 

SANTIAGO  DE  CUBA 130 

Plaza-Calle  de  Puerto 

SANTIAGO  DE  CUBA 132 

Plaza-Street  Soene-Market-Negroes 

BARAOOA,  CUBA 136 

PONCE,  PORTO  RICO   .   .  145 

Cascade  of  Plata  de  las  Delieias— Isabel  Street 

COUNTRY  HUTS  AM>   HIGHWAYS,    PORTO  Rim        ....  148 
A  bad  road  in  the  Pepino  Hills-View  on  th,    M.htary  Road 
—Tenements  of  the  Poor,  near  Lares— Primitive  Peasant  Hut 


\1\ 

fAOB 

L6S 


ENTRANCE  TO  SAN  JUAN,   POBTO  RICO      . 

SCENES  IN  PORTO  RICO     ...  164 

Village  Church,  Abonito— Going  to  Adjuntas  —  View  near 
Kan  German  -Municipal  Building,  Ban  Juan 

A  STATE  FUNERAL,  SAN  JUAN,  PORTO  RICO  .    16O 

REPRESENTATIVE  PORTO   RICAN8  167 

PORTO  RICO     ....  168 

Utuado  -Plaxa  and  Cathedral  at  Arecibo— Palms  near  Ban  Juan 

PEASANT  SCENES  AND  CUSTOMS,  PORTO  RICO 179 

Pig-  and  Chicken -PedJer,  Ban  Juan  — Hulling  Coffee  in  a 
Village  Street-Market  Scene,  Ponoe- Pigs  to  Market,  Mili- 
tary Road. 

PORTO  RICAN  FAMILY  AT  COUNTRY  HOUSE,  NEAR  MAYAGUEZ  178 

JAMAICA 186 

Port  Royal  from  the  Sea- Rook  Coast  and  Psendo- Atolls,  Mon- 
tego  Bay-Harbor  of  Port  Royal 

JAMAICA 188 

Mountain  Scenery -Newcastle  Barracks 

EAST  INDIAN  COOLIES,  JAMAICA 192 

CETBA-TREE  AND  COUNTRY  ESTATE,  JAMAICA 200 

CULTIVATION  OP  SUGAR-CANE,  JAMAICA 208 

KIBA  OR  SILK-COTTON  TREE 216 

is    \M)  CHAPARRAL,  JAMAICA 

JAMA  h  A 220 

Country  House,  Retreat  Pen,  Clarendon— Kingston  Street  Scene 

JAMAICA 224 

Negresses  Transporting  Charcoal— Logwood  Collected  for 
Shipment 

JAMAICANS  CAKKYIM;  HANANAS  — iu:KAi»n:rrr-Ti:r.i:  OfH- 

HEAD 232 

SANTO  DOMINGO      .  240 

Santo  CYrr. .  (  hun-h  and  Nispero  de  Colon,  or  Tree  of  Colum- 
bus, beneath  which  Mass  was  Celebrated  after  the  Great  Vic- 
tory  over  the  Indians  of  La  Vega— A  Street  Showing  Cathedral 

SANTO  DOMINGO 266 

lei  where  Columbus  was  Imprisoned— Alleged  Coffin  of 
Oohmboi 


xx  i    "I     II.LU8TBATI' 

WAOXO  FAGS 

POBT-AU-PBINCE,  HAH  I 

Ouhedral-Street  Scenes 

BAHAMAS 296 

Cliff,  of  Heather*  Island -Watlings  Inland-United  States 
Consul*!  House,  Nassau— Street  Scene,  Nassau 

BAT  AND  CITY  OF  ST.  THOMAS 312 

KNTIBI  POPULATION  OF  A  NEGRO  HAMLET,  ANTIGUA  .      .   320 

ANTIGUA 322 

Street  Showing  Cathedral  and  Public   Library,  St  John- 
Sugar-Estate 

ST.  JOHN,  ANTIGUA 324 

A  Suburban  Highway— View  of  City  and  Harbor 

FORT-DE-FRANCE,   MARTINIQUE 326 

CABIBBEE   ISLANDS        .      .  328 

Town  of  Bottom,  Island  of  Saba,  Situated  in  an  Old  Crater— 
Gustavia,  St  Bartholomew 

ST.  KITT8 332 

Public  Garden-View 

MABKET,  GUADELOUPE 338 

CARIB  INDIANS   MAKING  BASKETS,   DOMINICA 340 

MARTINIQUE 345 

Statue  of  Josephine-Old  Mill  on  Estate  where  Josephine 
was  Born 

MARTINIQUE 348 

Landing,  St  Pierre— St  Pierre 

TYPES  OF  WOMEN,  MARTINIQUE 362 

Pille  de  Couleur— French  Negress— Negro  Woman— Mulatto  0  irl 

ST.  LUCIA 357 

Plantations  near  South  End-One  of  the  Pitons 

VINCENT 360 

Georgetown—  Kingstown 

ST.  VINCENT         362 

Sugar-Plantation,  Fort  Davinet- Windward  Coast-Market 

GRENADA 364 

St  George's  Harbor-8t  George 

TRINIDAD          366 

Public  Offices-Port  of  Spain 

PITCH  LAKE,  TRINIDAD 368 


LIST    OK    I I.LfST RATIONS 


•\\>   .       . 

Coolies— Cootie  Homes 


xxi 

.   370 


373 


Gathering  Sugar- Cane -Pub  lie  Library,  Bridgetown  -Laon- 
drewes— Turning  the  Windmill 

BRIDGETOWN  ROADSTEAD,  BARBADOS 374 

BARBADOS 376 

Street  Scene,  Bridgetown— Country  Church -Landing  Wharf, 
Bridgetown 

BARBADIAN  NEGROES 378 

Group  of  Overseers- Trinket-Selto- Pottery- Vender 

COAST  VIEWS,  BARBADOS 380 

Rolled  Boulder  from  Elevated  Reef- Horizontal  Sea  Erosion 
of  Rolled  Boulder.- Effect  of  Trade-Wind,  on  Vegetation- 
Bathing  Beach  and  Elevated  Reef-Sea-Coaet  Scene -Elevated 

!{.•,•!  TYrnu-.. 

BARBADIAN  TYPES 387 

.       !..••     •      ,     :•,     -        •       >•:-,,-     \,     • 


TYPES,  BARBADOS  AND  GUADELOUPE 388 

Going  to  Market,  Barbados-  Field-Hands,  Barbados  (Note 
Characteristic  Barbadian  Heads)— Woman  in  Characteristic 
Costume,  French  Mulatto,  Guadeloupe 

ST.  VINCENT 390 

Carib  Indians-  Carib  Rock-Inscriptions 

ST.  VINCENT         392 

Negro  Hut— African  Basket- Wattle  House,  Board  House,  Ad- 
aptation of  Same 

IOUA  AND  BARBADOS 394 

Negro  Hut,  Antigua -Negroes  and  Low  Whites,  East  Side  of 
Barbados— Fisherman*.  Hut,  Barbados 

NF.C.UO  HfT,  ST.  YINVKNT ."«t 

sroAH-cn/rrHE,  imtiunns n..» 

Newcastle  Sugar-Mill- Spreading  Bagasse  to  Dry  for  Fuel— 
Cane-Grinding  by  Windmill  Power 

IMPOVERISHED  SUGAR-ESTATES,  BARBADOS 404 


INTRODUCTION 

WK  have  recently  been  called  a  nation  of  Yankee 
traders.    This  compliment,  although  not  so  in- 
tended, classifies  us  amontf  the  most   highly  civili/ed  na- 
tions, which  are  those  that  excel  in  commerce,  and  signal- 
izes our  need  of  foreign  markets. 

The  great  nations  of  Europe  are  apportioning  the  terri- 
tories of  weaker  peoples  among  themselves  for  the  purpose 
of  monopolizing  their  trade.  Whether  the  United  States 
is  to  enter  into  such  operations  or  not,  we  cannot  say,  nor 
is  it  t  he  purpose  of  this  book  to  discuss  the  question.  Our 
future  prosperity  as  a  nation  depends  largely  on  the 
equality  of  terms  upon  which  our  products  can  obtain 
market  abroad.  Every  square  mile  fenced  in  by  tariff 
laws  of  prohibitive  nations  is  our  commercial  loss;  every 
one  opened  is  our  ^ain.  It  was  Spain's  attempt  to  divert 
the  trade  of  Cuba  from  its  natural  channels  by  discrimi- 
native duties  that  fomented  the  discord  leading  to  the 
present  war;  it  was  the  protective  harrier  placed  l.y  us 
against  the  sugar  of  the  West  Indian  Islands  which  almost 
paralyzed  them. 

We  are  not  only  a  nation  of  traders,  but  we  are  a  nation 
of  Yankee  tinkers,  and  it  is  our  scientific  expertness  in 

••loping  natural  resources,  in  increasing  the  product 
labor  of  the  individual,  and  in  quickening  transportation, 
that  has  enabled  us  to  develop  wildernesses  and  to  revive 

.  ntries  which  have  grown  old  in  conservative  ways. 
Our  methods  of  industrial  development  are  scientific,  and 


\\iv  INTRODUCTION 

•f  commerce  goes  hand  in  hand  with  geography. 
Not  'i  our  1  Borders  is  the  wonderful  ami  inter.-- 

NV.-vt  Imlian  region,  which  is  already  a  fair  field  of  trade, 
and  which,  present  events  indicate,  will  be  a  better  one  in 
coming  years.  American  in- In-trial  methods  may  be  ap- 
plic.l  to  this  region,  and  it  is  an  opportune  momeir 
make  a  scientific  presentation  of  its  com  lit  ions  and  possi- 
bilities. 

It  is  a  difficult  task  to  convey  a  correct  impression  of  the 
natural  and  economic  conditions  of  the  tropical  American 
•  ouiitri.s  an<l  their  inhabitants.  Too  often  these  are 
judged  by  the  standards  of  our  own  surroundings  and 
customs,  which  are  those  of  an  •  -iitin -ly  different  environ- 
ment. The  configuration  of  the  lands,  geological  struc- 
,  climate,  and  products  of  the  soil— upon  all  of  which 
culture  depends— are  so  different  from  those  of  our  own 
country  that  wefare  confronted  at  the  outset  with  a  lack 
of  suitable  bases  for  comparison.  The  peoples  ami  coun- 
tries of  the  American  Mediterranean  cannot  be  classified 
together  as  social  or  geographic  units.  Nowhere  in  the 
world  are  so  many  extremes  of  natural  conditions,  popu- 
lation, ami  government  to  be  found.  As  elsewhere, 
mate, configuration,  and  fertility  of  soil  are  th«  i-  the  first 
considerations  that  influence  productivity,  while  political 
organization  has  also  larp  -litimied  the  degree  of 

i/ati.'ii.     Neighboring  localities  present  great  e 
trasts.    Here  are  lands  which  have  grown  up  .  the 

agency  of  the  coral-reef  builders,  eminences  piled  high  by 
vast  volcanic  extrusions,  hi-rh   plateaus,  and  mountain 
ridges  of  the  lifted  and  folded  sediments  of  the  ocean's 
floor,  each  of  which,  with  modifications  of  altitude 
climate,  produces  a  soil  dir  the  others  in  agri- 

cultural and  economic  possibilities.     The  reef- veneered 
Barbftdo  .  ill.-  ratank  NMM  oi  Central   America,  the 
Windward  Islands,  and  the  high,  arid  plateau  of  Me\ 
respectively,  are  types  of  these  <<. 
Qreat  Antilles  are  peculiar  com!  s  of  all. 


INTKontVTIoN 


ii  Ml  impression  that  the  peoples  of  these  «• 
tri'  'her  negro  or  Spanish,  and  that  despotism  or 

anarchy,  dii*-  t«>  the  character  of  the  inhabitants  rather 
than  to  environment  and  admin i>t ration, are  the  prevalent 
political  conditions.  In  these  heterogeneous  conceptions 
the  dominant  Indian  population  of  Mexico,  the  negroes  of 
Haiti,  and  the  \\hite  Creoles  of  the  islands  are  indiscrimi- 
nately considered  together.  But  this  region  is  a  most 
remarkable  example  of  the  combined  influences  upon 
mankind  of  geography,  race,  and  government,  and  is  prac- 
tically  a  great  sociological  laboratory  where  many  human 
species  are  being  differentiated. 

It  i-  true  that  some  people  of  Spanish  descent,  in  coun- 
-  like  Colombia,  Honduras,  and  San  Salvador,  where 
population  is  scattered  and  separated  by  topographic  ob- 
stacles fatal  to  the  establishment  of  strong  governments, 
are  normally  in  revolt.  There  are  other  Spanish- American 
republics  which,  in  comparison  with  the  government  of 
the  European  country  from  which  they  seceded,  are  fair 
models  of  stability  and  prosperity,  such  as  Costa  Rica,— 
where  capital  punishment  has  been  abolished,— which  is 
as  peaceful  as  Acadia,  and  boasts  that  it  has  never  had  a 
war.  Argentina  and  Chile  are  worthy  of  consideration; 
and  Mexico,  by  gigantic  strides,  since  free  from  European 
int. -rt'i TCI ic..,  has  changed  from  a  land  of  revolution  and 
banditti  to  the  home  of  a  prosperous  industrial  and  com- 
mercial nation. 

The  conditions  of  the  tropical  countries  in  which  the 
negro  race  prevails  are  indeed  varied,  but  in  some  instances 
uctt.-r  than  is  generally  supposed.     The  Haitians  have 
do  more  progress  than  is  credited  to  them ;  their  revolt- 
in  ir  experience  has  caused  us  to  overlook  the  fact  that  ot 
negro  populations,  such  as  those  of  Jamaica  and  Barbados, 
-where  the  blacks  outnumber  the  whites  in  the  proportion 
of  fifty  to  one,— under  beneficent  English  colonial  con- 
trol, at  least  present  orderly  spectacles.    Of  these 
countries  and  peoples,  we  are  now  chiefly  concerned  with 


xxvi  INTRODUCTION 

the  \\Vst  I  mliefs  especially  Cuba,  with  a  secondary  interest 
in  Porto  Rico— the  only  islands  where  the  white  race  has 
become  acclimated  and  numerically  dominant,  and  whose 
political  administrations  have  been  most  disturbed,  despite 
their  superior  natural  resources.  The  other  islands  present 
equally  interesting  economic  and  sociologic  studies. 

The  West  Indies  since  their  introduction  to  European 
civilization  have  been  attractive  objects  of  interest  and 
have  presented  a  wonderful  panorama  of  human  and  nat  u- 
ral  phenomena.  They  have  been  the  theater  of  historic 

•  »n,  the  center  from  which  early  American  explora* 
radiated,  and  the  base  of  geographic  operations  during 
those  entrancing  years  when  mariners  ever  scanned  the 
horizon  in  expectation  of  discovering  the  new  and  the 
wonderful.  They  have  been  the  battle-ground  of  the  New 
World  of  nations  from  the  formative  centuries  until  the 
present  civilization.  They  have  been  the  grand  arena  of 
the  war  of  races.  First,  the  Spanish  conquered  the  abori- 
gines ;  then  English,  Dutch,  French,  and  Dane,  anxious  for 
participation,  strove  to  share  in  the  possession  of  the 
Indies,  and  even  individuals,  as  pirates  and  tmcaneers, 
took  part  in  the  general  seizure.  The  din  of  European 
arms  over  these  waters  continued  intermittently  until  the 
beginning  of  this  century.  Cities  with  old-world  walls,  f « 
fications,  and  institutions  had  grown  opulent  in  the  West 
Indies,  or  had  been  destroyed  by  the  guns  of  foreign  foes, 
before  the  landing  upon  Plymouth  Rock  or  the  settlement 
of  Jamestown  had  initial. -d  Anglo-American  civilization. 
Every  island  is  strewn  with  old  cannon  and  ;  <que 

ruins  of  anti.p;  ments  which  attest 

individuals  and  nations  preyed  upon  the  Spanish  Main. 
II. -re  Mor-ran,  I  )rake,<  ir.-nville.  he  Wrasse,  Kodn.-y,  Nels..n. 
Albemarle,  and  other  sea  warriors  of  note  won  victories 
or  suffered  defeat,  and  many  a  brave  forefather  from  our 
own  colonies  pa  d  the  struggle. 

African  slaves  were  implanted  upon  territory  gain*  d  1>y 
Caucasian  from  aborigine.  By  the  close  of  the  last  • 


DnSODl  «  TION  xxvii 

tury,  when  the  civili/..-d  nations  had  about  adjusted  their 
territorial  <li-j.ut.-s  the  slaves  had  atta  merical 

strength,  ami  from  time  to  time  rose  in  revolt— usually  to 
be  suppress*  .1  with  a  loss  of  life  most  appalling  l>ut  in 
some  cases  achieving  a  success  that  so  <  y  han- 

ished  European  lit'.-  an«l  influences  that  civilization  asks 
in  wonder  it  this  Eden  of  nature  is  not  being  transformed 
into  an  American  Africa,  with  its  barbarous  rites  and 
superstitions.  Asa  climax  to  this  tumult  we  have  lately 
seen  in  Haiti  the  spectacle  of  pure  negro  blood  extermi- 
nating the  mulattos. 

•  •  i>lands  were  the  commercial  paradise  of  the  first 
three  centuries  of  American  settlement,  and  lands  now 
gone  hack  to  jungle  sold  as  hiirh  as  a  thousand  dollars  an 
aero,  "in  those  booming  days  when  sugar  was  at  32." 
Here  manufacturers  fount  1  market  for  all  the  weaves  and 
notions  of  their  making.  The  West  India  trade  enriched 
the  merchants  of  Barcelona  and  London,  and  the  products 
of  the  plantations  established  many  a  fortune  in  England, 
and  Spain.  Even  now  their  trade  exceeds  that  of 
all  Mexico  and  Central  AHUM 

In  the  era  of  their  prosperity  noble  fan  lilies  of  European 
descent  founded  establishments  of  patriarchal  grandeur. 
luxurious  and   hospitable  beyond  description.      In  these 
times  the  islands  gave  birth  to  Alexander  Hamilton,  our 
first  great  financier,  and  Josephine,  who  became  Empress 
he  French.     Here,  too,  Nelson,  then  a  captain  in  the 
-h  navy,  was  married  to  the  wife  who  was  faithful  to 
hi*  unfaithfulness.    No  greater  proof  can  be  found  of  the 
value  of  tl>-  Indies  at  the  close  of  the  last  century 

thanth.'faet  th;  irla ml  the  loss  of  the  colonies  which 

now  constitute  our  republic  seemed  of  secondary  iinj 

e  to  Rodney's  great  naval  victory  over  the  French  off 
Martinique,  whereby  her  supremacy  in  the  West 

!i«  d.    In  the  lii;ht  of  eighteenth-century  values 
tli«  ii  colonies  were  of  trivial  worth  in  comparison 

with  the  Wot  Indi.-s,  and  we  may  perhaps  thank  our 


XXviii  INTRODUCTION 

destinies  that  England  at  that  time  devoted  her  superior 
forces  to  retaining  the  latter. 

To  tl.  list  the  islands  are  a  paradise,  and  in  t 

plants,  animals,  and  rocks  he  finds  not  only  the  new  and 
wonderful,  )»ut  grand  problems  of  origin  and  (listril»uti<>n. 
How  these  lands  arose  from  the  sea,  and  what  their  rela- 
tions to  the  continents  are,  must  still  be  regarded  as  ques- 
tions not  satisfactorily  answered. 

<>m  the  esthetic  standpoint  these  islands  have  been 
the  inspiration  of  noble  works  of  prose  and  poetry.  Scenic 
pi.  tures  of  mountains,  valleys,  and  coast  everywhere  c> 
whelm  the  eye  with  wealth  of  form,  while  rich  vegetation 
of  a  hundred  tints,  shaded  or  illuminated  by  clouds  and 
sunlight,  presents  an  unrivaled  wealth  of  color.  The 
whole,  set  in  a  framework  of  glorious  sea,  is  a  marvelous 
natural  picture. 

Books  have  been  written  treating  of  various  places  and 
parts  of  the  West  Indies,  but,  within  the  past  quarter- 
century  at  least,  none  which  presents  a  geographic  and 
economic  conspectus  of  the  subject  as  a  whole— a  fact 
apparent  to  the  traveler  who  searches  in  vain  for  such  a 
reliable  guide-book.    Some  writers,  like  Stoddard,  Ober, 
St.  John,  and  Bryan  Edwards,  have  presented  charming 
glimpses  of  <<  rtain  portions  of  the  islands.     Eingsley, 
in  "Westward  Ho!"  ami  "At  Last,"  has  given  des< 
s  of  scenes  and  localities  which  will  have  a  permai 
place  in  literature.    Michael  Scott,  the  author  of  "Tom 
Cringle's  Log,"  Mayne  Reid,  Marryat,  and  Robert  Louis 
Stevenson  have  produced  amusing  sketches  of  scenes  here 
and  there.    Samuel  Hazard  ha-  written  * 
books  on  the  e very-day  scenes  and  life  of  Cuba  and  S; 
Domingo.     Lafcadio  Hearn's  "Two  Years  in  the  West 
Imli  ing  the  strange  story  of  the  lif. 

of  the  French  island  of  Martinique,  is  a  most  readable  an<l 
instrm-tiv.-  l>ook.    St  John  has  irra^hieally  t.-l.l  th««  h« 
story  of  black  Haiti's  struggles  for  freedom  and  its  revolt- 
ing sequence.    Froude  has  written  of  the  English  in  the 


INTRODUCTION 

Indies,  and  Anthony  Trollope  has  given  a  conspectus 
of  the  island>  in  th«-  middl.-  <•!'  the  present  c«  ust 

before  the  epoch  of  eman«  i pat  i'>n  \\hi.-h  up-  ius- 

trial  system;  and  this  slmuM  \>e  read  by  all  who  wish  to* 
see  the  changes  which  fifty  years  have  wrought.    Captain 
has  recorded  in  li«  tion,and  John  Fiske  in  history, 
the  >!•  Ties  of   the  bucaueeriug  and  freebootiug  on  the 
uish  Main.    Of  the  more  solid  historical  works,  John 
'<  \\ritings,  especially  hi-  "Discovery  of  America" 
and  "Old  Virgin  in  and  her  Neighbors,"  give  admirable 
summaries  of  earlier  West  Indian  events  and  the  intimate 
relat  at  once  existed  between  the  American  colonies 

and  the  islands. 

Of  economic  treatises  there  are  several  special  works, 
a-   M.  Ramon  de   La  Sagra's  "Histoire  physique, 
politique  et  naturelle  de  Pile  de  Cuba,"  Humlx.ldt's  writ- 
ppeuhauer's  " Haiti,"  Schomburgk's  "Barbados," 
and  several  French  works  on  the  present  and  former  pos- 
sessions of  France.    These,  however,  with  th-  ion 
of  Tippcn  halter's  "Hait             |>ort  of  the  English  Sugar 
Commission,  and  various  consular  reports,  were  written  in 
the  earlier  decades  of  the  century,  and  treat  of  slave  con- 
ns which  are  now  obsolete.    Captain  Mahan,  in  his 
<>us  books  and  magazine  articles,  has  descril>ed  the 
present  strategic  importance  of  the  islands  and  the  great 
naval  battles  of  the  past. 

Of  works  treating  of  the  natural  history  of  the  West 
Indies  there  are  but  few  of  a  general  or  mnipivhensive 
char;  Exploration  lias  been  sporadic  and  unsys- 

tematic, although   in  these  islands  is  the  key  to  all  the 
higher  pmMems  of  zoogeography  and  the  evolution  of  the 
•  TO  is  one  notable  exception ;  for  years  Pro- 
.rassi/.  has  personally  conducted  or  in- 
•d  many  explorations  in  this  repon,  and  has  published 
.al.li-  technical  works  thereon.     His  "Three  Cruises  of 
the  ,  -e  on  the  wonderful  configuration  of 

the  sea  bottoms  and  their  i  us  life,  is  a  most  read- 


DTTBODUCTION 

able  an.l   instructive  work  on  the  geology  ami  /.<»'logy. 
living  and  fossil  c«»ral  r.-.-t's.  such  as 
.«»  Florida  Reefs,"  "The  Cruise  of  the  Will  /> 
one 011  the  Bahamas,  are  of  greatest  interest.    T    Professor 
Agassiz's  desire  to  advance  the  knowledge  of  ti  •    \\ 
Indies  the  writer  is  indebted  for  the  opportunity  of  several 
years9  travel,  whereby  he  was  enabled  to  stmlv  their  geog- 
raphy and  geology,  to  observe  their  social  and  economic 
conditions,  and  to  obtain  experiences  which  hav.-  ma«l«« 
this  book  possible. 

The  author  cannot  hope  to  present  in  the  present  work 
a  better  description  of  the  West  Indies  than  has  been  gi\  •  n 
in  fragments  by  these  earlier  writers.  He  believes,  how- 
ever, that  there  is  need  for  a  comprehensive  book  on  the 
region  as  a  whole,  and  one  which  will  tivat  its  «>iMitions 
as  they  appear  to-day,  giving  the  essential  facts  concerning 
the  physical  geography,  climate,  economic  geology,  agri- 
cult  urc,  commerce,  and  social  conditions  < 
as  well  as  the  possibilities  «»f  their  future  development. 
While  the  work  will  be  elnefly  based  upon  the  results  of 
own  personal  examinations,  the  scattered  and  in  some 
••s  almost  inaccessible  observations  of  others  will 
be  freely  used.  When  statistics  are  given  they  will  be 
i-p-.-nt."!  as  the  i.e-t  obtainable  rurun-s  oonoerning  a 
region  where  the  arts  of  collecting  and  classifying  such 
data  are  by  no  means  the  favorite  occupations  of  the 
inhabitants. 


CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 


WITH    THE    OTHER 

ISLANDS    OP 
THE   WEST    INDIES 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  GEOGRAPHIC  RELATIONS  OF  THE  WEST   INDIES 

Position  relative  to  the  continents.  Types  of  the  surrounding  lands.  The 
east-and- west  trends  of  the  Antfflean  Mountains.  Differences  between 
the  Gulf  and  Caribbean  basins. 

A  PROPER  conception  of  the  social  and  economic  con- 
ditions of  the  various  West  Indian  Islands  and  their 
relat  i'  >i  her  lack  of  relations,  to  the  adjacent  conti- 

nents, will  bo  facilitated  by  a  few  preliminary  words  upon 
the  general  geography  of  the  American  Mediterranean  re- 
gion, of  which  they  are  integral  parts.  This  will  avoid 
much  unnecessary  repetition  in  the  descriptions  of  the 

•us  islands. 

The  western  hemisphere  is  divisible  into  three  distinct 

continental  regions,  the  North,  Central,  and  South  Ameri- 

N«  >rt  li  America  is  the  most  western !  of  the  continents, 

and  terminates  in  southern  Mexico,  at  the  end  of  the  Rocky 

1  In  northern  latitude*  we  look  upon  the  Pacific  as  situated  to  our  west ;  bat 
were  it  not  for  the  island  of  Cuba  and  the  narrow  isthmian  neck,  one  could 
strike  it  by  sailing  almost  due  south  from  New  York,  and  the  whole  of  the 
South  American  continent  is  situated  far  east  of  the  mass  of  North 


2  •          \     \M» 

Mountain  region.    South  Ameri  a  i<  t  lie  eastern  cent  ii 
and  terminates  with  the  end  of  the  northern  Ai.-i-  -  in  the 
RepnMic  Of  GotomMft.     Th«-  <  Vntral  Am.  riean  continent  is 
•  •ast-and-west  isthmus  connecting  the  termini  of  the 
North  and  South  American  continents.    Central  Ann 
and  the  West  Indies,  im-hidin^  the  Gulf  of  M  and  the 

Caribbean  Sea  (together  forming  the  A 
nean), are  more  complex  features, largely  individual  in  their 
aspects,  although  more  nearly  related  to  one  another  and 
to  the  northern  coast  of  South  America  than  they  are  to 
the  main  bodies  of  the  larger  cont  inputs. 

Geography  has  taught  that  the  American  continents  are 
dominated  by  a  continuous  Conlill«-i  an  system  running  like 
a  backbone  through  South,  Central,  and  North  America, 
connecting  the  whole  western  border  of  the  hemisphere  l,y 
one  great  mountain  system,  which  has  persisted  through 
long  epochs  of  time.  This  is  an  erroneous  idea,  for  the  so- 
called  continental  backbone  is  not  a  geographic  unit,  but 
is  disconnected  in  places.  In  a  later  chapter  I  will  show 
that  the  Central  Ann -rican  isthmian  barrier  between  the 
oceans  was  once  freely  invaded  by  the  waters  of  the  Pacific, 
while  an  entirely  different  isthmian  l»ridp-on  the  windward 
or  eastern  side  of  the  Gulf  and  Caribbean  Sea,  now  part  ially 
destroyed,  probably  connected  or  almost  connected 
continents  from  Florida  to  the  northeast  point  of  South 
America.  Hither  this,  or  much  of  the  present  Central 
American  lands,  with  some  of  the  \Y  an  Islands, 

long  before  man  appeared  on  this  earth,  formed  a  great 
i  ipelago— a  veritable  Atlantis— extending  east  and  west 
between  and  directly  across  the  trends  of  the  North  and 
South  American  continents. 

The  east-front  ranges  of  the  North  American  Cordilleras 
are  largely  composed  of  old  sediments  of  the  A  t  Ian  t  i<  <  > 
w  inch  were  pushed  up  against  a  preexisting  land  lying  to 
the  west ;  they  are  mountain  ranges  with  north -an  d-south 
trt  -nds,  accompanied  by  volcanic    intrusions  and 
Geographers  show  that   this  system  abruptly  terminates 


I  Hi.   GEOORATIil*  F  THE  WBgT  INDIES          3 

the  great  scarp,  <>•  .  of  the  so-called  plateau  of 

eo,  in  longitude  97°  W.,  ii  littlf  smith  of  the  capital  of 
that  republic,  and  that  the  mountains  have  no  orographic 
r  <>th.  r  features  in  common  with  those  of  the 
Central  American  region. 

The  Andean  Cordilleras,  which  dominate  the  South 
American  continental  area,  are  largely  composed  of  the  old 
sediments  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  are  also  accompanied 
).\  vnlcani'-  i  nt  rusions  and  ejeota  now  folded  into  north-and- 
south  mountain  tivnds.  They  too  were  pushed  up  against 
a  preexisting  land  buttress,  but  this  lay  to  the  east,  instead 
of  to  the  west  as  in  the  case  of  the  North  American  Cordil- 
leras. The  Andean  trend,  which  follows  the  western  side 
of  South  America,  after  crossing  north  of  the  equator, 
bends  slightly  eastward  and  abruptly  terminates  in  north- 
ern Colombia,  in  longitude  70°  W.  Only  one  doubtful 
spur  touches  the  coast  of  the  American  Mediterranean,  the 
Sierra  del  Marta,  lying  between  the  Gulf  of  Maracaibo  and 
the  river  Magdalena.  The  Andes  have  no  genetic  connec- 
i  with  the  ranges  extending  east  and  west  along  the 
Venezuelan  coast  of  South  America,  much  less  with  the 
mountains  of  Central  America  or  with  the  great  Rocky 
Mountain  region  of  Mexico  and  the  United  States.  The 
northern  end  of  the  Andean  system  lies  entirely  east  of  the 
Central  American  region,  and  is  separated  from  it  by  the 
-the  most  western  of  the  great  rivers  of  Colom- 
bia. 1 11 fart,  the  deeply  eroded  drainage  valley  of  this  stream 
nearly  severs  the  Pacific  coast  of  the  Republic  of  Colombia 
and  tli.>  isthmian  region  from  the  South  American  continent, 
nds  of  the  great  North  and  South  American 
Cordilleras,  the  Rocky  Mountain  and  the  Andean  systems, 
if  protracted  from  their  termini  in  southern  Mexico  and 
Colombia  respectively,  would  not  connect  with  each  oth.-r 
throu-h  (Vntral  America,  but  would  pass  the  latitude  of 
the  Ant  ill.  •<  in  pnralM  lines  nearly  two  thousand  miles 
apart.  The  An<l«\m  t  r.  uds,  if  extended,  would  pass  through 
ai«  a  and  i-asN-rn  Cuba,  and  continue  almost  east  of  the 


4  CUBA   AND  PORTO  RICO 

North  American  continent  in  the  direction  of  Nova  So< 
A  similar  southward  extension  of  the  North  Ameri 
Cordilleras  would  carry  them  into  the  waters  of  the  Pa< 
crossing  the  equator  far  west  of  Central  America  and  the 
South  American  continent. 

In  the  tropical  latitudes,  between  the  widely  separated 
termini  of  the  North  and  South  American  Cordilleras,  as 
above  defined,  and  extending  directly  at  ri-ht  angles  to 
i,  lies  another  mountain  system,  to  which  the  term 
"  Antill«*an  "  may  be  applied.  This  has  been  tin*  fundamen- 
tal factor  in  West  Indian  configuration, although  the  system 
has  not  usually  been  properly  appreciated  by  geologist  and 
geographer,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  fact  that  its  remarka- 
ble and  continuous  ranges  are  largely  submerged  beneath 
the  waters  of  the  Caribbean  Sea, 

East-and-west  mountain  ranges  of  the  Antill.  an  typ«. 
occur  through  the  Great  Antilles,  along  tin-  Venezuelan  and 
Colombian  coast  of  South  America,  north  of  the  Orinoco ; 
in  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  Costa  Rica,  and  the  eastern 
parts  of  Nicaragua,  Guatemala,  Honduras,  Yucatan, 
Chiapas,  and  southern  Oaxaca.  The  two  elongated  sub- 
marine ridges,  separated  by  the  deep  oceanic  valley 
known  as  "Bartlett  Deep,"  which  stretrh  a< TOSS  the 
Caribbean  from  the  Antilles  to  the  Central  Ameri 
coast,  from  the  west  end  of  the  Sierra  Maestra  range  of 
Cuba  to  the  coast  of  Honduras,  and  from  Jamaica  to 
Cape  Gracias  &  Dios,  respectively,  are  similar  in  configu- 
ration to  the  east-and-west  mountain  ranges  of  the  Great 
Antilles,  and  are,  no  doubt,  genetically  a  part  of  them. 

The  Antillean  system  is  made  up  of  east-and-west 
mountain  ranges  composed  of  folded  sedimentaries.  Like 
the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Andes,  it  inpanied  by 

volcanic  intrusions  and  eject  a,  but,  instead  of  don 
a  continental  region,  these  uj>  •   their 

greatest  development  on  the  Ant  i  1  i  i  n  the 

submarine  topography  of  the  sea,  and  fonn  a  mountainous 
perimeter  of  the  depressed  Caribbean  basin. 


I  Hi     GEOGRAPHIC  RELATIONS  OF  THE  WEST  INDIES          5 

The  great  j  Inferences  between  the  lands  bor- 

ing the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Caribbean  Sea  are 
ehiffly  dependent  upon  the  arrangement  and  relation  of 
K'oeky  Mountain,  Andean,  and  Antillean  systems  of 
mountain  folds.  The  first  of  these  in  its  geognostic  as- 
pects and  relations  is  .ii-iinctly  North  American,  the 
secoml  South  American,  and  tin-  third  is  peculiarly  ( 
tral  American.  The  Gulf  of  Mexico  is  an  indeutat 
in;.,  tiie  North  American  continent— the  restricted  sur- 
d  of  a  great  interior  sea  which  once  extended  over  the 
Great  Plains  region  of  the  United  States,  which  at  one 
time  almost,  if  not  entirely,  separated  North  America 
into  two  great  prehistoric  continents,  the  Appalachian 
ami  Cordilleran.  The  basin  of  the  Gulf  is  still  filling  up 
from  the  sediments  brought  down  by  rivers  which  drain 
nearly  one  fourth  the  area  of  the  United  States.  With 
til--  single  exception  of  its  extreme  southwestern  indenta- 
tion upon  the  coast  of  Mexico,  the  Gulf  is  surrounded  by 
low  plains  composed  of  great  sheets  of  subhorizontal  and 
un  consolidated  sediments  deposited  when  its  own  waters 
occupied  a  larger  aiva  than  at  present.  The  entire  sea- 
margin  of  the  Gulf  region  of  the  United  States  and  most 
of  Mexico  is  of  this  nature,  while  the  north  coasts  of 
Yucatan  and  portions  of  Culm,  although  modified,  aiv 
tted  phenomena.  Thus  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  instead 
of  having  a  mountainous  periphery  like  the  Caribbean, 
is  bordered  by  plains. 

•c  is  still  another  class  of  tropical  mountains,  distinct 
QQ  those  made  of  folds  of  the  earth's  sedimentary  cr 
se  are  the  volcanoes  which  have  grown  by  extrusion 
accumulation.     Sometimes  they  are  parasitic  upon 
the  folded   mother  systems,  sometimes  independent  of 
them.    They  belong  to  the  great  area  of  igneous  erup- 
tivity  which,  at  least  since  the  beginning  of  Tertiary  time, 
has  marked  the  western  half  of  the  North  American  con- 
tinent, the  northern  and  western  sides  of  South  America, 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Caribbean  region.     Although 


U  <THA    AND    I'uKTM    Kim 

blending  into  one  an«>t  ln-r,  the  volcanic  areas  of  pies 

are  of  two  distinct  kinds,  which  we  may  call  the  quiesn-nt 
and  the  active. 

The  active  volcanic  group  occurs  in  four  widely  sepa- 
rated localities:  1.  The  Andean  group  of  volcanoes  of 
the  equatorial  region  of  western  South  America,  whi<  h 
rise  above  the  corrugated  folds  of  the  northern  terminal  i<  *n 
of  the  dominant  South  American  Cordilleras.  2.  The 
chain  of  some  twenty-five  great  cinder-cones  which  stretch 
east  and  west  across  the  south  end  of  the  Mexican  Pla- 
teau, protru.lini:  on  the  terminal  ranges  of  the  North 
American  Cordilleras.  3.  The  Central  American  group, 
with  its  thirty-one  active  craters,  occurs  diagonally  across 
the  western  ends  of  the  east-and-west  folds  of  the  An  til- 
lean  corrugations,  and  fringes  the  Pacific  side  of  Guate- 
mala, San  Salvador,  and  Costa  Rica.  This  is  separated 
from  the  Mexican  group  on  the  north  by  a  quiescent 
volcanic  area,  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec,  and  on  the 
south  from  the  Andean  volcanoes  by  the  iMhmus  of 
Panama,  where  no  active  volcanoes  are  found.  4.  The 
volcanoes  of  tin*  Windward  chain  of  islands,  which  mark 
the  eastern  gate  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  in  a  line  dirertly 
across  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  Antillean  Mount 
These  are  parallel  to  the  Central  American  group,  arid 
together  these  two  groups  constitute  the  eastern  and  west- 
ern borders  of  the  Caribbean  Sea. 

Other  regions  in  which  volcanic  activity  has  been  q 
in   recent  geologic  epochs  are  the  Great  Antilles,   th< 
Isthmus  of  Panama,  the  Pacific  coast  of  South  Ann 
west  of  the  Atrato,  and  the  Venezuelan  coast  of  South 
America.   Thus  the  Caribbean  is  bordered  on  the  east  an«l 
west  by  \<>1,  anic  chains,  and  on  the  north  and  south  l»y 
mountain  folds. 


CHAPTER   II 

THK    WKST    1N1.1AN    WATKKS 

The  American  Mediterranean.  Its  area  and  littorals.  Distinctness  from 
the  oceanic  basins.  The  currents  and  winds  inducing  the  equable  tem- 
perature and  conditions  of  Ufa  The  remarkable  submarine  configura- 
tion. The  great  deeps  and  flooded  mountains.  Peculiar  aspects  of  the 
life  of  the  waters.  Influence  of  the  coral  polyps  in  making  the  rocks 
of  the  islands.  Passes  into  the  Atlantic, 

HAVING  shown  the  fundamental  relations  of  the  tropi- 
cal American  region,  the  essential  features  of  its  local 
geography  can  now  be  briefly  outlined.  First  a  word  as 
to  magnitude.  When  the  writer  first  sailed  for  these 
waters  he  had  the  erroneous  impression,  which  is  shared 
by  many,  that  the  whole  West  Indian  region  could  be 
seen  and  studied  in  a  single  season— an  illusion  which 
was  dispelled  by  a  few  weeks'  experience.  It  took  some 
time  to  realize  that  a  journey  across  the  greater  length 
of  the  Gulf  and  Caribbean  from  Galveston  to  the  month 
of  the  Orinoco  was  nearly  four  thousand  miles,  or  one 
third  more  than  the  distance  from  New  York  to  Liver- 
pool; that  the  eastern  chain  of  islands  from  Florida  to 
•  I  was  strung  out  for  a  thousand  miles;  and  that 

go  from  .I.miui  the  geographic  center  of  the 

region,  to  any  of  the  peripheral  points,  such  as  Colon, 

Barbados,  or  Nassau,  was  a  matter  of  three  or  four  days' 

steaming. 

The  waters  of  the  Gulf  and  Caribbean,  615,000  and 

,000  square  miles  in  area  respectively,  aggregate  1,365,- 

7 


8  CUBA  AND   POBTO   BIOO 

000  square  miles,  or  one  sixth  the  area  of  the  North  and 
Central  American  continents,  while  the  land  area  of  all 
islands  is  nearly  100,000  square  miles,  not  quite  equal  t<> 
that  of  the  State  of  Colorado. 

The  traveler  who  would  circumnavigate  the  American 
Mediterranean,  as  the  Gulf  and  Caribbean  may  be  collec- 
y  termed,  keeping  the  bordering  lands  in  sight,  say 
by  entering  at  the  Florida  capes,  and  following  the  shores 
of  Florida,  Alabama,  MissisM j  •;  >;.  I  .< misiana,  Texas, 
Honduras,  Costa  Rica,  Panama,  Colombia,  and  Venezuela 
to  Trinidad,  and  thence  up  the  inner  margins  of  th<  \\ "i mi- 
ward  Islands  and  the  southern  shores  of  the  Gn-at  An- 
tilles back  to  the  point  of  beginning,  would  be  obliged  to 
travel  twelve  thousand  miles— nearly  one  half  the  earth's 
circumference. 

A  word  as  to  directions  must  be  added.  The  prevalent 
trends  are  east  and  west  in  this  region.  The  longest  axes 
of  the  seas  and  islands  are  along  east-aud- west  lines.  K 
the  coasts  of  the  surrounding  mainlands  are  thus  arranged. 
A  glance  at  the  straight  east-and-west  Caribbean  coast  of 
South  America,  Honduras,  and  Guatemala  shows  that 
the  S-shaped  outline  of  the  isthmus  also  has  a  prevalent 
east-and-west  direction. 

Volumes  might  be  devoted  to  descriptions  of  the  won- 
derful waters  of  the  American  Mediterranean.  Th*  y  ha\<> 
many  phases  of  depth,  current,  temperature,  and  lit< ,  l>ut 
we  can  only  touch  upon  the  essentials.  This  great  tropi- 
cal body  of  water  is  not  merely  an  arm  of  the  oo-.m,  in- 
denting and  almost  separating  the  American  continents, 
but  is  a  deep  and  well-defim-d  marine  1-a-in  or  series  of 
basins,  more  completely  closed  on  tin-  Atlantic  side  than 
is  apparent  fr«.m  a  ^laiie,-  at  tin-  map.  Tin-  numerous 
islets  of  its  eastern  border,  the  Bahamas  and  Windward 
chain,  \vlii.-h  extend  from  I  to  the  mouth  of  the 

Orinoco,  are  merely  the  summits  of  steep  sul>marino  ridges, 
which  divide  the  depths  of  tin-  Atlantic  from  those  of  the 
Gulf  of  i  I'arilibean  Sea;  were  their  waters  a 


TilK 


IM-:\N 


I 


few  feet  lower  these  ridges  would  eumj.!. -t«'ly  lutidloek  the 

from  the  ocean. 

I'm-th.-r  study  shows  that  this  vast  tropical  sea  is  com- 
of  a  number  of  di>t  im-t  basins,  each  marked  by  great 

ted  by  lauds  or  shallows— a  coin  lit 
iewhat  cMimparaMe  to  that  of  our  Great  Lakes,  if  they 
lands   \\.-iv  united  into  a  continuous 
:y  of  water  by  slight  regional  subsidences.     These 
.n.lary  divisions,  which  appear  small  upon  the  map 
id   have  less   conspicuous   land    in.  l,,>m,  N  are  really 
H-ive  bodies  of  water,  such  as  the  Mosquito  <  iulf,  lies- 
th ni^  in  the  curve  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  forming 
the  southwest  termination   <>t    tin-  Caribbean  Sea;    the 
Gulf  of  Honduras,  which  is  almost  landlocked  by  Yucatan, 
lica,  and  the  submerged  Rosalind  Bank  on  the 
south ;  and  the  Haitian  Sea,  or  Old  Bahama  Channel,  as 
the  sailing-masters  formerly  called  the  long  stretch  of 
water  between  the  Bahamas  and  the  northern  shores  of 
the  Antilles. 

The  American  Mediterranean  in  its  entirety  may  be 
considered  a  great  whirlpool  or  o. ,  ani.  river.  This  is 
.  d  l.y  tin*  tremendous  velocity  with  which  the  waters 
of  the  Atlantic,  moved  by  wind  and  terrestrial  motion, 
j.oiir  into  the  Caribbean  Sea  through  the  straits  between 
the  Windward  Islands  and  the  passage  between  Cuba  and 
Santo  Domingo.  These  rush  impetuously  through  the 
Caribbean  Sea  until  they  meet  the  Central  American 
coast  Failing  to  find  a  westward  passage  across  this 
barrier,  they  an-  deflected  northward  around  the  western 
end  of  the  Antilles,  through  the  Yucatan  Channel,  and  into 
the  (iulf  of  Mexico,  out  of  which  they  flow  to  the  east, 
through  the  Strait  of  Florida,  as  the  great  Gulf  Stream. 
Th.-  normal  westerly  movement  of  this  current  through 
the  ('aril. bean  Sea  is  estimated  at  from  ten  to  twenty 
cubic  miles  of  water  per  day. 

Attor  passing  at  an   accelerated  speed   through   the 
ks  Strait,  between  Jamaica  and  the  Mosquito  Reef, 


10  .      . 

the  main  stream  is  joined  by  an  affluent  setting  from  the 
Atlantic  through  tli««  Windward  Channel.  Hence  north- 
westward an  enormous  liquid  mass  passes  at  a  velocity  of 
from  two  to  three  miles  through  the  Strait  of  Yucatan, 
from  the  Caribbean  Sea,  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  On 
entering  the  Gulf  this  stream  ramifies  into  two  branches; 
one,  following  the  north  coast  of  Cuba,  sets  toward  Florida 
Strait,  while  the  other  broadens  out  in  the  spacious  central 
basin  of  the  Gulf  and  develops  an  intricate  system  of 
counter-currents.  Toward  the  center  of  this  nearly 
cular  sea  the  waters  seem  to  be  in  a  state  of  equilibrium, 
while  at  the  periphery  they  move  parallel  with,  Imt  at 
some  distance  from,  the  surrounding  coasts.  South  of 
the  Mississippi  delta  the  turl>i<l  fluid  of  that  great  river  is 
impelled  eastward  in  a  straight  line  by  the  blue  waters  of 
the  Gulf  Stream,  until  a  junction  is  effected  of  the  southern 
branches  at  the  western  entrance  of  Florida  Strait,  through 
which  the  whole  mass  rushes  like  a  mighty  river  into  the 
broad  Atlant  i<-.  At  the  most; narrow  part,  between  .!  uj-it  «-r 
Inlet, on  the  Florida  side,  and  Memory  K<>< -k,  in  tin-  Baha- 
mas, the  stream  contracts  to  a  width  of  fifty-six  miles, 
with  an  extreme  depth  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  tat  horns. 
In  this  limited  channel  the  velocity  varies  from  two  to  six 
miles,  the  average  being  about  three,  and  the  discharge, 
according  to  Bartlett,  175,000,000,000  of  cubic  feet  per  sec- 
ond, or  15,260,000,000,000,000  per  day.  Such  proportions 
are  difficult  to  grasp,  for  they  represent  a  moving  mass 
equal  to  about  three  hundred  thousand  Mississippi  rivers. 
Yet  they  are  still  far  inferior  to  the  prodigious  volume  of 
relatively  tepid  water  spread  over  the  surface  of  the  North 
Atlantic  and  Arctic  oceans.  In  fact,  the  Gulf  Stream, 
issuing  from  Florida  Strait,  MIJ. plies  only  a  small  portion 
of  those  tepid  waters  whose  influence  is  felt  as  far  east  as 
Nova  Zembla.  The  main  supply  comes  from  that  portion 
of  the  equatorial  cunvnt  which  is  deflect^!  n«.rth  l>y  the 
barrier  of  the  West  India  I -lands  and  is  joined 
Gulf  Stream  south  of  the  Bermudas. 


im;   \\I.M    IM-IAX  WATERS 


11 


Accompanying  these  currents  an-  the 
trade-winds.  They  come  from  the  vast  expanse  of  the 
Atlanti.  -,  ami  Mow  with  a  steady  velocity  across  the  rep..n 
—a  boon  to  the  inhabitants,  without  which  life  would  be 
unendurable.  They  are  laden  with  moisture,  greater  at 
certain  seasons  than  others,  which  is  precipitated  against 

protuberances  of  the  laud.  They  chop  the 
of  the  Caribbean  into  a  million  whiteoaps  and 
ripples,  giving  that  sea  a  rough  surface  quite  different 
from  the  glassy  waters  of  the  Gulf,  the  latter  being  par- 
y  protected  from  these  winds  by  the  Antilles  and  the 
Yucatan  peninsula.  They  also  create  a  superb  surf  against 
the  windward  side  of  the  tropical  islands  and  mainland 
Their  benign  influence  spreads  even  to  our  own  coun 
for  they  make  the  south  breezes  which  in  summer  blow 
across  Texas  and  the  Great  Plains  region.  There  is  no 
more  delightful  sensation  than  to  feel  the  cooling  touches 
or  drink  in  the  exhilarating  purity  of  this  moving  air-cur- 
rent, especially  along  the  windward  or  Atlantic  side  of 
the  eastern  islands,  where  it  moves  with  a  steady  Y<>1<><  ity 
stronger  than  a  breeze  and  milder  than  a  gale.  In  those 
portions  of  the  islands  entirely  or  partially  protected  by 
land  heights,  this  wind  is  broken,  and  counter-currents 
set  in.  For  instance,  on  the  leeward  or  Caribbean  side  of 
the  Windward  Islands,  cut  off  from  the  Atlantic  by  moun- 
tains rising  three  thousand  feet  or  more,  it  is  often  sultry, 
and  the  winds,  representing  eddies  in  the  greater  cun •• 
come  only  at  certain  times  of  day.  On  the  south  coast  of 
Jamaica,  at  Kingston,  the  trade-wind  blows  only  between 
the  daylight  hours  of  ten  and  four.  Coming  as  it  does  in 
the  warm  midday,  it  is  a  great  relief,  and  is  called  by  the 
inhabitants  "  the  doctor.*  The  relation  of  these  winds  to 
the  situation  of  land  is  an  important  factor  in  tropical 
America,  and  influences  the  conditions  of  vegetation, 
th,  rainfall,  and  other  phenomena.  Its  importance 

frequency  with  which  the  terms  "  leeward  "  and 
44  windward  "  are  used  iu  the  West  Indian  nomenclature. 


U  CUBA   AND   POBTO   RICO 

16  great  southward-flowing  air-'-unvnts  from  the 
United  States,  which  bring  our  blizzards  in  winter,  some- 
times invade  the  West  Indies,  and  are  there  known  as 
"northern."  They  extend  t<>  Panama  ami  the  Great 
Antill.-s,  l.ut  barely,  it  at  all,  reach  the  Wimlward  Islands. 
The  absence  of  a  breeze  in  the  West  Indies  is  ominous. 
Sometimes  in  th.s.  p.-riods  of  atmospheric  quirt  the 
barometer  falls  rapidly,  and  in  a  few  hours  great  hurri- 
canes en -iir.  Few  years  pass  without  a  disaster  at  one 
point  or  another  of  the  normal  8t<n-m-/.«njr.  NYarly  all 
the  islands  have  been  more  or  less  devastate!  i-y  these 

at  ions.  Barbados,  Jamaica,  St.  Thomas,  Guadeloupe, 
and  Cuba  especially  have  suffered  severely.  Houses  have 
been  uprooted  like  trees,  fortresses  demolished,  ships 
ri.-d  far  inlaml,  plantations  strewn  with  huge  Mo.-ks, 
i -lands  broken  into  reefs,  and  reefs  piled  up  int..  i -lands. 
The  "great  hurricane "  of  October  10, 1786,  is  said  to  have 
u  leveled  cities,  wrecked  fleets,  and, 

"  '  Amid  the  common  woe, 
Reconciled  the  French  and  English  foe/ 

who  were  preparing  to  cut  each  other's  throats."    The 
hurricanes  are  said  to  occur  only  at  the  end  of  Hummer  <  r 
1... Binning  of  autumn,  uh.-n  the  heated  surface  of  South 
America  attracts  the  cooler  and  denser  air  of  the  northern 
continent.     But  although  most  frequent  in  An- 
generally  prevalent  between  .Inly  and  October,  such  dis- 
turbances have  also  been  recorded  at  oth« -r  times. 
These  winds  and  currents  from  th<>  At  Ian 

her  hot  in  summer  nor  cold  in  \vint.-r.    Th.-ir  t.-n 
a: ure,  ameliorated  by  the  cooler  waters,  mitigates 
tropical  radiation  of  summer  nnd  warms  th*    noithnn 
blasts  of  winter,  and  is  n«  arly  the  same  the  year  round. 
Th»-  intense  extremes  of  our  own  country  are  unknown, 
the  thermometer  never  falling  to  the  cold  character!-! 
nearly  all  the  United  States,  nor  rising  to  th.-  intense 
of  our  summers.    Hencv  throughout  tin*  W«->t  Indi— 


Ul.M     INI'IVS     \\  Ml  Etfl 


13 


equable,  normally  between  70°  and  80° 
at  sea-level,  and  varying  above  or  below  this  only  in 
ited  localities  where  land  barriers  cut  off  the  winds,  or 
up..n  the  mountain  summits.  Were  it  not  for  the  humi.l- 
of  the  atmosphere,  the  general  temperature  of  the 
islands  would  be  most  enjoyable. 

tVatmv  of  the  American  Mediterranean  is  its 
wonderful  submarine  topography.  This  is  so  intimately 
aected  with  the  topography  of  the  land  that  the  rela- 
ti"iis  of  the  latter  cannot  be  understood  without  a  brief 
description  of  it.  Beneath  the  blue  waters  is  a  configura- 
\vhi.-h,  it  it  could  be  seen,  would  be  as  picturesque  in 
n  lief  as  the  Alps  or  Himalayas.  Nowhere  can  such  con- 
trasts of  relief  be  found  within  short  distances.  Some 
deeps  vie  in  profundity  with  the  altitudes  of  the  near-by 
Andes,  so  that  between  the  great  Brownson  Deep  of 
twenty-five  thousand  feet  to  the  summit  of  Chiraborazo 
there  is  a  difference  in  altitude  of  nearly  ten  miles. 

The  deepest  cavity  yet  revealed  in  the  Atlantic  occurs 
at  a  point  due  north  of  Porto  Rico,  where  the  soundings 
record  a  depth  of  forty-five  hundred  fathoms.  This  is 
known  as  the  Brownson  Deep.  Some  of  the  depressions, 
like  the  Bartlett  Deep,  are  narrow  troughs,  only  a  few 
"S  in  width,  but  hundreds  of  miles  in  length,  three  miles 
in  depth,  and  bordered  by  steep  precipices  and  escarpments. 
Others,  like  the  Sigsbee  Deep,  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,1  are 
great  circular  basins.  There  are  long  ridges  beneath  the 
waters,  which,  if  elevated,  would  stand  up  like  islands  of 
and,  as  has  been  shown,  have  an  intimate  relation 
t<>  the  mountains  of  the  land.  Again,  vast  areas  are  un- 
derlain by  shallow  banks  less  than  five  hundred  feet  deep 
and  often  approaching  the  surface  of  the  water,  like  that  ex- 
ling  from  Jamaica  to  Honduras  and  the  Bahama  banks. 
The  greater  islands  and  the  mainlands  are  bordered  in 
places  by  submerged  shelves. 

1  These  three  deeps,  named  after  naval  commanders  of  to-day,  were  bestowed 
by  Agassiz  in  commemoration  of  the  part  which  they  took  in  surveying  then. 


1  I  CUBA   AND   PORTO   RICO 

From  a  physiographic  point  of  view  all  the  islan«l 
t)i«'  upward-projecting  tops  of  a  varied  configuration  whi.-h 
has  its  greatest  relief  beneath  the  sea,  and  which  is  of  no 
less  interest  to  the  student  of  physiography  than  the  great 
irregularities  of  the  land.  The  islands  which  form  th«- 
outer  rampart  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  rise  from  submerged 
ridges.  The  Antilles,  connected  by  submerged  sills,  none 
of  which  exceeds  five  hundred  fathoms,  also  project  upward 
from  vast  foundations  beneath  the  water.  These  features, 
strongly  suggest  the  fact  that  the  islands  as  we  see  them 
to-day  were  once  much  more  extensive  lands. 

The  systematic  exploration  of  these  depths  began  in 
1872  on  the  west  side  of  Florida,  under  the  direction  of  the 
American  officers  attached  to  the  Coast  Survey.  How. -11. 
Pourtales,  Alexander  Agassiz,  Bartl  .  Bainl, 

and  others  have  studied  the  bottoms.  Not  only  have  care- 
ful soundings  been  everywhere  taken  in  order  to  map  out 
the  relief,  but  the  most  sensitive  instruments  have  been 
used  to  determine  the  varying  temperature  at  different 
depths,  the  course  of  the  upper  and  lower  currents,  th.-ir 
saline  properties,  thermometrio  deviation,  and  other  fea- 
tures. 

Special  attention  has  also  been  pai«l  t<>  th<>  inarinr  fauna 
down  to  the  darkest  recesses  of  the  abyss,  and  many  •( 
tling  discoveries  have  been  ma<l»»,  which  open  marvelous 
vistas  into  the  past  evolution  of  life  on  the  globe.    It  was 
formerly  supposed  that  the  marine  fauna  was  confined  to 
the  surface  or  shallow  waters,  and  that  the  stillness  of  death 
reigned  in  the  gloomy  recesses  of  the  deep.    But  the  dredg- 
ings  of  the  Blake  and  other  exploring  vessels  in  dc] 
of  over  two  thousand  fathoms  have  already  inereaaed 
number  of  animal  forms—the  crustacean,  for  install--, — 
from  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  species,  grouped  u 
forty  new  genera.    The  deep  waters  are  also  found  to  be 
extremely  rich  in  forms  resembling  the  fossils  of  for 
geological  epochs,  and  to  comprise  numerous  phosphores- 
cent species.    In  certain  places  the  marine  bed  is  • 


THE  WEST  INDIAN  WATERS  1  ~> 

i  living  organisms;  in  the  channels  of  the  Windward 
Islands,  near  Guadeloupe,  and  the  Sain  tea,  and  about  St. 
Vincent  and  Barbados,  dense  forests  of  pentacrini  undu- 
late on  the  bottom  like  aquatic  plants. 

The  pu  logic  aspect  of  the  sea  life  is  not  more 

wonderful  than  the  architectural  work  that  deep-sea  a 
muls  and  the  millions  of  mollusks  and  coral  polyps  which 
inha!.it  the  shallower  waters  and  banks  perform.  These 
extract  the  lime  carried  in  solution  by  the  translucent  sea- 
water,  and  convert  it  into  the  shells  and  corals  which  are 
so  large  a  part  of  the  beach  sands,  and  the  glaring  white 
limestones  which  are  conspicuous  features  in  the  West 
Indian  Islands  and  the  Florida  and  Yucatan  peninsulas. 

The  emf  coral  polyp  is  a  free  swimmer  in  the 

sea,  whi'-h  in  a  second  stage  of  its  life- history  becomes 
permanently  fixed  on  the  banks,  and  devotes  the  remainder 
of  its  life  to  extracting  calcium  carbonate  from  the  sea  and 
Msiinilatini:  it  into  its  stony  skeleton.  It  will  thrive  only 
on  shallow  banks  less  than  one  hundred  fathoms  deep,  and 
where  the  temperature  and  clearness  of  the  water  are  to  its 
liking.  Once  domiciled,  it  grows  upward,  and,  dying,  leaves 
a  huge  skeleton  of  stone,  upon  which  other  polyps  become 
fixed  and  add  their  sum  to  the  mass.  Gradually  the 
growth  reaches  the  surface  of  the  waters,  when  the  wa 
and  winds  disintegrate  it  into  calcareous  sand  and  soil 
upon  whi<h  vegetation  finds  root.  Thus  the  coral  islands 
are  born. 

The  coral-builders  are  at  work  over  a  vast  range,  whi<  h 

is  estimated  at  one  fourth  of  the  marine  surface  of  the 

region.   To  their  incessant  toil  must  be  largely  attributed 

>n  of  much  of  the  calcareous  plateaus  by  which 

Yucatan  and  Florida  straits  are  contracted  on  both 

sides,  as  well  as  of  those  rocky  ledges  which  are  washed 

••a,  and  are  revealed  only  by  sandy  dunes,  such 

as  the  Salt  Key,  or  by  th-  ir  fringe  of  mangroves,  like  some 

of  the  Florida  Keys,  and  Anegada  with  its  prolongation, 

the  dreaded  Horseshoe  Reef,  connecting  it  with  the  Virgin 


16  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

Islands.    More  than  half  the  Cuban  seaboard,  the  various 
groups  of  the  Bahamas,  the  eastern  members  of  t  h*   1 
Antilles,  ami  the  Bermudas  are  largely  of  coralline  origin. 

The  muddy  deposits  in  the  central  parts  of  the  Gulf  and 
of  the  ( Caribbean  Sea  are  derived  chiefly  from  the  remains 
of  pteropods.    In  other  places  the  shells  of  foraminifers 
make  up  the  bottom.     It  is  only  around  the  interior  • 
gin  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  th;r  us  sands  and  oth.-r 

land  debris  brought  down  by  rivers  constitute  th.  1> 
material  with  which  we  are  familiar  in  the  United  States; 
and,  great  as  this  is  in  quantity,  it  seems  insignificant  m 
comparison  with  the  vast  amount  of  limestone  which  the 
lower  forms  of  life  are  creating  through  organic  agencies, 
and  which,  as  we  shall  see,  is  the  rock-making  material  of 
all  the  non-volcanic  islands  of  the  West  Indies,  and  one 
of  the  conspicuous  features  which  give  them  individuality 
of  color,  soil,  and  landscape. 

The  American  Mediterranean  finds  a  number  of  outlets 
across  the  submerged  bridge  separating  its  abysses  from 
those  of  the  Atlantic.  Shipping  may  glide  eastward  out 
of  the  Caribbean  into  the  Atlantic  between  any  of  the 
Windward  Islands,  but  to  go  northward  toward  the  United 
States  it  must  beat  through  one  of  four  widely  separated 
gateways,  which  are  of  great  strategic  importance.  These 
are  the  Anegada,  Mona,  and  Windward  passages  and  the 
Yucatan  Channel.  The  Anegada  Passage  is  the  most  east- 
ern, threading  its  way  between  the  region  where  the  eaM 

_rin  Islands  of  the  Antillean  group  meet  those  of  the 
Windward  chain.    Through  this  passage  there  went  for 
many  years  all  the  European  ships  passing  into  and  01 
the  Caribbean  Sea,  making  St.  Thomas  the  commer 
capital  of  the  West  Indies.    The  Mona  Passage  separates 
the  island  of  Porto  Rico  from  that  of  Santo  Domingo,  and, 
being  out  of  the  lines  of  travel,  is  less  frequented  t 
others.    The  Windward  Passage,  between  Santo  Domingo 
and  Cuba,  and  its  continuation  as  the  Jamaican  Channel 
between  the  western  cape  of  Santo  Domingo  and  Jama 


i  i;v\  i  1.1  B*B   PA]  M,  ST,  ^  r.  riK 

M  vi;n\i...i  i.  — NOT   IM»I«.I  KOI  H 


IXI.IAX   WATKKS 


1 


the  most  used  commercially  of  all  the  passages,  and  < 
greatest  strategic  importance,  inasmuch  as  trade  from  New 
York  to  tit*-  south  coast  of  the  islands  mentioned,  the 
m us,  and  the  western  coast  of  northern  South  America 
must  pass  through  it.  The  Yucatan  Channel  separates 
Cuba  from  the  Gen t  -imam  land,  and,  except  the 

>f  Florida,  is  tin-  only  entrance  into  the  Gulf  of 

Of  these  passages  into  the  American  Caribbean  the 
island  of  Cuba  guards  three  of  the  most  important,  and 
this  fact  gives  it  precedence  in  strategic  importance. 


CHAPTER    III 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE  WEST  INDIAN 

Their  number,  area,  and  populations.  Antithetic  nature  of  their  origin, 
configuration,  and  resource*.  Classification  into  groups  of  similar 
type.  The  Great  Antilles.  The  Bahamas.  The  Caribbean  chain. 
The  South  American  islands  of  the  Trinidad  type.  Reefs  and  keys. 
Their  political  organization. 

NOT  counting  the  thousands  of  uninhabited  islets  con- 
stituting the  Florida  Keys,  the  Bahamas,  the  coral 
reefs  bordering  Cuba  and  in  the  western  Caribbean,  or 
the  five  hundred  rocky  projections  of  the  Grenadines, 
there  are  forty  inhabited  islands  in  the  West  Indies,  varying 
in  area  from  less  than  five  square  miles  to  the  size  of 
New  York  State.  The  area  and  population  of  these  are 
shown  in  the  following  table. 

TABLE  SHOWING  AREA  AND  POPULATION  OF  THE  WEST  INDIES 

AREA,  POPU- 

8QUAEK  MILES.         LATION. 

BAHAMAS  ...  5,460  vi.ooo 

GREAT  ANTILLES 

Cuba  .  45,000        1,631,687 

Santo  Domingo..  ...28,249           610,000 

Jamaica .  4,218 

Porto  Rico ...  {,560          ft* 

Total  Great  Antilles. .  .  .86,467        3,687,886 

VlBGDf  IfiLANW 

BtCrou  74  is.i.w) 

Thomas  .  23  :rj.7sr, 

StJohn  21  '.•:-• 

18 


CLASSIFICATION    uF    TI1K    \VK>T    INI'lAN    IM.VNKS 

AREA.  POPC- 

S%1UB1  MILK*.     LAT1  OX. 

ISLANDS -C<mhm«rf 
Anegada  20 

58  5,000 

Virgin  Oorda  176 

Total  Virgin  Islands.  . .      372  57,166 

CAEIBBII  ISLANDS  (OuriB  CHAIN) 


Martin  38  :;.:_•» 

St.  Bartholomew  ...  5  JA'> 

Barbuda  62  M 

Antigua  108  :i»;.M!i 

I>,-Mm.l-                    ...........................  1<>  1,400 

Maria  Qalantc  05 


Total  Outer  Chain  323            t.J.7M 

CARIBBKE  ISLANDS  (ImrKR  CHAIN) 

Santa  Cruz  .  74            18,430 

Baba  5              'J.^- 

St.  Exwtatius  ...................................         8  1.613 

8t  ChrUtopher  .............  65            :»n.xr,7 

Nerii..  70            i:i.ns: 

Montwrrat  32             11,762 

Guadeloupe  and  dependen«ie«  ...  600          167,000 

Dominion  290 

Martinique.  400 

8t  Lucia  245 

8t  Vincent  U_             41,054 
Grenadines 


................................         120 

<Jrt-na,la 

Total  Inner  Chain  ...  2,031          607,440 

Total  Caribbee  Island.  .2,354          (iTn.J  ^i 

HAKHAI...S  ..............       !••<;  180,000 

SH-TII  AMKUK-AS  IM.ANI>S 

Tobago..  114  20,463 

Trinidad 

BnenAyre.  95 

Cura5?ao  210 

Margarita  and  small  islands 


Total  South  American  Islands  .  .  -J>»  :          341,853 


20  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

These  islands,  far  from  being  alike  in  natural  : 
and  economic  j ..•<>!). ilities,  present  great  extremes.  Some 
are  low,  flat  rocks  barely  peeping  above  the  sea;  others 
gigantic  peaks  rising  straight  to  the  clouds,  which  perpet- 
ually envelop  their  summits;  others  are  combinations  of 
flat  and  rugose  types.  Some  present  every  feature  of  relief 
configuration  that  can  be  found  \\ithin  a  *  <»ntinental  area 
—mountains,  plains,  valleys,  lakes;  some  are  made  up 
«-ntiivly  of  glaring  white  coral  sand  or  reef  rock;  others 
are  entirely  composed  of  black  volcanic  rock,  and  still 
others  are  a  coinl.ination  of  many  kinds  of  rocks.  M 
are  as  arid  as  a  Western  desert  and  void  of  running 
streams,  and  others  have  a  most  fertile  soil,  <  ut  l.y  a  hun- 
dred picturesque  streams  of  living  water,  and  bathed  in 
perpetual  mist  and  daily  rainfall.  Some  are  bordered  only 
with  the  fringing,  salt-water  plants  or  covered  with  thorny, 
coriaceous  vegetation;  others  are  a  tangled  mass  of 
palms,  ferns,  and  thousands  of  delicate,  moisture-lo\ 
plants  which  overwhelm  the  beholder  with  tln-ir  luxuriance 
and  verdancy  of  color.  Some  are  without  human  habi- 
tants; others  are  among  the  most  densely  populated 
portions  of  the  world. 

The  differences  in  natural  character  between  groups  of 
islands  have  an  important  bearing  upon  habitation  and  eco- 
nomic possibilities.  Each  group  is  so.  different  tmin  the 
others  that,  were  they  not  in  close  geographic  proxii 
they  would  in  no  manner  be  considered  related.  The 
diverse  configuration  produces  climatic  differences,  and 
each  kind  of  rock  weathers  into  its  peculiar  soil.  For  ex- 
ample, the  Bahamas  are  not  adapted  to  growing  sugar,  or 
the  Caribbee  Islands  to  the  raising  of  cattle;  food-fish 
are  not  abundant  off  the  Great  Antilles,  o\v  in-  t<>  the  steep 
marine  escarpments,  while  they  thrive  in  the  Bahamas  and 
mi  the  leeward  side  of  the  Caribbee  Islands;  some  of  these 
islands,  through  possibilities  of  a  diversified  a^ri<  ul 
and  hygienic  condition,  are  adapted  to  higher  t  i\  ili/,ati«m. 


CLA88I!  1)8  -1 

and  others,  eith.-r  through  sterilit y  or  ruggednessof  relirf, 
are  capable  of  supporting  only  inf. 

Th.-se   various   Nands  are  classifiable,  by  geographic 

position,  geological  composition,  and  economic  possil>ili- 

.   into  several  great  groups,  the  principal  of  which 

are  the  Bahamas,  tin*  Antilles,  the  Windward  or  Caribbee 

Islands,  the  Trinidad-Tobago  group,  and  the  keys  or  coral 

reefs. 

Of  these  the  Great  Antilles  are  by  far  the  most  fertile, 
'•rsified,  and  habitable,  presenting  greater  extremes  of 
hypsometric,  < -limatie,  and  hydrograpbic  features  than  all 
the  others.  Tli.-ir  configuration  and  geological  features 
are  of  a  diversified  type,  suggestive  of  continental  rather 
than  insular  conditions,  while  the  other  groups  of  West 
Indian  Islands  are  monotypic  in  character.  Several  of  the 
Great  Antilles  exceed  in  area  all  the  other  groups.  These, 
extending  for  twelve  hundred  miles  in  an  east- and- west 
line,  between  longitudes  65°  and  85°  W.,  are  the  large 
islands  of  Porto  Rico,  Santo  Domingo,  Cuba,  and  Jamaica. 
The  Virgin  archipelago,  extending  eastward  from  Porto 

>  to  the  Anegada  Passage, — a  group  which  might  be  con- 
fused with  the  Caribbean  chain, — is  Antillean  in  its  natu- 
ral features.  These  include  Crab,  Culebra,  Culebrita,  St. 

mas,  St.  John,  Tortola,  Virgin  Gorda,  and  Anegada, 
the  largest  of  which  is  Crab  Island,  with  an  area  of  less 
than  twenty-live  square  miles. 

The  Great  Antilles  and  the  shallow  passages  between 
th.  in  eon<titute  a  barrier  separating  the  Gulf  and  Carib- 
bean basins,  and  are  practically  within  the  area  of  the 
Mediterranean,  while  the  Bahamas  and  Lesser 
i  make  i  r  rim. 

The  eastern  islands  are  composed  of  the  Bahamas  and 

Lesser  Antilles,  which  in  natural  features  differ  radically 

The  Bahamas,  to  the  north  of  the  Great 

Ant  in  th.  >hallow, submerged  platform  of  the 

great  submarine  shelf  which  borders  the  North  American 


CTJ  I'OBTO  KIOO 

continent  from  Massachusetts  to  the  eastern  end  of  th<* 
Great  Antilles.     They  are  all  monotypic,  consisting  of 
low  heaps  of  calcareous  shells  and  coral  sand,  which  ha\  •• 
been  piled  up  above  a  submerged  platform  by  wind 
wave. 

According  to  Bacot,  the  Bahamas,  excluding  the  Caicos 
and  Turks  groups,  comprise  690  islands  and  islets  and 
2387  rocks  or  separate  reefs,  with  a  total  area  of  5600 
square  miles.  Including  the  Caicos  and  Turks,  whi.-h 
belong  to  the  group,  the  actual  number  can  scarcely  be 
less  than  3200,  of  which  only  31  were  inhabited  in  1890, 
with  a  total  population  of  54,000.  They  stretch  northwest 
and  southeast  between  Florida  and  Santo  Domingo  for  a 
distance  of  780  miles.  They  rise  from  a  shallow  subma- 
rine platform  separated  from  Santo  Domingo  and  Cuba 
by  the  Old  Bahama  Channel,  twelve  thousand  feet  deep. 
This  platform  may  represent  the  planed-down  summit  of  a 
submarine  ridge  akin  to  the  Antillenn  uplifts.  Unlike  the 
Antilles,  the  Bahamas  are  of  low  relief,  often  barely  pro- 
jecting their  heads  above  the  water,  and  their  wind-blown 
sand-dunes  nowhere  rise  to  an  altitude  greater  than  one 
hundred  feet. 

The  Caribbee  Islands,  which  close  the  eastern  gate  of 
the  Caribbean,  are  as  different  from  the  Bahamas  as  are 
the  Bahamas  from  the  Great  Antilles,  although  they  too 
are  the  projecting  tip  of  a  submerged  ridge  which  h; 
greater  extent  beneath  the  water.  They  extend  in  a  gen  t  !•• 
curve  from  the  Anegada  Passage  of  Porto  Rico  southward 
to  Trin i«l, -id,  and  include  twenty-one  islands  besides  th«> 
Grenadii  -  -.  Th»-  latt.-r  include  several  hundred  distinct 
islets,  often  merely  heads  of  rock  rising  above  the  sea,  and 
extending  sixty  miles  in  the  general  axis  of  the  chain, 
between  St.  Yin.-.-nt  and  Grenada.  Barbados,  about  one 
hundred  miles  east  of  t  !<>,  and  Aves  or  Bird  Island, 

about  two  hundred  miles  west,  are  included  by  some 
writers  in  the  Caribbean  chain,  but  we  shall  not  so  con- 
sider th.-iii. 


CLA88I1  I    Of    Hii.    NVr-SI    IM'IAX   ISLANDS  -•'> 


The  Caribbean  chain  in  th»*  northern  half  of  its  extent 
consists  of  a  double  row  of  islands.  The  inner  circle, 
which  more  completely  spans  the  distance  between  the 
Great  Antilles  and  South  America,  is  the  main  chain,  and 
the  outer  circle  is  made  up  of  secondary  and  dependent 
features. 

«6  <>f  the  main  chain,  including  the  islands  of  Saba, 
St  Eustatius,  St.  Christopher,  Nevis,  Montserrat,  Guad- 
eloupe, Dominica,  Martini,  pi.  ,  St.  Lucia,  St.  Vincent,  Gren- 
adines, Grenada,  are  volcanic  heaps,  of  weird  insular 
forms,  rising  precipitously  above  the  sea,  attaining  a  height 
of  44f>0  feet  in  Martinique,  clad  to  the  very  top  in  vege- 
on,  and  usually  dmulfd  in  mist.  They  are  composed 
entirely  of  old  volcanic  material,  and  from  the  richness 
of  their  vegetation  and  the  blackness  of  their  rock  present 
a  .lark  and  restful  landscape  even  under  the  tropical  sun. 
The  outer  circlet  of  islands,  indmling  Sombrero,  Anguilla, 
St.  Martin,  St.  Bartholomew,  Barbuda,  Antigua,  Desirade, 
<  I  alante,  with  the  exception  of  Antigua,  which 
is  part  iall  y  volcanic,  are  islets  of  white  limestone  and  coral- 
reef  rock,  rising  nowhere  over  two  hundred  feet  above 
the  sea,  and  resembling  in  color  the  Bahamas.  They  rise 
from  a  submerged  slope  extending  oceanward  from  the 
inner  chain. 

The  fourth  type  of  tropical  American  islands  borders 
the  north  coast  of  South  America,  and  includes  the  islands 
of  Tobago,  Trinidad,  Margarita,  Blanco,  Las  Roques, 
Buen  Ayre,  Curacao,  and  other  small  islands.  These  were 
portions  of  the  South  American  continent,  and  have 
been  severed  from  the  mother-land  by  the  corrosive  effects 
he  equatorial  currents  which  here  break  into  the  Carib- 
bean. Barbados  perhaps  is  related  to  the  latter  group,  but 
it  has  a  peculiar  construction  which  justifies  placing  it  in 
a  class  by  itself.  In  remote  geologic  ages  it  was  probably 
the  end  of  a  peninsula  projecting  from  the  South  Ameri- 
can mainland. 

The  fifth  and  last  class  of  West  Indies  consists  of  coral 


-I  ::\   AND   POBTO   BICO 

reefs  whi«-h  have  been  slightly  elevated  above  the 
These  ex 'in    in  many  places,  either  singly  or  in  <  lusters, 
and  by  lor:  re  not  classifiable  into  a  geographi 

group,  although  th.-y  are  most  numerous  in  the  Honduras 
Sea,  in  tli«'  western  part  of  the  Caribbean. 

Islands  of  this  and  kindred  character— in  which,  for  pres- 
ent purposes,  may  be  included  mangrove  islets  and  <>' 
lauds  not  stri<  tly  reef  rock,  1-ut   dependent  upon  shallow 
banks  for  a  foundation— border  the  en  >rida,  Cuba, 

and  th«   Windward  >ido  of  the  Caribbee  Islands. 

In  addition  to  islands  which  can  thus  be  grouped,  there 
are  many  standing  alone,  like  Barbados,  Aves,  Navassa, 
and  Swan  Island,  which  seem  for  the  present  to  defy  any 
system  of  classification.  There  are  also  many  islands  and 
islets  off  the  Central  American  coast,  which  may  mostly  be 
considered  to  be  continental,  so  far  as  their  natural  rela- 
tions are  concerned. 

Only  one  of  the  smaller  solitary  islets  of  the  American 
Mediterranean  is  volcanic.  This  is  the  Old  Providence 
group,  in  latitude  13°  N.,  standing  in  the  western  Carib- 
bean, about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  off  the  coast  of 
Nicaragua, 

In  general  it  may  be  stated  that  of  these  groups 
Great  Antilles  and  South  American  islands  are  continental 
in  th«»  diversity  of  their  configuration,  tin-  liahamas  and 
keys  and  solitary  M.-ts  are  composed  of  organic  skeletal 
debris,  and  the  Caribbee  Islands  are  of  old  vulcanic 
origin. 

Perhaps  no  equal  area  of  the  world  is  distributed  among 
the  flags  of  so  many  nations.    Only  one  island,  Santo 
Domingo,  possesses  free  and  independent  governni* 
The  remainder  are  the  property  of  many  national 
The  politi.-al  or-ani/ations  of  the  whole  are  as  toll 
independent:  Santo  Domingo, composed  of  two  repul 
Spanish  islands:  Cuba,  Isle  of  Pines,  Port  ues, 

Mono,   Culebra;    British   islands:    Bermudas,    Bahamas, 
Jamaica,  Turks,  St.  Christopher  Antigua,  Domh. 


\M    I  -I'M  Ms.     I'M  Ml:    I'nIM     I.K  ,11  I  IK'!  si.    .IVMM.   \ 


i:\NI  \\-l  i:>  I  .    i:l; 


CLA88IM    Mi<  N   OF  THE  WEST  INDIAN  ISLANDS  -"> 

\"in.-,Mit,  drenada  and  Grenadines,  Barbados,  Virgin 
Islands,  Montserrat,  St.  Lu.-ia;  Fi-.-n.-h  islands:  St.  Bar- 
tholomew, Gua<l«>loup.  .  nique;  Dutch  islands:  St. 
Eustat ius,  Saba,  Curacao,  Buen  Ayre,  Aruba ;  French  and 
Dutch:  St.  Martin;  Danish  islands:  St. Thomas,  St.  John, 
Santa  Cm/. 

Two  islands  are  divided  in  government.  Santo  Domingo 
consists  of  two  independent  republics,  Haiti  and  Santo  Do- 
mingo. Seventeen  square  miles  of  the  little  island  of  St. 
Martin  belong  to  Holland,  and  twenty-one  square  miles 
to  France.  Of  the  Spanish  islands,  Cuba  is  a  dependent 
colony  without  local  self-government;  Porto  Rico  was  an 
integral  part  of  Spain,  participating  in  the  rights  of  the 
mother-country,  until  recently,  when,  in  1897,  it  was 
granted  a  system  of  autonomy. 

The  French  islands  of  Maria  Galante,  D&irade,  the 
Saintes,  and  part  of  St.  Martin,  with  Guadeloupe,  form  an 
administrative  colony,  having  a  representative  governor 
from  France,  aided  by  local  representative  assistants. 
Martinique  is  similarly  organized. 

The  administration  of  the  British  islands  is  divided 
among  several  distinct  and  colonial  governments,  inde- 
pendent of  one  another,  each  with  local  represent;* 
assemblies  and  a  governor  and  colonial  secretary  appointed 
by  the  crown.  The  Bahamas  constitute  one  of  these,  the 
seat  of  administration  being  located  at  Nassau.  Jamaica, 
with  Turks  Island  and  the  Caicos  and  Cayman  Islands 

ached  for  administrative  purposes,  is  another. 

St.  Christopher,  Nevis,  Antigua,  Barbuda,  Montserrat, 
Redonda,  Dominica,  and  the  British  Virgin  Islands  con- 
stitute the  English  Leeward  Island  administrative  group, 
with  the  seat  of  government  at  St.  John,  Antigua.  St. 
Ln<  in,  which  is  French  in  its  language,  manners,  and  re- 
ligion, is  a  British  dependency,  which  was  until  recently 
governed  as  a  conquered  possession  by  a  quasi-milr 
governor  with  the  aid  of  a  council.  It  is,  however,  in  some 
measure  dependent  upon  th«*  govi-rnur  uf  15aH-a«l«'s.  St. 


-»'»  CUBA  AND   PORTO   RICO 

Vincent,  Grenada,  and  the  Grenadines  constitute  the  Carib- 

}..-,•   Islam!   p)V«TiMiMMit,  with  a  raj.ital  at    Kingstown,  St. 

Vincent.  Trinidad,  with  Tobago,  constitutes  another  sep- 
arate colony,  and  Barbados  still  another.  In  all  there  are 
six  British  colonial  groups  in  the  West  Indies,  without 
any  confederated  relations  to  one  another. 

The  widely  separated  Dutch  islands  are  all  parts  of  the 
colony  of  Curacao,  with  its  seat  of  government  on  the 
island  of  that  name.  The  administration  is  composed  of 
a  governor  and  three  other  colonial  officers  nominated  by 
the  crown,  and  an  elective  colonial  council 

The  islands  of  St.  Croix,  St.  John,  and  St.  Thomas  con- 
st itute  a  crown  colony  of  Denmark.  The  island  of  Na- 
vassa,  between  Haiti  and  Jamaica,  is  claimed  by  its  pro- 
prietors to  belong  to  the  United  States,  but  the  latter  gov- 
ernment has  not  acknowledged  any  proprietary  rig! it  in  it. 

Many  of  the  islets  and  reefs,  such  as-Aves,  Roncador, 
etc.,  are  beyond  the  pale  of  any  government.  This  may 
be  both  on  account  of  their  general  worthlessness  to  civili- 
zation, and  because  ownership  would  require  expensive 
responsibility,  such  as  placing  lights  for  the  protection 
of  navigation. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE    GREAT    ANTILLES 


hvicluality. 

United  State*.  Continental  diversity  of  their  configuration  as  com- 
pared with  the  monotypie  character  of  the  other  island*.  The  Antil- 
lean  mountain  system.  Variety  of  resource*  Total  population. 
Diversity  of  social  conditions  presented  in  the  four  chief  islands. 

Iieir  climate  and  vegetation,  as  in  their  topographic 
features  and  geologic  history,  the  Great  Antilles  have 
no  affinities  with  conditions  with  which  we  are  familiar  in 
the  United  States.    T  1  1  «  •  i  r  whole  aspect  is  tropical,  yet  they 
possess  so  many  unique  individual  features,  differing  from 

-e  of  other  tropical  lands,  that  they  belong  in  a  class 
entirely  by  themselves.  The  causes  of  this  individuality 
are  involved  in  a  peculiar  and  complicated  geologic  his- 
tory, which  can  be  dwelt  upon  here  only  to  the  extent  of 
stating  that  it  has  produced  certain  peculiarities  of  con- 
figuration and  given  origin  to  formations  which  weather 
into  soils  of  unusual  productiveness. 
Coll  the  Great  Antilles  consist  of  a  disconnected 

in  of  mountains  (the  Antillean  system)  protruding 
above  the  sea  and  having  an  east-west  trend  directly 

isverse  to  that  of  the  axial  continental  Cordilleras. 
The  highest  peaks  of  this  system  in  Haiti,  Cuba,  and 
Jamaica  are  11,000,  8000,  and  7000  feet  respectively. 

>  mountain  system,  as  a  whole,  is  one  of  the  most 
marvelous  works  of  earthly  architect  un>.  Its  peculiar 
origin  .  are  more  fully  explained  in  a  later 

27 


28  CUBA  AND   PORTO   RICO 

chapter  of  this  book.  Its  complicated  geologic  history, 
and  the  fact  that  a  large  portion  of  its  extent  is  now  sub- 
m.-rir.-'l  U-n.-ath  th«-  OOettD,  arc  n«.t  tin-  least  inteivM iiitf  nf 
its  many  features. 

The  Antillean  uplift,  as  a  whole,  may  be  compared  to 
an  inverted,  elongated  canoe,  the  highest  and  central  part 
of  which  is  in  the  region  adjacent  to  the  Windward  Pas- 
sage. Thus  it  is  that  the  higher  peaks  occur  in  Haiti, 
eastern  Cuba,  and  eastern  Jamaica,  while  the  arching 
crest-line  descends  toward  the  western  part  of  the  two 
latter  islands,  and  on  the  east  toward  Porto  Rico,  where 
the  highest  summit  is  only  3680  feet,  finally  disappearing 
as  the  Virgin  Islands,  where,  in  St.  Thomas,  the  summit 
is  1560  feet. 

The  higher  mountains  are  composed  of  non-calcareous 
clay  and  conglomerate,  largely  the  debris  of  unknown 
lands  of  pre-Tertiary  time,  which,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  restricted  points,  were  buried,  during  a  profound  sub- 
sidence in  early  Tertiary  time,  beneath  a  vast  accumulation 
of  calcareous  oceanic  sediments.  The  latter  now  compose 
the  white  limestones  which  constitute  the  chief  formations 
of  the  islands,  and  which  were,  together  with  the  preced- 
ing formations,  elevated  into  their  present  position  at  the 
close  of  the  Tertiary  period.  The  mountains  are  irregu- 
larly flanked  below  2000  feet  by  horizontal  benches,  or 
terraces,  of  this  limestone,  which  are  the  result  of  regional 
at  ions  and  base-leveling  after  the  last  period  of  moun- 
tain-making. There  are  also  intrusions  of  old  igneous 
rocks,— granitoid,  porphyritic,  and  basaltic,— but  these  are 
of  a  more  ancient  character  than  the  volcanic  rocks  of  the 
Windward  chain,  and  nowhere  are  there  craters  or  other 
"s  of  recent  volcanic  vents.  The  mountains  above 
2000  feet,  composed  of  the  older  non-calcareous  formations, 
and  the  lower  plains  and  bordering  plateaus  of  limestone, 
result  in  producing  the  two  distinct  and  contrasting  types 
of  calcareous  and  non-calcareous  soils  throughout  the 
Great  Antilles. 


THE  GREAT  ANTILLES  29 


Although  a  more  or  less  continuous  chain  of  sierras, 
which  may  b«  the  mother  range,  extends  in  an 

axial  lin.  from  St.  Thomas  through  Poi  o,  Santo 

Domingo,  th»-  northwest  cape  of  I!  Sierra  Maestra 

ige  of  Cuba,  and  tho  submerged  Misterosa  Ridge  of  the 
Caribbean,  for  a  distance  of  a  thousand  miles,  the  Antillean 
Mountains  are  not  continuous  crests  like  our  Appalachians, 

Il.n  ii posed  of  many  short  overlapping  ranges,  pre- 

sent in •:  at  first  sight  a  serrated  appearance  similar  to  the 
Alps  and  Pyrenees,  with  this  difference,  that  th.-y  are  not 
with  snow. 

The  island  of  Santo  Domingo  is  tin-  <•<  nt<T  and  ml- 
initiation  of  th»*  «-n:  illean  uplift.  The  highest  of  its 

peaks,  '  Tina,  just  south  of  the  center  of  the  island, 

reaches  the  respectable  alt  it  ude  of  nearly  1J. <«t.    The 

most  continuous  Santo  Domingoan  range,  the  Sierra  de 
Cibao,  extends  in  an  east-and-west  direction  through  tho 
center  of  the  republic,  and  is  flanked  on  th.-  north  and  i 
coasts  by  several  short  but  lofty  lateral  ranges.     Tin- 

rra  has  a  south-south,  -a-t  and  north-northwest  trend,  and 
( -ulminatrs  in  th«»  Pico  del  Ya.jiii,  !>500  feet  high,  while 
many  other  peaks  attain  altitudes  of  7350  feet.  Near  tin- 
western  extremity  of  this  range  rises  the  colossal  Nalgo  de 
Maco,  whose  lofty  head,  7000  to  8000  feet,  overtops  all 
thr  us  in  its  vi.-inity. 

In  the  republic  of  Haiti  the  occidental  rontinuation  of 
the  Ant  ill. -an  uplifts  begins  to  divide  into  a  number  of 
spreading  branches  pointing  toward  the  Central  American 
coast  This  ditlVivn  nation  is  first  indicated  in  the  two 
long  peninsulas  of  Haiti,  the  northern  of  which  extends 
toward  Cuba  and  the  southern  toward  Jamaica.  Th«- 
northern  branch  is  the  continuation  of  the  main  or  axial 
ranges  of  the  general  system,  and  is  represented  in  Cuba 
by  the  lofty  summits  of  Sierra  Maestra,  bordering  the 
Santiago  coast  of  the  east  end  of  the  island.  This  nioun- 
•  •st  apparently  ceases  at  Cape  Cruz,  l>ut  in 
reality  it  continues  westward  for  eight  degrees  of  longi- 


'•"  CUBA  AND  POBTO  BIOO 

tude,  or  over  five  hundred  miles,  as  the  Misterosa  Bank 
a  wonderful  submarine  mountain  ridge,  which,  although 
l.aivly  ivnrliiiitf  tho  surface  of  the  water,  precipitously 
rises  18,000  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

The  remainder  and  main  body  of  Cuba,  lying  north  <>f 
the  Sierra  Maestra,  is  the  most  northern  of  the  three 
western  branches  of  the  Antilles,  and  this  is  of  quit.- 
different  stnn-ture  from  the  others. 

The  southern  of  the  Haitian  peninMilas  stretches  out 
toward  Jamaica,  but  ends  in  a  submarine  bank  just  north- 
east of  that  island.  Still  south  of  this  the  Blue  Mountains 
of  Jamaica,  rising  to  7.';_"»  iV«-t,  tivinl  in  a  north-of-west 
direction,  and  make  the  most  southern  of  the  laud  ranges  of 
the  Great  Antillean  uplift.  Vast  areas  of  the  Pedro,  Rosa- 
lind,  and  Roncador  banks,  in  the  western  Caribbean,  repre- 
sent still  other  groups. 

Few  people  realize  the  intense  rugosity  of  these  u 
tains.  When  considered  relatively  to  the  plain  from  which 
they  rise,  their  altitudes  are  enormous,  and  they  exceed 
any  heights  of  Europe  or  North  America,  and,  if  th<  ir 
submerged  slopes  be  addrd,  they  are  among  the  most  lofty 
of  the  world.  The  total  altitude  above  the  sea  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  is  greater,  but  their  true  altitudes  are  usually 
overstated  by  nearly  one  half,  for  they  rise  from  a  plain 
which  has  already  attained  an  altitude  of  5000  to  7000 
feet,  while  the  Antillean  ranges  rise  straight  from  the  sea. 
Furthermore,  the  slopes  of  the  Antillean  Mountains  con- 
tinue  downward  below  the  watery  horizon  for  enormous 
depths.  The  slopes  of  Porto  Rico,  for  instance,  not  quite 
4000  feet  of  which  are  exposed  above  the  sea,  descend  on 
th"  northern  side  of  that  island  to  a  depth  of  24,000  feet, 
giving  a  total  declivity  of  more  than  five  miles.  In  order 
properly  to  appreciate  the  height  of  the  Santo  Domingo 
mountains  we  must  also  add  to  the  11,000  feet  projecting 
above  the  sea  12,000  feet  of  precipitous  submarine  slopes 
on  the  north  and  18,000  feet  on  tin-  south.  The  \.-rti.-al 
slope  of  the  Sierra  Maestra,  8000  feet  of  which  are  exposed 
above  the  sea, continues  downward  for  ls,0<)o  i  •  ath 


THE  GREAT  ANTILLES  31 

the  waters  lying  between  Cuba  and  Jamaica,  giving  a  total 

nli.t  of  -V>,000  feet.     In  ia<  t,  the  configuration  of  these 

••  most  precipitous  of  the  known  world,  exceed- 

that  ..fill,-  Himalayas,  which  would  be  comparable  with 

them  were  their  bases  surrounded  by  oceanic  waters  to  a 

depth  of  three  to  five  miles. 

•h.-r  ji.M-uliarity  of  these  mountains  is  the  fact  that 
they  are  not  made  up  of  uutillable  and  barren  rocks,  like 
most  other  great  ranges  of  the  worM.  hut  are  largely  com- 
posed of  uncousolidated  clays  and  pebble,  which  yield  a 
wealth  of  vegetal  products  to  their  very  summits.  These 
her  summits,  though  differing  in  origin,  are  similar  in 
composition  to  the  mantle  of  glacial  soils  which  constitutes 
the  tillable  lands  of  the  northern  United  States.  They  are 
the  fruit-  and  coffee-lands  of  unlimited  possibilities. 

The  Antilles  are  not  exclusively  mountainous.  There 
are  numerous  valleys,  plains,  and  plateaus,  often  of  wide 
extent  and  great  fertility,  \vhi<>h  will  be  further  mentioned 
in  our  descriptions  of  the  various  islands.  As  a  nil«\  tln-y 
are  densely  wooded  and  copiously  watered  to  the  very 
summits  of  the  mountains.  Many  of  the  streams  are  riv- 
ers of  great  beauty,  and  in  a  few  instances  are  navigable 
for  short  distances.  Some  of  these,  like  the  Cauto  and 
Sagua  of  Cuba,  and  the  Yaqui,  Neyba,  and  Artibouite  of 
Santo  Domingo,  aiv  of  pvat  l.-n^th  ami  voluni.'. 

The  seaboard  of  the  Antilles  is  in  some  respects  quite 
different  from  that  of  the  remainder  of  the  islands,  being 
racterized,  in  general,  by  an  abundance  of  good  harbors, 
affording  excellent  anchorage,  which  are  lacking  in  many 
he  smaller  islands.    The  character  of  the  coast  is  vari- 
able.   Large  stretches  are  composed  of  a  low  shelf  of  ele- 
•d  reef  rock,  often  as  hard  as  adamant,  and  standing 
less  than  twenty  feet  above  the  sea,  known  as  sebonicco, 
which  extends  back  a  few  yards  against  a  rugged  bark- 
coast  border;  in  other  places  the  land  border  consists  of 
Muffs  of  limestone,  with  or  without  a  few  feet  of 
ts  base.    Near  the  Windward  Passage 
there  is  a  series  of  these  bluffs  rising  600  feet  in  terrace- 


.  :   i   \     \\;      :      ...        l::.  .. 

l;k"  arrangement     Again,  there  are  small  stretches  of 
swamp-land,  and  alluvial  plains  at  the  mouths  of  rivers. 

The  resources  of  the  Antilles  are  also  more  varied  than 
those  of  the  other  islands,  for  they  not  only  produce 
chief  staple,  sugar,  in  great  quantities,  but  yield  al>un< 
crops  of  coffee,  cocoa,  exportable  fruits,  cattle,  and  food- 
stuffs. 

The  only  important  metallic  mineral  resources  of  the 
West  Indies  are  found  in  the  vicinity  of  tin-  Antillean 
chain.  These  are  iron,  manganese,  gold,  and  copper. 

The  total  population  of  the  Great  Antilles  is  nearly 
3,700,000  people,  threefold  that  of  all  the  othei  \Vest 
Indian  Islands  combined.  This  population  i-  diverse  in 
race  and  color,  and  has  distinct  local  peculia  iich 

will  be  treated  elsewhere.    Yet  the  people  of  the  four  • 
Antilleun  Islands  have  no  common  traits,  and  .-xhil.it  re- 
markable differences  in  government  and  ei\ -ili/ation.     It 
is  strange  to  see  lands  belonging  to  the  same  geographic 
group  and   equally  endowed  by  nature   develop  every 
antithesis  of  social  and  industrial  life,  and  to  observe  the 
influence  of  former  ownership  and  present  government 
upon  the  races  which  have  been  transplanted  there.     In 
Jamaica,  under  the  beneficent  rule  of  the  English  govern- 
ment, the  negro  is  provided  with  the  implements  and  im- 
provements of  the  highest  civilization,  and  in 
domestic  life  the  rural  customs  of  Great  Britain.     In  S, 
Domingo  a  free  mulatto  has  developed  an  entirely  <  1 
ent  character.     In  Haiti,  as  black  in  civili/ati.ni  as  in  tin- 
color  of  its  inhabitants,  is  portrayed  the  degradation  which 
a  savage  race  may  retain,  without  rivili/inir  influences,  al- 
though centuries  have  lapsed  since  it  was  imported  across 
the  sea.    In  Cuba  may  be  seen  a  white  eivili/ati«.n  whi.-h 
has  A0?elo|MMl  in  j-la.-e  ,,f  a  mod  corrupt  and  .levj,,,tie  colo- 
nial adinim  ;  while  Port-    K';      -      \vs  how  clos*- 
transplanted  European  people,  trained  in  the  political 
social  conditions  of  the  mother-country,  may  repeat 
social  status  of  the  lar 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  ISLAND  OF  CUBA 

feature*  Situation,  commercial  and  strategic  position.  Out- 
line*,  dimensions,  area,  The  configuration.  The  coast  and  littoral 
Abundance  of  harbors.  The  bordering  keys.  The  interior  mountain 
range*  The  plain*  of  Cuba.  The  cuchilku  of  the  eaat  The  terrace* 
of  Ouantanamo.  Valleys  and  depressions.  Rivera,  lakes,  and  swampa. 
Caves  and  scenk  features. 

CIT.A.  the  most  western  and  largest  of  the  four  Great 
Antilles,  is  the  fairest,  most  fertile,  and  most  diver- 
sified of  the  tropical  islands;  its  economic  development 
during  four  centuries  of  European  occupation  has  fully 
justified  the  title,  "The  Pearl  of  the  Antilles,"  first  given 
t  it  by  Columbus,  although  its  capital  city  may  no  longer 
uphold  the  motto  of  its  coat  of  arms,  "The  Key  of  the 
N-  \v  WorM.w  It  has  l.ut  a  small  j.n'j.nrt i..n  ,,f  untillnM*' 
declivities  and  rocky  areas,  such  as  are  found  in  New 
England ;  no  barren  fields  of  volcanic  lava,  such  as  occur 
in  the  Central  American  lands;  no  arid  areas,  liko  those 
which  make  up  so  large  a  proportion  of  Mexico  and  the 
western  half  of  the  United  States ;  no  stretches  of  sterile, 
sandy  lands,  like  those  of  Florida  and  other  coastal  South- 
ern, States.  Its  proportion  of  swamp-lands  is  less  than 
that  of  the  average  American  seaboard  State.  The  whole 
nd  is  covered  with  rich  soils,— fertile,  calcareous  loams, 
—which,  under  constant  humidity,  yield  in  abundance 
every  form  of  useful  vegetation  of  the  tropical  and  tem- 
perate climes.  The  configuration  and  geological  forma- 


-I  CUBA   AM-    K'KTO  BIOO 

timis  are  diversified:  there  is  a  variety  of  economic 
resources,  l">th  agrii -ult ui al  and  mineral,  convenient  to 
an  extensive  littoral,  with  numerous  harbors  affording 
excfllt -nt  anchorage. 

Its  essential  geographic  features  are  as  follows:  Area, 
including  1300 adjacent  k.  \  o  square  miles,— si ightly 

less  than  that  of  the  State  of  New  York,— of  which  ten 
per  cent,  is  cultivated,  four  per  cent,  forest -land,  ami 
remainder,  for  the  most  part,  unreclaimed  wilderness. 
•  n^tli  is  nearly  seven  tim« -s  that  of  Long  Island,  and 
stretches  between  the  longitudes  of  New  York  and  Cin- 
cinnati—a  distance  of  720  miles.  Its  width  is  every- 
where less  than  100  miles.  As  regards  diversity  of  r« 
its  eastern  end  is  mountainous,  with  summits  stand- 
ing high  above  the  adjacent  sea;  its  middle  portion  is 
wide,  consisting  of  gently  sloping  plains,  which  form  a 
continuous  field  of  sui:  .  well  drained,  high  above 

the  sea,  and  l.roken  here  and  there  by  low,  forest-clad 
hills;  and  its  western  third  is  a  picturesque  region  of 
mountains,  with  fertile  slopes  and  valleys,  of  different 
structure  and  less  altitude  than  those  of  the  east.  It  is  in 
tin-  la-t  district  only  that  the  aromatic  tobaccos  which 
havo  made  the  island  famous  are  grown.  Over  the  whole 
is  a  mantle  of  tender  vcp -ration,  rich  in  every  hue  that  a 
flora  of  more  than  three  thousand  species  can  give,  and 
kept  green  by  mists  and  gent!*  rains.  Indenting  the  rock- 
bound  coasts  are  a  hundred  pouch-shaped  harbors,  such 
as  are  but  rarely  found  in  the  other  islands  and  shores 
of  the  American  Mediterranean,  and  resembling  Si 
for  which  England  gave  up  the  rich  islands  of  Martinique 
and  Guadeloupe,  under  the  treaty  of  Pa 

In  an  a,  in  natural  resources,  in  the  number  and  ch 
aoter  of  its  inhabitants,  in  strategic  position  as  regards 
proximity  to  the  American  and  Mexican  seaboards,  Cuba 
is  by  far  the  most  important  of  the  Great  Antilles.  It  i- 
very  near  the  center  of  the  great  An,.  ii.  an  Mediterranean, 
separating  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  from  the  Caribbean  Sea, . 


HA  35 

lose  proximity  to  our  Southern  seaboard,  the  coast  of 
Mexico,  th»-  Bahamas,  Haiti,  .1  il  America, 

the  I  the  coast  of  South  America. 

The  island  commands  three  important  maritime  gate- 
ways :   tli.«  Strait  of  Florida,  leading  from  the  Atlanti.- 
Ocean  int..  th»«  Gulf  of  Mexico;  the  Windward  Passage, 
leading  tY<>m  th<>  Atlantic  into  the  Caribbean  Sea;  and  the 
iol,  connecting  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  the 
(iult.    The  first  and  last  of  these  completely  command 
t!i-  Gulf  of  Mexico.     It  is  less  than  96}  miles  from  Key 
West  to  the  north  coast  of  Cuba.     From  the  east  end  of 
the  island  Haiti  and  Jamaica  are  visible,  54  and  85  miles 
•tint  respectiv.lv      From  the  western  cape  (San  Anto- 

to  Yucatan  the  distance  is  130  miles. 
The  outline  of  the  island,  commonly  compared  by  the 
Spaniards  to  a  bird's  tongue,  also  resembles  a  great  ham- 
mer-headed shark,  the  head  of  which  forms  the  straight, 
south  coast  of  the  east  end  of  the  island,  from  which  the 
nous  body  extends  westward.    This  analogy  is  made 
1  more  striking  by  two  long,  finlike  strings  of  keys,  or 
islets,  \\hirh  extend  backu.  ng  the  opposite  coasts, 

parallel  to  the  main  body  of  tin-  Maud. 

The  longer  axis  of  the  island  extends  from  the  seven ty- 
the   eighty-fifth    im-ri.lian,    while    its   latitude, 
between  19°  W  and  23°  33'  NM  embraces  nearly  four  de- 
grees.   Its  length,  following  an  axial  line  drawn  through 
from  Cape  Maisi  to  Cape  San  Antonio,  is  730 
Tnil.-s.     Its  width  varies  from  90  miles  in  the  east  to  less 
i  _'  >  miles  in  the  longitude  of  Havana.    Cape  Maysi,  on 
th»«  oast,  lies  diivrtly  south  of  New  York,  and  Cape  San 
Antonio,  on  the  west,  is  situated  nearly  south  of  < 

rim; 

<et  the  reader  should  dispossess  his  mind  of 

any  i»ivron,.,.iv«»d  id. -a  that  the  island  of  Cuba  is  in  any 

sense  a  physical  unit.     On  the  contrary,  it  presents  a 

-pographie.  rlimatie,  and  mltural  features, 

which,  as  distributed,  divide  the  island  into  at  least  three 


36  CUBA  AND   PORTO   RICO 

distiii'  t  i ices,  for  convenience  termed  the 

eastern,  central,  and  western  regions. 

No  accurate  trigonometric  surveys  have  been  made  of 
the  island  and  its  bordering  islets,  including  570  keys 
adjacent  to  the  north  coast  and  730  to  the  south,  or  of  the 
Isle  of  Pines,  a  large  and  important  dependency.  Nearly 
all  existing  geographic  data  have  been  based  upon  a  large 
map  compiled  by  Pichardo,  engraved  in  Barcelona,  wlii.-h 
was  a  compilation  of  local  surveys  of  various  and  doubt  t  ul 
degrees  of  accuracy.  The  area  of  the  main  island  has  been 
estimated  at  from  40,000  to  43,000  square  miles,  that  <>t 
the  Isle  of  Pines  at  1214,  and  that  of  all  the  keys  combined 
at  1350.  Some  of  the  larger  keys,  like  Romano,  on  the 
north  side,  are  140  square  miles  in  extent  Reclus  ('Mi- 
mates  the  total  at  45,883  square  miles,  an  area  nearly  one 
fourth  the  size  of  Spain. 

The  distinct  types  of  relief  include  regions  of  hi-h 
mountain-,  low  hills,  dissected  plateaus,  level  plains,  in 
montane  valleys,  and  coastal  swamps.  With  the  exception 
of  a  strip  of  the  south-central  coast,  the  island,  as  a  whole, 
stands  well  above  the  sea,  is  thoroughly  drained,  and  pre- 
sents a  rugged  aspect  when  viewed  from  the  sea.  About 
one  fourth  the  total  area  is  mountainous,  three  fifths  are 
rolling  plain,  valleys,  and  gentle  arable  slopes,  and  the  re- 
mainder is  swan 

The  coast  of  Cuba  is  very  extensive,  measuring,  wit  1 
its  meanderings,  nearly  2000  miles.  On  Piehardo's  mnp 
the  coast-line,  with  all  its  embayments  and  in.-lu.lin-  tin* 
islets,  is  over  6800  miles.  On  all  sides,  except  the  south  - 
central  and  where  indented  by  pouch-like  harbors,  the 
coast  is  abrupt,  and  stands  above  the  sea  as  if  the  waters 
of  the  latter  were  rabidly  planing  away  what  had  once  been 
a  more  extensive  land.  In  many  places  the  immediate 
coast-line  is  a  narrow  bench  of  elevated  reef  rock,  or 
seborucco,  a  few  yards  wide  and  standing  about  fit* 
feet  above  the  sea,  between  the  higher  bluffs  an<l  th- 
water.  The  island  border  on  the  north  presents  a  low  cliff 


nil    ISLAND  OF  CUBA  37 


,]>hy,  with  a  horizontal  sky-line  from 
westward,  gradually  decreasing  from  five  hundred  feet  at 
Matanzas  to  one  hundred  feet  on  the  west.  The  coast  of 
the  east  end  is  abrupt  and  rugged,  presenting  both  on  the 
•nth  sides  a  series  of  remarkable  terraces,  ris- 
ing like  arrange  in-  nt  t«>  MX  hundred  feet  or  more, 
representing  successive  pauses  or  stages  in  the  elevation 
nt  !!,-•  island  above  the  sea,  and  constituting  most  striking 
seen  ires.  West  of  Guantanamo  to  Cape  Cruz  the 
precipitous  Sierra  Maestra  rises  in  ly  behind  and 
•ve  these  terraces.  The  south  coast  from  Cape  Crui  to 
Cape  San  Antoni..,  \\ith  the  exception  of  a  brief  stretch 
between  Trinidad  and  Cienfuegos,  is  generally  low  and 
marshy. 

The  littoral  of  the  mainland  is  indented  by  numerous 
landlocked  harbors  of  peculiar  configuration,  which  are 
especially  adapted  for  commerce  and  refuge.  These  are 
deserihed  under  transportation  ami  eonmmnieation. 

The  keys  adjacent  to  the  middle  third  of  the  island,  on 
i.nth  the  north  and  south  sides  (the  famous  Jardines  of 
Columbus),  are  mostly  small  coral  or  mangrove  islets  which 
have  grown  up  from  shallow,  submerged  platforms  > 
rounding  those  parts  of  the  island ;  in  certain  places  they 
form  barriers  to  the  mainland.  They  are  usually  unin- 
habited, owing  to  the  scarcity  of  potable  waters.  They 
constitute  a  formidable  obstacle  to  navigation,  except 
when  guided  by  skilful  pilntap*,  hut,  on  the  other  hand, 
present  many  sheltered  expanses  within  the  outer  line  of 
l.ivakers. 

About  one  half  the  Cuban  coast  is  bordered  by  these 
B,  whi.-li  are  largely  old  reef  rock,  the  creations  of  the 
same  coral-builders  that  may  now  be  seen  through  the 
-l.ai.nt  waters  still  at  work  on  the  modern  shallows, 
decking  the  rocks  and  sands  with  their  graceful  and  many- 
colored  tufts  of  animal  foliage.    On  the  north  coast  some 
of  the  keys  are  large  enough  to  form  extensive  islets, 
uninhabited,  except  by  fishermen  in  a  few  places  where 


CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

fresh  water  lodges  in  depressions,  or  v.««lls  up  through  the 
porous  rocks.     Thus  the   Cayos  del  Sabinal,   (iuajaba, 

uano,  and  Cocos,  separated  by  narrow  channels,  < 
>:itut.-  almost  a  continuous  outlying  island   UN  mil* 
length.    Cayo  Romano,  the  largest  of  these  elf  \at.-d  reefs, 
has  an  estimated  area  of  140  square  miles,  and  its  flatness 
is  relieved  by  three  hills. 

in  of  keys  on  the  north  side  from  the  Sal. i  mil  to 
the  Cocos  reefs  is  so  regular  ami  pii-m-d  l.\  MH-II  narrow 
channels  that  it  might  be  regarded  as  a  peninsula  running 
parallel  with  the  mainland;   but  farther  west  it  is  con- 
tinued by  a  series  of  smaller  reefs  whirh  are  brea<  h<  .1  l.y 
wider  openings  and  lie  close  to  the  shore.     Including  th« 
western  reefs  and  keys,  this  outer  shore-line  has  a  t 
length  of  over  300  miles.    West  of  Havana  otln-r  fringing 
reefs  extend  for  about  140  miles  from  Bahia  Honda  to 
Cape  San  Antonio. 

On  the  south  side  of  Cuba  the  reefs  and  islets  are  ov.-n 
more  numerous  than  on  the  north,  but  they  are  far  leas 
regularly  disposed,  and  are  not  parallel  with  the  shore. 
They  extend  a  p vat  distance  from  the  land  wherever  the 
relatively  smooth  water  is  not  exposed  to  the  scouring 
action  of  marine  currents.  These  reefs  are  somewhat  rare 
on  the  part  of  the  coast  adjacent  to  the  Windward  and 
Yucatan  passages.  milla  Bay,  however,  is  more 

than  half  covered  with  reefs,  which  are  coutinu 
ward  by  the  so-called  Cayos  de  las  Doce  Leguas,  or  1  u  <  1\  <  - 
League  Keys.    Still  westward,  the  Isle  of  Pines  is  connected 
\\ith  a  perfect  lal.yrinth  of  reefs  and  islets,  the  best  of 
which  are  known  as  the  Jardinillos  and  .1 
from  the  verdure-clad  islets  stn  wn  like  gardens  nmid  the 
blue  waters.    In  many  of  these,  springs  of  pure  water  are 
said  to  bubble  up  from  th<>  d.-.-p. 

Th«  Interior  of  Cuba  has  not  been  sunVi«-ntly  surveyed 

to  make  it  possible  accurately  to  map  all  the  details  of  soil 

or  th.«  ivli.-t'  <>f  th.-  Mirta.,.,  especially  of  the  east  cm  half 

-land.  Lfl  commissions  namrd  in  times 


THK    ISLAND    OK   t  t  HA  ill) 


past  by  the  Captains-General  to  make   reconnaissances 
avow  in  t  orti  that  the  lack  of  li  i  in  the 

greater  pa!  »ry,  the  impenetrability  of  the 

forests,  the  insurmountable  Cordilleras,  and  the  scarcity 
of  means  and  time  have  prevented  them  from  carrying 
out  successfully  the  mapping  of  the  diverse  ramifications 
of  the  mountains,  the  tracing  out  of  their  salients  and 
1  the  detenu ination  of  tln-ir  extent,  altitude, 

II  geologic  stni<  tun.  It  seems  that  their  observations 
«1;«1  not  extend  east  of  the  seventi.-th  meridian,  where 
the  most  interesting  part  of  the  island,  from  a  scientific 
point  of  view,  is  found.  Furthermore,  the  results  of 
such  investigations  as  were  made  were  but  imperfectly 
puMi-li.-«l  m  fragments. 

In  a  previous  <•!  --ve  have  set  forth  the  elementary 

arrangement  of  the  Antillean  Mountains,  of  which  those 
of  Cuba  are  a  part.    The  higher  eminences  are  true  moun- 
tains of  deformation,  composed  of  disturbed  sedimentary 
rocks  with  igneous  intrusions.     The  mountains  of  this 
>  s3  do  not  constitute  a  continuous  axial  backbone  to  the 
island,  as  popularly  supposed,  but,  so  far  as  they  can  be 
classified  nt  all,  •»<  <-ur  in  three  distinct  and  independent 
groups,  known  as  the  eastern,  western,  and  central,  re- 
t'ly,  the  trends  of  which  overlap  one  another  en 

nh<  Inn. 

The  highest  of  the  well-defined  ranges  is  the  narrow, 
precipitous  Sierra  Maestra,  which  dominates  the  straight 
east-nnd-west  coast  of  Santiago  de  Cuba.  This  range 

•<»nds  through  two  and  one  half  degrees  of  longitude, 
from  Guantanamo  to  Cape  Cruz,  and  constitutes  an  inde- 
pendent feature,  topographically  different  from  the  oth»»r 
mountains  of  <'ul»a.  Geographically  it  belongs  in  the 
same  class  with  the  higher  summits  of  Haiti,  collectively 
making  the  master  range  of  the  Great  Antilles.  This 
range  is  very  precipitous  and  closely  hugs  the  coast-line, 
crests  culminate  in  the  Pico  del  Turquino,  which  rises 
•  ruptly  from  the  sea  to  a  height  estimated  to  be  8600 


40  CUBA  AND   PORTO  RICO 

feet  in  altitude.  The  Cerro  del  Oro,  3300  feet  high,  is  an- 
other conspicuous  peak  in  the  ridge,  seen  about  half-way 
between  Santiago  and  Cape  Cruz.  La  Gran  Piedra.  in  tliis 
range,  near  Santiago,  is  5200  feet  high.  The  summit  of 
this  peak,  from  which  it  takes  its  name,  is  a  gigantic  block 
of  conglomerate,  which  seems  ready  to  topple  down.  Blast 
of  Santiago  the  range  is  called  the  Sierra  del  Cobre.  From 
base  to  summit  these  mountains  are  densely  wooded,  the 
vegetation  ranging  from  coarse  cactaceous  chaparral  on 
the  lower  and  drier  slopes  to  beautiful,  almost  indescriba- 
ble, forests  of  tree-ferns  in  the  higher  and  moister  alti- 
tudes. These  mountains  are  composed  of  non-calcareous 
conglomerates  and  shales  of  Mesozoic  and  Eocene  age, 
intruded  by  great  masses  of  dark-colored,  niM  'IVrtiary, 
igneous  rocks,  the  debris  of  which  makes  a  clay  and  gravel 
soil,— one  of  the  two  contrasting  types  which  constitute 
the  greatest  wealth  of  the  island,— the  whole  incrusted  on 
the  coastward  side  to  a  height  of  2000  feet  or  more  by 
white  limestones.  The  lower  slopes  are  terraced  after  the 
manner  of  all  the  east  end  of  Cuba,  as  previously  d*-.-  ni  -  1. 
The  Sierra  Maestro  crest  closely  parallels  the  adjacent  sea- 
coast,  toward  which  its  slopes  descend  precipitously.  In- 
land, toward  the  north,  the  slope  is  gentler,  the  eroded 
lateral  ridges  leading  gradually  down  to  the  valley  of  the 
Cauto,  the  deep  east-and-west  indentation  of  which  nearly 
separates  these  mountains  from  the  region  to  the  north. 
A  second  group  of  mountains  is  the  Sierra  de  los  < 
ganos,  found  in  the  extreme  western  province  of  Pinar  del 
Rio,  extending  northeast  and  southwest  between  Man*  1, 
near  Havana,  and  Cape  San  Antonio.  This  range  consists 
of  lower  ridges  and  of  geologic  formations  different  from 
those  of  the  Sierra  Maestra.  Its  summits  culm  mat.  in  th<- 
Pan  de  Qnajaibon,  west  of  Havana,  which  has  an  altitude 
of  2532  feet  Its  rocks  are  composed  of  deformed  sedi- 
mentaries  of  supposed  Paleozoic,  Triassic,  Jurassic,  an.l 
Tertiary  age,  the  uplift  of  which  may  have  been  cunmla- 
tive,  but  culminated  during  the  close  of  the  last- mentioned 


•  HIM! 


Hi 


if* 

its 

If? 
I'! 


: 


THE    ISLAND    OK    ITIIA  41 

perio.l.1     The  Organos  are  covered  with  a  growth  of  pine 
nsis)  and  flanked  on  either  side  by  many  beau- 
tit ul  slopes  and  valleys,  those  on  the  south  constituting 
the  fa  tn«  *us  Vuelta  Abu  jo  tobacco-lands. 

While  the  Sierra  de  los  Orgauos  proper  cease  just  west 
.•ma,  the  strike  of  their  uplift,  accompanied  by  the 
haracter  of  dark-colored  pn»trn>ions  of  igneous 
rocks  flanked  by  the  white  Tertiary  limestones,  although 
\"i«l  of  th<>  older  rocks,  is  traceable  by  a  series  of  low, 
disconnected  hills,  in  a  p-ntlv  mrv.Mi  line  passing  through- 
out the  central  plain  of  the  island  and  to  the  north  of  the 
third  <T  mitral  group  of  Trinidad,  into  the  western  part 
of  the  province  of  Puerto  Principe.  Thus,  in  a  manner, 
this  line  of  uplift,  varying  in  intensity  from  the  sharp 
ridges  of  the  west  to  low,  flattened  folds  in  the  middle 
provinces,  constitutes  the  nearest  resemblance  to  an  axial 
kfkbone  of  the  body  of  the  sinuous  outline  of  the  island, 
while  the  Sierra  Maestra  constitutes  the  head.  The 
principal  components  of  these  interrupted  summits  of 
low  relief  dotting  the  plains  of  Havana,  Matanzas,  Santa 
Clara,  and  Puerto  Principe  are  as  follows:  Almost  due 

i  The  general  geology  of  the  island,  while  not  discussed  in  this  book,  la  well 
shown  in  many  of  the  illustrations.  It  may  be  briefly  stated  a*  consisting  of 
an  older  basement  of  pre-Tertiary  sedimentary  rocks,  in  which  Cretaceous  and 
probably  Jurassic  fossils  have  been  found.  Above  this  there  are,  first,  littoral 
beds  composed  of  terrigenous  material,  and  then  a  great  thickness  of  white 
limestones  consisting  of  organically  derived  oceanic  material  of  late  Eocene 
ami  Oligocene  age,  as  distinguished  from  true  reef  rock.  The  island  was  re- 
nied  from  the  sea  and  assumed  its  present  relief  by  a  great  mountain-mak- 
ing movement  in  late  Tertiary  time,  succeeding  the  deposition  of  these  lime- 
stones. In  later  epochs,  Pliocene  and  Pleistocene,  the  island  underwent  a 
aeries  of  epeirogenio  subsidences  and  elevations  which  affected  the  coastal 
borders,  producing  the  wave-cut  cliffs  and  a  margin  of  elevated  reef  rock 
h  borders  the  coast  in  many  places,  as  can  be  reeognUed  in  the  illustra- 
ti..ns  ,,f  th,-  ! ties  of  Havana  and  Baracoa.  So  far  as  its  history  is  known,  the 
inland  has  never  been  connected  with  the  American  mainland,  although  sack 
has  frequently  been  asserted  to  be  the  ease.  These  assertions  have 
based  upon  the  erroneous  identification  of  certain  vertebrate  anim 
Th.  r.  «ir..  no  traces  in  the  animal  life  of  Cuba,  past  or  present,  which  J« 
this  , .,„„ lugion.  Some  of  the  crystalline  rocks  may  be  very  M*i«it,  but 
of  thrm  H rr  mid-TiTtiary  in  age. 


}-'  CUBA   AND   PORTO  BICO 

south  of  Havana,  commencing  east  of  the  village  of  San. 
tiago,  is  a  range  of  low,  timbered  hills,  surrounded  by 
plains,  in. -In. ling  the  Tetas  de  Managua,  the  Areas  de  Ca- 
nasi,  the  Lomas  de  Camoa,  the  Escalera  de  Jar  >i<  h 

is  visible  from  a  great  distance),  and  the  Pan  •!•  Mat  an/as. 
Along  the  north  coast  between  Havana  and  Matanzas  there 
are  many  of  these  hills,  which,  as  remarked  by  Huml.oldt, 
afford  some  of  the  most  beautiful  scenic  prospects  in  the 
world.  The  occurrence  of  these  lower  timbered  summits 
in  a  region  which  is  generally  level  plain  has  afforded  a 
safe  retreat  for  bands  of  insurgents,  who  made  them  a  base 
for  frequent  incursions  upon  the  outskirts  of  Havana  and 
Matanzas. 

For  a  brief  interval  these  hills  die  out  in  eastern  Matan- 
zas, but  upon  crossing  into  Santa  Clara,  and  from  thence 
on  into  Santiago  de  Cuba,  they  reappear  as  long  crest-lines 
and  flat-topped  plateaus,  following  a  line  near  and  par. 
with  tin*  north  coast,  including  the  Sierras  Zatil><>niro  and 
Cubitas.  The  last-named  ridge  was  an  impregnable  in- 
surgent stronghold  during  the  revolution  of  1895-98,  and 
was  for  a  time  the  seat  of  the  insurgent  government. 

These  mountains  continue  along  the  north  side  of  the 
island  as  far  east  as  Gibara  and  Baracoa,  where  they  become 
inextricably  mixed  with  tho  remarkable  topographic  fea- 
tures known  as  the  cuchillas— the  remnants  of  a  dissected 
upland  plain,  cut  into  a  thousand  canons  and  salients, 
which  are  more  fully  discussed  under  the  head  of 
limestone  plains. 

rllie  third  group  of  high  mountains  occupiesa  limited  area 
between  Cienfuegos  and  Santo  Espiritu,  on  the  south  side 
of  the  central  portion  of  the  island  and  to  the  nort  1 
the  city  of  Trinidad,  and  entirely  south  of  the  axial  group 
above  described.  These  are  less  angular  than  the  emi- 
nence* of  the  Sierra  Maestro,  and  consist  of  central  summit- 
with  radiating  slopes,  the  highest  of  which  is  El  I'otivrillo, 
2900  feet  They  are  composed  of  semi-crystalline  lime- 
stones and  shales,  which  have  been  doubtfully  considered 


THE  ISLAND  OP  CUBA 

of  Paleozoic  origin,  flanked  by  highly  disturbed  Cretaceous 
a  ml  'IV  i  -tiary  beds.  Interspersed  between  these  mountains 
are  numerous  fertile  valL-vs,  giving  to  this  part  of  Cuba 
its  beautiful  ami  diversified  landscape. 

Tin- 1  hive  dominant  groups  of  mountains  above  described 
may  be  either  topographic  irregularities  surviving  from 
earlier  epochs  or  eminences  pushed  up  with  the  great 
sheets  of  white  Tertiary  limestone.  This  white  limestone 
is  one  of  the  im»st  marked  features  of  the  Cuban  structure, 
and  in  all  the  intermediate  and  coastal  areas  the  dominant 
formation  of  tin*  islaml.  It  makes  a  thick  crust,  gently 
warped  and  undulated  in  many  directions,  and  ha-  irn-at 
variation  in  altitude.  Its  maximum  elevation  (J.">00  feet) 

i  the  extreme  east;  it  gradually  decreases  to  the  center 
of  the  island,  and  rises  again  to  the  west.  In  the  eastern 
and  northern  parts  of  the  province  of  Santiago  de  Cuba 
it  emist  i  lutes  an  elevated  plateau,  attaining  a  height  of 
nearly  1800  feet,  and  embeds  the  base  of  the  Sierra  Maes 
Here  it  is  so  dissected  by  drainage  that  it  gives  a  most 
rugged  and  picturesque  ivlief  to  the  district  which  it  O«TU- 
pies,  and  presents  on  the  seaward  side  a  remarkable  series 
of  terraced  cliffs,  previously  mentioned  as  rising  in  stair- 
like  arrangement  above  the  sea,  representing  successive 
elevations  of  the  island  in  Pliocene,  Pleistocene, and  recent 
time.  This  topography  culminates  in  extensive  flat-topped 

in  its  like  the  Mesa  Toar  and  the  Yunque  (anvil)  of  Ba- 

racoa  (1827  feet),  which  are  so  symmetrical  in  outline  that 

l>een  frequently  mistaken  for  volcanic  craters. 

The  older  and  upper  terraces  are  cut  into   numerous 

l»,  knitV-edged  salients,  known  as  cnchillas,  the  Span- 
Mi  word  for  knives.  The  lower  terraces  are  cut  straight 
across  by  wonderful  vertical  canons,  through  which 
beautiful  and  limpid  stivams  find  outlet  to  the  sea.  In 
our  wide  travels  in  tropical  regions  we  have  never  seen 
pea  so  unique  as  in  this  wild  region  of  eastern 
Cuba,  nor  so  beautiful,  withal,  in  their  rugged  scarps 
and  exquisite  foliage.  These  terraces  extend  completely 


44  CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICX) 

around  the  eastern  end  of  the  island,  where  tin  \   have 
their  finest  <l<-\<  lopmcnt  on  the  south  coast,  between  Cape 

Mai-i   and   liuantaiiaino,  ami   form  a  kind  of  dado  to  tin- 

Sierra  Maestro  range  along  the  whole  of  the  Santiago 
coast.1 

Remnants  of  these  terraces,  such  as  flat-topped  summits 
of  circumdenudation,  o<-<  m  at  rare  intervals  as  far  west  as 

Matan/as,  l.ut    with   d.-nvasin^  altitnd.-.     Tin*   most    mn- 

spicuous  of  these  are  the  Sierra  Matahambre  and  the  Tan 
deMatauzas  (1200  feet).  To  the  westward,  in  th.  provinces 
of  Matanzas  and  Havana,  the  arch  of  the  plateau,  whi.-h 
follows  the  northern  side,  descends  nearer  and  nearer 
sea-level,  and  develops  a  longer  but  gentle  slope  to^ 
the  south  coast,  hence  presenting  a  cliff  topography  to  the 
north  sea,  and  gradually  sloping  southward,  as  the  great 
r. Mitral  plain  of  Cuba,  into  the  Caribbean.  The  southern 
slope  produces  the  extensive  cicnaga,  or  swamp,  known  as 
the  Zapata,  on  the  coast  opposite  Matanzas,  and  continues 
out  into  the  sea  toward  the  Isle  of  Pines,  form  ing  th<*  shal- 
low foundation  of  the  Jardinillo  keys. 

Through  the  provinces  of  Puerto  Principe  and  Santa 
Clara,  except  where  broken  by  the  central  mountains  of 
Tnnidad,  this  limestone  stretch  forms  two  wide  coastal 
belts,  each  about  a  third  tin-  \vidth  of  the  island,  separated 
by  a  central  axial  strip.    West  of  Santa  Clara  these  two 
belts  unite  into  the  broad  plains  of  Matanzas  and  Havana, 
where  they  constitute  the  central  sugar  region  of  Cuba, 
the  Vuelta  Arriba,  and  again  diverge  west  of  the  la 
'•it  y  along  either  side  of  the  central  mountains  of  Pin  a 
Rio,  where  they  constitute  the  Vuelta  Abajo.    These  li 
stone  districts  weather  into  fertile  calcareous  soils,  red  and 
black  in  color,  and  of  a  quality  and  depth  nm-qnal-d  in  the 
world,  and  their  extent  in  th«-  N-vel  region  is  an  almost 
« •oiitinnous  field  of  sugar-cane. 

At  two  places  throughout  th<  of  th««  island  there 

is  <-ro»in;r  it   whnv  tin-  divi-1.-  is  n-dm-rd  to 
The  battle  of  Santiago  was  fought  in  the  terraced  foot -bills. 


CHURCH    OF    MONTSERRAT 


ALLEY.    NEAR    MATAN2AS 

MM   \\X\- 


1111.    IM.AM.    Of    .  IBA  4."» 

less  than  li v.-  hundred  feet.  The  first  of  these  is  between 
Moron  and  the  south  coast,  in  Puerto  Principe,  and  the 
second  K.'twc.'n  Havana  and  Batabauo. 

Cuba  is  famous  for  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  its  valleys, 
some  of  which  are  wide  plains  through  which  rivers  and 
streams  thread  their  way  to  the  sea,  and  others  circular 
amphitheaters  surrounded  by  a  perimeter  of  pictiuv>«jue 
l.ilK 

In  the  more  rugged  eastern  provinces  there  are  many 
valleys  of  the  former  class,  of  wide  extent  and  great  fer- 
tility. The  most  extensive  of  these  is  that  of  the  Rio  Can t « > 
in  Santiago  do  Cuba.  It  is  situated  in  a  protected  position 
between  rugged  mountains  on  the  north  and  south,  and 
threaded  by  a  navigable  river,  at  the  mouth  of  which  is  the 
rity  of  Man/a nillo,  the  seaport  of  the  region.  This  valley 
is  densely  populated  and  has  been  one  of  the  chief  strong- 
holds of  the  most  recent  uprising.  It  produces  immense 
crops  of  sugar  and  other  Cuban  staples. 

In  Puerto  Principe  there  are  long  grass-covered  valleys 

parallel  to  tin-  central  mountains  and  the  rugged  coasts, 

\\liidi  are  the  site  of  the  cattle-raising  industry  of  the 

ud.    These  are  underlain  by  gravelly  soils,  less  fertile 

i  those  elsewhere  found. 

It  is  in  the  provinces  of  Matanzas  and  Santa  Clara, 
however,  that  Cuba's  most  charming  valleys  are  encoun- 
tered. One  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  Cuba,  and 
the  Mecca  of  every  tourist,  is  the  peculiar  circular  basin 
west  of  Matanzas,  known  as  the  valley  of  the  Yumuri. 
This  comparatively  level  depression  is  some  five  or  six 
miles  in  diameter,  and  dotted  with  picturesque  estates  and 
long  avenues  of  royal  palms.  Through  its  center  winds 
the  beautiful  Yumuri  River,  which  finds  an  outlet  at 
Matanzas  through  the  vertical  walls  of  an  ex«|ui-ite 
•ii.  It  is  inclosed  on  all  sides  by  steeply  sloping  walls 
ng  some  five  or  six  hundred  feet  to  the  level  of  a 
l'lat.-au  out  of  which  the  valley  has  been  cut.  It  has  been 
truly  said  that  it  is  impossible  to  describe  the  charm  of 


4ii  CUBA  AND  POBTO  BICO 

v  Yall.-y,"  sn  ri.-h  in  its  vegetation,  and  so  de- 
lightfully i-  it  \\atered  by  the  river  Yn  -..1  tril.utary 
streams ;  so  « 1  *  1  i  <  i  <  •               on  the  hottest  summer  days,  is 
tempered  by  the  At  Inn: 

Tin-  vall.-ys  of  Santa  Clara  around  Villa  Clara,  Cienfue- 
gos,  au-i  Trinidad  are  even  more  picturesque,  surrounded 
M  th.-y  aiv  },y  hi-rh.T  and  mm  ]><'int«-d  mountain*.  In 
some  of  these  from  twenty  to  thirty  large  sugar-estates 
can  be  counted  from  a  single  point  of  view. 

By  provinces  the  relief  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 
Santiago  de  Cuba  is  predominantly  a  mountainous  region 
of  high  relief,  especially  along  the  coasts,  with  many  in- 
alleys.  Puerto  Principe  and  Villa  Clara  are  broken 
regions  of  low  mountain  relief,  diversified  by  extensive 
valleys.  Matanzas  and  Havana  are  vast  stretches  of  level 
Cultivated  plain,  with  only  a  few  hills  of  relief.  Pinar  del 
Rio  is  centrally  mountainous,  with  fertile  coastward  slopes. 

The  rivers  of  Cuba  are  frequent,  varying  in  Character 
in  different  parts  of  the  island.  Considering  the  lin 
catchment  areas,  these  streams  are  remarkably  copious  in 
volume.  In  the  plains  of  the  central  and  western  prov- 
inces the  streams  flow  from  the  central  axis  toward  the 
corresponding  coast,  and  have  opalescent  waters,  like  those 
of  the  limestone  springs  of  Texas  and  Florida.  In  this 
part  of  the  island  these  streams  run  through  widely  slop- 
ing valleys,  with  only  slightly  indented  stream  ways,  and 
are  remarkably  free  from  lateral  ramifications.  Canons 
are  not  developed  until  they  reach  the  abnipt  plateau  edge 
of  the  north  coast.  Many  of  the  southward-flov.  urns 

of  this  portion  of  the  island  do  not  reach  the  sea  directly, 
but  disperse  into  vast  cienagas,  or  swamps.  Several  of 
the  stream  valleys,  like  that  of  the  Tumuri  of  Matanzas, 
are  accompanied  by  some  of  the  most  restful  and  beaut  if  ul 
landscapes  in  the  world.  The  Rio  Almendaris  which 
nearly  encircles  Havana  on  the  s  d  and 

intn  the  sea  at  Chorerra,  affords  that  < -ity  an  abun<l 
supply  of  water.     In  this  and  other  portions  of  the  i*L 


SD  OF  CUBA  47 


li"  liiiH'O  nation  prevails,  as  in  all  the  white- 

limestone  areas  of  the  tropics,  a  large  portion  ,,f  tin-  drain- 
age  is  subterranean,  accompanied  by  many  remarkable 
caverns.  The  rivers  Cuyajabos,  Pedernales,  Guauajay, 
Copellanias,  San  Antonio,  and  others  along  the  south 

i»o  of  Pinar  del  Rio,  disappear  in  limestone  caverns, 
where  they  continue  their  seaward  course.  The  Falls  of 
Rosario  in  this  province  are  of  great  beauty,  as  is  also  an 
immense  natural  bridge. 

In  the  province  of  Santiago  and  part  of  Puerto  Principe 
the  drainage  is  more  compliant* -1.  Rio  Magari  of  Santi- 
ago has  three  fine  cataracts  before  reaching  the  sea  at 
Nip.-.  'I'h.'  limestone  plateaus  of  northern  and  eastern 
Santiago  dc  Cuba  pvt»  rise  to  many  rivers,  the  in«»t  re- 
markable of  which  are  the  Cabanas,  the  Yamanigacv,  ami 
thf  Moa,  which  in  descending  the  escarpments  of  the  high 
levels  of  the  Toar  disappear  beneath  the  surface  and  re- 
appear on  a  lower  terrace,  over  the  edge  of  which  they  are 
precipitated  in  cascades  of  three  hundred  feet  to  the  coast 
other  >t  reams,  such  as  the  Yumuri  of  the  east,  find  on 
through  sharply  cut  canons  indenting  the  limestone  cliffs  of 
the  back-coast  border.  The  central  portion  of  Santiago 
vince  is  dominated  by  the  Rio  Canto  and  its  ramifica- 
t  i-  >ns.  This  is  the  longest  river  on  the  island,  and  flows  in 
a  westerly  direction  for  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
mi  Irs,  draining  the  wide  and  fertile  valley  to  which  its  name 
is  applied.  This  stream  is  navigable  for  small  boats  for  a 
considerable  distance  (eighty  to  one  hundred  miles),  but 
mouth  has  been  obstructed  by  bars.  The  Sagua  is  a 
tidal  stream  which  is  also  navigable  for  a  few  miles,  as 
are  also  the  Agabama  near  Trinidad,  the  Palma,  and  the 
.latibonico. 

There  are  no  extensive  lakes  in  the  interior  of  Cuba,  the 
only  one  of  note  being  Lake  Ariguanabo,  situated  in  the 
hilly  country  twenty  miles  southwest  of  Havana.  This  is 
about  six  square  miles  in  area,  thirty  feet  deep,  and  con- 
tains many  fishes.  It  is  drained  by  a  peculiar  river,  the 


4S  -  < 

San  Ant  "hi",  \\hi.-h  disappears  beneath  the  roots  of  a  large 
ceiba-tree,  without  surface  continuity  to  the  sea. 

With  the  exception  of  the  great  Zapata  and  a  few 
swampy  places  toward  the  western  extremity  <>f  th.- 
island,  Cuba  is  singularly  free  from  marshy  or  poorly 
drained  land.  Occasionally  a  few  acres  <>:  .or  low 

alluvial  land,  may  be  found  around  the  harbors,  but 
rivers  are  free  from  wide  bottoms,  and  the  land  as  a  whole 
stands  well  above  the  sea.  The  great  swamp  known  as  the 
Zapata  occupies  an  area  of  about  six  hundred  square  miles 
on  the  southern  coast,  opposite  Matanzas  and  Havana, 
bordering  the  shore  for  about  sixty  miles  between  the  Broa 
and  Cochinos  inlets.  It  stands  nearly  at  sea-level,  but 
although  almost  a  dead  Hat,  it  presents  a  great  diversit 
aspects.  In  some  places  the  stagnant  waters  are  dammed 
up  by  sandy  strips  along  the  coast ;  in  others  the  surface 
is  concealed  by  dense  mangrove  thickets;  elsewhere  chan- 
nels without  perceptible  currents,  the  remains  of  former 
rivers,  wind  sluggishly  amid  the  vegetation.  Here  and 
there  open  sheets  of  water  sparkle  in  the  sun,  while  others 
disappear  beneath  vast  areas  covered  by  the  wide  leaves  of 
water-lilies.  In  places  the  ground  is  firm  enough  to  sup- 
port a  clump  of  trees,  but  most  of  the  surface  consists  of 
quagmires,  or  boggy  expansions,  inaccessible  to  man  or 
beast 

There  are  many  minor  features  in  the  physical  geog- 
raphy of  Cuba  which  cannot  be  here  described  in  detail. 
The  caverns  are  especially  beautiful.  The  largest  of  these 
underlie  the  cuchUlas  of  the  east,  but  have  never  been 
systematically  explored  or  described 

The  cave  of  Bellemar,  about  two  and  one  half  in 
east  of  Matanzas,  is  one  of  the  sights  <»t  the  island.     hi- 
reached  by  a  pleasant  drive  along  the  seaside  and  thr< 
pretty  suburbs.    The  entrance  is  situat» •<!  upon  the  top  of 
the  coastal  plateau  and  has  a  handsome  building.    This 
cave  is  open  for  three  miles  and  is  known  to  extend  down 
five  hundred  feet  in  the  white  limestone.    It  differs  from 


THE  ISLAND  OP  CUBA  •»!» 

th.  ravornsof  our  own  mum  ry,  such  as  those  of  Kentucky 
and  Virginia,  by  tin*  t'a.-t  thai,  \\hile  the  latter  impress  us 
\vith  tli«  ir  ma«:nitud. •,  the  Cuban  caves  overwhelm  us  with 
the  beauty,  snow-like  whiteness,  and  delicacy  of  the  stalac- 

und  stalagmite  forms;  in  fact,  these  have  the  whiteness 
and  p  1 1  r  i  t  y  of  Parian  marble. 

There  are  also  some  waterfalls,  natural  bridges,  and 
many  mineral  springs  and  baths.  Among  the  latter  may 
)K»  mentioned  th«»  springs  of  San  l>i*'i:<>  in  tin-  provinn-  «.f 
»,  Nvhi.-h  have  long  been  a  favorite  resort  of  t  h«« 
Cubans.  Their  waters  are  reputed  to  be  unusually  salu- 
brious and  efficacious  for  many  diseases,  especially  those 
of  a  rheumatic  character. 

Madruga,  formerly  known  as  the  Cuban  Saratoga,  about 
two  hours'  ride  by  rail  to  the  southwest  of  Matansas,  is 
also  celebrated  for  its  mineral  springs.  Its  high  situation 
renders  its  air  much  more  cool  and  pleasant  than  that  of 
the  plain  during  the  spring,  when  the  southwest  winds  are 
annoying.  The  baths  are  more  or  less  impregnated  with 
sulphur,  iron,  magnesia,  and  potassa,  and  are  reoom- 
UN'iidt'd  for  rheumatism,  paralysis,  weakness  nf  tin-  stom- 
ach, scrofula,  etc.  There  are  several  of  these,  such  as  La 

i,  El  Templada,  etc.    The  water  is  rather  cool.    Invalids 

11  all  parts  of  the  island  formerly  came  here  and  found 
amusement  in  bathing,  riding,  and  walking  to  the  tops  of 
the  neighboring  hills,  from  which  fine  views  may  be  had. 

MI  t  he  top  of  one  of  these,  Cupey,  the  view  of  the  valley 
of  Clara  is  very  fine.  As  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  one  can 
see  the  waving  cane-fields,  with  occasional  patches  of  woods 
or  clumps  of  palms,  and  liirht.'iied  by  tin1  tall  white  chim- 
neys of  the  sugar-mills,  while  in  the  distance  there  is  just 
tin*  faintest  glimpse  of  mountains  and  hills  fading  into  the 
lia/.y  sea.  Limonar,  one  of  the  most  pleasant  places  on 
ill--  island,  is  not  far  from  Matanzas.  Its  air  is  very  in- 
vigorating. From  there  one  can  drive  to  the  San  Miguel 
sulphur-baths. 


CHAPTER  VI 

CLIMATE,   FLORA,  AND  FAUNA 

Temperature  and  prvripitation.    Native  trees  and  flowers.    The  royal 
palm.    Scarcity  of  mammal*.     Birds,  reptiles,  and  insect  life. 

T71X TKNSIVE  climatologic  records  are  not  available, 
X-J  except  for  Havana,  and  these  are  not  applicable  to 
the  whole  island,  where  it  is  but  natural  to  suppose  that 
altitude  and  position  relative  to  the  high  mountains  pro- 
duce great  variations  in  precipitation  and  humidity,  such 
as  are  observable  in  adjacent  islands.  The  Sierra  Maestra 
probably  presents  conditions  of  temperature  \  arly 

the  same  as  the  Blue  Mountains  of  Jamaica,  where  the 
thermometer  at  times  falls  almost  to  the  fref/in.ir-point. 

Everywhere  the  rains  are  most  abundant  in  summer, 
from  May  to  October— the  rainy  season.  As  a  rule,  the 
rains,  brought  by  the  trade-winds,  are  heavier  and  more 
frequent  on  the  Itiirli*  r  slopes  of  the  eastern  end,  although 
these  are  more  arid  near  sea-lev*  1.  At  Havana  the  annual 
rainfall  is  :>1.7:i  inches,  or  eight  inches  less  than  New 
Orleans.  Of  the  total.  inches  fall  in  the  wet  sea- 

son.   In  New  Orleans  27  inches  fall  in  the  same  months. 
This  rainfall  is  not  excessive,  being  no  greater  than  that 
of  our  Eastern  States,  although  sum. -what  dirtVivntly 
tril.ut.-d.     Tin-  air -at   this  place  is  usually  charged  with 

ive  per  cent,  of  moisture,  which  under  the  tmi 
sun  largely  induces  tin-  ri<  h  mantle  of  vegetation. 
average  number  of  rainy  days  in  the  year  is  one  hundred 


CLIMATE,   FLOKA,  AND   FAUNA  M 


ami  two.    There  is  but  one  record  of  snow  having 
in  Cuba;  this  was  in  1856. 

Havana,  in  July  and  August,  the  warmest  months, 
the  average  t« !  ire  is  82°  F.,  tin.  mating  between 

a  maximum  of  88°  and  a  minimum  of  76°.  The  highest 
temperature  recorded  in  Havana  for  ten  years  was  100°, 
or  four  degrees  1> •>>  than  the  highest  of  Washington  < 
for  the  same  perio<l.  In  the  cooler  mouths  of  December 
and  January  the  thermometer  averages  72°,  the  maximum 
IH  ing  78°,  the  minimum  50°.  The  average  temperature  of 
tii.-  year  at  Havana,  a  mean  of  seven  years,  is  77°;  l»ut 
in  tli-  int.  rior,  at  elevations  of  over  300  feet  above  the  86% 
the  thermometer  occasionally  falls  to  the  freezing-point  in 
winter,  hoar-frost  is  not  uncommon,  and  during  north 
winds  thin  ice  may  form.  The  maximum  temperature  is 
reached  ln't\verii  noon  ami  two  oVl<><-k  in  th.-  aft»-ni«M,n, 
and  the  minimum  between  dawn  and  sunrise.  The  average 
•  iiurnal  range  of  temperature  is  about  10°. 

Matanzas,  on  the  coast,  about  fifty  miles  east  of 
Havana,  there  is  a  record  for  tw<>  years,  beginning  in 
August,  1832,  and  ending  in  .July,  1833,  and  again  begin- 
ning in  January,  1835,  and  ending  with  December  of  the 
same  year.  From  this  record  the  mean  annual  temperature 
at  Matanzas  appears  to  be  about  78°.  The  highest  tem- 
perature is  recorded  as  93°,  and  the  lowest  as  51°. 

Santiago,  on  the  extreme  southeast  coast,  the  tem- 
perature is  apparently  higher  than  on  the  northern  and 
western  coasts,  and  f n  mi  t  ho  meager  data  available  appears 
to  be  about  80°,  with  an  average  difference  between  the 
warmest  and  coldest  months  of  about  6°  F.    A  very  short 
fragment  of  a  record  of  temperature  has  been  found  for 
•i  Mad  de  Cuba,  about  midway  on  the  southern  coast, 
•h«»  average  temperature  from  December,  1851,  to 
Ma?  '.  t  •  T  t  ho  hours  of  7  A.  M.,  2  p.  M.,  and  7  P.  M.,  as 

•>D,  78.7°,  and  75.3°  F.,  respectively;  and  the  observer 
remarks  that  during  that  period  the  highest  temperature 
recorded  was  84°,  and  the  lowest  64.5°  F.,  and  the  greatest 


.VJ  CUBA   AND   PORTO  BICO 

range  in  any  twenty-four  hours  was  9.5°,  which  occurred 
upon  the  day  having  the  highest  teraperatui •••. 

For  the  interior  of  the  island  only  two  temperature 
records  have  been  foun-i,  namely,  for  Ubajay  and  the 
mines  of  San  Fernando.  Ubajay  is  (or  was  at  the  time) 
a  village  about  fifteen  miles  southwest  of  Havana,  and 
about  242  feet  above  s*»a-lrv«-l.  Its  average  temperat 
from  four  years'  observations  was  73.6°  F.  The  recor 
quoted  by  Baron  Humboldt,  and  was  made  during  1796- 
99.  The  place  given  as  the  San  Fernando  mines  is  about 
150  miles  eastward  of  Havana,  and  is  554  feet  above  sea- 
level.  The  temperature  record  is  for  the  year  1839,  and 
shows  an  average  of  75°.  From  these  records  the  average 
annual  temperature  of  the  interior  of  the  island  would 
appear  to  be  considerably  lowrr  than  on  the  coast. 

The  prevailing  wind  is  the  easterly  trade-bra*/- ,  1-nt 
from  November  to  February  cool  north  winds  (los  nortes, 
or  "northers"),— the  southern  attenuation  of  our  own 
cold  waves,— raivly  lasting  nioiv  than  forty-eight  hours, 
are  experienced  in  the  western  portion  of  the  island,  to 
\\hi.-li  they  add  a  third  seasonal  change.  From  ten  to 
twelve  o'clock  are  the  hottest  hours  of  the  day;  a 
noon  a  refreshing  breeze  sets  in  from  the  sea. 

The  whole  island  is  more  or  less  subject  t<>  him  i<  anes, 
often  of  great  ferocity.  The  hurricane  of  1846  1.  \.l.  ,1 
nearly  two  thousand  houses  in  Havana,  and  sank  or 
wrecked  over  three  hundred  vessels.  In  1896  the  banana- 
plan  tat  ions 'of  the  east  were  similarly  destroyed.  Earth 
•  piakes  are  seldom  felt  in  the  western  districts,  but  are 
frequent  in  the  eastern. 

All  in  all,  the  climate  of  Cuba  is  much  more  salubrious 
than  it  has  been  painted.  The  wint.-r  im>nth>  an-  <!•  li^ht- 
t ul,— in  fact,  ideal,  — while  the  summer  months  are  more 
« -n.luraUe  than  in  most  of  our  own  territory.  The  current 
impressions  of  insalubrity  have  arisen  from  an  erroneous 
•  »n  of  bad  sanitation  with  the  weather.  Whilr  it  is 
true  that  sickness  follows  the  seasons,  the  former  \\..ul.l 


OftlVC   TO  THE    BELlAMAft   CAVC0— MATAN2A8 


VIILANUCVC    STATION,  HAVANA 

r.v 


CLIMATK,    FI.OKA,    AND    KAl'XA  53 

be  greatly  allayed— almost  abated— if  public  hygiene  re- 
ceived proper  official  consideration. 

The  surface  of  the  island  is  clad  in  a  voluptuous  floral 
mantle,  which,  from  its  abundance  and  beauty,  first  caused 
Cuba  to  be  designated  the  Pearl  of  the  Antilles.  In  ad«ii- 
tion  t<>  those  introduced  from  abroad,  over  3350  native 
plants  have  been  catalogued.  Humboldt  said :  "  We  might 
l><  lieve  the  entire  island  was  originally  a  forest  of  palms, 
wild  limes,  and  orange-trees."  The  flora  includes  nearly 
all  the  characteristic  forms  of  the  other  West  Indies,  the 
southern  part  of  Florida,  and  the  Central  American  sea- 
board. Nearly  all  the  large  trees  of  the  Mexican  Tierra 
Caliente,  so  remarkable  for  their  size,  foliage,  and  fragrance, 
reappear  in  western  Cuba.  Numerous  species  of  palm, 
including  the  famous  royal  palm  (Oreodoxa  regia),  occur, 
while  the  pine-tree,  elsewhere  characteristic  of  the  tem- 
perate zone  and  the  high  altitudes  of  the  tropics,  is  found 
associate!  with  palms  and  mahoganies  in  the  province  of 
Pinar  del  Rio  and  the  Isle  of  Pines,  both  of  which  take  their 
names  from  this  tree.  Among  other  woods  are  the  lignum- 
vitie,  granadilla,  the  coco- wood,  out  of  which  reed-instru- 
ments are  made,  mahogany,  and  Cedrela  odor  at  a,  which  is 
used  for  cigar-boxes  and  linings  of  cabinet  work.  Fustic, 
logwood,  and  many  species  of  mahogany  abound. 

Although  three  hundred  years  of  cultivation  have  ex- 
terminated the  forests  from  the  sugar-lands  of  the  center 
and  \\.-M,  it  is  estimated  that  in  the  hills  of  those  districts 
and  the  mountains  of  the  east  nearly  thirteen  million  acres 
of  uncleared  forest  remain. 

Rich  and  nutritious  grasses  are  found  throughout  the 
island,  affording  excellent  forage  for  stock.  The  pineapple, 
manioc,'  sweet  potato,  and  Indian  corn  are  indigenous. 
When  the  flora  of  Cuba  is  studied  geographically,  it  will 
doubtless  be  grouped  under  several  subdivisions. 

First  among  the  beautiful  trees  of  Cuba  are  the  palms, 
some  twenty-six  varieties  of  which  give  shade,  food,  and 
litV.  At  the  head  of  these  stands  the  royal  palm,  a  tree 


•"'  1  CUBA  AND   PORTO  RICO 

peculiar  to  the  island.  This  majestic  tree  consists  of  a  tall, 
spindle-shaped  trunk  of  fibrous  wood,  support  in  £  a  duster 
of  pinnate  leaves.  It  is  a  marvel  of  beauty  and  utility, 
and  is  the  most  common  of  all  trees  in  Cuba.  It  is  met 
with  almost  everywhere;  in  the  center  of  broad  pasture- 
lands  it  often  stands  alone,  tall  and  straight,  while  1  .order- 
ing the  cultivated  fields  of  the  rich  planter  it  forms  shady 
avenues  to  his  dwelling.  Again,  its  seed  finds  root  amid 
the  gloom  of  the  forest,  sending  the  tall  shaft  high  up  to 
find  room  for  its  fairy-like  cluster  of  plumes  in  the  free  air 
above.  On  the  plains  it  often  forms  delicious  groves  of 
shade, and  on  the  distant  mountain  it  maybe  seen  rearing 
its  plumed  crest  against  the  sky,  while  in  the  valley  below 
its  dark  leaves  murmur  softly  in  cadence  with  the  winding 
river  over  which  they  sway. 

I  lahn  has  been  called  the  blessed  tree,  for  every  part 
of  it  has  its  usefulness  to  mankind.  Certain  medicinal 
qualities  are  claimed  for  its  roots,  and  its  trunk  is  easily 
split  int<>  strips,  making  excellent  boards  for  the  siding  of 
houses,  benches,  and  even  tables.  As  the  trunk  is  without 
any  bark,  audits  center  is  very  porous,  increasing  in  density 
toward  the  outer  surface,  which  is  n.-arly  as  hard  as  glass, 
it  is  only  the  outside  shell  which  furnishes  these  boards. 
From  this  hard,  fibrous  wood  canes  are  made,  which  take  a 
most  beautiful  polish.  The  leaves  of  the  palm  grow  from 
the  center  of  the  trunk,  first  in  the  form  of  a  delicate  spire 
shooting  up,  which,  gradually  unfolding  itself,  forms  a  new 
leaf.  These  leaves  continue  to  grow  from  th  e.-ntral  spire 
to  a  great  length,  forming  the  cluster  which,  in  the  case  of 
the  royal  palm,  resembles  so  much  a  bunch  of  enormous 
plum.  s.  The  leaves,  when  they  cannot  grow  any  more, 
drop  to  the  ground  from  the  bottom  of  the  cluster,  thus 
making  room  for  the  new  ones  which  are  always  coming 
»f  the  The  bud  or  root  of  the  central  spire, 

from  which  the  leaves  grow,  consists  ol  ibstance 

l.uried  deep  down  within  the  cluster  of  green  leaves,  and 
forms  a  very  palatable  food,  either  in  the  raw  state 
cooked  as  a  vegetable,  or  made  into  a  preserve  with  sugar* 


(LIMA  11,    ll.n KA,    AM.    KAfNA 


One  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  royal  palm  is  the  stem  of 
its  long  leaves.  It  is  semi*  .  and  embraces  the  trunk 

of  the  tree,  holding  the  leaf  in  place  until  it  withers  and 
ps  to  the  ground.  This  stem  is  called  the  yagua.  It 
resembles  a  thin  board,  often  from  four  to  six  feet  tall,  and 
the  Cuban  insurgent  makes  it  serve  him  a  variety  of  pur- 
poses. For  example,  in  the  field  it  f req u « •  n  1 1  y  is  made  to  do 
•  iuty  as  a  plate  by  simply  cutting  off  a  section  of  it.  By 
soaking  in  water  it  is  rendered  pliable,  so  that  it  may  be 
folded  almost  as  readily  as  a  piece  of  stiff  paper.  Thus 
sof  tenetl,  it  is  folded  at  the  ends,  something  after  the  fashion 
of  a  baker's  paper  hat,  and  fastened  with  wooden  pins.  In 
this  shape  it  is  called  a  catorro,  and  serves  the  Cuban 
farmer  as  a  water-bucket,  or  a  wash-basin,  or  a  receptacle 
for  milk,  lard,  cheese,  eggs,  or  other  products.  A  group  of 
rebels  may  often  be  seen  using  a  yagua  thus  folded  as  a 
kettle  in  which  to  cook  their  breakfast  of  beef  and  yams. 
The  water  keeps  the  fibrous  wood  from  burning,  and  the 
food  thus  cooked  requires  no  salt  other  than  that  which  is 
extracted  from  the  yagua  in  the  process  of  cooking.  It  is 
also  said  that  in  case  of  absolute  necessity  salt  could  be 
obtained  by  the  simple  process  of  boiling  water  in  a  catarro 
when  green,  and  one  enthusiast  estimates  that  a  down 
catarros  would  produce  a  pound  of  salt. 

The  fauna  of  Cuba  is  peculiar.  Only  a  few  mammals 
are  known  to  be  indigenous  to  the  island.  One  of  these  is 
a  rodent,  as  large  as  our  ddmestic  rabbit,  known  as  the 
ag<  ioh  still  inhabits  the  rocks  an<l  hills  of  the  east- 

ern end  of  the  island  in  great  numbers.  This  animal,  which 
is  found  only  in  the  West  Indies,  occurs  also  in  the  other 
Antilles  and  the  Windward  Islands,  excepting  Jamaica. 
The  other  land  mammal  is  a  peculiar  insectivore,  soleno- 
don,  belonging  to  a  family  of  which  other  representatives 
are  known  only  from  Haiti  and  Madagascar. 

Among  i  les  may  be  mentioned  a  species  of  iguana, 

in  the  eastern  end  of  the  island.  There  are  also  a  few 
ikes,  none  of  which  is  poisonous  or  vicious.  The  na- 
tives are  not  a  little  proud  of  this  fact,  and  even  assert 


G<>  CUBA   AND   PORTO  RICO 

that  venomous  species  when  in t  reduced  gradually loie  their 
poison.  There  are  no  venomous  reptiles  in  the  island. 
Tli. TO  is  one  enormous  variety  of  boa,  called  the  niaja,  of 
immense  strength.  It  is  perfectly  black,  as  thick  as  one's 
arm,  and  capable  of  swelling  itself  out  to  nearly  ii\  ••  tunes 
its  natural  size,  and  has  a  blood-red  mouth— all  of  which 
sounds  very  alarming.  But  he  is  a  lazy  fellow  and  does 
not  trouble  himself  about  human  beings,  being  satisfied 
with  pigs  and  goats  and  even  small  game.  The  cayman,  or 
crocodile,  is  found  on  the  Isle  of  Pines,  the  same  species 
which  also  occurs  in  the  southern  part  of  Florida,  Jamaica, 
and  Central  America.  A  few  fresh- water  fishes  are  found 
in  the  streams,  mostly  of  the  family  Cydid<r,  represented 
by  species  having  a  superficial  resemblance  to  our  sun- 
fish*  s.  A  large  lepidosteus,  similar  to  the  alligator-gar  of 
our  own  Southern  States,  is  found.  The  Cyprinodontidte  are 
also  represented  by  two  or  three  genera;  these  are  related 
to  the  killics.  In  the  caves  of  Cuba  two  blind  fishes  are 
found,  one  of  which  belongs  to  a  family  occurring  elsewhere 
in  the  depths  of  the  sea. 

The  insect  life  is  abundant  and  beautiful.  There  are 
also  many  arachnids.  "While  the  sting  of  the  scorpion  and 
bite  of  the  spider  are  temporarily  painful,  neither  <>t  them 
results  in  serious  consequences. 

The  most  interesting  features  of  the  fauna  of  Cuba  are 
the  wonderful  land-  and  fresh-water  mollusks,  whose  size 
and  gorgeous  coloring,  like  tlmse  of  ti  /.  place 

them  among  the  most  beautiful  objects  of  the  molluscan 
kind.  The  birds  of  Cuba  are  numerous,  ineluding  both 
indigenous  and  migratory  forms  from  other  lands.  The 
parrot  is  the  most  conspicuous  of  these,  the  others  being 
of  smaller  size.  There  is  only  one  humming-l»ird  indige- 
nous to  the  island.  The  shallower  waters  of  the  borders  are 
inhal.it.  d  also  by  that  peculiar  marine  mamn 

Collectively  the  fauna  of  Cuba,  like  that  of  all  the  islands, 
dhows  long  isolation  from  other  lauds. 


' 


409 'if 


i 


THE    BOTANICAL   GARDENS 


DONKEYS   LOADED   WITH   WOOD 


CHAPTER  VH 

HEALTH  AND  SANITATION 

Natural  healthfulnen  of  the  island.  Ordinary  diseases  due  to  tropical 
situation.  Epidemics  and  yellow  fever.  Hygienic  precautions  and 
suggestions. 

BKINU  within  the  tropics,  Cuba  is  naturally  subject  to 
the  diseases  peculiar  to  them,  such  as  malarial,  I  al- 
iens, and  intermittent  fevers,  and  liver,  dysentery,  and 
Moiuach  complaints,  the  latter  being  chargeable  more  to 
indiscretion  than  climate,  however.  It  is  naturally  more 
healthful  than  any  of  the  other  islands,  with  perhaps  the 
exception  of  Jamaica.  Unfortunately,  these  superior 
natural  advantages  are  offset  by  the  sanitary  conditions 
of  the  « ities,  the  death-rate,  which  is  the  best  index  as  a 
rule,  I.,  inLr  entirely  too  large.  According  to  Chaille*,  "the 
aetual  sanitary  condition  of  the  principal  ports  of  Cuba  is 
y  unfavorable,  since  in  recent  years  their  death-rates 
have  ranged  from  31.9  to  66.7  per  1000."  The  annual  death- 
rate  of  Havana,  estimated  from  the  best  attainable  sources, 
was  found  by  Chaille*  to  be  36.3  per  1000;  of  Guanabacoa, 
39.8;  of  Marianao,  39.5.  The  sanitary  condition  of  the 
inland  t«>\vns  is  very  little,  if  at  all,  better  than  that  of  the 
seaports.  "The  high  death-rates  of  Guanabacoa  and  of 
Marianao  are  especially  notable,  because  these  suburban 
towns,  within  throe  and  six  miles  of  Havana,  are  summer 
resorts,  and  enjoy,  especially  Marianao,  a  high  repute  for 
salubrity." 

67 


58  CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

If  we  compare  these  rates  with  that  of  Lond<»?.  <  1  -.•*)  or 
those  of  some  of  the  principal  seaport  cities  in  the  United 
States,  it  will  )»<•  .  t  there  is  ample  room  for 

sanitary  regeneration. 

The  chief  diseases  causing  death  in  II  are,  first, 

tuberculosis;  second,  the  group  of  intestinal  diseases  in- 
cluding 'linrrhea,  dysei  nd  cholera  infant um;  and, 
t  hi i-d,  yellow  fever,  a  disease  which  chiefly  affects  strangers. 
Of  these  diseases  the  first  class  is  world-wide,  and  need 
not  be  discussed  further  than  to  say  that  its  presence 
here  is  favored  by  the  prevalent  humidity,  and  that 
those  affected  with  it  should  keep  away  from  the  wet 
tropics  in  general.  Of  the  second  group  of  diseases,  th<  ir 
occurrence  in  Cuba  is  largely  due  to  an  ignorance  of  pre- 
cautionary hygiene,  concerning  exposure,  water,  and  food, 
which  is  a  little  denser  there  than  in  our  own  coui 
Their  elimination  is  dependent  upon  education.  The  third 
disease— the  horrible  vomito,  or  yellow  fever— is  a  serious 
problem,  beyond  individual  control,  and  requiring  the  at- 
tention of  united  governmental  action.  This  disease  is  now 
thoroughly  established  in  Havana,  whirh  was  at  one  time 
"justly  considered  one  of  the  most  healthful  localities  on 
the  island."  Parts  of  the  city  are  permanently  infected 
with  the  germs  of  the  disease,  and  are  considered  one  of  the 
main  foci  from  which  it  is  spread,  and  the  source  of  all  of 
its  outbreaks  in  this  country. 

The  occurrence  of  this  disease  in  Havana  has  been 
studied  in  its  every  aspect  by  the  highest  medical  officers 
of  our  army  and  marine  hospital  service,  and  its  probable 
causes  have  been  admirably  set  forth  by  Surgeon-General 
Steinberg  in  the  "  Century  Magazine  "  of  August,  1898.  It 
is  shown  that  the  cause  may  not  be  the  filthy  condition  of 
the  harbor  so  much  as  the  densely  crowded  and  unsanitary 
condition  of  the  houses  of  the  poor,  together  with 
primitive  disposition  of  the  sewage.  Of  the  various  < 
recounted  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  houses,  there 
are  some  which  deserve  special  attention.  Many  facts 


HEALTH   AND  SANITATION  59 

those  associate*!  with  the  holds  of  vessels  justify 
the  belief  that  the  irmwtli  of  the  poison  of  yellow  fever  is 
specially  favored  in  warm,  moist,  ill-  ventilated  places, 
where  air  is  closely  confined.  A  special  report  on  the 
density  of  the  population  of  Havana  compared  with 
numerous  oth.-r  <  hi*  >  has  shown  that  more  than  three 
fourths  of  the  peoj  tvana  live  in  the  most  densely 

populated  localities  in  the  world.  A  tropical  climate  ren- 
ders this  evil  still  greater.  The  low-lying  floors  touching 
the  earth,  the  small,  densely  packed  house*,  the  unusually 
contracted  \  «  m  ilat  ing-space  in  their  rear,  the  large  un  ven- 
tilated excavation  for  privies  and  sinks,  all  furnish,  as  is 
firmly  believed,  the  most  favorable  l.re,  -.ling-places  for  the 
poison  of  yellow  fever.  In  addition,  statistics  prove  that, 
in  great  cities  subjected  to  ordinarily  unfavorable  condi- 
tions, the  denser  the  population,  the  sicklier  and  shorter 
the  lives  of  the  inhabitants.  Common  sense  and  ex] 
ence  unite  to  teach  that  the  denser  a  population,  the  more 
wide-spread  and  frightful  the  havoc  of  communicable 


Stern  berg  states  that  he  fully  believes  that  it  is 
practicable  to  put  the  city  of  Havana  in  such  a  sanitary 
condition  that  it  would  be  exempt  from  yellow  fever.  But 
that  this  is  an  undertaking  of  considerable  magnitude,  in- 
v<  >lving  the  expenditure  of  large  sums  of  money,  and  re- 
quiring much  time,  will  be  apparent  when  we  have  taken 
account  of  ure  of  the  sanitary  improvements  ne- 

cessary for  the  accomplishment  of  the  desired  result. 

Surgeon-General  Wyman  is  equally  positive  that  Ha- 
vana may  be  rid  of  this  disease,  which  is  such  a  menace 
to  our  country.  England  has  driven  it  from  permanent 
<»n  of  Jamaica  and  other  West  Indian  Islands,  and 
Mexico  has  excluded  it  from  Vera  Cruz,  where,  until  the 
past  ten  years,  it  had  an  even  more  tenacious  hold  than  in 

Havana. 

Yellow  fever  occurs  more  or  less  in  all  the  denser  « 
of  the  island  ;  in  fact,  in  the  cities  of  all  the  islands  of  the 


60  CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

\\V>t  In.lies  except  those  uml«-r  British  rule,  from  \vhi«-h 
it  has  been  « •liininuted  by  perfect  quarantine  and  internal 
sanitation.  It  is  essentially  a  disease  of  the  sea-coast,  and 
especially  of  large  cities  in  an  unsanitary  condition ;  but 
when  circumstances  are  favorable  it  may  extend  into  the 
interior,  following  routes  of  travel,  and  especially  navigable 
rivers,  of  which  there  are  but  few  in  Cuba. 

It  is,  however,  confined  to  the  lo\s  in 

tropical  or  subtropical  regions.  In  the  Antilles  the  disease 
rarely  prevails  at  an  altitude  above  seven  hundred  feet, 
and  hence  a  large  part  of  Cuba  is  free  from  it. 

lu  these  pages  I  have  endeavored  to  eliminate  personal 
experiences,  but  while  on  the  subject  of  health  and  sani- 
tation I  am  tempted  to  depart  from  this  rule.  The  greater 
part  of  my  life  has  been  spent  in  traveling  in  unsanitary 
regions,  including  many  years  in  the  worst  plague-spots  of 
the  tropics.  By  taking  advantage  of  the  best  hygienic 
rules  and  precautions,  I  have  been  able  to  avoid  the  fatality 
which  has  overtaken  many  of  my  predecessors  in  geological 
exploration. 

Three  rules  I  have  followed  invariably :  first,  to  adapt 
my  habits  of  dress,  food,  and  hours  of  work  and  rest  t«» 
those  of  the  people  of  the  country ;  secondly,  never  in  any 
circumstances  to  drink  a  drop  of  native  water  where  it 
could  possibly  be  avoided,  and  if  so  always  to  boil  it.  For 
this  purpose  I  have  always  carried  an  alcohol-lamp  and  a 
tin  canteen,  in  which,  when  boiled  water  could  not  oth«-r- 
wise  be  obtained,  I  could  myself  attend  to  the  matt. T. 
Twice  when,  in  desperation  after  tedious  exercises,  I  yielded 
to  the  temptation  of  drinking  the  nat  i  \  •  water  unboiled,  the 
results  were  almost  fatal  The  third  rule  has  been  never 
to  linger  around  the  densely  crowded  and  unsanitary  areas 
of  cities,  and  always  to  choose  a  room  facing  on  the 
street. 

I  have  also  carefully  avoided  the  temptation  to  eat  any 
kinds  of  fruits  which  may  be  offered,  especially  bananas, 
which,  in  the  *  have  an  unpleasant  aeulity  that 


A    FUNERAL    CAR 

:\    CUBA 


HEAL  II! 


61 


th«» 


not  having  ini«l«Ti:"ii«*  th«- 


ing  and  ripening  process  wlii.-h  this  fruit  passes  through 
on  its  voyage  to  this  country. 

Finally,  it  may  be  said  that  exposure  to  tin*  IHMVV  rain- 
falls of  the  t  :«!'!.-,  if  n«>t  immediately  folio  wed  by  a  change 
thing,  invariably  conduces  to  malaria. 


rilAITKR    VIII 

GEOGRAPHIC  SUBDIVISIONS 


of  j.rvvi- 

oua  history  lending  to  present  conditions  Administration  and  gov- 
ernment Absolutism  of  authority.  Its  effects  and  ^"^p/Mfc 
Religion  and  education. 

BEGINNING  on  the  west,  Cuba  is  divided  into  six 
provinces,  as  follows:  Pinar  del  Rio,  Havana,  Matan- 
zas,  Santa  Clara,  Puerto  Principe,  and  Santiago.    Under 
the  military  rule  of  the  island  these  divisions  have  no 

particular  political  significance. 

The  local  designations  for  natural  divisions  of  the  island 
are  Vuelta  Abajo,  Vuelta  Arriba,  rim-..  Villas,  Camagu.  y, 
and  the  Tierra  Adentro.  The  exact  meaning  of  the  terms 
'  Vuelta  Abajo  w  and  u  Vuelta  Arriba  w  cannot  well  be  int.  r- 
preted,  as  they  are  idiomatic  Spani-h  names.  Among  the 
significations  of  the  word  W//'/  ls  "  tn«'  turning  of  anarch  "; 
and  as  the  <-ity  of  Havana,  rdnt  inch  these  terms  are 

applied,  is  at  the  summit  of  an  arch-like  tn-n.l  in  the  outline 
of  western  Cuba,  it  may  l»e  int.  n.  -1  that  "  \  u«  Ita  Abajow 
signifies  the  downward  or  south  trend  of  the  island  west 
of  Havana,  and  "Vuelta  Arriba*  the  upw.-ml  or  nortl 
turn  to  the  east  of  that  cit\.     ••  \'-;.-/ji  Abajo"  i-  .-ipplie.l 
to  all  tho  inland  lying  west  of  Havana,  and  a  portion  of  this 
is  sometimes  cnlle.l  the  I'artMo  de  Fuera,  whicli  in.-!;. 
the  part  lying  between  the  meridians  of  Ha  \ana  and  San 
Cristobal.     The    Vuelta    Arril.a   includes  the  supar  j>lain 
eastward  as  far  as  Santa  Clara.    The  areas  conti^uo 


GEOGRAPHIC  SUBDIVISIONS  63 


M;r.  ,:•  ;i  as  a  conmifivial  in.  T  ropolis  are  inrlud«-d  in  the 
Vuelta  ArriUi  ami  Vu.-lta  ml  in  th«»  iniinU  of  the 

Havanese  and  the  larger  su^ar-plant.-rs  they  comprise  all 
of  Cul»a  \\orthy  of  commercial  or  poiiti.-al  ••nn>i.l.-rati..n. 

The  other  popular  <  .  <    ;       Villas,  Camaguey,  aiid 

ra  .V  l«-iii  P.,  an-  th**  chief  seats  of  the  Cuban  p"pula- 
whereopjH.Mtion  to  Spanish  rule  has  always  been  greatest; 
ami  though  of  t-ntiivly  diflVivnt  t<>]K>graphic  and  e< 
eiiara«-tfri>ti»'s,  tln-y  rank  equally  with  the  Vuelta  «: 
in  .-v.-i-y  respect  except  wealth.     Tlnwr  .-onMitut.-  the  real 
Cuba  of  the  Cubans,  and  will  play  a  most  important  part 
in  the  future  development  of  the  island. 

Foradimnistrati\v  purpo.v.-sthr  Maml  is  <livi«l.-.i  into  two 

grand  departments,  known  as  the  Eastern  and  the  Western. 

The  Western  Department  is  again  di\  i<l«*<l  into  the  two 

grand  districts  (gobicrnos)  of  Havana  and  Matanzas,  and 

into   the   rivil   distrirts   (tenencias  de  gobierno)  of  Pinar 

del  Kii>,  Bahia,  Honda,  San  Cristobal,  Guana  jay,  San  An- 

tonio de  los  Bauos,  Guanabacoa,  Santa  Maria  <!«•!  Hosario, 

:«)  de  las  Vegas,  Bejucal,  Guines,  Jaruco,  Cardenas, 

Colon,  Sagua  la  Grain  !«•,  \'illa  Clara,  Cienfuegos,  Trini«la«l, 

Santo  Espiritu,  Moron,  and  San  Juan  de  los  Remedios. 

Eastern  Department  is  divided  into  the  grand  dis- 

tricts of  Santiago  de  Cuba  and  Puerto  Principe,  and  into 

th.    .  i\il  districts  of  Nuevitas,  Las  Tunas,  Manzanillo, 

Bay.  -uani,  Iloltfuin.iiuaiitanamo.  andBaracoa.   The 

i  or  sul»<lMrii'ts  are  again  divided  into  <li>ti-i<-ts  (/ 

l),  of  \\lii.-h  there  aiv  »un«  liundrfd  and  sixty-one  in 

tii.'  i-latid.    The  headquarters  (cabeceras)  are  those  towns 

and  «  itieg  which  give  their  names  to  the  districts.    The 

prin.  ".pal  ones  are  Havana,  Puerto  Principe,  Matanzas, 

le  Cuba,  Trinidad,  Santo  Espiritu,  Guanabacoa, 

Villa  (Mara,  ('h-nfuegos,  Cardenas,  Bayamo,  and  San  Juan 

do  los  KVnu'dios. 

A  .  ntury  before  the  Anglo-Saxon  found  foothold  in  the 
New  World,  Spaniards,  led  by  Velasquez  and  Diego,  the  son 
of  Columl.us,  colonized  Cuba  and  built  the  cities  of  Baraooa, 


1  CUBA  AND   POBTO  KIOO 

Santiago,  and  Havana.1  The  earlier  <  rnturi.-s  of  coloi 
tion  were  first  marked  by  a  fruitless  search  for  goM,  little 
of  which  was  found,  except  as  personal  ornaments  of  tin- 
natives,  who  were  enslaved  and  finally  exterminate!. 
Pastoral  pursuits  soon  developed  Before  the  end  of  a 
century  the  eultivati<>n  of  tobacco,  an  indigenous  product, 
and  cane  imported  from  the  Canaries,  was  begun,  and 
African  slavery  introduced.  During  this  HIM  eaNtarj 
island  was  also  the  seat  of  great  maritime  activity,  from 
which  the  explorations  of  the  mainland  proceeded.  Morro, 
Punti,  and  other  fortresses,  whieh  to-day  stand  in  danger 
of  annihilation,  were  begun  before  1600. 

The  second  century  of  the  settlement  of  Cuba  was  marked 
by  increasing  agricultural  development  and  colon  i/;.f 
but  was  disturbed  by  the  constant  fear  of  English  1 
neers  and  French  and  Dutch  pirates,  who  made  the  coastal 
cities  their  frequent  prey.     During  this  t  inie  the  walls  and 
primitive  fortifications  of  Havana,  Matanzas,  and  other 
cities  interesting  to  the  trav.-l.-r,  were  built. 

Similar  conditions  continued  during  the  third  century 
of  European  occupation.  These  ended  in  17»>J  in  the  nota- 
ble capture  of  Havana  by  the  English  under  Lord  Albe- 
marle,  who,  assisted  by  American  colonial  iron) 
the  superior  Spanish  army  and  captured  spoils  amounting 
to  four  million  dollars. 

The  treaty  of  Paris  (1763)  restored  Cuba  to  the  Spai. 
and  from  that  time  until  1H34  the  island  saw  its  greatest 
prosperity.    The  rich  soil  yielded  its  harvests  of 
products,  an«l   ships  lad««n   with   precious  cargoes  sailed 
from  its  hundred  ports.    The  islan  n  those  days  of 

wooden  craft,  became  a  center  of  ship-building.    To  Las 

Ca-as  Who  arrived  as  .-aptain-LT'-neral  in  IT'.Mi.  i<  attributed 

the  greater  part  of  this  brilliant  ep<><-h  in  Cuban  his?. 

>  Velasquez  founded  many  towns  upon  the  inland,  the  fli>t  was 

Banco*,  in  1512;  Trinidmd,  Hanto  Enpiritu.   nn.l  IMerto  Principe.   i» 
and  Santiago  de  Cuba  and  the  original  Habana,  on  the  south  tide  of  the  Uland 
Batabano,  in  1515. 


OE   ARMAS  AND  CAPTAIN-GENERAL'S   PALACE 


TEMPLETE    MONUMENT,    ERECTED   AT   SITE   OF   FIRST    MASS  SAID   IN   HAVANA 

H\\  \\\ 


I 


GEOGRAPHIC  Bl'M'lWMoXB  65 

He  promote!  \\\\\i  in.l.  tatigable  perseverance  a  series  of 
I>iiMi<-  works,  including  nearly  all  those  now  found  upon 
tli.-  i -la nd  ;  he  established  botanical  gardens  and  schools  of 
agricultmv,  sought  far  and  wide  for  suitable  plants  for 
profitable  culture,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  removed  the 
trammels  imposed  upon  commerce  by  the  old  system  of 
privilege  and  restriction. 

Owing  to  the  wise  administration  of  Las  Casas,  and  its 
influences  which  were  felt  after  his  departure,  Cuba's 
allegiance  to  the  Spanish  crown  was  maintained  during 
the  times  (1794-1820)  that  witnessed  the  loss  to  Spain 
of  her  mainland  colonies  and  Santo  Domingo,  and  the 
terrible  Haitian  revolt  against  the  French.  It  was  this 
loyalty  which  caused  Cuba  to  be  termed  the  "  Ever-faithful 
Island,"  a  loyalty  attested,  in  -July,  1808,— when  news 
reached  Havana  that  Napoleon  had  overthrown  the  Span- 
ish dynasty,— by  the  unanimous  and  patriotic  action  of 
the  municipal  corporations,  which  took  oath  to  hold  the 
island  for  the  deposed  sovereign,  and  declared  war  against 
Napoleon. 

This  patriotism  was  but  poorly  rewarded  by  the  mother 
country ;  for,  beginning  with  that  very  year,  she  initiated 
the  unwise  policy  of  sending  to  Cuba  as  captains-general 
men  imbued  with  no  motive  other  than  that  of  reaping 
from  its  revenues  private  fortunes  with  which  to  return  to 
Spain.  These  men  were  armed  with  absolute  authority. 
A  few  of  them  were  honorable  and  noble ;  others,  by  their 
acts,  covered  their  names  with  infamy. 

By  the  decree  of  1825,  which  still  constitutes  the  funda- 
mental law  of  Cuba,  the  captains-general  were  armed  with 
a  despotic  ant  h<  >rit  y  such  as  is  known  in  no  other  Christian 
conn* '  Y  This  enabled  them  to  arrest,  banish,  execute,  or 
<  >t  herwise  punish  any  resident  of  the  island  whom  they  sus- 
pected; and  later  the  decree  was  supplemented  by  authority 
to  set  aside  the  judgments  of  the  highest  courts.  These  acts 
deprived  the  inhabitants  of  all  political.  «-i\  il,  and  religious 
liberty,  and  practically  excluded  them  from  public  office. 


N 

The  result  was  an  end  to  domestic  peace,  an<l  ill--  initia- 
ti'>n  <>f  uprisings  \\hi.-h  have  continued  at  intervals  since 
the  conspiracy  of  the  "  Black  Eagle  "  in  1829.  The  insur- 
rection of  the  black  population  in  1844,  the  conspiracy  of 
Narciso  Lopez,  and  his  three  landings  from  tin-  rnit.-.l 
States  in  1849, 1850,  and  1851,  respectively,  and  the  revolu- 
istis  and  1895,  have  all  resulted  fr<>m  wrongs  in- 
llirted  by  an  ungrateful  mother-country  upon  a  colony 
tltat  ii.i'l  proved  in  a  time  of  general  revolution  the  most 
loyal  of  all  her  dependencies. 

The  period  of  prosperity  initiated  by  Las  Casas  com- 
pletely ended  upon  the  appearance,  in  1836,  of  < 
General  Tacon,  one  of  the  Spanish  officers  who  survival 
defeat  in  the  wars  of  the  South  and  Central  American 
colonies  for  independence.  Soured  by  previous  defeats, 
he  inaugurated  a  system  of  greed  and  violence.  He  has 
been  described  as  "a  true  type  of  the  Spanish  oppressor, 
born  with  a  contempt  for  everything  but  force,  and  hard- 
ened by  the  omnipotence  of  his  Spanish  commission." 

During  his  term  of  office  he  was  as  severe  with  native 
Cubans  as  he  was  lenient  with  old  Spaniards,  who  alone 
were  appointed  to  offices  of  profit  or  honor.1  This  policy 
Oraatrd  th««  l.n-a.-h  l,rt\\vrn  Ciil.ans  ami  Spaniard.-,  whi.-h 

has  increased  with  years. 

While  this  soldier  was  in  full  power,  news  of  the  con- 
st it  ut  ion  proclaimed  in  Spain  reached  Cuba  (Septemlx 
1836).    A  move  was  made  by  the  Cubans  to  secure  th.-ir 
just  share  of  the  liberties  accorded  to  Spaniards ;  1  *ut  Tacon 
<»e<l  that  no  change  should  be  made  without  his  express 

Notwithstanding  the  severity  of  Taeon's  administration,  he  was  the 
captain-general  of  this  century  who  made  publie  improvements.     An  English 
writer  say*  that,  under  the  governorship  of  the  celebrated  Tacon,  Havana  soon 
resumed  its  foremost  position,  and  was  almost  entirely  rebuilt  in  stone  and 
masonry,  whereas  hitherto  most  of  the  houses  had  been  of  wood,  thatched  with 
straw.     If  v,,ii  Mk,  "Who  built  that  fine  edifice?"  the  answer  is  invariably, 
"Tacon."     "  Yon  theater  T "    "  Tacon. "    It  is  literally  a  ease  of  Tacon  qm,  «N 
•  Tactm  pi*.    He  is  the  benevolent  Figaro  of  the  place.    The  wonders  v 
he  performed  in  a  short  time  prove  clearly  that  when  the  island  is  energetically 
governed  it  flourishes  marvelously. 


i 


GEOGRAPHIC  SUBDIVISIONS  67 

Taxation  grew  from  year  to  year,  and  persecut 
of  the  Creole  Cubans  increase*  1.    Tl  :irds  meanwhile 

profitably  prosenit.M  I 1  he  slave-trade,  n«  anding  that 

tin-  importation  of  Africans  was  forbidden  by  the  law  of 
H'jn.  In  1-S48  many  arrests  were  made  on  suspicion  of  a 
(>!<>t  among  the  slaves  about  Matanzas  against  the  white 
people.  Officers  of  the  permanent  military  commission 
closely  exami  nod  many  persons ;  but,  as  i  n  t  •  •  r  m  UM  t  i  <  >n  failed 
t<>  fix  responsibility,  the  proserution  resorted  to  torture 
ami  the  block,  flogging  the  unwilling  witm-ss^s,  who  were 
stretched  head  downward  on  a  ladder.  This  process,  first 
applied  to  slaves,  soon  extended  to  the  free  colored  people, 

and  thru  to  tho  whr.  -.     Th mmission  executed,  <• 

demned  to  hard  labor,  banished,  and  imprisoned  3076  people. 
Thi<  iniquitous  proceeding  was  the  cause  of  the  first  revo- 
lutionary movements  led  by  General  Narciso  Lopez  in  1849, 
of  the  expeditions  of  1850  and  1851,  and  of  Quitman's  ex-' 
pfdition  of  1855. 

After  1851  a  party— the  forerunner  of  the  present  Au- 
tonomists—sprang  up,  desirous  of  coming  to  a  settlement 
t"  insure  the  rights  of  the  colony  without  impairing  the 
interests  of  Spain.  protracted  efforts  it  succeeded 

in  obtaining  an  inquiry  at  Madrid  into  the  reforms  needed 
by  Cuba ;  but  the  only  alteration  decreed  was  a  new  system 
of  taxation,  more  oppressive  than  the  form- 

r  the  suppression  of  the  revolts  in  1855  another  brief 

of  prosperity  was  inanirnratrd,  ami  rontinm'd  until  the 

great  insurr.M'tion of  1868,  whii-h  la>t«-d  ••  s     Spanish 

losses  during  this  decade,  as  reported  at  the  office  at  Mad  rid, 

'^,000  men;  Spain's  forces  against  the  insurgents, 

.000  men;  Cuban  losses,  from  40,000  to  50,000  men. 

The  outlay  on  both  sides  was  $300,000,000,  whil<>  the  value 

of  property  destroyed  amounted  to  an  equal  sum. 

At  the  close  of  this  devastating  war  Cuba  had  al 

ied  her  freedom;  but,  seduced  by  the  diplomacy  of 
Spain,  the  care-worn  leaders  laid  down  their  arms  under 
promises  of  autonomy  and  self-go vernn  ;lar  to  those 


t>S  CUIiA     VM     I'OBTO   RICO 

used  less eff<.  tiv,  l\  t«.  .pi. -11  tl..  H,,rdly 

had  the  insurgents  n'tunn-d  t<>  th«-ir  homes  when  8j 
unmindful    of   her   promises,   resumed    her    tyrannic  M 
methods  of  administration  and  of  oppression  of  the  nativ. 
people;  and  soon  the  latter  had  l«-t  all  th<«  prestige  gained 
by  arms.    By  1894,  the  year  before  the  latest  revolution 
began,  the  despotism  of  the  Spanish  officials  had  become 
more  unendurable  than  ever.     During  this  year  of  tran- 
quillity the  writer,  while  visiting  the  island,  witnessed  with 
amazement  the  operations  of  Spain's  colonial  governin 
ad  mil  i  >t  «n-d  by  a  horde  of  carpet-bag  officials  upheld  by 
vigorous  military  law,  without  one  thought  for  the  welfare 
of  the  natives  or  the  improvement  of  the  island. 

The  American  who  undertakes  to  investigate  the  history 
of  the  Spanish  government  in  Cuba  inevitably  finds  the 
details  too  revolting  to  be  described.  Greed,  in  jus 
bribery,  and  cruelty  have  been  practised  with  such  fre- 
quency that  volumes  could  be  filled  with  th«*ir  hornM.*  .!»•- 
tails.  Above  all  these,  however,  stands  the  fact  of  Spain's 
endeavors  to  wipe  out  by  butchery  and  starvation  the  ent  in- 
native  population.  The  first  of  these  attempts,  practised 
in  former  centuries  upon  the  aborigines,  was  successful. 

In  1844  over  3000  people  were  executed.  During  the 
ten  years'  war  it  is  estimated  that  fully  20,000  people  suf- 
fered a  similar  fate.  The  official  records  show  t 
people  were  executed  during  the  first  half  of  that  war. 
Women  were  similarly  treated.  During  the  ten  years' 
war  Captain -General  Valamaseda  wrote:  "Not  a  single 
Cuban  will  remain  on  this  island,  because  we  shoot  all 
those  we  find  in  the  fields,  on  thoir  farms,  and  in  every 
hovel.  .  .  .  We  do  not  leave  a  creature  ali\ 
pass,  be  it  man  or  animal.  If  we  find  cows,  we  kill  them ; 
if  horses,  ditto;  if  hogs,  ditto;  men,  women,  or  childivn, 
ditto.  As  to  the  houses,  we  burn  them.  So  every  one 
receives  what  he  deserves— the  men  with  l.nlMs,  the 
animals  with  the  bayonet.  The  island  will  n main  a 
daaert."  The  intentions  of  this  officer  were  only  foiled  by 


the  arousal  of  foreign  public  sentiment  against  him,  and 
his  replacement  l.y  th«-  humane  General  Campos,  wi 
to  restore  peace.  The  third  attempt  at  extermination,  a 
matter  of  present  history,  was  made  by  Weyler,  who  ex- 
pressed sentiments  as  ferocious  as  those  of  Yalamaseda. 
The  first  act  of  the  Spaniards  upon  the  outbreak  of  the 
present  revolution  was  to  arrest,  imprison,  deport,  shoot, 
or  otherwise  punish  every  man  who  was  suspected  of  dis- 
•\.  This  class  included  all  who  were  suspected  of 
liability  to  become  revolutionary  sympathizers,  such  as 
tli"  leading  men  of  the  learned  professions,  —  doctors, 
lawyers,  editors,  and  the  faculty  of  the  university,— who 
« luring  the  past  three  years  have  bom  imprisoned  in 
til--  dungeons  of  Ceuta,  Africa,  where  730  leading  Cuban 
citizens  were  recently  confined,  or  upon  the  Isle  of 
Pines. 

How  successfully  Weyler's  policy  has  been  partially 
carried  out  can  be  answered  by  the  graves  of  a  fourth 
of  the  population,  which  have  been  recently  filled  with 
sturviMl  or  assassinate!  victims  of  his  cruelty.  Had  not 
this  government  raised  its  voice  and  demanded  his  recall, 
the  sole  remnant  of  the  Cuban  people  would  now  have 
consisted  of  the  soldiers  of  Gomez. 

Since  its  discovery  Cuba  has  been  a  crown  colony  of 
Spain,  occupying  a  relation  to  that  country,  so  far  as  the 
absence  of  local  s.-lf-^ivrnineiit  is  conccrn.-d,  comparable 
to  that  \\hich  Alaska  occupies  to  this,  but  governed  by 
military  instead  of  civil  authority.  Some  of  the  Spanish 
;ids,  like  the  Canaries,  Balearic*,  and,  until  recently, 
For  .,  are  integral  parts  of  the  mother-country, 

ing  equal  rights  with  the  people  of  the  Peninsula. 
Cuba,  however,  has  ever  been  treated  solely  as  a  subordi- 
nate colony.  The  central  and  absolute  authority  of  the 
crown  has  been  represented  by  a  governor,  called  the 
captain-general,  controlling  the  land  and  sea  forces  and 
residing  at  Havana.  His  authority  has  been  back* 
in  times  of  peace,  by  a  Spanish  soldiery  larger  than  the 


70  CUBA  AND  POBTO   RICO 

standing  army  of  the  United  States,  and  with  police 
powers  unknown  in  this  country. 

Cuba  has  two  high  courts;  but  the  captain-general  is 
above  either  court,  having  the  right  of  setting  aside  all 
j  u«  Igments,  as  appears  from  the  royal  decree  of  June  9, 1878, 
•  l« •tiniiiLr  his  duties  and  prerogatives.  His  power  not  only 
overrules  decisions  of  all  the  judicial  authorities,  in. -in. ling 
the  justices  of  the  court  of  judicature,  but  also  enables 
him  to  withhold  the  execution  of  any  order  or  resolution 
of  the  home  government  "  whenever  he  may  deem  it  best 
tor  tin*  public  interests." 

I  Miring  the  present  century  the  Spanish  crown  has  made 
various  pretenses  of  giving  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  island 
greater  political  privileges ;  but  all  of  these,  down  to  the 
latest  autonomy  scheme,  have  been  the  merest  subterfuges, 
void  of  the  true  essence  of  local  self-government,  \\  iih  a 
reservation  l.y  \\hi.-habsoluteandde8poticpowerreinaiued 
in  the  hands  of  the  Spanish  captain-general.  Thus  it 
was  that  in  February,  1878,  the  ten  years'  revolution  was 
ended  by  General  Campos.  Under  the  stipulations  ol 
treaty  the  island  was  allowed  to  be  represented  in  the 
Spanish  Cortes  by  sixteen  senators  and  thirty  <i*  }>u 
l.ut  restrictions  were  so  thrown  around  their  selection  that 
Cubans  were  practically  debarred  from  participating  in 
the  choice  of  these  members,  notwithstanding  that  these 
so-called  representatives  were  utterly  powerless  to  press 
any  Cuban  measure  in  a  Cortes  of  over  nine  hundred 
members,  or  to  put  it  to  a  vote. 

While  the  primary  functions  of  the  government  have 
been  to  attend  to  the  prerogatives  of  the  crown  and  the 
collection  of  revenues,  its  attention  has  been 
voted  to  the  personal  enrichment  of  the  officials  through 
misfeasance  and  to  the  prevention  of  the  secession  of  the 
island.     It  lias  practically  ignored  the  collection  of  st, 
tics,  the  promotion  of  edu<  •.«!  the  establishment  of 

public  works  and  proper  public  sanitation.     Few,  it  any, 
edu-  •:tutions  have  been  erected  at  puMic 


GEOGRAPHIC  SUBDIVISIONS  71 

ise,  at  least  since  the  days  of  Tacon ;  no  public  highways 
been  <  ted,  nor  have  any  improvements  of  a 

public  character  been  made  outside  of  the  city  of  Havana. 
Even  when  the  Cubans  have  undertaken  such  improve- 
ni.-uts,  they  have  b«»»-n  IP  a\  ily  taxed  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Spanish  officials.  The  administration  of  Cuba  is,  and  has 
since  the  settlement  of  the  island,  an  absolute  military 

Above  all  the  numerous  edicts,  decrees,  customs,  and  po» 
filiations,  the  fundamental  law  of  the  bland  is  the 
will  of  the  captain-general,  enforced  by  the  following  decree 
of  May  28,  1825,  which  is  still  in  force,  giving  to  the  cap- 
tain-general "the  most  ample  and  unbounded  power,  not 
only  to  send  away  from  the  island  any  persons  in  office, 
whatever  be  their  occupation,  rank,  class,  or  condition, 
whose  continuance  therein  your  Excellency  may  deem  in- 
jurious, or  whose  conduct,  public  or  private,  may  alarm 
you,  replacing  them  with  persons  faithful  to  his  Majesty, 
and  deserving  of  all  the  confidence  of  your  Excellency ;  but 
also  to  suspend  the  execution  of  any  order  whatsoever,  or 
any  general  provision  made  concerning  any  branch  of 
admi  mM  rat  ion,  as  your  Excellency  may  think  most  suitable 
to  the  royal  service."  • 

Under  this  law,  which  has  been  utilized  with  terrible 

eloped  beyond  description,  and 

freedom  has  been  a  mockery.  Tear  after  year  the  least 
liU-rty  of  thought  or  expression  of  opinion  or  suspicion  of 
liberal  ideas  on  the  part  of  the  individual  or  the  press  has 
resulted  in  imprisonment,  death,  or  deportation.  Fun 
i uore,  the  elsewhere  obsolete  punishment  of  torture  has 
added  horror  to  the  cruelty  of  this  edict. 

The  right  of  free  speech  on  the  part  of  the  individual 

/.en  has  not  only  been  restricted,  but  the  rigorous  press 

law  of  1881  requires  every  editor  or  manager  of  a  paper  to 

send,  duly  signed  by  him,  two  copies  of  each  issue  to  gov- 

ment  headquarters  and  two  other  copies  to  the  dist 
attorney  as  soon  as  printed,  that  it  may  !  -.v bother 


1'2  CUBA   AND   PORTO   RICO 

any  objectionable  remarks  are  contained  therein.    Nc>; 
every  publication  in  <  uba  has  been  suspended  at  one  tum- 
or another,  and  its  editor  fined,  imprisoned,  or  deported  t<> 
the  penal  «•,,!., nies. 

Tliis  military  despotism  has  been  accompanied  by  a  sys- 
tem of  exorbitant  taxation,  such  as  has  never  been  known 
elsewhere  in  tin*  world,  im-lu.lm^  at  times  an  average  of 
forty  per  cent,  on  all  imports,  in  addition  to  taxes  upon 
real  estate,  the  industries,  arts,  professions,  the  slau^l  ita 
of  meats,  and  a  burdensome  system  of  stamp  taxes,  whi<h 
even  included  in  its  far-reaching  application  th.  artixingof 
an  impost  stamp  upon  every  arrival  at  a  hotel.  The  pn»- 
cesses  of  possible  direct  taxation  being  exhausted,  the 
government  resorted  to  the  establishment  of  a  most  nefa- 
rious and  contaminating  lottery  system,  which  yielded  a 
profit  of  four  million  dollars  annually. 

The  profits  to  the  active  official  classes,  not  im-lini 
the  fruits  of  bribery,  are  estimated  at  about  $15,000,000 
annually,  besides  Cuba's  contribution   to  pensioners  in 
Spain— a  tidy  sum  for  supporting  the  luxurious  1.  i^ure  of 
tli.-s.'  rlas-.-v.  as  tin-  following  fiiruivs  will  show.     Some  of 
the  official  revenues,  one  half  of  which  are  derived  from 
customs,  tin*  remainder  from  numerous  species  of  dir.-.-t 
taxation,  have  been:  1825,  $5,722,198;  1867,  $33,000,< 
1869,  $52,500,000;  1877,  $60,000,000;   1879,  $54,000,000; 
1884,  |34>269,410;  «nl  revenue  for  1893-1 « 

440,759;  for  1897-98,  $24,755,760.  The  dispoMtioj,  of 
the  $34,269,410  of  revenues  raised  l.y  taxation  in  lss4 
shows  clearly  how  it  was  divert.  -d  to  Spanish  profit.  <  M 
this  sum,  $l-J.".7t.t.H5  was  paid  for  old  military  d.-l.ts  in- 
curred by  Spain  in  suppressing  Cuban  outbreaks  and 
otherwise  riveting  the  shackles  of  tyranny  upon  th«« 
l»eople;  $5,904,084  for  the  ministry  of  war;  $1  1, 
595,096,  or  nearly  on.-  half  tin-  n-v.-uu*-.  f«»r  supporting 
Spaniards,  as  follows :  pensions  of  Spanish  officers,  $468,- 
000;  pay  of  retn«l  Spanish  officers,  $918,500;  salary  of 
captain-general,  $50,000;  salaries  of  colonial  offi< 


ECU. A,  THC    BROOKLYN    Of    HAVANA      FC  PRY-COAT    I  .    FOflCGftXIND 


OAT-IAN  01  NO 


m 

WATER-FRONT,  HAVANA  BAY 


GEOGRAPHIC  SUBDIVISIONS  73 


Spaniard-),  >1'»,1  1 .".,  J_<>;  rhuivh  ami  rlergy  (all  Spania: 
$37'  .ilitary  decorations  (to  Spaniards  only),  $5000; 

pay  of  gendarmerie  (all  Spaniards),  $2,537, 119;  expenses 
of  Spain's  diploma ti«-  representatives  to  all  American 
... unt  lies  except  the  United  States,  $121,300.  This  1,  it 
or  the  ordinary  administration  of  the  island, 
sin-h  as  ^duration,  jmMie  works,  SHU  it  at  i«m,  the  jmlieiaiy, 
etc. :  l>ut  if  any  of  the  sum  was  so  expended,  there  are  no 
visible  monuments  in  evidence  of  the  fact  There  is  a 
\v« -Unrounded  suspicion  that  most  of  this  sum  reached  the 
pockets  of  the  officials.  It  may  be  said  that  in  round 
iiuinlM •:  >0,000  have  been  annually  contributed  by 

Cuba  to  the  profit  of  the  people  of  the  mother-country,  and 
devoted  to  purposes  by  which  the  island  has  been  in  no 
way  benefited. 

In  addition  to  the  legal  taxation,  the  commerce  is  har- 
dened by  a  system  of  illegal  taxation  in  the  form  of  bribes, 
which  are  necessary  to  the  securing  of  any  legal  action. 
Little  or  none  of  this  money  was  devoted  to  education, 
science,  public  construction,  harbor  improvements,  high- 
ways, sanitation,  or  other  benevolent  purposes,  such  as 
those  to  which  our  free  government  devotes  its  per-capita 
tax  of  $13.65.  It  is  also  a  remarkable  fact,  notwithstand- 
ing the  extravagant  taxation,  that  only  about  $100,000,000 
have  been  remitted  to  the  mother-country  during  the  past 
century,  most  of  the  revenue  having  been  diverted  to  main- 
tain the  official  classes.  It  is  a  common  assertion  that, 
with  the  exception  of  Martinez  Campos,  no  captain-general 
has  ever  returned  to  Spain  after  a  four  years'  intendancy 
except  as  a  millionaire. 

The  first  generation  of  Spanish -born  immigrants  cried  as 
loudly  in  protestation  against  the  exact  ions  of  the  mother- 
country  as  do  the  oldest  Creole  families.  Their  commerce 
was  restricted;  their  industrial  development  prohibited; 
their  resources  were  exhausted;  and  their  health,  livei, 
and  liberties  forfeited  to  uphold  the  institutions  of  an  in- 
capable  mother-country.  Not  a  single  motive  of  civiliza- 


74  CUBA   AND  PORTO  RICO 

tion  could  be  detected  in  Spain's  treatment  of  this  colony 
during  the  past  century.  Cuba,  under  perpetual  misgov- 
eruiiM  nt,  has  seen  her  trade  decrease,  her  crops  reduced, 
her  Creoles  deserting  to  the  United  States  and  tin-  Spanish 
republics,  and  her  taxes  tnO.l.-d  in  vain,  t<»  in.-.-?  tin*  ev.-r- 
increasing  expenses  and  floating  debts.  England,  in  the 
wisdom  of  her  government,  has  distributed  colo; 
throughout  the  world,  given  them  the  fullest  limit  of  self- 
government,  preserved  the  patriotism  and  loyalty  of  their 
people,  opened  their  commerce  to  nil  nations  upon  equal 
grounds,  and  demanded  of  them  not  one  cent  of  tiil.ut. . 
Her  colonial  system  is  the  highest  practical  manifestation 
of  the  civilization  of  the  age.  The  colonial  policy  of  Spain 
toward  Cuba  has  been  the  antithesis  of  this  in  every 
respect. 

Cuba  is  divided  into  two  dioceses,  which  are  the  ar<  h- 
liishopric  of  Santiago  de  Cuba,  containing  fifty-five  par- 
ishes, and  the  bishopric  of  Havana,  containing  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-four  parishes.  No  Cuban-born  priests  are 
found  in  any  church  of  importance.  In  tin*  cathedral 
chapter  at  Havana  there  is  only  one  Cuban,  and  only  two 
natives  have  ever  obtained  any  especial  preferment,  the 
miter  never. 

The  same  oppression  obtained  in  the  church  as  in  the  state, 
the  former  being  used  for  base  ends  in  many  ii 
and  against  the  protest  of  the  authorities  at  Rome.  While 
nominally  Catholics,  and  so  holding  that  church  respon>i- 
ble  for  what  they  do,  many  Spaniards  in  and  out  of  Cut  .a 
are  very  poor  Catholics,  and  they  commit  many  acts  of 
which  the  church  authorities  by^io  means  approve.  Y<>r 
example,  the  Cuban  native  who  becomes  a  Rom  an  Catholic 
priest  fares  about  as  badly  as  does  the  Protestant  prea< 

There  is  not  a  parish  on  the  whole  inland  that  supports 
an  endowed  school  Recently  there  was  a  crusade  again -t 
the  civil  marriage  ceremony.  The  u  came  because 

of  the  loss  of  fees  to  the  priest  -  l.-d  l.y 

the  Spanish-born  priests,  who  charge  Culm i  is  much 


I  GEOGRAPHIC  SUBDIVISIONS 

as  tli.-y  charge  forSpaniar         ! 'urishes  are  fanned  out  <.n 
.ut  of  profits— not  l«y  tin-  rlum-h,  t»ut  \t\  the  Span- 
is.    No  priest  gets  these  desirable  parishes  unless  he 
happens  to  have  been  born  in  Spain.    It  is  the  Spanish 
blood  that  contaminates  the  church,  and  not  the  chun  h 
•  does  the  injury.    It  was  partly  the  Spaniards'  acts  in 
oducing  abuses  into  the-  <  hmvh  that  brought  about  th«- 
latest  insurrection.    The  religious  condition  of  the  island 
is  as  bad  as  the  political. 

on  is  still  much  neglected.  The  chief  educational 
institutions  are  the  Havana  University,  two  professional 
schools,  with  meteorological  observatories  attached,  one 
agricultural  school,  and  two  seminaries.  There  ore  several 
private  as  well  as  public  schools,  aggregating  in  all  seven 
hun.liv.i  ami  fifty  institutions,  \\ith  some  thirty  thousand 

I  scholars. 

The  Havana  University  is  modeled  after  the  8p. 
univ. TMti. -s,  and  its  curriculum  is  chiefly  devoted  to  modi- 
<  in<>,  law,  theology,  and  an  obsolete  system  of  philosophy. 
Its  entire  faculty  was  disposed  of  by  imprisonment  ami 
banishment  last  year,  while  the  students  have  always  been 
looked  upon  with  a  suspicion  of  sedition.  The  pul»li«- 
schools  are  decidedly  few,  most  of  the  better  classes  of 
Cubans  patronizing  the  private  institutions. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  RESOURCES  OF  THE  ISLAND 

Agricultural  supremacy.     The  cultivation  of  sugar.     The  superior  ad- 
vantage* of  Cuba   for  sugar-culture.      The    plantations   described. 
Tobacco-culture.     The  rtgat  of  the  Vuelta  Abajo.     Skill  of  Cuban 
tobacco-planters.      Coffee,  fruits,  and  minor  agricultural  pr< 
Cattle  and  live  stock.     Minerals. 

THE  principal  products  of  Cuba  are  agricultural,  and 
consist  of  sugar-cane,  tobacco,  coffee,  bananas,  corn, 
oranges,  and  pines,  in  the  order  named. 

The  raising  of  sugar-cane  overwhelmingly  preponderates, 
and  heretofore  has  been  the  mainstay  of  th«»  islun.l.  The 
Cuban  sugar-lands  are  all  upland  soils,  quite  different  from 
the  lowlands  of  Louisiana,  and  excel  in  fertility  those  of 
nil  tin-  "th.-r  West  Indies.  The  cane  requires  to  be  planted 
only  once  in  seven  years,  instead  of  ev<  .  a-  in  Anti- 

gua.   No  fertilizers  are  used.    The  machinery  of  the  estates 
up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  present  revolution  was  the  fi 
and  most  modern  in  the  world.    According  to  statistics 
elsewhere  presented,  this  imlustrybas  been  almost  de- 
stroy»'<l  within  tin-  last  three  years.     It  ori-inM.-.!  in  1 
when  a  loan  of  four  thousand  pesetas  to  each  person  v 
ing  to  engage  in  it  was  made  by  King  Philip  I.    The 
whole  of  the  vast  central  plain  ami  niu.-h  <»t'  tin-  iv^imi  t'r«mi 
the  Cauto  westward  to  I'inar  «!«•!  Rio,  except  wlifiv  Li-.-k.-n 
by  hills,  is  one  continu<»u-  !i«-M  <>t'  <-an«',  uhi'-h  in  1-v 
yielded  l,0,Yl._'l  \  Uma,  valued  at  $80,000,000,  besides  giv- 

7« 


THE  RESOURCES  OP  THE  ISLAND  77 

ing  employment  to  large  commercial  and  transportation 
interests.  The  sugar-plantations  vary  in  extent  from  one 
hundred  to  one  thousand  acres,  and  employ  an  average  of 

MM  man  to  two  |0ret, 

These  estates  are  models  in  every  respect,  and  possess 
the  most  scientific  and  recent  inventions  for  the  Cultivation 
lie  cane  and  <  >n  of  its  juices  and  their  eon  version 

into  the  crystal.  The  houses  and  quarters  are  neatly  built, 
and  attention  is  paid  totheestheti<  ami  ornamental.  On  the 
Concepcion  estate,  for  instance,  the  quarters  for  th«-  laborers 
are  built  in  the  form  of  a  quadrangle,  with  a  fountain  in 
the  center,  at  which  bathing  can  be  enjoyed ;  and  there  is  a 
well-organized  h«-pital  for  taking  care  of  the  sick.  There 
is  a  crtche  where  old  women  take  care  of  the  piccaninnies 
of  such  mothers  as  work  in  the  fields.  A  lovely  garden  is 
also  laid  out  in  a  tasteful  manner  with  orange-groves  and 
fragrant  walks.  The  great  centrals,  or  grinding  plants,  are 
enormous  establishments,  which  in  the  grinding  season  are 
busy  centers  of  industry.  Some  of  the  centrals  have  <  • 
forty  miles  of  private  railway  leading  from  the  fields  to 
the  mills. 

The  superior  systems  of  handling  cane  and  extracting 
the  juice  have  made  it  possible  to  continue  the  profitable 
<-ul  of  cane-sugar  in  Cuba,  in  face  of  the  recent 

competition  of  beet-sugar,  which  has  so  impoverished  the 
other  islands  of  the  West  Indies.  Furthermore,  the  Cuban 
cane  contains  a  larger  percentage  of  sugar  than  that  of  any 
oth.T  American  country  except  Mexico. 

Cuba,  in  times  of  peace,  produces  about  one  million  tons 

of  cane-sugar— more  than  twice  as  much  as  Java,  the  i 

largest  cane-sugar  country  of  the  world,  and  more  than  five 

••s  as  much  as  any  other  cane-sugar  country.    Among 

the  beet-sugar  countries  it  is  surpassed  only  by  Germany, 

h  one  and  one  half  million  tons,  and  is  equaled  only  by 

one  oth»-r,  Austria.     It  must  be  regarded  as  a  singular 

state  of  affairs  that,  while  in  all  the  other  West  Indian 

Islands,  and,  in  fact,  in  nearly  all  cane-sugar  countries,  the 


78  CUBA  AND   PORTO  RICO 

industry  is  in  a  desperate  state,  warranting  special  com- 
mission* r-  t<>  inquire  into  its  illness  and  its  needs,  the 
Cuban  industry  has  gone  ahead  and  prospered  under  a 
government  \vhi<  h  pillaged  it  steadily,  and  in  spite  of 
outrageous  railroad  freights,  bad  shipping  facilities,  the 
h.-art-l.n-akiii.LT  .|ii.-ti«.ii  nf  Kun-p.-aii  LnuntL-s,  and  dis- 
crimination to  its  detriment  by  American  buyers.  The  rea- 
sons why  it  has  prospered  are  quite  <•!•  i'.  It.  th.-dimate 
and  soil  are  admirably  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  cane; 
secondly,  the  Spaniards  and  Cubans  have  had  the  courage 
to  centralize  their  sugar-houses  and  go  at  the  business 
individually,  on  a  scale  unequoled  in  any  other  country  on 
the  globe.  Old,  small  places  were  replaced  by  powerful 
factories  equipped  with  the  best  of  modern  machii 
narrow-gage  roads  were  built  in  all  directions,  and,  in 
short,  great  sums  were  spent,  and  spent  w.  11.  Th»>  i 
essentials  of  competing  with  the  beet-sugar  countries  were 
understood  and  complied  with,  while  the  other  islands  are 
still  hesitating. 

The  machinery  used  in  the  manufacture  of  sugar  on  a 
large  estate  is  very  extensive.  A  large  central  will  grind 
one  thousand  tons  of  cane  in  twenty-four  hours,  or,  say, 
one  hundred  thousand  tons  in  a  season  of  one  hundn-d 
days.  A  boiler-capacity  of  t  w« -1  \  «•  to  fifteen  hundred  horse- 
power is  necessary  to  do  this,  nearly  all  of  which  power  is 
used  for  driving  the  various  pumps  and  engines,  the  e 
oration  being  performed  by  the  exhaust  steam.  Such  an 
establishment  is  worth  in  Cuba  about  half  a  million  dollars, 
and  its  annual  output  is  worth  about  the  same  amount. 
Three  or  four  locomotives  and  about  one  hundred  cars  are 
necessary  to  haul  the  cane,  and  about  one  thousand  men 
are  employed  in  the  field  and  the  works.  Besides  <>ne  to 
two  thousand  head  of  cattle  for  hauling  and  slaughter!  n  L: 
are  needed.  There  are  many  such  establishments  in  <  ul  a. 
and  there  is  room  for  more. 

Tobacco,  while  secondary  to  sugar,  is  far  more  profitnM" 
in  proportion  to  acreage.    This  product  grows  well  in  all 


A   CAR-LOAD   OF    SUGAR-CANE.    SANTA    ANNA 


CUTTING    SUGAR-CANE    WITH    MACHETE 

;v  i  ri;\ 


THE  RESOURCES  OP  THE  ISLAND  7'.' 

parts  of  the  island,  l»ut  tin-  «-hief  seat  of  its  cultivation  is 
along  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Sierra  de  los  Organos, 
in  Pin,  o— the  famous  Vuelta  Abajo  region,  wl 

produces  the  finest  article  in  the  world.  Good  tobaccos  are 
also  exported  from  Trinidad,  Cienfuegos,  and  Santiago. 

The  best  tobacco-farms  are  known  as  vegas.  These  are 
comprised  in  a  narrow  area  in  the  southwest  part  of  the 
island,  about  eighty  miles  long  by  twenty-one  in  breadth, 
shut  in  on  the  north  by  the  mountains  and  on  the  south- 
west by  the  ocean.  These  vegas  are  generally  located  on 
the  margins  of  rivers,  their  ordinary  size  not  being  more 
three  acres.  About  one  half  of  each  vega  is 
planted  in  platanos  and  vegetable  gardens  for  feeding  the 
laborers.  The  usual  buildings  upon  such  places  are  a 
dwelling-house,  a  drying-house,  a  few  sheds  for  cattle,  and 
jMM-haps  a  f«»\v  small  ^>/no>,  or  huts,  for  tin*  >h«-lt«-r  <>f  tin- 
hands,  who  in  most  cases  number  twenty  or  thirty  to  each 
place,  and  are  the  lower  class  of  whites,  although  some 
negroes  are  employed. 

The  vegas  are  beautifully  kept  places,  and  present  to 
the  eye  a  handsome  and  imposing  sight  They  are  usually 
fenced  with  deep  stone  walls  and  have  handsome  arched 
gateways,  from  which  avenues  of  royal  palms  lead  up  to 
the  residence,  which  is  a  roomy  house,  with  porches  adapted 
omfort  in  this  tropical  climate. 

The  Cuban  tobacco-planters  have  a  wonderful  intuitive 
knowledgeof  thedelicate  processes  necessary  to  growing  the 
tobacco-plant  and  producing  the  desired  results,  such  as 
11 1- Teasing  its  strength  or  height,  or  regulating  the  quan- 
tity of  foliage,  and  guarding  against  insect  pests.  The 
plant  grows  to  a  height  of  from  six  to  nine  feet.  The 
leaves  are  classified  into  four  kinds,  the  best  of  which  grow 
near  the  top  of  the  plant  The  poorest  quality,  known  as 
the  /o,  comprises  the  lower  leaves  of  the  stalk. 

Even  this  grade  is  reclassified  into  three  qualities  on  the 
farm.  It  is  not  necessary  to  enter  into  the  full  details  of 
the  classification  of  Cuban  tobacco.  It  is  sufficient  to  state 


80  CUBA  AND  POBTO  BICO 

th«»  excellent  charact*  rs  have 

i  icd  is  due  largely  to  the  remarkable  care  with  w  h  i .  •  h 
the  different  qualities  of  leaf  are  graded  both  on  the  farm 
ai.«l  in  the  factories  of  Havana. 

A  vega  of  average  size  produces  about  9000  pounds  of 
tobacco,  in  the  following  proportions :  about  450  pounds 
of  the  best  quality,  1800  of  the  second,  2250  pounds  of  tin 
third,  and  4500  pounds  of  the  iujuriado.    This  is  made  up 
into  bales  of  100  pounds,  which  bring  an  average  price  of 
about  $20  per  bale,  although  some  of  the  higher  qunl 
bring  as  much  as  $400  per  bale. 

There  are  dozens  of  large  cigar-factories  in  Havana, 
giving  employment  to  thousands  of  people  of  both  sexes 
and  all  ages.  In  1893,  6,160,000  pounds  of  leaf  tobacco 
and  134,210,000  cigars  were  exported.  Large  exports  of 
baled  tobacco  are  also  made  from  the  east  end  of  the  island, 
most  of  which  is  sent  to  the  United  States. 

Coffee  was  once  extensively  exported,  having  been  intro- 
duced by  the  French  from  Martinique  in  ITi'T:  Uit  the 
trees  have  been  mostly  cut  down  and  replaced  with  sugar- 
cane, in  consequence  of  the  greater  profitableness  of  that 
product,  or  destroyed  by  revolution.  The  mountains 
and  hill-lands  of  the  east  are  especially  favorable  for  coffee, 
and  a  quality  as  excellent  as  that  of  the  famous  Blue 
Mountain  coffee  of  Jamaica  can  be  readily  grown.  If  the 
island  should  ever  be  properly  developed,  this  will  become 
a  large  and  flourishing  industry.  There  is  still  a  consid- 
erable quantity  of  coffee  grown,  but  it  is  nearly  all  con- 
sumed locally. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  revolution  the  growing 
of  bananas  was  a  large  and  important  industry,  chiefly  in 
the  vicinity  of  Nuevitas  and  Baracoa,  at  the  e«>  <1  of 

the  island.  Many  beautiful  plantations  of  this  fruit  were 
seen  by  the  writer,  in  1895,  upon  the  summits  of  the  cuchil- 
las  of  the  east  end,  the  products  of  which  wvr<-  ron\ ••  •> •«•<! 
by  extensive  wire  trolleys  down  the  cliffs  to  the  sea.  I  Mir- 
ing the  season,  from  February  to  December,  an  average  of 


HUTS  ON   SOLE  DAD  ESTATE,    NEAR 
CIENFUEOOS 


8UOAH-C5TATE, 
CIENFUEOO* 


•Q 

PINLAmtt  BAHAMAS   NEAR   CtENFUCOOt 

SCENES  IN    < 


THE  RESOURCES  OF  THE  ISLAND  81 

a  ship-load  a  day  was  exported  from  Baracoa.    This  f : 
was  the  largest  and  finest  of  its  kind  received  in  the  United 
States. 

Captain  John  S.  Hart  of  Philadelphia,  who  had  large 
investments  in  this  l.usiness,  and  was  one  of  the  largest 
importers  of  the  fruit  into  the  United  States,  finding  his 
business  destroyed  by  the  outbreak  of  the  revolution, 
promptly  turned  his  ships  into  filibusters,  and, after  la 
ing  many  cargoes  of  arms  and  ammunition,  was  eventually 
tried  and  convicted  in  a  United  States  court. 

Oranges  of  delicious  flavor  grow  spontaneously  in  all 
parts  of  the  island.  No  attention  has  been  paid  to  th<  ir 
culture  for  exportation,  however,  since  the  development  of 
the  Florida  fruit.  Pineapples  are  grown  and  exported  in 
western  Cuba  and  the  Isle  of  Pines.  The  island  will  un- 
doubtedly become  one  of  the  greatest  fruit-growing  coun- 
tries Mahogany,  logwood,  and  fustic  are  also  exported  in 
small  quantities.  About  fifty  thousand  dollars'  worth  was 
exported  from  Santiago  in  1893. 

In  the  provinces  of  Santa  Clara,  Puerto  Principe,  and 
Santiago  the  cattle  industry,  owini;  to  tin-  iVrtil.-  irra/i up- 
lands, reaches  large  proportions,  the  product  being  large 
and  fine  animals  of  Spanish  stock.  Horses  are  also  bred 
in  all  parts  of  the  island.  The  Cuban  horse  is  a  stout  pony, 
probably  descended  from  Spanish  stock,  with  the  l»uiM  of 
a  cob,  and  a  peculiar  pacing  gait  which  renders  it  exceed- 
ingly easy  to  ride.  Goats  and  sheep  do  not  flourish  in 
Cuba,  the  wool  of  the  latter  changing  into  a  stiff  hair  like 
that  of  the  former.  Poultry  flourishes  everywhere  and  is 
abundant  in  all  markets. 

In  addition  to  the  large  estates  of  the  planters,  the  island 
possesses  many  small  farms  of  less  than  one  hundred  acres, 
devoted  to  fruit,  market-garden  and  dairy  products,  for 
which  there  is  a  local  demand.  In  1895  there  were  over 
one  hundred  thousand  farms,  ranches,  and  plantations, 
valued  at  tw.-nty  million  dollars. 

The  developed  mineral  resources  of  the  island  are  iron 


OJ  I  ORTO  RICO 

ores,  aspholtum,  manganese,  copper,  and  salt.   A  lit 1 1.  gold 
and  silver  were  mined  in  past  centuries,  but  never  in  large 
quantities.    I  n  1SJ7  the  silver-mines  of  Santa  Clara 
one  hundred  and  forty  ounces  to  the  ton,  but  they  were 
soon  worked  out.    There  is  reason  for  believing 
neither  silver  nor  gold  will  be  found  in  paying  qu 

Iron  ore  has  thus  far  proved  the  chief  metallic  resoui . ,- 
of  Cuba.  The  iron-mines  are  located  in  the  Sierra  Maestro, 
a  few  miles  east  of  Santiago  de  Cuba,  and  are  of  great 
importance.  These  are  owned  by  American  companies, 
which  have  invested  extensive  capital  in  opening  them  and 
providing  railways  and  piers  for  the  shipment  of  the  ore. 
The  ores  are  mixed  brown  and  red  hematite,  containing 
from  sixty-five  to  sixty-eight  per  cent,  of  pure  iron,  which 
is  considered  very  rich.  They  occur  in  th«»  white  lime- 
stone that  incrusts  the  seaward  face  of  the  porphyritic  and 
granitoid  coreof  the  Sierra  Maestra  up  to  a  height  of  t  wrn  t  y- 
five  hundred  f<»«»t.  Tin-  principal  producers  are  the  Juragua 
and  the  Spanish-American  companies.  The  ore  is  brought 
down  from  the  mines,  some  fifteen  miles  away,  on  railroad- 
tracks  to  piers  at  the  seaside,  where  it  is  loaded  upon  steam- 
ers and  shipped  to  the  Bethlehem,  Steelton,  and  Sparrow 
Point  companies  of  this  country,  much  of  it  being  used  for 
the  manufacture  of  armor-plate.  Just  before  the  war  broke 
out  trial  shipments  of  ore  had  been  sent  over  to  England, 
and  strong  hopes  were  entertained  of  estal>li>i 
extensive  trade  with  that  country.  It  may  interest  the 
reader  to  know  that  Santiago  and  the  iron-mines  of  Jura- 
gua are  the  scene  of  the  popular  novel,  "  Soldiers  of  For- 
tune." 

The  pier  of  the  Juragua  Company  at  Baraqui  cost  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  has  facilities  for  loading 
two-  to  three-thousand-ton  steamers  with  ore  in  less  than 
ten  hours.  The  production  of  this  company  iu  1890  was 
362,068  tons,  amounting  to  one  fourth  of  the  total  imp-na- 
tion of  iron  ores  into  the  United  States  for  the  same  period. 
<  h  deposits  of  manganese  occur  west  of  Santiago, 


Tin:  Ki>un:.T.s  OK  -im:  IM.ANI. 


u 


i  1  1  1  1  1  1  •  S  i  .  •  rra  Maestro  range,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ponupo. 
I  :i  1895  a  party  of  Pen  nsy  Iranians  organized  the  Ponupo 
Mining  Company  and  despatched  the  first  ship-load  of  man- 
ganese ore  to  Phila.l.  -Ipliin.    They  also  completed  a  short 
•u.  it-  .  •.  ,n  nect  with  the  Cabanilla  and  Maroto  Railroad, 
which  gave  them  rail  facilities  to  Santiago  Bay.    The 
os  had  a  capacity  of  two  hundred  tons  per  day,  and  the 
id  for  the  ore  from  the  United  States  was  far  beyond 
their  power  to  supply.    These  mines  were  speedily  closed 
the  insurgents,  because  they  yielded  a  large  tonnage 

•  Spain. 

Asphaltum  (chapapote)  of  unusual  richness  occurs  be- 
neath the  waters  of  Cardenas  Bay  and  in  several  other 
parts  of  the  island  in  beds  of  late  Cretaceous  and  early 


In  th.  \i<  inity  of  Cardenas  asphalt  urn  of  several  grades, 
some  of  superior  quality,  has  long  been  mined  for  exporta- 
.  The  deposits,  four  in  number,  are  all  submerged. 
One  of  these,  in  the  western  part  of  the  bay,  produces  a 
very  fine  grade  of  practically  pure  asphaltum,  used  in  the 
United  States  for  the  manufacture  of  varnish.  This  has 
been  mined  for  the  past  twenty-five  years  by  mooring  a 
lighter  over  the  shaft,  which  is  from  eighty  to  one  hundred 
ami  t  \v.-nty-ti\v  t'r.-t  in  depth  below  the  water  surface, 
yini:  \\ith  the  rapidity  with  whi.  h  the  asphaltum  is 
removed  and  replenished.  The  asphaltum  is  loosened  by 
dropping  a  long  iron  bar  with  a  pointed  end  from  the 
vessel.  After  a  sufficient  quantity  has  been  detached  a 
common  scoop-net  is  sent  down  and  filled  by  a  naked  diver. 
The  average  quantity  obtained  is  from  one  to  one  and 
one  half  tons  daily,  which  formerly  sold  in  New  York  for 
from  eighty  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  per 
ton.  The  material  is  very  nun  -h  like  cannel-coal  in  appear- 
ance, but  has  a  much  more  brilliant  luster. 

There  are  three  other  mines  in  this  vicinity  which  pro- 
duce a  lower  grade  of  asphaltum,  such  as  is  used  for  pav- 
ing and  roofing  purposes.  The  largest  of  these  is  the 


84  CUBA   AND   POBTO   RICO 

Constancia,  situated  near  Diana  Key,  fifteen  miles  from 
the  city  of  Cardenas.  It  has  been  in  >n  for  more 

than  tw.-nty-five  years,  and  although  prol.aUy  t\\vnty 
thousand  tons  have  been  taken  from  it,  it  appears  to  be 
practically  inexhaustible.  Small  vessels  are  moored  over 
the  deposit  and  loaded  by  the  joint  labor  of  tli.-ir  own 
crews.  The  deposit  lies  twelve  feet  beneath  the  surface  of 
the  bay,  in  an  area  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in 
circumference,  and  appears  to  be  constantly  renewed. 

Near  Villa  Clara  an  unusually  large  deposit  of  this  min- 
eral occurs,  which  for  forty  years  has  supplied  the  material 
for  making  the  illuminating  gas  of  the  city.  Am. -n. -an 
investors  bought  these  mines  the  year  before  the  revolut 
and  their  investment  up  to  date,  which  would  otherwise 
have  been  profitable,  has  proved  a  total  loss.  The  material 
at  this  locality  is  in  a  massive  bed,  some  twelve  feet  in 
thickness,  and  resembles  lignite.  Similar  outcrops  occur 
between  Villa  Clara  and  Cienfuegos. 

Asphaltum  no  doubt  occurs  in  many  other  localities, 
notably  near  Guanabacoa,  in  Havana  provin«.;  it  lias 
frequently  been  mistaken  for  coal,  which  does  not  exist 
upon  the  island. 

Copper  occurs  at  many  places  in  Cuba;  the  writer  has 
seen  it  disseminated  in  rocks  of  many  localities  in  the  east- 
ern portion  of  the  island.  It  was  mined  at  the  village  of 
Cobre,  about  twelve  leagues  north  of  the  city  of  Santiago, 
from  1524  to  1867.  The  mines  of  Cobre  were  once  th.* 
greatest  copper- producers  in  the  world,  and  their  old  per- 
pendicular shafts  extend  down  for  a  distance  of  seven  hun- 
dred feet.  Formerly  as  much  as  fifty  tons  of  ore  were 
taken  out  each  day,  the  richer  portion  of  which  was  broken 
up  and  shipped  to  Europe,  while  the  poorer  part  was 
Mii«'lt«'«l  at  tin-  w.rks,  .irivini:  al.nut  fnurt.M-n  ]"-r  <-»-nt.  of 
the  metal.  The  books  of  the  American  consulate  show 
that  fi-Min  1828  to  1840  an  average  of  from  two  to  three 
million  dollars9  worth  of  copper  ore  was  shipped  annually 
to  the  United  States  from  these  mines.  The  ev 


THE  RESOURCES  OP  THE  ISLAND  » 

plant  of  these  mines,  comprising  a  large  village  and  a 
railway  leading  down  to  Santiago,  is  still  well  preserved, 
l.ut  tin*  mines  are  now  filled  with  water  and  abandoned. 
It  is  questionable  whether  they  can  ever  be  profitably  re- 
opened, and  even  if  they  should  be,  their  product,  large 
as  it  seemed  in  former  years,  would  U-  trivial  in  compari- 
son with  the  enormous  output  of  the  mines  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  generally  believed  that  large  quantities  of 
copper  still  remain  unmine<l  in  this  !<»<  air 

Salt  occurs  abundantly  along  the  northern  keys.  Natu- 
ral salt-pans  have  been  formed  along  the  margin  of  Cayo 
Romano,  consisting  of  depressions  from  twelve  to  sixteen 
inches  deep,  separated  from  the  sea  by  coral  banks  over 
which  the  waves  wash  in  stormy  weather.  Then  during 
the  hot  season  the  accumulated  sea-waters  are  evaporated, 
leaving  a  perfectly  crystallized  bay  of  white  salt.  These 
natural  pans  of  the  Cayo  Romano  alone  might  supply  far 
more  salt  than  is  needed  for  the  ordinary  consumption  of 
the  Cuban  population. 

Clays  suitable  for  brick  and  roofing-tile  abound  in  regions 
where  the  formations  are  of  a  non -calcareous  char* 
especially  the  eastern  provinces;  but  as  brick  enters  very 
little  into  Cuban  structures,  these  materials  have  not  been 
extensively  developed. 

The  universal  building-material  is  limestone  and  lime 
products,  such  as  plaster  and  cement,  which  everywhere 
abound.  Silicious  sand  is  rare,  the  building-sand  of 
Uavana  being  fine  calcareous  granules,  the  worn  and  com- 
minuted debris  of  sea-shrlls. 

The  foregoing  practically  constitute  the  known  mineral 
resources  of  Cuba,  and  I  doubt,  from  my  knowledge  of 
the  island,  if  any  great  expectations  of  others  being  disr 
ered  can  be  justified. 


CHAPTER  X 

COMMERCE  AND  TRANSPORTATION 

Harbors,  railways  highways.  Sources  of  wealth.  The  large  commerce 
of  the  ialand.  Commercial  value  of  the  island  to  Spain.  Trade  with 
the  United  State* 

T3ERHAPS  no  country  in  the  world  is  so  blessed  with 
JL  harbors  as  Cuba.  Not  only  are  they  numerous,  but 
many  of  them  are  excellent,  and  afford  convenient  outlets 
for  the  products  of  the  island  and  easy  access  for  oceanic 
and  coastal  transportation.  They  are  so  conveniently 
situated  as  regards  different  portions  of  the  island  that  the 
trade  of  Cuba  may  be  said  literally  to  pass  out  at  a  hun- 
dred gates.  Most  of  the  harbors  are  pouch-shaped  inlets 
indenting  the  rocky  coast,  with  narrow  outlets  pointed  by 
elevated  reef  rock.  The  cause  of  this  peculiar  configura- 
tion is  undoubtedly  the  superior  resistance  of  the  reef  rock 
which  forms  the  coastal  points,  and  the  correspondingly 
softer  nature  of  the  rocks  behind  it,  out  of  which  the  bays 
are  cut  Others  are  variations  of  this  simple  form,  in  whi«  h 
the  cul-de-sac  is  modified  by  many  smaller  in« Imitations. 

The  chief  of  these  harbors  on  the  north  coast,  beginning 
at  the  west,  are  Bahia  Honda,  Cabanas,  Havana,  Matanzas, 
Sagua,  Nuevitas,  Gibara,  Nipe,  and  Baracoa ;  and  Guanta- 
namo,  Santiago  de  Cuba,  Manzanillo,  Trinidad,  and  Cien- 
fuegos,  on  the  south.  The  last  mentioned  is  said  to  be  one 


COMMERCE  AND  TRANSPORTATION  -7 

of  the  finest  harbors  in  the  world.  Notwithstanding  their 
ural  excellence,  so  admirably  adapted  for  anchorage  and 
protection  from  both  storm  and  human  invasion,  they  are 
but  little  improved,  and  are  often  allowed  to  fill  up  with 
refuse  and  sediment 

The  narrowness  of  the  island  and  the  abundance  of  good 
harbors  make  nearly  all  parts  of  it  convenient  to  maritime 
transportation.  Not  only  Havana,  but  Cabanas,  Cienfue- 
gos,  and  Santiago  are  regularly  visited  by  American, 
French,  and  Spanish  lines  of  steamers,  while  coastal  steam- 
ers circumnavigate  the  island,  touching  at  the  minor  ports, 
which  are  also  sought  by  many  tramp  steamers  and  sail- 
ing-vessels in  search  of  cargoes. 

The  shipping-trade,  both  foreign  and  coastal,  is  exten- 
sive, the  American  tonnage  alone  amounting  to  one  million 
per  annum.    About  twelve  hundred  ocean  vessels,  steam 
and  sail,  annually  clear  from  Havana,  while  the  sugar-crop 
finds  outlets  at  all  the  principal  ports.    Lines  of  steamers 
coast  the  island,  the  north  coast  being  served  from  Havana 
and  the  south  from  Batabano,  the  southern  entrepot  of 
Havana.    The  tonnage  of  Havana  and  eight  other  ports,  for 
1894,  amounted  to  3,538,539  tons,  carried  by  3181  vessels. 
Although  Cuba  is  so  situated  geographically  as  to  com- 
mand the  commerce  of  the  entire  American  Mediterranean, 
trade  and  communication  with  the  adjacent  regions,  other 
n  Mexico,  have  been  neither  cultivated  nor  encour- 
aged.   To  reach  any  of  the  adjacent  islands,  such  as 
Jamaica,— each  less  than  one  hundred  miles  distant,— it  is 
ally  necessary  for  the  Cuban  to  proceed  first  to  New 
k  and  thence  to  his  destination.    A  perpetual  quaran- 
appears  to  exist  against  the  island  on  the  part  of  all 
neighboring  West  Indies,  especially  the  English  islands, 
completeness  with  which  Cuba  is  isolated  commercially 
•1  by  the  fact  that  not  even  the  Havana  cigar, 
most  far-reaching  of  its  products,  can  be  found  in  any 
of  the  Caribbean  cities,  except  those  to  the  east  in  the  track 
of  European  steamers  plying  to  Havana. 


SS  CUBA   AND   POBTO  BJCO 

The  publi<-  railways  of  Cuba  aggregate  about  one  thou- 
sand miles,  a  larger  part  of  which  is  comprised  in  the 
United  System  of  Havana,  extending  from  that  city  west 
and  east  through  tin-  tobacco  and  sugar  districts  of  th-- 
Vu.-lta  ArribaandVuelta  A l>a.jo,  and  connecting  it  within 
a  day's  ri«l«-  with  the  principal  cities  west  of  Cienfuegos 
and  Sagua  la  Grande.  The  western  terminus  of  this  sys- 
tem is  Piiiar  del  Rio,  one  hundred  and  six  miles  from 
Havana;  the  eastern  terminus,  Villa  Clara,  is  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant.  One  of  the  lines  of  this 
system  runs  due  south  across  the  island  from  Havana  to 
Batabano,  for  the  purpose  of  making  connections  with  the 
south-coast  steamers  at  that  point.  Other  short  linos  run 
to  Marianao  and  Las  Playas,  eight  miles  west,  and  to  Gua- 
najay. 

There  are  practically  two  parallel  lines  from  Havana  to 
Colon  and  Matanzas.  The  more  northern  is  used  for  through 
passenger  service.  The  southern  line  serves  the  important 
towns  in  the  southern  sugar  district,  such  as  Bejueal,  San 
Felipe,  G  nines,  La  Catalina,  La  Union,  and  Corral  Falso. 
Lines  also  extend  southward  from  Matanzas  to  La  Union, 
and  from  Cardenas  to  Murga;  from  Cardenas  to  Tagua 
Ramos ;  from  La  Isabella,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Sagua  la 
Grande,  by  way  of  the  town  of  Sagua  la  Grande  to  Santo 
Domingo  and  Cruces,  and  from  Palmira  to  Cienfuegos. 

Another  east-and-west  system,  nearly  one  hundred  in 
in  extent,  runs  from  Caibarien  to  Cifuentas,  within  t.-n 
miles  of  the  Sagua  la  Grande  branch  of  the  United  Sys- 
tem of  Havana.  If  this  gap  were  closed  the  total  east- 
ward extension  of  railways  from  Havana  would  be  nearly 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 

In  the  portion  of  the  island  east  of  a  line  drawn  from 
Sagua  la  Grande  to  Cienfuegos  are  numerous  short,  inde- 
pendent lines  running  from  seaports  to  the  interior.  The 
largest  of  these  is  the  Caibarien  system  above  enumera 
which  has  many  small  1  -ranches.  On  the  opposite  or  south 
coast  another  short  road  of  loss  than  twenty  miles  runs 


MOftRO  CASTLE    FROM    THE   WEST 


PANORAMA  OF    THE   PftAOO 

ll\\   \\\ 


COMMERCE  AND  TRANSPORTATION  -'.» 

from  Casilda  through  Trinidad  northward.    East  of  \ 
longitude  an  independent  road  t  tive  miles  long  con- 

nects the  interior  city  of  Sancti  Spirit  us  with  Las  Tunas. 
Just  opposite  on  the  north  coast  are  five  short  lines,  two 
of  which  have  ramifying  branches  radiating  out  from  the 
town  of  Yaguajay.  Still  eastward  a  military  line  tin 
two  miles  long  runs  north  and  south  across  the  island  along 
the  Moron-  Jucara  trocha.  The  next  railway  is  encountered 
fifty  miles  east  of  the  latter,  running  in  an  east  direction 
for  thirty  miles  between  Puerto  Principe  and  the  sea-coast 
near  Nuevitas.  From  the  latter  place  through  the  eastern 
part  of  Puerto  Principe  and  Santiago  provinces  no  railways 
are  found  until  reaching  Santiago  de  Cuba,  on  the  south 
coast,  from  which  three  short  lines  radiate :  one  northwest 
to  the  village  of  Cobre,  ten  miles  distant ;  another  due 
north  twenty  miles  to  San  Luis;  and  another  eastward 
along  the  coast  toward  the  Juragua  iron-mines.  The  most 
eastern  railway  of  Cuba  connects  the  city  of  Guantanamo 
with  the  suburb  of  Jamaica,  six  miles  north,  and  La  Cai- 
manera,  the  seaport,  about  ten  miles  south. 

The  train  service  from  Havana,  so  far  as  the  first-  and  sec- 
ond-class coaches  are  concerned,  is  good,  the  cars  usually 
hointf  AiiH'ricHM-lniilt,  and  upholst.'iv.l  with  wi.-k.-r  s.-nts, 
in  harmony  with  the  climate,  and  the  officials  attentive  and 
accommodating. 

On  the  various  sugar-estates  narrow-gage  roads  are  in 
extensive  use  for  the  handling  of  cane,  and  often  form 
moans  of  communication  with  the  interior  in  connection 
with  coasting-steamers  and  the  broad-gage  roads.  These 
narrow-gage  roads  are  of  much  greater  extent  than  might 
!>••  su  i  •].«. «.,•.!.  The  large  estate  called  Constancia,  for  in- 
has  more  than  forty  miles  of  such  road,  and  many 
have  more  than  twenty  miles. 

Good  highways  are  both  short  and  few.  It  is  a  bitter 
comment  on  Spanish  rule  to  point  out  that  common  roads 
for  wheeled  vehicles  hardly  exist,  except  in  the  near  vicinity 
of  the  larger  towus.  In  post  centuries  a  few  good  roads 


90  CUBA  AND   PORTO   RICO 

of  the  class  called  camino  del  rey  ("the  king's  highway") 

W.T.-  «--lal.li>h.-.l,  l.'a.liiiLT  t'n.m  Havana  int..  I'inar  «ld  Hi.», 

and  from  a  few  interior  cities  to  their  entrepots.  A  more 
or  less  continuous  highway  of  this  kind  also  extends 
through  the  interior  from  Havana  to  Santiago.  The 
"royal  road"  is  merely  a  broa<l  strip  of  country,  some- 
times fenced  by  cactus  and  barbed  wire,  and  passable  on 
horseback  or  by  ox-carts  in  the  dry  season.  Aside  from 
these  roads,  which  were  absolute  necessaries,  the  govern- 
ment has  constructed  but  few  highways  leading  into  the 
country  through  or  around  the  island,  and  hence  inland 
communication  is  much  impeded.  Had  a  more  far-sighted 
policy  of  road-construction  been  undertaken,  such  as  has 
been  carried  out  by  England  in  the  adjacent  island  of 
Jamaica,  Spain  would  have  been  in  less  danger  of  losing 
her  colony,  the  lack  of  good  military  roads  having  been 
one  of  the  factors  which  have  made  possible  the  success  of 
the  present  revolution.  The  city  streets  are  usually  fair, 
and  many  pleasant  suburban  drives  are  possible.  The 
only  time  in  which  hauling  can  be  done  to  any  extent  is 
during  the  long  dry  season,  when  the  field-roads  made  by 
the  sugar-  and  tobacco-estates  can  be  traversed  by  great 
two- wheeled  carts  with  four  oxen.  Two  days  of  rain  stop 
traffic  in  all  directions.  The  opportunity  for  the  building 
of  common  roads  is  large,  and  in  most  places  there  is  plenty 
of  stone  for  the  purpose.  The  roads  cross  rivers,  etc.,  by 
fords  which  are  impassable  soon  after  the  rains  set  in ;  and 
although  the  streams  are  neither  large  nor  very  numerous, 
the  necessity  for  bridges  is  great. 

There  were  about  2810  miles  of  telegraph  line  in  lv 
including  nearly  1000  miles  of  cable,  connecting  the  cities 
of  the  south  coast  and  the  Isle  of  Pines  with  Havana 
Batabano. 

Foreign  cables  run  from  Havana  to  Key  two 

-),  from  Santiago  to  Jamaica,  these  connecting  with  t h«- 

British  cables  to  Bermuda,  Halifax,  and  Europe,  and  from 

Quantauamo  to  Mole  >  las,  connecting  with  Porto 


COMMERCE   AND  TRAN8PO1  91 


•  •  Wiinlwanl  Nlaiuls,  and  South  Ain.-ri.-a;  and  to 
New  York  •  :•••  Ilaitien.  Nearly  all  of  these  cables 
were  cut  l>\  the  Americana,  as  a  war  measure,  early  in  the 
summer  of  1898,  in  order  to  isolate  the  Spanish  forces  on 
the  island. 

Before  the  latest  war  broke  out,  the  wealth  and  commerce 
of  Cuba  were  derived  from  one  hundred  thousand  ranches, 
farms,  and  plantations,  valued  at  $200,000,000,  wli 
besides  supplying  the  food  necessities  of  the  island,  with 
the  exception  of  salt  meats  and  breadstuffs,  yielded  a  sur- 
plus val'i.-l  at  $90,000,000  for  export.  This  consisted 
:ily  in  •  nonnous  products  of  sugar  and  tobacco,  which 
constituted  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  total  exports.  The 
product  of  sugar  in  the  fiscal  year  1892-93  amounted  to 
815,894  tons;  in  1893-94, 1,054,214  tons;  in  1894-95, 1,004,- 
264  tons ;  and  in  1895-96,  2'J.">.  _  _'  1  t « >ns ;  all  of  which,  except 
30,000  tons  per  annum,  was  exported. 

The  commerce  of  Cuba  is  large  in  proportion  to  the 
population.  It  consists  of  exports  of  raw  material.  The 
imports  are  largely  foods,  machinery,  hardware,  leath.-r 
punts,  woiulonwaiv,  and  all  kinds  of  manut'artuiv.l  arti«-l,^ 
used  by  a  people  who  manufacture  nothing. 

The  commerce  of  the  island  is  best  illustrated  by  a  nor- 
mal year.  In  1892  the  exports  were  valued  at  $89,500,000 ; 
the  imports  at  $56,250,000.  The  balance  of  trade  in  favor 
of  the  island  was,  therefore,  $33,250,000.  This  could  be 
maintained  under  ordinary  conditions  of  government,  and 
increased  by  creating  trade  with  adjacent  islands.  Of  the 
exports  $85,000,000  were  classified  as  vegetable,  $3,500,000 
as  mineral,  and  $750,000  as  animal  The  vegetable  exports 
in.  lu.l.  .1  J41t300  bales  of  tobacco  (one  bale=110  pounds), 
.000,000  cigars,  and  1,000,000  tons  of  sugar.  The  minor 
exports  included  under  the  above  heads  were:  rum  (10,000 
pipes),  beeswax,  bananas,  honey,  mahogany  and  ot 
woods,  valued  in  all  at  $2,000,000. 

The  essentials  of  this  commerce  are:  (1)  a  large  balance 
of  trade  in  favor  of  the  island ;  (2)  the  preponderating  con- 


\>'2  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

sumption  of  the  exports  by  the  United  States;  (3)  the 
«li vision  of  the  imports  between  the  United  States,  Great 
Britain,  and  Spain  (the  trade  with  the  latter  being  main- 
tained by  discriminative  duties  ngainst  the  other  coun- 
tries); (4)  the  absence  of  trade  with  the  neighboring  re- 
gions—except the  United  States— of  which  the  island  is 
the  natural  commercial  center. 

The  financial  value  of  Cuba  to  Spain  has  been  in  the  ab- 
sorption of  all  the  balance  of  trade  by  Spanish  merchants, 
and  the  personal  profits  derived  by  the  Spanish  civil  and 
military  officials.  Although  Spanish  trade  with  Cuba  has 
been  gradually  declining,  its  value  in  the  past  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that,  in  1854,  Spain's  exports  to  Cuba  exceeded 
those  sent  in  1792  to  all  her  American  colonies,  which  th.-n 
included  nearly  half  the  settled  hemisphere.  The  gain  of 
the  merchants  of  recent  times  included  the  profits  to  the 
shopkeepers  of  Cadiz  and  Barcelona,  who  sent  annually  to 
Cuba  articles  valued  at  $25,000,000,  and  those  to  the  local 
merchants,  who  absorbed  annually  the  $30,000,000  repre- 
senting the  balance  of  trade  in  Cuba's  favor. 

In  addition  to  the  personal  enrichment  of  intransigent 
Spanish  citizens,  pensioners,  and  officials,  during  the  pres- 
ent century,  Cuba  has  contributed  immense  sums  directly 
to  the  Spanish  treasury.  Over  $5,000,000  was  officially 
given  to  the  Peninsula  during  the  Napoleonic  wars,  be- 
sides personal  contributions  from  the  islanders  of  the  same 
amount.  From  1827  to  1864  an  aggregate  of  $89,000,000 
was  sent  in  annual  instalments,  reaching,  in  1860,  as  high 
aa  $29,500,000.  Spain  may  have  spent  these  sums  and 
more  in  the  maintenance  of  her  authority  ov.-r  the  inland ; 
but  this  should  be  charged  to  her  own  account  rather  than 
to  that  of  Cuba.  Since  1867,  little  or  no  money  has  been 
contributed  to  the  royal  treasury;  but  the  Spaniards  have 
still  continued  individually  to  profit  enormously  by  the 
salary  list  and  compuL-  !••  regulations. 

It  i>  estimated  that  the  United  States  consumes  from 
eighty  to  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  entire  exports  o: 


AND    TKANM'.'KI  U  I<  >\ 


in  fact,  nearly  everything  the  island  produces  except 
of  the  cigars,  which  are  world-wide  in  th  Uition. 

In  return  for  this  outlay,  however,  Cuba  purchases  only 
one  fourth  of  her  goods  from  this  country,  in«-ln«lini:  prin- 
cipally necessaries  which  cannot  be  procured  from  Spam. 
thermore,  our  trade  with  Cuba  is  restricted  by  the  fact 
that  we  are  the  only  nation  of  commercial  importance 
against  which  the  rates  of  the  maximum  tariff  are  enforced. 
As  tin's.-  ratrs  an*  in  smiir  rasrs  nui.-h  lii^ln-r  than  th«- 
conventional  duties  granted  the  second-  and  third-class 
tariffs,  our  products  have  to  that  extent  been  placed  at  a 
disadvantage. 

The  trade  of  the  United  States  with  Cuba,  which  has 
recently  been  summarized  by  Mr.  John  Hyde,  statistician, 
ivarhr.l  its  hi^h-watfi- mark  in  isjrj-ii:;,  wh.-n  it  am. unit. -1 
to  $102,310,600,  the  ratio  of  imports,  $78,706,506,  to  exports, 
$23,604,094,  being  approximately  as  10  to  3.  This  total 
was  almost  equal  to  that  of  our  entire  Asiatic  trade,  was 
nearly  four  times  that  of  our  trade  with  China  or  Japan, 
and  thirteen  times  that  of  our  trade  with  Russia,  while  it 
even  exceeded  the  grand  total  of  that  with  Austria-Hungary, 
Russia,  Sweden  and  Norway,  Denmark,  Turkey,  Greece, 
Italy,  Switzerland,  and  Portugal  combined.  Nor  does  this 
contrast  derive  its  strength  mainly  from  the  largeness  of 
the  imports.  The  exports  themselves,  products  of  our  own 
country,  were  nearly  twice  as  great  in  point  of  value  as 
our  exports  to  Italy,  over  three  times  as  great  as  those  to 
China  and  Japan  combined,  nearly  six  times  as  great  as 
>o  to  Sweden  and  Norway,  and  over  ten  times  as  great 
as  those  to  Russia;  they  amounted  to  almost  half  as  mu<  h 
again  as  our  total  exports  to  Asia,  and  even  exceeded  our 
total  exports  to  South  America,  exclusive  of  Brazil. 

So  much  for  the  aggregate.  What  of  the  different  items 
of  win.  h  it  is  composed?  These  may  best  be  considered  in 
detail  if  presented  in  tabular  form,  and  the  accompanying 
tables  will  armnlingly  show  the  principal  exports  to  the 
United  States  from  Cuba  and  the  principal  imports  of 


I 


I 


mmm 


p-lp 


155 


h 

:   = 


•. 


s 


1 


COMMERCE  AND  TRANSPORTATION  '.O 

domestic  merchandise  from  tin-  I'nited  States  to  that  island 
for  the  ten  years  ending  .im..-  :;",  1S97. 

The  prin. -ipal  article  exported  is  sugar,  the  largest  ex- 
portation of  which  was  in  the  fiscal  year  1893-94,  whan 
it  amounted  to  949,778  tons  of  2240  pounds,  or  over 
1,000,000  tons  of  2000  pounds.  This  was  equivalent  to 
thirty  pounds  or  more  per  capita  of  our  population,  and 
constituted  about  one  half  of  our  total  consuni)  The 

next  item  in  importance  is  tobacco,  the  exports  of  which 
reached  tli.-ir  hitfhr.st  li^uivs  in  Is'G-'.Hi,  \\hrn  th.-y 
amounted  in  point  of  value  to  considerably  more  than 
one  1 1 1 1  n  I  of  the  total  value  of  our  own  tobacco-crop.  The 
only  other  class  of  exports  that  calls  for  special  mention 
consists  of  fruit  and  vegetables,  which  had  a  value  in  1892- 
93  of  nearly  $2,500,000. 

The  principal  articles  imported  from  the  United  States 
are,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  table,  meats,  breads  tuffs,  and 
manufactured  goods,  the  trade  in  all  of  which  articles  was 
lly  assuming  very  large  dimensions  at  the  outbreak  of 
ill.-  niMiriv.  tion.  Coal,  coke,  and  oils  were  also  imported 
in  considerable  quantities;  indeed,  so  diversified  were  our 
exports  that  there  is  no  considerable  section  of  the  entire 
it ry  that  was  not  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  benefited 
l-y  the  market  for  our  agricultural,  mineral,  and  manufac- 
tured products  that  existed  in  Cuba. 

Between  1893-94  and  1896-97,  however,  our  imports  from 
Cuba  suffered  a  decline  of  75.7  per  cent,  and  our  exports  to 
the  island  a  decline  of  61.7  per  cent,  the  imports  being  re- 

•  iu.-.-.l  to  1.  ssthan  one  fourth  aiM  the  exports  to  lit  tie  more 
than  on,,  thinl  of  their  previous  volume.    During  the  first 
year  of  the  insurrection  our  trade  fell  off  over  $30,000,000, 

•  luring  the  second  year  a  further  sum  of  $18,000,000,  and 
.hiring  the  thinl  year  a  still  further  sum  of  $21,000,000, 
making  a  total  decline  of  $69,000,000  in  the  annual  value 
of  our  foreign  trade,  and  of  a  branch  of  it,  moreover,  that 
is  carried  almost  entirely  in  American  1 

Is  it  any  wonder  that,  entirely  aside  from  the  humani- 


%  CUBA  AND   PORTO   RIOO 

tarian  rnnM«l«Tati<»n>  that  have  j,r« .mptM  th»-  I'liitr.!  States 

government  to  seek  to  put  an  (»n<l  t«>  the  unfortunate  con- 
•  lit ions  so  long  prevailing  in  the  island,  some  justification 
for  such  intervention  should  have  been  fouixl  in  th«»  wrll- 
nigh  total  paralysis  of  our  commercial  relations  with  that 
once  extensive  and  profitable  market? 


IN     i   I   I.V 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  PEOPLE  OF  CUBA 

the  people  of  Cube.  Degrees  and  variety  of 
people.  The  five  claw*  of  people.  The  Spaniard*  and  other  foreign 
en*  The  white  Cubana,  Effect*  of  diwnfrmnchtteroent  and  eooeartp- 
tioMi  Hospitality  and  courteay.  Strong  famUy  attachments  The 
Cuban  women.  The  laboring  C!JMM  The  colored  and  black  popula- 
No  danger  of  negro  supremacy. 


PERHAPS  there  is  no  question  whi«  h  it  is  so  difficult 
to  determine  as  that  of  the  population  of  Cuba,  It  is 
impossible  to  obtain  accurate  statistics,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  no  reliable  census  has  been  taken  by  the  government 
for  many  decades.  All  figures  which  may  be  presented  are 
intelligent  estimates,  and  great  variation  is  fouiM  in  those 
tfivt'ii  by  <litToiviit  authorities. 

The  latest  census  of  Cuba,  published  December  31, 1887, 
gives  the  population  as  follows : ' 


AT«' 


cotoaBD 


cwrr.  or 

OOL'D 


Havana 

Mnta. 

Santa  Har* 
I'urrt,,  I«rin,M|,* 
;,,,!,.  Cuba 


8,610 


:u4.4i: 

148il89 


- 


1M7.M1 

58,781 

116,400 

i<r'.:;: 
I:J.V,T 

114:.'.,. 


tfMH 

M  -.M 
150.578 


4' 

81 

M 


17.34 


J.io 
7.76 


Total 


mjm 


1,111,30* 


1,611,687 


AT. 
82 


AT. 

13  31 


Pnbliahed  in  No,  8,  ToL  xi,  of  UM  "Rtrlata  <U  Cuba." 

U7 


CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 


No  reliable  urban  statistics  areobtninaM.-.     Tin-  pop ula- 
of  the  principal  towns  has  been  estimated  as  follows : 


TOWIIt. 

TI..V 

TOTO 

roroLA- 

Havana 

200,000 

I'lMTto   I'riIl'']J>«- 

40  WO 

Guanabftcoa  l 
Red*' 

Matanzafl 

29.790 
60,000 

Central* 

SanrtiSi.iritus 
i.l 

"7  't'r40 

Pinar  del  Rio 

••I  ::<> 

Santiago 

Colon 

•Ml  4INI 

East.      < 

"II     ...HI 

L'3  tiM) 

Mm/uinll.. 

BSo 

Tho  population  of  Cuba  previous  t«»  th-  lat.  in<urrection 
was  about  the  same  as  that  of  Alabama,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  or  Wisconsin,  and  averaged  about  thirty-six  to  the 
square  mile. 

'I' lie  quality  and  character  of  the  inhabitants  of  Cuba 
have  been  so  variously  pii'tuiv«l  during  the  recent  years  of 
conflict  that  the  public  mind  has  been  greatly  <-<>n fused  on 
this  subject.  The  Spanish  legation  to  the  United  States 
naturally  endeavored  to  present  the  character  of  the  Cuban 
people  in  its  worst  light.  Furth* -nnore,  the  North 
can  business  men  and  tourists  who  visit  th«-  island  are 
prone  to  judge  superficially  its  inhabitants  l»y  the  lack  of 
outward  appearances  of  energy  which  is  everywhere  found 
in  the  tropics.  I  fear,  therefore,  that  my  estimates  of  the 
Cubans  may  not  be  in  harmony  with  many  current  im- 
pressions, but  I  shall  endeavor  to  judge  them  as  fairly  as 
possible  in  the  light  of  a  broad  experience  with  the  varied 

1 pi.-   of   .'ill    part-   <>f   tin-  rninn  and  of  the  ..th«-r  West 

Indian  Islands  and  Spanish- American  countries. 

Contrary  to  what  has  been  represented,  we  have  foi 
them  as  a  class  neither  ignorant  nor  lazy.    The  higher 
classes,  as  in  New  England,  Pennsylvania,  Minnesota,  and 
Louisiana,  are  gentlemen  of  education  and  refinement, 

1  Suburb  of  Havana. 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  CUBA  !'  • 


led  in  ap-i'Mil  t  ure,  and  often  learned  in  the  arU  and  pro- 
fessions. Born*  n  )>i<  turesqne  cities  the  largest  of 
whi.-h,  Havana,  with  the  refinement  and  gaiety  of  a  Euro- 
pean capital,  has  a  population  numerically  equal  to  t 
of  Washington.  Santiago,  the  eastern  city  of  picturesque 
villas,  is  (or  was)  as  populous  as  Atlanta,  Nashville,  Lowell, 
or  Fall  River.  Th.-re  are  many  other  cities,  each  with  more 
than  t  unity-five  thousand  inhal-itants.  The  remainder 
live  upon  over  one  hundred  thousand  farms,  ranches,  and 

•us. 

The  people  of  Cuba  may  be  classified  into  five  di- 
groups,  as  follows:  white  Cubans,  black  Cubans,  colored 
Cubans,  Spaniards,  including  officials  and  intransigents,1 
and  foreigners  other  than  Spanish.  The  white  Cubans  are 
t!i-«  owners  of  the  soil;  the  black  and  colored  form  the 
»  Spanish  officials,  the  governing  class; 
the  Spanish  intransigents,  the  commercial  class;  while  the 
other  foreigners  are  birds  of  passage  whose  interest*  iu  the 
island  are  purely  financial. 

It  is  .litVi.ult  to  ascertain  or  even  estimate  the  numerical 

proportion  of  these  classes  to  one  another.    The  entip- 

foreign  element,  exclusive  of  about  thirty  thousand  Chinese 

males  and  the  army,  probably  does  not  exceed  one  hundred 

thousand  people.    The  rivilian  foreigners,  in  most  cases, 

are  estimable  people,  the  better  class  of  whom  are  engaged 

in  banking,  trade,  and  sugar-planting.    They  have  no  ot 

n>st  in  tin-  welfare  of  the  country  than  gain  of  wealth, 

i  have  no  intention  of  permanent  residence.    Hence 

y  should  not  be  considered  in  any  manner  as  repre- 

v«>  of  the  Cuban  people,  although  their  voice  ha*,  in 

recent  \  events,  almost  drowned  that  of  the  true  in- 

the  Cubans  the  foreign  Spanish  are  known  as  "intransigents,"  a  local 
word  signifying  transient*.  Between  the  two  classes,  governors  sad  the  gov- 
erned, owing  to  the  despotism  of  the  former,  a  bitter  hatred  has  existed  siaes 
1812,  and  has  been  met*  strongly  accentuated  since  the  smnsadsc  of  Zaajon. 
in  1878,  when  the  rebellion.  Cubans  laid  down 
j«r"T!iiHi-H  »f 

pgsisnted. 


KM)  CUBA    AND    POBTO   RICO 

habitants.     In  a<Miti«>n  t<>  th«-  army  «.f  >Ml.li,-i>.  th- 
vast  horde  of  subordinate  officials,  all  S  -Is,  who 

lect  the  customs  ami  attend  toot  h«-r  minor  executive  dir 

The  lower  classes  of  the  Spanish  male  population  of 
Havana— porters,  draymen,  and  clerks— are  orp  1 1 1  i  /.«  M  1  into 
a  dangerous  an«l  <»t't« -ntiim's  uncontrollable  military  t- 
known  as  the  Volunteers,  who,  while  m-v.-r  having  UM«H 
known  to  take  the  field,  are  a  serious  menace  to  the  peace 
of  the  city,  being  feared  equally  by  the  authorities,  over 
whose  heads  they  hold  the  threat  of  mutiny,  ami  l>y  the 
resident  and  unarmed  Cubans,  over  whom  th«-y  1ml, l  th«» 
threat  of  massacre.  Up  to  date  the  record  of  this  organ- 
ized mob  has  been  a  series  of  horrible  crimes,  such  as 
shooting  down  a  crowd  of  peaceable  citizens  as  th.  y 
emerged  from  the  theater,  firing  into  the  office  ami  'lin- 
ing-room of  a  hotel,  assaulting  the  re>i»l»'m-es  of  Cuban 
gentlemen,  and  in  1871  forcing  the  authorities  to  exe<-ut»- 
forty-three  medical  students,  all  boys  under  twenty,  !.••- 
cause  one  of  them  had  been  accused  of  sc  rat  ••him:  the  glass 
plate  on  a  vault  containing  the  remains  of  a  Volunteer. 
Fifteen  thousand  Volunteers  witnessed  with  exultation  this 
ignoble  execution. 

Although  of  Spanish  blood,  the  Cubans,  through  adap- 
tation to  environment,  have  become  a  different  class  from 
the  people  of  the  mother-country,  just  as  the  A' 
stock  has  become  differentiated  from  the  English.     In.  hi 
the  influence  of  tin  >un<lings,  they  have  developed 

into  a  gentle,  industrious,  and  normally  peaceable  race,  not 
to  be  judged  by  the  combativeness  whi< -h  they  have  de- 
vi'loj,,.,!  under  a  tyranny  sm-h  as  has  m>\vr  ).»•.. n  imposM 
upon  any  other  people.    The  bett.-r  .lass  of  CV 
as  the  natives  of  the  interior  are  fond  of  call  i  n  ir  t  h  •  msel  ves, 
aside  from  the  customary  number  of  idlers  and  spoiled  sons 
of  wealthy  parents  one  sees  in  Havana,  are  certainly  the 
finest,  the  most  valiant,  and  the  most  iml« -p» -ml. -nt 
of  the  island,  whil.    the  women  ha  highest  type  of 

*  From  Camafuejr,  the  Cuban  name  of  an  east-central  province. 


I 


101 

b.-auty.  It  is  their  boast  that  no  Cuban  woman  has  ever 
become  a  prostitute,  au«l  < -riiue  is  certainly  rare  among 
them. 

While  the  local  customs,  habits,  and  religion  of  these 
iM'oph-  an-  entirely  different  from  ours,  owing  to  race  and 
environment,  they  have  strong  traits  of  ei \  ili/ed  <  huracter, 
including  honesty,  family  attachment,  hospitalit>. 
ness  of  address,  and  a  respect  for  the  golden  rule.  While 
numerically  inferior  to  the  annual  migration  of  Poles, 
Jews,  and  Italians  into  the  eastern  Un 
which  110  official  voice  is  raised,  they  are  too  far  superior  to 
these  people  to  justify  the  fears  of  those  who  have  been 
prejudiced  by  the  thought  that  they  might  by  some  means 
be  absorbed  into  our  future  population. 

No  cause  in  history  has  been  more  just  than  theirs,  no 
sclf-sacriticini:  heroism  greater,  and  yet  tin*  world,  •luring 
all  the  agitation  of  the  past  three  years,  has  known  littlo 
of  them,  so  completely  have  they  been  cut  off  from  com- 
inimical  ion,  while  the  little  which  has  been  heard  has  found 
its  outlet  through  the  stronghold  of  their  enemies. 

Notwithstanding  the  disadvantages  of  disenf ranch i«e- 
ment  and  conscription  of  estates  under  which  the  Cubans 
have  labored,  they  have  contributed  many  members  to  the 
learned  professions.  To  educate  their  sons  and  daughters 
in  the  institutions  of  the  United  States,  England,  and 
France  has  always  been  the  highest  ambition  of  the  Creoles 
of  Cuba.  The  influence  of  their  edueat.-d  mm  i<  felt  in 
many  countries,  a  most  distinguished  professor  of  civil 
engineering  two  leading  eivil  en^ine.-rs  "f  our  navy,  and 
the  most  eminent  authority  on  yellow  fever  in  our  country 
belonging  to  this  class.  Among  the  Cubans  of  the  past 
who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  literature,  science, 
and  art  may  be  mentioned  Heredia,  Ramon,  Zambeau,  the 
famous  medical  scientist,  Teresa  Montes  de  Occa,  an  ad- 
mirable poetess,  and  Gertrudis  Qomez  de  Avellaneda,  an- 
oth.-r  .l.-li-rhtful  lyrist.  Thousands  of  these  p*-  vt«n 

Irom  their  beloved  island,  have  settled  in  Paris,  London, 


102  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

New  York,  Mexico,  and  the  ueigboring  West  Indies,  where 
they  hold  honorable  positions  in  society;  and  even  the 
exiles  of  the  lower  classes,  with  their  superior  agricultural 
arts,  have  been  eagerly  welcomed  in  places  like  Jamaica, 
a n.  1  Florida,  which  hope  to  share  with  Cuba  the 
benefits  of  tobacco-culture. 

The  Cubans,  however,  as  a  class,  high  and  low,  are  a 
simple-hearted  people,  hospitable  to  all  strangers,  especially 
Americans.  The  men  of  the  better  classes  are  well  bred 
and  educated,  and  even  the  peasantry  have  a  kindliness  and 
courtesy  of  manner  that  might  put  to  blush  the  boorish 
manners  of  some  of  our  own  people ;  and  while  the  young 
men  of  the  cities  do  not  seem  to  attain  to  a  very  full  size 
or  robust  development,  some  of  the  finest-formed  and  best- 
developed  men,  particularly  on  the  Isle  of  Pines,  are  to  be 
seen  among  the  peasantry.  Owing  to  the  influence  of  the 
climate  and  also  the  peculiarities  of  their  government, 
which  offers  no  paths  of  ambition  to  the  aspiring  youth, 
men  are  generally  listless,  indiflVivut,  and  lacking  in  the 
energy  peculiar  to  people  farther  north. 

Hazard  has  correctly  said  that  a  more  kind-hearted, 
hospitable  people  than  the  Cubans,  particularly  to  los 
Americanos,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find.  No  trouble  is 
too  great  for  them  if  you  can  make  them  understand  what 
you  desire.  Many  of  them  speak  English,  more  speak 
French,  which  in  fact  is  the  household  language  of  the 
island,  and  many  of  the  young  men  have  been  educated  in 
the  United  States. 

The  Cuban  woman  to  the  manner  born  is  a  very  fascinat- 
ing creature.  She  is  elegant,  walks  gracefully,  has  pretty 
features,  beautiful  eyes  and  hair,  and  fine  teeth.  Coquet t  i sh 
as  a  young  girl,  she  is  generally  both  <h -voted  and  blame- 
less as  a  wife  and  mother. 

Family  ties  are  stronger  among  the  Cul«a  us  than  with  us, 
and  the  affection  and  pride  of  relationship  please  e\ 
stranger  who  gains  admission  to  the  households  of  th< 
people.    The  marriage  rite  is  encouraged  and  obsei  v, ,  i  <  ,n 


.*• 


A  CUBAN    TTP1 


THE  PEOPLE  OP  CUBA  103 

this  island,  and  while  the  men  as  a  class  are  no  more  con- 
tinent than  in  Southern  climates  generally,  the  women,  as 
a  rule,  are  loyal  and  virtuous.  This  respect  for  the  mar- 
riage tie  alone  shows  the  superiority  of  the  Cuban  charac- 
ter over  that  of  the  French  and  English  West  Indian 
colonies,  where,  as  we  will  show,  illegitimate  births  are  the 
rule  and  not  the  exception. 

The  Cubans  are  mostly  found  in  the  provinces  and  pro- 
vincial cities,  especially  in  Pinar  del  Rio  and  the  eastern 
provinces  of  Santa  Clara,  Puerto  Principe,  and  Santiago. 
Seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  native  population  of  the  isl- 
and is  found  outside  of  the  Spanish  capital  of  Havana, 
which,  being  the  seat  of  an  unwelcome  foreign  despotism, 
is  a  place  where  the  full  expression  of  Culmn  lift*  and  char- 
acter is  held  in  subjection.  While  the  Havanese  have  had 
the  freest  communication  with  the  United  States  during 
the  last  three  years  of  the  revolution,  Americans  have  had 
little  opportunity  to  hear  from  the  true  white  Cuban 
population. 

The  laboring  classes  on  the  sugar-plantations  are  largely 
negroes  and  Spanish  peasants,  many  of  the  latter  having 
been  introduced  since  the  ten  years'  war  and  the  abolition 
of  slavery.  After  the  emancipation  of  the  negroes  in  1878, 
like  the  Southern  States  and  the  other  West  Indies,  Cuba 
had  to  undergo  a  reorganization  of  its  industrial  system ; 
and  it  may  be  said,  to  its  credit,  that  the  change  was  ac- 
companied by  far  less  distress  and  social  debasement  than 
in  the  other  regions  mentioned.  At  first,  in  the  universal 
fear  that  the  freedmen  would  not  work,  coolies  and  Chinese 
were  imported  in  larp»  numbers;  but  the  former  soon  re- 
turned home,  and  the  importation  of  the  latter  did  not  long 
continue,  although  a  large  remnant  of  them  is  still  upon 
the  island. 

In  addition  to  the  white  Creole  population,  thirty-two  per 

cont.  are  black  or  colored— using  the  latter  word  in  its  cor- 

siirninYation.  «»f  a  » ' i *  t  ure  of  the  black  and  white  races, 

This  black  population  of  Cuba  has  been  as  little  under- 


104  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

stood  in  this  <  ountry  as  has  been  the  creole,  especially  by 
those  who  have  alleged  that  in  case  Culm  >h«»uM  gain  her 
freedom  the  island  would  become  a  second  Haiti  The 
black  and  colored  people  of  the  island,  while  low  as  a  class, 
are  more  independent  an<l  manly  in  their  bearing,  if  not  as 
literate,  as  th« -ir  brethren  of  the  United  States,  having 
|M»s>«-ssrd,  <-v»-n  In-fur.-  slavery  was  al M >li>h«'<  1  on  the  inland, 
the  four  rights  of  free  marriage,  of  seeking  a  new  master 
at  their  option,  of  purchasing  their  freedom  by  labor, 
of  acquiring  property.  While  the  negro  shares  with  the 
Creole  the  few  local  rights  possessed  by  any  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, his  social  privileges  are  greater  than  here,  although 
a  strong  caste  feeling  exists.  Miscegenation  has  also  pro- 
duced many  mulattos,  but  race  mixture  is  no  more  com- 
mon than  in  this  country. 

The  colored  people  of  Cuba  belong  to  several  distinct 
classes.    The  majority  of  them  are  descendants  of  slaves 
imported  during  the  present  century,  l.nt  u  large  number, 
like  the  negroes  of  Colombia  and  the  maroons  of  Jamaica, 
come  from  a  stock  which  accompanied  the  earliest  Spanish 
settlers,  such  as  Estevan,  the  negro,  who,  with  tin-  two 
white  companions  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  first  crossed 
United  States  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  California  in 
1528^36.    The  amalgamation  of  this  class  in  tin-  j 
tury  with  the  Spanish  stock  produced  a  superior  class  of 
free  mulattos  of  the  Antonio  Maceo  type,  unlike  any  people 
in  this  country  with  which  they  can  be  compared.    The 
current  expressions  of  fear  concerning  the  futmv  relations 
of  this  race  in  Cuba  seem  inexplicable.    The  slaves  of 
South  were  never  subjected  to  a  more  abject  servitude  than 
the  free-born  whites  of  Cuba,  for  they  at  h-a-t  were  pro- 
tected from  arbitrary  capital  punishment,  imprisonment 
and  deportation  without  form  of  trial,  such  as  all  whit* 
Cubans  are  still  lial.N   to. 

Another  virtue  of  the  Cuban  negro  is  that  he  will  work. 
We  italiri/o  the  masculine  pronoun,  because,  as  we  will 
later  show,  the  male  negro  of  th<  other  West  Indies,  ex- 


I 


THE  PEOPLE  OP  CUBA  1".', 

>rto  Rico,  usually  occupies  the  same  indolent  posi- 

n  in  human  society  as  that  ordinarily  attributed  to  the 
of  the  beehive.  In  Cuba  he  works  the  cane-field*, 
i  -  t  he  ships,  carries  burdens,  and  performs  all  of  the 
harder  tasks  of  manual  lul><>r  not  as  yet  usurped  by 
woman  in  tli«'  I'nitcd  Stat.-s,  l.ut  completely  monopolised 
by  her  sex  in  the  other  West  Indies.  I  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  many  of  his  race  are  not  depraved  or  dissipated, 
as  clscwh.-iv,  l.ut  I  am  of  tin-  opinion  that  th.-  < 'uban 
darky  is  the  equal  as  a  laborer  of  his  brother  in  our 
Southern  States,  and  superior  to  the  darkies  of  the  oth.-r 
West  Indian  Islands. 

The  experiences  of  the  past  have  shown  that  there  is  no 
possibility  of  Cuba  becoming  Africanized  without  constant 
renewal  by  immigration.  The  five  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  people  of  African  descent,  one  half  of  whom  are 
mulattos,  represent  the  diminished  survival  of  over  one 
million  African  slaves  that  have  been  imported.  The  Span- 
iards had  the  utmost  difficulty  in  acclimating  and  estab- 
lishing the  black  man.  While  Jamaica  and  other  West 
Indian  Islands  are  a  most  prolific  negro-breeding  ground, 
the  race  could  not  be  made  to  thrive  in  Cuba. 

Those  persons  who  undertake  to  say  what  the  social  con- 
d it  ions  of  Cuba  would  be  under  independence  should  look 
elsewhere  than  to  Haiti  for  a  comparison.  Even  were  the 
population  of  Cuba  black,  as  it  is  not,  the  colony  of  Jamaica 
would  afford  a  much  better  contrast  This  island,  only 
about  one  tenth  the  size,  and  composed  of  mountainous 
lands  like  the  least  fertile  portion  of  Cuba,  has  a  populate  >n 
wherein  the  blacks  outnuml>er  the  whites  forty-four  to  one ; 
yet,  under  the  beneficent  influence  of  the  English  colonial 
system,  its  civilization  is  one  of  a  mu.-h  hiirh.-r  >.-al.-.  p<>- 
sessing  highways,  schools,  sanitation,  and  other  public  im- 
provements equal  to  those  of  our  own  country,  and  such 
as  have  never  been  permitted  by  Spain  in  Cuba. 

Another  fact  which  will  stand  against  the  Africanizing 
of  Cuba  is  that  it  is  highly  probable  that  many  of  these  five 


106  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

hun»liv«l  thousand  colored  people  have  been  destroyed  dur- 
ing the  latest  insurrection.  A  large  number  of  th.-m  ha«l 
but  recently  been  released  from  the  bonds  of  slavery,  and 
were  naturally  the  poorer  class,  upon  \vhi«-h  tin*  hardships 
have  mostly  fallen,  being  generally  the  nVM-han<ls  in  the 
sugar  districts  of  Havana,  Matanzas,  and  Santa  Clara, 
where  the  death-rate  of  the  terrible  Weyler  reconcet< 
mienio  has  been  greatest.  Thiv«»  humliv.i  thousand  of  the 
five  hundred  thousand  blacks  belonged  to  these  provinces, 
and  of  this  number  fully  one  half  have  been  starved  to 
death. 

The  population  of  Cuba  has  undergone  great  modifica- 
tion since  the  collection  of  the  statistics  given.  Probably 
it  has  been  reduced  to  not  more  than  a  million  inhabitants 
by  emigration  of  non-combatants,  destruction  iu  battl- . 
official  deportation  of  suspects  and  political  prisoners,  and 
by  the  reconcentration  system.  The  rural  population  of 
the  four  western  provinces  of  Pinar  del  K'i<>.  Havana, 
Matanzas,  and  Santa  Clara  has  been  largely  obliterated. 
Estimates  of  this  extermination  are  all  more  or  less  con- 
jectural, but  the  Bishop  of  Havana  is  authority  for  the 
statement  that  more  than  four  hundred  thousand  people 
have  been  buried  in  the  consecrated  cemeteries. 


I 


CHAPTER  XII 
CUBAN  CITIES:  HAVANA 

Large  number  of  cities  in  proportion  to  population.  Havana  and  adjacent 
towns.  Imposing  appearance  from  the  sea,  and  picturesque  location. 
The  bay  and  shipping.  Prevalent  building- material  and  type  of  archi- 
tecture. The  central  plaza.  European  aspect  of  the  city.  The  Prado. 
Notable  structures.  Tomb  of  Columbus.  Charitable  institutions. 
Homes  and  private  dwellings.  The  business  streets.  Street-cars  and 
carriages.  Places  of  recreation.  Pinar  del  Rio,  Cabanas  and  KarieL 

CUBA  has  a  number  of  interesting  cities  and  towns. 
Th«    principal  of  these  are  Havana,  Matanzas,  Pinar 
del  Rio,  Cardenas,  Puerto  Principe,  Cienfuegos,  Santo  Es- 
1'iritu,  Trinidad,  Santiago,  Holguin,  and  Manzanillo. 

The  number  of  cities  seems  large  in  proportion  to  the 
area  and  general  population,  and  one  wonders,  especially 
in  vi«-\v  of  the  absence  of  industrial  establishments  whi.-h 
would  naturally  segregate  population,  why  in  such  a  ; 
tun-sque  land  so  many  people  dwell  in  towns  where  un- 
sanitary conditions  prevail,  and  the  houses,  especially  of 
tin-  poor,  an-  usually  overcrowded.  There  are  several  rea- 
sons. In  the  first  plur<>,  tin-  !>••<>]. 1<>  an-  naturally  social. !•• 
and  gregarious.  The  prevalent  masonry  construction  is  also 
expensive,  and  it  is  much  easier  for  the  poor  man  to  oo- 
<-upy  a  house  already  built,  although  centuries  old,  than  to 
pay  for  the  erection  of  a  new  one.  Furthermore,  from  the 
earliest  days  of  settlement  the  town-dwelling  habit  has  been 

107 


CUBA   AND   POBTO  BIOO 

the  result  of  defensive  ne< ••  ->-ity,  and  populations  have 
found,  during  the  many  attacks  both  from  without 
wiiliin.  tliat  no  better  place  of  *•  "iild  l.e  found  tlian 

the  thick  walls  of  the  city  houses.    The  ten  years'  in 
ruction  also  resulted  in  destroying  most  of  the  country 
homes  of  Cuba, 

Havana,  \v  Inch  bears  upon  its  escutcheon,  L lave  d< 

•Ip  "  Key  of  the  New  World,"  as  it  was  named 
by  Diego  Velasqu- •/.,  the  first  governor  of  Cuba,  is  the 
political  capital  and  principal  <S  il-a.  It  is  a  pictur- 

esque and  beautiful  place,  presenting,  even  in  the  mid-t 
of  the  most  horriUe  tragedy  of  the  century.  th»-  pay  ap- 
pearance of  a  European  city.  It  should  t»e  r< 
that  in  population,  interest,  customs,  and  dominant  politi- 
cal feeling,  the  city  (being  the  seat  of  the  for. -i^n  LTOV. m- 
ment  which  rules  the  island)  is  thoroughly  Spanish,  and  in 
this  sense  is  not  entirely  represeqtat  i \ .  <  >t  t  he  local  customs 
and  sentiments  of  provincial  Cuba.  This  city  was  f<  mnded 
early  in  the  sixteenth  century  (about  1519),  nearly  one 
hundred  years  before  the  first  colonization  of  our  sea- 
board, and  has  interesting  historical  associations. 

The  entrance  to  Havana,  approached  from  the  (iulf  of 
.  presents  an  imposing  spectacle.    A  few  hundred 
yards  offshore  the  characteristic  ultramarine  blue  of  the 
deeper  sea  is  succeeded  by  a  narrow  belt  of  beautiful 
pearl-green  water  l»nrd«-rin.i:  the  shore  and  ov.-rlyini:  the 
shallow  banks  of  growing  coral  reef.    In  froi 
the  rugged  Cuban  coast  and  a  full  view  of  1  la 
surroundings.    The  entrance  of  the  harbor  is  a  narrow 
indentation  into  a  straight  shore-  To  the  east   the 

foliage-covered    land,   stretching    toward    Mat  an/as,  ab- 
ruptly rises  from  one  to  two  hundred  feet;  and  on  the 

•it  made  by  the  indentation  of  the   hay  stand   tin- 
turesque  lighthouse  and  fortifications  of  Morro  Ca 
whose  flying  p«-nnants  announce  to  the  distant  <-ity  the  ap- 
proach of  vessels.     To  the  ri^ht  tin-    -ity,  with  the  hi.o 

fort  of  La  Pun ta  01  tn-me  point,  and  lying  on  a  low 


I 


100 


plain,  spreads  out  in  a  beautiful  picture.  The  yellow-col- 
>red  bouses  with  tli.-ir  iv<l-til<Hi  roofs,  mottl.  «l  liy  green 
and  the  glaring  white  rocks  and  surf,  make  a  bright 
airy  pi. -tare  in  the  tropical  sunlight  The  harbor  is  a 
quadrangle  with  its  four  sides  indented  by  land,  so  that  it 
has  the  outline  of  a  dried  hide.  The  upper  left-hand  arm 
of  this,  as  one  looks  out  toward  the  sea,  may  be  imagined 
to  represent  the  long  and  narrow  outlet  to  the  sea;  the  up- 
per right-hand  limb,  a  shallow  and  sickly  swamp  projecting 
to  the  northeast ;  the  lower  right-hand  limb,  the  embay  ment, 
or  ensenada,  of  A  tares.  Havana's  water-front  borders  the 
western  side,  and  Regla,  the  Brooklyn  of  Havana,  lies 
opposite 

The  bay  was  once  much  larger  than  at  present,  and  is 
here  and  there  fringed  by  plains  of  old  alluvial  sediment, 
upon  one  of  which  the  city  was  first  built.  This  beautiful 
landlocked  body  of  water  is  alive  with  shipping.  Steamers 
and  war- vessels  of  all  nationalities  ride  at  anchor  in  the 
middle  of  it.  The  masts  forming  a  forest  on  the  eastern 
side  are  those  of  sailing-vessels,  largely  American,  loading 
their  cargoes  of  sugar  at  the  wharves  of  Regla.  There 
are  many  small  local  sailing-vessels,  while  hundreds  of 
dories  or  feluccas  with  many-colored  sails  are  constantly 
passing  from  place  to  place,  carrying  passengers  from  city 
to  steamer  or  across  to  the  fortifications.  Large  ferry- 
boats also  cross  between  Havana  and  Regla.  In  the  latter 
city  are  located  most  of  the  sugar  warehouses,  the  bull- 
ring, and  the  principal  railway-station.  For  a  mile  or  more 
between  this  village  and  Morro  Castle  the  precipitous  cliffs 
of  the  east  side  of  the  harbor  are  surmounted  by  fortifica- 
tions,  known  as  the  Cabanas,  built  of  white  masonry.  In 
the  southern  end  of  the  bay,  where  it  is  broadest  and  most 
shallow,  rises  a  conical  hill,  Atares  by  name,  which  is  also 
surmounted  by  antique  battlements.  Here  Crittenden  and 
i.th.-r  A  MS  of  the  ill-fated  expedition  of  1851  were 

shot.    The  Havana  side  of  the  harbor  is  bordered  by  a  low 
and  continuous  sea-wall,  with  landing-steps  protected  by 


110  <  TltA    AND    1-nHTo    Kiro 

neat  canopies,  and  a  few  steamer-slips,  behind  which  is  a 
handsome  street  parallel  with  tin-  wat.r- front,  on  which  face 
many  l-.-aiint'iil  buildings  and  shady  parks. 

The  city  proper  is  on  a  low  plain  standing  only  a  few 
feet  above  the  sea,  and  was  once  inclosed  by  a  medieval 
wall.  It  occupies  a  septagonal  peninsula  lying  between  the 
riv<»r  Almendaris  on  the  west,  the  sea  on  the  north,  and 
Havana  harbor  on  the  east  On  the  south  and  west  it  is 
backed  by  an  amphitheater  of  pretty  hills  rising  to  the 
altitude  of  the  Morro  highland  across  the  bay.  On  the 
westernmost  of  these  are  erected  the  conspicuous  fortifica- 
tions of  Castillo  del  Principe,  while  others  are  overrun  by 
suburban  houses  which  have  crept  out  in  those  directions. 

One  of  the  small  feluccas  speedily  conveys  the  traveler 
to  the  Machina  wharf,  where  polite  officials  attend  to  the 
formalities  of  landing.  Neat  victorias  ezpeditiously  con- 
duct you,  for  the  small  sum  of  twenty  cents,  up  the  narrow, 
cobblestoned,  medieval  business  streets  to  the  hotels  in  the 
center  of  the  city,  the  chief  of  which  is  La  Gran  Hotel  In- 
glaterra.  This  hostelry  is  situated  on  the  beautiful  Plaza 
de  Isabella,  with  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers,  and  surrounded 
by  handsome,  massive,  two-story  buildings  with  giganti< 
colonnades— suggestive,  as  a  whole,  of  the  wonderful  whit.- 
city  which  we  built  on  Lake  Michigan  to  commemorate  the 
early  history  in  which  the  discoverers  of  Cuba  played  so 
large  a  ]> 

The  building-material  of  Havana  is  a  peculiar  loose- 
textured  conglomerate  of  sea- shell,  of  a  glaring  white  color, 
called  can/era,  somewhat  more  compact  than  the  coquina 
of  St.  Augustine.  This  is  hewn  out  with  axes  or  sawed  int.. 
great  blocks,  and  laid  in  massive  courses,  the  surface  of 
which  is  afterward  plastered  or  stuccoed.  This  in  t  urn,  is 
lously  colored  by  calcimining.  Sometimes  the  surfaces 
are  roughly  stippled  to  imitate  rubble-stone  work, 
prevalent  colors  used  are  yellow,  white,  and  drab,  relieved 
by  darkish  blue,  deep  Egyptian  red,  and  a  \  How 

ocher.    As  in  Spain  and  Mexico,  Uu>  artisans  make  bold 


CUBAN  CITIES:   HAVANA  111 

Imt  pleasing  combinations  and  ornate  effects.    Often,  by 
fresco-shading,  moldings,  cornices,  and  mason  r  ugs 

are  imitated.  The  whole  has  a  remarkably  massive  and 
light-colored  effect.  In  the  old  town  the  tall  ana  low 
windows  are  protected  by  the  projecting  Moorish  grat 
so  common  to  Spanish  architecture,  which  would  give  the 
houses  a  prison-like  appearance  were  it  not  for  the  bright 
colors  outside  and  in. 

Toward  evening  the  central  plaza  and  adjacent  drives  are 
alive  with  splendid  equipages,  and  horsemen  showing  the 
menage  steps  of  the  fine  Andalusian  chargers;  and  the 
benches  and  colonnades'  teem  with  well-dressed  citizens  in 
light  attire  of  duck  and  flannels  and  hats  of  straw,  or  gaily 
uniformed  soldiers,  the  whole  making  a  picturesque  and 
enlivening  scene.  Military  assemblages  of  th<»  Volunteers 
in  the  morning  and  bands  of  music  at  night  add  to  the 
general  air  of  gaiety. 

The  side  of  the  square  on  which  the  Hotel  Inglatorra  is 
located  is  a  magnificent  avenue  of  unusual  width,  extend  - 
ing  north  and  south,  known  as  the  Paseo  or  Prado,  leading 
to  the  Gulf  shore,  and  lined  with  imposing  two-storied 
buildings  of  white,  yellow,  and  drab  colors. 

Throughout  the  city,  and  especially  this  portion,  there 
are  many  elaborate  structures,  including  two  theaters  and 
numerous  club-houses.  The  latter  usually  have  superb  as- 
sembly-rooms in  their  second  stories,  and  belong  to  asso- 
ions  representing  the  different  provinces  of  Spain,  so 
that  on  certain  nights  of  the  carnival  the  passing  stranger, 
who  is  always  hospitably  invited  to  view  the  spectacle, 
may  visit  a  dozen  large  balls,  and  see  hundreds  of  well- 
dressed  dancers  at  each  of  them.  The  Havanese  brag  that 
the  Teatro  Tacjon  is  the  largest  in  the  world ;  it  certainly  is 
tin*  largest  auditorium  south  of  Cincinnati.  Here  the  best 
actors  and  singers  are  seen  and  heard ;  for  no  great  artists 
who  have  visited  America,  such  as  Nilsson,  Patti,  Salvini, 
Coqu.-lin.  or  Duse,  have  neglected  to  pay  Havana  a  week's 
vi.it.  lit -re  one  week  1  wi :: ..  -ssed  the  superb  comedy  of 


}\'2  <        •  •     »•.:     :     :         in.  .. 

Coqut-lin  ami  Ha.ling.  The  audience  was  brilliant  with  all 
that  dross,  jewels,  and  fair  women  could  make  it.  One 
could  readily  believe  himself  in  Paris.  The  next  night  was 
the  closing  Sunday  of  the  carnival  season.  The  fashiona- 
ble world,  which  had  filled  the  Tac.on  the  week  before,  trans- 
ferred its  presence  to  the  grand  balls  in  the  various  dull- 
houses,  and  the  Ta^on  was  filled  by  a  frightful  canaill*-,  t  hat 
indulged  in  the  most  licentious  orgies.  Negresses  and  mu- 
lattos from  the  smallpox  and  fever-laden  slums,  drunken 
sailors  of  all  nations,  and  the  scum  of  the  male  population 
of  the  city  held  wild  revelry. 

Other  notable  buildings  are  the  large  mar  •  opera- 

house,  the  captain-general's  palace,  the  hospitals,  tin-  uni- 
versity, the  city  prison,  and  several  churches,  in<  hi 
the  cathedral.  The  many  immense  cigar-factories  are  by 
no  means  unattractive  features.  These  are  large  buildings, 
resembling  the  factories  of  the  village  towns  of  New  Eng- 
land, although  more  ornamental  in  architecture  and  sur- 
roundings. 

The  churches  of  Havana  are  not  particularly  numerous. 
The  largest  is  the  Merced,  a  cathedral  in  the  rococo  style, 
with  handsome  marble  altars,  mahogany  and  dark-colored 
marble  furnishings,  and  a  superb  choir.  It  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  large  central  dome  and  two  short  towers. 
The  cathedral  is  principally  interesting  because  of  the  fact 
that  it  was  one  of  the  alleged  resting-places  of  Columbus. 
The  disputed  remains,  lately  removed  to  Spain,  were  in  a 
small  urn  deposited  in  a  niche  in  the  west  wall  of  the 
chancel,  and  sealed  up  with  a  marble  slab  surmounted  by 
an  excellent  bust  wreathed  with  laun-1.  The  inscription  is 
aa  follows : 

0  Re«to«  6  Tmagen  del  grande  Colon  ' 
Mil  ciglos  durad  gnardados  en  la  Vrna, 
T  en  la  remembransa  de  nuestra  Nacion.1 

*  The  literal  interpretation  of  this  poorly  constructed  inscription  it  i 
Oh,  remain*  and  Imajre  of  the  gre 
Thousand  eentnrle.  continue  Carried  It 
Aad  la  U*  rMMBbraaM  of  oar  nation. 


OLD  CHURCH    USED   AS  CUSTOM-HOuSC 


THE    CATHEDRAL 
li  VV\\  \ 


(THAN  rmrs:   HAYANV  113 


The  inhabitants  of  Santo  Domingo,  however,  as  will  be 
shown  in  our  descriptions  of  that  island,  are  as  positive  at 
th«-  llavan.'s.-  that  th.-y  still  retain  the  custody  of  Colum- 
bus's  body,  and  allege  that  the  remains  in  the  cathedral  of 
Havana,  to  which  so  many  pilgrimages  have  been  made,  are 
not  genuine. 

There  are  many  institutions  of  learning  in  the  city,  th<* 
principal  of  which  are  the  University  of  Havana  and  the 
large  Jesuit  College  de  Helen  for  boys.  The  latter  is  an 
ohstTvatory,  whnv  most  of  tin*  imi>ortunt  astron,.n,i,.  an. I 
<  linmtologic  data  concerning  Cuba  have  been  collected. 
It  also  possesses  a  museum,  in  which  can  be  seen  preserved 
the  fauna  of  the  island,  principally  land-snails,  birds,  and 
many  rare  botanical  specimens.  The  library  is  especially 
ri.-h  in  old  volumes,  drawings,  and  prints  illustrating 
Cuban  life  and  scenery  from  the  sixteenth  century  down 
to  our  own  times. 

There  are  numerous  charitable  and  benevolent  institu- 
tions in  the  capital.  Among  these  are  the  Casa  de  Bene- 
ficencia,  founded  by  Las  Casas  as  an  asylum  for  infants  and 
the  aged;  hospitals  for  the  sick  of  all  classes;  and  an  im- 
mense lazaretto  situated  in  the  western  part  of  the  <  it\ ,  in 
which  six  nuns  and  two  priests  attend  to  over  a  hundred 
leprous  interns,  besides  treating  dozens  of  unfortunate 
beings  afflicted  with  this  dread  disease  who  call  daily  at  its 
dispensary.  A  handsome  and  apparently  well-arranged 
ii<  -pital  for  the  insane  is  maintained  a  few  miles  south  of 
Havana,  on  the  road  to  Batabano. 

Of  the  institutions  of  Havana  it  may  be  s.iid  that  so  far 
as  the  benevolent  and  charitable  impulses  that  support 
them  are  concerned,  they  are  commendable;  )>ut  the  whole 
system  is  utterly  behind  the  age,  inasmuch  as  it  is  not 
ImsM   upon   any   thought   of   th-    i.r.-<.-rvati..n   of   j.uMx 
health,  Lilt  is  solely  for  the  alleviation  of  individual  cases. 
For  instance,  there  is  no  isolation  of  those  affected  with 
tagious  diseases;  leprosy,  smallpox,  yellow  fever,  1» 
.  aii.l  other  diseases  are  allowed  to  exist  in  private 


1  1  i  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

residences  without  consideration  of  danger  to  adjacent 
neighbors  or  the  community  at  large.  Furthermore,  de- 
pendents of  all  kinds,  lepers,  blind,  aged,  deaf,  or  lame,  are 
allowed  to  roam  as  long  as  they  can  beg  thru  v 

The  houses  of  the  wealthy  are  scattered  through  every 
part  of  the  eitj.  Some  of  the  finer  mansions  are  very 
handsome,  being  built  in  the  classic  style.  Even  in  solid  city 
blocks  these  always  have  an  inner  courtyard,  or  patio,  sur- 
rounded by  tall  stuccoed  columns,  and  ornamented  with  beau- 
tit' ul  flowering  plants  around  a  central  fountain.  Song 
and  ornamental  birds  hang  in  cages.  In  the  suburbs, 
where  the  houses  are  not  in  blocks,  they  are  usually  sur- 
rounded by  beautiful  yards  and  gardens.  It  has  been  said 
that  the  handsomest  street  in  Havana  is  the  Cerro,  a  long 
thoroughfare  running  up  a  hill  toward  Jesus  del  Monte,  a 
southern  suburb.  This  is  bordered  on  either  side  by 
enormous  old  villas  in  the  midst  of  magnificent  gardens. 
The  finest  of  these  mansions  is  built  of  white  marble  in  the 
usual  classic  style.  In  the  midst  of  a  perfect  forest  of 
cocoa-palms  stands  the  former  summer  villa  of  the  bishops 
of  Havana,  now  a  private  residence.  Then  one  after  an- 
other follow  the  handsome  dwellings  of  the  Havanese 
sangre  azul,  of  the  Marques  dos  Hermanos,  of  the  Conde 
Penalver,  of  the  Marquesa  de  Rio  Palma,  etc.  The  orna- 
mental cacti  in  these  villa  gardens  are  of  immense  size  and 
shape.  They  are  principally  of  the  Cereus  kind.  The 
door-steps  of  nearly  all  these  residences  are  surmounted  by 
recumbent  lions,  in«li<-ativ»»  of  the  aristocracy  of  th«-ir  in- 
habitants. At  one  residence  th»  lions  were  lying  overturned 
in  the  back  yard,  instead  of  upright  at  the  front  entrance. 
Upon  inquiry  as  to  the  cause  of  this,  I  learned  that  th«» 
possessor  thereof  had  become  incensed  because  his  neigh- 
bor, a  parvenu  of  low  origin,  upon  whom  a  title  of  n ol.il it y 
had  lately  been  bestowed,  had  recently  set  up  lions  on 
the  adjacent  door-steps.  West  of  the  month  <>t  tin*  ri 
Almendaris  is  the  handsome  seaside  suburb  of  La  Mira- 
nao,  where  the  wealthier  residents  have  ct>  «i  taste- 


CUBAN   CITIES:    HAVANA  115 

f  ul  cottages  surrounded  by  gardens,  which  suggest  some  of 

-unimer  seaside  resorts. 

The  principal  business  streets  are  known  as  the  • 
Obispo  and  Calle  O'Reilly.     The  latter  runs  from 
governor's  palace  east,  and  passes  through  the  central 
park  to  the  outer  walls  of  the  <  ity.     It  is  a  crooked  thor- 
oughfare, built  centuries  ago,  with  sidewalks  so  narrow 
that  one  must  step  into  the  gutter  to  pass  an  opposing 
lMMl«'striun.      Many  ..f  th«-  h..iis,-s  ,,f  this  ami  Minilar  nan-..\\ 

lanes  and  alleys  of  the  old  part  of  the  town  are  but  one 
qtory  high;  but  one  story  in  Cuba  is  so  lofty  that  it  is 
equivalent  to  two  of  our  country.  These  streets  are 
crowded  during  the  early  hours  with  vehicles  and  people 
engaged  in  shopping  or  commercial  pursuits,  and  sailors 
of  all  nations,  for  the  foreign  trade  of  Havana  amounts  to 
fifty  million  dollars  yearly. 

The  wholesale  houses  are  overflowing  with  plantation 
supplies,  while  the  shops  are  plentifully  supplied  with 
European  and  native  goods.  Only  a  few  years  ago  the 
jewelers'  and  goldsmiths'  shops  were  renowned  throughout 
the  western  world;  but  now,  unfortunately,  they  are 
iMitiivly  ruintMl.  Kvon  in  ls;s,  wh««n  tin*  >h"«-  tir-t  L.-^an 
to  pinch  in  Cuba,  many  fine  jewels,  and  some  beautiful 
specimens  of  old  Spanish  sih.  r,  Louis  XV  fans,  snuff- 
boxes, and  bric-a-brac  of  all  kin. Is,  were  offered  for  sale. 
Often  a  negress  would  come  to  the  hotel  bearing  a  coffer 
full  of  things  for  inspection.  Th.»  mistress  who  sent  the 
good  woman  must  have  had  implicit  trust  in  her  servant, 
who  frequently  sold  her  wares  for  very  considerable  sums. 
Few  of  the  Havanese  nobility  and  rich  planters  have  any- 
thing  left  which  is  worth  selling  nowadays;  but  only  a  few 

y.-arsapi  Havana  was  a  happy  liui.Ii::-  -r<  .liiM  hrtapfe 

•eekm 

Street-railways  with  cars  drawn  by  mules  radiate  in  sev- 
eral directions  from  the  Paseo.  One  of  the  principal  lines 
proceeds  north  down  the  Paseo  to  the  Punta  battery  and 
baths  on  the  Gulf  shore,  and  then  westward  for  several 


11'  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

miles  along  the  sea-front,  past  the  hoopitali,  to  tin   little 
village  of  Chorerra,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Almendaris. 
this  place  stands  an  interesting  oM  ruin  known  a> 
Bucaneers'  Fort,  which  was  built  in  the  earlier  « •« -ntir 
The  place  is  also  of  interest  inasmuch  as  it  was  the  site  of 
the  first  settlement  of  the  present  city  of  Havana  in  1819. 
Another  goes  south  for  several  miles,  past  the  aristocr 
residences  of  Cerro  Street,  to  the  little  suburb  of  Jesus  del 
Monte. 

For  its  size  Havana  is  exceptionally  well  supplied  with 
public  and  private  carriages.  An  excellent  victoria  can  be 
hired  for  two  pesetas  (forty  cents)  an  hour.  To  avoid  ex- 
tortion from  the  cab-drivers,  the  lamp-posts  are  painted 
various  colors— red  for  the  central  district,  blue  for  the 
second  circle,  and  green  for  the  outer.  Thus  the  ' 
at  once  becomes  aware  when  he  gets  beyond  the  radius, 
and  pays  accordingly.  Trouble  with  the  Havanese  hack- 
coachman,  usually  a  colored  man  and  very  < -i\  il,  is  of  the 
rarest  occurrence.  The  picturesque  volante,  once  as  essen- 
tially Cuban  as  the  gondola  is  Vein-nan,  has  nit  in -ly  dis- 
appeared from  the  streets  of  the  capital;  victorias  and 
laixlaus  have  usurped  the  place  of  these  old-style  coaches, 
excepting  in  the  country,  where  they  are  often  to  be  met 
with  on  the  highroads. 

Of  Havana  society,  like  all  passing  strangers  who  have 
not  penetrated  its  inner  circles,  I  can  say  l>ut  little.  Su- 
perficially it  resembles  that  of  most  of  the  cities  of  south- 
ern Europe,  an<l  is  principally  devoted  to  innocent  enj 
ment.  Th.«  p-ntl.-men  have  th.-ir  dul.s,  which  are  large 
and  well  adapted  to  the  climate ;  the  ladies  find  occnj  >at  i<  -n 
in  their  benevolent  and  charitable  organizations.  All  are 
fond  of  dress  and  driving.  The  styles  among  the  gentle 
sex  are  mainly  Parisian,  while  the  m.-n  assume  flannels, 
duck,  and  linen  in  the  daytime,  with  the  universal  .h ess- 
suit  at  evening.  T  in  winter  is  the  resort  not  only 
of  a  large  foreign  population,  inelu«linir  t<- 
ness  men,  but  of  the  principal  planters  of  tho  sugar  an«l 


(THAN    (11  IKS:     II  WAN  A  117 

t<>!,acco  districts.  These,  with  the  large  set  of  military 
ntVn-ials,  add  interest  to  the  social  picture. 

Among  the  lower  classes  there  IB  a  large  industrial  popu- 
lation,  living  in  densely  crowded  houses,  and  employed 
principally  in  the  tobacco-factories.  There  are  also  manu- 
factories of  sweetmeats,  candles,  carriages,  soap,  perfu- 
mery, and  glycerin,  and  breweries,  rum-distilleries,  tanner* 
ies,  and  gas-works. 

Among  so  pleasure-loving  a  people  as  the  Cubans, 
public  amusements  hold  a  far  more  prominent  place  than 
they  do  in  the  United  States,  with,  perhaps,  the  sole  excep- 
tion of  New  Orleans,  and  the  carnival  at  Havana  was  at 
one  time  the  most  brilliant  in  the  Americas.  For  many 
years  its  glories  have  been  declining,  and  during  the  last 
few  decades  the  upper  and  middle  classes  have  taken  little 
part  in  the  outdoor  festivities. 

There  are  many  places  of  recreo  adjacent  to  Havana, 
including  the  sea-shore  and  the  pretty  villages,  such  as 
G nines,  Guanabacoa,  Marian ao,  and  Puentes  Grande*. 
Excursions  to  places  of  interest  can  be  taken  within  a  few 
hours'  ride  from  the  city;  all  the  country  within  railway 
communication  can  be  reached  in  a  day's  time.  Two 
hours  will  convey  one  southward  by  rail  to  Batabano,  or 
westward  to  the  tobacco-fields  of  Pinar  del  Rio,  or  east- 
ward through  charming  hills  to  Matanzas.  The  miserable 
village  of  Batabano,  twenty-five  miles  distant,  is  only 
interesting  as  an  entrepot  for  the  city.  Here  the  coastal 
cable  from  Santiago  touches,  and  from  this  point  radiate 
various  lines  of  steamers  along  the  coast  and  to  the  Isle  of 
Pines. 

All  in  all,  Havana  is  a  handsome,  drli^htful,  and  charm- 
ing city,  where  one  capable  of  remembering  that  all  the 
world  is  not  alike  will  find  novel  experiences  and  interest- 
ing entertainment  on  every  side.  In  spite  of  the  frightful 
mortality  of  Havana,  the  better  parts  of  the  city  are,  to 
outward  appearance,  clean  and  beautiful.  Prisoners  sweep 
ill.-  paved  streets  each  morning,  and  the  houses  are  all  kept 


11>  CUBA   AM'   I'OBTO  BICO 

neatly  freshened  with  color.    Outside  of  the  buq 
oughfares  and  marts  or  the  crowded  homes  of  the  poor, 
which  are  no  worse  than  in  the  down  t  vets  of  New 

York,  one  rarely  meets  a  foul  smell.  The  unsanitary  con- 
ditioii  <>f  tiio  city  is  largely  due  to  causes  which  are  hi<i 
from  public  sight,  such  as  the  crowding  of  tenements,  the 
miserable  cesspools,  and  the  imperfect  sewerage,  whirh 
befouls  the  beautiful  harbor.  The  city,  we  are  informed 
by  trustworthy  engineers  and  the  highest  m«-»lir;tl  authori- 
ties of  our  country  who  have  studied  the  yellow-fever 
question  in  Havana,  could  be  made  one  of  the  most  health- 
ful in  the  world.  Until  recently  it  was  badly  supplied  with 
water,  and  its  sewerage  is  still  abominable.  In  1895  a 
modern  system  of  waterworks  was  installed  by  New  York 
engineers,  who  also  prepared  plans  for  the  solution  of  t)i<> 
sewerage  problem.  The  city  is  well  policed.  Numerous 
patrolmen  dressed  in  handsome  military  uniforms  gr. 
the  various  corners,  while  gendarmes  mounted  on  fine 
horses  are  stationed  at  various  places. 

West  of  Havana,  in  the  Vuelta  Abajo  district  of  Pinar 
del  Rio  province,  there  are  (or  were)  man>  pivtty  tn\vns.  Of 
these,  Cabanas,  Mariel,  and  Bahia  Honda  are  on  the  northern 
sea-coast,  and  have  small  landlocked  harbors  whi.-h  to  a 
certain  extent  are  miniature  duplicates  of  Havana  Bay. 
These  towns  are  very  prettily  located.  The  rhi«-f  places 
in  the  interior  are  Guanajay.  Pinar  del  Rio,  and  San  Cris- 
tobal. Guanajay  is  situated  on  the  principal  highway  that 
runs  through  Vuelta  Abajo,  and  had  a  population  of  about 
four  thousand  inhabitants.  It  is  a  fine  type  of  the  smaller 
Cuban  towns,  possessing  a  pretty  public  square,  aroun<l 

<  h  are  built  some  very  imposing  houses.    The  town 
in  the  heart  of  a  beautiful  country,  about  tw«  ho  miles  from 
the  north  shore,  between  which  and  it  are  a  number  of 
large  sugar-estates  situated  in  a  rolling  count 

San  Antonio  de  los  Bafios  was  a  small  and  j» 
with  wi-11-l.uilt  houses  and  about  five  thousand  inhabit. 
twenty- three  miles  from  Havana,  on  the  road  to  Gu 


CUBAN  CITIES:    HAVANA  119 

It  had  mineral  springs  and  baths,  and  was  frequented  as  a 
summer  resort  by  the  people  of  Havana. 

Pinar  del  Rio  and  San  Cristobal  are  the  chief  inland 
towns  of  the  Vuelta  Abajo.    Both  are  pleasant  places, 
surrounded  by  picturesque  scenery,  and  principal; 
habited  by  the  tobacco-planters. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

OTHER  CUBAN   CITIES 

MatanMft.  Beauty  of  the  surrounding  country.  Cardenaa.  Sagua  la 
Grande.  Cienfuegoo.  Trinidad.  Santa  Clara.  Puerto  Principe,  Bay- 
amo  and  Holiruin.  Manzanillo*  Santiago  de  Cuba.  Quantanamo. 

Barm-Ma. 

THE  second  city  and  seaport  of  central  Cuba  is  Matan- 
zas,  about  sixty  miles  east  of  Havana.  It  was  founded 
in  1693,  and  is  the  chief  outlet  tor  that  part  of  tin-  snirar 
region  which  stretches  south  and  cast  toward  Cardenas, 
and  which  includes  the  most  fertile  lands  in  Cuba.  The 
harbor  is  large  and  capacious,  but,  like  man  \  oth,  is,  tin  oiiLrli 
the  laisser-faire  policy  of  the  Spanish  government,  has  been 
allowed  to  fill  with  sediment,  and  hence  the  larger  steamers 
are  obliged  to  load  in  the  roadstead. 

The  city  itself  is  handsomely  situated  on  the  south  and 
east  side  of  the  harbor,  on  a  lower  plane,  backed  on  all  > 
except  toward  the  sea,  by  a  noble  terrace  of  wood<-d  hills, 
out  of  which  two  beautiful  stn-ains,  th<»  Yuiuuri  and  E 
Juan,  flow  into  tin- 1  MY.     It  is  divided  into  three  parts  by 
rivers,  tin-  principal  business  part  occupying  the  central 
portion  and  extending  west  one  and  a  half  miles.    The 
chief  warehouses,  distilleries,  and  sugar-ivl'm-  »  on 

the  south  of  the  river  San  Juan,  easily  accessible  to  rail- 
roads and  lighters.  The  population  is  and  that  of 
Mfttfmrrjn»  province  271,000,  according  to  the  1893  census. 

120 


OTHI.It    (THAN    (  II  H.S 

The  priiK -i pal  industries  are  rum-distilling,  sugar-refining, 
ami  manufacture  of  guava- jelly.  There  are  railroad-car 
and  machine-shops.  Sugar  and  molasses  are  sent  to  the 
United  States,  amounting,  from  1891  to  1895,  to  $59,988,497. 
The  climate  is  fine,  and  Matanzas  is  considered  the  most 
healthful  city  on  the  island.  With  proper  drainage  and 
sanitary  arrangements  yellow  fever  and  malaria  would  be 
almost  unknown. 

The  streets  are  well  laid  out  and  paved  with  stone;  sev- 
eral handsome  plazas  with  ornamental  trees  and  flowers  are 
interspersed  here  and  there ;  and  the  houses  in  the  better 
quarters  are  large  and  neat-looking  two-story  buildings, 
the  upper  portions  of  which  are  used  as  residences.  These 
are  all  stuccoed  in  drab  or  ocher  colors,  and  have  neat  and 
ornate  balconies  along  the  second  story.  Club-houses, 
churches,  and  theaters  of  no  small  proportions  also  exist, 
and  there  is  a  handsome  administration  building.  Matan- 
zas has  a  lar^o  i»l«'asniv-l,Miilfvanl,  known  a<  tin-  1'a-  «>, 
which  is  laid  out  with  gravel  walks  and  rows  of  trees,  with 
a  stony  parapet  and  iron  gates  at  each  end  of  the  drive.  It 
is  about  a  half-mile  in  length. 

Newtown,  lying  to  the  east  of  the  city,  is  marked  by  a 
handsome  street  called  the  Calzada  de  Esteban,  and  con- 
tains in  one  block  some  of  the  most  tasteful  dwelling-houses 
to  be  seen  in  Cuba.  The  houses  are  large  and  imposing, 
having  handsome  pillared  front  porticos  with  iron  railings, 
and  generally  covered  with  extensive  luxuriant  vines. 
Prettily  colored  tiles  are  used  along  this  street  for  the 
formation  of  terraces.  The  strong  color-effects  of  these 
houses,  which  would  look  gaudy  in  our  climate,  are  very 
pleasing  in  Cuba. 

In  the  northeast  part  of  the  city,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Yumuri.  and  immediately  overlooking  the  shore  of  the  bay, 
is  the  suburb  known  as  Versailles.  This  is  a  picturesque 
spot,  the  home  of  the  boatmen  and  fish. Tim -n,  and  has  a 
look  of  antiquity  suggestive  of  the  fact  that  it  may  have 
been  the  original  site  of  the  city. 


I--1  CUBA  AND  POBTO  RIOO 


M- it-Hi 


zas  is  surrounded  by  a  beautiful  suburban  country. 


The  caves  of  Bellamar  to  the  east,  and  the  valley  of  tli<> 
Yumuri,  elsewhere  described,  are  natural  objects  which 
almost  equal  in  interest  our  V«  llowstone  Park  and  Mam- 
moth Cave.  The  aftra,  or  canon,  of  the  Yumuri,  with  its 
vertical  walls  overhanging  a  grass-covered  walk  beneath 
the  cliffs  and  by  the  beautiful  stream,  and  the  shady  waters 
of  the  San  Juan,  to  the  south  of  the  city,  are  natural  plea- 
sure-resorts such  as  no  American  city  possesses,  and  are 
fully  appreciated  by  the  Matanzans,  who  find  recreation 
therein  by  boating  and  picnicking.  The  San  Juan  is  as- 
cended by  rowboats  for  about  four  miles  to  a  sugar-estate 
known  as  Los  Molinos,  where  there  are  pretty  falls,  the 
water-power  of  which  runs  the  machinery.  Short  railway 
journeys  from  Matanzas  also  carry  one  to  many  interesting 
sugar-estates,  such  as  those  around  the  pueblo  of  Union 
and  the  famous  Concepcion  estate  of  the  Aldama  family. 

Railways  run  from  Matanzas  south,  east,  and  west,  making 
the  city  easily  accessible  from  all  parts  of  the  Vuelta  Arriba. 

Cardenas,  founded  in  1828,  is  one  of  the  few  towns  of 
Cuba  built  in  this  century.  It  lies  on  a  spacious  bay  sln-1- 
tered  by  a  long  promontory.  It  is  one  of  the  print 
sugar-exporting  places  of  the  island,  and  is  connected  by 
rail  with  Matanzas,  Havana,  Santa  Clara,  and  Cienfuegos, 
and  by  regular  steamers  with  all  the  coast  towns. 

It  is  a  thriving  place,  being  the  depot  and  shipping-port 
of  a  fine  adjacent  sugar-growing  district.  Tin •  < -ity  is  regu- 
larly laid  out  with  broad  streets,  and  has  a  fine  large  plaza 
in  the  center,  in  which  stands  a  bronze  statue  of  Columbus. 
A  large  number  of  Americans  are  engaged  in  business,  and 
form  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  mercantile  com  n  n  1 1 1  i  t  y . 
There  are  a  church,  several  cafes,  and  a  number  of  fine, 
well-built  wharves,  some  of  which  extend  a  long  distance 
from  the  shore.  The  inhabitants  <  laim  that  the  tow 
generally  a  cool  place,  but,  as  Hazard  has  remarked,  I 
cannot  at  this  moment  recollect  any  one  inducein«  nt  to  the 
••ler  to  visit  it,  unless  he  deals  in  sugar  and  molasses. 


orilEl  «  DBA!  •  BH 

Between  Cardenas  and  Juacaro,  at  the  station  of  Pijuan, 
there  was  a  very  fine  sugar-estate  known  as  tin-  Fl<»r  de 
Cuba.  It  contained  about  three  thousand  acres  of  beauti- 
ful rolling  land,  upon  which  were  a  substantial  factory  and 
elegant  dwelling. 

Sagua  la  Grande  is  the  next  place  of  importance  along 
the  north  coast,  east  of  Cardenas.  It  is  twenty-five  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  a  river  of  the  same  name,  and  two  hun- 
dred miles  from  Havana.  The  city  is  i-ntirvly  .j.-\ ..'.  d  to 
the  sugar-trade.  In  comparison  with  other  Cuban  towns 
it  is  an  unattractive  place,  although  in  climate  and  sanitary 
arranp»iu«-nts  it  is  su|N«ri«»r  to  most  j.la«-.^.  It  i-  Th.« 
eastern  north-coast  termination  of  the  Havana  railway 
system. 

A  railway  crosses  the  island  from  Sagua  to  (Vnfuegos. 
;iy  be  said  to  mark  the  boundary  between  the  Yuelta 
Arriba,  or  western  Cuba,  and  the  more  broken  configura- 
ti"ii  of  Camaguey.  East  of  this  line  for  a  considerable 
distance  the  urban  centers  of  life  and  industry  are  shifted 
from  the  northern  to  the  southern  seaboard,  toward  Cien- 
f uegos  and  Trinidad,  although  Remedies  and  Caibarien,  on 
the  north  coast  of  Santa  Clara,  are  important  places. 

Cienfuegos,  on  the  south  side,  is  a  modern  place,  situated 
on  a  magnificent  landlocked  harbor,  with  a  narrow 
entrance  known  as  the  Bay  of  Jagua.  It  was  this  bay 
t  Columbus  visited  on  his  first  voyage,  and  wtfafe 
Father  Las  Casas,  in  speaking  of,  described  as  the  most 
magnificent  port  in  the  world,  comprising  within  its  shores 
six  square  leagues.  Although  surveyed  by  Ocampo  in  1506; 
and  spoken  of  by  Herrera  as  a  haven  unrivaled  in  the 
world,  the  town  was  settled  only  in  1819  by  refugees  from 
Santo  Domingo.  Within  the  past  twenty  years  its  trade  has 
increased  enormously.  It  is  now  the  second  seaport  in  the 
island. 

The  water  of  the  bay  is  a  beautiful  transparent  green, 
through  which,  at  a  great  depth,  can  be  seen  the  white 
sandy  bottom.  Its  d.-j.th  at  th-  UMhomft  >  tw.-i.-v  — v.  :. 


1-4  CUBA  AND   PORTO  RICO 

feet,  and  at  the  wharves  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  feet.  A 
<•  uvular  railway  leading  to  a  wharf  and  large  warehouses 
facilitates  the  loading  and  unloading  of  vessels.  Many 
local  steamers  leave  the  town  for  Batabano,  Trinidad,  San- 
tiago, and  the  Isle  of  Pines.  The  many  ships  at  anchorage 
alongside  the  wharves,  and  the  picturesque  background  of 
hills,  are  imposing  sights. 

This  little  city,  which  is  the  metropolis  of  central  Cuba, 
is  a  model  of  its  kind,  has  a  population  of  J  :.*>17,  and 
is  the  center  of  the  sugar-trade  of  the  south  si.le  of  the 
island.  The  streets  are  regularly  laid  out ;  the  houses  are 
well  built ;  and  there  are  beautiful  shade-trees  and  plazas, 
one  of  which  is  the  largest  in  Cuba.  There  is  a  handsome 
main  avenue,  at  the  end  of  which  are  fine  statues  to  Gen- 
eral Serrano,  a  former  governor  of  the  island,  and  to 
General  Clouet,  a  founder  of  the  town  of  Cienfuegos,  who 
was  an  emigre  from  Louisiana. 

Cienfuegos  is  lighted  by  gas  and  elertririty,  has  abun- 
dant water-supply,  excellent  clubs,  and  a  theater.  It  has 
also  an  imposing  governor's  house,  military  and  govern- 
ment hospitals,  market-place,  and  railway-station. 

Some  of  the  largest  and  finest  sugar-estates  in  the  world 
are  situated  near  this  city,  including  the  Soledad  and  others. 
Probably  no  place  on  the  island  offers  greater  advantages 
for  seeing  sugar-making  in  its  most  favorable  aspects. 

The  climate  of  Cienfuegos  from  December  1  until  May  is 
dry  and  moderately  warm,  the  temperature  ranging  from 
60°  to  78°  during  the  day,  and  falling  several  degrees  at 
night.  At  this  season  almost  constant  winds  prevail  from 
the  northeast  or  northwest,  accompanied  by  clouds  of  du-t . 
For  the  rest  of  the  year  the  tempi-rat  nre  ranges  from  75° 
to  93°,  descending  a  few  degrees  at  night. 

Trinidad,  to  the  east  of  Cienfuegos,  dates  fn-m  th<»  first 
years  of  the  conquest  The  town  was  settled  by  Diego 
Velasquez  in  1513,  and,  like  Baracoa  and  Santiago,  repre- 
sents one  of  the  earliest  fortified  cities  of  the  New  WoiM. 
The  town  and  harbor  were  the  scene  of  many  desp< 


' 

• 


OTHER  CUBAN  CITIES 

nbats  during  the  reign  of  the  bucaneers.  Although 
the  city  is  a  short  distance  back  from  the  sea,  it  is  con- 
venient to  no  fewer  than  three  harbors  and  an  excellent 
roadstead. 

Trinidad  has  a  picturesque  setting  of  high  hills  and 
mountain-.  It  is  located  on  the  slope  of  the  mountain 
ealled  La  V  itfia("  Lookout  "),whieh  has  an  elevation  of  about 
nine  hundred  feet  above  sea-le 

about  one  league  to  the  south  ;  the  harbor  is  almost  land 
locked  and  has  very  little  depth.  \  -  -els  drawing  ten  feet 
six  inches  are  liable  to  run  aground  with  the  least  devia- 
ti.-n  I'l-Min  the  tortuous  channel.  About  half  a  mile  west 
of  Trinidad  is  the  river  Guarabo,  navigable  for  small  boats 
only.  Four  miles  east  lies  Masio  Bay,  which  will  accommo- 
date deep-draft  vessels.  The  population  numbers  about 
eighteen  thousand.  Sugar  and  a  1  i  1 1 1  e  honey  are  exported. 
The  place  is  so  situated  that  the  heavier  it  rains  the  cleaner 
it  becomes.  The  climate  is  very  healthful,  the  death-rate 
being  21  to  26  per  1000,  though  sanitary  measures  are  almost 
unknown.  The  town  and  vicinity  are  considered  the 
most  healthful  in  Cuba. 

The  streets,  with  some  exceptions,  are  narrow  and  tor- 
tuous ;  there  are  some  fine  public  buildings,  and  the  houses 
vary  from  the  humble  tiled-roofed,  one-story  affairs  of 
the  common  people  to  the  handsome  private  edifices  of  the 
wealthy.  The  market-place  is  a  very  fine  square  in  the 
southeast  end  of  the  town,  surrounded  by  barracks  and 
drill-grounds  for  the  troops.  The  Flor  de  Carillo,  situated 
near  the  center  of  the  town,  is  beautifully  laid  out  with 
vines  and  shrubbery,  shading  the  stone  walks,  and  a  pro- 
fusion of  flowers.  In  the  center  of  the  square  there  is  a 
graceful  arbor  completely  covered  with  flowering  vines. 
A  broad  stone  walk  extends  around  this  square,  lighted 
by  a  profusion  of  gas-jets,  giving  the  park  a  peculiarly 
beautiful  appearance  at  night. 

There  are  many  pleasant  drives  and  rides  around  Trini- 
dad, the  favorite  of  which  is  the  ascent  of  Vigia,  one  of 


1  J'i  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

th««  large  conical  mountains  from  which  a  grand  view  of 
the  landscape  may  be  obtained.  ThePicodel  Potr.-rillo,  the 
highest  mountain  of  central  Cuba,  is  also  accessible  from 

idad.    The  Lomo  del  Puerto  commands  a  valley  said 
t<>  l»o  the  most  beautiful  on  the  south  side  of  the  i>! 
Within  the  boundaries  of  this  valley  are  no  less  than  fifty 

uios,  or  sugar-plantations,  some  of  them  of  the  finest 
da--.  A  number  <•!'  l'«-antit'nl  stivams  of  watrr,  iii'-hidin^ 
the  Ay  and  Agabama,  unite  to  form  the  river 
which  empties  into  the  sea  east  of  Casilda.  This  stream  IB 
navigable  for  seven  miles,  and  by  it  the  planters  send  tli.-ir 
sugar  and  molasses  out  of  the  valley.  A  railroad  from 
Casilda  runs  out  of  the  valley  for  some  distance.  The 
magnificent  country  place  of  the  Cantera  family,  known  as 
the  Recreo  or  Quinta,  if  it  has  been  spared  the  devastation 
of  revolution,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  private  houses 
in  Cuba,  rivaling  even  the  palace  of  the  captain-genial 
at  Havana.  A  lovely  canon  leads  out  of  the  mountains 
just  behind  the  city.  In  the  winter  Trinidad  is  very 


East  of  Trinidad,  which  is  near  the  central  meridian  of 
the  island,  important  cities  begin  to  appear  in  the  interior, 
such  as  Santa  Clara,  Remedies,  Esperanza,  Puerto  Prin- 
cipe, and  Holguin.  These  are  all  peculiar  and  interesting 
places,  where  true  Cuban  life  can  best  be  seen,  uncontami- 
nated  by  the  modern  commercial  spirit. 

Santa  Clara  is  now  called  Villa  Clara.  It  was  founded 
in  lt>89,  and  numbered  about  twelve  thousand  inhal.it, 
many  of  whom  were  formerly  people  of  great  wealth,  the 
women  being  celebrated  for  tln-ir  Wauty.  At  the  time  of 
my  last  visit,  in  1894,  a  large  and  excellent  hotel  had  been 
constructed.  Spacious  rooms,  generous  meals,  clean  ser- 
vice, and  hospitable  attention  were  provided,  all  on  the 
I.  iropean  style,  not  equal  to  our  best  New  York  hotels, 
but  far  better  than  are  met  with  in  interior  towns  of  simi- 
lar size  in  the  United  States.  Villa  Clara  is  connected  l>\ 
two  trains  daily  with  Cieufuegos  and  Havana.  Thecoun- 


GENERAL    VIEW 


THE  CATHEDRAL 
>VM  I  LOO    i'i.  CUBA 


onn.i:  runs  <  nns 

try  in  this  portion  of  Cuba  is  diversified  bill  and  plain, 
many  superb  plantations  in  tbe  valleys. 

Pue  •••  (population  40,679),  although  remote 

from  the  sea-coast,  is  the  eh.-  of  Cuba,  and 

claims  to  be  the  most  Creole  of  Cuban  towns.    It  lies  on  a 
al.Miit  midway  between  the  two  coasts,  and  is  con- 
nected by  rail  with  Nuevitas,  to  the  northeast   It  is  almost 
as  large  as  Matanzas  and  Santiago. 

I  ii  the  basin  of  the  Cauto,  Bayamo  is  the  principal  place. 
This  is  a  very  old  town,  which  was  founded  on  a  south,  in 
affluent  of  the  main  stream  during  tbe  first  years  of  the 
eniHjiiest.  It  was  at  Yara,  a  little  southwest  of  this  place, 
that  the  great  republican  rising  took  place  in  1868.  The 
next  year,  when  the  Spanish  troops  made  their  appearance, 
the  inhabitants  themselves  set  fire  to  their  houses.  During 
the  late  revolution  Bayamo  was  an  important  stronghold. 

Holguin,  lying  to  the  northward  of  the  Cauto,  is  also  an 
important  inland  city  of  this  part  of  Cuba. 

Manzanillo  is  the  only  town  of  importance  on  the  south 
coast  between  Trinidad  and  Santiago.  This  is  a  low  place, 
ii  of  the  Cauto  delta,  and  by  nature  is,  per- 
haps, the  most  unhealthful  city  on  the  island,  not  only 
owing  to  the  marshy  surroundings,  but  because  it  is  cut  off 
by  the  high  Sierra  Maestra  from  the  health-driving  trade- 
winds  from  the  south  and  east.  Notwithstanding  these 
facts  it  is  an  important  commercial  and  exporting  point, 
being  the  outlet  of  the  fertile  Cauto  valley,  from  which  are 
shipped  large  quantities  of  tobacco,  sugar,  wax,  honey,  and 
airri'-ultural  produce. 

Santiago  de  Cuba,  the  Sant  Jago  of  the  natives,  is  a 
whi.-h  is  second  only  to  Havana  in  strategic  and  political 
importance,  and  is  the  capital  of  the  eastern  province  of 
the  island.  It  is  situated  one  hundred  miles  west  of  the 
eastern  cape  of  Cuba,  upon  a  beautiful  bay  six  miles  long, 
so  completely  landlocked  that  its  narrow  entrance  can 
hardly  be  seen  from  the  sea.  Looking  from  the  steamer's 
deck  nothing  is  visible  but  a  straight  terraced  coast-line 


128  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

rising  some  two  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  with  a  distant 
background  of  lofty  mountains,  presenting  apparently  an 
impenetrable  front ;  but  on  closer  approach  a  narrow  rent 
is  seen,  only  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  in  width,  but  of 
good  depth.  Once  within  the  harbor  t<>  which  this  passage 
gives  entrance,  one  is  well  disposed  to  join  in  the  chorus 
of  praise  which  has  been  awarded  to  it  by  sailors  and 
others,  who  describe  it  as  one  of  the  finest  in  the  world ; 
and  certainly  it  has  many  remarkable  points  of  vantage 
for  both  defense  and  anchorage. 

The  first  Spanish  colonizer  of  Cuba,  Velasquez,  was  not 
slow  to  seize  upon  the  great  natural  advantages  which  the 
harbor  presented,  and  shortly  after  establishing  the  first 
capital  at  Baracoa  he  removed  the  seat  of  government,  in 
l.'.U,  to  Santiago;  hence  the  place  may  justly  claim  to  be 
one  of  the  oldest  cities  in  America,  dating  from  the  days 
of  Columbus. 

The  bay  itself,  carved  out  of  the  limestone  bench  or  pi. 
which  here  subtends  the  mountains,  is  a  magnificent  body 
of  water.  The  steep  cliffs  of  this  plain,  indented  by 
numerous  inlets,  rise  straight  from  the  water.  As  a  back- 
ground the  magnificent  and  here  somewhat  barren  heights 
of  the  Sierra  Maestra  appear,  assuming  in  the  early  morn- 
ing the  peculiar  purple  color  seen  to  such  effect  in  the  Blue 
Mountains  of  Jamaica.  Not  only  to  tin  north,  hut  east 
and  west  also,  tall  mountains  raise  their  heads.  l'r<>m  the 
narrow  entrance  to  the  city  docks  the  whole  harbor  is  an 
enchanting  panorama.  On  the  east  point  is  Mono  <  .i<tl<>, 
which  was  built  by  the  old  Spanish  warrior  Pedro  de  la 
h'..c,-a,  al.Miit  th-  year  ir,4n.  Looking  nt  it,  one  would 
scarcely  believe  it  possessed  much  defensive  effectiveness 
when  pitted  against  modern  men-of-war.  From  the  point 
of  view  of  the  aiti-t.  however,  it  is  perfect.  A  lliirht  of 
well-worn  steps  winds  fr«>m  the  water's  edge  up  the  side  of 
the  grim  old  white-and-ydlow  cliffs, some  two  hundred  feet 
high,  to  the  solid  battlements  at  the  top,  where  the  moat, 
drawbridge, massive  walls  some  sixteen  feet  thick,  and  nu- 


SMITH    KEY 


SOCAPA 


MORRO  CASTLE 

v  \\HAOO  DE  CUBA 


(.nil  i:  OOBil   .  mis  !_".) 

merous  chambers  leading  down  to  the  water  below  are  of 
greatest  interest  On  the  same  side  as  Morro,  across  a  lit- 
tle 1  a  small  for  n  with  antique  battlements 
scaling  the  cliffs,  known  as  La  Estrella.  A  littl.-  farther 
in.  on  the  opposite  point,  is  the  battery  of  La  Boeapa, 
which  is  less  picturesque,  however.  Still  farther  in  small 
i- lands  appear,  on  one  of  \\hi«-h.  at  th<>  l.-f?.  i*  built  the  ham- 
let of  Cayo  Smith.  Th-  hit  NT  has  many  ornamental  sum  - 
cottages.  There  are  other  islands  farther  in  the  bayy 
where  the  magazines  are  located.  On  the  east  side  of  the 
bay,  toward  its  mouth,  is  a  place  used  by  the  government 
as  a  coaling-station,  known  as  Cinco  Reales.  A  large 
t'UiMi'ig  used  as  a  contagion  hospital  is  also  a  conspicu- 
ous object  The  interior  end  of  the  bay,  opposite  tin-  <  it  y, 
is  bordered  by  steep  volcanic  mountain-sides  barren  of 
vegetation  other  than  grass. 

The  town  of  Santiago  itself  stretches  along  the  east 
shore  of  the  extreme  indentation  of  the  bay,  about  six 
miles  from  Morro,  and  is  situated  upon  a  slope  leading 
down  from  the  summit  of  the  terrace  to  the  sea.  It  is  a 
quaint  and  ancient  city  of  the  characteristic  Moorish  archi- 
tecture, with  narrow  ami  hilly  streets.  The  commercial 
houses  are  shabby-looking  and  convey  but  little  idea  of 
th.«  business  transacted  therein.  Looking  at  the  tumble- 
down offices  one  can  hardly  believe  that  some  of  the 
firms  transact  operations  aggregating  several  millions  a 
year.  The  dwelling-houses  even  of  the  better  class  are 
not  pleasing  from  the  exterior,  but  have  pleasant  interior 
gardens  filial  with  a  wealth  of  gorgeou-  tn.j,i,-al  n.,w. 
orange-,  lime-,  poinsettia-,  and  hibiscus-treos  give  a  vari- 
ety of  color.  Many  of  them  are  only  one  story  high,  with 
roofs  of  red  tile,  but  thrre  are  larger  structures,  and  the 
visitor  should  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  this  is  a  six- 
teenth-century < 

The  small  Plaza  de  Annas,  where  on  Thursday  and  Sun- 
day ni^  custom  of  the  citizens  and  seftoritas  to 
promenade  while  listening  to  the  music  of  the  military 


1  ><>  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

bands,  constitutes  the  official  and  social  center  of  the  city. 
The  old  cathedral  forms  the  southern  boundary.  The 
government  house  is  opposit. .  The  Club  San  Carlos  is  a 
handsome  building  on  this  plaza.  Among  the  other  publie 
buildings  mention  may  be  made  of  the  market,  m 
plaza,  the  large  military  barracks  and  the  hospital,  near  t  he 
summit  of  the  terrace  to  the  northeast,  the  bull-ri  n -,  ami  the 
theater,  now  in  a  dilapidated  state,  in  which  it  is  claimed 
that  Adelina  Tutti,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  ami  under  the 
direction  of  Gottschalk,  made  her  d6but  on  the  publie 
stage.  There  are  no  good  hotels,  but  the  clubs  usually 
take  care  of  respectable  strangers.  In  the  northern  sub- 
urbs is  an  extensive  abattoir,  upon  the  neatly  <al«i mined 
walls  of  which  a  tablet  has  been  erected  by  the  Cubans  in 
memory  of  the  Virginius  prisoners  who  were  executed  there 
in  1S6H.  The  translation  of  the  inscription  is  as  follows: 
"  1868-1898.  Thou  who  passest  here  perceivest  consecrated 
ground.  For  thirty  years  it  has  been  blessed  with  the 
blood  of  patriots  immolated  by  tyrani; 

To  the  southward  toward  Morro,  away  from  the  filthy 
wharves,  the  littoral  becomes  im»r.  pleasant.  One  of  the 
best  features  is  the  Alameda  Christ  inn,  a  road  extending 
along  the  water-front  for  about  hal  t  v  i  t  h  a  good  sur- 

face for  cycling,  and  shaded  by  \v.  palms  ami  <»th<-r 

free*,  At  iN, -n,l  i>a  very  pretty  botani.-al  garden,  and  al.niit 
midway  in  its  course  is  a  charming  rust  ie  pavilion,  directly 
the  pi.  r  whieh  leads  to  the  comfortable  quarters 
of  the  Club  Xuiitica.  This  In-h way  also  leads  pasta  small 
but  pi. turcsque  fort  called  Punta  Blanca,  whieh  takes  its 
nan.'  tY-.n,  the  bank  of  white  sand  on  which  it  restg.  On 
the  hills  above  are  several  small  blockhouses,  built  by  the 
Spaniards.  The  road  finally  reaches  the  suburban  village 
of  La  Cru/.,  with  several  beautiful  residences  surrounded  by 
groves  of  royal  palms.  Still  beyond,  the  pier  of  th-  .lura- 
gua  Iron  Company  projects  into  the  harbor,  while  on  the 
hills  above  are  the  neat  offices,  and  at  the  very  summit, 
overlooking  the  city  and  b;  :y  residence  ki. 


>>»a 


CAUC  oc  putrro 
s\N  1IAOO   DE  CUBA 


"IHEB  CUBAN  CITIES  131 

as  the  "  Palms,"  which  has  been  made  noted  in  M  Soldiers 

of  Fort  i ; 

Santiago  is  the  center  of  the  mineral  -»f  Cuba, 

and  railways  extend  from  the  .-ity  to  the  mine*  of  the 
ions  American  iron  and  manganese  companies,  east 
along  the  coast  and  northward  through  a  high  pans  in  the 
mountains  to  the  village  of  El  Cobre,  at  the  site  of  the 
abandoned  copper-mines.  The  city  i«  largely  embargoed 
from  tho  interior  by  the  mountain*.  l»ut  much  commerce 
passes  across  the  latter  to  the  interior  vail. 
In  tli-  future  development  of  Cuba,  as  in  the  past,  Santi- 
ago will  always  be  of  more  or  less  importance,  owing  to  its 
strategic  position  near  the  Windward  Passage,  or  principal 
entrance  to  the  Caribbean.  Under  a  stable  government  the 
.  l.jacent  mountains  will  become  the  seat  of  extensive  coffee 
and  fruit  product i-n. 

The  population  in  1895  was  59,614,  many  people  having 
been  driven  away  by  the  revolution.  The  mean  tempera* 
turo  in  summer  is  88°;  in  winter,  82°.  It  is  regarded  as 
very  unhealthful,  yellow  fever  being  prevalent  throughout 
the  year,  and  smallpox  epidemic  at  certain  times.  Santi- 
ago is  the  headquarters  for  three  large  mining  plants  owned 
by  United  States  citizens,  namely,  the  Juragua,  the  Span- 
ish-American, and  the  Signa,  together  representing  the 
investment  of  about  eight  million  dollars.  There  are  a 
number  of  tobacco-factories,  but  tho  chief  business  is  the 
•  \portation  of  raw  materials  and  the  importation  of  manu- 
factured goods  and  provisions.  Sugar,  iron  ore,  manga- 
* ,  niali.-LMiiY,  hides,  wax,  cedar,  and  tobacco  are  exported 
to  the  United  States. 

Gunntnnamo  is  the  only  other  place  of  importance  on  the 
OOMt     It  is  about  fifty  miles  east  of  Santi- 
ago, ami,  In  the  interior  end  of  a  beautiful  l.ut  shal- 
lower landlocked  bay,  and  is  one  of  the  most  charming  little 
cities  in  ( 'uha.    The  coast  country,  particularly,  i*  n..t«-«: 
its  beautiful  groves  of  lime-  and  lemon-trees.    The  heir 
were  once  t :  place  for  the  residences  of  wealthy 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  BICO 

sugar-  and  coffee-planters  from  the  middle  nn«l 
regions,  where  all  the  richest  sugar-estates  are  situat.-.j. 
It  was  a  Cuban  Newport  or  Bar  Harbor.    Th<-  ,  or 

coffee-plantations,  of  Cuba— and  there  are  many  of  tin-m- 
are all  located  on  the  hills  looking  down  upon  th«-  placi.l 
waters  of  Guantanamo  Bay.  Coffee-bushes  ar«  i  in 

the  shade  of  other  and  larger  trees,  lik< •  t  he  lemon  ami  1 
which  grow  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  high,  thus  fun 
ing  the  perfect  shade  the  coffee-bush  needs.    Besides  being 
beautifully  ornamental  trees,  the  lemons  and  limes  produce 
great  quantities  of  the  finest  fruit,  which  has  a  commercial 
value  per  acre  far  exceeding  that  of  oranges. 

Mr.  William  H.  Stuart,  of  the  sugar-refining  firm  of 
R.L.  &  AYilliam  11.  Stuart  of  New  York,  the  proprietor  of 
sugar-plantation  La  Carolina,  the  finest  place  on  the  south- 
ern side  of  the  island  except  Don  Tomas  Terry's  est 
owned  a  charming  Italian  villa  on  a  point  just  opposite  and 
below  Ounntnnamo.  He  had  an  avenue  running  up  from 
the  seaside  to  his  residence,  nearly  a  mile  in  length,  laM 
down  in  shells,  and  shaded  on  either  side  by  a  growth  of 
lime-  ami  lemon-trers  f<»rthc  entire  distance.  Don  Eniilio 
de  Rivas,  another  very  rich  sugar-  and  coffee-plant,  r, 
owned  a  superb  old  mansion  on  the  heights  just  al> 
and  to  the  southward  of  Guantanamo,  in  which  w.-iv  three 
hundred  acres  of  coffee-bushes,  shaded  and  covered  by 
groves  of  lemon-trees.  His  annual  income  from  fruit  ami 
coffee  grown  here  averaged  for  over  ten  years  from  thirty- 
five  to  forty  thousand  dollars  in  goM. 

From  Guantanamo  to  Cape  Maisi,  the  eastern  point  of 
the  island  ami  th once  westward  al«.n.ir  the  northern  side  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Yumuri  of  Santiago,  one  sees  no  sign  of 
human  hal.itati«.n,  except  a  few  huts  around  the  soli^ 
lighthouse  on  the  point  of  the  island.  From  the  Yumuri 
westward  to  where  the  fin-like  string  of  keys  join  the  main- 
land are  to  be  seen  some  of  the  quaintest  ami  c.-rtainly 
oldest  places  in  An  bfl  principal  of  \vhi.-h  in  sailing 

westward  are  Baracoa,  Nipe,  Banes,  Gibara,  Padre,  and 


STRUT    ftCCHt 


OTHER  CUBAN  CITIES  1  ..I 

Nuevitas.    These  are  all  antique  and  interesting  towns, 
possessing  many  old  ruins  and  fortifications. 

Baracoa,  the  most  eastern  port  of  the  north  coast  of  the 
Man.l,  is  of  historic  interest,  inasmuch  as  it  is  one  of  th.» 
oldest  continuous  settlements  of  the  New  W..I-M.  1 
been  settled  by  Diego  Columbus,  the  son  of  ChriM.  p 
the  year  1511.    The  inhabitants— they  are  seven  thousand 
in   number— still  point  to  the  alleged  ruins  of  hi>  house, 
It  will  also  go  down  in  history  as  the  point  near  which, on 
February  20,  1895,  Antonio  Maceo  and  his  valiant  ba 
nineteen  followers,  by  a  most  daring  and  successful  ImM- 
ing,  started  the  late  revolution,  and  from  which  within  a 
year's  time  he  marched  to  the  western  extremity  of  the 
island. 

The  town  is  situated  on  a  projecting  tongue  of  elevated 
reef  rock,  at  the  point  of  which  is  a  little  star-shaped  fort  of 
medieval  structure.  The  inhabitants  show  you  where  the 
first  cross  was  erected,  and  the  ruins  of  the  first  house  can 
still  be  seen.  The  circular  harbor  is  only  a  mil*'  in  diame- 
ter, l>ut  has  a  picturesque  setting  of  high  hills  to  the  south 
and  west,  above  which  towers  the  gigantic  tlai-topp,-,!  hill 
known  as  El  Yunkue,  which  is  a  notable  landmark  to  the 
mariner  on  approaching  this  coast 

Baracoa  is  the  center  for  banana  shipments,  and  many 
steamers  here  load  with  the  finest  and  largest  fniit  grown 
in  the  West  Indies.  Its  chief  industry  is  the  ^rin.l 
cocoanuts  to  extract  oil.  There  are  two  establishments, 
wit  h  a  capacity  of  thirty  thousand  cocoanuts  daily,  employ- 
ing about  fifty  workmen.  There  are  also  a  petroleum-refin- 
ery and  a  chocolate-factory.  Bananas  and  cocoanuts  are 
exported  to  the  United  States  ($628,811  worth  in  1895). 

The  other  cities  of  this  general  region  are  also  unique, 
and,  like  Baracoa,  each  seems  to  be  the  metropolis  of  a 
limited  local  region,  cut  off  from  the  others  by  high  moun- 
tains, and  connected  with  the  outer  world  only  by  the  sea. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  FUTURE  OP  THE  ISLAM  > 

The  coming  industrial  rehabilitation.  Limitations  of  climate  and  possibil- 
ities. Opportunities  for  small  farming.  The  reopening  of  the  sugar - 
plantations.  Industrial  openings.  Future  railway  construction  and 
public  works.  Harbors  and  municipal  improvements.  Commercial 
expansion. 

WITH  the  passing  of  the  Spanish  regime  in  Cuba,  which 
has  taken  place,  one  is  naturally  inclined  to  specu- 
late concerning  its  political  and  commercial  i ut in. .  l"nder 
the  solemn  declaration  of  th<>  n— >lutiou  passed  by  both 
bodies  of  our  Congress  and  signed  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  this  country  stands  committed  to  assist  the 
Cuban os  in  establishing  an  independent  form  of  govern- 
ment. It  is  our  solemn  duty  to  fulfil  this  obligation. 
Back  of  it,  however,  is  a  strong  feeling,  upon  the  part  of 
Americans,  foreign  residents  of  Cuba,  and  Cuban*-,  that 
the  ultimate  destiny  of  this  island  will  be  absorption  into 
the  American  Union.  This  fate  has  been  desired  and 
prayed  for  by  the  people  of  the  island  for  over  half  a  cen- 
tury,  ami  predicted  by  every  intelligent  student.  That  it 
will  ultimately  be  brought  about  by  natural  and  friendly 
niran<  th'-n-  can  !»••  m»  «loul»t. 

Whether  it  remains  an  independent  republic  <>r  becomes 
a  part  of  our  territory,  it  i<  ^-m-rally  believed  that  th»« 
island  will  undergo  an  industrial  and  commercial  r.-i 

IM 


THE  FUTURE  OP  THE  IBUUTD  135 

sance  which  will  afford  openings  for  colonisation  and  in- 
vestment by  the  American  people.  Accompanying  this 
opinion  there  is  a  demand  for  information  concerning  pos- 
siiiilitifs  in  th«-st»  dilutions. 

There  are  two  important  facts  which  the  American  who 
contemplates  invading  this  prospective  field  should  bear  in 
mind.  First,  that  Cuba  is  an  old  and  settled  country  in 
whi.-h  tho  land  and  mineral  titles  are  largely  fixed,  and 
that  it  offers  no  opening  for  "  booming,"  such  as  has  fol- 
lowed the  opening  up  of  new  and  unsettled  countries, 
Real-estate  holdings  might  no  doubt  be  cheaply  acquired 
from  the  impoverished  inhabitants,  but  the  title  to  every 
acreof  Cuba  is  vested  in  some  individual;  there  are  no  large 
bodies  of  valuable  vacant  public  land. 

A  second  fact  to  be  remembered  is  that,  while  the  climate 
of  Cuba  is  in  general  salubrious  and  in  winter  delightful, 
the  island  is  situated  within  the  tropics,  and  Northern  races 
cannot  be  established  there,  except  at  the  sacrifice  of 
1  i  v<*g.  People  from  our  Southern  coastal  States,  who 
have  already  attained  a  certain  immunity  from  tropical 
disras.'s,  might  !>«'  aM««  to  rndurr  iM-rmanmt  r.->id«-n«-«.  in 
Cuba,  but  the  Northern  man  will  find  continuous 
upon  the  island  impossible  without  physical 
and  risk  of  annihilation.  Hence  the  American  who 
investment  in  Cuba  should  have  sufficient  means  to  enable 
him  to  return  frequently  to  his  native  country,  in  order  to 
recuperate  from  the  effects  of  tho  tropical  climate. 

With  n  lial.ilitation  of  Cuba  the  island  will  offer  oppor- 
tunities to  four  lines  of  investment:  agricultural  opportu- 
nities for  the  small  farmer;  fields  of  investment  for  capi- 
talists, in  the  line  of  municipal  and  puMi.-  improvements; 
••yment  for  labor;  and  the  establishment  of  winter 
homes  and  resorts  for  the  leisure  classes. 

The  possibilities  in  the  lines  of  small  agriculture,  such 
as  dairy  k-gardening,  and  fruit  .  are  un- 

limitrd.  Tho  large  city,  plantation,  and  Industrial  popu- 
lations will  all  create  a  demand  for  the  products  of  the 


GOBI     \\!'    POBTO  RICO 

vegetable  garden;  besides,  the  island  has  <  able 

opportunities  in  the  way  of  supplying  these  to  t h«-  N«  »rt : 
United  States  in  winter.  The  fruit  industry  is  bound  t<» 
become  one  of  the  most  important,  as  tin-  island 
liurly  adapted  for  the  growing  of  oranges,  lemons,  bananas, 
pineapples,  and  such  other  tropical  fruits  as  find  a  large 
consumption  in  this  country;  and  this  industry,  when 
stimulated  by  the  removal  of  tariff  restrictions,  will  un- 
doubtedly attain  in  Cuba  even  larger  proportions  than 
recently  shown  in  the  instances  of  Florida  and  the  Pacific 
coast.  The  cultivation  of  coffee,  sugar,  and  tobacco  will 
also  be  extended  and  improved  with  the  removal  of  the 
tariff  duties,  and  in  all  of  these  fields  there  is  room  for 
abundant  profit  and  pleasant  occupation. 

The  mountainous  eastern  end  of  Cuba  will  be  the  field  of 
most  profitable  fruit-  and  coffee-culture.  This  highly 
vored  region  is  the  only  one,  outside  the  Mediterranean  shore 
between  Marseilles  and  Genoa,  that  will  produce  lemons 
equal  to  those  grown  in  Sicily.  Properly  conducted,  the 
lemon-culture,  with  that  of  peaches  and  superb  n«  tarines, 
that  begin  ripening  in  May  (both  these  fruits  are  superior 
to  the  same  kind  grown  in  southern  California),  would 
become  a  great  source  of  wraith  to  the  United  States. 
Lemons  and  limes  are  more  easily  grown  than  oranges, 
and  as  the  area  of  their  production  is  limited,  there  would 
be  no  surer  agricultural  road  to  fortune  than  t  h«-ir  nil: 
tion  presents.  The  eastern  end  of  Cuba  is  one  of  the  finest 
regions  for  coffee-culture  in  the  world,  particularly  that 
portion  of  the  island  from  Santiago  to  Guantanamo, 
from  Cape  Maisi  to  Baracoa,  over  on  the  northern  side. 
If  American!  0T6V  JH,>V,.>S  this  island,  its  <>ivs,  fruits, 
healthful  climate,  and  fine  mineral  springs  will  make  it 
one  of  the  richest  countries  in  the  world.  Oranges,  too, 
grow  without  cultivation  in  all  parts  of  the  island  ;  l.ut  no 
pains  have  been  taken  by  selection  or  otherwise  to  make 
them  equal  to  the  product  of  Florida.  Pineapples  are  grown 
in  and  exported  from  western  Cuba  and  the  Isle  of  Pines. 


THE  FUTURE  OP  THE  ISLAND  137 

There  is  a  tempting  opportunity  for  men  of  small  means 
to  settle  on  the  mountain  terrace**,  and,  under  the  most 
'  «-"M«  lit  ions  of  climate  all  the  year  round,  to  make  a 
fair  livelihood  out  of  their  little  coffee-plantation,.  T 
class  of  settlers  for  whom  our  Northern  climate  is  too 
severe,  the  chances  which  Cuba  offers  for  coffee-growing 
can  hardly  fail  to  be  peculiarly  att  ami  it  is  to  them 

we  may  have  to  look  for  the  first  infusion  of  the  best 
qualities  of  the  American  among  a  community  somewhat 
deficient  in  them. 

I lauying  and  cattle-raising  also  present  fair  prosp^-tive 
openings.  In  the  eastern  provinces  the  cattle  ind 
owing  to  the  fertile  grazing-lauds  existing  there,  reaches 
considerable  proportions,  the  product  being  large  and  fine 
animals  of  Spanish  stock.  There  is  also  some  horse-breed- 
ing in  all  parts  of  the  island,  the  characteristic  Cuban 
horse  being  a  stout  pony  descended  from  Andalusian  stock, 
with  the  build  of  a  cob,  and  a  peculiar  prancing  gait  which 
is  said  to  render  it  an  exceptionally  easy  riding-animal. 
There  is  always  a  p>od  demand  for  horses,  mules,  and  OMB. 

Large  capital  will  undoubtedly  be  devoted  to  reopening 
the  sugar-plantations.  It  is  a  mistake  to  assume  that  the 
beet-sui^ar  bounties  of  continental  Kuroj.e  mu-t  n-nd--r 
unprofitable  the  growing  of  the  sugar-cane  in  Cuba.  They 
did  conti  il.uto  to  the  ruin  of  most  of  the  non-resident  pro- 
prietors, out  of  the  savings  of  whose  stewards  and  super- 
intendents the  modern  city  of  Barcelona— the  Liverpool  of 
the  Mediterranean— is  said  to  have  been  built.  But  all 
the  methods  of  sugar  production  practised  under  these  au- 
spices were  grossly  wasteful,  and  even  under  the  conditions 
which  existed  at  the  outbreak  of  the  latest  rebellion,  when 
there  were  two  successful  sugar-crops  of  over  a  million 
tons,  there  was  a  needless  waste.  Machinery  has  been 
brought  up  to  the  latest  standard,  and  the  transportation 
of  the  cane  to  the  mill  has  been  cheapened  by  the  construc- 
tion of  narrow-gage  railroads,  but  the  processes  of  agri- 
culture are  still  capable  of  improvement  When  it  i» 


138  CUBA   AND   POBTO   RICO 

remembered  that  three  fourths  of  the  cost  of  sugar  pro- 
duction belongs  to  the  agricultural  side,  and  only  one 
fourth  to  the  mechanical  side,  t he  extent  of  the  opportunity 
that  exists  for  improvement  will  be  appreciated. 

Roughly  speaking,  there  is  an  average  of  two  hundred 
pounds  of  sugar  to  every  two  thousand  pounds  of  cane. 
Under  the  most  favorable  conditions  there  may  be  three 
hundred  pounds  of  sugar  to  the  ton  of  cane.  But  if  this 
attainable  maximum  of  fifteen  per  cent  of  sugar  could  be 
increased,  as  it  readily  might,  by  more  careful  rutting, 
planting,  and  cultivating,  to  twenty  per  cent.,  there  would 
be  an  immediate  increase  of  thirty-three  per  cent,  in  the 
yield,  with  little,  if  any,  increase  in  the  cost  of  raising  and 
harvesting. 

The  advantage  which  Cuba  possesses  over  all  the  other 
West  Indian  Islands  in  the  matter  of  sugar-growing  has 
already  been  alluded  to.  To  this  should  be  added  the 
notable  advantage  of  the  possession  of  deep  harbors,  ad- 
mitting of  direct  shipment  without  lighterage,  and  a  con- 
sequent saving  in  freight,  representing  an  appreciable 
percentage  of  profit.  That  an  increased  production  of 
sugar  would  add  to  the  wealth  of  Cuba  and  the  purchasing 
capacity  of  its  people  is  sufficiently  plain.  Considering, 
however,  that  sugar-growing  is  a  branch  of  agriculture 
best  conducted  on  a  large  scale  by  men  of  capital,  employ- 
ing, generally,  low-priced  labor,  the  regeneration  of  the 
island  can  hardly  be  looked  for  from  this  sour< 

The  chief  opening  for  American  energies  will  be  found 
in  the  line  of  pul.lic  improvements.  Railways  must  be 
const ruct.-d,  cities  improved,  waterworks  and  sewerage 
•/•tan!  Mtalilishcd,  harl.ors  divdircd,  and  a  thousand  and 
one  public  works  undertaken  which  Spain  has  long  neg- 
lected, and  which  are  necessary  to  the  large  population 
which  the  island  already  possesses.  Concern i UK  the  pros- 
pects in  these  directions,  we  can  present  them  no  1.. 
than  ny  summarizing  the  opinions  recently  expressed  by 
Mr.  W.  B.  Scaife,  an  American  engineer  who  has  had  long 


THE  FUTURE  OP  THE  ISLAND  1  .'• 

acquaintance  with  the  island, and  who  "has  entir.  faith  in 
an  ultimate  l.ri^ht  future  for  Spain  and  Cuba,  when  some 
\\VMrrn  li^ht  >lmll  -him-  tliP.uu'h  t  h«-  j.r.  — -nt  falkBM%Md 
the  people  have  half  a  chance  to  educate  their  chiMren  and 
take  some  real  part  in  the  government  of  their  country.' 

The  various  directions  in  which  industrial  and  engineer- 
ing works  may  be  carried  out  may  be  generally  stated  to 
be  the  same  as  those  which  present  themselves  in  any  new 
country,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Cuba  is  the  oldest  settle- 
inont  ii  ;u  The  opportunity  for  the  building  of  com- 

mon roads  is  larger,  and  in  most  places  there  is  an  abundance 
of  stone  for  the  purpose.  The  roads  cross  rivers,  etc.,  by 
fords,  which  are  impassable  soon  after  the  rains  set  in,  and, 
alt  hough  the  streams  are  neither  large  nor  very  numerous, 
the  necessity  for  bridges  is  great  A  glance  at  the  map 
will  show  that  the  great  bulk  of  the  island  to  the  east  of 
Santa  Clara  is  yet  untouched.  Part  of  the  region  is  still 
unexplored.  In  tho  cultivation  of  the  cane,  both  in  the 
preparing  of  the  land  and  in  the  planting  and  harvesting, 
there  is  a  crying  need  of  machinery.  Tho  planting  of  the 
cane  is  nearly  all  done  by  hand.  There  are  a  few  cane- 
planting  machines,  but  little  is  known  about  them.  The 
weeding  is  done  by  hand  in  the  majority  of  instances,  and 
finally  the  harvesting  is  done  with  a  knife ;  and  a  laborious 
business  it  is.  It  takes  five  hundred  men  per  day 
the  cane  alone  on  a  large  estate,  to  say  nothing  of  loading 
and  teaming  to  the  railroad-tracks;  and  the  man  who  can 
successfully  solve  the  problem  of  a  cane-harvester  has  a 
large  field  to  work  in. 

The  supplying  of  the  sugar-houses  with  new  machinery 
has  been  an  enormous  business  in  the  last  decade.  It  has 
been  in  tho  hands  of  the  Scotch,  French,  and  American 
machine-houses  mostly,  as  the  German  and  other  Conti- 
nental houses  have  fought  shy  of  the  long  credits  demanded, 
the  insufficient  security,  and  the  general  lack  of  faith  in 
Cuban  business  affairs.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  nun-h 
new  business  in  this  direction  must  spring  up  with  the 


140  CUBA   AND   POBTO   RICO 

settlement  of  the  present  troubles,  and  it  will  doubtless 
gain  in  security  with  time. 

No  electric  roads  exist  in  Cuba  at  the  present  time,  but 
their  immediate  institution  may  be  looked  for.  It  is  a 
singular  fact  that  the  travel  on  the  various  coasting- 
Meam.-r>,  on  tli«-  vessels  niiniiii^  uj i  t he  small  riv.-rs,  on  the 

railroads,  and  on  the  few  busses  that  run  to  the  suburbs 
of  the  larger  towns,  is  very  much  larger  than  one  wouM 
expect  from  the  apparent  nature  of  the  people  and  their 
means.  The  writer  has  constantly  h.-en  surprised  at  the 
overcrowding  of  these  means  of  travel,  and  understands, 
on  the  best  authority,  that  the  business  pays  handsomely. 
The  rates  charged  are  usually  exorbitant. 

The  extension  and  improvement  of  steam-railways,  open- 
ing up  the  country  and  giving  better  service,  is  sure  to  be 
a  very  paying  business  in  the  future,  while  there  are  a 
number  of  towns,  besides  Havana,  in  which  electric  roads 
could  be  run  in  advantage. 

Municipal  improvements  will  also  give  much  work  to 
engineers.  First  among  these  is  the  drainage  of  the  towns. 
The  sewers,  where  any  exist,  are  horrible  things,  built 
without  the  most  elementary  knowledge,  in  which  the  con- 
gested tilth  of  year>  breeds  disease  an«l  vile  odor*.  Means 
of  flushing  them  do  not  exist,  and  undoubtedly  the  dump- 
ing of  house-refuse  and  emptying  of  substitutes  for  wa 
closets  along  the  curbstone  are  less  dangerous  to  health 
than  such  a  sewerage  system.  To  this  abominable  condi- 
tion of  the  towns  may  be  traced  the  prevalence  of  fevers, 
smallpox,  and  dysentery.  These  diseases  are  uncommon 
on  the  isolated  estates,  and  the  writer  firmly  believes  they 
may  be  almost  entirely  eliminated  from  the  island  by 
giving  attention  in  the  towns  to  the  ordinary  rules  of 

:.. 

Another  and  equally  important  need  in  Cuban  towns  is 
water.    Havana  is  pretty  well  .supplied,  but  in  most  other 
towns  there  is  very  little  or  none  besides  the  rain-\\ 
stored,  during  the  wet  season,  in  great  stone  cisterns  be- 


111 

neatb  the  houses.  It  is  not  that  tin*  people  in  general  do 
not  fully  appreciate  the  necessity  and  luxury  of  wat.-r,  hut 
th,it  the  executive  power  is  lacking.  Taxes  are  raised  for 
this  purpose,  and  special  taxes  are  sometimes  levied  to 
i.iiiM  new  works,  or  for  coal  to  keep  the  pump  goin^r 
(an. I  thi-  may  serve  as  an  instance  of  many  transact 
the  money  is  calmly  banked  to  t  h.-  .T.-.h!  of  the  officials,  or 
the  coal  is  bought  and  resold  for  th.-ir  t«nefit  Water  \» 
•  ir  in  the  towns  during  the  dry  season,  and  might 
easily  be  had.  Excellent  springs  abound  in  most  places, 
and  small  rivers  of  good  water  are  fairly  common. 

Connected  with  the  cities  and  towns  may  l*»  «-it.-.l  Imrbor 
improvements,  Cuba  is  the  land  of  fine  harbors,  Havana, 
Matanzas,  Santiago,  Gnantanamo,  Cienfuegos,  and  many 

less  important  spots  have  splendid  harbors,  and. 
the  exception  of  Matanzas,  which  is  wide  at  the  mouth,  t  li- 
en trances  are  so  narrow  that  inside  they  resemble  inland 
lakes  in  form  and  tranquillity.  But  more  piers  and  wharves 
for  sea-going  vessels  are  much  needed. 

Much  loading  and  unloading  is  done  by  means  of  light- 
ers. Money  is  collected  for  the  construction  of  piers 
and  the  dredging  of  approaches  to  them,  but  no  work  is 
done,  for  a  very  profitable  understanding  seems  to  exist 
between  the  owners  of  the  lighters  and  the  city  govern* 
ments  on  these  points.  Such  a  condition  of  things  cannot 
rout  inue  for  very  long.  In  a  prosperous  season  Cuba  ships 
a  million  tons  of  sugar  alone,  and  sun  ly,  under  a  half- 
enlightened  government,  this  were  worth  an  occasional 
pier. 

What  the  iron  and  copper  deposits  may  amount  to,  it  is 
now  impossible  to  say,  but  that  both  exist  in  paying  quan- 
tities is  undoubted.  In  the  total  absence  of  any  official 
reports  on  which  the  smallest  reliance  can  be  placed,  the 
prospecting  engineer  must  attack  the  problem  of  Cuban 
mining  from  the  very  beginning.  All  one  can  say  at  pres- 
ent is  that  the  field  is  a  promising  one.  The  ore  deposits 
lie  near  the  coast,  and  the  large  shipments  of  iron  ore, 


1  U  CUBA  AND   POBTO  RICO 

even  in  these  troubled  times,  att<  >t  its  value  in  the  eyes  of 
American  buyers.    However,  the  mining  indus'  1  be 

•  ..nt'm«l  to  the  mountainous  region  of  eastern  Cuba. 

In  looking  at  the  future  development  of  Cuba  we  have 

to  consider  the  question  of  labor.    This  is  of  three  kinds 

— whit*-,  black,  and  yellow.    The  white  labor  consisted  of 

native  Cubans,  natives  of  the  Canary  Islands,  and  Span- 

i  s,  of  whom  the  latter  are  far  the  best  for  general  work. 

The  war  has  seen  the  complete  overturning  of  tin-  island's 
labor  system,  and  the  destruction  and  demoralization  of 
the  laborers.  No  white  man  can  do  manual  labor  in  the 
tropics  continuously  and  live,  unless  he  be  of  the  Latin 
races.  In  the  adjacent  islands,  especially  Jamaica,  there 
is  a  large  surplus  of  negroes  who  might  be  attracted  t<> 
the  island,  but  as  a  laboring  class  these  negroes  are  unreli- 
able ;  besides,  there  is  a  potent  danger,  which  we  need  not 
mention,  in  introducing  this  class  into  Cuba.  The  blacks 
of  our  Southern  States  might  be  drawn  upon  in  this  con- 
nection, but  notwithstanding  our  tendency  to  discourage 
them  at  home,  we  have  no  surplus  of  industrious  ones  to 
spare.  Altogether  the  most  prolific  source  of  laborers  must 
be  the  southern  lands  of  Europe,  and  the  stream  of  immi- 
gration from  them  which  now  pours  into  our  Northern 
States,  if  deflected  to  Cuba,  would  soon  supply  the  demand. 

If  good  government  be  establish  ilw,  it  will  un- 

doubtedly become  the  Riviera  of  the  western  hemisphere. 
For  natural  beauty,  picturesqueness,  geniality  of  climate, 
and  opportunities  for  rest,  amusement,  and  recr.  ati«.i 
d  i  versified  landscape,  mineral  springs,  and  surrou  n  d  i  n  x  seas 
are  unequaled  by  those  of  southern  France  and   I 
Here,  undoubtedly,  thousands  of  Americans  will  annually 
seek  winter  rest  and  recreation  when  peace  is  restored  and 
-anitation  established. 

It  may  seem  paradoxical  to  speak  of  the  advantages  of 
Cuba  as  a  health-resort  in  its  present  unsanitary  condit  i«  m, 
l.ut  we  feel  no  hesitancy  in  saying  that  for  the  <>\,  rum 
debilitated  man  of  business,  or  one  whose  system  has  be- 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  ISLAND 

come  reduced,  the  climate  and  scenes  of  Cuba  will  work 
wonders;  but  the  atmosphere  is  fatal  for  consumption  or 
other  pulmonary  complaint*.  It  is  safe  to  visit  the  island 
after  December,  and  the  unaoclimated  can  remain  even  until 
the  first  of  June,  although  in  May  it  is  very  hot,  and  fever 
appears  among  the  shipp 

The  chief  advantage  to  UK  of  the  liberation  of  Cuba  will  be 
the  benefits  which  will  accrue  to  our  commerce,  as  a  result  of 
the  removal  of  the  restrictions  upon  trade.  The  onesided 
condition  which  now  exists,  whereby  we  purchase  nine 
tenths  of  the  products  of  the  island  and  sell  it  only  one 
quarter  of  its  food  and  manufactured  articles,  will  eoase. 
The  lumber  of  our  Southern  seaboard,  the  foodstuffs  of 
the  Western  farmer,  and  the  manufactured  articles  of  the 
East,  will  find  increased  and  profitable  consumption. 
Under  any  possible  settlement  of  the  political  and  eco- 
nomical status  of  Cuba,  the  thirty  millions  of  annual  im- 
ports from  Spain  would  be  drawn,  for  the  most  part,  from 
On  United  State* 


*AL  NOTE  ON  THE  ISLE  OF  PINES 


THE  pnn.-ij.al  of  the  outlying  islands  considered  geo- 
graphically as  a  part  of  Cuba  is  the  Isle  of  Pines,  v 

uated  about  thirty-right  miles  south  of  the  coast  of 
This  is  the  only  one  of  the  adjacent  islands 
u  hi.-h  is  not  merely  an  elevated  reef  or  mangrove  swamp, 
and  which  has  a  geologic  structure  and  configuration 
parable  to  the  mainland  Its  area  of  1214  square  miles  is 
almost  equal  to  the  combined  area  of  the  other  thirteen 
hum  In  <l  islands  and  islets. 

The  island  is  circular  in  outline,  and  almost  divided  by 
a  bayou,  or  salty  depression,  into  two  divisions,  the  south- 
ernmost of  which  is  a  vast  cienaga,  occupied  only  by  a 
i  ul  of  fishermen.    The  main  portion  of  the  island  is 
-ified,  being  dominated  by  a  central  ridge  of  low 


144  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

mountains  extending  from  east  to  west,  rising  to 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea.    Elsewhere  the  island  is  quite 
flat,  consisting  of  land  which  represents  a  coralline  plain 
r«  ,  nth-  reclaimed  from  the  sea. 

Steamers  from  Batabano  run  to  Santa  F6  and  Nueva 
Gerona.  The  latter  place  is  a  very  small  town  at  the  foot 
of  the  hills,  with  plains  of  palm-trees  in  its  neighborhood, 
the  town  itself  being  on  the  Rio  de  Serra  de  Casa,  some 
distance  from  its  mouth.  Santa  F6,  which  is  the  chief 
place  of  resort  for  travelers,  is  a  miserable  congregation  of 
houses  on  the  banks  of  the  river  of  the  same  name,  some 
distance  from  its  mouth,  and  also  some  distance  from  the 
steamboat  landing.  This  landing  is  a  rough  wooden  wharf, 
from  which  carriages  and  stages  ply  to  Santa  Fe*.  In  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  Santa  Fe*  there  are  beautiful 
drives  and  walks,  where  the  country  is  more  rolling  and 
even  hilly. 

The  climate  of  the  Isle  of  Pines  is  delightful ;  the  air  is 
pure,  dry,  and  balmy,  and  the  winds  coming  from  the  sea, 
passing  over  pine  forests,  are  gentle  and  invigorating. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  island  are  a  very  simple,  kind- 
hearted  set  of  people,  and  very  fond  of  a  chat  with  stran- 
gers, with  a  natural  dignity  of  manner  and  courteously 
hospitable  ways. 

For  many  years  a  large  penal  colony  has  been  maintained 
on  the  island,  consisting  mostly  of  Cuban  revolutionists. 


I  . 


CHAPTER  XV 

POBTO  RICO— SITUATION   AND  PHYSICAL  FEATURES 

Configuration.     Outline.     Picturesque  topography.     Drainage.     Abun- 
dance of  rivers.    Flora  and  fauna.    Geology.    Climate,    Hygiene  and 


T)ORTORICO  has  been  poetically  described  as  "one  of  the 
JL  most  lovely  of  all  those  regions  of  loveliness  which  are 
washed  by  the  Caribbean  Sea ;  even  in  that  archipelago  it 
is  distinguished  by  the  luxuriance  of  its  vegetation  and  the 
soft  variety  of  its  scenery."  Situated  at  the  eastern  ex- 
treme of  the  Ant  i  1  loan  chain,  a  thousand  miles  from  Havana, 
it  presents  many  strange  contrasts  to  Cuba.  Although 
children  of  the  same  mother,  the  Cuban  island,  so  varied 
in  relief,  configuration,  diversity  of  resources,  and  settlf- 
nu'iits,  seems  continental,  compnnMl  with  Porto  Rico,  which 
is  a  small  insular  microcosm,  only  one  twelfth  the  area  of 
the  former  island,  and  hardly  equal  in  dimensions  to  its 
smallest  province,  yet  ten  times  more  densely  populated. 
In  form  of  government,  and  in  the  character  and  condition 
of  the  people,  there  are  even  stronger  contrasts  between 
M  conn  tries,  one  having  been  a  despotically  ruled  col- 
ony, whose  children  despised  the  race  from  which  they 
spnmu':  th»>  <>thor  an  integral  part  of  Spain,  whose  people, 
until  lat.lv,  r.-jnic,',!  in  t  ho  name  of  Spaniards.  The  Cubans 
were  fired  with  th«»  spirit  of  progress  and  infected  with 
Ani.M-icaii  notions,  while  the  Porto  Ricans  plodded  along 
in  contentment,  without  permitting  serious  thoughts  of 

10 


CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

revolution  to  bring  insomnia  to  a  Utopian  land  where  sleepi- 
ness is  not  a  crime. 

Porto  Rico  is  the  smallest  and  most  eastern  of  the  four 
Great  Antilles ;  at  the  same  time,  the  most  productive  in 
proportion  to  area,  the  most  densely  settled,  the  most  firmly 
established  in  its  customs  and  institutions.  It  is  also 
'notable  among  the  West  Indian  group  for  the  reason  t 
its  preponderant  population  is  of  the  white  race,  and  ' 

•roduces  foodstuffs  almost  sufficient  to  supply  its  in- 
'habitants,  as  well  as  some  of  the  neighboring  islands. 

Although  it  nowhere  attains  the  great  altitudes  of  the 
other  Antilles,  the  island  is  practically  the  eastward  con- 
tinuation of  the  Antilleun  chain  of  uplifts.  It  rises  from 
the  shallow  submerged  bank  which  borders  it  for  a  few 
miles,  and  \vh:«-h  is  a  continuation  of  that  of  the  other 
Antilles.  Thus,  it  is  the  upward  extension  of  the  remark- 
able slope  which,  at  least  on  the  north  side,  descends 
nearly  thirty  thousand  feet  to  the  bottom  of  the  Brownson 
Deep,  until  recently  supposed  to  be  the  deepest  hole  in  the 
worM. 

Its  outline  presents  the  appearance  of  an  almost  geo- 
metrically regular  parallelogram,  nearly  three  times  longer 
than  broad,  with  its  four  sides  following  the  four  < -annual 
directions.  The  sea-line,  unlike  that  of  Cuba,  is  almost 
straight,  and  the  coast  is  usually  low,  especially  on  the 
southern  side,  although  there  are  some  headlands.  It  is 
almost  void  of  friuLring  keys  or  deep  indentations  of  its 
coast,  such  as  border  the  island  of  Cuba. 

Porto  Rico  is  95  miles  long,  35  miles  wide,  and  has  an 
area  of  3668  square  mil—.  The  coast-line  is  about  360 
mil—  in  1. -nirth.  Its  area  is  300  square  miles  greater  than 
that  of  Delaware  K'ho.l,.  Man-Laml  t \w  District  of  <  olmn- 
bia  combined,  and  1300  less  than  that  of  Connecticut  or 

.lamai.-a. 

The  general  aspect  of  the  island  is  -ated, 

mountainous   landscape;   its  lofty  sunnniN   an  i 
plains,  the  abundance  of  flowing  streams,  tl 


PORTO  RICO— SIT1/ AH.  >x  AND  PHYSICAL  FEATURES       147 

vegetation,  including  palms  which  elevate  their  fronds 
above  the  lower  stratum  of  evergreen,  the  bright  patches 
of  cultivated  fields,  the  clear  skies,  mild  temperature,  and 
i  n  \  ip  nat  i  ng  winds,  give  to  the  country  an  engaging  aspect 

The  configuration  of  the  land  is  that  of  a  low  central 
mountain  range  extending  through  its  greatest  length,  with 
angular  slopes  and  valleys.  These  mountains,  which  are  a 
continuation  <>f  the,  Great  Antillean  summits  previously 
described,  extend  from  the  western  cape,  San  Francisco, 
north  of  Mayaguez,  to  the  northeast  corner  of  the  island. 
Their  culmination  is  found  toward  the  east  end.  Their 
highest  peak,  about  3609  feet,  is  the  Yunque  of  the  Sierra 
Luquillo.  The  main  crest  of  the  mountains,  which  parallels 
the  south  coast,  is  known  toward  the  east  as  the  Sierra  de 
Cayey.  The  westward  ramifications  of  the  system  have 
ions  names.  North  of  San  German  and  Yauco  there 
are  some  notable  summits,  known  as  the  Tetas  de  Montero 
and  Mount  (Juilarte  respectively.  On  some  of  the  higher 
portions  of  the  sierras  are  remnants  of  the  virgin  forests 
w  Inch  once  clad  the  entire  island.  The  slopes  are  angular, 
and  the  divides  are  knife-crests,  until  they  approach  the 
littoral,  where  they  are  superseded  by  low  hills,  broken 
tli rough  by  wide  and  beautiful  plains,  well  drained  and 
void  of  extensive  marshlands. 

The  northern  district  is  wet,  subject  not  only  to  .the  pe- 
iical  rains  of  the  West  Indies,  but  also  visited  by  daily 
showers,  hence  it  is  adapted  to  the  more  ordinary  kinds 
of  cultivation;  while  the  southern  part  of  the  island  is 
frequently  without  rain  for  many  months,  though  even 
there  water  is  always  found  half  a  yard  beneath  the  sur- 
face. 

ta  rivers  are  numerous  and  copious.  There 
are  hundreds  of  streams,  the  principal  of  which  are  the 
Loiza  or  Rio  Grande,  Bayamon,  Plata,  Cibuco,  Mai 
Anvibo,  ("anniy.  and  (hiajataca,  which  How  to  the  north. 
and  the  CuM.rinas,  Anasco,  Guanajibo,  and  Mayaguez, 
flowing  to  the  west ;  the  Portug6s,  Jacaguas,  Descalabrado, 


148  CUBA  AND  EDBTO  RICO 

Coamo,  Guamani,  and  Guayanes,  to  the  south,  ami  th<> 
Humacao,  Naguabo,  and  Fajardo,  to  the  east  Some  of 
these  are  navigable  for  canoes  for  a  distance  of  t  hree 

leagues,  but  have  troublesome  bars  across  their  mouths. 
The  facilities  for  driving  machinery  by  water-  and  steam- 
power,  for  generating  electricity,  and  for  irrigation  are  more 
common  than  is  usual  on  islands  of  this  size.  There  is  an 
almost  total  absence  of  the  stagnant  water  which  so  often 
vitiates  the  atmosphere  of  tropical  countries. 

The  island  contains  eight  small  coastal  lakes,  known  as 
Martiupena,  Tortuguero,  Pinofies,  and  Cano  Tiburones,  on 
the  north  side;  Albufera  de  Joyuda,  on  the  east;  Flamen- 
cos, Cienaga,  and  Guanica,  on  the  south. 

Notwithstanding  the  normally  peaceful  conditions  which 
have  prevailed  in  this  island,  there  has  been  little  or  no 
systematic  exploration  of  it.  There  is  no  record  of  any 
topographic  or  geological  survey  making  known  either 
the  details  of  its  relief  or  its  exact  area.  Neither  has 
its  geology,  flora,  or  fauna  been  systematically  published. 
The  sum  total  of  English  -•i.-ntific  literature  upon  the 
island  would  hardly  fill  a  page  of  this  book.  Since  coming 
under  American  control,  however,  the  efficient  wi.-i.tiiir 
organizations  of  the  government  have  studied  this  islaml. 
ami  at  the  present  writing  it  i-  U  ing  thoroughly  explored. 
A  flood  of  information  will  no  doubt  soon  be  published. 

Porto  Rico  has  long  been  famous  for  the  beauty  of  its 
flora,  but  little  study  has  been  made  of  it .  Tho  island  was 
especially  noted  for  th<>  number  and  size  of  its  trees,  par- 
ticularly those  of  the  higher  regions,  but  these  are  nearly 
Ppo«l  away.  The  upland  forests,  which  in  a  general 
manner  resemble  those  of  the  other  islands,  are  largely 
destitute  of  epiphytes  and  other  parasitic  vegetation,  tuefe 
as  ordinarily  mantle  the  tropical  trees,  but  on  the  arid  hills 
of  the  south  coast  epiphytes  abound. 

Among  the  upland  trees  mentioned  by 
era!  species  of  palms  (Euterpe) ;  a  beautiful  talauma,  with 
immense  odorous  flowers  and  silvery  leaves,  its  wood, 


POBTO  BICO—  SITUATION  AND  PHYSICAL  FEATURES       149 


called  tdhhio,  being  used  for  timber;  a  hirtella,  with  crim- 
son flowers  ;  an  unknown  species  with  beautiful  orange-like 
foliage  and  purple  flowers;  a  tall  lobelia;  and  a  larp'  h«-li- 
conia.  The  tree-ferns  are  also  represented  by  two  species. 
Another  conspicuous  tree  forming  extensive  woods  is  the 
Cocobola  macrophylln,  with  immense  purple  spikes  more 
than  a  yard  long.  A  hard  wood  called  ausubo  is  common 
upon  the  island,  which  is  much  used  for  the  construction 
of  ItuiMinir-tYames.  Hard  and  soft  Spanish  cedar,  ebony, 
and  the  West  Indian  sandalwood—  the  non-fragrant  kind 
commonly  used  for  making  the  backs  of  hair-brushes—are 
common.  There  are  also  many  other  excellent  woods  for 
construction,  locally  known  as  capo  blanca,  capo  prieto, 
laurel,  willow,  guyacan,  ucar,  espeguelo,  moca,  maricao, 
ortegon,  tachuelo,  cedro,  cojoba,  acetillo,  guraguao,  algar- 
robo,  maga,  yaiti,  palo  santo,  tortuguillo,  zerrezuele,  and 
iruyarote.  All  of  these  are  becoming  rare,  however. 

The  natives  enumerate  over  twenty-eight  medicinal 
plants;  a  dozen  which  are  used  for  condiments;  twelve 
useful  for  dyes  and  tanning;  eight  resinous  trees;  and 
many  large  trees  which  have  edible  fruits,  such  as  the 
cocoanut,  the  aguacate,  oranges,  lemons,  mango,  and 
mamey. 

The  island  is  singularly  free  from  native  mammals,  with 
the  exception  of  bats,  rats,  a  single  species  of  agouti,  and 
the  marine  manatee,  although  domestic  species,  when  in- 
tt-xluced,  have  flourished.  In  the  mountains  are  many 
}»inls,  including  doves  and  several  other  small  species; 
flamingos  and  other  water-birds  are  numerous  along  the 
coast 

There  are  several  species  of  fishes  in  the  fresh  water,  lo- 
cally known  by  the  names  of  liza,  robalo,  dajao,  and  gua- 
vina.  The  most  interesting  thing  of  the  Porto  Rican  land 
fauna  is  an  alleged  gigantic  tortoise,  differing  only  in  size 
from  the  land-turtle  still  found  on  the  island  of  Trinidad 
and  adjoining  parts  of  South  America.  It  is  said  by  Agassiz 
to  be  closely  allied  to  the  large  tortoise  of  the  Galapagos 


150  <  DBI    ANl.    I'MlMu 

and  Maacarene  Islands,  and  to  the  fossil  land-turtles  found 
in  Sombrero  and  Barbuda. 

The  hills  along  the  northern  and  southern  coasts  are 
fragments  of  a  very  thick  series  of  white  limestones  wli 
have  been  cut  through  by  rivulets  and  by  denudation. 
Near  San  Juan  this  covering  is  soft.  In  most  places  it  is 
hard,  and  whit«»  in  color.  These  strata  are  very  little  in- 
clined, ami  'iij*  from  the  axis  of  the  island  to  the  sea  at  a 
very  low  angle.  The  coastal  limestones  contain  fossils 
which  show  them  to  be  identical  in  age  with  the  Tertiary 
rocks  of  the  other  Antilles.  These  limestones  rest  against 
an  older  formation  constituting  the  mountainous  interior. 
Tiiis  consists  of  igneous  conglomerates,  tuffs,  and  otlu-r 
volcanic  rock,  very  similar  to  the  older  rocks  of  Jamaica 
(the  Blue  Mountain  series)  and  of  the  Virgin  Islands,  of 
which  they  are  probably  an  extension.  The  rocks  of  the 
littoral  are  composed  of  sands  and  white  limestone,  and  in 
part  of  elevated  coral  reef,  or  seborucco,  so  common  on  the 
other  Antillean  lands,  but  not  so  abundant  as  in  Cuba. 
Great  living  reefs  abound  on  the  eastern  submerged  plat- 
form, along  the  south  coast  of  the  island,  about  four  miles 
offshore,  and  off  the  north  coast 

A  littlt-  f  «la. -or  gold  is  found  in  the  rivers  of  the  Sierra  Lu- 
qnillo  and  Corazal,  and  mercury  in  the  Rio  Grande.  Gold  was 
formerly  mined  by  the  early  Spanish  settlers,  and  is  still 
taken  out  in  small  quantities  by  the  natives.  Molybdena, 
magneti*  j.\  rit.-.  manganite,  limonite,  chrysocollo,  epidote, 
and  garnet  are  the  minor  minerals  found.  Specular  iron 
is  reported  in  several  places,  notably  on  the  Rio  Cuyul. 
Magnetic  iron  ore  is  also  reported  from  Gurabo,  Ciales,  and 
Jnncoft.  Crystals  of  quartz  are  fouml  in  th<>  Rio  Prieto; 
agate  of  good  quality  at  Kaja  de  Muestos,  and  malachite 

Among  the  natural  features  of  int-r-st  in  the  island  are 
the  cave  of  Aguas-Bnenas,  in  the  village  of  the  same  name ; 


»  tot  *  report  on  "The  Mineral,  of  Porto  Bleo"  (United  Sutet  Geological 
18M). 


POBTO  RIOO— Si  s    AND   PHYSICAL   FEATURES       1">1 

grand  cave  of  Pajita  iu  Lares;  the  cave  of  Muertos  in 
Utuado ;  the  cascade  of  Santa  Alalla  in  Bayamon ;  and  the 
salines  of  the  Cacique  in  Guanica.  There  are  also  many 
thermal  and  mineral  waters,  such  as  the  warm  springs  of 
Coamo,  Quintana,  and  others. 

On  a  mountain  near  the  center  of  the  village  of  Hormi- 
gueros,  near  Mayaguez,  is  the  shrine  of  Montserrat,  which 
was  formerly  much  visited  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  island, 
and  by  many  from  St.  Thomas,  Santa  Cruz,  Dominica,  Gua- 
deloupe, Curasao,  and  Martinique. 

The  climate  of  Porto  Rico,  although  warm,  is  agreeable 
and  healthful.  The  average  daily  temperature  is  80°  I-'., 
but  it  is  ameliorated  by  cooling  breezes,  which  generally 
prevail  during  the  hottest  day-.  The  mean  monthly  tem- 
perature of  San  Juan,  as  determined  by  observations  ex- 
tending through  twenty  years,  is  78.9°  F.  The  maximum 
heat,  attained  only  three  times  during  this  period,  was 
99°,  the  minimum  57.2°.  The  thermometer  usually  rises  to 
88°  F.  at  midday,  and  sinks  to  80.6°  F.  at  night  In  the 
cool  mornings  it  ordinarily  stands  at  69.8°  F.,  but  some- 
times  falls  as  low  as  60.8°  F.  The  interior  highlands  are 
cooler,  and  the  nights  are  sometimes  disagreeably  so, 
although  snow  never  falls,  and  hail  but  rarely. 

The  hottest  months  are  June,  July,  August,  and  Sep- 
tember; the  coolest,  December,  January,  and  February. 
So  far  as  temperature  is  concerned,  Porto  Rico  enjoys  per- 
petual summer,  the  mean  monthly  temperature  hardly 
varying  6°  throughout  the  year,  and  the  extreme  limits 
l>t 'inir  within  40°  of  each  other,  instead  of  118°  as  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

The  disagreeable  land  winds  are  seldom  felt,  though 
tropical  hurricanes  are  frequent  between  July  and  October, 
The  central  mountains  produce  a  marked  difference  in  the 
climate  between  the  opposite  declivities. 

The  rainfall  varies  very  much  in  different  parts,  and  is 
greatest  in  the  east  end,  where  the  annual  fnll  is  120  inches. 
The  south  coast,  on  the  other  hand,  is  somewhat  arid,  and 


CUBA  AND  PORTO   RICO 

in  places  suffers  for  moisture.    The  driest  month  is  Feb- 
ruary, when  less  than  two  inches  fall.   January  and  M ;. 
have  less  than  three  inches,  December  less  than  four.    The 
remaining  months,  t'n>m   April   to  November  iiiclu- 
have  each  ovt-r  ii\  ••  im-hes  of  rainfall 

It  mm-  v.-ry  hard  and  abundantly  during  the  h< 
months.  This  precipitation  conies  in  heavy  gusts  with 
strong  winds,  as  a  rule  between  noon  and  4  p.  M.  An  hour 
later  the  skies  appear  in  beautiful  colors  of  gold,  violet, 
purple,  and  blue.  Toward  the  end  of  October,  east  and 
north  winds  set  in.  The  first  brings  heavy  downpours, 
and  the  latter  gentle  showers.  Statistics  concerning  "the 
fall  are  given  in  the  Appendix. 

Although  tin*  climate  of  Porto  Rico  does  not  appear  to 
differ  materially,  as  far  as  yet  determined,  from  that  of  the 
other  Antillean  Islands,  yet  its  inhabitants  certainly  seem 
to  enjoy  a  more  than  ordinary  exemption  from  epidemics 
which  afflict  humanity  in  these  unhenlthful  regions.  The 
mortality,  according  to  the  published  tables,  does  n*>t 
exceed  that  which  prevails  in  some  of  the  more  healthful 
countries  of  Europe. 

The  heat  and  moisture  induce  dysenteries  and  fevers, 
especially  intermittent  and  lingering  forms  \\hi.-h  are  very 
stubborn  and  sometimes  lead  to  liver  complications.  Y«  1- 
low  fever  occasionally  visits  the  cities  of  the  coast,  1-ut 
hs  ravages  are  mostly  confined  to  individual  eases.  Only 
in  certain  years,  at  times  of  great  heat,  does  it  flourish, 
and  even  then  it  principally  affects  Europeans  and  new- 
comers. Its  occurrence  is  probably  encouraged  by  the 
lack  of  sewerage  in  the  cities.  The  natives  are  subje< 
colds,  catarrhs,  consumption,  and  bronchitis.  Smallpox  is 
quite  prevalent  in  places  at  tiroes. 

The  best  season  to  visit  Porto  Rico  and  make  the  ac- 
quaintance of  the  people  and  country  is  in  the  months  of 
January,  February,  March,  and  April 


£•; 


CHAPTER  XVI 

HISTORY  AND   ADMINISTRATION 

Spanish  character  of  its  institutions  and  peoples.  Uneventful  course 
of  its  progress.  Government  and  administration.  Religion  and 
education. 

TTNTIL  its  recent  capture  by  the  Americans,  the  island 
LJ  belonged  to  Spain,  to  which  country  it  is  indebted 
for  its  discovery  and  conquest  and  present  industrial  and 
social  status.  It  was  discovered  on  November  17,  1493,  by 
Columbus,  who  took  possession  three  days  later.  The  con- 
quest of  the  island  from  the  aborigines  was  made  in  1508 
by  Ponce  de  Leon,  who  founded,  in  the  year  1509,  the 
first  village,  near  the  present  capital,  which  he  named 
Caparra. 

According  to  Colonel  Flinter,  who  seems  to  have  written 
the  best  compendium  of  the  island,  the  early  history  of 
Porto  Rico,  aside  from  a  few  attacks  by  English  bucaneers, 
offers  few  features  of  interest.1  Although  one  of  the  old- 
est colonies  of  Spain,  it  served  for  three  centuries  as  a 
penal  station  only,  and  its  free  population  presented  until 
a  few  years  ago  a  marked  specimen  of  the  besotted  igno- 
rance winch  characterized  the  Spanish  settlements  of  old 
times. 

The  military  nn<l  civil  expenses  during  these  years  were 
defrayed  by  remittances  from  Mexico,  and  it  was  not 

1  An  Mit  expurgated  history  of  the  iiland,  by  Fray  Ingio,  may  be 

picked  up  in  Porto  Rico. 

153 


i:,|  (MIA    AM.    l-uKlM    Kirn 

until  tho  revolution  cut  off  these  remittances,  in  IK 
the  island,  owing  to  the  extreme  embarrassment  of 
financial  condition,  began  to  attract  the  notice  of 
mother-country.     Previous  to  that  time,  Spain  paid  littlo 
attention  to  this  West  Indian  possession,  except  as  a 
watering-station  for  sailing-ships.    Not  being  outwardly 
valuable,  it  suffered  less  from  ill  government  than  Cuba, 
for  instance;  the  result  being  that  the  island  remained 
loyal  to  the  home  country. 

In  1815  a  decree  was  published  in  its  behalf,  <i 
gnished,  like  many  of  the  early  acts  of  the  restored  gov- 
ernment, by  its  enlightened  sagacity.  This  decree,  while 
it  greatly  encouraged  free  industries,  unfortunately  gave 
an  impetus  to  the  employment  of  slave  labor,  which  had 
heretofore  not  been  used— not  from  motives  of  humai 
but  from  want  of  capital  and  the  indolence  and  poverty  of 
the  previous  settlers,  who  were  somewhat  comparable  to 
the  lower  white  element  of  our  own  colonial  times.  Under 
this  decree,  colonists  were  invited  to  the  island  on  the  most 
liberal  terms.  Lands  were  allotted  gratis ;  the  settlers  were 
free  from  direct  taxes,  and  for  a  certain  number  of  years 
from  the  tithes  and  alcabala,  as  well  as  from  the  exporta- 
tion duties  which  formed  at  that  time  the  most  impolitic 
feature  of  the  old  Spanish  system.  From  the  period  of 
this  decree  the  prosperity  of  Porto  Rico  began,  and  from 
then  until  now  the  advance  in  wealth  and  population  has 
been  unexampled  even  in  the  West  Indies.  A  great  im- 
pulse was  also  given  in  these  early  years  of  the  present  cen- 
.  by  the  arrival  of  Spanish  capitalists  driven  from  Santo 
Domingo  and  the  Spanish  Main— men  distinguished  in  the 
more  prosperous  times  of  South  America  for  their  regular- 
ity and  probity  in  the  transaction  of  business. 

In  1870  Porto  Rico  was  made  a  province  of  Spain, 
instead  of  a  colony,  thereby  acquiring  the  same  rights  and 
government  as  existed  in  the  mother-country,  with  repre- 
sentation in  the  Cortes,  elected  by  universal  suffrage.  The 
indisposition  to  political  upheavals  has  been  as  condu 


HISTORY   AND   ADMINISTRATION 

t<.  tli.«  remarkable  prosperity  of  the  island  as  the  excellent 
< -Innate  and  soil.     The  government  has  been  generally 
Id  and  tranquil. 

The  supreme  local  authority  was  vested  in  a  governor- 
general,  also  designated  as  military  governor.  For  the 
government  of  the  troops  he  had  one  deputy  or  mili?. 
governor.  There  was  also  a  diputacion  provhtnnl,  <>r  « •! 
ive  council,  which  constituted  a  kind  of  consultative  body 
concerning  the  welfare  of  the  island.  A  naval  comman- 
dant, who  was  attached  to  the  department  of  Havana,  re- 
sided in  San  Juan ;  and  there  were  various  captains  of  the 
ports.  The  ordinary  milit  ary  forces  of  the  island  consisted 
of  three  battalions  of  infantry,  one  of  artillery  with  two 
mounted  sections,  fourteen  battalions  of  volunteers,  and 
four  of  the  //  <ivil,  or  military  police. 

There  were  four  courts— the  territorial  or  supreme  court, 
and  three  criminal  courts,  one  each  in  San  Juan,  Mayaguez, 
and  Ponce.  There  were  also  various  minor  justices ;  each 
«1» >pni -tiiiont  had  a  military  commandant,  and  each  village 
an  alcalde,  representing  the  government.  There  was  also  an 
intendant-general  of  hacienda,  and  a  central  administration 
for  collecting  taxes. 

For  administrative  purposes  the  island  is  divided  into 
seven  departments,  including  seventy  villages.  These 
departments,  named  for  the  chief  city  of  each,  and  their 
population,  are  as  follows:  Bayamon,  1  .".1,1 16;  Arecibo, 
I'-1 1,835;  Aguadilla,  86,551;  Ponce,  160,140;  Guayama, 
'.'S-l  \ :  Humacao,  82,251;  Mayaguez,  116,982. 

In  1897,  when  the  so-called  system  of  autonomy  was 
offered  to  Cuba,  Porto  Rico  received  the  same.  Under  it, 
the  island  had  a  premier  and  House  of  Representatives,  and 
th«»  other  forms  of  a  republican  government,  hut  they  were 
all  in  the  hands  of  a  Spanish  oligarchy,  which  controlled 
the  island  when  it  was  still  a  colony. 

The  official  religion  of  the  island  was  the  Roman  Catholic, 
hut  others  were  tolerated ;  there  was  one  Protestant  church 
in  Ponce,  and  one  each  in  a  few  of  the  smaller  towns.  The 


156  CUBA   AND   POBTO  RICO 

bishopric  of  Porto  Rico  was  founded  in  1:>04  undor  Pope 
.Julian  II,  ami  was  the  first  to  be  established  in  the  New 
\\  ..rid.  The  diocese  of  the  island  was  <li\  i<i*  <i  into  many 
vicarages,  with  a  multitude  of  curates.  There  was  one 
bishop,  attached  to  the  archbishopric  of  Cuba ;  the  patron- 
age of  the  diocese  was  conferred  by  the  governor-general. 

According  to  the  Spanish  standard,  the  condition  of 
public  instruction  in  the  island  was  flourishing.  From  an 
American  standpoint,  judging  from  the  illiteracy  of  the 
inhabitants,  it  was  poor.  The  instruction  was  divided  into 
I '  n  mary,  secondary,  and  superior.  There  were  eight  of  the 
superior  schools  for  boys,  four  for  girls,  and  many  of  the 
elementary  classes  throughout  the  cities  and  rural  districts; 
there  were  also  many  private  schools  and  seminaries,  while 
in  San  Juan  there  was  a  college  where  courses  were  given  in 
medicine  and  law,  and  a  normal  school  for  both  sexes.  Of 
the  people,  three  hundred  thousand  can  neither  read  nor 
write;  illiteracy  is  greatest  among  the  women.  A  native 
writer  says  that  "  Porto  Rico  has  literarians,  but  no  litera- 
ture."  During  a  recent  visit  to  the  island  the  writer  was 
agreeably  surprised  to  find  many  rare  local  books  dealing 
with  the  history,  geography,  and  natural  history  of  the 
island,  besides  a  few  works  of  poetry  and  romance.  There 
are  many  daily  newspapers  and  one  or  two  other  periodi- 
cals. 

Porto  Rico  is  now  an  American  territory,  constituting  the 
military  department  of  Porto  Rico,  under  the  command  of 
General  Guy  V.  Henry,  and  is  being  temporarily  governed 
under  military  law.  The  old  Spanish  forms  and  laws  are 
maintained,  except  where  they  conflict  with  public  interest. 
(See  Appendix.) 


CHAPTER  XVII 

TRANSPORTATION,  AGRICULTURE,  INDUSTRY,  AND  COMMERCE 

Harbor*.  Railways.  Highway*  Telegraph.  Diversified  nature  of  the 
agriculture.  Large  number  of  small  farms.  Sugar-estates.  Coffee- 
culture.  Meflores.  Importance  of  the  cattle  industry.  Commerce 
and  trade.  Bad  condition  of  the  currency. 

THE  harbors  of  Porto  Rico  are  inferior  to  those  of  Cuba, 
but,  locally  considered,  are  good  except  for  a  part  of 
the  year.  In  November,  December,  and  January,  those  of 
the  north  coast,  with  the  exception  of  San  Juan,  are  dan- 
gerous on  account  of  the  north  winds.  On  the  other  hand, 
during  the  months  from  June  to  November,  strong  south- 
erly winds  cause  the  sea  to  break  with  great  violence  over 
the  anchorage  on  the  southern  coast. 

Til.-  ]>rin<  ipnl  ports  of  the  island  are  San  Juan  and 
Anviho,  on  th«»  north;  Kajanlo,  on  tin-  «-ast  :  Pom-.-,  Ar- 
>,  and  Guanica,  on  the  south;  and  Mayaguez  and 
Aguadilla,  on  the  west.  Playa,  near  Ponce,  the  largest 
ami  most  important  port  on  the  island,  has  a  very  poor 
ha  rl  •«  >i .  Jobos,  to  the  east  of  Ponce,  has  also  a  fine  harbor, 
but  it  has  not  been  utilized.  There  are  various  other  small 
ports  of  more  or  less  importance,  which  need  not  be  men- 
tioned  in  detail  at  present. 

Of  late  years  some  attempts  have  been  made  to  improve 

larbor  of  San  Juan.    Dredging  was  begun  in  1889,  and 

reported  to  be  carried  on  as  fast  as  material  would  permit. 

The  entrance  to  the  channel  has  been  widened  and  deep- 

157 


CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

ened  to  twenty-nine  and  one  half  feet,  and  now  there  is  a 
depth  of  over  twenty-two  feet  of  water  along  the  wharves. 
This  work  was  done  by  prison  labor,  the  laborers  getting 
four  and  one  half  pence  per  da 

The  island  has  more  or  less  regular  communication  by 
vessels  \\ith  tin*  fulled  States,  Spain,  England,  Cuba, 
Santo  Domingo,  St.  Thomas,  Martinique,  Guadeloupe,  and 
South  America.  Moreover,  lines  of  steamers  circumnavi- 
gate it,  stopping  at  the  various  ports. 

Probably  no  part  of  the  Ant  ill.  s  is  more  fertil. 
Porto  Rico,  and  none  so  generally  susceptible  of  <-ult  i  vation 
and  diversified  farming.  A  single  acre  of  cane  yields  more 
sugar  there  than  in  any  other  of  the  islands  except  Cuba. 
Possessing  every  variety  of  tropical  landscape,  fertile  from 
the  mountain-tops  to  the  sea,  rich  in  pasture- lands,  shaded 
with  beautiful  groves  of  magnificent  palms,  moistened  by 
twelve  hundred  streams,  its  agricultural  possibilities  are 
immense. 

Porto  Rico  is  essentially  the  land  of  the  farmer,  and  the 
r  highly  cultivated  of  the  West  Indies.  In  fact,  it  is 
the  only  island  where  agriculture  is  so  diversifi-  «1  that  it 
].!-...lm-i.s  MitTi'-i.-nt  f 1  f.,r  tli.-  ronMmiptH'ii  nt*  its  inhabi- 
tant*, in  addition  to  vast  plantation  crops  « 
ami  tobacco  for  <ocj>ortati<»!i.  fm  •h«Tim»r«',  th»-  land  is  not 
monopolized  by  large  plantations,  but  mostly  divided  into 
small  independent  holdings.  Stock-raising  is  also  an  ez- 
• 

•i  Porto  Rico  some  twenty-one  thousand 
smaller  holdings,  th«-  i-p.p. -rty  of  the  peasantry  of  th«« 
interior,  who  live  cheaply  and  work  lazily,  l.nt  muti-ive.  to 
raise  a  small  ijuantity  of  «-ofr»-e,  t«>  vith  provisions 

and  cattl.-.  If  such  rou^h  «-nltivati..n  a^  \\\\<  succeeds  at 
all,  it  can  only  be  in  consequence  of  the  vast  pnxlu.  ti\,  - 
ness  of  whirh  gives  the  planter  the  same  advan- 

tage ov.  ;-ivthnM.  'Iward  a  .   as  the 

'inois  has  over  th«-  Cultivator  of  the  worn-out 
"  old  fields "  of  th.  Atla 


TRANSPORTATION   AND   AGRICULTURE 

The  agricultural  properties  of  the  island,  according  to 
the  last  census,  were  distributed  as  follows:  tobacco- farms, 
rattle-ia'-'!^,  -40;  large  coffee-estates,  361;  sugar-es- 
tate 1  «<  >ffee-  farms,  4184 ;  farms  devoted  to  mis- 
eellaneous  cultivation,  4376;  small  fruit-farms,  16,988;  and 
centrals  for  grinding  cane,  8. 

Tl i •  •  1 1 1  ree  chief  export  productions  are  sugar-cane,  coffee, 
a  1 1  <  i  tobacco.  Cocoa  and  cotton  are  also  grown  in  small  quan- 
s.  Sugar-cane  is  cultivated  mostly  on  the  lower  slopes 
and  plains,  yielding  about  six  thousand  pounds  to  the  acre. 
CotYer  grows  in  the  highlands,  in  the  natural  shade  <>f  the 
mountains  or  in  that  of  the  guama-,1  guava-,*  bucare-,'  and 
maga  '-trees.  The  product  is  a  most  excellent  berry,  of  fine 
flavor,  which  is  highly  prized  in  Latin  Europe,  but  hardly 
known  in  the  United  States.  Tobacco  is  extensively  cul- 
tivated, and  is  of  excellent  quality.  Owing  to  the  troubled 
state  of  affairs  in  Cuba,  prices  for  tobacco  have  increased 
enormously  in  Porto  Rico.  A  large  amount  has  been 
planted,  and  the  crop  promises  well 

A  peculiar  variety  of  upland  rice,  requiring  no  form  of 
-at inn  <*r  inundation,  is  sometimes  cultivated  on  the 
hills  of  the  central  sierra.  This,  and  yauchia  (Calntlhtni 
esculentum)  and  plantain,  which  are  grown  nearly  every- 
where, are  staple  foods  of  laborers.  The  other  fruits  and 
vegetables  consumed  on  the  island,  and  generally  classified 
zsniinores,  are  the  banana,  platanos  (plantains,  which,  when 
haked  in  the  immature  state,  constitute  the  bread  of  the 
inhabitants),  maize,  beans,  gaudures,  and  such  fruits  or 
as  yams,  yautias,  sweet  potatoes,  the  mispel 
.  the  mango,  the  mamey  (Mammea),  the 
aUTOMM  ,  the  a«ruacate(Persea),  pineapples,  and 

ivavas  (which  are  very  plentiful,  and  manufactured 
into  confections). 

The  diversified  agriculture  of  Porto  Rico  is  also  varied 
1(>  <*t(  M..ral  i nt*  rests,  which  not  only  supply  the 

inhabitants  with  meat,  l.ut  produce  hundreds  of  cattle  ot 

>  I»ya  la*r,Hca.      2  l»0a  ttra.      »  Krytknna  bucare.      •  /fcmwM  grandtfora. 


too 


.   !   1,\     AM' 


KI«> 


excellent  quality  for  annual  export,  especially  to  the  Leaser 
Antilles,  which  are  largely  dependent  upon  Porto  Rico  for 
meat  as  well  as  for  work-oxen.  Martinique,  Guadeloupe, 
mas,  and  Cuba  are  the  chief  consumers.  The  pas- 
ture-lands are  superior  to  those  of  the  other  Antilles. 
These  lie  mostly  on  the  south  and  northwest  sides  of  the 
island,  and  are  covered  with  a  nutritious  leguminous  plant 
called  malahojilla  (Hymenachme  striatum),  which  the  cattle 
consume. 

Small  but  hardy  horses  and  moles  are  also  common. 
Some  efforts  have  been  made  to  improve  them  by  the 
introduction  of  American  breeds.    The  smaller  dom< 
animals  also  abound,  especially  poultry. 

The  principal  agricultural  exports  in  1896,  according  to 
the  British  consul,  were : 


Vft    *M!Tt. 


Timber 


14.740 

Zm 


There  are  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  English  miles  of 
railroad  in  operation.  The  lines  are  from  San  Juan  to 
La  Carolina,  14  miles;  from  San  Juan  to  Camuy,  61.5 
miles;  from  Aguadilla  to  Mayaguez,  41*  miles;  from 
Tauco  to  Ponce,  20.5  miles ;  and  from  A  fiasco  to  Alto  Sano, 
10  miles,  A  contract  was  made  in  1888  to  encircle  the 
island  with  railroads,  but  tins  lias  not  )>een  done.  A  Span- 
ish company  was  formed  in  Madrid,  and  the  govern?! 
guaranteed  eight  per  cent  on  the  capital  for  six  years,  the 
ital  not  to  exceed  two  million  pounds.  The  length  of 
the  road  was  to  be  two  humln»<l  ami  eighty-three  miles. 
Only  one  hundred  and  nineteen  miles  were  built  hy  1892, 
ami  the  governn  ised  to  renew  the  contract. 

The  highways  of  present  the  extremes  of  ex- 

cellence  and  inferiority.    The  Spaniards  are  generally  poor 


TRANSPORTATION  AND  AGRICULTURE 


161 


roa<l-l'uiM«Ts,  l.ut  upon  this  island  they  built  several  high- 
ways which  are  models  of  construction  and  engineering 
skill,  notal.ly  the  now  famous  military  highway  which  ex- 
tends across  the  island  from  San  .Juan,  via  K'i.»  l*iedras,Ca- 
guas,  Cayey,  and  Coamo,  to  the  Play  a  of  Ponce,  a  distance  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  kilometers.  This  line  also 
has  a  bran,  h  from  Cayey  to  Quayama.  This  is  the  only 
ipletely  macadam i/«  <1  highway  between  any  of  the 
cities.  Short  fragments  of  similar  highway,  the  uncom- 
pleted portions  of  what  were  intended  as  members  of  a 
perfect  system,  may  be  found  extending  a  short  distance 
out  of  each  larger  city  toward  another,  but  usually  end- 
ing in  a  dirt  road,  which,  except  in  the  dry  season,  is  an 
impenetrable  bog.  With  native  ponies  one  may  travel 
by  trails  all  over  the  island.  The  chief  need  of  Porto  Rico 
at  present  is  the  completion  of  the  railway  and  highway 
systems  «MumtM'tiiitf  all  tin*  <-iti»>s. 

There  are  four  hundred  and  seventy  miles  of  telegraph 
line  under  government  control,  and  the  principal  cities 
have  telephone  service. 

The  value  of  merchandise  imported  and  exported  by 
Porto  Rico  during  each  calendar  year  from  1887  to  1896, 
inclusive,  according  to  the  statistics  of  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  was  as  follows: 


OALBXDAB  TKABft. 

IMFOm 

BXfOBTt. 

Bxcmor  m> 
roar* 

EXTOKTS  (-). 

HM 

$10,627,510 

$10  610  091 

•f  $17  419 

i^s 

lu.^r,  1134 

11  579,281 

+   '  .'UW.753 

Ksy 

i:t  r»si  3»;-> 

10679350 

+  3  002.012 

1890.. 
1891. 

16,274,497 

SSKR 

ZSbm 

+  7.256,671 
+  6,784,508 

Annual  average,  1887-91.  . 

$14,412,345 

$10,548,872 

-I-  $8,868,478 

UH 

1893 
IBM 

$ir,.4^.:.-4 

I-'..:  14.238 

]c,  ,-,„,;  •[•),-. 

fi.v.n.'vn 

IB  flDA  1Q1 

•»-  $970,113 
+  554,934 

4.    .>  >XW|   |  J* 

1890  ... 
1896.. 

ISOMM 

is  "v1  r.'Mi 

Is  '111  -i  '  u 

T   -.•>.•*'.  14.) 

*,814 

KATAA 

i  •-  -.'»-"' 

m^im 

Annual  arermge,  1892-96. 

$17,480,494 

$16,890,041 

+  $1,090,458 

iTHA    AM> 


The  trade  of  Porto  Rico  with  nth«-r  muntrirs  of  impor- 
tance is  about  a  sixth  of  that  of  Cuba.  In  1895  (according 
to  the  "  Estadistica  General  del  Comercio  Exterior**)  it  was 
as  follows: 


cotnmT. 


Ctata 
United 


Antilles. 


fe- 


f3..-,l".!i:u', 
625,010 


Germany  ... 
OtfcM  Bnf 


i.7.;:,.:.74 

•J.-.l.IM 


M»MN 

1,376,0«7 

l.lM.ii'X, 


Total 


•16,155,056 


$14,620,404 


The  principal  articles  of  foreign  commerce  in  1895,  ac- 
cording to  the  "  Estadistica  General  del  Comercio  Exterior  " 
of  Porto  Rico  (the  latest  published),  were  as  follows : 


Meat  and  lard 
Jerked  bMf.. 

i 


1,591,418 
2,180.004 


TALTB. 


TALC*. 


•as 


Owing  to  the  trouble  with  tin-  currency,  the  rate  of  ex- 
change is  high,  runuiiiir,  in  1>'.»4,  from  three  to  five  cents 
on  the  dollar.  Tht  n  dollar  became  the  currenc ; 


TRANSPORTATION   AND  AGBICULTUBJ  1G3 

1878,  with  a  value  of  nin«'ty-ti\v  rents  in  Spanish  money 
and  one  silver  dollar  in  United  States  money.  The  Ameri- 
<  an  silver  dollar  d«»pr. •< Mat. -<1  in  other  markets,  but  found 
ulation  in  Porto  Rico,  until  all  the  gold  and  Mexican 
dollars  disappear.  1.  In  1885  the  government  forbade  the 
importation  of  Mexican  dollars,  and  declared  illegal  Mexi- 
can coins  of  previous  dates.  Then  the  dates  of  the  dollars 
were  falsified,  and  they  still  cin-ulatrd  until  the  Mexican 
dollar  became  the  only  currency.  In  1895  a  Porto  Rican 
dollar  was  substituted  for  the  Mexican  dollar,  and  all  other 
money  was  forbidden.  This  dollar  and  its  fractions,  fort  y -. 
twenty-,  t^n-,  five-,  two-,  and  one-cent  pieces,  still  consti- 
tute the  legal  money,  although  the  people  are  daily  ex- 
pecting American  money  to  be  substituted  therefor.  In 
Ponce,  American  money  has  already  become  the  chief 
medium  of  exchange. 

There  are  several  banks  in  San  Juan  and  Ponce.  Bank 
notes  are  issued  in  both  of  these  cities,  but  they  are  not 
honored  except  in  the  place  of  issue,  and  the  traveler  is 
advised  not  to  take  them  away  from  the  town  where  he 
procures  them.  Excellent  American  banks  have  been 
established  in  San  Juan  and  Ponce  since  our  occupation 
of  the  island. 

The  industries  of  the  island  are  limited  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  sugar  and  coffee  for  market,  and  the  manufac- 
turo  of  vehicles,  tobacco,  chocolate,  wax,  soap,  matches, 
rum,  and  straw  hats ;  there  are  also  three  foundries  for  the 
niannfni-tiiro  of  iron  machinery.  There  are  also  a  few 
manufactories  of  furniture. 

Excellent  matches  are  made  in  several  cities.  Good 
cigars  and  cigarettes  are  made  in  most  of  the  cities,  the 
tobacco  of  Cayey  being  considered  of  the  best  quality. 
The  people  of  the  island  have  not  the  skill  of  the  Cubans, 
however,  in  curing  and  manipulating  the  leaf,  which  is  of 
excellent  quality.  Straw  hats,  of  the  Panama  variety,  are 
braided  by  the  peasants  and  taken  to  the  cities  in  a  rude 
shn  i  t  hoy  are  blocked  and  trimmed  by  professional 


1 '   I  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

hatters.  There  are  one  or  two  small  potteries,  producing 
only  the  crudest  earthenware.  The  native  ox-carts,  heavy 
two-wheeled  wooden  affaire,  made  prim-i pally  of  ansnbo, 
are  very  strong  and  durable.  Plants  for  hulling  and  poli>h- 
ing  coffee  are  fonnd  in  most  of  the  cities.  In  the  count  r\ 
large  wooden  mortars  hewn  out  of  logs  are  generally  used 
for  this  purpose.  Excellent  confections  are  made  from 
sugar,  guayava,  and  other  fruits.  Bricks  of  fair  strength 
are  made  near  most  of  the  villages  and  towns,  while  the 
native  workmen  are  clever  and  skilful  in  carpentry  and 
masonry.  The  making  of  clothing  is  also  an  important 
industry,  and  tailors  and  shirt-makers  abound,  no  Porto 
Rican,  however  humble,  deigning  to  wear  ready-made 
apparel. 

The  people  in  general  are  very  close  in  their  oxpendit 
notwithstanding  the  great  amount  of  bartering.    Transac- 
tions in  the  markets  are  mostly  carried  on  with  pennies, 
and  small  as  are  the  sums  involved,  no  one  but  an  An 
can  is  expected  to  pay  the  price  first  asked  for  any  article. 
So  close  are  they  in  their  dealings  that  the  Hebrew  has 
never  found  the  island  a  profitable  locality  for  his  opera- 
tions. 

There  is  little  evidence  of  native  art  among  the  people. 
The  women  do  some  pretty  embroidery  and  lace-work,  and 
are  expert  in  picking  out  the  threads  of  <  lothv,  thereby 
leaving  the  elaborate  designs  known  as  drawn-work. 
Calabashes  constitute  the  chief  utensils  of  the  people. 
These  are  often  ornamented  with  crude  geometric  figures. 
From  an  artistic  point  this  product  is  inferior  to  that  of  the 
other  West  Indian  Islands. 

All  the  peasants  possess  crude  musical  instruments  of 
their  own  manufacture,  especially  the  diminutive  & 
called  the  tiple,  and  a  long-necked  gourd,  corrugated  upon 
face,  which  when  scratched  emits  a  noise  like  the 
rubbing  together  of  surfaces  of  sandpaper.  It  is  a  very 
quiet  Jnoment  indeed  in  Porto  Rico,  night  or  day,  when 
one  does  not  hear  the  scratching  of  this  instrument 


CHAPTER  XVHI 

PEOPLE 


Statistical  details  of  number,  sex,  nativity,  race,  and  literacy.     FTBBM 
males.     Small  proportion  of  foreign  people,     Divisions  into 
The  "  Spaniards  "  (white  Porto  Ricans).     The  gibaros,  or  peasantry. 
The  negroes.    Former  conditions  of  slavery  in  Porto  Rico. 


K  number,  sex,  nativity,  race,  and  literacy  of  the 
JL  population  of  Porto  Rico,  according  to  the  latest 
census  obtainable,  that  of  1887,  are  shown  in  the  accom- 
panying table. 

Some  of  the  essential  features  of  the  statistics  are  as  fol- 
lows: The  small  proportion  of  foreigners,  less  than  one 
per  cent.,  shows  how  thoroughly  the  population  remains 
indigenous.  Another  peculiar  feature  is  that  the  white  race 
nut  mi  in  IM  TS  the  combined  black  and  colored  people,  prov- 
ing that  IN.rto  1  least,  has  not  become  Africanized, 

as  lm\  v  all  the  other  West  Indies  excepting  Cuba.  Eighty- 
seven  per  cent,  of  the  people  are  illiterate,  like  the  mass  of 
tin-  peasantry  of  the  mother-country,  from  whom  they  have 


The  i  M»],  nlation  of  tho  inland  by  natural  increase  has 
mult  ipl  and  one  half  times  since  the  census  of  1830, 

the  whites  having  tripled  'and  the  black  and  colored  doubled 
their  numU  TS.  The  density  of  JJ1  to  the  square  Tnile  is 
equal  to  that  of  many  of  the  European  countries,  although 

165 


cniv  AND  r<>iH<>  i;ico 


CLASSIFICATION  OP  THE  INHABITANTS  OP  PORTO  Rico  AT  THE 
LAST  OPPICUL  CENSUS  OP  DECEMBER  31,  1887,  BY  (a)  DE- 
PARTMENT; (6)  NATIVITY;  (c)  RACE;  (d)  LITERACY 


TOTAL, 


Rayamon 
Arncibo    . 


mjm 

•MM 


Guajrama 

BMMM 

Vieqoee  (bland) 


81,612 
40,087 
41,080 

:Ui'i 


4:1.1*1 
56,347 

njm 

41..7-J7 
41.1.---J 

QB 


liii.lir, 

ISMM 

86,551 

116,082 

160,140 

08,814 

BUN 


Total. 


•MM 


4«'.-.4i.'l 


^K-,.7,H 


HATTTITT. 

rSMALM. 

MAUU. 

TOTAL. 

SpanUh  (Porto  Rico) 
Koraiffncr* 

401,078 

:i  •_'«-.i 

•MM 

j  :.:n; 

800,068 
5,745 

ToUl. 

404,287 

468,421 

806,708 

TOTAL. 


iruN 


MMH 

1^.4:14 

:^77u 


IMLMf 
MMM 

77.7.-.1 


Total. 


40».>7 


4"J.4J1 


806,708 


TOTAL. 


Able  to  read  and  write 
AbUooljtoreA 


MM 

:ii'i';»^r. 


IMH 
HMM 


06,867 


ToUl. 


404,287 


4..J.U1 


REPBE8EM  VMM     >  U  tNs 


THE  PEOPLE  1G7 

only  one  fourth  that  of  Barbados.  Apparently  the  island 
has  attained  a  sufficient  number  of  laboring  people  in  pro- 
portion to  its  capacities. 

The  aborigines  of  Porto  Rico,  of  Arawak  and  Carib 
stock,  were  largely  exterminate!  in  1 "» 1  :>,  immediately  after 
an  uprising  on  th.-ir  part  against  the  Spanish  soldiers. 
The  survivors,  enslaved,  .jui.'kly  vanished.  The  race  was 
not  very  numerous.  Espinosa,  the  ethnologist,  says  that 
at  the  present  time  no  people  of  this  race  can  be  found, 
except  a  few  individuals  whose  hair  and  color  would  indi- 
cate a  mixture  of  Indian  and  negro. 

The  native  people,  as  a  whole,  may  be  divided  into  four 
classes :  the  better  class  of  Creoles,  who  call  themselves 
Porto  Ricans;  the  lower  class  of  white  peasantry,  known 
as  gibaros;  the  mixed  people  of  Indian  blood,  or  mestizos; 
and  the  blacks. 

The  Porto  Ricau  Spaniards  of  the  upper  class,  in  point 
of  connections  and  respectability,  are  the  descendants  of 
military  men  who,  during  the  long  period  when  the  island 
was  a  mere  garrison,  formed  alliances  and  settled  within  it 
These  people  maintain  the  pride  of  their  descent  with  all 
the  stateliness  of  grandees,  and  some  of  them  are  opulent. 
This  class,  of  white  blood  and  Spanish  feelings,  opinions, 
and  prejudices,  so  widely  different  from  what  is  to  be  found 
in  the  British  or  French  islands,  forms  the  distinctive  fea- 
ture of  the  population. 

They  are  a  good-looking,  happy,  and  prosperous  set  of 
people,  and  they  have  had  the  time  and  taken  the  trouble 
to  a.-. i uire  some  education.  They  constitute  the  commer- 
cial, professional,  and  planter  classes.  The  ladies  are 
handsome  and  n  fined,  and  as  strictly  secluded  as  in  other 
Spanish  countries.  Their  goodness  Of  heart  and  unatTWted 
frankness  wit  h  th.-ir  friends  are  charming.  Those  of  gen- 
tle birth  and  breeding  are  sweet  and  flower-like,  with  the 
hriirht  alertness  of  a  Latin  woman  transplanted  to  Ameri- 
•  •an  soil  and  cliniat.-.  Their  glances  are  swift  and  meaning, 
and  their  great  black  eyes  full  of  expression.  '  Their  fea- 


m 

tores  are  regnlar.  They  are  petite  of  form  and  have  small 
bauds  and  feet,  and  dress  in  Parisian  styles,  although  these 
stylos  are  usually  a  year  or  two  old  by  the  time  they  reach 
Porto  Rico. 

The  peasants,  or  gibaros,  are  of  Spanish  origin,  but  many 
of  them  show  traces  of  Indian  m  .\hii,-  in  others 

there  is  an  infusion  of  negro  blood.     Although  indolent, 
they  are  sagacious,  and  bright  in  conversation,  fond  of 
:;^  and  drinking,  and  free  in  thrir  s,  manners, 

and  morals,  as  judged  by  our  standard.  The  poorest  gives 
his  best  to  the  passing  stranger.  They  are  not  disposed 
to  continuous  labor,  however;  nor  is  this  necessary  in  so 
prolitir  a  land.  Without  much  ambition  or  thought  for 
the  f n tun*,  they  are  content  to  live  for  the  passing  <i 

The  gibaros  are  mainly  engaged  in  the  business  of  small 
planting;  others  live  from  hand  to  mouth  in  the  towns  or 
cities.  The  former  live  as  nearly  in  a  state  of  nature  as  the 
laws  will  allow,  for  the  simple  reason  that  it  pleases  them 
best  and  is  comfortable.  The  children  generally  don  the 
garb  of  civilization  at  or  near  the  age  of  ten  <>r  t\\.-l\.-.  In 
the  interior  districts  the  coffee-laborer  is  paid  in  plantains ; 
plantains  are  a  day's  pay,  and  on  this  he  feeds  his 
family  and  then  sells  what  is  left,  losing  one  day  per  week  1 1 1 
going  to  market,  often  twenty  miles  away.  The  people  are 
very  fond  of  amusements,  principally  gaml-limr,  m  \\hirh 
they  squander  their  substance.  The  gambling  hai.it  i> 
common  to  all  classes,  from  the  rich  planter  and  priest 
down  to  the  lowest  beggar. 

These  people  live  in  densely  crowded  bohios  or  - 
•mall  houses.    They  swing  themselves  to  and  fro  in  th*  ir 
hammocks  all  day  long,  smoking  their  cigars  and  scraping 
a  guitar,  ora  miniature  home-made  imitation  then-*, 

/'fe,  accompanied  by  scratching  upon  a  hollow  gourd. 
groves  of  plantains  and  other  fruits  which  surround 
their  houses,  and  the  coffee-trees  which  grow  almost  with- 
out ni  ,  afford  them  a  frugal  subsistence.    The 
cabins  are  thatched  with  the  leaves  of  the  palm-tree ;  the 


UTUAOO 


PALMS   NEAR    SAN   JUAN 

PORTO  i;i«  •• 


THB  PEOPLE  169 

s  are  often  open,  or  merely  constructed  of  the  same 
kind  of  leaves  as  the  roof,  such  is  the  mildness  of  the  cli- 
mate. Some  cabins  have  doors,  others  have  none.  There 
nig  to  dread  from  robbers,  and  if  there  were  ban- 
dit-, ]>.,\,  rty  would  protect  the  people  from  violence.  A 
few  calabash-shells  and  earthen  pots,  one  or  two  ham- 
mocks made  of  the  bark  of  the  palm-tree,  two  or  three 
game-cocks,  and  a  machete  form  the  extent  of  their  house- 
hold goods.  A  few  coffee-trees  and  plantains,  a  cow  and  a 
horse,  an  acre  of  land  in  corn  or  sweet  potatoes,  constitute 
the  property  of  what  would  be  denominated  a  comfortable 
gibaro,  who,  mounted  on  his  meager  and  hard-worked 
horse,  with  his  long  machete  protruding  from  his  baskets, 
dressed  in  a  broad-rimmed  straw  hat,  <'«.u«.n  jacket,  clean 
shirt,  and  check  pantaloons,  sallies  forth  from  his  cabin  to 
mass,  to  a  cock-fight,  or  to  a  dance,  thinking  himself  the 
most  independent  and  happy  being  in  existence. 

A  reviewer  has  noted  that  the  descriptions  of  character 
Avhi.il  Colonel  Flinter  has  given  do  not  show  any  symp- 
toms of  the  industry  which  he  elsewhere  attributes  to  the 
husbandmen  of  Porto  Rico.  But  it  is  quite  clear  that  the 
spread  of  these  tropical  backwoodsmen  over  the  virgin 
soil  of  the  island  has  prevented  it  thus  far  from  falling  into 
the  hands  <»f  the  monopolist ;  and  it  furnishes  a  sufficient 
answer  to  those  who  imagine  that  a  European  race,  living 
t»y  IN  own  labor,  cannot  exist  where  80°  is  the  average 
height  of  Fahrenheit's  thermometer.  With  the  gradual 
diffusion  of  education,  of  which  there  is  a  lamentable  defi- 
ciency, much  of  the  grosser  part  of  the  character  of  the 
peasantry  may  be  progressively  removed.  Furthermore, 
there  has  been  no  monetary  incitement  to  labor,  and  it  is 
the  writer's  opinion  that  this  class  of  people,  when  stimu- 
lated to  exertion  by  money  wages,  will  prove  one  of  the 
greatest  blessings  in  the  American  development  of  the 
island. 

The  negroes  of  Porto  Rico  are  in  a  minority;  they  do 
not  form  a  very  considerable  part  of  the  population,  and 


170  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

are  not  distinguished  by  marked  characteristics.  W  i  1 1 1 1 1 1  •  • 
gibaros  they  form  the  laboring  class  of  tin-  Man.l,  and 
seem  thoroughly  contented  with  their  lot,  which,  as  in 
Cuba,  is  much  better  than  that  of  the  negroes  in  the 
French,  English,  and  independent  islands. 

Sin.-.-  tlir  nii«Ml.'  of  tin-  last  r.-ntnry  th<«  serial  condition 
of  the  inhabitants  has  undergone  a  complete  change.  At 
that  time  there  were  but  few  towns,  and  the  inhabitants 
assembled  only  on  feast-days  at  the  central  point  in  each 
parish.  They  dwelt  in  rude  hovels,  and  their  only  utensil 
was  the  calabash.  An  empty  bottle  was  handed  down  aa 
an  heirloom  to  the  favorite  son.  At  present,  more  than 
one  half  of  tix>  inhabitants  have  gravitated  toward  th<> 
towns,  especially  those  on  the  seaboard,  and  trade  has 
familiarized  them  with  modern  inventions. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

CITIES  OF  PORTO  RICO 

San  Juan.    Ponce.    Mayaguez.   Aguadilla.   Arecibo.   Fajardo.  Naguabo, 
Arroyo,  San  German,  and  small  towns.     Inlands  attached  to  the  gov- 
of  Porto  Rico. 


PORTO  RICO  has  three  chief  cities,  San  Juan,  Ponce, 
and  Mayaguez,  and  many  large  towns  and  villages 
which  are  the  centers  of  small  departments  having  a  popu- 
lation  <»t'  from  six  to  thirty  thousand  inhabitants.  The 
population  is  so  dense  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  high- 
est portion,  Sierra  Yunque,  the  island  presents  the  aspect 
of  a  continuous  series  of  farms  and  small  villages.  The 
towns  and  villages  were  originally  centers  of  independent 
agricultural  communities,  and  most  of  them,  owing  to  poor 
facilities  for  inland  communication,  still  maintain  an  indi- 
viduality of  their  own— often  as  different  from  one  another 
as  if  they  were  upon  s«»parat«-  MaiMs.  All  the  towns  are 
built  upon  the  general  Spanish  plan,  with  ornately  colored 
and  stuccoed  public  edifices  and  dwelling-houses,  roofed 
\vith  iv<l  tiles;  narrow  streets;  and  always  a  central  park 
or  plaza  with  gardens,  benches,  and  promenades ;  yet  each 
presents  interesting  variations  from  the  others.  Some  of 
these  towns,  like  San  German  and  Aguada,  date  back  to 
1,">11;  a  lariT'T  niiinlM-r  \v.-iv  huilt  during  the  eight«»ciith 
century.  Nearl  y  t  w  <  •  n  t  y  of  the  towns  originated  within  the 
pivsrnt  century,  howo\vr,  showing  that  th»«  url.an  iK-vrlnj»- 
ment  of  the  island  has  not  been  retarded 

171 


17J  CUBA  AND  PORTO  BICO 

In  the  present  chapter  we  shall  describe  the  larger 
port  cities.  Of  these  San  Juan  is  a  political  <  -.  \vhi,-h 

the  public  buildings  aud  fortifications  are  the  most  strik- 
ing features;  Ponce  is  essentially  a  commercial  ,-it y ;  and 
Mayaguez  is  the  abode  of  the  wealthy  planters  and  people 
of  cultivation. 

The  capital  of  the  island  is  official  i iated  San  Juan 

•  1.  Put  1 1<>  Kiro.  Its  present  site  is  near  one  of 
the  oldest  settlements  on  the  island,  dating  from  l.">ll. 
Originally  the  city  was  designated  simply  Puerto  Rico,  the 
'  t. ut  it  has  now  acquired  the  popular  designa- 
tion of  San  Juan— a  name  at  first  applied  to  the  island 
as  a  whole.  Throughout  the  island  it  is  always  spoken  of 
as  £1  Capital. 

The  city  is  situated  on  an  island  which  is  practically  a 
long  and  narrow  elevated  peninsula.  Tins  promontory  of 
San  Juan  is  about  two  and  one  half  miles  long,  and  its 
greatest  width  is  only  a  lit  half  a  mil'-.  It  has  a 

steep  bluff,  or  crest,  about  one  hundred  feet  high,  overlook- 
ing the  sea,  and  slopes  on  its  interior  side  toward  the  capa- 
cious bay.  whieh  the  peninsula  cuts  off  from  the  sea.  At 
its  eastern  end  it  is  separated  from  the  low. -r-lying  coast 
plain  of  the  mainland  by  a  shallow  aud  narrow  mangrove 
swamp,  which  is  crossed  by  the  fortified  bridge  of  San 

>.  the  d.  section  with  the  mainland. 

lie  north  the  entrance  to  t  he  harbor  is  a  narrow  chan- 
nel with  rorky  bottom,  so  close  un<  ler  the  headland  that  one 
can  almost  leap  ashore  from  a  passing  vessel    The  * 
here  is  some  thirty  feet  deep.   To  a  mariner  unacquainted 
h  the  locality,  or  to  any  i  when  a  norther  is  blow- 

.  this  entrance  is  one  of  diffiVn! 

.-ii!,-  the   Muff,  one  fin-N  a  I  road  and  beautiful  bay, 
landlocked  and  with  a  good  •l.-j.th  of  water,  whieh  is  1- 
in-Teased  by  dredging.    It  is  by  far  th«  r!...r  in 

Porto  Rico,  but  it  has  its  drawbacks.  Sailing- vessels  are 
frequently  detained  l»y  the  northerly  \\inds  .lurii ,-  tin- 
winter  months,  and  even  steamers  with  a  draft 


CITIES  OF  PORTO  BICO  L73 

twenty  feet  are  sometimes  delayed ;  but  these  occasions  are 
.  \\  lini  these  storms  occur,  the  boca,  or  entrance  to 
the  harbor,  is  a  mass  of  seething,  foaming  water,  and  pre- 
sents an  imposing  spectacle.  To  see  steamers  of  sixteen 
to  eighteen  feet  draft  enter  in  a  severe  north*  r  is  a  sight 
to  be  remembered,  as  the  great  waves  lift  them  up  and  seem 
about  to  hurl  them  forward  to  destruction. 

Juan  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuously  and  perfectly 
fortified  cities  in  the  world,  and  is  essentially  a  great  cita- 
del. From  the  sea  side  and  from  the  bay  the  massive  walls 
and  battlements,  largely  cut  out  of  solid  rock,  which  crown 
the  crest  of  the  narrow  peninsula,  impress  one  by  tin  Mi- 
great  size  and  strength,  especially  the  vast  Castle  of  San 
Cristobal  (construct.  .1  in  1771),  whose  steep  walls  over- 
shadow the  whole  city.  At  the  point  of  the  island  there 
is  an  older  but  impregnable  Morro  Castle.  Besides  these 
there  are  other  batteries  at  every  place  of  vantage,  such  as 
the  islets  guarding  the  entrance  of  the  bay,  and  the  bridge, 
some  of  which  date  back  to  1534,  and  all  of  which  show 
how  perfectly  the  city  was  guarded  against  foreign  invasion 
and  insular  insurrection,  as  well  as  how  it  has  been  able  to 
resist  French,  English,  Dutch,  and  (shall  we  say  f)  Ameri- 
can  invasion. 

Against  the  seaward  front  of  the  massive  walls  of  the 
Morro  the  ocean  pounds  and  thunders.  A  broad  parade- 
ground  is  inclosed  within  the  walls  westward  from  the 
<  itadel.  The  city  proper  is  situated  on  the  slope  between 
the  surmounting  battlements  and  the  city  wall,  which  is 
n.-ar  the  sea.  From  the  water  it  appears  thoroughly  Ori- 
ental in  color  and  setting.  In  a  conspicuous  house  in  the 
mass  of  buildings  is  no  less  a  structure  than  the  ancient 
castle  of  Ponce  de  Leon.  His  ashes  are  kept  here  in  a 
leaden  case. 

San  Juan  is  laid  off  in  regular  squares,  six  parallel  streets 
running  in  the  direction  of  the  length  of  the  island,  and 
seven  at  riirht  angles.  The  streets  are  wider  than  in  the 
oMer  part  of  Havana,  and  will  admit  two  carriages  abreast 


1  ;  I  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

The  sidewalks  are  narrow,  and  in  places  will  accommodate 
but  one  person.  The  pavements  are  of  a  composition  brick 
manufactured  in  England  from  slag;  pleasant,  even,  and 
durable,  when  no  heavy  strain  is  brought  to  bear  upon 
th<>m.  The  streets  are  swept  daily  by  hand,  and  are  kept 
very  clean.  Three  streets  well  shaded  by  trees  are  known 
as  the  Prinoesa,  Puerto  de  Tierra,  and  Govadonga;  four 
spacious  plazas  with  seats  are  provided  for  recreation. 
There  are  handsome  statues  of  Columbus  and  Ponce  de 
Leon. 

There  are  many  large  and  imposing  public  buildings— 
the  casino,  the  Casa  Blanca,  the  cathedral,  the  island  and 
municipal  administrative  buildings,  the  barracks  of  Balaga, 
the  Casa  de  Beneficencia,  the  seminary,  the  theater,  the 
Intendencia,  the  Diputacion  Provincial,  the  institute,  the 
Real  Audiencia,  the  aduana  or  custom-house,  the  palace  of 
the  military  governor,  that  of  the  captain  of  the  port,  the 
Presidio  Provincial,  the  San  Geronimo,  the  Santa  Elena, 
the  Carmelite  convent ;  the  churches  of  San  Jose",  San 
Francisco,  La  Capilla,  Santa  Ana,  Ermita  del  Santo  Cristo, 
and  St.  Augustine;  the  civil  hospital,  the  College  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  the  public  warehouses,  the  Yacht 
Club,  the  railway-station,  the  Bank  of  Spain  and  Porto  Rico, 
the  office  of  the  administrator-general  of  communications, 
and  the  Hotel  Inglaterra.  There  are  also  many  large  stores 
and  shops,  tastefully  arranged,  and  filled  with  all  kinds  of 
European  goods. 

The  residences  occupied  by  the  more  respectable  people 
are  the  upper  floors  of  the  two-story  buildings,  while  the 
ground  floors,  almost  without  exception,  are  given  up  to 
negroes  and  the  poorer  class,  who  crowd  one  upon  another 
in  the  most  appalling  manner.  One  small  room,  with  a 
flimsy  p.  will  house  a  whole  family. 

Besides  the  town  within  the  walls,  there  are  small  por- 
tions just  outside,  called  the  Marina  and  Puerta  de  Espafia, 
containing  two  or  three  thousand  inhabitants  each.  There 
are  also  two  suburbs— one,  San  Turce,  approached  by  the 


CITIES   OP  POBTO  RICO  17". 

road  loading  out  of  the  city,  and  the  other,  Catano, 
across  the  bay,  reached  by  ferry.  The  Marina  and  the  two 
suburbs  are  situated  on  sandy  points  or  spits,  and  the  lat- 
t.  i  are  surrounded  by  mangrove  swamps. 

There  is  but  little  manufacturing,  and  it  is  of  small  im- 
portance. The  Standard  Oil  Company  has  a  small  refinery 
across  the  bay,  in  which  crude  petroleum,  brought  from  the 
United  States,  is  refined.  Matches,  cigars,  brooms,  a  lit- 
tle soap,  and  a  cheap  class  of  trunk  are  made.  There  are 
also  ice,  gas,  and  electric-light  works.  In  1892  a  contract 
was  made  with  a  London  company  to  build  an  aqueduct 
for  supplying  the  city  with  water.  The  municipality 
guaranteed  seven  per  cent,  interest  on  the  cost,  not  to  ex- 
ceed ninety  thousand  pounds ;  the  work  to  be  finished  in  two 
years.  Floods  and  other  difficulties  have  delayed  its  com- 
pletion, but  the  works  are  nearly  ready  for  service.  A 
British  company  was  formed  in  1875,  with  a  capital  of 
thirty-six  thousand  pounds,  and  given  a  monopoly  of 
twenty-five  years  for  lighting  the  public  streets  with  gas. 
>  undertaking  was  not  successful,  and  in  1897  a  New 
York  company  was  organized  to  construct  an  electric-light 
plant.  The  same  company  also  obtained  a  concession  for 
electric  cars. 

The  port  is  constantly  visited  by  a  multitude  of  sailing- 
vessels  and  steamers  of  all  nationalities,  while  telegraph, 
railways,  and  coasting- vessels  afford  free  communication 
with  all  parts  of  the  island. 

The  city  has  a  board  of  trade  and  several  local  insurance 
societies.  As  usual  in  Spanish  cities,  many  social  organi- 
zations exist,  the  principal  object  of  which  is  pleasure, 
although  they  are  nominally  founded  upon  a  benevolent 
basis.  Among  these  are  the  Society  for  the  Protection  of 
Intelligence,  the  Grand  Economic  Society,  and  the  Friends 
of  Peace.  Others  have  simpler  names,  such  as  the  Athe- 
naeum, the  Casino  Espanol,  the  Casino  de  San  Juan,  etc. 
The  principal  l^nevol»>nt  institutions  are  the  orphan  asy- 
lum, having  two  hundred  and  seventy  children  under  its 


176  <TI;A   AND 

lie  school  of  St.  Ildefonsa,  for  th«-  •<lu<;itjon  of 
poor  rhiMivn  ;  tin-  military  h"-pital,  th»»  insane  asylum,  the 
maternity  hospital,  ami  the  Hospital  of  Santa  Rosa. 

The  entire  population  of  the  city  and  suburbs,  a<  <••  »r<lin^ 
to  the  census  of  1887,  was  twenty-seven  thousand.  I 
now  (1899)  estimated  at  thirty  thousand.  One  half  of  the 
population  consists  of  negroes  and  persons  of  mixed  race. 
The  population  within  the  walls  is  estimated  at  twenty 
thousand,  and  most  of  it  lives  on  ground  floors. 

From  its  topographic  situation  the  town  should  be 
healthful,  but  it  is  not.  Living-space  is  constricted  by  the 
limited  area  of  the  city.  The  ground  floors,  which  are  in- 
habited by  the  lower  classes,  reek  with  filth,  and  conditions 
are  most  unsanitary.  In  a  tropical  country,  where  disease 
readily  prevails,  the  consequences  of  such  herding  may  be 
easily  inferred.  The  soil  umier  the  city  is  clay  mixed  with 
lime,  so  hard  as  to  be  almost  like  rock.  It  is  consequently 
impervious  to  water,  and  furnishes  a  good  natural  drain- 
age. The  town  is  unprovided  with  running  water,  but 
water-works  are  nearly  completed.  The  entire  population 
depends  upon  rain-water,  caught  upon  the  flat  roofs  of  the 
buildings,  and  conducted,  in  every  case,  to  the  cistern, 
which  occupies  the  greater  part  of  the  inner  cor.  i  hat 

is  an  essential  part  of  Spanish  houses  the  world  over,  but 
that  here,  on  account  of  the  crowded  conditions,  is  very 
small.    There  is  no  sewerage,  except  for  surface-water  and 
sinks,  while  vaults  are  in  every  house  and  occupy  such 
space  as  there  may  be  in  the  patios  not  taken  up  by  the 
cisterns.    The  risk  of  contaminating  the  water  is  very  great, 
and  in  dry  seasons  the  supply  is  entirely  exhausted.    Kj  >i- 
demics  sometimes  occur,  and  fleas,  cockroaches,  mosqui 
and  dogs  abound.    Just  under  the  northern  wall  of  the 
Castle  of  San  Juan  is  the  public  cemetery,  the  gate  b. 
overhung  by  an  ornate  sentry-box.    The  bones  of 
tenants  of  graves,  whose  terms  of  tenancy  have  expired, 
are  piled  in  a  corner  of  the  inclosure, 

The  trade- wind  blows  strong  and  fresh,  and  through  the 


CITIES  OP  POBTO  RICO  177 

harbor  runs  a  stream  of  sea-water  at  a  speed  of  not  less 
than    three  miles  an  hour.      With  these  condition 
proper  care  were  taken,  no  contagious  diseases  could  ex 
without  thorn  the  place  would  be  a  veritable  plague-spot. 

Ponce,  near  the  south  shore,  about  eighty  miles  south- 
west from  San  Juan,  is  connc<-t,-d  th. -ivwith  by  a  superb 
macadamized  road  running  diagonally  across  the  island. 
This  city,  founded  in  17.~>2,  has  twenty-two  thousand  in- 
habitants, and  is  second  only  to  San  Juan  in  population. 
The  adjacent  rural  population  numbers  twenty-eight  thou- 
sand people. 

The  city  is  at  the  interior  edge  of  a  plain  where  it  abuts 
against  the  foot-hills,  about  two  miles  from  its  suburban 
seaport,  or  play  a,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  a  fine 
highway.  The  playa  has  about  five  thousand  inhabi- 
tants, and  here  are  situated  the  custom-house,  the  wholesale 
business  houses,  the  office  of  the  captain  of  the  port,  and 
all  the  consular  offices.  The  port  is  spacious,  and  will 
hold  vessels  of  twenty-five  feet  draft.  Ponce  is  flat  and 
closely  built,  but  it  is  surrounded  by  beautiful  hills,  moun- 
tains, and  plains.  The  central  part  is  constructed  almost 
exclusively  of  stuccoed  brick  houses,  and  the  suburbs  of 
wood.  The  houses  are  very  similar  to  those  in  San  Juan, 
1  mt  less  crowded.  The  public  buildings  are  large  and  com- 
modious, especially  the  military  hospital  and  barracks. 
The  eit  y  is  the  residence  of  the  military  commander  of  the 
sub-department  of  Ponce,  and  possesess  a  chamber  of  com- 
merce. There  is  an  appellate  criminal  court,  besides  other 
>  hospitals  besides  the  military  hospital ;  a  home 
of  refuge  for  the  old  and  poor,  a  perfectly  equipped  fire 
department,  a  bank,  a  theater,  several  inferior  hotels,  and 
gas-work-,  ty  has  an  ice-machine;  also  establish- 

•r  hulling  coffee,  distilling  nun,  and  manufacturing 
:;iges,  and  a  large  sugar-grinding  plant. 

The  large  central  plaza,  known  as  Las  Delicias,  has  j» 
irardens,  a  cath.'dnd,  a  fuvmen's  hall,  and  an  ornate  Ara- 
bian  kiosk  where  refreshments  are  served    There  is  a 


178  <TH.\    AM>    I'OKTM    KICO 


Protestant  church  at  Ponce.  There  are  white-gypsum 
quarries  and  medicinal  baths  near  by  ;  the  warm  waters  of 
the  latter  are  recommended  for  cutaneous  diseases.  There 
are  one  hundred  and  fifteen  vehicles  for  public  conveyances, 
chiefly  used  in  conveying  people  to  and  from  the  playa. 
The  inhabitants  are  principally  occupied  in  mercantile  pur- 
suits; but  carpenters,  bricklayers,  joiners,  tailors,  shoe- 
makers, and  barbers  abound.  The  chief  occupations  of  the 
country  people  are  the  cult  ivation  of  sugar,  cocoa,  tobacco, 
and  oranges,  and  the  breeding  of  cattle. 

The  climate,  on  account  of  the  sea-breezes  during  the  day 
and  land-breezes  at  night,  is  not  oppressive,  though  warm  ; 
and  as  water  for  all  purposes,  including  the  fire  department, 
is  amply  supplied  by  an  aqueduct,  Ponce  is  one  of  the  most 
healthful  cities  on  the  island.  A  railway  extends  west  wa  n  1 
from  Ponce  to  Yauco,  and  macadamized  highways  lead  out 
of  the  city  for  short  distances. 

Mayaguez,  founded  in  1752,  the  third  in  public  impor- 
tance, but  by  far  the  most  pleasant  and  beautiful  of  the 
Porto  Rican  cities,  is  situated  in  the  western  part,  facing 
the  Mona  Passage,  and,  like  Ponce,  has  a  commercial  port 
some  three  miles  from  the  main  «-ity.  This  little  city  is  so 
different  in  aspect  and  customs  from  San  Juan  and  Ponce 
that  one  can  hardly  realize  that  it  is  upon  the  same  island. 
The  streets  are  wide  and  shaded,  and  lined  with  handsome 
residences  and  shops.  Each  family  of  the  better  class  ap- 
parently dwells  in  a  home  of  its  own,  instead  of  living  in 
second  stories  above  poverty  and  filth,  as  in  San  Juan. 
The  public  buildings  are  numerous,  commodious,  and 
ornate.  In  fact,  I  have  never  seen  an  American  city  of 
twice  the  size  so  well  provided  in  this  respect.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned  the  municipal  building  whirl, 
commodates  the  executive,  jndi.  -iary,  and  postal  officials;  a 
large  asylum  for  the  poor,  a  commodious  caw/,  a  handsome 
custom-house,  hospital  buildings  for  the  military  and  civil- 
ians, enormous  barracks  for  the  troops,  the  finest  t  li- 
on the  island,  a  handsome  cathedral,  etc.  An  ornate  plaza 


CITIES  OF  POBTO  RICO  17!» 

contains  a  majestic  statue  of  Columbus.  jf  has  a 

public  library  and  excellent  water-works,  is  lighted  by  elec- 
tri<  it  y,  and  possesses  the  only  street-car  line  on  the  island. 
lirautiful  drives  can  be  taken.  The  citizens,  largely 
wealthy  coffee-planters  owning  estates  in  the  adjacent 
mountains,  are  cultured  and  sociable.  Of  all  the  places  in 
Porto  Kir<>,  tliis  is  by  far  the  one  most  agreeable  in  which 
to  spend  a  winter.  The  population  is  nearly  twenty  thou- 
sand, the  majority  white. 

of  industries  there  is  little  to  be  said,  except  that 
there  are  three  manufactories  of  chocolate,  for  local  con- 
sumption. Sugar,  coffee,  oranges,  pineapples,  and  cocoa- 
nuts  are  exported  largely— all,  except  coffee,  principally  to 
the  United  States.  Of  sugar,  the  muscovado  goes  to  the 
United  States  and  the  centrifugal  to  Spain.  Mayaguez  is 
the  second  port  for  coffee,  the  average  annual  export  being 
one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  hundredweights.  The 
quality  is  of  the  best,  ranging  in  price  with  Java  and  other 
first-rate  brands.  The  lower  grades  are  sent  to  Cuba, 
About  fifty  thousand  bags  of  flour  are  imported  into  this 
port  every  year  from  the  United  States,  out  of  the  one 
hundred  and  eighty  thousand  bags  consumed  in  the  island. 
The  climate  is  excellent,  the  temperature  never  exceed- 
ing 90°  F.  The  city  is  connected  by  railway  with  the 
neighboring  town  of  Aguadilla,  and  a  railroad  is  being 
constructed  to  Lares,  one  of  the  large  interior  towns. 
Another  short  line  leads  eastward  to  Hormigueras. 

Near  the  city  is  a  beautiful  plain  watered  by  the  Rio 
Maya-u.  /;  this  plain,  like  the  country  around  San  Juan 
and  r»n<  ••,  is  noted  on  the  island  for  its  fine  state  of  cul- 
.  This  is  said  to  have  been  the  place  of  disem- 
barkation of  Columbus  on  his  second  visit  to  the  island  in 
Most  of  the  people  are  engaged  in  commerce. 

There  are  several  smaller  coastal  or  snbcoastal  cities  in 
Porto  Rico,  which  are  of  considerable  importance  as  the 
centers  of  trade  and  agriculture.  The  chief  of  these  are 
Aguadilla  on  the  west,  Arecibo  on  the  north,  Fajardo  and 


1-"  CUBA   AND  PORTO  RICO 

Naguabo  on  the  east,  Ounyama  and  Yauco  on  the  south. 
and  Cabo  Hojo  at  the  southwest  corner. 

Aguadilla,  founded  in  1775  (population  five  thousai 
the  principal  town  and  the  port  of  Aguadilla  <liMri<  t.  in 
the  northwest  portion  of  the  island,  and  is  noted  for  its 
fish,  sugar-cane,  sweet  oranges,  and  lemons.  The  village  has 
beautiful  trees  surrounded  by  choice  grazing-lands ;  it  has 
a  ] »! .  1 1  y  plaza  divided  into  four  parts,  in  each  of  which  is  a 
little  garden  with  a  statue  in  its  center.  There  is  also  a 
beautiful  and  copious  natural  fountain,  from  which  the 
« it  y  takes  its  name,  and  which  was  discovered  by  Colum- 
bus. The  cultivation  of  sugar-cane,  coffee,  tobacco,  and 
cocoanuts,  and  the  distillation  of  rum  from  molasses,  are 
the  industries  of  the  neighborhood.  In  the  town  are  three 
establishments  for  preparing  coffee  for  exportation.  The 
climate  is  hot,  but  healthful ;  yellow  fever  almost  never 
prevails. 

Arecibo,  which  is  locally  known  as  the  most  loyal  town, 
was  founded  in  1788,  and  is  a  thriving  place  of  seven 
t  h<  >usand  inhabitants.  It  commands  the  trade  of  the  west 
of  the  north  coast  of  the  island.  It  fares  the  ocean 
and  adjoins  an  extensive  sandy  beach  bathed  by  the  waters 
of  the  Atlnnti. .  In  the  adjacent  lands  along  the  river 
Arecibo  are  va  1  u a  1  >1  e  plantations  of  coffee,  sugar,  etc.  There 
are  also  fine  pastures  near  here.  From  an  ornamental  cen- 
plaza,  surrounded  by  public  buildings,  the  streets  run 
at  right  angles,  forming  regular  squares.  The  buildings 
are  constructed  of  wood  and  brick.  The  city  has  a  large 
church,  a  good  theater,  and  pleasing  j.nMir  buildings. 
From  Arecibo  a  road  leads  to  the  cave  of  Consejo,  framed 
by  a  multitude  of  irregular  arches  which  pierce  the  rock 
and  which  are  lined  by  many  crystallizations  of  calcite. 

The  harbor  is  poor,  beini:  nothing  more  than  an  open 
roadstead  exposed  to  the  full  force  of  the  ocean,  in  whi<  h 
vessels,  during  northerly  winds,  can  hardly  lit-  in  safety. 
Close  inshore,  on  one  side,  stretch  dangerous  reefs,  a  con- 
stant menace  to  vessels  if  their  anchors  do  not  hold.  Into 


OP  PORTO  RICO  181 

this  harbor  empties  a  narrow  and  shallow  stream  called 
the  Rio  Grande  de  Arecibo.  Goods  are  conveyed  on  this 
riviT  to  and  from  the  town  in  flat-bottomed  boats,  with  the 
aid  of  long  poles,  and  by  dint  of  much  patient  pushing. 
At  the  bar  of  the  river  everything  is  again  transferred  into 
lighters,  and  thence  to  vessels.  It  is  a  tedious  and  expen- 
sive process.  However,  Arecibo  is  quite  an  important 
port,  ;m«l  has  tributary  to  it  a  large  district  of  some  thirty 
thousand  inhabitants.  The  want  of  good  roads  on  the 
island  makes  such  a  place  as  Arecibo  far  more  important 
than  it  would  otherwise  be. 

Fajardo,  founded  in  1774,  is  on  the  east  coast  of  the 
island,  and  has  a  population  of  8779,  according  to  the  last 
official  statistics  (December,  1887).  The  port  is  handsome, 
with  a  thinl-rluss  lighthouse  at  the  entrance,  at  the  point 
called  Cabeza  de  San  Juan,  and  a  custom-house  open  to  all 
commerce.  The  town  is  about  one  and  a  quarter  miles 
from  the  bay.  The  only  important  industry  of  the  district 
i-  the  manufacture  of  muscovado  sugar,  to  which  most  of 
the  planters  devote  themselves.  Shocks,  hickory  hoops, 
pine  boards,  and  provisions  come  from  the  United  States 
in  considerable  quantities.  Sugar  and  molasses  are  ex- 
ported, and  occasionally  tortoise-shell.  The  climate  is 
temperate  and  healthful. 

Naguabo  (on  the  east  side)  has  only  about  two  thousand 
inhabitants,  and  in  the  harbor  there  is  another  smaller 
place,  called  I  Maya  de  Naguabo,  or  Ucares,  with  about  fif- 
teen hundred.  The  capital  of  the  department,  Humacao,  is 
nine  miles  from  Naguabo,  and  has  four  thousand  inhabi- 
tants, the  district  comprising  more  than  fifteen  thousand. 
This  department  contains  many  fruit-  and  cattle-farms, 
and  also  grows  much  coffee.  The  lands  are  well  irrigated 
by  streams. 

Arroyo,  in  :  i<-t  of  Guayama  (southeast  portion), 

is  a  small  seaport  of  about  t  \\vlve  hundred  inhabitants. 

annual  exports  to  th.   Fni  .>s  average  seven  to 

ten  thousand  hogsheads  of  sugar,  two  to  five  thousand 


CUBA   AND  POBTO  RIOO 

casks  of  molasses,  and  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  casks 
and  barrels  of  bay-rum.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  fertil*- 
country  devoted  to  the  cult i\  at  i-n  of  sugar-cane. 

Tauco  is  situated  several  miles  from  the  sea,  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountains,  about  half-way  between  Mayaguez  and 
Ponce,  and  is  the  terminus  of  the  railway  from  the  latt.-r 
city.  It  is  surrounded  by  extensi  \  •»•  i  nigated  sugar-planta- 
s,  and  is  the  outlet  of  fine  coffee-plantations  back  of  the 
city  in  the  mountains. 

San  German,  situated  on  the  large  hill  near  the  riv.-r 
Quanajibo,  founded  in  1511,  is  in  a  district  having  a  popu- 
lation of  19,887  people,  many  of  them  well-to-do.  There 
are  three  public  plazas,  on  one  of  which  is  the  chun-h, 
with  altars  of  marble,  and  an  antique  convent  belonging  to 
the  Dominicans.  The  city  has  a  seminary,  hospital,  and 
other  institutions.  The  adjacent  lands  formerly  produced 
large  crops,  but  have  deteriorated ;  nevertheless,  they  are 
still  more  or  less  productive.  This  community  was  origi- 
nally located  at  Guanica,  on  the  bay  of  the  same  name, 
several  miles  to  the  south. 

Of  the  smaller  towns  and  villages  of  Porto  Kiro  littl.- 
need  be  said.  They  are  numerous  and  scattered  throughout 
the  island,  each  being  the  center  of  an  agricultural  commu- 
nity; each  contains  its  plaza,  church,  administrative  l.uiM- 
ing,  and  a  few  stores,  together  with  the  usual  assemblage 
of  lawyers,  doctors,  and  other  professional  men,  including 
the  escribanos,  or  professional  lett«  ra  for  the  illit.  i- 

ate.    There  are  also  black  ,md  wheelwrights.    All 

of  these  towns  have  accommodations  for  the  traveler,  1-ut 
not  of  a  character  to  warrant  fulsome  commendation, 
vate  hospitality  is  so  customary  that  the  native  always 
finds  a  friend  who  gladly  entertains  him. 

Cabo  Rojo,  a  small  village  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
island,  is  more  often  heard  of  than  seen  by  the  traveler. 
It  is  famous  for  its  native  products.  The  best  quality 
of  everything  comes  from  there,  especially  guayava  dulces, 
walking-sticks,  and  hats. 


CITIES  OF  PORTO  RICO  183 

Many  villages  of  the  interior  are  situated  in  the  high- 
lands and  noted  for  their  cooler  temperature,  shade,  and 
waters.  They  are  nil  pirturesque  and  well  built,  with  the 
usual  type  of  plaza,  public  Buildings,  and  church.  Among 
them  are  Aguas  Buenas,  surrounded  by  coffee-  and  fruit- 
gardens;  Cidra,  with  its  beautiful  forests  and  tall  trees; 
Cayey,  in  the  central  cordillera,  nestled  amid  pretty  forests 
and  farms  of  tobacco  and  coffee ;  Barros,  near  the  center  of 
the  island,  noted  for  its  coffee,  woods,  and  excellent  cattle. 
Lares  is  a  large  and  well-built  village  in  the  center  of  a 
rich  coffee  district.  San  Sebastian,  Utuado,  Las  Marias, 
and  Juncos  are  also  pretty  mountain  villages,  accessible 
by  horse  and  pack-train,  and  well  worthy  of  a  visit  by  the 
traveler  of  leisure. 

Adjuntas  is  also  situated  in  the  central  cordillera,  and  its 
topographic  position  gives  it  fresh  air.  In  this  vicinity  a 
number  of  b.-autiful  streams  run  in  all  directions  through 
fertile  valleys,  while  the  adjacent  mountain  peaks  are 
covered  with  coffee-  and  fruit-farms. 

Aibouito  is  one  of  the  highest  villages  in  the  island,  and 
has  a  very  refreshing  temperature.  The  surrounding 
country  produces  large  quantities  of  excellent  coffee.  Prom 
a  nearby  summit  both  coasts  can  be  seen. 

Kio  I'irdras.  in  a  day  and  limestone  district,  boasts  a 
resort  known  as  La  Convalecencia,  which  was  frequented  by 
the  governors-general.  Capua s  situated  in  a  fertile  valley, 
has  beautiful  pastures,  sugar-estates,  and  fruit-farms ;  also 
quarries  of  marble  and  lime.  Bayamon,  near  San  Juan, 
possesses  a  fine  iron  bridge,  a  small  iron-factory,  and  a 
petroleum-refinery.  Afiasco,  on  a  river  of  the  same  name, 
has  a  large  sugar-grinding  plant,  and  the  fertile  surround- 
ing country  produces  large  crops  of  beans,  vegetables, 
sugar,  and  coffee.  Aguado,  founded  in  1.~>11,  also  claims 
t<»  he  the  most  ancient  village  on  the  island;  the  adjacent 
lands  are  of  fine  quality.  Another  large  sugar  plant  is 
situated  at  this  village. 

There  are  three  smaller  habitable  islands  adjacent  to 


CUBA  AND   PORTO   RICO 

Porto  Rico,  which  constitute  parts  of  its  political  organiza- 
tion.   These  are  Mona,  on  the  west,  and  ( 
Vieques,  on  the  ea>  ••••ho  Island,  small,  barren,  and 

uninhabited,  lies  in  Mona  Passage,  about  ten  miles  north 
west  of  Mayaguez.    Ratones,  near  Ponce,  and  Muertos,  t  <  n 
in ili-s  off  in  a  southeasterly  •  n,  and  an  archipelago  of 

small  islands  off  the  northeast  point  and  east  coast,  con- 
<  hid*-  tli.-  list  of  outlying  possessions.  These  all  rise  in 
line  with  the  Antillean  trend  from  the  same  submerged 
platform,  and  are  probably  remnants  of  once  more-con- 
nected masses  of  land.  These  islands  are  more  fully 
described  in  the  Appendix. 

In  conclusion,  we  may  add  that  it  is  by  no  means  certain 
that  there  will  be  many  opportunities  for  the  acquisition 
of  wealth  in  Porto  Rico,  by  the  exploitation  of  either  the 
agricultural  or  mineral  resources  by  emigrants  of  the 
United  States.  The  conditions  that  have  prevailed  for  cen- 
turies  cannot  be  changed  in  a  day.  The  lands  to  which 
titl-s  have  been  held  for  hundreds  of  years  cannot  be  ali«  n- 
ated  save  by  purchase.  On  the  other  hand,  the  island  will 
prove  a  delightful  acquisition  from  an  esthetic  point  of 
view,  and  will  be  much  sought  by  our  people  for  recreation 
and  pleasure.  In  an  Appendix  we  give  a  few  words  con- 
cerning the  capacities  and  needs  of  Porto  Rico,  and  some 
impression  of  the  island  gained  from  a  visit  thereto  in 
nary,  1899,  after  the  first  edition  of  this  book  was  pub- 
lished. We  have  also  added  a  few  statistical  data  whi<  h 
may  be  of  use  to  the  reader. 


PORT   ROYAL   FROM   THE   SEA 


ROCK   COAST    AND    PSEUDO-ATOLLS,  MONTEQO   BAY 


I 


OF    PORT    ROYAL 
.1  \M  \l«    \ 


CHAPTER  XX 

JAMAICA 

Geographical  feature*  of  the  island.  Its  central  position  in  the  West 
Indies.  The  Blue  Mountain  scenery.  The  limestone  plateau.  The 
coast  border  and  plains.  Flora,  fauna,  climate,  sanitation. 

A  LTHOUQH  Jamaica  is  not  more  richly  endowed  by 
J\.  nature  than  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  and  Santo  Domingo, 

.  because  of  the  administration  of  a  beneficent  govern- 
ment, it  ranks  as  the  most  beautiful  and  salubrious  of 
the  four  Great  Antilles.  Here  alone  has  a  stable  and 
civilized  government  been  established  which  has  per- 
mitted the  development  of  the  possibilities  of  the  soil  ami 
climate,  and,  by  enforcing  sanitation,  education,  and  public 
order,  has  enabled  us  to  see  how  high  a  degree  of  culture 
may  U«  attained  in  the  \\Vst  In«li»'s. 

Jamaica  is  an  elevated  prolongation  of  the  submerged 
bank  which  extends  southwestward  from  the  island  of 
Santo  Domingo,  and  lies  entirely  south  of  the  main  An- 
tilloan  ridge  formed  by  Cuba,  Santo  Domingo,  and  Porto 

•>,  and  five  degrees  south  of  the  latitude  of  Havana.  It 
is  south  of  the  western  half  of  the  Sierra  Maestra  coast- 
lino  of  Cuba,  from  which  it  is  sixty-five  nautical  miles 
distant.  Between  these  islands  is  the  eastward  prolon- 
gation of  the  great  Bartlett  depression,  three  thousand 
fathoms  deep.  The  eastern  coast  is  about  the  same  dis- 

185 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

tance  from  Cape  Tiburon,  the  western  point  of  Haiti,  and 
is  separated  therefrom  by  one  thousand  fathoms  of  wa 
On  th»*  smith  lies  a  wide  stretch  of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  two 
thousand  fathoms  deep.  Cape  Gracias  &  Dios,  on  the 
western  coast  of  Honduras,  the  nearest  Central  American 
land,  is  seven  hundred  and  eighty  nautical  miles  distant. 
To  the  southwest  extend  the  Rosalind  and  Pedro  banks, 
less  than  five  hundred  fathoms  deep,  which  constitute  an 
extensive  shallow  submarine  platform  connecting  Jamaica 
with  the  Central  American  littoral. 

The  island  is  at  almost  the  exact  center  of  the  great 
American  Mediterranean.  It  lies  just  half-way  between 
Galveston  and  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  the  southern 
point  of  Florida  and  the  northern  part  of  South  America, 
the  eastern  end  of  the  Antilles  (St.  Thomas)  and  the  west- 
ern indentations  of  the  Gulf  of  Honduras,  and  the  most 
northern  of  the  Bahamas  and  the  Gulf  of  Atrato.  This 
position  is  important  from  political,  geographic,  biologic, 
and  geologic  points  of  view,  and  makes  the  island  a  typical 
bate  of  study  for  one  interested  in  Antillean  problems. 

Its  outline  is  that  of  an  elongated  parallelogram  whose 
corners  have  been  obliquely  truncated,  resulting  in  a  wide 
oblong  area  from  whose  east  and  west  ends  project  two 
broad  peninsulas.  Its  extreme  length  is  one  hundred  and 
forty-four  miles;  its  greatest  width  is  forty-nine  miles; 
its  least  width,  twenty-one  and  a  half  miles,  between 
Kingston  and  Annatto  Bay.  Its  longest  axis  lies  in  an 
east-and-west  direction.  The  area  is  4207J  square  miles- 
less  than  one  tenth  that  of  Cuba,  and  five  hundred  square 
miles  greater  than  that  of  Porto  E 

From  the  sea  Jamaica  appears  as  a  group  of  mountain 
summits  rising  sharply  above  the  expanse  of  water  in  a 
tangled  mass  of  forest-covered  land,  apparently  without 
systematic  types  of  relief  by  whirh  its  configuration 
be  classified.  The  higher  summits  of  the  eastern  end  are 
usually  veiled  in  clouds,  so  that  only  their  lower  slopes 
are  visible.  The  mists  are  apparently  forever  present  in 


JAMAICA  187 

the  upper  regions,  for  one  can  seldom  catch  a  view  of  Blue 
Mountain  Peak,  the  monarch  of  the  system.  As  the  coast 
is  more  closely  approached  and  the  island  encircled,  the 
configuration  resolves  itself  into  well-differentiated  forms. 

The  uplands  do  not  slope  gradually  to  the  sea,  but  are 
terminated  near  the  coast  by  very  abruptly  truncated 
Muffs  and  steep  slopes,  usually,  but  not  everywhere,  sepa- 
rated from  the  sea  by  a  narrow  strip  of  plain,  as  if  the 
original  coast  margins  of  the  mountainous  upland  had 
once  extended  much  farther  seaward  and  had  been  hori- 
zontally planed  away  by  the  beating  sea.  This  abrupt  sea 
face  of  the  mountainous  upland  is  a  marked  topographic 
peculiarity,  which  we  shall  call  the  back-coast  border. 

The  chief  features  of  the  topography  are  the  superb 
summits  of  the  Blue  Mountain  ridge  of  the  east,  sur- 
rounded by  a  lower  but  rugged  plateau  of  white-limestone 
hills,  which  extends  westward  and  largely  occupies  the 
western  two  thirds  of  the  island.  The  secondary  features 
of  the  topography  are  interior  basins  and  valleys  in  the 
summit  of  the  plateau,  certain  coastal  benches  and  terraces 
carved  out  of  the  margin  of  the  back-coast  border,  occa- 
sional patches  of  low  coastal  plain,  and  deep-cut  drainage 
valleys. 

The  Blue  Mountain  ridge,  a  sinuous  divide  with  many 
bifurcating  branches,  extends  one  third  the  length  of  the 
island,  from  near  the  eastern  point  toward  Port  Maria,  and 
has  a  trend  of  north  of  west,  parallel  to  the  truncated 
northeast  coast.  It  presents  a  serrated  crest-line  with 
radiating  laterals,  whose  summits  culminate  near  the 
center  of  the  ridge  in  the  Blue  Mountain  Peak  (7360  feet). 
West  of  this  peak  the  heights  gradually  decrease  until 
th«»y  become  lower  than  those  of  the  limestone  plateau. 
The  central  ridge  and  numerous  laterals,  which  project 
from  it  at  right  angles,  present  steep  angular  profiles,  like 
that  of  an  inverted  letter  V.  Its  configuration  is  singu- 
larly free  from  benches,  mesa-tops,  or  cliffs. 

Imagination   can   picture   no  more  exquisite  scenery 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  BICO 

than  that  of  these  mountains.  It  equals  that  01 
but  is  entirely  different  in  detail,  as  can  be  seen  in  th<> 
ascent  of  Blu«'  Mountain  iVak.  With  increasing  filth 
panorama  after  panorama  of  tmpi.al  landscape  unfolds 
in  rapid  succession.  At  Gordontown,  nine  miles  north  of 
Kingston,  where  the  interior  margin  of  the  Liguanea  plain 
abruptly  meets  the  mountain  front,  the  ascent  begins 
through  the  red-colored  cliffs  of  the  Hope  River  canon, 
which  here,  at  an  altitude  of  nine  hundred  feet,  debou 
into  the  gravel  plain.  A  thousand  feet  above  us,  the  white 
buildings  of  Newcastle  Barracks  look  like  doves  upon  a 
housetop;  yet  later  we  climb  so  far  above  them  that  they 
seem  like  toy  houses  below.  At  two  thousand  feet  the 
plain  of  Liguanea,  upon  which  Kingston  is  built,  with  its 
neighboring  villages  and  shipping,  grows  smaller  and 
smaller,  and  finally  appears  like  a  diminutive  plaza  below 
us.  Sometimes  our  path  clings  to  the  mountain-side,  with 
an  apparently  endless  slope  above  and  a  bottomless  chasm 
below.  Again,  it  follows  a  knife-edge,  from  which  we  can 
see  beyond,  on  both  sides  of  the  island,  the  waters  of  the 
Caribbean,  so  distant  and  so  far  below  that  no  horizon 
can  be  distinguished  where  the  gray  of  the  sea  meets  that 
of  the  sky.  Great  ocean  steamers  plying  th.-ir  way  look 
like  minnows  basking  on  the  surface  of  a  lake.  Still 
higher  we  look  down  upon  the  forest-covered  summits 
of  the  limestone  plateau,  which  appears  below  as  an 
unbroken  meadow,  its  rugged  hills  and  canons  seemingly 
<>1.1  iterated. 

Each  step  of  the  way  is  marked  by  wonders  of  the 
vegetal  kingdom.    At  the  foot  is  the  seniiarid  south- 
coast  chaparral,  with  exogenous  banana-plants,  cocoa  i 
trees,  native  cactus,  and  acacias.    Ascending  Hope  K 
canon,  the  delicate  deciduous  flora  of  the  island  is  first 
met     Vast  trees  of  the  forest,  draped  with  tillan<! 
mantle  the  slopes,  whih-   th.    diffs  are  burdened  with 
begonia  and  ferns,— goM«  r,  and  d«'li«-atf  mai'h-n- 

liair,— besides  many   little  flowers  which  find  foothold 


MOUNTAIN    SCENERY 


NEWCASTLE    BARRACKS 

•  I\M  M(    \ 


JAMAICA 

in  the  rocks.  From  one  to  four  thousand  feet,  plant., 
tious  of  coffee  are  numerous,  because  of  the  congenial 
temperature  and  moisture  which  this  most  fastidious 
shrub  demands.  At  five  thousand  feet  the  government 
has  used  a  suitable  environment  for  a  cinchona-faun. 
Above  six  thousand  feet,  in  an  atmosphere  of  perpetual 
humidity,  tree-ferns,  the  most  exquisite  of  tropical  plant-, 
appear  and  clothe  the  summit.  In  this  climate  alpine 
heights  and  slopes  offer  no  obstacle  to  human  occupation. 
and  to  an  altitude  of  four  thousand  feet  they  are  well 
populated.  On  the  summit  a  hut  has  be<  ided  for 

the  tourist  to  camp  in  for  the  night. 

There  are  many  other  conspicuous  peaks  of  the  Blue 
Mountain  ridge,  but  few  of  them  have  received  local 
names.  Sugar-loaf  Peak,  \vhich  lies  just  east  of  Blue 
Mountain  Peak,  is  a  part  of  the  latter.  To  the  west  are 
Sir  John's  1',-ak,  John  Crow  Hill,  Silver  Hill,  and  St. 
Catherine's  Peak  (5036  feet).  These  high  summits  are 
situated  near  the  central  portion  of  the  main  ridge,  which 
is  crossed  by  five  passes  with  altitudes  varying  between 
three  and  four  thousand  feet 

East  of  Kingston  there  are  few  practical  openings 
through  the  Blue  Mountain  ridge  which  are  passable  on 
horseback.  One  of  these  is  that  of  Cuua-Cuna,  between 
Port  Antonio  and  Bowden,  which  traverses  some  of  the 
most  rugged  and  beautiful  scenery  on  the  island.  Its 
altitude  is  2698  feet.  A  good  highway  crosses  the  island 
through  a  pass  in  the  ridge  cut  by  the  waters  of  the  Wag 
Water  (Agua  Alta),  between  Kingston  and  Port  Maria. 

The  Blue  Mountain  ridge  is  not  a  rock-ribbed  projec- 
tion of  granite,  lava,  or  other  endurini:  rock,  like  our 
New  England  hills,  but  is  composed  of  friable  or  loosely 
consolidated  shales,  clays,  and  conglomerates,  with  here 
and  there  an  exceptional  local  bed  of  limestone  or  an 
occasional  dike  or  mass  of  soft  and  decomposed  JLTIM-OUS 
rock.  The  result  is  a  configuration  of  wonderful  knife- 
crests,  slopes,  and  points,  rather  than  cliffs  and  table-lands. 


190  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

When  one  considers  the  softness  of  the  material,  and  how 
rapidly  degradation  is  going  on  and  has  gone  on,  he  can 
I  nit  cnii.-lu.lr  that  the  mountains  were  once  of  much 
greater  altitude  and  extent  There  is  no  reason  why 
tli.-ir  summits  in  times  past  may  not  have  extended  as 
high  as  th'-ir  kindred  in  the  Sierra  Maestra  of  Cuba,  < 
eight  thousand  feet,  or  in  Santo  Domingo,  over  ten  thou- 
sand feet. 

The  old  Blue  Mountain  rocks  reappear  in  many  places 
in  the  great  central  valleys  of  St.-Thomas-iii-the-Yale, 
Clarendon  Parish,  Great  River,  and  elsewhere  to  the  west, 
where  the  later  crust  of  the  white-limestone  ]>lat<  au  has 
been  worn  away.  They  are  also  seen  in  the  face  of  the 
back-coast  bluffs  along  the  western  half  of  the  north  side 
of  the  island,  below  the  limestone  and  above  the  narrow 
coastal  benches.  They  are  all  parts  of  the  same  grand 
Antillean  system  which  we  have  previously  described. 

The  western  two  thirds  of  the  island  is  occupied  by  th<- 
great  white-limestone  plateau,  a  wonderful  and  diversified 
region  of  hills,  valleys,  and  exquisite  landscapes.  This 
feature,  a  later  addition  to  the  geologic  an  hit. .  ture,  is  a 
dissected  plain,  whirh  has  been  carved  and  nit  into  a 
thousand  hills,  pitted  with  wonderful  sink-holes  and 
valleys,  and  covered  with  exquisite  vegetation.  Its  main 
area  stands  like  a  shoulder  some  two  thousand  feet  L 
extending  westward  from  the  still  higher  sierras,  although 
a  narrow  l..-lt  «»r  <-"llar  <•!'  it  r«unjil.-t«'ly  riinivl.-<  tin-  east- 
ern end  of  the  island 

As  a  whole,  the  profile  of  the  plateau,  could  the  irr< 
larities  of  erosion  be  eliminated,  would  be  a  very  gent  If 
arch  sloping  north  and  south  toward  the  adjacent  seas. 
The  curves  of  this  arch,  if  continued,  would  not  meet  the 
sea  at  the  present  margin  of  the  land,  but  would  int.-m.pt 
it  quite  a  distance  beyond  the  shores,  indicating  that  ill-- 
former borders,  now  restricted  by  the  agencies  which  have 
sculptured  the  steep  margins  of  the  plateau,  were  once 
much  more  extensive. 


JAMAICA  191 

By  tacit  consent,  the  innumerable  eminences  of  the 
plateau  are  called  hills  in  Jamaica,  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  central  mountains.  The  higher  sun  units  of  the 
plateau  are  found  near  the  center  of  the  island,  one 
of  which,  Mount  Diablo,  is  reported  to  be  3053  feet  in 
altitude. 

The  materials  of  the  plateau  and  its  outliers  are  soluble 
white  limestones  like  those  of  Cuba— sheets  of  old  cal- 
careous oceanic  sediments,  now  hardened  into  subcrys- 
talline  texture,  which  weather  into  ragged  honeycombed 
surfaces  or  dissolve  away  under  the  tropical  rainfall  into 
a  unique  configuration  of  roughly  serrated  hills,  basins, 
and  deep  drainage- ways  leading  to  the  sea.  Some  of  tlje 
basins  are  called  cockpits— wonderful  funnel-shaped  sink- 
holes, often  five  hundred  feet  or  more  in  depth,  with  steep 
acclivities  ascending  into  pointed  conical  hills  no  less 
angular  than  the  pits.  Then  there  are  great  basin-shaped 
valleys,  themselves  an  evolution  of  the  cockpits,  consist- 
ing of  deep  holes  with  wide,  flat  bottoms,  in  which  the 
plantations  are  situated,  inclosed  by  rugged  limestone 
is  \vhirh  rise  from  twelve  to  twenty-five  hundred  feet 
above  them  (the  height  varying  in  different  localities)  and 
separate  the  valleys  by  wild  and  uninhabited  uplands. 
These  valleys  differ  from  one  another  chiefly  in  area.  In 
many  cases,  although  well  watered,  they  have  no  outlet, 
while  in  others  the  barriers  have  been  partially  eroded, 
and  they  are  drained  by  rivers  leading  to  the  sea. 

The  largest  and  most  populous  of  these  depressions  are 
those  of  St-Thomas-in-the-Vale,  the  great  Vale  of  Claren- 
don surrounding  the  Clarendon  Mountains,  the  Hector 
or  basin  in  northern  Manchester,  and  the  Niagara 
er  Valley  along  the  boundary  of  St.  Elizabeth  and  St 
James.  Mnntpelier  Valley,  along  Great  River  in  Han- 
over, and  Morgan's  Gut  Valley  in  Westmoreland,  are 
similar  basins  which  have  had  drainage-gaps  cut  through 
their  surrounding  barriers.  The  latter  now  constitutes  an 
interior  embayment  of  the  great  plain  of  Savana-la-Mar. 


(  I   l:\    AM>    1-nKTn    Kirn 

The  beautiful  valley  of  Bt-ThomM-hi-the-Va]  iost 

ilar  in  outline,  ami  its  floor  has  a  diaim-t.-r  of  ten 
miles.  Its  alluvial  bottom  is  largely  covered  with  •  h, 
ing  fields  an«l  villages.  The  mountainous  scenery  en- 
circling it  is  beyond  description.  From  Ewarton  can  be 
seen  a  band  of  white  limestone  rising  on  the  west  side  of 
the  valley  in  a  gentle  arch,  and  extending  for  miles  toward 
Moneague.  This  band  has  a  steep  face  and  is  crested  by 
niL'LT'-'l  points  t'«>nniiiLr  tin-  ]»lat»-au  summit.  Th«-  mlmi- 
nation  of  this  arch  is  Mount  Diablo.  Some  ten  copious 
streams  drain  this  valley,  and  gather  into  a  single  arterial 
outlet,  the  Rio  Cobre,  by  which  they  pass  to  the  sea 
through  the  narrow  gorge  of  the  iiirtun->«ju»'  Bog  Walk 
canon.  These  streams  have  their  sources  in  springs  or 
caverns  in  lower  portions  of  the  hilly  borders  of  the 
valleys. 

The  Clarendon  Valley,  in  the  geographic  center  of  the 
island,  is  about  fifty  miles  long  and  tw«-nty-iiv  n 
wide.    Its  longer  direction  corresponds  with  that  of  the 
axis  of  the  plateau.    While  tin-  valley  is  of  the  same 
general  type  and  origin  as  that  of  St.-Thomas-in-the-Y 
it  differs  from  it  in  the  fact  that  steep  mountains  rise 
from  its  center  like  the  crown  of  a  hat  above  the  rim,  the 
valley  proper  being  an  annular  area  lying  between  these 
mountains  and  the  surrounding  white-limestone  escarp- 
ments.   The  drainage,  like  that  of  St.-Thomas-in-the-Y 
concentrates  into  an  arterial  trunk  known  as  th«-  Minho, 
through  the  canon  of  whi.-h  it  escapes  to  the  south  coast. 

The  pouch-like  basin  of  He<  -t  «  <  nnocted 

with  th.«  northwest  end  of  Clarendon  basin,  but  has  no 

t  nutl.'t  to  tho  sea;  they  are  separated  by  a  bar 
of  low  hills.     The  stream  from  which  the  basin  take- 
name  rises  from  springs  at  its  west  end,  and  sinks  into 
the  limestones  to  the  east.    Cave  Valley  in  St.  Ann  Pa 
is  four  miles  in  diameter,  and  is  separated  from  th.-  <  hn- 
endon  Valley  by  a  limestone  ridge  less  than  a  mil.-  in 
width. 


I, IKS,    .1  \M  M(  A 


JAMAICA 

West  of  the  Clarendon  l.a-in  similar  eiivular  depressions 
occur  at  short  interval-,  su« -h  as  those  at  Oxford,  on  the 
i ...ii n.iary  of  tho  parishes  of  Manchester  and  St.  Kli/.a- 
I- -ill ;  the  great  head- water  amphitheater  of  I'.laek  I; 
St.  Elizabeth;  th*  U.  m  of  Niagara  River;  the  Mulgrave 
an  i  h  sinks;  the  Cambridge  basin;  the  basin  at 

id.-  head  of  li..arim_r  Ki\er,  and  ti  •  l\  IT'S  Valley  basin 
near  Jerusalem,  the  last  two  of  whi.h  open  into  the 
Savana-la-Mar  ("  1  Ma  i  n  I  .\  t  he  Sea  ").  Of  these  the  Niagara, 
Mulgrave,  and  I p- \\i--h  basins  have  no  drainage  outlets. 
The  basins  above  described  constitute  a  line  of  depres- 
IH  along  the  central  axis  of  the  plateau.  North  of 
these,  iti  the  hi^h  plateau  region  nf  tin-  pari-hev,  of  Tiv- 
lawney  and  St.  Ann,  are  other  basins.  There  are  many 
other  smaller  ami  !••—  important  sinks  in  the  western 
portion  of  the  island,  but  th<>s<>  I  ha\<>  <>mnn<>rated  show 
th««  i-hararter  of  th«'s«*  \viil«-ly  «li>t ril»ut«Ml  ph.-imiiicna. 
:i  my  «l.'<ri-iptioiis  it  will  be  seen  that  many  of  these 
"iitli-t,  although  in  tli«-ir  l»ottoms  may  bo 
f"iiml  1  in  1 1  »iil  streams  of  water.  The  barriers  of  others, 
lik.  those  of  Anchovy,  Montp, -li. -r,  Cambridge,  and  C) 
terfi«M,  lying  along  Great  Ki\«  i,  have  been  broken  by  cap- 
tin-iiiLr  'ii;iinage,  and  they  have  become  comic.  t.<l  with 
one  another  or  with  coastal  plains.  Others,  like  the  Clar- 
endon and  St.  Thomas  valleys,  were  once  ent  in  1\  inclosed, 
l.iit  in  later  times  have  found  narrow  outlets  through 
single  gorges.  The  coastward  l.arri.-r<  of  still  otln-r*,  lik.. 
the  basin  of  Westim-p-laml,  hav  l..-,-n  lar^.-ly  destroyed. 

The  back-coast  border,  as  distinguished  from  the  narrow 

.Mai  plain  at  it  s  foot,  presents  a  steeply  sloping 

ntainous  sea-front  of  ,-halky  rlilTs  ri -ing  sharply  above 

the  sea,  except  irhereonl  thronirh  i.y  draina-.".  Una 

has  an  average  altitude  of  twelve  hundred  feet  a) 

north  coast.    To  the  ordinary  traveler  this  topography  is 

prin.  ipally  int.-n-ting  from  its  charming  scenic  features. 

To  tli««  stud.-nt   it   reveals  a  series  of  most  interesting 

anci  .11  -e  1.  \,  N,  representing  the  successive  steps  in 


194  <THA    AND    I'OKTO    Kirn 

the  elevation  of  the  island  above  the  sea.  Some  of  these 
are  beautifully  shown  on  the  east  side  of  Montego  Bay, 
where  six  distinct  levels,  or  benches,  separated  by  deep 
slopes,  rise  above  one  another  in  stair-like  arrangement. 
At  no  other  single  locality  are  so  many  of  these  shown 
in  such  close  juxtaposition,  but  one  or  more  of  them  can 
be  individually  distinguished  at  many  localities  around  tin- 
island,  some  of  them  being  as  'high  as  two  thousand  feet. 
At  a  single  glance  these  terraces  in  Jamaica  do  not  present 
the  perfection  of  the  allied  phenomena  exhibited  on  the 
southeast  coast  of  Cuba,  but,  nevertheless,  they  record  a 
siu.ilar  geologic  history. 

Naturally  the  integrity  of  these  benches  varies  with 
th.-ir  relative  age  and  altitude.  The  higher  ones  are  more 
fragmentary,  Uerause  degradational  processes  have  longer 
been  working  upon  them.  Fragments  of  the  lower 
benches  are  better  preserved,  although  much  broken  by 
erosion,  while  none  is  as  perfect  in  contour  as  are  the 
benches  of  the  coastal  plain.  All  have  been  cut  across  by 
rivers,  etched  and  dissolved  by  rainfall,  and  undermined 
by  encroachment  of  the  waves;  but  they  are,  nevertheless, 
remarkable  features. 

A  narrow  strip  of  low  coast  plain  occurs  here  and  there 
interruptedly  around  the  island,  between  the  sea  and  the 
back-coast  border.  In  some  places  this  is  an  old  bca«  h 
«>nly  a  few  feet  wide;  in  others  it  has  greater  width,  and 
indents  tlio  back-coast  border  for  miles.  Th»->«-  patches 
of  coastal  strip  are  either  elevated  reef  rock,  like  the 
seborucco  of  Cuba,  marginal  stretches  of  white  sea-win- 1, 
or  land-derived  alluvium ;  and  they  present  minor  features 
fte£ 

The  coastal  plains  and  slopes  covered  with  alluvium 
are  often  extensive  areas,  especially  on  the  south  side  of 
th«>  inland.  The  largest  <>f  these  is  the  pin  nea, 

upon  which  Kingston  is  situated.    This   plain 

uty-five  miles  in  length,  and  its  \\  idth,  whi.-h  averages 
six  miles,  is  greatest  near  its  western  end,  in  the  dis 


JAMAICA  195 

of  Vere  Parish  in  Clarendon,  where  it  is  about  fifteen 
miles.     In   all,  it   im-liMos  about  two  hundred  square 


In  comparison  with  the  other  regions  of  the  island  the 
physical  aspect  of  this  plain  is  arid  and  sterile ;  the  flora, 
i n< -lulling  thorny  acacias  and  cactus,  tends  toward  the 
chaparral  type  characteristic  of  the  Rio  Grande  plain  of 
Mexico  and  Texas,  and  is  strikingly  unlike  the  delicate 
•  i.  .-iduous  tropical  flora  of  the  remainder  of  the  island. 
Back  of  Savana-la-Mar  there  is  another  extensive  plain 
win.  h  <  <>n  tinues  in  ward  nearly  one  half  the  <  list  am-e  across 
the  islan-1.  Plains  of  this  character  are  singularly  absent 
from  the  north  side,  except  at  Montego  Bay,  adjacent  to 
the  mouth  of  Montego  River,  where  they  are  less  feebly 
developed  than  on  the  south  coast. 

Jamaica  revels  in  an  abundance  of  streams— not  navi- 
gable rivers,  but  beautiful  and  rapidly  flowing  creeks,  rush- 
ing through  exquisite  valleys  over  stony  bottoms,  and 
affording  a  wealth  of  waters  for  the  needs  of  man.  They 
are  copious  and  voluminous,  but  not  so  deep  that  the 
dusky  damsel  need  submerge  her  cargo  or  unduly  elevate 
her  skirts,  as,  without  relaxing  her  majestic  strides,  she 
wades  across,  or  as  she  laves  to  snowy  whiteness  the  linen 
which  she  spreads  upon  the  banks  to  dry. 

Cutting-grass-spots  and  Deans  rivers  in  Westmoreland, 
and  Content  River  in  Hanover,  are  other  examples  of 
i!i. -so  peculiar  streams.  It  is  supposed  that  their  wat 
after  sinking  into  the  ground,  in  some  instances  find  a 
subterranean  way  coastwanl  through  the  porous  lime- 
•feme* 

Besides  the  rivers  there  are  many  beautiful  pools  and 
ings.    The  numerous  mineral  springs  are  locally  noted 
i   <urative  powers.     The  hottest  of  these  is  at 
;i,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Thomas,  with  a  temperature 
of  1LH)0  F.    The  waters  are  sulphuric  and  contain  a  large 
proportion  of  hydrosulphate  of  lime.     They  are  sup- 
posedly beneficial  for  gout,  rheumatism,  cutaneous  affec- 


,  i 

tions,  etc.  The  bath  at  Milk  Ki\,-r,in  the  <li-tri.-t  <>t'  Vere, 
is  another  thermal  spring  <>t  inter. ->t.  Its  waters  have  a 
temperature  of  D'J  I  .  Mid  are  saline  and  purgat 

The  drainage  of  the  Blue  Mountain  <li-tricts  is  freqn 
and  constant  in  occurrence  and  copious  in  run-off,  v 
in  the  region  of  the  limestone  plateau  it  is  MI]»  riirially 
somewhat  deficient,  often  disappearing  into  un«l>  rp-ound 
caverns  or  breaking  out  of  them  in  a  remarkable  manner. 
As  a*  whole,  the   island   presents   two  major   types  of 
streams— one,  simple  rivers  flowing  to  either  coast;  and 
the  other,  the  rivers  of  the  interior  basins,  which  have  no 
outlet  to  the  sea. 

The  streams  of  the  first  class  in  the  mountain  region 
are  marked  by  deep  V-shaped  canons  in  their  upper 
courses,  and  great  deposits  of  ancient  alluvium  in  tin -ir 
lower  parts.  The  run-off  of  these  is  constant,  l.ut  variable 
in  quantity,  owing  to  torrents.  The  streams  found  in  the 
basins  of  the  plateau  region  rise  from  springs,  flow  for 
short  distances,  then  disappear  into  the  ground  without 
visible  outlet  to  the  sea.  Of  this  type  of  rivers  are  the 
Minho;  Rio  Hoe,  near  Moneague;  (J  I;  .  in  the 
southeast  corner  of  St.  Ann ;  Pedro  River,  which  sinks 
at  the  corner  of  St.  Ann,  Clarendon,  and  St.  Catherine 
parishes;  and  Yankee  and  Cave  rivers,  which  unite  and 
disappear  into  a  sink  on  the  borders  of  St.  Ann  and 
Clarendon.  The  latter  stream  is  ten  miles  long.  H« 

er,  forming  the  boundary  of  Manchester  and  Tre- 
lawney,  sinks  at  the  northeast  corner  of  St.  Elizabeth ; 
Hicks  River,  in  Trelawney;  Pine  and  Dry  riven,  in  the 
northern  part  of  St.  Elizabeth;  Niagara,  Chest 
Tangle  rivers,  in  the  southern  part  of  St.  James. 

Jamaica  also  possesses  many  interesting  -.    The 

Cave  of  Mexico  in  St.  I  ;-tli,  thmuL'h  \\hieh  Black 
Kiv.-r  flows,  is  probably  the  largest.  Cave  Hall  Pen,  near 
Dry  Harbor,  is  of  great  length  and  has  two  1  .nineties;  the 
various  rooms  are  designated  grottoes,  halls,  domes,  and 
galleries,  and  are  lined  with  beautiful  stalactites  un<l 


JAMAICA  1'.'7 

stalagmites.  The  Grand  Cave  at  River  Head,  in  St.- 
Thomas-iu-the-Vale,  is  a  very  remarkable  place.  The  Rio 
Cobre,  after  sinking  into  the  limestone,  again  <>mrrp»s 
from  this  cavern.  Peru  Cave  in  St.  Klizabeth,  the 
Mount  Plenty  Cave  in  St.  Ann,  the  Mouth  River  Cave 
in  Tivluwney,  the  Portland  Cave  in  Vere,  the  Epping 
Forest  Cave  in  Manchester,  are  other  notable  caverns.  I  n 
some  of  these  interesting  remains  of  the  aborigines  have 
been  found. 

\\V  ran  not  here  describe  all  the  many  objects  of  natural 
interest  on  the  island.  Its  mountains,  valleys,  rivers,  and 
coasts  are  everywhere  beautiful  to  behold.  It  is  a  land  of 
pleasant  .Irivin.i:  ami  riding,  an  ideal  country  for  bicycling, 
an. I  every  portion  is  pleasing  to  the  eye.  The  highest 
mountain-peaks  are  easily  accessible  on  horseback.  Many 
go  to  Blue  Mountain  Peak  in  OK  lor  to  obtain  the  superb 
view  and  to  see  the  sunrise,  which  is  said  to  be  most  won- 
•  i<  riul.  I  almost  doubted  if  it  rose  at  all  the  day  we  made 
the  ascent,  so  thick  were  the  clouds  and  mist ;  but  we  were 
rewarded  by  other  sights. 

The  prospect  from  Newcastle  Barracks  also  excites  the 
»  nthusiasm  of  all  travelers.  The  wide  expanse  of  moun- 
tainous iv.irion,  rugged  with  sharp  declivities  and  ravines, 
is  covered  with  the  most  varied  vegetation.  Lying  far 
below  are  Kingston,  the  sea,  and  the  stretch  of  the  coast. 

Yet  with  all  of  its  great  differences  of  altitude,  its  rush- 
ing rivers,  the  wide  expanse  of  surrounding  sea,  thr 
scenery  of  Jamaica  is  not  wild  or  crag-like,  nor  does  it 
impress  ono  with  the  immensity  of  some  less  mountainous 
<>ns.  The  massive  grandeur  and  distant  outlines  of 
tli.  mountains  are  largely  lost,  owing  to  closeness  of  view 
and  the  enveloping  clouds.  It  is  only  the  exquisite  ver- 
«lun»  ami  .Irlirary  of  the  vegetation,  and  the  dewy  mists 
that  hov.T  o\vr  thnn,  that  hold  the  rapt  attention.  In 
the  western  parishes  upon  the  limestone  plateau,  where 
sculptural  hills  and  valleys  everywhere  abound,  to  the 
wealth  of  form  are  ad»lr«l  marvelous  colors.  The  pale 


CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

greens  of  the  bamboo  patches  rustlii  L:  lik«»  f»-ath«»ry  plu- 
mage, the  dark  evergreens  of  the  pimento-  and  mango-trees, 
the  old  gray-greens  of  the  <»ivh  id-decked  ceibas,  and  the 

>pia-h«--  (MM  and  thfiv  nf  ^i'«. win::  «-aii«-li»-l«U  <>f  an  indr- 

t »able  pah-  tun|imi.v.-Mue  green,  adding  light. -r  touches 
to  th«-  «MM<  raid  background  of  t  he  forest  setting,  overwhelm 
on*'  with  a  beauty  whi. -h  Changes  with  every  passing  cloud 
or  angle  of  the  sun  into  wonderful  blues,  purples,  and 
olive  tin 

This  gentler  aspect  of  the  landscape  is  not  diminished 
l'\  the  touch  of  man.  The  well-built  roads,  the  neat  stone 
walls,  the  comfortable  homes  of  the  planters,  the  sleek, 
browsing  cattle,  add  to  the  beauties  of  the  tropical  land- 
scape the  charms  of  the  English  countryside. 

Although  the  flora  of  Jamaica  is  of  the  same  tropical 
character  as  that  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,  already  de- 
scribed, it  has  certain  local  variations.  Everywhere  there 
is  a  wealth  of  trees— mangos,  ceibas,  wild  oranges,  palms, 
plantains,  and  many  others.  One  looks  in  vain,  1m \v, 
for  the  royal  palm,  the  pride  of  Cuba;  but  in  its  place 
Jamaica  possesses  the  pimento-  (Pimenta  officinalis)  or 
allspice-tree,  which  grows  nowhere  else.  The  giant  ceiba, 
the  Jamaica  cedar,  the  logwood,  and  fustic  are  other 
common  trees.  Grasses,  orchids,  and  small  flowers 
abound.  Begonias  and  ferns  border  the  roadsides,  and 
tradescantia  covers  the  stone  walls.  This  flora  shows 
considerable  variation  in  different  parts  of  the  island.  On 
the  southern  coast,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  it  is  of 
an  arid  t\  JM»,  comprising  many  species  of  thorny  acacias, 
in<  hiding  the  mesquite  of  our  own  southwestern  «-haj.- 
arral,  and  a  tall  species  of  cactus  of  the  Ccreus  tribe. 
iMh.-r  than  these,  there  is  hardly  a  plant  on  the  island 
li  has  a  thorn.  In  the  western  portion  nm«-h  <>f  tin- 
country  has  the  aspect  of  an  open  forest  carpeted  with 
grass.  In  this  pmtion  the  pimento  abounds,  the  pro- 
din-t  of  which— our  c<»  al  allspice— is  a  source  of 

much  revenue  to  the  island.     Besides  the  native  flora, 


JAMA  I    A  199 

t  here  are  many  introduced  plants,  which  will  be  mentioned 
later  amoiitf  the  agricultural  products. 

mica  cannot  boast  of  a  single  native  mammal, 
although  the  island  is  overrun  by  the  exotic  mongoos. 
This  small  weasel-like  animal  constantly  crosses  the  high- 
way before  the  traveler,  infests  the  yards,  and  seems  to 
P<>P  out  from  eveiy  bush  and  stone.  It  was  originally 
introduced  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  Norway 
another  immigrant,  which  bade  fair  to  eat  up  the  cane- 
fields.  The  experiment  was  unsuccessful.  The  mongoos 
not  exhibit  any  particular  predilection  for  a  diet  of 
rat,  although  t  he  latter  was  so  frightened  that  it  was  forced 
to  change  its  habitat  from  the  ground  to  the  tree-tops, 
and,  instead,  feasted  upon  the  native  birds  and  reptiles, 
which  had  hitherto  benefited  the  island  by  keeping 
d'-un  tli.'  injurious  insect  life,  especially  the  field-tick, 
which,  with  the  destruction  of  its  natural  enemies,  in  turn 
began  to  increase  enormously.  Chickens,  puppies,  cats, 
and  other  domestic  animals  were  devoured  by  the  mon- 
goos, and  the  blacks  believe  the  dusky  piccaninny  was 
included  in  the  list.  In  later  years,  however,  the  ticks 
have  assailed  the  mongoos,  and  the  latter  is  succumbing 
liem.  Besides  a  large  iguana,  there  are  many  smaller 
species  of  lizards  and  a  few  harmless  snakes. 

The  scorpion  and  centipede  are  slightly  poisonous,  but 
neither  very  dangerous  nor  abundant.  Ants,  mosquitos, 
and  sand-flies  are  common  in  the  lowlands,  but  the  uplands 
are  singularly  free  from  insect  pests.  The  bin 
beetles,  and  fireflies  are  beautiful,  the  latter  including 
fourteen  kinds  besides  the  hcautiful  Cuban  elaterid, 
which  carries  upon  each  shoulder  a  miniature  electric 
liirht.  Gosse,  the  naturalist,  who  lived  in  Jamaica  for 
i  months,  enumerates  twenty  different  song-birds, 
besides  the  parrots,  pigeons,  and  a  great  variety  of  water- 
fowls. The  crocodile,  the  manatee,  and  the  West  Indian  s.-al 
inhal.it  the  adjacent  sea  borders.  A  few  species  of  fn-sli- 
r  fish  are  found  in  the  rivers.  Edible  marine  fish 


200  CUBA   AtfD   PORTO   RIOO 

are  singularly  few  around  the  bland.  As  in  <fu'.a, 
siiails  are  large  and  numerous.  Domestic  animals  of  all 
kinds,  except  the  sheep  and  goat,  abound.  Th<>  Mund  has 
•omc  beautiful  Mtetei  \\i»«-r.-  tin.-  braedi  ol  cattle  arc 
raised,  principally  for  the  purpose  of  producing  han't  y 
oxen  for  the  sugar-plantations. 

Although  the  climate  of  Jamaica  varies  greatly  with 
altitude  and  topographic  situation,  it  is  in  general  pleas- 
ant, healthful,  and  salubrious,  the  coM  northern  winds 
which  affect  Cuba  being  hardly  felt,  and  the  temperature, 
therefore,  being  much  more  uniform  throughout  tin-  year. 
The  low  sea-coasts  are  the  warmest  portions,  the  larger 
part  of  the  habitable  island,  at  altitudes  of  from  one  to 
three  thousand  feet,  being  decidedly  cooler.  The  southern 
sea-coast,  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Mountain  range,  is  warm 
and  arid,  much  like  the  Santiago  coast  of  Cuba.  As  one 
ascends  the  slopes  the  precipitate  »n  increases  and  the  tem- 
perature falls  rapidly,  until  in  the  higher  portions  the  cli- 
mate is  wet  and  cool.  The  mean  temperature  at  the  coast 
is  78.2°  F. ;  at  2000  feet,  73° ;  at  5000  feet,  62.6° ;  at  5500 
feet,  60° ;  at  7400  feet,  55.7°. 

At  Kingston,  one  of  the  hottest  and  driest  places  on 
the  island,  the  highest  temperature  during  ten  years 
was  89.7°  F.,  and  the  minimum  67.8°;  the  maximum  for 
the  period  averaging  87.8°,  and  the  minimum  70.7°, 
showing  a  range  of  only  17°. 

The  climate  of  the  plateau  region  is  especially  pleasant, 
the  temperature  in  St.  Eliza) >< -th,  for  instance,  having 
annual  variation  of  only  9°,  fluctuating  between  a  mini- 
mum of  67°  and  a  maximum  of  75°. 

Th«-  rainfall  at  Kingston  18  only  44  inches,  while  on  the 
north  side  of  the  island  it  is  88,  even  reaching  100  inches 
upon  the  higher  mountain  slopes.  The  average  for  the 
whole  island  is  66. 

Residents  of  Jamaica  are  naturally  subject  to  ti 
diseases,  such  as  malarial  fevers,  dysentery,  an«l  <i:an  hea; 
owing  to  the  perfect  system  of  local  sanitation 


JAMAICA  -"1 

quarantine,  the  island  is  remarkably  healthful  and  ordinarily 
as  fivf  from  cpioVmics  as  our  own  Southern  M'al»oar«l,  tin- 
death-rate  being  only  20.9  per  1000  for  the  island.  These 
figures,  when  contrasted  with  the  vital  statistics  of  CY 

i,  ami  Martinique,  where  no  serious  efforts  are  made 
to  offset  the  natural  drawbacks  of  tropical  < -Innate,  show 
that  ili.-  mortality  of  the  Antilles  can  be  greatly  reduced. 

The  quarantine  establishment  is  most  thoroughly 
organized  Competent  officials  guard  every  port,  and  a 
fine  lazaretto  has  been  constructed  at  Green  Bay,  opposite 
Port  Royal,  with  first-class  accommodations  for  those  who 
may  be  detained.  The  quarantine  laws  are  enforced  with 
the  greatest  severity,  so  much  so  that  intercourse  with 
Cuba,  Haiti,  and  other  places  where  yellow  fever  per- 
manently exists  through  neglect,  is  almost  prohibited, 
although  this  practically  isolates  Jamaica  commercially 
from  near-by  lands  with  which  much  trade  might  be 
developed. 

Not  only  is  every  precaution  taken  to  guard  against 
the  introduction  of  disease,  but  the  island  is  kept  in  a 
thoroughly  sanitary  condition.  Cleanliness  is  stringently 
enforced  and  the  water-supply  caivfully  guarded  from 
pollution  by  a  central  board  of  health,  with  district  medi- 
cal officers  in  every  parish,  assisted  by  the  constabulary 
and  backed  by  the  support  of  public  opinion. 

Notwithstanding  these  stringent  precautions,  yellow 
fever  is  occasionally  int induced  into  the  island,  as  it  is  in 
our  own  Southern  cities.  In  1897  an  epidemic  of  this 
disease  was  brought  by  Cuban  refugees  who  smuggled 
themselves  into  the  country.  Ordinarily  the  island  is  free 
t'n>m  this  scourge,  which  is  in  no  manner  indigenous. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

JAMAICA  (Continued) 

A  model  British  colony.  Respect  for  law  and  order.  Early  history  and 
administration.  Agriculture.  Rase  of  the  fruit  industry.  Commerce, 
Railways.  Excellent  highways. 

Till!  universal  aspect  of  order  and  the  respect  for  law 
that  everywhere  prevail  in  Jamaica  are  no  less  con- 
spicuous than  the  natural  beauties  of  the  island,  and  are 
noted  by  any  one  who  has  traveled  in  the  more  unruly 
places  of  the  tropics.  The  dread  of  unconscious  violation 
of  some  trivial  law  which  haunts  one  in  Cuba,  the  feeling 
of  being  watched  as  in  Porto  Rico,  the  suspicion  of  some 
other  person's  hand  in  your  pocket  as  in  Mexico,  the  fear 
of  brushing  against  prevailing  contagion  at  every  step  as 
in  Martinique,  Santo  Domingo,  and  Haiti,  are  sensations 
which  do  not  worry  the  traveler  here.  The  stranger  is 
w«-lr<.!ii,-.l  with  a  MIMMMV  hospitality  ami  rnurt«-«»n^  irivrt- 
ing ;  the  island  is  clean,  and  the  laws  are  for  the  protect  ion 
he  visitor  as  well  as  of  the  resident— not  the  robbery  of 
the  individual  or  th««  enrichment  of  the  official.  Thieves 
are  confined  in  prison ;  those  infected  with  loathsome  dis- 
eases are  isolated  together;  ri^i-l  quaiai  •  <>n- 
tagion  out,  and  health-officials  attend  to  public  sanitation. 
Neatly  uniformed  constabulary  of  respectful  mi<>n 
open  eyes  see  that  the  laws  are  obeyed,  and  the  poorest 


JAMAICA  203 

negro  as  well  as  the  richest  planter  feels  that  they  are  for 
his  special  benefit  and  protection,  and  respects  them  in  a 
spirit  which  is  not  fouiul  t»v««ii  in  our  own  country.  In 
fact,  in  the  government  of  Jamaica  we  have  an  example  of 
that  perfection  of  colonial  administration  in  which  Eng- 
land excels. 

The  name  Jamaica  is  derived  from  a  native  word, 
X  aymaca,"  signifying  the  "  island  of  fountains."  Among 
illiterate  natives  the  name  is  still  pronounced  "Haralk\  " 
The  island  was  originally  settled  by  the  Spaniards  in 
1509.  In  contrast  with  the  Spanish  mode  of  procedure  in 
the  other  Antilles,  the  first  governor  reduced  the  natives 
without  bloodshed ;  but  his  successors  carried  on  a  work 
of  extermination.  During  the  century  and  a  half  of 
Spanish  occupation  several  small  towns  were  settled,  and 
the  Castilian  nomenclature,  though  now  sadly  corrupted, 
was  given  to  many  of  the  natural  features.  Among  these 
were  the  names  of  Manteca,  now  corrupted  into  Montego ; 
Mont  Agua,  now  Moneague;  Boca  del  Agua,  now  Bog 
Walk  ;  and  Agua  Alta,  now  Wag  Water. 

In  1665  an  English  fleet  sent  by  Cromwell  to  capture 
Santo  Domingo,  having  been  repulsed  from  that  island, 
indemnified  itself  by  seizing  Jamaica.  At  that  time  the 
population  was  only  three  thousand,  one  half  of  whom 
were  Spaniards.  The  latter  migrated  from  the  island  to 
Cuba,  but  their  race  imprint  was  left  upon  the  other  half 
of  the  people  who  remained,  as  is  still  shown  in  certain 
words  of  the  language  and  habits  of  the  island.  England 
immediately  began  colonization  with  settlers  of  all  kinds 
vn  from  the  West  Indies,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  and 
since  the  conquest  Jamaica  has  remained  a  loyal  English 
colony,  devoted  to  the  government,  customs,  and  tra- 
il it  ions  of  the  mother-country.  Owing  to  beneficent 
privil.'iros  granted  the  colonists,  the  population  rapidly 
in< Teased.  Although  the  English  official  and  landlord 
always  constitute!  th<>  ruling  class,  there  were  among  its 
accessions  a  large  number  of  African  slaves  and  Jewish 


-"I  CUBA  AND   PORTO  RICO 

traders.  The  mixture  of  these  peculiar  elements  of  the 
>.'V.-nt.-..nili-,-,Mitury  population  — Spanilh,  mulattos,  m-- 
groes,  apprenticed  Scotch,  Irish,  ami  Knirli-li  peasair 

ws— has  gone  far  toward  producing  the  pecu- 
liariti.-s  and  language  of  the  lower  classes  of  the  present 
an  people. 

Shortly  after  the  establishment  of  English  control, 
Jamaica  became  a  busy  center  of  bucaneering  and  the 
slave-trade.  The  old  town  of  Port  Royal,  through  its 
superior  advantages  as  a  maritime  and  naval  station, 
became  a  great  stronghold.  It  was  here  that  th*«  famous 
corsair  Morgan  prepared  his  expeditions,  ami  i:  I  ,ord 

Albermarle  organized  the  land  and  naval  forces  that  re- 
duced Havana;  and  here  the  slave-traders  brought  their 
newly  captured  negroes  from  Africa,  to  be  distributed 
throughout  the  West  Indies  and  tropical  mainland. 

Jamaica,  according  to  Bryan  Eld  wards,  attained  the 
meridian  of  its  prosperity  in  1780,  at  whi<  h  time  it  was 
occupied  by  large  plantations  worked  by  African  slaves, 
and  operated  by  resident  English  owners  who  liv<l  in 
prim-.-ly  state.  The  island  was  then  the  most  produ< 
of  England's  West  I  ml  inn  colonies.  The  same  aut hoi- 
estimates  that  2,130,000  blacks  were  imported  by  the 
IKX)1  slav.  tra«l<>rs  between  the  years 
1680  and  1786,  and  that  610,000  of  these  were  landed  at 

In  1807  the  importation  of  slaves  was  abolished  by 
Great  Britain,  and  in  1833  the  remaining  309,000  slaves 
were  emancipated,  the  owners  being  liberally  mm; 
Owing  to  the  English  system  of  slavery,  as  distinguished 
from  that  of  the  Spanish  colonies,  concern  in  <:  which  we 
have  spoken  in  our  descriptions  of  Cuba  ami  Porto  1; 
the  freeing  of  the  blacks  resulted  in  the  almost  total  ruin 
of  the  Jamaican  plantations,  and  the  islaml  has  never  re- 
Lraim-.i  fa  igrieottonl  ami  oommaraU  pratige  iSnec  that 
event.    Th«»  free  negro  preferred  to  earn  hi*  living  l»y  5n- 

tUpeml'-nt    .-iTorN.    ami    >h-.\v.-l    a    <li-!ik«-    for    plantation 

labor.    The  better  class  of  landlords  pocketed  th«>  profits 


JAMAICA  -I  >•"> 

of  emancipation,  sailed  baok  to  En-land,  and  lit  their 
estates  to  degenerate  in  the  hands  of  agents  and  overseers. 

The  history  of  the  island  has  been  unmarked  by  any 
serious  political  disturbances,  excepting  an  occasional 
uprising  of  the  slaves  and  rebellion  of  the  maroons. 

l>u ring  her  possession  of  the  island  England  has  made 
various  experiments  in  devising  a  suitable  form  of  govern- 
ment for  the  colony.  It  was  at  first  under  a  military 
jurisdiction.  Then  came  a  period  of  general  assemblies 
under  a  governor  appointed  from  England,  which  lasted 
two  hundred  years ;  then  in  1866  a  crown  government,  with 
a  legislature  consisting  exclusively  of  official  and  nomi- 
nated members.  In  1884  the  present  mixed  legislative 
system  of  nominated  and  elected  members  came  into 
force. 

The  island  is  divided  into  three  counties  and  twelve 
parishes.  The  counties  are  Surrey  on  the  east,  Middlesex 
in  the  center,  and  Cornwall  on  the  west.  The  function  of 
the  county  divisions  is  not  clear,  the  parishes  being  the 
chief  subdivisions,  each  of  which  sends  a  representative 
to  the  colonial  assembly. 

The  executive  consists  of  a  colonial  governor  ap- 
pointed by  the  crown,  and  having  strong  supervisory 
powers,  assisted  by  a  colonial  secretary,  an  attorney- 
tfcnoral,  a  director  of  puMic  works,  a  r,,llrrt<.r-Lr'-n.-ral, 
and  the  senior  officer  in  command  of  the  military  forces. 
The  legislative  powers  are  vested  in  a  council,  or  colo- 
nial legislature,  consisting  of  nine  elected  members,  two 
nominated  members,  and  the  administrative  officers  above 
mentioned.  There  is  also  a  privy  council.  The  adminis- 
trative  forces  of  the  island  are  thoroughly  organized 
under  a  most  efficient  system  of  civil  service,  admission 
t«>  \\hirh  is  gained  l»y  fair  competitive  examination.  The 
depnrtnirnts  include  land,  auditor's,  treasury,  customs, 
excise,  and  internal  and  revenue  departments.  The 
l>o<tal  and  telegraph  service  is  thoroughly  equipped.  The 
object  of  the  government  medical  service  is  to  diffuse 
I  leal  assistance  throughout  the  several  parishes,  by 


•J<U',  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

i n< luring  practitioners  to  locate  themselves 
wliirli  without  some  contriUition  from  the  government 
would  be  altogether  destitute  of  medical  aid  and  advice. 
1  "n-l.-r  this  department  there  are  eighteen  public  hospitals 
throughout  the  island,  with  a  total  of  1117  beds. 

The  police  system  is  most  thorough,  consisting  of  a 
constabulary  of  seven  hundred  and  seventy  men,  with 
over  one  hundred  stations  scattered  throughout  the  island, 
ami  s«'\vral  prisons  and  reformatories,  in  whi.-h  prevails 
the  mark  system  of  the  English  convict  prisons,  after 
which  the  Elmira  (New  York)  Reformatory  is  modeled. 
The  prison  system  includes  a  penitentiary  with  male  and 
female  divisions,  and  industrial  schools  and  reformatories 
for  both  sexes. 

Not  the  least  interesting  part  of  the  Jamaican  adminis- 
t  rat  ion  is  the  thoroughness  with  which  statistics  are 
gathered.  An  excellent  registration  department  records 
the  births,  deaths,  baptisms,  and  marriages,  while  infor- 
ion  can  be  readily  obtained  on  any  desired  subj»<  t. 
There  is  also  a  board  of  supervision,  having  charge  of  out- 
door relief  of  the  poor.  The  government  printing-office, 
the  botanical  gardens,  and  the  government  laboratory  are 
also  embraced  in  the  administrative  organizations. 

A  notable  public  feature  is  the  Institute  of  Jamaica, 
located  at  Kingston.  This  is  a  public  lyceum  and  museum 
maintained  at  colonial  expense.  The  library  is  rich  in 
Jamaican  and  early  West  Indian  literatim-,  while  the 
museum  presents  a  splendid  illustration  of  the  island 
fauna,  flora,  and  archaeological  objects  of  interest.  Public 
ires  are  given,  and  the  publications  of  a  gri<  ntifi<-  and 
historic  nature  are  appreciated  throughout  the  worM. 

The   courts   are   thoroughly  organized,   en  ir   a 

-upreme  court  of  judicature  with   nine  just  •..  •  -,   from 
\vhi«'h  in  certain  cases  appeal  maybe  t  h.  «.un<  il. 

This  rourt  also  has  suj  th»>  findings  of  the 

lower  court  in    Hiiti-h  Honduras.     There  is  an  eneum- 
bered-estate  court,  an  admiralty  eoortj  r.->i.l.-nt  mi( 
fcl,  an  1  rourts  of  petty  son 


JAMAICA 

Good  schools  are  everywhere  provided,  and  attendance 
is  compulsory.  There  were  nine  hundred  and  twenty-four 
government  schools  in  1896,  having  an  enrolled  atten- 
dance of  one  hundred  thousand  children.  There  are  nine 
hundred  and  twelve  public  free  schools  throughout  the 
island.  The  figures  in  the  last  report  of  the  superinten- 
<!•  nt  inspector  of  schools  show  an  unprecedented  advance 
in  attendance,  due  to  the  abolition  of  school  fees  by  the 
legislature  in  the  spring  of  1892.  The  effect  of  this  has 
been  shown  in  the  rapid  decrease  of  illiteracy.  There  is 
a  government  training-college  for  female  teachers,  under 
the  charge  of  educated  Englishwomen.  Sixty  male  stu- 
dents are  also  being  trained  at  a  local  educational  insti- 
t  lit  ion  in  Kingston  at  government  expense.  There  are  also 
a  number  of  free  schools,  denominational  schools,  high 
schools,  and  industrial  schools.  In  addition  to  the  local 
educational  institutions,  scholarships  are  provided  where- 
by residents  of  the  island  can  obtain  higher  education  in 
England.  The  island  is  one  of  the  centers  for  the  local 
examinations  held  by  the  University  of  Cambridge. 

While  the  majority  of  the  Jamaicans  belong  to  the 
Church  of  England,  the  latter  was  disestablished  and  dis- 
endowed as  the  official  religion  of  the  island  in  1870.  This 
church  has  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  parishes  through- 
out the  island.  The  Scotch  Kirk,  the  Catholics,  the  Bap- 
s  the  Presbyterians,  the  Congregational  Union,  the 
\\  "sleyans,  the  United  Methodists,  the  Christians,  Mora- 
vians, and  Hebrews  are  all  numerously  represented.  The 
Jamaicans,  as  a  rule,  are  remarkably  punctilious  in  their 
<-hurch  attendance,  and  on  Sundays  the  country  roads  are 
lined  with  the  people  going  to  and  from  the  numerous  neat 
chapels  everywhere  to  be  found. 

The  general  revenue  for  the  year  1895-96  amounted  to 
$3,069,000.  Of  this  sum  more  than  one  half  was  raised  by 
import  duties,  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of  indirect 
taxation  which  prevails  in  all  the  British  colonies.  The 
remainder  was  raised  by  excise  duties,  principally  on  rum 
manufacture.  The  total  expenditure  for  the  same  year 


206 


(TI'.A    ANI> 


1;I»  O 


amounted  to  $2,987,666.    The  public  *:..>  1.000, 

most  of  which  is  for  the  recently  mnstnn -t.-<l   railway 
systems,  irrigation  canals,  and  new  bridges. 

In   general   the  government  of  Jamaica  is  h 

;izf<l,  ami  just.  In  fart,  the  perfection  of  its  organiza- 
tion and  working  seems  too  good  for  an  island  whose 
population  is  not  yet  entirely  out  of  the  savage  state. 
What  might  Cuba  have  been  with  such  a  government  f 

Agriculture  is  either  flourishing  or  decadent  in  .Jamaica, 
according  to  the  point  of  view.  The  large  English  estate- 
owners,  shorn  of  the  old-time  profits  of  sugar-cul- 
believe  that  the  island  is  in  its  decadence,  because  of  the 
extermination  of  this  industry.  Americans  and  the  natives 
believe,  however,  that  Jamaica  has  passed  through  tho 
crucial  tribulations  resulting  from  its  former  dependence 
upon  the  sugar-producers,  and  is  entering,  for  the  first 
time,  upon  a  state  of  true  prosperity,  owing  to  the  in- 
creasing number  of  diversified  small  farms. 

The  island  embraces  about  2,700,000  acres,  of  which 
about  80,000  acres,  or  2.97  per  cent.,  are  estimated  to  be 
occupied  by  swamps  or  lands  otherwise  useless  for  agri- 
culture. About  12  per  cent,  or  330,000  acres,  are  covered 
by  forests.  There  are  now  beneficially  occupied  in  culti- 
on  about  694,000  acres,  or  a  little  more  than  one  fourth 
of  the  whole  cultivable  area.  The  following  table  shows 
the  area  occupied  by  each  crop  and  the  annual  value  of 
export  products. 


Ground  prori«i< 


05,808 

g£ 

16,000 

$Si 

10,040 


*,MMU 

1,617,684 


$££ 

Guinea  R 
Common  p»«turo 


00,881 


IMLtn 
N^M 


209 

Tin-  « -in -11  instances  of  sugar-raising  in  Jamaica  are  of  a 
special  character,  and  cannot  be  exactly  compared  with 
those  existing  in  the  other  British  colonies,  which  are 
solely  dcjM-noVnt  upon  this  pro.lu.-t,  ami  are  suffering 
financial  ruin,  owing  to  the  competition  of  the  beet-root 
The  cultivation  of  sugar-cane,  instead  of  being  the  sole 
agricultural  industry,  as  in  many  of  the  other  West  Indies, 
titutes  only  nineteen  per  cent  thereof.  The  majority 
of  t  he  Jamaican  sugar-estates  are  small,  the  average  having 
only  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  acres,  and  they  are 
i  r  the  most  part  widely  dispersed,  so  that  plants  for 
grinding  cannot  be  conveniently  established.  The  cost  of 
management  is  therefore  increased.  The  product  is 
largely  manufactured  into  rum,  the  annual  output  of 
which  is  a  little  over  two  million  gallons.  The  quality  of 
the  cane  is  fair.  Borer  and  fungoid  diseases  have  not 
seriously  affected  it,  as  in  the  Lesser  Antilles.  Before 
slavery  was  abolished,  Jamaica  was  one  of  the  largest 
sugar-producing  islands.  In  1805  it  exported  one  hundred 
and  fifty-one  thousand  hogsheads  of  sugar  and  five  million 
gallons  of  rum;  but  the  planters  seemed  utterly  incapable 
of  adapting  themselves  to  the  new  conditions  of  labor  after 
the  freeing  of  the  blacks,  and  many  of  the  former  cane- 
fields  are  now  turned  into  ruinate.  The  decay  of  the  sugar 
in«  lust  ry,  however,  has  been  accompanied  by  a  progressive 
increase  in  the  cultivation  of  more  diversified  products 
and  the  acquirement  of  small  estates  by  the  black  inhabi- 
tants. A  department  of  gardens  and  plantations,  un< In- 
capable and  experienced  men,  has  carried  on  experiments 
w  h  i  c  h ,  w  1 1  i  le  supporting  the  old,  have  encouraged  the  estab- 
IMimeiit  of  many  new  and  promising  agricultural  indus- 
triea,  Furthermore,  the  government  has  been  fortunately 
administered  during  that  period  by  progressive  and  able 
governors,  who  have  constantly  adopted  a  policy  whereby 
it  was  possible  to  oxt. n«l  the  railways  and  improve  com- 
munication by  parochial  roads  and  the  encouragement  of 
rapid  steamship  lines  to  the  United  States,  and  now  the 


210 

people  are  finding  a  source  of  livelihood  and  profit  in  pro- 
duct s  \vlii.-h  were  disdained  and  considered  trivial  by  the 
former  planters.  A  few  years  ago  a  fine  type  of  the  old- 
time  Cape  Cod  skippers,  Captain  Baker,  saw  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  island  in  the  fruit  line.  He  established  what 
is  now  the  Boston  Fruit  Company,  capitalized  at  several 
millions  of  dollars,  which  has  stimulated  and  encouraged 
the  planting  of  banana-  and  orange-trees  all  over  the  island. 
At  every  little  port  the  stations  of  this  company  are 
loratcd,  and  M.-aiiuTs  run  alnmst  daily  in  the  fruit  sea-mi, 
conveying  the  product  to  the  United  States.  This  has 
brought  to  the  island  a  welcome  addition  of  money,  which, 
distributed  both  to  the  small  producer  and  the  hordes  of 
laborers  required  in  handling  the  fruit,  has  proved  bene- 
ficial t<>  all  classes. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  great  frost  in  Florida,  in  til-- 
winter of  1895-96,  the  Jamaicans  never  dreamed  of  the 
possibility  of  remuneration  from  orange-culture.  Scat- 
tered over  the  island  were  thousands  of  orange-trees,  some 
planted  for  ornament  or  private  use,  others  the  result  of  u  • 
dental  propagation.  Owing  to  the  destruction  of  the  Flor- 
ida fruit  during  the  year  mentioned,  American  merchants 
undertook  to  gather  Jamaica  oranges,  and  some  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  barrels  were  shipped,  much  to  tin- 
profit  and  delight  of  the  Jamaicans,  who  immediately  ava 
themselves  of  Captain  Baker's  offer  to  have  the  old  trees 
grafted,  at  his  expense,  with  stocks  of  the  superior  Florida 
tin  it.  The  wild,  or  Seville,  orange  grows  everywhere 
throughout  the  island,  but  the  marmalade  on  every  table 
is  made  in  Scotland  from  Sicilian  oranges  and  possil.ly 
Jamaica  sugar. 

The  grape-fruit  and  shaddock  members  of  the  orange 
tribe  attain  great  perfection  here.  Lemons  and  limes  are 
little  cultivated.  Grapes,  pineapples,  new  potatoes,  toma- 
toes, and  other  fresh  vegetables  for  use  in 
receiving  some  attention  on  the  island,  and  a  valuable 
trade  in  these  commodities  is  being  created.  Attempts 


JAMAICA 

are  also  being  made  to  establish  a  fruit-trade  between 
Jamaica  and  England  by  means  of  ships  fitted  with  r.-iVi- 
gerator  chambers,  and  capable  of  performing  the  voyage 
within  fourteen  or  sixteen  days.  There  is  little  doubt  that 
before  long  Jamaica  fruit  will  be  regularly  shipped  to  that 
country. 

No  Jamaican  of  the  old  school  ever  thought  of  planting 
tobacco.  In  1886,  at  the  end  of  the  great  revolution,  a 
family  of  Cuban  exiles  came  to  the  island  and  began  the 
cultivation  of  tobacco  and  the  manufacture  of  cigars. 
Now  small  colonies  of  Cubans  can  be  found  at  many  places 
throughout  the  island,  growing  this  crop,  and  Jamaican 
cigars,  manufactured  in  Kingston,  are  smoked  from  Colon 
to  Barbados,  and  have  practically  supplanted  the  Havana 
article  in  the  West  Indian  markets.  Tobacco  for  local 
consumption  is  twisted  into  long  ropes  and  sold  by  the 
yard 

Jamaica  coffee  is  of  three  well-marked  qualities.  The 
sort  that  obtains  the  highest  price  is  grown  on  the  south- 
ern slopes  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  at  elevations  of  from 
three  to  five  thousand  feet.  The  quantity  produced 
is  small,  probably  not  one  third  of  the  whole,  but  the 
prices  obtained  are  high,  ranging  from  twenty-five  to 
forty  dollars  per  hundredweight.  This  is  the  famous  Blue 
Mountain  coffee,  every  grain  of  which  is  carefully  gathered 
and  shipped  to  England,  where  it  is  said  to  possess  pecu- 
liar  qualities  for  blending.  None  of  it  is  consumed  upon 
the  island.  While  stopping  at  one  of  the  largest  estates 
overnight,  we  observed  that  no  coffee  was  served  either 
supper  or  for  breakfast,  the  overseer  informing  us  that, 
although  he  had  been  there  for  many  years,  he  had  never 
been  permitted  to  use  a  single  berry  for  his  own  consump- 
ti«.n.  The  coffee-estates  are  most  economically  managed. 
In  looking  over  the  books,  which  are  kept  with  great 
accuracy,  I  found  that  every  expenditure,  however  trivial, 
was  most  carefully  planned  for,  even  down  to  including 
twopence  a  week  to  feed  the  watch-dog.  The  Blue  Moun- 


-1-  CUBA   AND   PORTO   RICO 

tain  estates  are  situated  on  such  steep  sloj-  one 

naturally  wonders  bow  the  field-hands  maintain  a 
position  while  cultivating  them.    From  the  sea  these  plan- 
tations appear  far  above  as  small  patches  of  brown  in  the 
general  mantle  of  green  vegetation. 

The  next  grade  of  coffee  is  grown  in  the  hills  of  the 
plateau  region  of  Manchester  and  St.  Ann's,  at  .-I.- vat  ions 
of  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  hundred  feet.  This  obtains 
only  half  the  price  of  the  Blue  Mountain  variety. 

Large  quantities  of  coffee  are  also  grown  in  small  j  -at  dies 
by  the  negroes.  This  is  badly  cured  and  sold  to  local 
merchants,  or  retailed  by  the  gill  and  pint  in  the  little 
markets.  This  coffee  of  the  common  people  brings  only 
one  fourth  the  price  of  the  best  quality. 

It  has  been  shown  that  if  the  settlers  were  provided 
with  a  central  factor}',  worked  by  people  who  thoroughly 
understood  the  curing  of  coffee,  the  value  would  be  in- 
creased at  least  twenty  per  cent  It  is  estimated  that  bad 
methods  of  culture  and  defective  curing  result  in  an 
annual  loss  to  the  island  of  nearly  a  million  dollars.  The 
berry  was  formerly  cultivated  much  more  extensively 
than  now,  and  there  were  three  times  as  much  of  it 
shipped  in  1814  as  in  1895  and  1896.  There  are  many 
abandoned  estates  in  the  Blue  Mountains,  which  could  be 
made  productive  by  judicious  cultivation  and  manuring. 
Some  of  these,  latterly  bought  by  settlers,  have  been 
brought  into  an  excellent  state  of  cultivation.  Tin  re  is 
evidently  a  promising  field  for  development  in  this  direc- 
tion, l.oth  in  the  Blue  Mountains  and  in  the  coffee  districts 

of  tin-  \v.-t. 

I  .il>erian  coffee  is  being  largely  introduced  into  Jamaica, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  it  will  grow  in  sheltered  local  i 
with  a  moist  climate,  at  a  lower  altitude  than  tin  -oth«-i  -\. 
eties,  and  even  on  some  of  the  old  abandoned  sugar-estates. 
It  is  mop   hardy  and  consequently  less  subject  to  disease 
than  Arabian  coffee,  and  can  lx»  cultivated  in  connect  ion 
with  the*  shade  of  the  bananas,  now  so  extei)Mv<ly  j.lai  • 


JAMAICA  213 

Cocoa  cultivation  was  introduced  into  Jamaica  by  the 
Spaniards,  but  subsequently  dropped  by  the  English. 
Under  the  fostering  administration  of  the  botanical  de- 
partment, it  has  been  latterly  encouraged  again,  and 
thousands  of  acres  formerly  devoted  to  sugar  may  be 
utilized  by  this  remunerative  plant  Common  allspice, 
which  occurs  in  commerce  as  small  dry  berries  resembling 
black  pepper,  grows  upon  the  pimento- tree,  which  is 
indigenous  to  the  island.  The  cultivation  of  this  is  of 
the  simplest  character.  The  trees  are  established  from 
seeds  distributed  by  birds,  and  require  only  to  be  thinned 
and  kept  free  from  undergrowth.  The  crop  is  irregular  in 
quantity,  and  the  price  of  late  years  has  been  exceptionally 
low,  although  Jamaica  is  the  only  country  that  produces 
this  article.  In  the  shade  of  the  pimento-trees  cattle  are 
raised  on  a  rich  grass  called  the  pimento-grass,  that  thrives 
on  dry  limestone  soil.  Allspice  may  therefore  be  regarded 
as  only  a  by-product  on  lands  usually  devoted  to  stock- 
raising. 

Ginger  is  another  industry  that  is  especially  associated 
with  Jamaica.  This  can  be  grown  in  almost  every  part 
of  the  tropics,  but  that  of  the  rich  soils  in  the  mountains 
of  Jamaica  usually  brings  the  highest  prices.  The  culti- 
vation is  an  exhaustive  one,  and  land  that  has  borne  a 
few  ginger-crops  has  hitherto  been  abandoned  as  useless. 
Efforts  are  now  being  made  to  restore  fertility  to  these 
lands  by  the  use  of  suitable  manures. 

It  is  needless  to  review  all  the  other  small  agricul 
industries  now  existing  or  capable  of  being  called  into 
existence  in  Jamaica.  The  exports  of  annatto,  which 
'  y  American  sees  at  least  three  times  a  day  in  the 
golden  yellow  of  the  butter  upon  his  table,  lime-juice,  dye- 
woods,  bitter  woods,  lancewood  bnrs,  sat  in  wood,  ebony, 
coco-wood,  lignum-vitfe,  walking-sticks  (from  thinnings 
of  the  pimento-trees),  <li\i-<li\i,  tan .anmls,  sarsapariUa, 
and  nutmegs  are  all  more  or  less  prominent.  There  are 
also  medicinal  plants;  essential  oils;  other  spices  besides 


J  1  I  CUBA  AND  PORTO  BICO 

the  allspice,  such  as  cardamoms,  nutmeg,  black  ]» j 
•  innanion,  and  vanilla,  besides  Sisal  hemp,  cassava,  Chile 
peppers,  castor-oil,  and  cinchona  barks.  All  of  these 
already  exist  in  the  island ;  and  are  only  waiting  for  favor- 
able rin-u instances  to  be  developed  into  important  indus- 
tries. They  could  be  greatly  increased  at  any  time  if 
special  attention  were  devoted  to  them. 

Not  the  least  important  feature  of  the  Jamaican  agri- 
en  It  are  is  the  government  instruction  and  experimenta- 
tion. Grants  of  money  are  given  to  elementary  schools 
for  the  teaching  of  agriculture  as  a  special  subject.  In 
addition,  all  country  schools  are  expected  to  teach  the 
elementary  principles  as  a  part  of  the  general  course. 
Special  courses  in  agriculture  are  given  to  the  students 
of  the  normal  schools,  and  practical  demonstrations  and 
lectures  are  regularly  delivered  in  certain  districts  by 
the  officers  of  the  botanical  department,  which  also  issues 
a  monthly  bulletin  dealing  with  agricultural  and  h<«rti« -nl- 
tural  interests.  Further,  an  industrial  school  is  attached 
to  the  Hope  Gardens,  where  the  boys  receive  praoti.  a 
structiou  from  the  superintendent.  Apprentices  brought 
here  from  the  west  coast  of  Africa  for  training  are  now 
engaged  in  agricultural  work  in  their  own  country. 

The  Royal  Jamaica  Society  of  Agriculture  was  estal. 
lished  in  1885,  and,  according  to  the  "  Jamaican  Handbook," 
it  is  fntitlod  to  be  classed  among  the  most  useful  and 
valuable  institutions  of  the  island.  The  Jamaica  Agriml- 
t  nnil  Society,  a  more  recent  creation,  publishes  an  excellent 
monthly  journal.  There  are  besides  sugar-plantation 
associations,  pen-keepers'  associations,  and  local  agricul- 
tural s(M-i,-tie«. 

All  in  all,  agriculture  in  Jamaica  is  in  a  far  more  healthy 
condition  than  in  the  other  islands.  The  blacks  no  longer 
depend  upon  imported  rations  of  rice  and  codfish,  with 
h  the  former  masters  fed  th.-m.  but  nearly  all  have 
little  homes  surrounded  by  fields  of  ground  provisions,— 
yams,  sweet  potatoes,  bananas,  and  corn,— whi. -h,  tog. 


JAMAICA  -  1  ) 

with  a  few  pigs  and  chickens,  furnish  an  ample  livelihood. 
The  agricultural  prosperity  of  Jamaica  is  handicapped, 
however,  by  the  fact  that  the  export  products  are  so 
largely  taxed  by  the  protective  duties  of  the  United  States, 
which  is  the  nearest  and  most  natural  market. 

The  imports  in  1895-96  were  valued  at  $13,722,500,  and 
the  exports  at  $8,900,000.  Great  Britain  supplies  about  48.1 
per  cent,  of  the  imports ;  Canada  and  other  British  posses- 
sions, 7.5  per  cent ;  the  United  States,  41.8  per  cent. ;  and 
other  countries,  2.6  per  cent  Of  the  exports  the  United 
Kingdom  consumes  27.6  per  cent.,  and  the  United  States 
57  per  cent  It  will  thus  be  noticed  that  the  trade  with 
the  United  States  is  of  greater  bulk  and  importance  than 
that  with  Great  Britain;  indeed,  more,  perhaps,  than  is 
represented  by  the  figures,  for  while  the  United  States 
offers  a  better  market  for  sugar  and  takes  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  fruit,  the  colony  is  dependent  upon  this 
country  for  a  large  portion  of  its  staple  food-supplies. 

The  principal  items  of  island  export  are  sugar,  $928,625 ; 
mm,  $872,850 ;  and  coffee,  $1,720,000 ;  fruit  exported  to  the 
United  States,  $2,421,116 ;  minor  items,  including  ginger, 
$2,500,000.  For  a  country  with  such  a  large  population 
and  so  full  of  agricultural  resources  as  Jamaica,  the  small 
export  value  seems  remarkable.  Among  the  smaller  ex- 
ports were  included  tobacco,  cigars,  and  horses,  but  no 
cattle.  Sugar  is  a  decreasing  industry  on  the  island,  and 
coffee-culture  does  not  appear  to  be  extending.  Fruit 
exportation  has  made  great  strides  in  recent  years  and  is 
likely  to  grow  in  value. 

withstanding  its  natural  beauty,  fertility,  and  su- 
perior governmental  organization,  Jamaica  is  suffering 
from  financial  depression.  There  are  several  causes  for 
this  cnn.lition.  The  firstof  these  is  the  fact  that  notwith- 
standing the  loyalty  of  the  people  to  the  institutions  and 
government,  which  tic  them  to  England,  their  trade  and 
commercial  interests  aro  with  the  United  States,  which 
country,  through  its  tariff  laws,  renders  it  impossible  for 


<TIIA    AND    I'OKTo    Kirn 

the  producers  to  obtain  the  prices  which  would  prevail  if 
..d  had  free  trade  with  tliis  country.  Absentee 
landlordism  is  also  a  great  curse  to  the  island.  .Most  of 
the  land  titles  are  hold  in  England,  and  larg«  ly  l.y  men 
and  families  of  fortune,  who  care  little  for  these  estates, 
since  they  have  ceased  to  return  tin-  immense  revenues 
formerly  attainable  under  the  plantation  system.  The 
conservatism  of  the  English  people  also  stands  seriously 
in  the  way  of  Jamaican  advancement  The  Englishman 
adheres  to  the  dress  and  customs  of  his  Northern  isle  in 
this  tropical  dime,  and  cares  little  for  the  ever-increasing 
inventions  which  make  competitive  industry  possible. 
The  last  time  I  was  in  Kingston  an  American  ice-wagon 
an-iv.-d  on  a  steamer.  The  daily  papers,  in  imtin.tr  this  in- 
novation,—the  inhabitant >  having  been  before  depend- -nt 
upon  depots  for  this  commodity,— remarked  in  a  spirit  of 
d.-pair  that  uthus  our  island  is  rapidly  becoming  Yan- 
keeized.* 

Notwithstanding  the  intense  loyalty  to  the  crown  of 
y  Jamaican,  from  the  humblest  negro  to  the  highest 
official,  there  is  a  general  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  people 
in  favor  of  annexation  to  our  couir  > .  Froude  found  in 
the  island  the  same  longing  for  admission  to  th« 
can  Tnion  which  he  had  left  behind  him  in  tin  I. —  :• 
Antilles.  "  It  the  West  Indies  were  ever  to  become  pros- 
perous, it  could  only  1  the-y  were  annex,  d  to  the 

ted  States."    In  meeting  with  this  subdued  but  i 
faceable  sentiment  throughout  tin-  loyal  Uritish  islai.- 
occurred  to  me  that  those  people  were  indulging  in  a  vain 
hope,  at  least  for  the  present;  for  I  have  never  In  aid  the 
least  expression  on  the  part  of  Americans  of  a  desire  to 
take  from  England  the  responsibility  of  controlling  In  i 

ii  islands,  although  it  would  be  but  wisdon 
break  down  the  commercial  barriers  which  m>w  wri^h  so 
heavily  upon  the  inhabitant*. 

Jamaica  has  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  miles  of  excel- 
lent railways,  extending  from  Kingston  north wr>t  toMon- 


I'S     \M>    (  H  U'\l;l;  VI..     I  \M  U<  A 


JAMAICA  J  1  7 

tego  Bay  and  northeast  to  Port  Antonio,  across  the  island. 
These  are  well  managed  and  comfortably  equipped.  Some 
of  the  scenery  along  the  roads  is  magnificent.  Railway 
const  ni<  t  i<  -it  is  difficult  and  expensive.  Seventy  thousand 
acres  of  the  crown  lands  were  conveyed  to  the  West  India 
Improvement  Company  for  its  part  in  constructing  the 
railways.  There  are  also  six  hundred  and  eighty-five 
miles  of  telegraph  line,  operated  by  the  postal  system, 
with  convenient  offices  everywhere  throughout  the  Island. 

The  glory  of  Jamaica,  however,  is  its  public  highways. 
There  are  thirty-six  Imn.livd  miles  of  fine  roads,— roads 
such  as  no  country  district  in  the  United  States  pos- 
sesses,—which  are  built  to  grade,  splendidly  macadam- 
ized, well  drained  and  cared  for.  These  make  communi- 
cation easy,  and  every  portion  of  the  island  accessible. 
Not  only  are  the  roads  of  the  highest  type,  but  good 
bridges  everywhere  abound.  Some  of  these  are  so  excel- 
lent that  when  the  railways  were  constructed  they  were 
occupied  by  them  without  further  strengthening.  Strange 
to  say,  these  roads  are  more  used  by  pedestrians  than  by 
vehicles.  The  negro  inhabitants  think  nothing  of  walking 
from  twenty  to  forty  miles  a  day,  and,  when  footing  is  so 
good,  many  of  them  prefer  it  to  the  more  expensive  rail- 
way system.  The  island  is  indebted  for  this  superior 
system  of  railways  and  public  roads  to  Sir  Henry  Blake, 
for  many  years  governor,  who  has  recently  been  promoted 
to  Hong-Kong.  He  devoted  every  energy  to  perfecting 
the  means  of  transportation,  and  was  justly  proud  of  his 
department  of  public  works. 

The  island  has  a  good  system  of  coastal  and  foreign 
communication.  A  comfortable  steamer  leaves  Kingston 
every  week  and  circumnavigates  the  island,  touching  at 
every  little  port,  not  only  affording  the  benefits  of  trans- 
portation t«»  tht>  inhabitants,  )>ut  presenting  to  the  tourist 
the  opportunity  for  a  most  charming  journey.  I  •  llent 
lines  of  steamers  ply  between  the  island  and  the  United 
Stat* •<.  Panama,  Costa  K: .-a.  M  \i.-o,  Colombia,  the  Lesser 


218  CUBA  AND  PORTO  BICO 

Antilles,  and  England.  The  principal  line  is  tin  i 
Royal  Mail  Company,  which  maintain*  a  comfortable 
service  between  England  and  the  Caribbean  p< 
oepting  those  belonging  to  Spain,  which  are  avoided  on 
account  of  sanitation.  These  steamers  are  patronized 
largely  by  English  tourists  who  come  out  to  see  the 
colonies.  The  arrival  of  the  semimonthly  packet  from  Eng- 
land, bringing  mail,  parcels,  English  mutton,  butter,  and  a 
thousand  and  one  necessaries,  which  every  Englishman 
in  Jamaica  awaits  from  home,  is  the  most  important  event 
upon  the  island.  The  principal  sen-ice  to  the  United 
States  is  maintained  by  the  Atlas  Line  from  New  York  and 
the  Boston  Fruit  Company's  steamers  from  Boston,  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

JAMAICA  (Continued) 

Cities  and  villages.  Kingston.  Spanish  Town.  Port  Antonio.  Montego 
Bay.  Rural  life.  The  people.  Excess  of  the  black  population.  Color- 
line  and  distinctions.  Dress  and  habits  of  the  blacks.  Folk-lore  of  the 
negroes.  A  peculiar  alphabet  Dependencies  of  Jamaica. 

THE  better  classes  of  Jamaicans  do  not  dwell  in  <• 
which  are  few  in  number  and  the  least  attractive 
features  of  the  island.     There  are  numerous  small  towns 
and  villages,  local  centers  of  trade. 

Kingston,  the  colonial  and  commercial  capital  and  only 
city  of  importance,  is  a  most  unattractive  place,  situated 
on  the  south  side,  a  little  east  of  the  middle  of  the  island, 
on  a  low,  arid  plain  surrounded  by  mountains.  It  faces  an 
extensive  harbor  inclosed  by  a  narrow  spit  of  sand,  some 
four  miles  in  length,  called  the  Palisades,  which  projects 
from  the  land  like  a  crooked  finger.  Travelers  landing  at 
Kingston  are  often  so  impressed  by  its  unpleasant  aspects 
that  they  leave  the  island  with  no  knowledge  of  the  beau- 
tiful interior,  and  afterward  decry  a  land  of  which  they 
have  really  seen  nothing. 

The  city  has  a  population  of  46,54 J.     It  is  a  hot  and 
unpleasant  town,  in  which  the  traveler  does  not  care  to 
linger  longer  than  necessary  for  the  transaction  of  busi- 
B,     1 1  has  good  and  well-lighted  streets  and  an  excellent 
y  and  system  of  sewerage.    The  principal  mer- 

219 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

•  •hunts,  officials,  and  w«-ll-to-.lo  people  in  general,  reside 
in  handsome  English  lodges  and  villas  on  the  higher 
ground  in  the  suburbs.  It  has  a  ?.•  vet-railway 

system  and  many  large  mercantile  houses  and  shops.  The 
sidewalks  are  miserable,  and  seem  to  be  constructed  with 
an  especial  object  to  prevent  walking.  There  are  generally 
i  >n<-k  pathways  in  front  of  the  houses,  but  these  are  broken 
from  one  another  by  steps,  or  terminate  abruptly  without 
steps,  so  that  they  cannot  well  be  used ;  in  fact,  the  well- 
dressed  white  man  who  ventures  to  walk  upon  the  streets 
of  Jamaica  is  looked  down  upon  as  an  inferior  being  by  the 
colored  population.  Numerous  victorias  and  importunate 
cabmen  are  everywhere  to  be  found,  although  one  some- 
times finds  it  inconvenient  to  pay  a  pound  sterling  for  an 
afternoon's  shopping  in  a  limited  district  which  elsewhere 
could  be  easily  traversed  afoot 

The  architecture  of  Kingston  is  peculiar.  The  houses 
are  of  yellowish  brick,  the  prevalent  color  of  the  dusty 
roads,  with  high  steps  leading  to  a  jalosied1  second  story. 
As  Trollope  has  remarked,  one  is  struck  by  the  ugliness 
of  the  buildings,  especially  those  which  partake  in  any 
degree  of  a  public  character.  It  is  singular  that  any  man 
who  could  put  bricks,  stone,  and  timber  together  should 
const  ru<t  the  peculiar  forms  which  are  to  be  seen  here. 

The  public  institutions  are  many  and  excellently  <  on- 
ducted,   including   schools,   churches,   museum,   lil>r 
almshouse,   asylum,    penitentiary,    colonial    offices, 
There  is  also  a  handsome  market  named  after  Queen 
Victoria.    In  the  central  part  of  thr  «  ity  is  a  park  with 
several  statues  of  local  celebriti.  >,  including  one  to  l>r. 
Bowerbank,  a  distinguished  physician  and  sanitary  re- 
former.   There  is  no  theater  in  Kingston  worthy  of  the 
name. 

The  suburbs  lying  to  the  north  of  the  city  are  delightful. 
As  one  drives  in  that  direction  up  the  sloping  plain,  which 

>  Jalodee  are  Venetian  blinds  with  large  slata,  uaed  in  tropical  countries 
to  screen  interiors,  without  excluding  the  air. 


COUNTRY    HOUSE.    RETREAT    PEN,    CLARENDON 


KINGSTON   STREET   SCENE 

JAMAICA 


JAM'  '-'-'I 

rises  within  a  few  miles  to  a  thousand  feet  above  the  sea, 
he  passes  many  beant  ifnl  Hnglish  homes,  each  surrounded 
with  its  garden,  in  which  flaming  poinsettias,  oleanders, 
and  hibiscus-trees  are  the  most  conspicuous  objects.  A 
large  area,  known  as  the  Up-town  Camp,  is  the  mill* 
garrison,  with  its  parade-grounds,  race-track,  golf-link-, 
1  handsome  quarters  for  the  officers  and  soldiers.  The 
troopsaroprineipallyof  the  West  Indian  regiment,  composed 
of  tall  Marks  arrayed  in  handsome  Zouave  uniforms,  con- 
ing of  red  turbans,  white  jackets,  blue  trousers,  and 
white  leggings.  Their  picturesque  figures,  seen  strolling 
along  the  streets,  are  very  pleasing,  and  the  regimental 
baud  furnishes  good  music.  Four  miles  north  of  the  city 
are  the  extensive  grounds  of  the  governor's  residence,  or 
Bang's  House.  This  consists  of  elaborate  buildings,  con- 
structed for  comfort  in  the  tropical  clime,  rather  than  with 
a  view  tn  aivhitct -tural  ornateness,  and  surrounded  by 
lovely  gardens.  Here  the  governor  and  his  wife  extend 
a  courteous  hospitality  t<>  the  residents  of  the  island  and 
the  passing  stranger.  Still  beyond  are  handsome  public 
gardens  and  the  large  Constant  Spring  Hotel,  at  tin-  fo«>t 
of  the  mountain,  from  which  the  city  is  easily  reached. 

At  the  end  of  the  spit  inclosing  the  harbor,  four  miles 
southwest  of  the  city,  is  the  naval  station  of  Port  Royal, 
the  headquarters  of  her  Majesty's  naval  foiv.-s  in  the 
W.-st  Indies,  and  perhaps,  with  the  exception  of  St.  Lucia, 
tin- most  important  British  stronghold  in  the  <'anblM»an 
Sea.  Old  Port  Royal,  once  the  most  flourishing  English 
city  of  the  New  World,  stood  at  the  extremity  of  the 
Palisades,  near  the  present  naval  station.  In  Hi!*:;  it 
was  destroyed  by  a  terrible  earthquake,  the  ,-ity  -lidin- 
bodily  into  the  ocean.  The  disaster  was  one  of  the  most 
appalling  of  all  recorded  catastrophes  of  nature.  In 
entering  Kingston  harbor  the  traveler  is  told  that  beneath 
the  waters  the  spires  and  roofs  of  the  ancient  houses  can 
still  be  seen.  Kingston  came  into  prominence  as  a  com- 
mercial center  after  this  catastrophe. 


'2'2'2  CUBA  AND  POBTO  KIOO 

Fifteen  miles  west  of  Kingston  is  the  interesting  old 
Spanish  Town  (population  five  thousand),  which  until 
late  years  was  the  political  capital  of  the  island.  Its 
original  name  was  Santiago  de  la  Vega,  and  it  was  settled 
by  Diego  Columbus  in  l.Yj.~>.  The  administrative  buildings 
of  the  colony,  rather  imposing  structures,  including  an 
ornate  arcade  with  a  statue  of  Admiral  Rodney,  are  situ- 
ated here,  but  are  now  unused.  The  town  has  an  air  of 
peace  and  quiet.  Although  the  seat  of  a  large  popul.v 
there  is  no  evidence  of  business  activity,  and  the  most 
interesting  feature  of  the  city  is  the  old  church  and  church- 
yard, where  the  inscriptions  of  the  tombs  recall  li\vs  ami 
events  in  the  past  history  of  Jamaica.  Among  these  is 
one  which  cannot  but  touch  the  hearts  of  Americans.  1 1 
is  a  marble  slab  at  the  right  of  the  south  door,  near  the 
middle  of  the  churchyard,  and  bears  the  following  inscrip- 
tion: 

n 

MEMORY  OF 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON  REED, 
Master  Commandant  in  the  Navy  of  the 

United  States. 

Born  at  1'tnlul.l^hm,  May  26th,  1780. 
Captured  in  the  U.  S.  Brig  of  War  Vixen, 

Under  his  command, 

By  H.  B.  M.  Frigate  Southampton; 

He  died  a  Prisoner  of  War  at  this  place, 

January  4th,  181::. 

Unwilling  to  forsake  his  companions  in  Captivity, 

He  declined  a  proffered  parole,  and  sunk  under  a 

tropical  Fever. 

THIS  STONE 

IB  inscribed  by  the  hand  of  affection 

at  a  memorial  of  his  virtues, 
and  records  the  gratitude  of  hi-  tri.  nds 

For  the  kind  offices  which 

in  the  season  of  sickness  and  hour  <>f 

Death  He  received  at  the  hands  of 

A  generous  Foe. 


JAMAICA 

Aii  excellent  hotel,  one  of  the  best  on  the  island,  is  found 
in  Spanish  Town,  where  one  may  enjoy  rest  and  en  ter- 
m-lit in  tli.-  quiet  English  way. 

Port  Antonio,  on  the  northeast  side,  is  the  second  com- 
mercial city  in  Jamaica.  This  is  a  queer  old  place,  which 
had  no  importance  until  within  the  past  two  decades, 
when  it  was  made  the  center  of  the  fruit -.shipping  iiulus- 
1 1  \ .  It  has  two  safe  harbors,  the  western  one  capable  of 
allowing  large  vessels  to  lie  alongside  the  wharves.  It  is 
now  visited  regularly  two  or  three  times  a  week  by  fruit- 
steamers  from  Boston,  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  New 
York.  Most  of  the  bananas  consumed  in  our  Northern 
markets  are  shipped  from  here.  A  line  of  railway  con- 
nects Port  Antonio  with  Kingston.  Many  beautiful  drives 
diverge  from  the  city,  one  leading  southward  across  the 
Cuua-Cuiia  Pass  to  Bath,  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  island. 

On  the  northwest  coast  the  principal  town  is  Montego 
Bay,  situated  on  a  licautit'iil  and  picturesque  inlet,  but,  like 
most  of  the  Jamaican  towns,  a  place  of  little  interest  or 
importance,  although  the  scene  of  many  business  transac- 
tions. It  is  connected  by  rail  with  Kingston,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  miles  distant. 

There  are  many  other  small  and  picturesque  towns 
along  the  north  coast,  such  as  Lucea,  Falmouth,  St.  Ann's 
Bay,  Port  Maria,  and  Buff  Bay ;  and  on  the  south  coast 
are  Port  Morant,  Morant  Bay,  Black  River,  and  Savana- 
lu-Mur. 

Most  of  the  other  villages  of  Jamaica  are  merely  market- 
places where  the  gregarious  blacks  congregate  on  certain 
days  to  sell  their  yams  and  fruits  and  make  their  humble 
purchases  from  the  few  shops,  usually  kept  by  some  coal- 
black  Levi  or  leather-colored  Isaacson.  Hebrew  names 
appear  upon  all  the  signs  of  the  roadside  shops  in  Jamaica, 
and  one  cannot  avoid  a  shock  after  inquiring  for  the 
proprietor,  whom  one  naturally  expects  to  be  of  the  type 
with  winch  we  are  familiar  in  Chatham  Street,  to  find  him 
a  son  of  Timbuctoo. 


'JJ4  CUBA  AND  POBTO  BIOO 

The  best  view  of  Jainai.-aii  life  is  obtained  by  driving 
through  the  country.  Comfortable  two-horse  barouches 
can  be  hired  for  a  pound  a  day  in  Kingston,  and  a  cour- 
teous negro  serves  as  guide  and  driver.  Travel  on  the 
IM -anti t'ul  highways  is  a  pleasure.  The  roads  have  a 
perfect  surface;  the  gutters  are  well  trimmed;  n« ; 
painted  posts  mark  each  quarter-mile;  the  grades,  care- 
fully surveyed,  are  sm-h  that  th«»  lofty  heights  are  rlimU'd 
without  serious  effort  on  the  part  of  the  horses ;  and  every 
mile  traversed  presents  some  beautiful  and  pleasing  picture 
to  the  eye.  Sometimes  these  roads  follow  the  side  of 
l»i«  turesque  streams  like  the  Bog  Walk  and  Wag  Water; 
aLT.-iin.  they  rise  over  the  high  central  divides,  presenting 
remarkable  panoramas  of  landscape,  sometimes  wild  and 

rnirLT'-d.  a-aiii  l-r.-k.-n  l.y  l..-auiiful  ].aM«>ral  ainl  airri.-ultnral 

scenes.  If  one  prefers,  he  can  <lri\«  , -ntirely  around  the 
island  along  the  sea-shore,  everywhere  in  sight  of  the  sea, 
here  presenting  a  great  variety  of  color,— pearl-green  above 
the  growing  reef,  or  deepest  blue  where  some  oceanic  abyss, 
closely  borders  the  shore,— and  always  accompanied  by  a 
beautiful  breaking  surf  dashing  against  the  rock  or  <1 
upon  beaches  of  snow-white  sand.  Miles  of  cocoa-palms 
shade  the  road,  while  on  the  land  side  one  meets  constant 
surprises  as  he  passes  around  some  headland.  Here  a 
great  sugar-plantation  borders  the  road,  with  its  quaint 
old  buildings  and  immense  overshot  water-wheels ;  around 
the  next  headland  is  a  picturesque  village  with  its  parish 
church  and  mark*  t-j>larr ;  or  the  road  for  miles  follows 
overhanging  bluffs  vril.-d  with  rxquisite  vegetation.  Not 
the  least  charming  features  of  such  a  drive  are  the  people 
whom  one  passes.  Every  wh. -n-  the  erect  figures  of  th»> 
negro  women  can  be  seen  walking  ahead  so  rapidly  that  .  >ur 
ting  horses  hardly  overtake  them,  each  carrying  nj"  n 
her  head  some  burden— a  basket,  tray,  bundl- ,  <  r  \  «•»,•!,  a 
prayer-book,  a  handk»'ivhi»-f,  «»r,  if  naught  flse,  a  round 
stone  to  hold  down  her  i 
The  Jamaican  woman  thinks  nothing  of  walking  t  w.-nty 


LOGWOOD  COLLECTED   FOR   SHIPMENT 

I\MU.    V 


JAMAICA  'JL'.") 

miles  to  market  and  back  to  sell  a  bunch  of  plantains  or  a 
few  pounds  of  yams  valued  at  less  than  a  shilling.  When 
they  meet  they  never  fail  to  exchange  courteous  greetings. 
Occasionally  one  meets  the  planters  and  pen-keepers  of  the 
better  classes,  or  some  country  curate  arrayed  in  the  solemn 
black  of  his  English  prototype,  as  unsuitable  for  the  tropics 
as  can  be  imagined,  yet  conventionally  adhered  to. 

"  Lodging-houses,"  as  the  small  inns  are  called,  are  found 
at  convenient  distances,  and  sometimes  excellent  English 
hotels,  the  best  of  which  are  in  the  country,  remote  from 
any  village,  where  one  is  so  well  treated  that  he  feels  in- 
<  lined  to  linger  for  many  days.  The  best  of  these  rural 
places  in  Jamaica  is  the  house  at  Montpelier.  This  is 
erected  upon  a  hill  in  the  center  of  the  Shettlewood  estate, 
of  ten  thousand  acres.  From  its  generous  verandas,  extend- 
ing completely  around  the  house,  the  most  beautiful  land- 
scapes of  forest-covered  hill  and  vale,  crossed  here  and 
there  by  white  highways,  and  broken  by  large  and  shady 
pastures  upon  which  graze  beautiful  herds  of  blooded 
Hindu  cattle,  can  be  seen  in  all  directions. 

Another  restful  spot  is  the  Moneagne  hotel,  reached  by 
a  few  hours'  drive  from  Spanish  Town.  Here  the  governor 
ami  his  family  and  the  better  class  of  tourists  seek  pleasant 

Near  the  eastern  end  are  the  warm  springs  of  Bath,  near 
which  there  is  another  good  hotel.  Mandeville,  in  the 
west,  has  also  a  high  reputation  for  the  excellence  of  its 
entertainment  and  beauty  of  its  surroundings,  and  no 
Englishman  visits  the  island  without  stopping  there. 
Kingsley,  Froude,  and  Trollope  have  exploited  its  delights 
and  restfulness.  The  charm  of  these  places  is  indescriba- 
ble. Unlike  our  bustling  American  tourist  hotels,  they 
make  no  attempt  at  elegance  of  furnishings,  and  each  guest 
is  permitted  to  enjoy  himself  as  he  pleases. 

Jamaica  is  thickly  sottlM,  y«  t  it  could  support  many 
more  people.  According  to  the  census  of  1891,  the  popu- 
lation was  639,41'!,  l.ut  by  the  law  of  natural  increase  it 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

probably  now  amounts  to  717,016  people,  or  173  per  square 
mil. .  In  aivu  and  d«  nsity  of  population  the  island  closely 
resembles  Comu>< -ticut.  According  to  the  census  of  1891, 
the  blacks  numbered  488,624,  the  colored  1  To- 

gether these  classes  in.  10,579,  or  five  sixths  of  the 

total  population.  The  whites  are  next  in  proportion,  num- 
ber! '-',  while  there  are  10,116  East  Indian  coolies. 
Besides  these  there  were  481  Chinamen,  and  .'UiJ.'J  people 
whose  race  was  not  stated.  There  were  nearly  28,000  more 
females  than  males,  and  292,288  people,  or  one  half  the 
population,  were  illiterate— not  such  a  bad  showing  for  a 
black  man's  country  when  we  think  that  two  thirds  of  the 
white  population  of  Porto  Rico  are  equally  ignorant.  The 
population  of  Jamaica  is  increasing  very  rapidly  by  births. 
From  1861  to  1871  the  increase  was  64,890;  from  1871  to 
1881,  74,680.  The  birth-rate  in  1892-93  was  37.3  per  cent. ; 
the  death-rate  20.9  per  cent. 

The  black  population  outnumbers  the  white  in  the  pro- 
portion of  nearly  forty  to  one,  but  the  government  control 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  whites.  No  more  refined  people 
can  anywhere  be  found  than  the  colonial  army  and  naval 
officials  who  compose  the  higher  class  of  Kingston  society, 
while  throughout  the  island  there  are  many  estimable 
planters,  pen-keepers,  and  clergymen,  who  in  ant 

colony  bravely  keep  up  the  customs,  traditions,  and  habits 
of  the  mother-country.  These  form  but  a  fractional  por- 

of  the  Jamaican  population.  The  mass  of  the  people 
are  black  or  colored,  and  there  are  few  old  families  on  the 
island  which  do  not  show  traces  of  African  blood.  During 
the  days  when  the  large  plantations  were  prosperous, 

•  Lunation  prevailed  to  an  alarming  degree,  and  al- 
though not  common  now,  its  effects  are  seen  on  every 
side.  Prior  to  this,  however,  the  Jews,  who  constituted 
th<*  mercantile  class  of  the  island,  had  mingled  freely  with 
the  black  race,  and  before  them  the  Spanish  blood  had 
made  a  contribution  of  mestizos.  As  a  result  of 
peculiar  combination,  there  are  many  grades  and  qualities 


227 

of  colored  people  on  the  island,  the  best  of  which  is  that 
of  the  English  mixture.  So  long  ago  was  the  African 
strain  ingrafted  that  in  many  instances  its  possessors  are 
often  indistinguishable  from  the  whito;  l.ut  th<>re  is  always 
sumr  iM.'«Ml«'snm,.  tVllow  who  will  rail  attention  to  it  ••v.-n 
when  it  is  not  evident  to  the  eye.  Trollope  has  well  de- 
Bcril"  <1  this  lial.it  of  the  Jamaicans  of  pointing  out  the 
blood-taint. 

The  other  mixtures  of  Jew  and  negro,  and  Spanish  and 
negro,  and  these  two  classes  mixed  with  each  other,  do  not 
result  in  as  handsome  a  race  as  either  the  Cuban  or  French 
island  mulattos.  The  product  is  a  scrawny  race,  of  un- 
pleasant features.  Nearly  all  the  tradespeople  of  Jamaica 
are  of  this  class,  possessing  the  shrewdness  of  the  Jew,  the 
groveling  traits  of  the  slave,  and  the  servility  of  the  Lon- 
•  i'>n  shopkeeper ;  they  grate  upon  the  American  nerves  most 
unpleasantly.  Of  the  better  class  of  colored  people  many 
are  highly  educated  and  intelligent,  including  in  th<>ir 
ranks  professional  men  and  merchants  who  would  do 
credit  to  any  country. 

But  the  unadulterated  black— the  coal-black,  the  "  nig- 
ger *  par  excellence  of  Trollope,  Dickens,  and  Thackeray, 
an  amusing  and  interesting  type— is  in  a  vast  majority 
here.  The  Jamaican  negroes  are  sui  generis ;  nothing  like 
them,  even  of  their  own  race,  can  elsewhere  be  found— not 
even  elsewhere  in  the  West  Indies.  They  are  omnipresent, 
towns,  the  country  highways,  and  the  woods  ring  with 
th.'ir  laughter  and  merry  songs;  they  fill  the  churches  and 
throng  the  highways,  especially 'on  market-days,  when  the 
utry  roads  are  blark  with  them;  and  they  are  witty 
ami  mil  of  queer  stories  and  folk-lore. 

Although  the  resident  Englishman  will  Ml  you  some- 
time that  they  are  poor  laborers,  they  do  the  menial  work  of 
th»«  is  hi  ml,  ami  altogether  are  cheerful  and  respectful,  hav- 
ing at  least  a  great  regard  for  good  manners  and  appear- 
ance. Their  wants  are  few,  and  most  of  them  are  content 
with  a  small  hut  surrounded  by  a  provision-ground,  where 


-->  CUBA   AND  POBTO  RICO 

they  can  grow  yams,  cocoanuts,  bananas,  and  sug. 
to  supply  t  li.-ir  meager  diet,  a  kin<l,  l>y  the  way,  entirely  too 
light  to  support  hard  labor.     An  American  con  who 

was  recently  engaged  in  building  the  Port  Antonio  railway 
informed  me  that  the  Jamaican  was  very  unsatisfactory  as 
a  laborer,  even  at  the  small  cost  of  a  shilling  per  day.  He 
had  imported  from  Alabama  a  few  Southern  negroes,  < 
of  whom  seemed  capable  of  doing  ten  times  as  much  labor 
as  the  Jamaican.  He  wondered  at  this  difference  in  the 
endurance  of  the  two  kinds  of  people  of  the  same  race, 
until  he  observed  that  a  Jamaican  who  secured  American 
food  while  working  about  the  commissary  tent  increased 
in  strength  each  day  until  his  possibilities  equaled  those 
of  the  American  blacks.  It  is  remarkable  how  littl«-  food 
of  a  substantial  character  they  consume,  and  how  irregular 
they  are  in  their  hours  of  eating.  Nevertheless,  Jamaican 
negroes  are  sought  far  and  wide  throughout  the  tropics  as 
laborers,  and  thousands  of  them  have  gone  to  work  upon  the 
Panama  Canal,  the  railways  of  Costa  Rica  and  Guatemala, 
and  the  banana-plantations  of  Honduras  and  Nicaragua. 

The  women  of  Jamaica,  however,  perform  the  hard 
labor.  They  do  the  household  work,  cultivate  the  fields, 
carry  the  hod  of  brick  and  mortar,  coal  the  ships,  load  the 
bananas,  break  stone  for  the  highways,  cultivate  the  fields, 
and  carry  the  products  to  market  upon  their  heads,  air;, 
in  a  single  garment  of  calico,  and  without  shoes  or  hats. 
The  men  who  work  at  all  are  the  overseers,  mechanics,  and 
•  i  ri  vers  of  teams.  On  Sunday  the  women  array  themselves 
in  neatly  laundered  dresses,  put  on  their  shoes  and  stock- 
ings, and  in  exceptional  cases  hats  or  bom  :  attend 
the  parish  churches.  They  are  honest,  polite,  and  indus- 
trinus,  l.ut  hav«-  little  regard  for  the  marriage  tie.  Forty 
per  cent,  of  the  births  are  illegitimate;  yet  no  one  would 
wish  to  see  the  toilsome  life  of  one  of  these  women  still 
further  burdened  by  having  to  support  a  worthless  hus- 
d,  who  would  have  author! •  the  children  whom 

she  can  now  claim  as  her  own. 


JAMAICA  J-M.> 

<e  people,  notwithstanding  their  r  of  their 

English  masters  in  dress,  habits,  and  religion,  are  still  sav- 
ages in  t  h'-ir  minds  and  culture,  though  not  savage  in  the 
sense  of  cruel  or  vindictive,  for  the  negro  has  traits  of  char- 
acter entirely  different  from  those  which  we  ordinarily 
i»ut«  to  savages,  judged  by  the  standard  of  tin-  tradi- 
rican  red  man.    Notwithstanding  the  outward 
semblance  of  the  Christian  religion,  they  only  assume  its 
more  conspicuous  phases.    They  find  in  church  at  ten. lance 
a  sii'  n  of  their  gregarious  tendencies,  an<l  in  religious 

S  especially  those  of  the  evangelical  denominations, 
an  oppoi -tuiiity  to  sing  and  shout  and  sway  in  rhythmic 
motion,  just  as  their  ancestors  did  in  the  voodoo  cere- 
monies of  the  African  forests.  The  ethical,  moral,  and 
spiritual  teachings  of  the  earnest  preachers  pass  through 
i  n  pie  minds  like  water  through  a  sieve;  only  the 
ceremonial  and  emotional  phases  impress  them;  an  empty 
bottle,— a  potent  power  of  evil,— if  set  down  at  the  door  of 
a  congregation,  would  send  it  into  paroxysms  of  fear.  On 
the  road  to  and  from  the  church,  the  rustling  of  the  wind 
through  a  ceiba-tree,  which  in  their  humble  minds  is  the 
dwelling-place  of  jumbies,1  will  offset  all  the  sermons  of  the 

day. 

Even  educated  young  women  in  the  normal  school 
recently  fainted  from  fear  at  sight  of  some  trembling 
mercury  which  had  been  spilled  upon  the  floor  during  an 
experiment  Obiism  was  more  potent  than  science.  It 
is  believed  that  the  "goat  without  horns" is  still  sacrificed 
by  these  people ;  and  when  a  child  is  lost  in  K  i  ngston,  black 
hearts  pal.-  with  tho  terrible  thought  that  the  obi-doctor 
ha*  appropriated  him  for  this  purpose.  In  the  mountains 
and  valleys  they  -till  meet,  led  by  some  hideous  obi-man, 
to  sacri:  •  -umpl. -d  cock  or  human  child,  or  sway  and 

dance  until  they  fall  in  trances.  Civilization  should,  in- 
deed, be  thankful  that  the  strong  arm  of  England  keeps 
these  savage  instincts  in  subjection,  and  that  its  more 

»  Jumbr,  a  synonym  of  duppy— the  "  harnt  "  (haunt)  of  our  Southern  negro. 


230  CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

merciful  and  humane  methods  have  prevented  the  repeti- 
tion in  Jamaica  •  .11  degradation. 

In  the  mountains  of  the  interior,  the  cockpit  country  on 
the  west,  and  Portland  Parish  on  the  east,  there  dwell  still 
other  negroes,  who  have  special  privileges  and  are  partially 
free  from  Kn«rlish  rule.  These  are  the  maroons 
marrones  of  the  Spaniards),  descendants  of  Africans  i 
would  not  endure  the  fetters  of  slavery,  and  soon  after 
landing  broke  away  from  bondage  to  these  inaccessible  re- 
treats. They  have  certain  vested  rights  which  the  «»tl..-r 
negroes  do  not  possess,  and  during  the  past  centuries  t 
were  feared  by  both  whites  and  blacks;  but  England  has 
at  last  reduced  them  to  a  condition  where,  while  retaining 
tin -ir  liberties,  they  no  longer  plunder  the  planter.  They 
maintain  the  African  tribal  organization  and  have  their 
chiefs  and  head  men,  but,  otherwise  than  that  they  do  not 
serve  the  white  man,  no  difference  can  be  seen  between 
them  and  the  other  negroes  of  the  island.  An  American 
who  had  heard  much  of  these  wild  maroons  resolved  upon 
visiting  their  village  for  the  purpose  of  feasting  his  eyes  on 
a  real  African  prince.  After  a  tedious  journey  he  reached 
the  coll.  <T  ion  of  huts  and  inquired  for  the  head  man.  A 
venerable  but  ordinary-looking  darky  finally  appeared, 
dressed  in  the  same  manner  and  speaking  the  same  lan- 
guage as  the  other  blacks  of  the  island.  Our  Boston  friend, 
after  enjoying  the  presence  of  royalty  to  satiety,  started  to 
leave  the  village,  when  he  was  greeted  with  the  customary 
parting:  "  Ruckra,  1  Tank  you  for  a  shilling,  Hah." 

The  character  of  the  Mack  man  of  Jamaica  has  been 
beautifully  described  by  Trollopc  in  his  Look  on  "The  West 
Indies  and  the  Spanish  Main,"  and  the  reader  who  wishes 
to  know  more  <  ing  his  simple  nature  should  read 

his  description.     The  following  gfory  told  by  him  excel- 
lently illustrates  their  childlike  nature. 

Some  of  their  efforts  after  dignity  of  rout  time  are  in.-tTaMy  lu- 
•ug.     One  Sunday  .-v.-nin^.  far  away  in  th. 

•Irmnn.  tl:«-  I>r«»j'T  ilnl  US,  I 


JAMAH -A  'Jill 

saw  a  young  girl  walking  home  from  church.  She  was  arrayed 
from  head  to  foot  in  virgin  white.  Her  gloves  were  on,  and  her 
parasol  was  up.  Her  hat  also  was  white,  and  so  was  the  lace,  and 
so  were  the  bugles  which  adorned  it  She  walked  with  a  stately 
dignity  that  was  worthy  of  such  a  costume,  and  worthy  also  of 
higher  grandeur;  for  behind  her  walked  an  attendant  nymph, 
carrying  the  beauty's  prayer-book— on  her  head.  A  negro  woman 
carries  every  burden  on  her  head,  from  a  tub  of  water  weighing  a 
hundredweight  down  to  a  bottle  of  j.li\ 

When  we  came  up  to  her,  she  turned  toward  us  and  curtsied. 
She  curtsied,  for  she  recognized  her  "massa";  but  she  curtsied 
with  great  dignity,  for  she  recognized  also  her  own  finery.  The 
1»<  )im«l  with  the  prayer-book  made  the  ordinary  obeisance, 
crooking  her  leg  up  at  the  knee,  and  then  standing  upright  <ju 
than  thought 

"Who  on  earth  is  that  princess?"  said  I. 

They  are  two  sisters  who  both  work  at  my  mill,"  said  my  friend. 
14  Next  Sunday  they  will  change  places.  Polly  will  have  the  parasol 
and  the  hat,  and  Jenny  will  carry  the  prayer-book  on  her  head  be- 
hind her." 

His  story  of  bow  the  barefooted  field-hand  came  into  a 
sho»«-shop  to  Imy  a  pair  of  pumps,  and  how  In-  imp.-riously 
demanded  a  piece  of  carpet  such  as  dealers  ordinarily  have 
to  keep  their  customers9  stockings  clean,  is  equally  amus- 
ing. 

Not  the  least  striking  feature  of  the  Jamaican  negroes 
;»»ir  talkativeness.  The  buckra  man  they  treat  with 
outward  diffidence,  but  when  they  meet  they  open  a  rapid 
fire  of  badinage  with  one  another,  accompanied  by  many 
exclamations  and  loud  laughter.  The  noise  of  this  jabber- 
ing at  the  market-places—sometimes  elaborate  affairs  in 
the  towns,  and  sometimes  merely  fenced-in  inclosures  at 
<T088-roads— can  be  heard  rising  above  all  other  sounds 
long  before  the  locality  is  reached. 

And  what  interesting  spots  these  markets  are,  where 
dames  and  damsels  from  miles  around  have  each  brought 
a  head-load  of  produce  to  sell— yams,  potatoes,  peasant 
coffee,  sapodillas,  oranges,  sweet  potatoes,  well-browned 
cakes  of  cassava  bread,  plantains,  peppers,  and  other  prod- 


CUBA  AND   PORTO  RICO 

nets  of  their  toil.  They  still  barter  in  "gills"  and  "qoafc 
ties"— old-time  coins,  fractions  of  farthings,  no  longer 
made,  whose  value  indicates  the  extent  of  tin -ir  <1<  alings. 
The  woman  who  does  a  business  of  two  shillings  a  market- 
day  feels  well  rewarded  for  her  work,  which  has  probably 
included  twmty  miles  of  walking  to  and  fro. 

But  the  best  traits  of  the  darkies  are  seen  around  t 
houses,  or  in  the  domestics  of  the  buckra's  home.  Often, 
as  one  passes  the  huts,  the  black  ni<>th<  r  may  be  seen  comb- 
ing out  the  wool  of  her  fatherless  child— trying,  ti 
fv.-r  trying  to  eliminate  those  African  kinks,  whose  tem- 
porary straightening  seems  in  her  imagination  to  lift  the 
little  life  a  step  nearer  the  ever-hoped-for  but  never-attain- 
able white  man's  caste.  And  as  she  lovingly  performs  this 
task,  she  tells  weird  stories  which  her  ancestors  brought 
from  Africa,  or  teaches  that  most  remarkable  Jamaican 
alphabet— a  rhyme  which  originated  no  one  knows  how, 
but  which  for  two  centuries  has  been  handed  down  orally 
from  mother  to  child,  and  which  every  Jamaican  can 
repeat.  It  runs  as  follows : 


A  is  for  Assinoo ;*  see  how  him  stan' ! 

B  is  for  Buckra,'  bery  bad  man. 

C  is  for  Pussy ;  him  name  Maria. 

D  is  for  Duppy ;'  him  eye  shine  like  fire. 

E  is  for  Eel ;  him  catch  in  de  ferry. 

F  is  for  Pigjfl«-r  ;*  him  play  sweet,  bery. 

0  is  for  Governor;  him  live  at  King's  House. 

H  is  for  Dry-Harbor,  place  poor  as  church-mouse. 

1  is  for  v  .  I  go  to  bed. 

for  .John  Crow;  he  have  a  peel  head. 
K  is  for  Kalaloo,5  bery  nice  when  him  boil 
L  is  for  Lizard,  but  him  tail  >.il. 
M  is  for  Monkey ;  just  look  'pon  him  face. 
N  is  for  Nana  ;•  him  cap  trim  wid  lace. 

1  AM,  donkey.  »  White  nun.  >  Gh<wt 

•  A  kind  of  bird.  •  Baby  (a  corrupted  8p*nimh  word). 


JAMAICA  233 

O  is  for  Oliphant  ;l  him  have  a  big  mouf. 
P  is  for  Potto ;'  when  night  come  he  go  out 
Q  is  for  Quattie  ;*  I  beg  you  one,  massa,  please, 
Bit!  i ;  In  in  tiptoe  'pon 

8  is  for  Snake ;  him  crawl  in  de 

for  Toad,  so  farr'ard  an'  fast 
U  is  f<>r  rude.     Boy,  you  t*-ll  him  howdeel 
V  is  for  \  *  make  very  good  tea. 

W,X,Y.     Hi!  I  really  forget 
Z  is  for  Zebedee,  mending  his  net 

The  men,  if  you  can  gain  tln-ir  confidence,  will  t««ll  von 
queer  stories  of  the  donkey  who  would  go  hunting  like  the 
tiger,  and  how  his  courage  failed ;  or  other  tales  of  African 
folk-lore  in  which  the  rabbit,  lion,  tiger,  and  elephant,  or 
other  animals  which  they  know  only  through  inherited 
tradition,  are  always  introduced.  These  are  allied  to  the 
Uncle  Remus  stories  which  Joel  Chandler  Harris  has  made 
familiar  to  American  readers,  and  which  are  told  wherever 
the  African  race  is  distributed. 

The  Jamaican  negroes  are  also  much  given  to  proverbs, 
and  they  have  one  ready  for  every  occasion.  These  prov- 
erbs are  essentially  the  same  as  those  told  by  all  West 
Iii'lian  negroes,  and  no  doubt  represent  in  modified  form 
the  lore  of  their  ancestral  country.  Some  of  them  are 
pointed  and  amusing. 

'Hi roe  groups  of  islands  are  attached  to  Jamaica  for 
inistrative  purposes,  although  not  related  to  it  in 
natural  atVmiiii's.  The  largest  of  these  are  the  Turks  and 
Caicos  Islands  of  the  Bahama  group,  situated  nearly  five 
hundred  miles  to  the  northeast.  Why  they  are  politically 
controlled  by  Jamaica,  and  not  by  the  Bahama n  govern- 
ment, which  surrounds  them  on  all  sides,  is  one  of  those 
inexplicable  problems  of  the  British  colonial  system  which 
we  cannot  explain.  They  will  }.«•  <li-.-u->.-.l  with  tin- 
Bahama  group,  to  which  they  naturally  belong. 

.. -pliant  (this  word  in  from  the  old  Scotch  iwttlen.). 
«  Owl.  *  A  fourth  of  a  farthing.  «  A  plant 


•J.".4  CUBA  AND  POBTO  BICO 

The  second  group  comprises  th.«  tliree  lonely  coral 
islands  known  as  the  Caymans,  situated  off  from  the 
track  of  commerce  in  the  Caribbean  Sea,  one  hundred  and 
eighty  mil.  s  northwest  of  Jamaica.  They  are  about  the 
same  distance  due  west  of  the  Santiago  coast  of  Cuba,  to 
which  they  are  allied  by  natural  affinities,  rising  from  the 
submerged  ridge  projecting  westward  as  a  continuation  of 
the  Sierra  Maestru.  The  largest  of  these  islands  is  Grand 
Cayman,  seventeen  miles  in  length  and  four  mih-s  in  width. 
Its  coast  is  bold  and  rock-bound ;  the  eastern  and  most  of 
the  northern  shores  are  protected  by  coral  reefs  inclosing 
harbors  of  considerable  size  and  depth,  but  with  m  trances 
so  narrow  and  intri<  ate  that  only  small  vessels  can  enter. 
One  of  these,  the  Great  Sound,  on  the  north,  measures 
more  than  six  miles  across.  The  only  anchorage  for  large 
vessels  is  under  the  west  end. 

The  island  is  well  wooded,  and  produces  dyewcods, 
mahogany,  cedar,  and  other  timber.  Palms  grow  abun- 
dantly, and  are  uw«l  l.y  ih«  natives  for  thatching  tln-ir 
cottages,  while  the  fiber  is  used  for  fishing-linrs.  hats, 
baskets,  fans,  and  sieves.  The  products  of  the  soil  are 
similar  to  those  of  Jamaica,  as  are  its  wild  animals  and 
birds.  There  is  good  pasturage,  principally  guinea-grass; 
and  horses,  cattle,  pigs,  and  poultry  are  raised  in  K 
numbers  for  the  inhabitants,  I'lio^.hat.-  deposits  of  con- 
siderable value  have  recently  been  found  and  shipped  to  the 
United  States.  Among  the  natural  «  urio>iti.'.s  of  Grand 
Cayman  is  a  cave  at  Bodden  Town,  which  extends  some  h  u  n  - 
dreds  of  yards  under  the  sea.  There  is  also  a  natural 
cistern  forty  to  forty-two  feet  deep,  containing  clear,  sweet 
spring-water. 

Grand  Cayman  was  at  MM  tim.-  th««  rendezvous  of  bu.-- 

•B6M)  and  they  .-rerted   fort iti.-at ion>  mounted  l.y  heavy 
guns.    The  latter  lie  embedded  in  the  sand  at  (in: 

According  to  the  census  of  1891,  the  po]  *  u  1  a  t  i  o  n  a  n  i  o  1 1  n  ted 
to  4322,  of  whom  2418  were  fen  The  people  are  tem- 

perate, strong,  tall,  an.l  healthy-looking,  and  most  of  t 


285 

are  white  or  colored.  From  the  woods  of  tin*  island  tli««y 
l.uild  themselves  neat  cottages  and  schooners.  They  live 
by  fishing  for  turtles  about  the  keys  and  banks,  and  by 
cultivating  cocoanuts.  There  is  very  little  money  in  the 
island,  but  there  is  no  actual  poverty,  most  of  the  people 
being  able  to  supply  all  th««ir  hum  Me  needs.  There  are  six 
hundred  and  thirty-three  houses,  collected  in  several  littl. 
hamlets,  including  a  church,  a  court-house,  public  offices, 
a  school-house,  and  a  prison.  The  climate  is  wann,  but  ex- 
ceedingly salubrious.  Long  remarks!  that44 no  part  of 
the  world  is,  perhaps,  more  healthful  than  this  spot."  There 
is  no  resident  physician,  and  the  only  ailmonU  are  those  of 
old  age. 

Little  Cayman  is  nine  miles  long  and  about  a  mile  broad; 
and  tho  third  island,  Cayman  Brae,  is  ten  miles  long  and 
one  mile  in  width.  These  islands  lie  about  seventy  miles 
northeast  of  the  Grand  Cayman,  and  are  separated  by  a 
channel  seven  miles  wide.  Little  Cayman  has  only  thirty- 
five  people,  belonging  to  two  old  families.  The  people  lead 
a  very  lonely  life,  but  are  strong  and  healthy.  Cayman 
Brae  has  no  good  anchorage,  but  is  inhabited  by  people 
much  like  those  of  the  other  islands.  It  has  a  popu- 
lation  of  five  hundred  and  twenty-eight. 

The  third  Jamai. -an  dependency  consists  of  the  Morant 
and  Keys.    The  Morant  Keys  are  situated  about 

thirty-three  miles  southeast  of  Jamaica,  and  consist  of  three 
small  uninhabited  islands.  In  March  and  April  the  sea- 
hirds  arrive  in  great  numbers  and  cover  them  with  eggs, 
which  are  collected  and  conveyed  in  schooners  to  Jamaica, 
are  also  caught  The  Pedro  Keys  are  forty  or  fifty 
miles  to  the  southwest  of  Jamaica,  and  consist  of  four 
islets.  There  are  a  few  temporary  huts,  and  some  cocoa- 

llUt-tlVr>    have  IMM-H   plailUxL 

Turks  Island  of  the  Bahaman  group  is  also  attached  for 
administrative  purposes  to  Jamaica  (see  pp.  303,  304). 


CHAPTER  XXI 1 1 

THE  ISLAND  OF  SANTO  DOMINGO  * 

Difficulties  of  nomenclature.  Geographical  features  of  the  island  Irreg- 
ularity of  outline.  Mountains  and  valleys.  The  Alps  of  the  Antilles. 
Classification  of  the  ranges.  Riven  and  lakes.  Climate.  Geology. 
Fauna. 

S\  NTO  DOMINGO,  although  second  in  size,  is  perhaps 
the  most  impoverished  and  backward  of  the  (J 
Ant  ill. •-.     Its  area  is  about  two  thirds  that  of  Cuba  ami 
more  than  three  times  that  of  Porto  Rico  and  Jamaica 
combined.    The  island  by  nature  is  the  geographic  c< 
of  the  Great  Antilles.    Situated  midway  between  P 
Rico  and  Cuba  in  the  island  chain,  it  i<  the  most  central 
and  highest  of  the  system,  from  which  the  others  in  either 
<liiv<-ti<ni  may  be  considered  as  radiating  peninsulas.     It 
excels  them  all  in  altitude,  diversity  of  con  fig  i  pfo- 

1  Both  "  Haiti  -  and  "Santo  Domingo "  are  used  M  general  terms  to  desig- 
nate thin  island,  occupied  by  the  republics  of  "Haiti "and  "San  Domingo." 
It  is  not  necessary  to  enter  into  an  historic  discussion  concerning  this  nomen- 
clature, further  than  to  say  that  we  shall  use  the  Spanish  term  "Santo 
Domingo"  in  speaking  of  the  island  as  a  whole,  "San  Domingo"  for  the 
republic  of  that  name,  and  ••  !  ..ry  embraced  within  the 

Haitian  republic.     It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  old  name  <*  Hispaniola  "  has 
become  obsolete. 

In  these  pages  I  hare  also  Intentionally  avoided  terming  the  inh;.- 
this  bland  Dominicans,  eren  though  the  San  Domingoans  may  in  these  later 
days  so  call  themselves.    The  only  true  Dominicans  are  the  inhabitants  of 
Dominica,  one  of  the  larger  islands  of  the  Lesser  Antilles. 


THE  ISLAND  OP  SANTO  DOMINGO 

turesque  aspect,  and  natural  fertility.  It  is  so  continental 
in  its  topographic  aspect  that  away  from  the  coast  one 
finds  it  difficult  to  believe  that  he  is  upon  an  island. 

Santo  Domingo  presents  many  phases  of  interest  to  the 
student.  Besides  the  fact  that  it  is  th>  only  island  of  the 
American  Mediterranean  which  did  not  depend  politically 
upon  some  European  power,  it  is  interesting  for  its  hist  - 
cal  associations.  Since  the  date  of  its  discovery  until  within 
the  past  decade,  nearly  every  year  of  its  history  has  been 
marked  by  some  tumultuous  event  or  political  revolution. 
Nowhere  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  especially  within  the  past 
century,  has  there  been  presented  such  a  rapid  panorama 
of  governmental  changes.  The  French  and  Spanish  sup- 
planted each  other,  only  to  be  driven  from  the  island  by 
the  blacks  and  mulattos;  since  then  many  independent 
governments,  accompanied  by  revolutions  of  remarkable 
interest,  have  been  successively  set  up  amid  constant  strife 
and  turmoil.  Yet,  on  the  whole,  there  has  been  a  progres- 
sive evolution  to  a  goal,  at  last  in  sight,  of  stability  and 
progress.  It  was  the  first  land  colonized  in  the  New  World 
by  Europeans,  the  starting-point  of  that  civilization  which 
spread  in  the  western  hemisphere,  and  is  now  spreading 
in  the  distant  Indies  of  which  Columbus  thought  this  very 
island  a  portion.  It  is  the  locality  where  African  slavery 
was  first  introduced  into  America,  and  where,  strangely 
enough,  emancipation  was  first  proclaimed.  Over  it  has 
been  wielded  the  power  of  many  European  nations,  the 
blood  of  the  children  has  been  lavishly  poured  upon  its  soil, 
ami  \vt  to-day  "it  ivsts  upon  tin*  bosom  of  thOM  tropic 
seas,  as  beautiful,  majestic,  and  fruitful  in  all  its  natural 
gifts  as  when  Columbus  first  discovered  it,  waiting  only  the 
assistance  of  law  and  sound  government  to  take  its  proper 
place  in  civilization." 

1 1  has  been  said  that  its  exposed  geographic  position  dur- 
ing the  formative  days  of  American  history  has  been  in 
part  responsible  for  the  present  conditions,  brought  upon 
it  by  its  being  successively  the  battle-ground  of  the  Span- 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  l:i 

lards  aii'l  Indians,  th»*  bucaneers,  the  English,  the 
the  Haitians,  ami  the  San  Domingoans  themselves. 

Taken  altogether  and  looked  at  in  its  natural  aspects,  DO 
spot  on  earth  can  be  more  lovely,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
probably  no  extent  of  territory  contains  within  it>»  It,  under 
proper  auspices,  so  many  elements  of  prosperity,  worldly 
success,  and  happiness  as  this  island.  Yet,  viewed  in  the 
liu'ht  of  present  interests,  the  island  perhaps  is  the  least 
important  <>f  the  Antilles.  Its  geography  and  natural  his- 
tory, still  but  little  explored,  will  prove  voluminous. 

The  greatest  length  of  the  island  from  east  to  west  is  a 
lit  t le  more  than  four  hundred  miles ;  its  greatest  width  just 
west  of  the  geographic  center  is  one  hundred  and  K 
miles;  and  its  periphery  is  nearly  a  thousand  miles, 
area  is  about  thirty-one  thousand  square  miles— six  times 
that  of  Connecticut,  and  a  little  more  than  that  of  South 
Carolina. 

The  outline  of  the  island  is  the  most  irregular  of  all  the 
Great  Antilles,  being  noted  for  an  absence  .of  long-con- 
tinued straight  stretches  of  coast-line  and  marked  by 
numerous  indentations  and  angular  headlands.  This  out- 
line resembles  that  of  a  swimming  frog,  whose  out- 
stretched head  and  body,  occupied  by  the  eastern  republic 
of  San  Domingo,  point  toward  Porto  Rico,  while  the  two 
long  trailing  peninsulas  of  the  Haitian  country,  extending 
westward  toward  Cuba  and  Jamaica,  resemble  the  out- 
stretched hind  legs.  On  the  northeast  the  peninsula  of 
Samana  reaches  out  from  the  land  like  an  extended  fore 
limb. 

Inclosed  by  the  western  peninsula  is  the  great  Gulf  <»f 
Gonaives,  an  immense  semi<  iivular  Lay  with  a  coast-line 
of  two  hundred  miles.  Samana  Bay,  on  the  northeast,  is 
another  extensive  indentation  into  the  mainland,  whil. • 
Barahona  Bay,  near  the  middle  of  the  south  coast,  and 
zanilla  Bay,  on  the  north,  are  also  conspicuous  inden- 
tations. 

Adjacent  to  the  main  island  are  a  few  large  islands,  not 


THE  ISLAND  OF  SANTO  DOMINGO  239 

bordering  coral  reefs  like  the  keys  of  Cuba,  but  so  similar 
to  the  main  island  in  th'-ir  mountainous  configuration  that 
they  are  apparently  remnants  of  it  which  have  been  sev- 
ered in  recent  geologic  time.  The  largest  of  these  is  Go- 
nav<»,8ituat«»«l  in  the  western  gulf  of  that  name,  just  south 
of  the  northern  peninsula  of  St.  Nicolas.  North  of  the 
same  peninsula  is  the  tie  de  la  Tortue,  twenty-two  miles 
long  and  five  miles  broad,  famous  in  history  as  the  resort 
neers  and  the  site  of  the  first  French  settlement 
At  the  southeast  point  is  Saona,  nearly  the  size  of  La  Tor- 
tue. The  peninsulas  of  Samana,  on  the  northeast  coast, 
and  Tiburon,  on  the  southwest  coast,  were  both  islands 
until  recent  yean,  the  passage  between  them  and  the  main- 
Ian  .1  having  been  but  lately  closed  by  nature.  Altavela, 
lying  just  off  the  point  of  the  middle  south  coast,  is  a 
smaller  islet,  with  the  marked  configuration  of  the  mainland. 

The  coast  of  Santo  Domingo  is  fringed  in  many  places 
with  reefs,  not  so  numerous  or  extensive  as  those  of  Cuba. 
These  are  developed  inside  the  bays,  and  Samana  Bay  is 
more  than  half  filled  by  them.  Manzanilla  Bay  is  simi- 
larly obstructed.  The  western  gulf  is  also  fringed  by  many 
coral  reefs,  and  Gonave  Island  is  connected  on  both  sides 
with  the  shore  by  reefs  broken  by  a  few  open  passages. 
The  south  coast  of  the  Tiburon  peninsula  is  bordered  by 
a  labyrinth  of  coral  reefs,  which  also  occur  at  the  eastern 
extremity  of  Santo  Domingo.  In  general,  the  coast  is 
rugged  and  mountainous  to  the  edge  of  the  sea,  with  here 
and  there  a  few  benches  of  elevated  reef  rock  or  high  ter- 
races leading  to  the  lofty  uplands. 

Approached  from  the  sea,  the  island  has  the  aspect  of  a 
huge  mass  of  mountains  rising  precipitously  from  the 
water,  extending  in  all  directions  and  jumbled  up  in  hope- 
less These  appear  to  come  down  to  the  water's 
brink  ami  to  )»»•  r«>\viv.l  with  shrubbery  and  trees  of  a  not 
particularly  inviting  aspect,  and  one  wonders  where  the 
people  live,  or  where  valuable  crops  can  be  grown.  From 
what.  \<i  .linvtioii  the  mariner  approaches  the  island, 


CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

these  mountains  are  ever  visible ;  in  fact,  the  Indian  name 
of  the  island  (Haiti)  signifies  "  mountains." 

It  lias  been  my  observation  that  th«-  political  disorgan- 
ization of  tropical  countries  is  proportionate  t 
rugosity.  It  there  is  one  country  better  adapted,  topo- 
graphically, for  political  disunity  and  revolution  than 
another,  by  being  divided  by  inaccessible  mountain  bar- 
riers into  small  habitable  areas,  that  country,  excepting 
Colombia,  is  Santo  Domingo.  The  horizontal  area  en- 
led  by  its  waters  is  trebled  by  the  vei  ti<  ality  of  the 
mountains,  and  whoever  contemplates  its  political  recla- 
mation must  consider  these  wild  mountains,  fit  only  for 
the  habitation  of  wild  men. 

It  would  be  as  great  an  undertaking  to  describe  the 
mountains  of  Santo  Domingo  as  to  describe  the  Alps.  In 
a  previous  chapter  a  few  words  have  been  said  concerning 
their  relation  to  the  Great  Antillean  uplift,  of  which  they 
are  the  center  and  culmination.  It  is  impossible  to  con- 
vey to  the  reader  more  than  a  passing  idea  of  these  ranges 
and  summits,  with  th<>ir  hundreds  of  bewildering  names. 
They  occupy  fully  four  fifths  of  the  island,  and  render 
much  of  it  inaccessible.  In  general,  the  aspect  of  the 
whole  island  is  like  the  mountainous  eastern  ends  of  Ja- 
maica and  Cuba. 

The  mountains  consist  of  lofty  forest-covered  peaks  and 
ridges,  like  the  Blue  Mountains  of  Jamaica  and  the  Sierra 
Maestra  of  Cuba, between  whi«-h  li«  «  xt.  nsive  fertile  val- 
leys, threaded  by  streams,  all  of  which— mountains,  val- 
leys, and  streams— have  a  prevalent  trend  of  west-north- 
west and  south-southeast.  These  nigged  mountain  ranges 
may  be  compared  to  a  series  of  gigantic  ridges  and  furrows, 
so  disconnected  and  irregularly  arranged  that  if  a  slight  in- 
vasion of  the  sea  should  take  place  through  subsidence,  the 
whole  would  resolve  itself  into  four  distinct  islands,  dis- 
posed from  east  to  west  in  an  irregular  but  subparallel 
arrangement. 

The  northern  fragment,  the  Monte  Cristi  range,  would 


MO  NMHSO  Of  0010N,   OH   TMC  Of 
TIO   AfTIH    TMf    OftfAT    VICTOftV    OVtN    TMI 


(IN 

Of   LA   VtOA 


SANTO    |H>MINGO 


THE  ISLAND  OF  SANTO  DOMINGO 

be  found  along  the  eastern  half  of  the  north  coast  from 
Manzanilla  Bay,  where  the  boundary  of  the  two  republics 
meets  the  sea,  eastward  to  the  Samana  peninsula.  This 
is  s«»parat«Ml  from  tin-  n-inainiiiir  portion  of  tin-  MaiM  l.y  a 
great  plain  stretching  from  Samana  Bay  to  Manzauilla 
I '.ay,  t  dreaded  by  two  long  rivers,  the  Yaqui  del  Norte  and 
the  Yuna.  South  of  this  the  main  larger  orographic  sec- 
1 1-  -n,  the  Sierra  Cibao,  is  formed  by  a  zone  of  lofty  moun- 
tain Ian. Is  which  runs  diagonally  the  entire  length  of  the 
island  from  the  eastern  cape,  Engano  Point,  to  Cape  St 
Nicolas,  on  the  Windward  Passage.  The  third  and  shorter 
section,  which  is  a  western  ramification  of  the  above,  off- 
shooting  near  the  center  of  the  range,  is  limit.-!  l.y  the 
river  Artibonite  on  the  north,  the  San  Juan  on  the  east, 
and  on  the  south  by  a  valley  occupied  by  a  chain  of  lakes. 
The  fourth  and  last  section  is  formed  by  the  tall  mountains 
of  the  southwestern  peninsula.  The  central  of  these  sys- 
tems, the  Cibao  (Rocky)  Mountains,  constitute  the  mother 
range  of  the  whole  Antilleau  uplift,  and  extend  through  the 
island  for  a  distance  of  four  hundred  miles.  At  its  eastern 
end  this  range  is  low  and  narrow,  rarely  acquiring  a  height 
of  more  than  a  thousand  feet ;  but  going  westward  near  the 
center  of  the  island,  it  increases  in  area  and  alt  itmle,  rising 
until  some  of  its  numerous  peaks  are  from  eight  to  nine 
thousand  feet  high— great  projecting  summits,  standing 
above  a  labyrinth  of  secondary  crests  extending  in  every 
direction  from  the  axial  line  as  superb  monuments  of  ero- 
sion which  have  survival  the  general  lowering  of  the  1 
through  the  geologic  ages. 

The  highest  peaks  are  not  necessarily  along  the  main 
crest,  the  loftiest,  known  as  Mount  Tina,  10,300  feet  in 
height,  being  situat«l  to  th<>  south  of  the  axial  line, 
northwest  of  the  «  ity  of  San  Domingo.  The  highest  emi- 
nence of  the  main  ridge  is  Pi«-o  ,1,-1  Yaqui,  so  called  because 
<  constantly  enveloped  in  silvery  clouds.  This  rises  to 
9700  feet,  while  near  by  are  many  mountains  8000  feet  or 
more  in  altitude.  Still  farther  west,  toward  the  Wind\\ 


Ji-  I'OBTO  EIOO 

Passage,  are  hundreds  of  these  summits,  continuing  out  to 
the  very  end  of  the  Gonave  peninsula.  On  the  boundary 
between  the  two  republics  are  at  least  eight  high  peaks, 
i'«  Tilling  a  rough,  wild  country,  inhabited  1  ,  or 

wild  maroons  of  Hait  i. 

Wotwanl  iii  Haiti  is  the  mountain  on  which  the  des- 
potic negro  king  Christophe  erected  the  marvelous  for- 
tress of  La  Ferriere,  at  an  altitude  <  feet.  This 

mountain  is  the  Bonnet-a-lu-£veque,  the  ••  lii 
Still  weMwjinl  these  mountains  continue  out  to  the  \ 
end  of  the  rugged  St.  Nicolas  peninsula,  near  which  is  the 
Morne  d'Or  (39G2  feet),  which  has  been  allep-1,  without 
reason,  to  be  an  extinct  volcano;  while  in  tin  vicinity  are 
many  other  interesting  mountains  belonging  to  the  same 
range.  The  eastern  part  of  this  central  range  has  a  thou- 
sand names  for  its  many  spurs  and  lateral  ranges.  From 
th«  Pic,,  .M  Yaijui,  which,  although  not  the  highest  moun- 
tain of  the  island,  is  nevertheless  the  center  of  its  orographic 
system,  two  great  rivers  bearing  its  name  flow  to  the  north 
and  south  coasts.  Several  secondary  ranges  here  branch 
off  to  the  north.  On  the  south  the  mountains  pass  gradu- 
ally into  rolling  hills,  between  which  are  many  small  \  al- 
leys supporting  a  poor  population. 

The  mountains  of  the  Cibao  range  in  general  are  high 
and  closely  crowded  summits,  rising  from  sinuously  curv- 
ing crest-lines,  consisting  of  old  igneous  rocks  protruding 
through  the  disturbed  sedimentary  strata,  and  constituting 
an  irregularly  shaped  mass,  often  traversing  the  main 
axis  in  the  central  portion  of  the  range,  and  extending 
with  it  through  the  western  part  into  the  Haitian  re- 


The  base  of  the  mountain  of  Dondon  is  granite,  on  which 
rest  limestones  and  sandstones,  conglomerates,  an«  1.  finally, 
a  sheet  of  the  universal  white  limestone  of  the  Antilles. 
These  rocks  are  intensely  folded  and  plirat«l.  In  the 
central  portion  of  these  mountains  are  vast  rocky  canons, 
only  l.y  hunl»-r>  «.f  the  \\il.l  ho-.  One  of  these 


that,  of  San  Jose  de  los  Mates,  is  from  five  to  six 
thousand  feet  hi^h,  nit  from  the  nn  i  in  th«« 

adja  untainsreachan  altitude  of  seven  thousand  feet 

Elsewhere  in  places  the  mountains  are  clad  in  forests 
and  I  p  to  four  thousand  feet  pines  are 

•:.«•!•  up,  as  the  piv«-ipitati<>n  i m  reases,  are  beau- 
tiful l.-ufy  woods;  while  on  the  summits  are  dense  thickets 
of  ferns.  Vines  and  bushes  render  these  forests  impass- 
able, while  tli*  ••!•  has  to  slash  his  way  through 
tln.-k.'ts  of  ferns  often  so  dense  that  he  must  crawl  on 
hands  and  knees  through  a  tunnel  cut  1  md 
Mm. 1. -I  i.y  spores  at  every  step.  East  of  Jimonea  the 
floral  character  of  the  mountains  suddenly  changes;  the 
8  disappears  completely,  and  spruce  appears  in  its 
pfeea, 

Across  the  ranges  of  the  central  system,  which  <li\i,i" 
th«'  ivpuMir  «»f  San  Doiniup*  into  a  north. -ni  ami  >«.uth.-rn 
district,  there  are  few  passes.  The  most  important  is  that 
known  as  the  Widow's  Saddle,  some  five  thousand  feet  in 
height.  Across  this  the  road  rises  laboriously  through 
deep  ravines  in  a  thousand  windings  to  the  Sad-il--.  where 
the  beautiful  spectacle  makes  amends  for  the  difficulties 
of  the  ascent  Here,  as  described  by  Moreau : 

The  enchanted  eye  is  arrested  at  a  thousand  points,  where  the 
beauty  of  one  glimpse  seems  to  disappear  beside  a  still  more 
beaut  11  HI  vi,  w,  each  pleasant,  picturesque,  and  majestic  in  its  out- 
look.   Here  the  shining  surface  of  the  sea  at  a  great  distance 
peeps  out  at  intervals,  contrasting  with  the  azure  tone  of  the 
mt  land,  which  in  its  turn  delights  the  eye  by  the  contrast 
the  nearer  points.     Riven  also  mingle  the  charm 
-  ways  with  this  enchanting  picture,  while  the 
dark-browed  front  of  the  near-by  chains  rises  to  the  sublime, 
Th<  as  it  were,  is  beside  himself;  it  is  only  with  grief 

that  he  tears  himself  away  from  this  place  to  commence  the  oppo- 
site descent,  constantly  turning  his  face  in  order  to  continue  as 

:  as  possible  the  delicious  gratification  of  the  senses  which 
scenic  beauty  affords. 


244  CUBA  AND   PORTO  RICO 


pass,  the  Sillou  de  la  Viuda,  the  main  gate  of 
passage  between  the  north  and  south  sides  of  Ban  Do- 
mingo, is  reach.  -d  )>y  difficult  paths  through  deep  abysses. 
A  second  but  rarely  frequented  pass  between  the  same 
regions  runs  for  miles  along  the  crest  of  a  narrow  range, 
through  woods,  mud,  and  slime,  to  the  grassy  slopes  of  the 
Savaua  de  la  I'u.-rta.  Continuous  and  abundant  rainfall 
at  certain  seasons  transforms  the  roads  into  deep  mud. 
other  passes  are  hardly  used,  and  are  scarcely  more  than 
paths  which  dind*  over  the  central  range. 

In  Haiti  similar  parooo  connect  the  various  portions  of 
the  island.  The  northern  part  of  the  republic  has  overland 
communication  with  the  south  by  a  post-road  running 
through  the  capes  of  the  Plaisance  and  Limbo,  five  thou- 
sand feet  high,  including,  on  the  Gonave  side,  the  irksome 
and  laborious  climb  known  as  Les  Escaliers,  a  steep  paved 
road  built  like  a  stairway  by  the  black  colonel  Duroc»h«  r. 

The  next  mountain  range  of  importance  is  that  which 
constitutes  the  long  and  narrow  chain  running  through 
the  southern  or  Tiburon  peninsula  of  Haiti,  which  hears 
several  names.  This  elongated  sierra,  lying  chiefly  in 
Haiti,  borders  the  western  half  of  the  south  coast,  and  is 
separated  from  the  main  body  of  the  inland  by  a  long 
chain  <>f  lakes  extending  from  the  interior  indent. 
the  great  Gulf  of  Gonaives,  at  Port-au-Prince,  eastward  t  .  . 
Barahona  Bay.  The  mountain  groups  comprising  this 
chain,  which  are  practically  continuous  with  one  another, 
beginning  on  the  east,  are  the  Bandrucoand  the  Mandcl  de 
los  Negros  Maron  in  San  Domingo,  succeeded  in  Haiti  by 
the  long  chain  known  as  the  La  Selle  and  De  la  Hotte 
Mountains.  This  range,  as  a  whole,  contains  some  of  the 
highest  eminences  found  in  the  republic  of  Haiti,  and  has 
near  its  ends  two  culminatim:  points  known  as  Monies, 
2880  feet  high,  while  the  average  height  of 
nearly  five  thousand  feet,  rising  directly  above  the  sea. 
The  Monies  de  la  Hotte,  at  the  western  end,  received 
ane  from  their  rest-nil  -la  nee  to  an  inverted  ham- 


ISLAND  OF  SANTO   DOMINGO  -  1~> 

per.    'I'll-  summits  of  these  ranges  have  not  been  ascended 
•  •!•  measured,  and  a  thousand  fables  are  told  by  the  super- 
ives  dwelling  on  their  slopes  of  the  viens-viens, 
«>r  wild  negroes;  of  a  mysterious  lake  whose  waters  con- 
stantly change  color,  and  of  pillars  of  rock  which  nmk<> 
resonant  noises.    Several  difhYult  passes  lead  across  these 
i^es  from  Jacmel,  the  principal  southern  seaport  of 
Haiti,  to  Port-au-I'rinrr. 

MonteCristi  chain,  which  follows  the  northern  coast, 
is  so  called  from  the  town  in  whose  immediate  vicinity  its 
last  rocks  dip  into  the  sea,  and  is  separated  from  the  rest 
of  the  island  hy  the  Vega  Real  The  greatest  elevation, 
Loma  Diego  Campo,  3855  feet  in  altitude,  lies  near  the 
center  of  the  range.  The  summits  broaden  and  flatten 
percept  i  My  to  the  eastward.  The  western  part  of  tin- 
sierra  is  dry  and  barren,  and  from  Isabella  onward  it  is 
marked  l.y  dry  yellow  hills  covered  l.y  thickets  of  cactus 
and  bramble.  Owing  to  their  slight  altitude  they  receive 
hut  little  rainfall. 

Besides  the  systematic  ranges  above  mentioned  there 
are  many  solitary  mountains  upon  the  island,  rising  from 
the  plains  or  bordering  islets.  Among  these  independent 
features  is  the  Morne  du  Cap,  just  west  of  Cape  Haiti*  u. 
A  few  miles  from  the  ruins  of  the  old  city  of  La  Vega, 
the  Cerro  Santo  rises  787  feet  from  the  midst  of  a  plain. 
Columbus  climbed  this  height  with  his  companions  on  his 
first  to  the  island,  in  1493.  The  view  from  the  sum- 

mit was  so  beautiful  that  he  planted  a  cross  and  called 
the  plain  the  Vega  Real  ("Royal  Plain11). 

Ho  Maimon  is  a  hill  of  niairn.  ti«-  iron,  described 

by  Schomburgk  and  Gabb.    It  is  100  feet  high,  100  feet 

'K)  to  400  feet  broad.    The  side  toward  the  rivr 

is  massive  limestone,  while  the  southern  half  is  a  mass  of 

compart  magnet^  iron  ore,  sixty-seven  to  sixty-eight  per 

of  native  iron. 

Briefly  recapitulating  the  topography  of  the  island.  we 
find  three  main  ranges,  almost  all  of  which  run  parallel  to 


CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

the  island  axis,  or  in  a  <  u  west-northwest:  first,  the 

great  central  Cibao  range,  with  its  two  side  branches, 
the  Tina  Mountains  and  the  Montagues  Noires  Cahos; 
second,  the  southern  c  onlillera,  with  its  two  culm 
and  outlying  Canal  Mountains;  and,  third,  the  Sierra  de 
Monte  Crist i,  with  the  I'nerta  Plata  group  in  the  fore- 
ground, including  the  small  ridge  of  the  SamanapiMiinMila. 
At  the  same  time  there  are  some  less  important  isolated 
elevations,  such  as  the  Morne  <lu  (  aj.,  the  Sambo  Hills. 
the  Penones,  and  M6unt  Busu.  In  addition  to  the  sharp 
slopes  of  the  thousands  of  V-shaped  gorges  cut  by  the 
numerous  streams,  the  main  ranges  are  separated  from 
one  another,  especially  in  the  republic  of  San  Domingo, 
by  extensive  central  valley  plains,  which  were  at  one  time 
either  arms  of  the  ocean  or  lakes,  and,  like  the  mountains, 
they  trend  northward  and  westerly.  The  largest  of  these, 
lying  between  the  north-coast  sierra  of  Monte  Cri-n  and 
the  great  central  cordillera  of  Cibao,  extends  one  hundred 
miles  from  the  sea  at  the  Haitian  boundary  into  the  Gulf 
of  Samana,  which  is  its  prolongation.  Two  rivers,  the 
Yaqui  ami  Yuna,  enter  the  middle  portion  of  this  vall«  \ 
from  the  central  mountains,  and,  diverging,  thread  it  in 
opposite  directions  to  the  sea.  The  western  portion, 
watered  by  the  first-mentioned  n\<  r,  is  known  as  the 
valley  of  Santiago  or  of  the  Yaqui,  while  the  eastern  part 
is  the  Vega  Real.  In  no  places  is  this  valley  over  fifteen 
miles  in  width,  and  at  each  end  it  is  marked  by  salt- 
marshes  and  lagoons.  The  two  divisions  present  marked 
dissimilarities  in  vegetation,  due  to  differences  of  rainfall 
and  moisture.  The  windward  division,  covered  by 
beautiful  deciduous  plants,  is  a  most  fertile.  1><  autitul,  and 
well- watered  valley,  The  Santiago  plain  is  an  arid  region 
covered  by  chaparral,  where,  as  in  Arizona,  several  species 
of  thorny  acacias  dispute  the  ground  with  <>a<  tus,  here 
more  diversiti.-d  than  anywhere  in  the  West  Indies,  and 
in< -hiding  arborescent  opuntias,  like  the  nopal  of  Mexico; 
tall,  column  is,  like  the  pitahaya  of  <  a  ;  and 


THE  ISLAND  OP  SANTO  DOMINGO  -'17 

melon-  and  cushion-shaped  cacti  of  several  kinds— in  all 
nearly  twenty  species.  The  land  is  now  used  only  for 
grazing,  but  is  well  situated  for  irrigation.  In  fact,  the 
region  is  a  miniature  duplication  of  tin*  American  des« 

South  of  the  Cibao  range,  between  its  slopes  and  the 
Caribbean  Sea,  in  the  eastern  thinl  of  the  island,  is  an- 
other extensive  plain,  ninety-five  miles  in  length,  known 
as  the  plain  of  Seylo,  which  slopes  from  the  central 
mountains  to  the  sea  and  terminates  west  of  San  I  > 

.in  which  the  prinripal  population  of  the  southern 
half  of  the  republic  of  San  Domingo  is  located.  This  is 
a  more  broken  region  than  the  great  plain  of  the  north, 
and  is  in  part  open  prairie  and  in  part  forest.  A  belt  of 
forest  averaging  twelve  miles  in  wnlth  larders  the  ter- 
raced Caribbean  coast.  The  line  of  juncture  between  th«> 
coast  forest  and  the  interior  prairies  is  marked  by  beauti- 
ful park-like  landscapes,  carp«-t«  .1  \\ith  trreen  grass  and 
dotted  by  clumps  of  trees.  The  soil  of  this  plain  is  grav- 
elly to  the  westward,  but  changes  into  loams  and  clays 
toward  the  east. 

West  of  San  Domingo  city,  between  it  and  Azua,  for  a 
distance  of  fifty  miles,  a  broad  belt  of  mountainous  coun- 
try  projecting  southward  from  the  central  range  comes 
down  to  the  shore  of  the  sea.  Then  comes  the  Bay  of 
Ocoa,  surrounded  by  a  plain  from  which  two  narrow  val- 
ior  chains  of  valleys,  lead  north-of-west  toward 
the  Windward  Passage,  Around  Azua  the  plain  is  anot  h  •  •  r 
desert  in  t  ho  oasis,  if  we  may  be  permitted  to  transpose  the 
familiar  figure.  The  whole  neighborhood  is  barren,  dry, 
and  thorny.  Tet  three  miles  to  the  southwest  the  whole 
character  of  the  country  changes  so  completely  that  one 
finds  there  the  best  sugar-estates  on  the  island. 

Northwest  of  Azua,  leading  toward  the  south  side  of  tho 

St.  Nicolas  peninsula,  and  surrounded  by  high  mountains, 

is  t  of  Constanzia.     This  somewhat  inaccessible 

ley  is  described  in  glowing  terms  by  those  who  have 

seen  it.    Its  soil  is  exceedingly  fertile  and  is  covered  by  a 


248  .  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

deep  mantle  of  < -grass.    During  the  "old  Spanish 

tin..-"  this  is  sai«l  t<>  have  been  the  richest  region  of  the 
island,  but  it  was  depopulated  by  the  turmoils  of  warfare, 
owing  to  its  proximity  to  the  boundary  of  the  warring  re- 
pul»lics,  although  the  San  Domingoans  are  now  reoccupy- 
ing  it. 

Still  south  of  the  Constanzia,  separated  by  high  moun- 
tains, is  the  great  depression  of  the  Laguna  Kmiquillo, 
reaching  from  the  Azua  plain,  on  the  Caribbean,  to  1' 
au-Prince,  on  the  Windward  Passage,  and  almost  severing 
the  Tiburon  peninsula  of  Haiti,  with  its  wild  inlial.it ants, 
from  the  remainder  of  the  island.  This  valley  was  an 
oceanic  strait  in  very  recent  geologic  times. 

The  island,  like  all  the  Antilles,  is  abundantly  watered 
by  streams  flowing  from  the  perpetual  region  of  rainfall  of 

•,'itfh  mountains.  Every  district  has  its  rivulet  or  r: 
while  four  great  mother  streams  rise  in  the  geographic  cen- 
ter of  the  island,  around  the  slopes  of  the  Pico  del  Yaqui, 
and  find  their  way  t«»  the  sea  in  different  din •» -lions.  Two 
of  these,  the  Manai  (or  Yuua)  and  the  Yaqui  of  the  north, 
flow  northward  to  the  great  plain,  ui>on  reaching  whieh 
they  turn  east  and  west  respectively  in  opposite  directions, 
one  into  the  Bay  of  Samana,  on  the  east,  and  the  other  into 
M  anzanilla  Bay.  They  are  navigable  by  canoes  for  long  dis- 
tanee>.  Th-'  Artil>onite  \\n\\  >  from  thi<  summit  westward 
throuirh  Haiti,  of  which  it  is  the  chief  stream,  into  the  Gulf 
Of  Gonaives,  To  the  southward  runs  the  San  Juan,  .-mp ty- 
ing into  Barahona  Bay,  San  Domingo.  Smaller  rivers  and 
their  tril.utaries  drain  every  portion  of  the  island.  The 
mos  H  «'t  these  is  the  Ozama,  flowing  into  the  <V 

bean  at  the  city  of  San  homingo.  One  of  its  tril.utaries, 
the  Brujuelas,  after  flowing  on  the  surf  ace  to  within  twelve 
miles  of  the  coast,  plunges  into  a  chasm. 

The  only  lakes  are  those  of  theeast-and-w, -st  dep 
which  separates  the  southern  peninsula  from  the  n 
portion  of  the  island,     The  lar^-st  of  these  stands  at  a 
height  of  about  three  hundred  feet ;  ow  in-  aess. 


THi:    ISLAM*    ('F    SANK)    lu.MlMiu 


the  Haitian  negroes  call  it  the  fitaug  Said.    This  basin, 

formerly  an  oceani.   inl«  t,  is  said  to  be  still  inhabited 

sharks,  porpoises,  and  even  crocodiles.    It  has  an  area  of 

one  hundred  and  seventy  square  miles  and  is  very  deep. 

i  h*  aw  rains  it  occasionally  forms  a  continuous  sheet 

of  water  \\iih  another  lakt\  oaOed  Fundo,  which  extends 

northwest  toward  Port  -  a  u-  Prince  Bay.    The  united  lake 

a  total  length  of  sixty  miles,  with  an  average  breadth 

of  nine  or  ten,  and  i-  larger  than  the  Lake  of  Geneva. 

li.-r  south  in  the  mountains  of  Tiburon  peninsula  is  the 

fresh-  water  lake,  Icotea  de  Liiuon. 

In  general,  the  geology  of  the  island  is  similar  to  that 
of  Cuba  and  Jamaica,  more  especially  the  eastern  ends, 
being  composed  of  fou  ipal  formations:  the  older 

mountain  rocks,  of  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  age,  made  up 
of  igneous  rocks  and  clays,  mantled  by  gravels  and  crystal- 
limestone;  the  white  limestones  of  Tertiary  age;  recent 
alluvial  formations  ;  and  the  coast  limestone  of  elevated 
reef  rock.  No  recent  volcanic  rocks  are  known.  The 
geology  and  minerals  of  Santo  Domingo  have  been  the 
subject  of  special  reports  by  many  writers,  including  three 
American  geologists,  Messrs.  Blake,  Gabb,  and  Marvin. 

Coal  is  reported  in  considerable  quantities  in  the  vicinity 
of  Samana  Bay  and  elsewhere,  but  on  examination  it  has 
proved  to  be  lignite,  «>f  little  value  for  fuel.  Silver,  plati- 
num, manganese,  tin,  antimony,  marble,  opal,  and  chal- 
cedony are  among  the  exploited  minerals. 

The  climate  of  Santo  Domingo  is  more  diversified  than 
t  hat  of  any  of  the  other  Antilles,  presenting  wide  extremes 
ofmois:  lity,  and  temperature.  The!  !'ort-au- 

he  western  end  of  the  island,  owing  to  its  shel- 
tered situation,  is  probably  greater  than  at  any  ot 
seaport  in  th«>  W.-st  Indies,  reaching  94°  tt>  96°  every  day 
between  April  and  October.  The  nights  are  on  an  average 
10°  to  20°  cooler  than  the  days,  so  that  they  seem  cool 
and  refreshing  in  comparison.  This  is  in  the  so-called 
rainy  season,  the  rains  falling,  as  a  ruK\  hit*  in  th«-  ifl 


CUBA  AND   POBTO  RICO 

noon  or  evenings.  During  the  rest  of  the  year,  which 
covers  the  dry  season  from  October  to  April,  the  tempera- 
ture is  on  an  average  about  10°  lower. 

On  the  less  sheltered  coasts,  even  at  sea-level,  it  is  much 
cooler;  and  as  one  ascends  the  mountains  of  the  interior, 
the  intense  heat  of  the  seaboard  becomes  moderated.  Six- 
t.M-n  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  Americans  and  Europeans 
complain  of  the  cold  at  night,  though  even  there  the  mer- 
cury never  falls  below  45°. 

At  Port-au-Prince  the  rainy  season  covers  the  summer 
months,  )>ut  in  the  other  parts  of  the  republic  the  rains 
run  into  and  cover  the  winter  months,  so  that  there  is 
never  a  season  when  rain  prevails  everywhere.  In  general, 
on  the  lower  slopes  of  the  Windward  side  and  in  the  de- 
pressed interior  valleys,  it  is  arid,  rain  sometimes  being 
almost  constantly  lacking ;  but  the  mountains  above  two 
thousand  feet  are  perpetually  bathed  in  rainfall,  mists,  or 
dews. 

With  the  exception  of  wild  hogs  on  the  tie  de  la 
Tortue,  some  untamed  horses  and  cattle  in  the  eastern 
part  of  Haiti,  and  wild  goats,  there  are  few  animals  on  the 
island.  Even  the  agouti,  that  peculiar  Antillean  mammal, 
is  believed  to  be  nearly  extinct,  and  the  solenodon  (or  coati) 
is  rarely  found.  There  are  no  poisonous  snakes.  Land- 
turtles,  reptiles,  and  lizards  abound,  but  they  are  harmless* 
Of  the  forty  species  of  birds  recorded  in  Haiti,  seventeen 
are  peculiar  to  it.  The  cayman  abounds  in  all  the  rivers 
of  the  Despoblado  district,  and  the  iguana  sometimes 
attains  a  length  of  five  feet 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  REPUBLIC  OP  SAN  DOMINGO 

ical  and  social  condition*  of  the  bland  an  a  whole.  The  republic  of 
San  Domingo.  Interesting  early  history.  The  present  government 
and  administration.  Commerce  and  agriculture.  Mineral  resource*. 
Population.  Predominance  of  mulattos.  Old  Ban  Domingo  city. 
Early  American  landmarks.  Other  points  of  interest 


rilHE  political  and  social  conditions  of  Santo  Domingo 
JL  are  no  less  interesting  than  its  natural  features. 
Nowhere  else  can  be  seen  such  peculiar  conditions,  show- 
ing as  they  do,  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  island  the 
declim-  ami  Regeneration  of  a  people  once  the  most 
opulent,  and  at  the  other  extremity  the  successive  steps  in 
the  ascent  of  a  transplanted  inferior  race  from  savagery 
through  barbarism  to  a  degree  of  civ  ill/  at  ion.  These 
two  republics  are  respectively  San  Domingo  and  Haiti  — 
the  first  a  mulatto  government,  the  second  one  of  the 
negro.  While  the  domain  of  San  Domingo  nominally  in- 
•  hides  two  thirds  of  the  whole,  the  island  is  really  divisible 
into  three  distinct  parts.  The  eastern  third  contains 
nearly  all  the  San  Domingoan  population.  The  middle 
third,  known  as  the  Despoblado  ("Depopulated"),  is  an 
uninhabited  neutral  ground,  made  barren  not  only  by 
are,  which  filled  it  with  inaccessible  mountains,  but 
by  the  warfare  between  the  two  races.  It  is  a  wild  region 
covered  with  forests  of  tropical  trees,  with  a  few  valleys 
where  the  soil  is  rich  and  the  grass  is  especially  luxuriant 
and  supports  many  wild  cattle.  The  western  third  is 
land  of  the  Haitians.  Between  the  two  governments 


I1"'-  CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 


is  a  political  antipathy  as  strong  and  forbidding  as 
their  ruggc<l  frontier.  Port-au-Prince,  the  capital  of  the 
western  republic,  lies  due  south  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
while  San  Domingo  is  similarly  situated  relative  to  Boston. 

Perhaps  no  other  country  has  had  such  a  varied  politi- 
cal history  as  San  Domingo.  Columbus  discovered  the 
island  in  14!»'J,  and  found  it  more  l»eautit'nl  thai  < 
He  exhausted  the  language  of  panegyric  in  describing  it 
as  resembling  the  most  favored  provinces  of  Andalusia. 
Concerning  the  aborigines  he  said  :  "  I  swear  to  your 
Majesties,  there  is  not  in  the  world  a  better  nation  nor  a 
better  land  ;  they  love  their  neighbors  as  themselves,  and 
their  discourse  is  ever  sweet  an«l  gentle,  accompanied 
with  a  smile  ;  and  though  it  is  true  that  they  are  naked, 
yet  their  manners  are  decorous  and  praiseworthy." 

Columbus  first  entered  the  Haitian  Gulf  of  Gonaives, 
which  he  called  San  Nicolas,  and  because  of  the  wrecking 
of  one  of  his  caravels  made  a  temporary  settlement  on 
the  Bay  of  St.  Thomas,  now  called  Auel,  where  he  1« 
small  party  of  his  men.  After  sailing  east  as  far  as  Sa- 
mana  he  returned  to  Spain.  On  his  second  voyage  he  re- 
turned  to  the  island,  and  finding  that  his  men  had  been 
murdered  by  the  Indians,  established  a  new  colony,  called 
Isabella,  in  the  present  area  of  San  Juan.  The  spot  chosen 
was  unhealthful.  He  explored  the  interior  of  the  island, 
found  much  gold,  and  remained  long  enough  to  see  the 
colony  of  Isabella  well  started.  In  1498  he  made  his 
third  visit,  and  established  himself  near  the  present  city 
of  San  Domingo. 

In  those  days  of  early  settlement,  profitable  mines  were 

opened,  advances  were  made  in  agriculture,  and  in  ir<~> 

San  Domingo,  Isabella,  Concepcion  de  la  Vega,  Santiago, 

Puerta  Plata,  and  Bonao,  were  all  flourishing  >  vil- 

lages.   In  1509  Bobadilla  came  out  from  Spain  and  threw 

<  '•  -Iambus  and  his  brother  Bartholomew  into  prison.    The 

in  which  t  <>  confined  is  still  shown  in  the  old 

of  San  Domingo  city. 


PUBLIC  OF  SAN   DOMINGO  253 

Sugar,  which  has  been  so  intimately  connected  with 
\\V-t  I IM lian  development  and  decay,  was  iutrodn.  ,-l  in 
150T>,  ami  in  a  few  years  its  cult i vat  imi  became  the  princi- 
pal  occupation  of  the  colonists.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
review  the  events  of  those  earlier  years,  when  Spanish  in- 
stitutions became  firmly  implanted  on  American  soil. 
The  reduction  of  the  natives  to  slavery :  their  utilization 
in  the  cane-fields  and  gold-mines,  nn<l  final  extermi- 
nation through  hardship-;  tin-  raiding  of  the  Bahamas 
and  adjacent  islands  for  other  slaves,  and  the  intro- 
d  i  ict  ion  of  African  slavery,  all  followed  one  another  in 
rapid  succession.  As  early  as  K>_'_'  African  slaves  on  the 
sugar-plantations  were  sufficiently  numerous  to  mutiny. 
The  Inquisition  was  introduced  in  1"»17. 

ing  the  few  years  between  its  discovery  and  1540, 
San  Domingo  flourished.  It  witnessed  in  this  time  the 
construction  of  cities,  the  introduction  of  sugar  and  Afri- 
can slavery  into  the  New  World,  the  increase  of  vast 
herds  of  wil«l  cattle  upon  the  island,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  oM  civili/ation  of  Spain  in  every  detail.  The 
mines  of  gold  and  silver  produced  lordly  fortunes  for 
their  owners.  I  y  1  >cgan  as  early  as  1540.  The  colo- 

*  were  seduced  away  by  the  reports  of  riches  on  the 
American  continent,  and  then  followed  a  period  of  attack 
from  the  bucaneers  of  England  and  France,  and  the  count  ry 
has  had  very  little  peace  since  then,  until  within  the  past 
two  decades.  The  people  rec.-ive.l  in  full  force  ible 

incursions  of  the  freebooters  from  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth until  the  opening  of  the  present  century.     The 
little  island  of  Tnrtuga,  near  the  northwest  corner  of  Hait  i, 
became  the  center  and  headquarters  from  which  t  hey  made 
their  forays.    The  French  ami  Kmjlish  virtually  sei/cd  the 
western  and  northern  parts  of  the  island  piece  by  piece, 
tier  gradually  acquiring  possession  of  the  western 
,  as  more  particularly  noted  in  the  description  of 
Bail 

Up  to  1'  -land  was  a  Spanish  colony.    In 


J">4  CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

the  latter  year  the  western  portion,  embracing  the  present 
ivpuhlic  of  Haiti,  was  ceded  to  France.    In  1785,  the  two 

hundred  and  seventy-tilth  year  of  Spanish  rule,  France 
was  given  sovereignty  over  the  whole  i-lan.l,  \\hifh  was 
formally  abandoned  by  the  Spanish  govern m* -nt  in  isol, 
Toussaint  L'Ouverture  taking  possession  in  tin-  name  of 
France.  Then  followed  Haiti's  independence  of  France, 
a n<  I  the  period  of  the  black  Haitian  empire  under  Dessa- 
lin.'s  until  1806,  when  Spain  for  the  second  time  reestab- 
lished herself  in  the  eastern  half  of  the  island,  under  t)i<> 
old  name  of  San  Domingo,  Haiti  continuing  as  a  separate 
country.  In  IHiM,  « luring  the  period  of  general  Spanish- 
American  revolution,  the  San  Domingoans  prorlaiin<-<l 
th'-ir  independence  of  Spain,  and  established  for  tl 
selves  a  republican  form  of  government  under  the  flag 
ami  authority  of  Colombia.  At  this  time  most  of  the  <>!<! 
Spanish  element  migrated  from  the  island.  In  the  follow- 
ing year  the  two  republics  of  the  island  again  unitM  th*  ir 
destinies  under  a  government  known  as  the  republic  of 
Haiti,  which  eontinued  until  1S4.'>.  In  1844  San  Domingo 
revolted  from  Haiti  and  established  the  Republica  Do- 
ininieana.  From  that  date  to  the  present  ml  San 

Domingo  have  remained  independent  of  each  other  and 
have  grown  more  and  more  di-nn.-t.  In  1861  Spain  for 
th.  thinl  time  established  its  authority  in  San  Domingo, 
which  was  retained  for  four  years,  until  1865,  when 
its  flag  was  withdrawn.  Since  then  San  Domingo 
maintained  its  autonomy.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that 
within  less  than  a  century  San  Domingo  has  ln-en  su<«- 
.-,  — iv,-ly  und.-r  tin-  Spani-h.  Fn-n.-h,  Haitian  nn; 
Colombia,  Haitian  ivpuMi<-,  in<l.-p«-n«h-nt,  Spani-h,  ami 
independent  flags.  Moreover,  the  country  has  l.< -, -n  i,.ni 
l-y  intenial  revolutions,  an«l  up  to  within  went  years 
by  constant  warfare  with  Haiti.  The  people,  realizing 
th«'  hopelessness  of  th*-ir  isolated  position  and  the  need 
of  a  strongly  orirani/.ed  government,  in  1869  vote<l  to 
annex  th«-m-.-l\.-  to  the  United  States.  A  commission 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  SAN  DOMINGO 

was  appointed  by  the  United  States  government  to  in- 
\.-<tiirat.-  tin-  condition  «»!'  atVairs.  It  vi>itcd  th»-  i-land  in 
1871,  and  reported  favorably,  I  nit  tin-  annexation  treaty 
was  defeated  in  the  United  States  Senate.  During  the 
past  few  years,  according  to  the  consular  reports,  the 
country  has  prospered  and  become  comparatively  quiet. 
Many  immigrants,  recently  arrived  from  Cuba,  have  been 
encouraged  to  settle  on  the  island. 

•  •sent  republic,  founded    in  1844,  is  governed 
under  a  cMiiMitution  by  th«  "f  which  t lie  legislative 

power  is  vested  in  a  congress  of  twmty-two  deputies, 
chosen  by  direct  popn  •  with  restricted  suffrage. 

The  executive  is  vested  in  a  president,  chosen  by  an  elec- 
toral college  for  the  term  of  four  years.  The  present 
president  is  General  Ulysses  Heureaux,  chosen  in  1897. 
The  ministry  is  composed  of  the  heads  of  the  departments 
of  the  interior  and  police,  finance  and  commerce,  justice 
and  public  instruction,  war  and  marine,  public  works, 
ami  foreign  affairs. 

The  country  is  di\  -ided  into  ten  provinces  or  districts, 
each  administered  by  a  governor  appointed  by  the  presi- 
dent. The  various  communes,  cantons,  and  sections  are 
presided  over  by  prefects  appointed  1,\  the  governors. 
There  are  a  supreme  court  of  justice  and  eleven  district 
courts,  besides  local  alcaldes.  A  small  army  exists,  with  a 
regiment  stationed  in  each  province. 

I  n  1896  the  exports  were  valued  at  $2,198,817  gold ;  the 
imports  at  |  (.»5.  The  customs  duties  are  of  a  pro- 

hi)>itory  character,  and  hence  commerce  is  not  large.   The 
ipal  articles  of  export,  in  their  order  of  value,  are 
tobacco,  coffee,  cocoa,  sugar,  mahogany,  logwood,  hides, 
goatskins,  and  honey. 

The  revenue  in  1896  was  $1.  ie  expenditure  is 

$1,351,250.    The  public  debt  is  $13,589,750.    This  is  guar- 

antccd  l.y  the  customs  dues  and  by  a  first  mortgage  on 

the  Central  Dominican  Kailway.     The  collection  of  the 

:«>ms  is  controlled  by  the  Santo  Domingo  Improvement 


rru.v  AM> 

Company  of  New  York.  Tlie  United  States  gold  dollar  is 
the  standard  of  the  island. 

The  Roman  Catholic  is  the  official  state  religion,  ot) 
forms  being  permitted  under  certain  restrictions.    There 
an-  fifty -four  parishes. 

The  state  educational  institutions  are  primary,  -up. rior, 
technical,  and  normal  schools,  and  a  professional  school 
with  tin-  character  of  a  university.  The  last  school  census, 
taken  in  1884,  showed  that  there  were  two  hundred  and  one 
municipal  schools  for  primary  instruction  with  7708  pupils. 
Primary  instruction  is  free  and  obligatory,  being  supported 
by  the  communes  and  by  central  aid. 

About  forty  newspapers  are  published  in  the  republic. 

San  Domingo  has  the  most  fertile  sugar-lands  in  the 
West  Indies.  Large  sugar-plantations  and  -factories  are 
found  in  the  south  and  west.  The  cane  does  not  require 
frequent  replanting,  and  plantations  have  often  yielded 
fifteen  cuttings  from  the  original  roots.  The  cane  is  also 
highly  saccharine.  Its  production  has  quadrupled  in  the 
last  ten  years,  and  the  estates  and  factories  represent  a 
capitalization  of  al«>ut  tw.-lve  million  dollars.  About  one 
million  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  is  annually  expended 
upon  them  for  labor.  This  industry  is  almost  •  -ntiivly  a 
growth  of  the  last  fifteen  years.  The  export  to  t  he  r  nited 
States  for  1896  amounted  to  two  million  five  hundred 
thousand  pounds— about  one  fortieth  the  normal  Cuban 
•hipment 

The  mountain  regions  of  San  Domingo,  like  those  of 
Haiti,  Cuba,  and  Jamaica,  are  especially  suited  to  the  cul- 
ture of  coffee.  The  annual  yield  is  about  a  million  and  a 
half  pounds.  The  area  of  uncultivated  lands  suitaMe  for 
coffee  in  this  island  probably  exceeds  that  of  all  the 
of  the  Antilles. 

Cocoa  is  extensively  cultivated,  much   :•  *al 

having  been  invested  in  it  within  recent  years,  and  the 
production  having  multiplied  fivefold  within  the  past 
decade. 


CITADEL   WHERE   COLUMBUS  WAS   IMPRISONED 


ALLEGED   COFFIN   OF   COLUM 
SAN 


I'UBLJC  OP  SAN   DOMINGO  lT>7 

Tobacco  grows  readily  everywhere,  and,  in  addition  to 
local  use,  nearly  thirteen  million  pounds  are  annually  ex- 
ported. The  principal  area  of  culture  is  on  the  northern 
side.  It  is  said  that  some  of  the  tobacco  of  the  uplands 
of  the  interior  is  quite  as  highly  flavored  and  as  good  as 
the  best  Vuelta  Abajo,  and  if  Cuban  skill  were  exercised 
in  its  < -nit uro  and  curing  it  would  be  a  most  valuable  ar- 
t  i<  K».  Yet  tobacco-culture  is  declining,  while  the  production 
of  coffee,  cocoa,  and  bananas,  as  well  as  cane-sugar,  is  on 
the  increase.  Some  attention  has  recently  been  given  to 
le-raising  and  dairy  produce.  A  large  part  of  the 
Vega  Real,  as  well  as  other  parts  of  San  Domingo,  is 
admiral. ly  adapted  t«>  mltivat inn  by  irrigation,  which 
muld  }>o  accomplished  at  a  very  trifling  expense  in  com- 
parison with  other  lands. 

What  we  have  said  concerning  tropical  fruits  in  the  other 
Antilles  applies  equally  to  Santo  Domingo.  They  grow 
everywhere  throughout  the  island.  American  companies 
have  appreciated  the  banana-lands,  and  large  shipments  are 
made  from  Samaua  Bay.  The  luxuriance  of  the  native 
forests  is  one  of  the  most  striking  features;  large  tracts 
of  these  in  the  interior  have  been  preserved,  owing  to 
their  inaccessibility  to  transportation.  On  these  mountain 
slopes  is  an  abundance,  not  only  of  the  choicest  cabinet- 
woods,  such  as  mahogany,  satinwnnds,  and  crdar,  l>ut  alsn 
a  gr  i«»ty  of  timber  especially  valuable  for  house-  and 

ehip-Uiilding,  and  many  other  woods  which  enter  into 
manufactures. 

San  Domingo  has  been  a  center  of  the  mining  interests, 
but  at  IT. -sent  its  mineral  resources  are  neglected.  The 
iMic  in  former  years  engaged  an  American  geologist, 
Mr.  W.  M.  Gabb,  to  make  a  geological  survey  of  its  do- 
main, and  a  good  report  has  been  published  thereon.  Gold, 
which  was  worked  extensively  in  the  earlier  years  of  its 
discovery,  occurs  both  in  placers  in  the  plains  and  in 
quartz  veins  hiirh»«r  up  in  the  mountains.  The  gravel  is 
rich  in  quality,  but  the  quantity  is  too  small  over  any 

IT 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  BIOO 

given  area  to  make  it  of  value.  There  are  many  ancient 
pit 8  which  were  worked  by  the  Spaniards.  Professor  W.  M. 
Blake,  who  accompanied  the  United  States  commission  to 
the  island,  says :  "  There  is  no  doubt  that  there  is  a  gold 
region  of  considerable  extent  and  promise  in  the  island, 
but  I  did  not  see  anything  to  excite  great  enthusiasm 
regarding  the  deposits,  or  to  encourage  expectation  of  im- 
mediate large  returns  for  mining  operations  there.  There 
is  enough,  however,  possibly  to  justify  the  labor  and  ex- 
pense of  carefully  prospecting  the  ground."  It  is  said  that 
many  of  the  country  people  always  have  more  or  less 
grain  gold  in  their  possession,  and  that  the  washing  of  it 
is  a  considerable  source  of  minor  income.  It  is  a  ma 
of  history  that  the  Spaniards  in  the  earlier  years  of  dis- 
covery remitted  over  four  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
dollars  in  gold  per  annum  to  Spain,  and  that  silver- 
mines  also  were  worked.  Furthermore,  these  mines  were 
abandoned  principally  on  account  of  the  subsequent  polit- 
ical troubles.  There  is  also  evidence  that  copper,  similar 
t<>  that  found  in  Cuba,  occurs  in  San  Domingo.  Iron  ore 
of  excellent  quality  is  found  on  the  Maymon  River,  about 
one  hundred  miles  from  Samana  Bay,  but  its  transporta- 
tion is  still  a  problem. 

The  population  of  San  Domingo  in  1888  was  six  hundred 
and  ten  thousand,  or  about  thirty- four  to  the  square  mile. 
It  was  then  and  is  still  mainly  composed  of  mixtures  of 
the  early  Spanish  inhabitants  with  the  aborigines  and 
negroes,  resulting  in  a  class  of  Spanish  mulattos.  There 
are  some  whites  of  European  descent  and  a  few  foreign 
merchants.  The  Spanish  language  prevails,  although 
nch  and  English  are  commonly  spoken  in  the  cities. 
This  population  is  neither  savage  nor  vicious,  althougl 

it y  has  been  greatly  sapped  by  the  unfortunate  politi- 
cal events  which  drove  the  superior  classes  from  the  islan.l. 
The  better  people  seem  to  have  the  same  qualities  as  the 
Cubans  and  Porto  Ricans,  while  the  peasantry  is  a  harm- 
less though  shiftless  class,  in  no  manner  to  be  compared 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  SAX   DOMINGO 

with  th«-  Haitians.    Hazard  states  a  j»uUic  meet- 

ing accorded  to  tin*  ll«>n.  Andrew  1).  \Vhit«\  in  whirh  the 
elite  of  the  people  of  Sabao  were  present,  he  was  struck 
by  the  fine  forms  an<l  intellectual  heads  of  those  present, 
comprising  representatives  of  the  chun-h,  law,  medicine, 

an«l  tin-  l.'julini:  nativ.-  iiirivhnlits. 

As  the  interior  is  not  well  supplied  with  highways,  ac- 
cess from  01  «'t  to  another  is  difficult.  A  railroad  is 
1  >!•  ted  between  Sanchez,  on  Samana  Bay,  and  La  Vega, 
sixty-two  miles  beyond,  and  is  being  carried  on  to  Santiago 
and  Puerta  Plata.  During  the  past  year  another  has  been 
completed  connecting  Santiago  with  the  port  of  Puerta 
Plata,  on  the  north  coast.  The  distance  covered  is  forty- 
ti\.-  miles.  Tears  have  been  spent  in  the  construction  of 
this  line,  and  it  crosses  two  mountain  ranges.  Yet  another 
line  is  contemplated  between  Barahona  and  Cerro  de  Sal. 
The  total  mileage  of  railways  in  operation  is  one  hundred 
and  sixteen.  There  are  fifty-one  post-offices  and  four 
hundred  and  thirty  miles  of  telegraph. 

coast-line  of  San  Domingo  is  nine  hundred  and  forty 
miles  in  extent.  The  republic  has  seven  open  ports :  San 
Domingo  city  and  Azua,  on  the  south ;  Saroa&a,  on  the 
northeast ;  Puerta  Plata,  Monte  Cristi,  Maoorn,  and  San- 
',on  the  north.  The  great  Bay  of  Samana  is  to  San 
Domingo  what  Mole  St.  Nicolas  is  to  Haiti.  From  every 
point  of  view  it  is  one  of  the  most  advantageous  posses- 
sions in  the  Antilles.  It  is  thirty  miles  long,  ten  miles 
\vi.le,  and  capable  of  accommodating  the  largest  fleets, 
and  ships  of  the  greatest  draft.  It  is  well  sheltered,  espe- 
cially against  the  north  winds,  free  from  rocks  and  shoals, 
and  restricted  by  a  narrow  entrance,  but  commercially  is 
The  republic  has  two  small  steamers. 

The  country  has  but  few  cities  of  importance,  and  most 
of  these  are  in  a  state  of  decadence.    The  principal  are 
San  Domingo  and  Azua,  on  the  south  const :  tin-  interior 
of  Santiago,  the  metropolis  of  the  Vega  Real ;  and  Puerta 
Plata,  the  seaport  of  San  Domingo  on  the  north  coast 


cri  I-OBTO  RICO 

• 

San  Domingo  city  (population  tw.  nt\  ii\.  th«»u-. 
in  an  angle  inclosed  by  the  sea  on  the  south  side  and  the 
mouth  of  the  river  Ozama  on  the  west.  It  is  perhaps  t In- 
most perfect  specimen  of  the  sixteenth-century  Spanish 
<  it  y  in  America.  It  is  completely  surrounded  by  a  medie- 
val wall,  forty-fi  v«»  hundred  yards  in  rin-umference.  As 
one  looks  from  the  sea  upon  the  ancient  walls  and  bas- 
tions and  the  Old- World  buildings,  every  feature  recalls 
the  events  of  the  first  century  of  Spanish- American  pros- 
perity. The  houses  on  straight  and  narrow  streets  are 
Unit  of  masonry,  with  gaily  colored  walls,  immense  doors, 
and  large  windows  like  those  of  Havana  and  San  Jn 
but  once  within  the  city  its  inhabitants  remove  the  spell, 
for  its  lower  population  consists  of  dirty  negroes, ami  tilth 
everywhere  abounds.  The  suburbs  are  composed  of  unat- 
tractive frame  and  mud  huts  thatched  with  palm  or  straw. 
The  walls  of  the  older  houses  are  constructed  of  stone 
and  mamposteria  (a  calcareous  concrete).  As  the  ? 
through  the  deserted  and  decayed  streets  of  San  Domingo 
looks  at  the  immense  stru<  mi,  s  the  solid  walls  and  ruins 
of  former  greatness,  he  finds  himself  wondering  what  has 
become  of  those  incentives  to  enterprise  which  were  the 
origin  of  such  a  city. 

The  old  churches  and  ruins  are  interesting,  but  otl 
wise  there  are  few  nttrartivr  buildings.    The  government 
palace,  while  grandiose  in  eftV  -s  balconied 

piazzas  supported  on  solid  pillars,  is  neither  handsome  nor 
striking.  The  old  cathedral  is  the  most  interesting  build- 
ing in  the  city  ;  in  fart,  it  is  one  of  the  great  moiium* 
of  the  western  hemisphere.  This  Gothic  edifice,  \vhi.-h 
faces  the  public  square,  is  built  of  solid  stone,  and  has  a 
nave  and  two  wings,  being  constructe< i  he  mod* 

a  chinvli  in  Rome.    It  was  begun  in  1512  and  finished  in 
1540.     The  weather-stained  walls  of  the  ext  how 

marks  of  its  great  antiquity,  while  the  ii  with  its 

pillars,  an-}..  *st  and  innumerable  altars,  confirms  the 

accounts  of  those  writers  who  have  given  such  glowing 


THE    Kl.l  !  HUG  OP  SAN   DOMINGO  l!»il 

descriptions  of  its  splendor  in  ancient  days.  In  its  vaults 
are  buried  many  of  the  notable  characters  of  early  Ain 
can  history,  including  the  family  of  Columbus,  and,  if  the 
natives  are  to  be  believed,  the  remains  of  the  immortal  ex- 
plorer himself,  which,  according  to  them,  were  not  tak.-n 
to  Havana.  Another  old  landmark  of  the  eity  is  the  castle 
of  Columbus,  situated  upon  the  east  bank  of  the  Ozama 
•  •r,  andbuil1  L?O  Columbus,  the  admiral's  s«n.  It 

is  a  solid  stone  structure  surrounded  by  a  wall  originally 
intended  to  protect  it  from  the  attacks  of  the  aborigines* 
It  i-  now  in  ruin  and  decay. 

Long  years  of  adversity  ami  revolution  have  impover- 
ished t)  N'«>  improvements  take  place,  and  communi- 
•ii  with  the  other  towns  of  the  island  is  difficult.    Be- 
sides beinir  the  seat  of  irovernment,  it  is  also  tin-  seat  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  archbishopric. 

Tii.-  place  has  a  good  reputation  for  health  fulness,  not- 
withstanding its  filth.     The  temperature  shows  a  daily 
•  ii  from  64°  in  the  morning  to  85°  at  midday. 

Santiago  de  los  Cabal  leros,  situated  on  the  Ya.pii  K'ivr, 
in  tin-  northern  plain,  surrounded  l>y  hills  and  mountains, 
is  probably  the  most  important  city  of  the  republic.  This 
also  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  places  in  the  New  World. 
It  wa*  subjected  to  attacks  from  the  early  French  In 
neers,  bum  <»s,  shaken  by  earth<|uakcs,  and  almost 

d  by  the  later  revolutions.  The  city  is  built  around 
a  large  plaza,  or  square,  in  which  the  market  is  held;  the 
streets  are  straight  and  rectangular,  and  the  houses  in  the 
main  part  of  the  town  are  constructed  of  stone.  It  is  about 
one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  northwest  of  tin-  capital,  with 
which  it  has  no  commercial  intercourse,  its  seaport  being 
town  of  Puerta  Plata,  on  the  north  coast .  1 1  1  i 

tiie  finest  agricultural  region  of  the  island.  Its 
climate  is  salubrious.  The  population  of  ci^ht  thousand 
is  larp-ly  composed  of  whites,  many  of  whom  are  intelh- 

VT'-nt  and  \\vll   educated.     The   pla -ontrols  the  toba.-co- 

trade,  which  is  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  Germans. 


CUBA   AND    PORTO    IlICO 

Concepcion  'lo  la  Vega,  on  the  river  Camu,  one  of  the 
tributaries  of  the  Yuna,  a  short  distance  from  Santiago,  is 
the  successor  to  a  famous  old  town  established  by  Colum- 
bus in  1504,  which  was  located  six  miles  nortiiv. .  This 
town  li.'s  in  the  center  of  a  beautiful  savanna  eomj  1.  t.  ly 
surrounded  by  hills,  and  is  laid  out  rectangularly,  with  the 
usual  plaza  in  the  center.  It  has  a  cathedral  out  of  all 
proportion  to  the  population,  an  imposing  stnu-tniv  of 
stone  with  many  arches.  Six  miles  from  the  town  is 
the  famous  cerro  of  Columbus,  which  I  have  previously 
mentioned.  Upon  the  level  top  of  this  hill  is  a  wooden 
church  belonging  to  the  Brothers  of  Mercy  and  command- 
ing a  euperb  view  of  the  Vega  Real. 

Puerta  Plata  is  the  principal  northern  seaport,  having 
good  anchorage  and  an  extensive  trade  in  tobacco.  It 
has  an  estimated  population  of  fifteen  thousand,  and  is 
the  outlet  of  the  Vega  Real  district,  being  connected  by 
rail  with  Santiago.  It  is  said  that  this  city  was  planned 
by  Columbus  on  his  first  voyage. 

Azua  de  la  Compostela,  situated  about  fifty  live  miles 
west  of  San  Domingo  city,  is  the  next  town  of  importance 
on  the  south  coast,  but  has  only  fifteen  hundred  inhabi- 
tants. It  i-  in  an  arid  plain,  previously  described, but  the 
adjacent  country  abounds  in  salt  ami  asj.haltum,  and  near 
by  are  vast  grazing-grounds  as  well  as  prosperous  cane- 
fields. 

Of  the  many  villages,  Samana,  on  the  northern  side  of 

Samana  Uay,  has  al.nut  on«-  thousand  inhabitants:   Mont,- 

Cristi,  on  the  northern  coast,  thirty  miles  east  of  Cape 
Haiti,  n,  three  thousand;  and  Seybo,  fifty  miles  northeast 
of  San  Domingo  city,  five  thousand. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  REPUBLIC  OF  HAITI 

Its  mountainous  chancier.  Extensive  coast-line,  Its  constitution  and 
organization.  Education  and  religion.  Commerce  and  revenue. 
Communication.  Cities  (Cape  Haitian,  Port  de  Paix,  Gonalves,  8t 
Hare,  Port-au-Prince,  Anz  Cayes).  The  people.  Supremacy  of  the 
blacks.  Race  antipathic*.  Personal  appearance  and  domestic  rela- 
tions of  the  Haitians,  Superstitions.  The  struggle  for  liberty.  The 
blacks  not  to  blame  for  the  condition  of  the  republic,  Island  products 
and  oommerae. 

THE  republic  of  Haiti,  which  occupies  the  western 
third  of  Santo  Domingo,  is  quite  a  different  country 
from  San  Domingo,  in  its  natural,  political,  and  sociologic 
features.    While  the  latter  country  is  decadent  in  its  agri- 
cultural, roimiH'ivial,  and  governmental  ei.mlitions.  Haiti 
has  the  merit  of  being  thoroughly  alive,  and,  while  not 
Denting  an  altogether  pleasing  picture,  is  a  country 
worthy  of  serious  study  and  capable  of  development    Its 

iglish  square  miles. 

As  has  been  said  by  others,  the  configuration  of  the 
•i try  appears  a  confused  agglomeration  of  mountains, 
hills,  and  valleys,  most  irregular  in  form— precipices,  deep 
hollows,  vales  apparently  without  an  outlet,  but  with 
water  occasionally  glistening  far  below,  and  cottages  scat- 
tered here  and  there,  with  groves  of  fruit-trees  and  ba- 
nanas dust. -ring  round  the  rude  dwellings.  Gradually, 
however,  the  eye,  growing  accustomed  to  the  scene,  sepa- 
rates the  mountains  into  distinct  ranges,  the  hills  into  at- 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

tendant  buttresses,  the  valleys   assume  regular  forma 
as  watersheds,  and  the  streams  can  be  tra  -ularly 

meandering  towards   the  ocean.     Toward   the  sea  the 
valleys   extend    into    plains,  the    rushing    torrents  be- 
come broad  though  shallow  rivers,  and  mountains  t 
bound  the  flat  open  country  push  their  buttresses  almost 
into  the  sea. 

Tiie  whole  of  the  republic  is  more  or  less  mountainous, 
the  most  noted  mountain  ranges  being  the  La  Haute  and 
Black  Mountains  (which  constitute  the  axes  of  the  two 
projecting  peninsulas),  and  a  line  of  high  summits  on  the 
eastern  frontier. 

The  La  Haute  range  is  a  continuation  of  the  great  axial 
sierra  of  the  island,  while  the  Block  Mountains  constitute 
the  peculiar  isolated  southern  group  previously  described. 
Notwithstanding  the  generally  mountainous  configura- 
tion,  there  are  many  beautiful  slopes  and  valleys,  such  as 
the  cul-de-sac  near  Port-au-Prince,  the  plains  of  Gonaives, 
1'onit. .  An  aliaie,  Port  Margot,  Leogane,  Aux  Cayes, 
and  those  that  follow  the  northern  coast.  There  are  a  few 
islands  attach, -d  to  Haiti,  the  principal  of  \\lii.-h  are  La 
Tortue  on  the  north,  Gonave  on  the  west,  and  II 
Vache  on  the  south  coast.  The  first  two  are  famous  for 
their  mahogany-trees. 

The  republic  has  a  large  extent  of  accessible  coast  i 
marked  by  numerous  bays  and  inlets,  including  eleven 
ports  open  to  foreign  commerce,  and  numerous  smaller 
ports  open  only  to  the  coasting-trade. 

The  largest  river  of  Haiti  is  the  Artibonite,  which  flows 
to  the  west  through  the  great  central  vail. -y  «•:'  the  same 
name.  There  are  forty-three  other  streams  distinguished 
by  their  names. 

The  flora  of  Haiti  has  been  only  partially  explored  by 
Tussac,  Descourtils,  and  others.    It  is  unmarked  by  I 
types  like  those  of  the  plains  of  San  Domingo,  and  in- 
cludes one  hundred  and  sixty  plants  supposed  to  possess 
medicinal  properties.   No  cultivation,  gathering,  or  expor- 


THE  BEPUBUC  OP  HAITI 

tation  of  anything  in  this  line  for  commercial  purposes 
appears  ever  to  have  been  undertaken. 

The  government,  though  republi. -an  in  form,  has  been 
deseribed  as  a  military  despotism  in  which  all  the  power 
is  <-onc, -ntrated  in  the  hands  of  the  president,  who 

»-s  or  ignores  the  laws  according  to  his  pleasure.  It  is 
true  that  the  irov,.rnmrnt  is  more  or  1.--  ,  and  is 

too  often  mark-  \.-luti.nis.     Of  the  eleven  rulers  of 

tli*    i-land  >in« -e  its  freedom,  nearly  all  have  been  assas- 

t ed  or  exiled.  <  hi\y  one  has  escaped  being  either  shot 
deported,  and  only  two  ever  completed  their  terms  of 
office.  Nevertheless,  there  is  a  semblance  of  civilized 
government,  more  advanced  than  has  been  represented, 
which  appears  especially  liberal  in  comparison  with  the 
lo\\  degree  of  culture  of  the  inhabitants  and  their  past 
treatment. 

The   republic   has  a  constitution   in   which,  notwith- 

< ling  frequent  amendment,  the  essential  principles  of 
free  republican  government  have  1 n  preserved  since  the 

•  •  of  Dessalines,  and  in  general  the  changes  made  in  it 

u  time  to  time  have  shown  a  steady  tendency  toward 
liberalism.  For  example,  in  addition  to  the  provisions  as 
to  the  inviolability  of  the  territory,  the  absolute  freedom 

eligious  worship,  and  the  equality  of  citizens  before 
the  law,  it  provides  for  the  independence  of  the  judi- 

v,  trial  by  jury,  individual  freedom,  exemption  from 
unlawful  domiciliary  visits  and  arbitrary  arrests,  c»ncn ur- 
agement  of  education  (primary-school  attendance  being 
made  obligatory),  the  freedom  of  the  press  and  of  speech, 
the  sacredness  of  epistolary  correspondence,  the  inhibi- 
tion of  ex  post  facto  laws,  the  security  of  property  rights, 
and  individual  responsibility  for  public  acts. 

l-'urthermore,  although  until  within  a  recent  period 
citizenship  was  restricted  to  persons  of  African  origin, 
and  the  riirht  to  possess  property  went  with  citizenship, 
just  as  it  did  in  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies  up  to  1870, 
and  just  as  it  does  now  to  some  extent  in  some  of  the 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

States  of  the  American  Union,  yet  the  constitution  ex- 
pressly provide  that  every  foreigner  can  become  a  citizen 
l.y  fulfilling  the  regulations  established  by  law. 

As  the  origin  of  the  republic,  its  language,  its  traditions, 
the  manners  and  social  customs  of  its  people,  are  esseu- 
tially  French,  so  its  laws  and  forms  of  legal  procedure  are 
based  on  those  of  France.  Indeed,  as  far  as  possible  they 
are  an  exact  copy  of  those  prevailing  in  i  ••*.  The 
Code  Napoleon,  \vhi< -h  has  so  strong  a  foothold  in  all  <  oun- 
tries  of  Latin  origin,  is  probably  more  closely  followed  in 
Haiti  than  in  any  other  of  the  American  repuMics.  The 
legislative  power  rests  in  the  National  Assembly,  divided 
into  two  chambers,  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tivcs.  The  latter  is  elected  for  the  terra  of  three  years 
by  the  direct  vote  of  all  male  citizens  engaged  in  some  oc- 
cupation ;  while  the  thirty -nine  members  of  the  Senate  are 
nominated  for  six  years  by  the  House  of  Representatives 
from  two  lists  presented  l.y  the  executive  and  the  elec- 
toral colleges.  The  executive  power  is  in  the 
president,  who,  according  to  the  constitution,  must  be 
elected  by  the  people,  but  in  recent  years  has  generally 
been  chosen  by  the  National  Assembly,  and  in  some  in- 
stances by  the  troops,  and  by  delegates  of  parties  acting 
as  representatives  of  the  people.  The  nominal  term  of  the 
office  of  the  president  is  seven  years.  The  present  presi- 
dent of  the  republic  is  General  Tiresias  Simon  Sam,  elected 
in  1896,  who  receives  a  salary  of  $22,800. 

The  divisions  of  the  country  are,  like  those  of  Fr; 
depart menta,  arrondissements,  and  communes.    The  gen- 
eral of  the  department  and  the  general  of  the  arrondisse- 
ment  are  the  officers  to  whom  all  powers  are  delegated, 
although  there  are  hosts  of  minor  officials.    These  generals 
are  despotic,  as  a  rule,  and  their  dictum  is  law,  as  they  are 
.-••M, -in  called  to  account  for  their  actions  l.y  the  - 
authority. 

There  are  five  departments,  twenty-three  arrondisae- 
ments,  and  sixty-s.-ven  communes.     Tin*  <-hi.-f  department, 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  HA  in 

near  the  center  of  the  republic,  is  that  of  the  West,  in 
which  Port-au-Prince  is  situated.  Tin  :uent  of  the 

North,  of  which  Cape  Haitieu  is  the  <  is  the  most 

ome,  on  account  of  the  revolutionary  ideas  of  its 
ibitants.  The  people  are  always  restless  and  dislike 
the  in hal.it ants  of  the  rest  of  the  republic.  The  Depart- 
ment of  the  South,  which  includes  the  western  hah*  of  th«» 
'I'll. in-on  peninsula,  is  the  most  backward  of  all,  has  IMMMI 
generally  neglected,  and  is  inhabited  by  wild  people.  Aux 
Cayes  is  the  capital  of  this  province. 

Haiti  has  an  army  of  6828  men,  chiefly  infantry.  There 
is  a  special  Guard  of  the  Government,  numbering  650  men, 
commanded  by  ten  generals,  who  also  act  as  aides-de-camp 
to  the  president.  The  republic  also  possesses  a  flotilla  of  six 
small  vessels  officered  by  Americans  and  Europeans,  which 
may  be  ranked  as  thinl-< -lass  cruisers. 

From  1804  to  the  present  the  moral  welfare  of  Haiti  ha- 
been  largely  neglected  by  other  nations  and  people,  who 
have  extended  to  it  neither  sympathy,  recognition,  nor  aid. 
It  was  not  until  Isij  that  the  Senate  of  the  United  States, 
on  the  recommendation  of  President  Lin  coin,  voted  to  recog- 
nize its  political  independence ;  and  the  concordat  with  the 
Pope  in  1869,  whereby  the  Catholic  Church  undertook  mis- 
sion work  on  the  island,  is  the  only  spiritual  assistance  of 
any  kin«l  it  has  received.  It  is  true  that  occasional  mis- 
sionaries have  attempted  work  upon  the  island.  Various 
denominations  have  labored  in  the  some  field  without 
clashing  or  without  friction  with  one  another,  and  the 
p>vcnniicnt  has  continually  t-ndravnivd  to  inciva-c  their 

membership, 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church,  although  the  established 
religion,  has  never  been  popular.  Among  the  lower  class 
the  influence  of  voodooism  and  the  fanatical  opposition  of 
the-  Catholic  priesthood  to  Freemasonry,  which  is  a  strong 
in  11  ive  combined  to  prevent  the  church  from  gain- 

ini:  either  the  confidence  or  affection  of  the  nation.     I      • 
i  the  pri.-sts  exercise  less  influence  than  in 


lit  is  CUBA  AND  POBTO  I;: 

other  countries.  The  Catholic  priests,  who  are  paid  1  y 
the  state,  are  comparatively  few  in  number,  and  dislike 
heartily  the  life  in  the  interior.  The  republic  is  divided 
int..  live  dioceses,  and  there  are  one  hundred  and  ten 
pri.-ts.  Th. -re  are,  however,  only  eighty-four  parishes, 
although  there  are  chapels  in  many  places  where  services 
are  occasionally  held 

Religious  toleration  in  other  countries  came  aft.  r  long 
struggles  between  different  denominations.  Haiti  is  an 
exception  to  all  such  precedents,  inasmuch  as  without 
possessing,  so  far  as  is  known,  a  single  Prot. -taut  <  it 
and  certainly  without  on*-  I'rot.'stant  ,-hmvh  <>r  even  one 
Protestant  meeting  ever  having  1  KM  MI  held  there,  she  l.oldly 
proclaimed  religious  freedom  and  her  independence  at  the 
same  time. 

From  the  date  of  independence  until  1869,  while  the 
Catholic  ivliirion  had  never  ceased  to  be  fostered  by  the 
state  or  to  be  professed  by  the  Haitian  eiti/.-ns,  the  eccle- 
siastical system  remained  in  a  senridisorgan  /•  <1  Mate,  and 
the  rhmvh  lost  the  affection  and  respect  of  the  people.  In 
1869  President  Jeffrad  mneluded  a  concordat  with  the 
Holy  See,  agreeing  to  pay  a  rehabilitated  priesthood  from 
the  treasury  of  the  state  and  to  furnish  it  with  suitable 
deuces.  Soon  afterward  the  <  hun-h  was  put  on  a 
regular  footing,  which  has  since  been  su-  In  the 

hope  of  raising  up  a  nativ-  d  in  onl-r  that 

th.  n  niiirht  always  be  at  hand  priests  especially  j.n -pared 
for  the  work  in  Haiti,  tlu-  rhurch  establish. -d  at  I'aris  the 
Grande  Haiti,  whirh  is  still  maintain,  -d.  T 

is  an  Episcopal  bishop,  l.ut  he  receives  little  p<M  in 
support,  and  the  Protestant   population  does  not  number 
four  thousand  souls.    The  Haitians  are  cl> 
masonry,  and  love  to  surround  tin*  funerals  of  their  l.r.-th- 
ren  with  all  the  pomp  of  the  order. 

The  government  •  has  ahv  nifested  a  com- 

mendable concern  for  the  «-du<-ation  of  the  youth  of  the 
:itry,  and  to  that  end  has  never  ceased  to  en 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  HAITI  -''•'.' 

the  establishment  of  schools.    There  has  been  a  steady 
tendency  toward  increased  educational  facilities  at  put>li< 
expense.    It  is  believed  that  no  less  than  five  thousand 
ian  girls  are  being  educated  under  the  care  of  the 
sisters  of  the  Roman  Church.    There  are  four  hundred 
lonal  schools,  besides  private  schools  and  five  1  votes, 
•uentary  education  is  free,  the  country  being  divided 
irteen  inspectors'  districts,  and  nearly  one  million 
dollars  allotted  annually.     In  H7ti  tli.-re  were  four  !>.•,-,•<, 
six  superior  girls'  schools,  five  secondary  schools,  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  primary  schools,  two  hundred  rural 
schools,  one  school  of  medicine,  and  one  of  music,  with  a 
total  of  twenty  thousand  pupils.    The  Sisters  of  Charity 
and  Christian  Brothers  have  schools  in  Port-au- Prince, 

The  unit  of  money  on  the  island  is  the  gourde,  or  dollar, 
the  nominal  value  of  which  is  that  of  the  American  dol- 
lar, but  this  so  fluctuates  that  the  annual  average  may  be 
seventeen  per  cent,  premium  on  the  American  dollar.  The 
revenue  of  Haiti  is  derived  exclusively  from  customs  paid 
in  American  gold  on  exports,  and  in  currency  gourdes  on 
imports.  The  external  debt  of  1887  was  $13,476,113,  and 
the  internal  debt  about  the  same. 

The  imports  of  Haiti  in  1895  were  $6,232,335,  and  the 
exports  $13,788,562,  showing  a  heavy  balance  of  trade  in 
favor  of  the  island.  The  exports  consist  chiefly  of  coffee, 
cocoa,  and  logwood.  In  1895  the  quantities  exported  were 
as  follows:  coffee,  75,371,865  pounds;  cocoa,  2,291,548 
Pounds;  logwood,  138,042,053  pounds.  Other  exports  are 
cotton,  gum,  and  honey.  Of  the  imports  in  1896  the  value 
H  134,000  came  from  the  United  States;  $1,340,000 
from  France;  $304,000  from  Germany;  $206,000  from 
Great  Britain.  In  1896,  260  vessels  entered  at  Port-an- 
Prinro,  189  at  Cape  Haitien,  and  161  at  Aux  Cayea. 

It  will  he  seen  that,  notwithstanding  Haiti's  political  and 
social  degradation,  it  is  financially  more  prosperous  than 
the  more  highly  civilized  West  Indies,  excepting  Cuba,  and 
shows  the  largest  balance  of  trade.  It  is  also  interesting 


-70  CUBA   AND   PORTO   KICO 

to  us  from  the  fact  that  it  gives  our  country  a  proportion- 
ate exchange  in  trade  for  our  purchases  of  its  products. 

Haiti  is  in  treaty  relations  with  most  of  the  great  coun- 
tries of  the  world,  and  maintains  six  legations— at  Paris, 
Washington,  Berlin,  Madrid,  London,  and  San  Domingo. 
There  are  also  more  than  fifty  consuls-general,  consuls, 
and  vice-consuls,  stationed  at  as  many  different  ports  in 
the  United  States,  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  in  the  An- 
titles,  Europe,  and  elsewhere.  The  island's  diplomatic 
representatives  have  always  acquitted  themselves  credi- 
tably, and  each  of  them  speaks  the  language  of  the  com 
to  which  he  is  accredited.  Mr.  Stephen  Preston  was  the 
Haitian  minister  at  Washington  continuously  for  nearly 
twenty  years,  and  during  a  third  of  that  time  he  was 
dean  of  the  diplomatic  corps.  As  far  as  the  general  pul  -lie 
knows,  there  are  pending  between  other  governments  and 
Haiti  no  questions  of  sufficient  importance  to  affect  her 
dignity,  menace  her  autonomy,  or  interfere  with  the  free 
working  of  the  ordinary  machinery  for  administering  her 
i  nt  final  affairs. 

It  may  be  stated  that,  in  the  long  run  and  in  her  own 
way,  Haiti  always  meets  every  financial  obligation ;  and  it 
is  an  acknowledged  fact  that  she  has  sometimes  consented 
to  pay,  and  has  paid,  claims  which  no  great  powers  like 
France  or  Great  Britain  would  have  been  expected  to  • 
ognize,  taking  this  course  in  order  to  avoid  what  seemed 
at  the  moment  possible  complications  with  foreign  powers, 
which  have  appeared  to  be  only  too  ready  to  take  advan- 
tage of  her  comparative  isolation  and  weakness. 

By  far  the  most  important  agricultural  product  of  Haiti 
is  coffee;  indeed,  so  important  is  this  that  the  prospt 
of  the  country  is  measured  by  it  from  year  to  year.  The 
plant  flourishes  everywhere  in  the  uplands  above  three 
hundred  feet.  The  quality  is  most  excellent,  l.ut  nwingto 
the  imperfect  and  indifferent  way  in  which,  until  within  a 
few  years,  it  was  gathered  and  <i,  it  lia>  ncv. -r  be- 

come a  favorite  in  the  United  States,  and  most  of  it  fiuds 


THE  REPUBLIC  OP  HAITI  271 

way  to  France  and  Belgium  for  consumption.    A  good 
crop  for  export  is  set  down  at  seventy  million  pounds. 

Logwood  is  second  in  importance  to  coffee.    It  is  con- 
sidered to  be  of  the  best  quality.  The  amount  of  it  exported 
annually  depends  on  the  energy  of  the  people  in  cnr 
it.     TIM*  average  yearly  exportation  is  about  178,000,000 
pounds. 

•a  comes  in  as  a  sort  of  adjunct  to  coffee.  While  it 
is  fnnnd  in  several  localities,  it  cannot  be  said  to  flourish 
and  abound.  The  bulk  of  it  is  grown  on  the  western  half 
of  the  Tiburon  peninsula. 

Cotton  also,  a  product  not  usually  found  in  the  West 
1 1 n lies,  is  grown  in  Haiti.  During  the  Civil  War  as  much 
as  four  and  a  half  million  pounds  was  grown ;  but  with  the 
fall  in  price  the  product  was  reduced  to  less  than  one  and 
a  half  million  pounds  for  export  in  1892.  It  grows  with 
extraordinary  facility,  requiring  no  culture  whatever.  It 
does  not  grow  on  bushes,  but  on  trees,  which  last  several 
years  and  produce  two  crops  annually.  It  is  of  a  fine  silky 
< l u.i lit  v,  and  its  culture  might  be  made  exceedingly  profit- 
able, as  no  country  in  the  world  is  better  adapted  to  its 
growth. 

Besides  the  logwood,  other  woods  are  regularly  exported, 
including  mahogany,  lignum-vit®,  bois-jaune  (West  Indian 
sandalwood),  and  bayarondes.  Mahogany  is  the  most  im- 
portant of  these  and  is  of  excellent  quality.  There  has 
been  a  marked  falling  off  of  this  exportation  since  1867, 
due  largely  to  the  fact  of  the  exhaustion  of  available  mate- 
rial within  the  limits  of  profitable  transportation  to  the  sea- 
board. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  products  of  Haiti  are 

chiefly  those  which  require  little  human  toil,  and  that  its 

agricultural  possibilities  are  hardly  drawn  upon.    Coffee 

is,  in  fact,  the  only  cultivated  crop  of  importance,  and 

•i  many  of  the  coffee-trees  are  self-propagated.     The 

Macks  upon  attaining  their  freedom  permit t*-<l  the  i>land 

turn  to  its  primeval  state.    In  colonial  times  the  island 


272  (TIJA    AND    l'n];T(,    l:im 

produced  nearly  t\\-«»  million  English  pounds  of  sugar, 
valued  at  $25,000,000,  besides  valuable  crops  of  indigo  and 
more  coffee  than  is  now  exported.  Under  favorable  « 
<1  it  ions  the  capacity  of  the  island  for  production  is  almost 
incalculable.  There  is  no  article  produced  in  the  tr*»; 
that  is  not  found  or  that  could  not  be  raised  in  Haiti  \\ith 
profit.  It  would  seem  that  almost  anything  could  be 
grown  either  in  the  uplands  or  the  lowlands  of  this  beau- 
tiiul  country.  Even  pineapples,  peaches,  strawberries, 
blackberries,  and  other  fruits  are  found  in  the  uplands. 
Those  who  have  watched  the  rise  and  remarkable  growth 
of  the  export  of  fruits  from  the  neighboring  island  of 
Jamaica  within  the  past  few  years,  and  who  have  any 
knowledge  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil  of  Haiti,  assert 
no  argument  need  be  used  to  show  that  under  reasonably 
favorable  conditions  the  exportation  of  fruit  could  easily 
be  made  profitable.  Oranges  (sweet  and  sour),  citrons, 
plantains,  bananas,  lemons,  shaddocks,  pineapples,  cocoa- 
nuts,  mangos,  artichokes,  alligator- pears,  sapodillas,  and 
the  like  abound.  It  is  said  that  mango  is  so  common  that 
during  the  height  of  its  season,  from  May  to  June,  the  sale 
of  breadstuff s  falls  off  as  much  as  fifty  per  cent. 

Absolutely  nothing  is  known  of  the  geological  and 
mineral  resources  of  Haiti,  although  gol<l,  ]>latinum,  sil 
copper,  iron  ore,  tin,  manganese,  antimony,  sulphur,  rock- 
salt,  bitumen,  asphaltum,  and  phosphates  exist,  some  of 
them  in  quantities.  Mining  interests  have  hitherto  been 
entirely  neglected,  and  there  are  no  laws  on  the  subject  in 
the  country.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  the  government 
not  to  encourage  enterprises  that  might  tend  to  prostrate 
or  impair  the  agricultural  spirit  and  industry  of  the  pe< 

Communication  in  Haiti,  wh«-ro  there  are  thirty-one 
post-offices,  is  maintained  entin-ly  by  overland  roads  and 
coasting- vessels.  Most  of  the  highways  aiv  notoriously 
bad,  especially  those  leading  from  tin-  < ••  -ntral  valley  • 
the  mountains  to  the  northern  and  southern  coasts.  The 
roads  in  the  interior  are,  in  most  cases,  little  more  than 


CATHEDRAL 


Bi 

STREET  SCENE 


STREET  SCENE 


POBT-A1  -nu\i  i.  IIMII 


THE    KK1TIU.IC    <T    HAITI  'J  ,  '.} 

mnl. '-paths.  This  is  due  partly  to  neglect  and  partly  to 
topograj  i  i  .il  conditions  which  expose  them  to  the  de- 
structive influences  of  torrential  rains.  In  th<*  time  of  the 
Fivneh  o<-rnpati«»n  many  of  them  were  kept  in  excellent 
<•<>!!<  lit  ion,  and  as  late  as  the  empire  of  Soulouque,  car- 
riages ami  «'th.T  v.-l.i.-l.-s  could  be  freely  used  through  quite 
a  number  of  localities  where  v«  hi*  ular  transportation  is 
not  now  practicable.  The  fact  that  the  republic  once  had 
good  roads,  and  that  in  the  island  of  Martinique,  where  the 
conditions  for  maintaining  them  are  quite  as  difficult  as  in 
ll.ii ti,  French  engineering  has  established  and  maintains 
the  best  of  highways,  proves  the  possibilities  in  this  respect 
of  the  latter  con  1 1 1 1  y .  The  present  government  appears  to 
be  alive  to  the  necessity  of  better  transportation  facilities, 

A  coast  service,  maintained  since  1863,  is  carried  on  by 
four  steamers.  These  are  aided  by  the  government,  and 
their  regular  trips  are  so  arranged  that  they  cover  the 
whole  extent  of  the  Haitian  coast  every  ten  days,  taking 
passengers  and  mails,  and  touching  regularly  at  no  less 
than  twenty-six  ports.  The  northern  route  covers  two 
hundred  an«l  forty  and  the  southern  three  hundred  and 
liftmen  miles  of  the  coast 

The  foreign  communication  is  excellent,  the  country 
being  visited  by  more  lines  of  foreign  steamers  than 
any  other  West  Indian  island.  Haiti  has  regular  com- 
munication with  New  York  by  the  Atlas  Steam-hip 
Company  and  the  Royal  Dutch  West  India  Mail  Service 
Company,  and  the  William  P.  Clyde  &  Company  line.  The 
Koyal  Mail  Steamship  Company's  learners  .-all  every  M6- 
and  week  at  Jacmel,  affording  connection  with  the  L,  ss.-r 
Antilles  and  England.  The  Compagnie  G6n6rale  Trans- 
atlantique's  steamers,  sail:-  i  Havre  and  Bordeaux 

to  Vera  Cruz,  stop  at  Cape  Haitien  on  the  7th,  and  at 
Port-au- Prince  on  the  8th  of  each  month,  and  on  their 
homeward  run  t«>n<  h  at  those  ports  on  the  *J7th  of  each 
month.  This  company  also  has  an  annex  steamer  whieh, 
•  ing  from  Fort-de-France,  calls  once  or  twice  a  month 


l!74  I'OBTO  RICO 

at  Jacmel,  Port-au-Prince,  Petit  Go&ve,  J6rt»mie,  Aux 
Cay.-.s  an.l  iiuiii.-n.ux  oth,-r  j>lar,-s  in  tin-  \\Y>t  ln.li.-x. 
The  Spanish  Royal  Mail  steamer  calls  at  IWt -an- Prince  en 
route  to  Cuba,  Mexico,  the  United  States,  and  Europe. 
The  Havana  coasting-steamers  between  Havana  and  San- 
tiago de  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  also  call  at  Port-au-Prince. 
Connection  is  had  with  Germany  by  the  Hamburg  Mail 
Steamship  Company. 

Haiti  has  numerous  ports  along  its  extensive  litt. 
eleven  of  which  are  open  to  foreign  commerce.  Each  of 
these  eleven  ports,  the  principal  of  which  will  be  described 
later,  is  an  outlet  to  a  comparatively  large,  populous,  and 
productive  couu  t  r y  lying  back  of  it.  Generally  the  exports 
and  imports  reach  far  beyond  what  one  might  be  led  to 
expect  if  guided  by  the  appearance  and  size  of  the  ports 
themselves.  Competent  authorities  have  observed  that 
the  volume  of  business  done  at  Port-au-Prince  is  as  ^ 
as  that  of  any  other  city  <>i  its  size  in  the  world.  These 
seaports  impress  the  visitor  unfavorably,  because  he  finds 
there  very  little  of  the  aspect  of  neatness  and  prosp< 
which  characterizes  the  other  cities  and  towns  of  the  An- 
till.-s.  The  wharves  are  dilapidated;  the  port  service  is 
slow  and  inefficient :  the  streets  and  sidewalks  are  poorly 
kept;  the  stores  and  dwellings  have  an  irregular  look; 
hotels  are  scarce  and  poor;  the  streets  are  not  lighted,  and 
the  roads  leading  into  and  throughout  the  interior  are  in 
a  very  bad  condition. 

Besides  the  eleven  ports  fully  open  to  foreign  com- 
merce, there  are  four  at  which  vessels  are  permitted  to 
take  cargo,  but  not  formally  to  enter  from  or  clear  for  the 
high  seas.  They  are  Fort  Libert^,  on  the  northern  coast, 
east  of  Cape  Haitien;  Mole  St.  Nicolas,  at  the  imrth 
western  extremity  of  the  island;  Anse  d'Hainault,  whi<-h 
was  once  an  open  port,  at  the  end  of  the  western  penin- 
sula; and  Por£a-Piin'  nt,  l*etween  Cape  Tiburon  and  Aux 
Cayee. 

There  are  also  at  least  tw.-nty  other  small  ports  not  open 


THE.  REPUBLIC  OF  HAITI  J7  ) 

to  foreign  trade,  mostly  in  the  south  and  west,  which  afford 
fairly  safe  approach  and  anchorage  to  vessels,  and  all  of 
\\hieh  contribute  more  or  less  to  the  coasting-trade. 

The  principal  coastal  cities,  beginning  on  the  north 
side,  are  Cape  Haitien,  Port  de  Paix,  Gonalves,  Port-au- 
I'ri i ;•••-,  Petit  Goave,  Mirago&ne,  Je'rdiuie,  Auz  Cayes,  and 
JaomeL 

Cape  Haiti. -n,  or,  as  it  is  universally  call,  d  in  Haiti,  "  tin* 
Cape,"  on  the  northern  coast,  is  the  most  picturesque  town 
in  the  republic.  It  is  beautifully  situated  on  a  commodious 
harbor  having  a  narrow  entrance,  which  could  be  most 
easily  defended.  This  town  is  the  second  in  size  and  im- 
portance in  the  republic,  and  is  by  many  considered  the 
most  picturesque  city  in  the  island;  it  is  situated  at  the 
foot  of  a  hill  which  slopes  gradually  to  the  sea,  and  is 
hemmed  in  on  three  sides  by  mountains.  Its  population 
is  estimated  at  twenty-nine  thousand,  Imt  this  undoubtedly 
includes  the  people  of  the  adjacent  commune.  Under  the 
rule  of  the  French,  it  was  the  gay  capital  of  the  colony, 
and  its  wealth  and  splendors  and  luxury  gained  for  it  the 
name  "Little  Paris," or  the  "Paris  of  Haiti."  It  was  also 
the  capital  of  black  King  Henri's  dominions.  It  was  b«»au- 
titully  laid  out,  and  built  on  the  plan  of  some  of  the  older 
European  cities,  with  the  ngoles^  or  gutters,  in  the  middle 
of  the  streets.  The  Cape  is  further  noted  as  having  been 
the  scene  of  a  terrible  earthquake  in  1842,  when,  in  an 
instant,  it  was  nearly  all  thrown  into  ruins,  and  several 
thousand  inhabitants  perished.  Sir  Spenser  St.  John  says 
that  to  this  day  the  country  people  talk  of  that  awful 
event,  and  never  forget  to  relate  how  they  rushed  in  to 
I 'hinder  the  place,  and  none  lent  a  helping  hand  to  aid  the 
half-buried  citizens.  It  has  also  suffered  from  a  bombard- 
ment by  the  British  (in  1865),  from  civil  commotions  and 
disastrous  fires. 

In  spite  of  all  these  misfortunes,  and  in  spite,  too,  of  the 
fact,  striking  to  the  new  visitor,  that  many  of  the  fine 
buildings  thrown  down  by  the  great  earthquake  have 


176  «  I  l:v    \M     POBTO  RICO 

•T  yet  been  rebuilt,  the  Cape  is  to-day  the  center,  so  to 
speak,  of  a  remarkably  thriving  and  prosperous  district,  of 
largo  and  increasing  business  interests,  promising  well  for 
the  future.  Here,  as  at  other  ports  facing  the  sea  to  tin- 
north,  the  trade-winds  come  over  the  cool  blue  waters,  and 
the  tropical  heats  are  greatly  modified.  This  city  is  the 
terminus  of  the  French  line  of  oceanic  cable  leading  direr i 1 y 
to  New  York,  Cuba,  and  Jamaica. 

Commercially  contributing  towns  and  communes  are  La 
Plaine  du  Nord  (population  5000),  L'Acul  du  Nord  (10,000), 
and  Milot  (6000).  Near  Milot  are  still  to  be  seen  tli-  t  ml y 
imposing  ruins  of  Christophers  palace  of  Sans  Souci,  and 
not  far  off  those  of  his  wonderful  citadel,  LaFen  i«  i « ,  \\  hi.  h 
from  its  mountain  height  overlooked  and  commanded  the 
commune.  It  is  of  the  most  solid  masonry,  every  stone  of 
which  is  said  to  have  cost  a  human  life,  and  covers  the  whole 
peak  of  the  mountain.  Some  of  the  walls  were  eighty  feet  in 
height  and  sixteen  feet  in  thickness.  Tears  of  labor  were 
spent  to  build  this  citadel,  which  was  destroyed  in  a  few 
minutes  by  an  earthquake. 

The  northern  province  is  noted  for  its  fertility,  abun- 
dance of  rain,  numerous  rivers,  and  the  superior  intelligence 
and  industry  of  its  inhabitants. 

Port  de  Paix,  named  by  Columbus  Valparaiso  ("  Valley  of 
Paradise"), is  several  hours'  sail  westward  from  Cape  Il.u- 
,  about  midway  between  that  <  ityand  Mole  -las. 

It  is  a  town  of  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  and  is  noted  as  t  in- 
last  point  evacuated  by  the  French  in  December,  1803.  1 1 
is  well  situated  at  the  mouth  of  Les  Trois-Riviores,  fa« 
the  famous  lie  de  la  Tortue,  and  is  considered  healthful. 
It  has  a  good  harbor  in  front,  and  a  tin*',  ri<  h  muntry 
behind  it  Near  it,  a  little  to  the  south  of  east,  is  the  im- 
portant town  of  St.  Louis  du  Nord,  in  a  commune  win*  h 

ha-  a  |M.|.ulati«.n  «•!'  >i\t.--  n   t  In  >u-aii'l.      Tln-iv  art-  at  piv>- 

ent  on  foot  propositions  and  projects  looking  t <>  1 
struction  of  a  railway  frmn  IN.rt  •  !«•  Paix  southward  thn.u-h 
the  valley  of  tin-  Tmi-  I,  which  is  a  con$iil«-ral.lf 


THE  BEPCBUC  OF  HAITI 

stream,  to  Gros  Morne,  a  commune  of  twenty-two  thousand 
inlmliitants,  there  to  connect  by  an  offshoot  with  a  road 
projected  to  run  through  the  great  central  plain  of  the 
Anil"-! 

To  the  west  of  Cape  Haition,  at  the  northwest  end  of  the 
peninsula,  is  Mole  St.  Nicolas,  the  place  where 
opeans  first  landed.  This  superb  harbor,  called  the 
ir  of  the  New  World,  remained  almost  unsettled 
until  17i.l,  but  has  been  successively  peopled  by  French, 
German,  and  English,  and  at  different  times  immense  sums 
of  money  have  been  spent  on  its  forts  and  walls,  now  dis- 
mantled and  ruined.  The  bay  makes  a  fine  picture  from 
the  sea,  and  ships  of  the  largest  size  can  ride  out  the  gales 
with  safety.  This  is  the  most  important  place  at  the 
Haitian  <  n<l  of  the  island,  commanding  as  it  does  the 
Windward  Channel  between  Haiti  and  Cuba.  The  western 
coast  is  sterile  and  barren,  the  shores  rising  in  level  plains 
«•!•  terraces  called  platforms,  similar  to  those  of  eastern 
Cuba. 

Gonaives,  which  is  considered  more  purely  a  Haitian 
town  than  any  other  on  the  seaboard,  because  its  founda- 
tion  and  origin  were  less  due  to  the  French  colonists,  is 
sit  uated  opposite  Port  de  Pauc,  on  the  southern  side  of  the 
north*  in  peninsula.  It  is  reached  from  Port  de  Paixby  a 
few  hours'  sail,  going  first  westward  to  the  Mole  St  Nico- 
las, and  thence  sailing  to  the  east  again.  The  commune 
has  a  population  of  eighteen  thousand,  and  the  town  is  one 
M  most  thriving  in  the  republic;  it  is  considered  health- 
ful, though  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  sandy,  salty  region. 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  has  more  than  once  been  dev- 
astated by  revolutions  and  fires,  it  still  has  an  important 
foreign  commerce.  It  was  from  this  port  that  Toussaint 
L'0u\ -»M -lure  was  embarked  as  a  captive  during  a  night  in 
.June,  1802,  on  board  the  French  frigate  La  Crtole,  and  it 
was  IK-IV,  too,  that  Dessalines  issued  the  declaration  of 
Haitian  in.l.']--n.i«'ii«-,-,  .January  1,  1804.  Within  its  dis- 
in  tlu>  interior  are  the  communes  of  Terre  Neuve 


J7S  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

(population  GOOO),  GrosMorne  (22,000),  ami  Knnery  (6<> 
the  cherished  residence  of  Toussaiut,  all  rich  and  pro<l 
tive  centers  of  population. 

St.  Marc  is  situated  about  half-way  between  Gonalves 
and  Port-au-Prince,  on  a  horseshoe-shaped  bay  whose 
waters  are  very  deep,  and  at  one  extremity  of  the  great 
plain  of  the  Artibonite,  Gonalves  being  at  the  other  ex- 
tremity. The  Artibonite  Riv.-r,  the  largest  in  Haiti,  flows 
into  the  bay  between  the  two  cities.  This  plain  faces  along 
the  coast  for  a  distance  of  about  fifty  miles,  and  stretches 
back  into  the  interior  for  fully  sixty  miles.  It  is  noted  for 
its  great  fertility  and  richness  in  every  tropical  production, 
in  which  respect  it  has  hardly  a  superior.  There  are  now 
on  hand  projects,  pretty  well  matured,  for  running  a  rail- 
way through  it. 

St.  Marc  was  formerly  built  almost  entirely  of  stone,  but 
the  structures  of  that  material  have  gradually  given  place 
to  others  of  wood.  It  is  a  town  of  commercial  importance, 
the  population  of  the  commune  being  estimated  at  twenty 
thousand.  The  largest  place  behind  it  and  within  easy 
reach  is  Verrettes  (communal  population  12,000). 

Port-au-Prince,  the  capital,  is  situated  at  the  extreme 
eastern  end  of  the  deep  indentation  of  the  Gulf  of  Gonalves. 
The  ground  slopes  most  gracefully  to  the  water's  edge. 
The  streets,  carefully  laid  out  at  right  angles  to  one  another 
l.y  the  original  French  settlers,  are  broad,  but  utterly  neg- 
lected. Every  one  throws  his  garbage  out  of  the  front 
door,  and  heaps  of  manure,  broken  bottles  and  crock 
and  every  species  of  rubbish  abound.  The  topographic 
position  of  the  city,  with  its  environs  of  mountains  and 
plains,  is  very  beautiful.  It  contains  about  sixty  thousand 
inhabitants,  and  possesses  every  natural  advantage  that  a 
capital  could  require.  Little  use,  however,  is  made  of 
these  advantages,  and  the  place  is  unpleasant,  owing  to 
the  lack  of  sanitation. 

The  national  palace  (of  wood),  the  quartiers  ministlres 
(the  offices  of  the  several  departments  of  the  governnn 


THK    KKlTltl.I.'    or    HAITI  L'7'J 

some  of  the  buildings  devoted  to  commerce,  to  religious 
worship,  and  to  schools,  the  national  foundry,  and  oth<  r 
edifices,  would  be  regarded  as  creditable  to  any  country. 
Most  of  tli.-  nth, -i-  l.mldings  are  strikingly  shabby.  There 
are  many  small  cottages  and  huts  by  the  side  of  the  few 
decent-looking  dwellings.  The  larger  number  of  poorly 

<tructed  houses  are  made  of  wood  imported  from  the 
United  States.  The  chinch  is  a  large  wooden  building 
disfigured  by  numerous  wretched  paintings,  in  which  the 
Saviour  is  occasionally  represented  as  an  ill-drawn  negro. 

I  said  that  there  are  more  than  a  thousand  "hu^.-s" 
(cabs)  licensed  to  carry  passengers  in  the  city,  at  twenty 
cents  a  "course"  (ride  from  one  place  to  aimther  without 
stopping)  within  the  city  limits.  It  is  well,  however,  for 
the  stranger  to  make  a  strict  bargain  with  his  driver  be- 
fore going  one  rod  beyond  those  limits. 

Port-au-Prince  is  well  supplied  with  pure  water  brought 
from  the  mountain-side  in  its  rear.  With  its  unstable 
government  (which  pays  no  attention  to  sanitation)  and 
its  great  heat,  this  city  ought  to  be  the  most  unhealthful 
place  in  the  tropics,  but  it  is  not  so.  In  a  few  of  the  more 
commercial  streets  where  foreigners  reside,  attention  is  paid 

leanliness,  but  the  remainder  of  the  city  is  foul-smelling 
and  dirty.  The  most  common  diseases  are  bilious  and 
malarial  fevers.  Yellow  fever  is  exotic  in  Haiti,  being 
always  brought  from  abroad.  Fevers  of  a  typhoid  type 
are  rare.  Pulmonary  diseases  prevail  among  the  natives. 
Indeed,  Haiti  would  be  an  excellent  resort  for  persons 
afflicted  with  certain  diseases,  and  is  freer  from  epidemics 
than  most  other  tropical  countries.  Cholera  has  never  ap- 
l»eared  there,  although  smallpox  and  y.'ll..\v  tVv.-r  fiv- 
quently  break  out.  Physicians  of  Port-au-Prince  say  that 
Haiti  is  more  healthful  than  any  other  island  in  the  An- 
tilles. Furthermore,  its  environment  of  high  mountains, 
out t in g  off  the  trade- winds,  is  such  as  to  make  it  the  hot- 
place  in  the  island ;  but,  in  spite  of  all  that  has  been 
said  and  written  to  the  con  is  not  now  regarded  as 


U>0  CUBA  AND  POBTO  BIOO 

unhealtliful  for  foreigners.    Some  of  its  immediate  en- 
viruiis,  >u.  h  as Turgeau,— which,  rovered  with  commodious 
residences  of  the  wealthy,  is  on  the  hillside  behind 
large  and  beautiful  Champ  de  Mars,  on  which  are  two  v 
k.-pt  h<  rtissant  and  Bisotou,— overlook  th 

the  right  of  the  capital,  and  are  about  four  or  five  miles 
from  it.  The  great  and  important  plain  of  the  cul-de-sac, 
in  which  are  situated  the  considerable  villages  Drouillard 
and  Croix  des  Bouquets,  are  quite  charming.  A  favorite 
place  for  foreigners  to  visit  is  Furey,  which  is  part  of  a 
day's  ride,  passing  Kenskoff  up  the  mountain  from  Petion- 
ville.  The  elevation  is  probably  not  far  from  six  thousand 
feet  at  this  place,  and  to  one  accustomed  to  the  heats  of 
the  capital  the  temperature  seems  absolutely  chilly,  though 
the  lowest  recorded  temperature  is  only  45°  F. 

Scattered  here  and  there  through  the  cul-de-sac,  and  run- 
ning up  to  the  mountain-sides  on  its  borders,  are  large  plan- 
•ns  under  cultivation.  In  some  instances  these  form 
communities  by  themselves,  the  laborers  on  each  of  them 
generally  working  on  shares,  and  having  schools  for  their 
children,  and  a  chapel  for  religious  worship  on  Sundays. 

I  Wt -ail-Prince  was  nearl  -yed  by  an  earthquake 

in  177<).  The  curse  of  the  city  is  fire;  immense  conflagra- 
tions have  been  frequent,  sometimes  destroying  as  many 
as  five  hundred  ),<,;;.,-  at  a  time,  It  has  been  estimated 
that  th-  dent  of  the  whole  city  at  any  one  time  has 

been  destroyed  in  the  course  of  every  twenty-five  years  by 
conflagration.  It  is  not,  however,  probable  that  this  will 
be  the  case  hereafter,  because  of  the  present  plentiful  sup- 
ply of  water,  the  introduction  of  suitable  means  for  com- 
ng  fires,  and  the  tendency  to  erect  fire-proof  buildings 
rather  than  those  of  wood. 

Amid  all  vi«  i->itudes  Port-au-Prince  has  maintained 
relative  common  ial   importance,  although  the   beautiful 
port  is  being  gradually  filled  up  by  the  refuse  of  tin •  «-ity 
and  the  silt  of  the  adjacent  mountains,  and  no  effort  is 
made  to  preserve  or  improve  it. 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  HAITI  L>  1 

I  '•  •  it  Goave  stands  facing  an  excellent  bay,  only  a  few 
leagues  to  the  westward  of  the  capital.  The  population  of 
the  com  in  une  is  estimated  at  twenty-five  thousand.  Not 
far  to  the  southeast  of  it  is  the  lake  called  fitaug  Duricie, 
\\  iii.-li  is  filled  with  fish  ami  turtles,  and  is  frequented  by 
wilt  I  ducks  and  other  water-birds.  In  the  town  itself  is  a 
considerable  establishment  for  hulling  and  preparing  coffee. 

Miragoane,  still  farther  westward,  was  formerly  a  port 
of  fair  importance ;  but  the  town  itself  was  nearly  destroyed 
and  its  commerce  ruined  by  the  Bazelais'  attempt  at  revo- 
lution  in  1883-84.  Its  communal  population  is  set  down 
at  eighteen  thousand. 

Je>6mie,  the  birthplace  of  the  elder  Dumas,  lies  to  the 
west  of  Miragoane,  on  the  northern  coast  of  the  western 
peninsula  of  the  island,  and  is  noted  for  its  export  of  cocoa. 
It  is  a  prosperous  and  thriving  place,  and  its  population  is 
estimated  at  thirty-five  thousand.  It  stands  or  faces  on  a 
bay  whose  waters  are  often  so  turbulent  as  to  render  land- 
ing difficult. 

Aux  Cayes,  about  midway  on  the  Caribbean  side  of  the 
Til.uron  peninsula,  was  formerly  the  most  populous  and 
thriving  city  in  the  south  of  the  republic.  From  Je>e*mie 
it  is  reached  by  sailing  first  westward  to  Cape  Dame  Ma 
then  turning  south  round  the  end  of  the  peninsula,  passing 
Cape  Tiburon,  and  finally  proceeding  east  along  the  south- 
ern const.  It  has  a  commune  population  estimated  at 
twenty- five  thousand,  an  important  foreign  commerce,  and 
a  variety  of  domestic  industries.  A  small  stream  running 
through  it,  called  La  Ravine  du  Sud,  sometimes  inundates 
parts  of  the  city  in  the  rainy  seasons.  The  government 
has  recently  entered  upon  measures  to  correct  this  evil  and 
11  prove  the  harbor. 

Aquin  is  a  smaller  town  lying  only  a  few  miles  farther 
east  than  Aux  Caves,  but  the  population  of  the  city  and 
commune  is  iriv. n  as  twenty  thousand.  From  its  port* 
are  shipped  large  quantities  of  dyewoods. 

Jacmel,  situated  on  the  southern  coast,  farther  east  than 


282  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

Aquin,  is  an  interes  «1  prosperous  place.    M.  Fortu- 

nate estimates  the  population  at  fifty  thousand,  but  in  • 
as  in  other  instances,  he  undoubtedly  includes  the  whole 
outlying  commune.    Tl  tands  at  the  extremity  of  a 

bay  whose  waters  are  very  frequently  boisterous.  The 
steamers  of  the  English  Royal  Mail  line  touch  here,  both 
on  their  outward  and  homeward  voyages.  The  jour 
from  Port-au-Prince  to  Jacmel  overland  is  by  mule-paths 
through  and  over  precipitous  mountain  passes,  and  between 
the  two  cities  there  is  a  very  winding  stream  which  it  is 
necessary  to  ford  an  astonishing  number  of  times,  and 
which,  in  the  rainy  season,  makes  the  journey  rather  dis- 
agreeable. Couriers,  however,  are  constantly  passing  from 
one  city  to  the  other. 

In  the  interior  are  a  number  of  other  considerable  and 
populous  towns.  They  are  mostly  to  the  north  and  east 
of  the  capital,  though  there  are  some  on  the  west 
ninsula,  the  largest  of  the  latter  being  Leogane  (30,000). 
The  most  populous  of  the  interior  towns  is  Mirebalais 
<KX)),  about  fifteen  leagues  northeast  of  Port-au-Prince. 
Then  there  are,  in  the  northern  half  of  the  interior,  Gros 
Morne  (22,000),  Plaisance  (25,000),  Grande  Riviere  du  Nord 
'KX)),  LimW  (16,000),  Frou  (10,000),  Dondon  (12,000), 
Jean  Rabel  (9000) ;  and  to  the  east  of  Mirebalais,  Las  Caho- 
bas  (12,000).  In  the  plain  of  the  cul-de-sac  is  La  Croix 
des  Bouquets  (20,000),  and  five  or  six  miles  up  the  moun- 
tain-side, near  the  capital,  is  the  charming  summer  resort 
PStionville  (15,000).  These  figures  represent  communal 
populations. 

Although  these  towns  and  communes,  and  others  not 
here  mentioned,  do  not  always  present  the  well-reguln 
pleasing  aspect  of  the  cities  and  towns  of  the  Unit. •«!  states 
or  Europe,  they  nevertheless  do  suggest  important  possi- 
bilities in  the  future. 

The  people  of  Haiti  are  almost  entirely  of  African  de- 
scent, with  a  few  of  the  mulatto  or  colored  class.  The 
comparatively  few  whites  engaged  in  business  or  diplo- 


THE  REPUBLIC  OK   HUH  LXI 


mati<«  a  fT;  i  lisa  iv  transients.  The  fact  that  ntryisa 

black  ivpnMi,-,  where  emancipated  people  of  this  color  are 
trying  to  work  out  their  own  destiny,  makes  it  especially 
int«M ••  -st  in  IT.  It  is  estimated  that  nine  tenths  of'the  people 
are  black  and  one  tenth  colored,  and  that  tin*  latter  are 
gradually  HHMV  and  more  approaching  the  black  type. 

Judged  by  the  standards  of  the  more  advanced  white 
races,  the  Haitians  are  very  backward ;  but  compared  with 
other  purely  negro  countries  it  must  be  admitted  that  they 
are  far  above  their  race  in  general.  Sir  Spenser  St  John, 
the  late  British  minister  to  Mexico,  who  for  over  tw.-nty 
years  resided  at  Port-au-Prince,  has  described  the  Haitians 
from  the  point  of  view  of  a  well-bred  Englishman.1  He 
pictures  the  country  and  the  people  in  a  state  of  rapid 
decadence,  and  sees  no  future  for  them.  His  descriptions 
of  the  voodoo '  rites,  cannibalism,  and  general  social  degra- 
dation of  the  people,  are  indeed  appalling,  and  after  read- 
ing them,  one  unacquainted  with  the  history  and  ethnology 
of  the  African  races  would  conclude  that  Haiti  is  forever 
lost ;  but  his  conclusions  are  not  borne  out  by  history,  and 
the  Haitians,  instead  of  degenerating,  are,  excepting  the 
Cubans,  Porto  Kicans,  and  Barbadians,  the  only  virile  and 
advancing  natives  of  the  West  Indies. 

No  exact  details  concerning  the  vital  statistics  are  ob- 
tainable, and  all  statements  are  necessarily  estimates.  It 
is  thought  that  no  full  and  accurate  census  has  been  taken 
since  1791.  General  Jeffrad,  who  was  president  from  1859 
to  1866,  endeavored  to  enumerate  the  population,  but  went 
only  far  enough  to  establish  the  fact  that  the  footing  up 
would  show  considerably  less  than  a  million.  Lately  the 
Roman  Catholic  clergy  have  taken  a  fragmentary  census 
for  their  own  purposes.  Their  figures  show  the  present 
population  to  be  somewhat  more  than  a  million. 

i  H ay  i;  or,  The  BUck  Republic."  By  Sir  Spenser  8t  John,  formerly  her 
Majesty's  minister  resident  and  consul-general  in  Hayti ;  now  her  Majesty's 
special  envoy  to  Mexico  (London,  1884). 

*  ' '  Vaudoux  "  is  the  proper  form  of  this  word,  "  voodoo  *  being  an  American 
corruption  of  the  same. 


284  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

Undoubtedly  the  in  habitants  of  Haiti  were  reduced  nearly 
one  half  by  the  terrible  wars  of  the  revolution.  During 
tin*  stniLTL'lc  all  of  the  whites  were  either  driven  out  of  the 
count rv  or  killed,  and  some  slaves  were  exported  to  Cul-a 
and  the  United  States.  The  prolific  negro  race  has  re- 
couped its  losses,  however,  and  the  population  is  rapidly 
increasing.  St.  John  concludes,  after  investigating  all 
possible  sources  of  information,  that  the  population  has 
probably  doubled  since  1825,  notwithstanding  the  careless- 
ness of  the  negro  mothers. 

The  colored  people  generally  reside  in  the  towns,  and  are 
a  vanishing  class.  A  marked  line  is  drawn  against  them 
by  the  blacks,  owing  to  historic  alinement  of  these  two 
classes.  In  past  political  conflicts  the  mulattos  have  been 
usually  defeated,  and  most  of  them  have  since  segregated 
in  the  eastern  or  San  Domingo  end  of  the  island.  The 
black  hates  the  mulatto,  the  mulatto  despises  the  black, 
and  the  whites  have  a  contempt  for  both.  As  a  race,  the 
mulattos  who  remain  have  been  described  as  hating  their 
fathers  and  despising  their  mothers.  In  personal  appear- 
ance the  Haitian  mulattos  are  what  might  be  expected 
from  a  mixture  of  a  plain  race  of  Europeans  with  the 
homeliest  of  Africans.  They  are  quite  different  in  type 
from  the  Spanish  mulattos  of  Cuba,  San  Domingo, 
Porto  Rico,  or  the  beautiful  mulattos  of  the  Fremh 
islands.  The  women  are  rarely  good-looking  and  never 
beautiful ;  as  they  approach  the  white  type  they  have  long, 
coarse  hair,  pretty  tc.  th,  small  hands,  and  delicate  forms, 
but  their  voices,  noses,  skins,  and  lower  jaws  are  defect 
A  pretty  girl  is  the  exception. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  revolution  the  half-breeds  con- 
stituted less  than  one  tenth  of  the  whole  population,  and 
wars  all  tended  to  increase  the  disparity  in  favor  of 
t  h"  blacks,  who  formed  the  vast  maj.  >rit  y.  Hence,  since  the 
white  element  has  almost  been  eliminated,  the  crossing 
necessarily  resulted  in  the  gradual  exclusion  of  the  half- 
breed  type  by  the  full-blooded  negro. 


REPUBLIC  OF  KAMI 

Matures  the  block  Haitians  vary  greatly,  owing  to  the 
variations  between  the  African  tribes  from  which  they  ore 

deseriidrd.      SOIIM*    of    thf    Hi. -li    an-    tall,    with     lin«-    op.-n 

coin.  MI  while  others  are  low  in  mien  and  phy>i<iu»-. 

Reclus  has  noted  that  if  the  complexions  are  mostly  \ 
dark,  the  new  environment  has  remodeled  the  features, 
\\  lii.-h  have  become  largely  assimilated  to  the  European 
type;  African  features,  such  as  those  of  the  Wolofs  an<l 
Serers,  are  seldom  met.  Though  they  have  not  developed 
a  homogeneous  type,  as  have  the  natives  of  Jamaica,  Bar- 
bados, and  Martinique,  even  St.  John  admits  that  as  a  nil.- 
they  are  far  advanced  above  the  African  type.  There  are 
still  many  negroes  in  Haiti  who  were  born  in  Africa,  prin- 
cipally the  last  cargoes  of  slaves  captured  by  English 
cruisers  and  turned  loose  among  their  brethren. 

The  numerically  preponderating  and  dominant  blacks 
are  of  many  degrees  of  advancement,  ranging  from  prime- 
val Africans,  almost  unacquainted  with  the  Caucasian  race 
or  habits,  who  inhabit  the  back  districts,  especially  of  the 
southern  peninsula,  to  men  and  women  who  have  been 
highly  educated  in  Paris.  Among  these  are  some  of  pol- 
ished manners  and  cultivated  minds;  but  even  these,  when 
they  attain  power,  are  inclined  to  prove  themselves  vision- 
ary and  less  capable  in  the  administration  of  public  affairs 
than  white  men. 

It  is  the  general  impression  that  the  female  sex  greatly 
preponderates  anion^  the  Haitian  in-^mes.  Sunn-  .-Miniate 
the  proportion  as  high  as  two  to  one ;  others  say  there  are 
three  women  to  one  man.  St.  John  estimates  that  tie- 
women  constitute  three  fifths  of  the  population.  There  is 
no  migration  t<>  a<  <  mint  for  the  disproportion  of  sexes, 
the  movem. -nt  of  population  having  been  toward,  instead 
of  away  from,  the  island.  In  colonial  times  the  males 
outnunilM'ivd  the  females,  but  the  numerous  wars  are  sup- 
d  to  have  largely  exterminated  the  former. 

The  language  of  Haiti  is  French,  which  is  spoken  and 
written  in  its  purity  by  the  educated.  Indeed,  it  is  a  say- 


I'OBTO  RICO 

ing  in  Paris  that  the  Haitians  are  the  only  foreign  people 
who  speak  French  without  an  alien  accent.  This  is  not 
surprising,  because  it  is  quite  the  rule  for  the  wealth) 
well-to-do  citizens  to  send  their  sons  and  daughters  to 
nee  for  their  education.  This  class  is  debarred  from 
the  United  States  by  our  prejudice  against  their  color. 
The  lower  classes  speak  a  Creole  patois  which  almost  de- 
serves rank  as  a  separate  language,  being  to  the  French 
what  the  Jamaican  dialect  is  to  the  English.  As  in  Jamaica, 
this  peculiar  dialect  abounds  in  proverbs  and  quaint  say- 
ings. 

I  n  t  h«ir  personal  traits  the  Haitians  are  like  the  negro  race 
wherever  found.  They  are  distinguished  for  their  boast- 
fulness— -a  habit  inherited  from  both  the  French  and  the 
negro.  They  are  also  given  to  strong  drink  and  licentious- 
ness. They  pride  themselves  on  their  proficiency  in  dan- 
cing and  their  ear  for  music.  They  have  fa  i  r  i  n  i  1  i  t  ary  bands 
in  the  cities,  but  throughout  the  island  the  favorite  instru- 
ment is  the  African  tom-tom.  In  the  country  the  old 
African  dances  are  still  engaged  in,  including  the  sensuous 
I'.mihoula.  Wakes  are  held  for  the  dead,  and  I  m  rials  in  the 
country  are  of  a  very  primitive  nature.  Like  other  negroes, 
the  Haitians  have  a  curious  habit  of  talking  to  themselves. 
One  is  of  ten  surprised  t«»  hear  in  t  ho  bushes  along  the  road- 
side an  apparently  extended  conversation,  which  turns  out 
to  be  the  monologue  of  a  solitary  darky. 

The  black  man  in  his  family  relations  is  generally  kind, 
although  few  of  the  lower  orders  go  through  any  civil  or 
religious  marriage  ceremony.     In  the  interior,  polygamy 
is  common,  and  apntrian  h  may  be  frequently  seen  sitting 
at  the  door  of  a  house  surrounded  by  huts  in  which  his 
younger  wives  reside.    Though  generally  fond  of  their 
children,  they  neglect  them  to  an  extent  that  m 
largely  for  the  high  death-rate  among  the  young.    Tov. 
the  white  man  the  black  is  usually  respectful  and  e..rdial. 

The  politeiifs^  of  th untry  n««irro  is  ivmarkahle,  and  y.-u 

hear  one  ragged  fellow  addressing  another  as  "Monsi.  m 


•mi.  1:1  i  i    nun 

re"  or  "Confrere.1*  The  town  negro  is  less  w. -11-mannered 
than  the  peasant.     The  countrywomen  are  kind,  bright, 
t,  with  a  natural  dignity  and  refinement  quite 
in  people  of  their  habits  and  situation.    The 
ni:  people  can  read  and  write,  while  several  Looks  of 
poetry  in  Spani>h  and  one  or  t  \\ o  illustrate!  I'Yench  maga- 
zines are  found  in  many  of  the  better  homes. 

The  negroes  of  the  country,  especially  in  the  remote 
:. early  all  the  rites  and  superstitious  of 
their  A  i  IK  an  ancestors,  including  dances,  music,  and 
witchcraft.  In  fact,  obi  ism,  that  queer  survival  of  Afri- 
can wit. -li< -raft  in  the  West  Indies,  prevails  here  in  its 
mo<t  primitive  form.  It  is  alleged  that  it  is  here  secretly 
accompanied  by  cannibalistic  sacrifices,  whi.-h  the  >tmn^ 
arm  «.f  til.-  white  race  has  at  least  eliminated  in  the  other 
islands  and  in  the  United  States.  St.  John  has  presented 
some  terrible  pictures  of  its  prevalence  in  Haiti. 

conditions  which  St.  John  describes  are  not  those 
of  retrogradation,  but  merely  the  survivals  of  customs 
which  the  ancestors  of  these  people  brought  from  Africa. 
Furthermore,  others  who  have  li\  >n^  them  have 

stated  that  no  more  honest,  cheerful,  and  hospitable  people 
exist  than  the  Haitian  peasantry.  It  is  asserted  that  one 
could  travel  from  end  to  end  of  the  country  with  gold  coin 
dink  in  ir  in  his  pocket  at  every  step,  without  losing  a 
penny's  value  or  a  night's  free  lodging,  or  incurring  thereby 
any  personal  danger.  The  great  crimes  and  felonies,  such 
as  arson,  rape,  highway  robbery,  and  murder  for  gain,  are 
extremely  rare. 

The  Haitian  negroes  have  very  peculiar  names,  owing  to 
the  faet  that  under  the  French  occupation  no  slaves  could 
be  given  a  name  which  was  used  by  their  masters,  so  that 
the  latter  were  driven  to  curious  expedients  to  find  appel- 
lations for  th»ir  dependents,  who  were  called  by  such 
names  as  Caesar,  Lord  Byron,  and  Je-crois-en-Dicu. 

The  negro  as  he  appears  in  the  large  commercial  towns 
is  quite  a  different  being  from  the  half-wild  peasants  of  the 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

country,  although  the  latter  probably  are  morally  sup* ; 
to  the  former,  for  they  have  the  virtues  as  well  as  the  vices 
of  the  wild  races;  although  their  intercourse  with  their 
city  compatriots  has  given  them  a  sort  of  French  van 
yet  they  are  merely  an  African  people  transplanted  from 
the  paivi.t  euuntry.     It  may  be  said  to  their  credit  that 
th.-y  have  shown  a  wish  to  acquire  little  homes  from  their 
savings,  and  that  they  give  many  signs  of  a  desire  to  rise 
above  their  racial  debasement. 

After  studying  the  Haitian  people,  their  institutions, 
and  the  criticisms  of  others  upon  them,  it  is  our  opii 
that  they  represent  the  most  advanced  negro  govern  i 
in  the  world,  and  as  crude  as  they  appear  to  us,  and  as  far 
below  the  standards  of  the  Caucasian  race,  they  have  in 
the  face  of  the  bitterest  oppression,  both  from  without 
ami  within,  virtually  lifted  themselves  by  their  boot-straps 
out  of  the  depths  of  African  savagery  into  at  least  a  crude 
condition  of  culture,  having  the  outward  semblance  of  ci  v- 
ili/ation.  Whatever  success  they  have  attained  has  been 
solely  by  their  own  unaided  efforts.  The  Christian  world, 
Which  looked  with  horror  on  the  institution  of  slavery  ami 
•  1  loudly  for  its  abolition,  neglected  this  self-emanci- 
pated people  wln-n  they  most  needed  its  help  and  aid. 
Although  hardly  three  decades  have  passed  since  our 
v.. untry  was  inflamed  with  sentiments  demanding  the  abo- 
lition of  slavery,  and  eager  to  alleviate  the  condit  inn  <  >f  the 
freednien,  we  have  extended  no  aid  or  sympathy  to  the 
Haitians,  who  first  lifted  the  banner  of  emancipation  on 
Aim  ii<-nn  soil  Missionaries  from  our  country  sail  past 
the  island  for  more  distant  shores;  noble  men 
go  to  equatorial  Africa  to  eidi-lit-  le,  far  below  the 

Haitian-  in  culture,  and  forces  of  intelligence  which  in 
Haiti  miirht  overweiirh  the  deli,  ately  Balanced  conditions 
of  barbarism  and  eivili/.ati«»n  in  favor  of  the  latter  are 
sent  to  distant  China  <>r  India. 

Whatever  may  be  said  again-:  •  .it  should  l.e 

remembered  tfmt  these  people  nearly  a  century  a#>  initi- 


THE  REPUBLIC  OP  HAITI 


the  movement  win  ng  in  Brazil  in  1889, resulted 

in  driving  the  institution , of  slavery  from  the  western 


The  independence  of  I  •  •mmplishfd   during  the 

time  when  slavery  was  still  upheld  with  all  of  its  horrors 
in  tin-  otlnT  West  Indies,  appeared  to  the  old-school  plant- 
ers in  the  light  of  an  unnatural  event.  It  inspired  among 
the  slave-owners  of  all  nationalities  a  feeling  of  horror. 
The  name  of  Haiti  was  proscribed  on  the  plantations  as  be- 
longing to  an  accursed  land,  and  even  to  this  day  the  effects 
"!'  t  his  are  so  far-reaching  that  in  our  own  country  the  name 
wrongly  signifies  all  that  is  evil.  Yet  this  black  commu- 
nity, now  enjoying  political  freedom  and  self-government, 
is  alive  and  growing,  and  may  be  counted  a  potent  factor 
in  the  ultimate  destiny  of  the  West  Indies. 

Haiti's  history  did  not  begin  until  nearly  a  century  and 
a  half  after  San  Domingo  had  been  established  by  Spain. 
I  ii  the  early  years  of  the  seventeenth  <  -rntury  many  Span- 
iards, who  had  made  the  first  skimming  of  the  natural 
resources  of  the  island,  left  it  for  the  more  tempting  fields 
of  Mexico  and  South  America.  The  bucaneers—  French 
and  English—  took  advantage  of  their  departure  and  began 
to  prey  upon  the  island.  The  French  particularly  assailed 
the  weaker  western  end,  which  was  then  largely  a  wilder- 
ness ;  they  first  established  stations,  then  plantations,  and 
finally,  in  1640,  organized  these  irregular  settlements  into 
a  colony  under  a  governor  sent  from  France.  Forty-seven 
years  later  Spain  was  forced  to  acknowledge  French  sov- 
ereignty over  the  portion  of  the  island  where  this  paras 
hold  had  been  obtained.  It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon 
tli«>  colonial  history  of  Haiti  previous  to  the  French  Revo- 
lution, further  than  to  say  that  it  became  what  was  at  that 
tim»'  the  finest  colony  in  the  world.  "Historians,"  it  has 
id,  "are  never  weary  of  enumerating  the  amount 
of  its  products,  the  great  trade,  the  warehouses  filled  with 
r,  ootton,  coffW,  ir  .1  cocoa;  its  plains  covered 

with    splendid   estates;   its  hillsides  dotted   with   noble 


rrii.v    AND    I-oino    Kim 


houses;  a  white  population,  rich,  refund,  and  .  g  life 

as  only  tin*  luxurious  Fr.-nch  so.-i.-ty  of  the  old  regime 
could  enjoy  it."  The  dark  spots,  then  scarcely  noticed, 
were  the  immorality  of  the  whites  and  the  ignorant  mass  of 
black  slavery.  The  plantation  slaves  were  Africans  who 
retained  every  savage  trait  of  their  native  count  ry,  includ- 
ing cannibalism,  voodooism,  and  even  in  many  cases  the 
]n  iinit  ive  language  and  dress.  The  change  from  Africa  to 
Haiti  was  but  slight.  The  masters  whom  the  negroes  found 
in  the  New  World  were  but  little  better  than  those  of  tin  ir 
own  race  ;  the  damp  forests  afforded  a  natural  environment 
very  similar  to  that  from  which  they  were  drawn;  they 
continued  to  live  in  African  huts  and  to  eat  African  foods. 
The  French  masters  practised,  under  a  guise  of  civilizat  i<  >n, 
all  the  cruelties  of  the  African  kings  whom  these  people 
had  served  at  home.  Their  system  of  slavery  was  unsur- 
passed for  severity,  subtle  cruelty,  las.  -i  \  iousness,  and 
ferocity.  Its  contrast  with  the  Spanish  system  in  opera- 
tion in  the  San  Domingo  half  of  the  island,  where  negro 
slavery  existed  in  a  form  robbed  of  half  of  its  terrors,  was 
marked. 

The  ancient  regime  also  produced  a  third  distinct  set  of 
people  in  Haiti.  Miscegenation,  openly  and  boastfully 
practised,  resulted  in  a  large  number  of  mulattos,  or  colored 
people.  These  became  numerically  important  with  the 
passing  years,  and  occupied  a  peculiar  position.  Although 
t  h.  y  mostly  became  freedmen,  they  were  looked  down  uj..  »n 
l.y  tli.-ir  white  relatives,  treated  with  hatred  ami  <-<>nt.-mpt, 
and  irrant.Ml  n<>  civil  status;  and  they  were  hated  l.y 
pure  blacks.  Thus  society  in  Haiti  from  1700  t<>  1  77i»  pre- 

Mnted  U)  "U!  ward  a-|..-«-t  <>t'  untold  ]»ros|..-rity,  l.ut  inwardly 

was  composed  of  elements  which,  wh.-n  find  l.y  tho  Revo- 
lution in  France,  were  bound  to  clash  with  a  force  corn- 
Lining  the  ferocity  of  the  French  revolutionists  and  the 
savagery  of  African  warfare. 

The  latent  spark  was  kindled  in  a  peculiar  way.     Wh*  n 
our  American  colonies   revolted   against   England,  the 


TIIK    KKITllLH'    <>K    HAITI 

•M-h  commanders  who  were  our  allies  enlisted  the  free 
blacks  and  mulattos  of  Haiti,  who,  according  to  the  English 
writers,  did  good  service  in  our  War  of  the  Revolution,  but 
when  they  returned  to  their  own  country  spread  a  spirit 
of  disaffection  which  no  ordinances  could  destroy.  Thus  it 
was  that  M  the  spirit  of  T6"  kindled  the  fires  which  led  to 
the  Haitian  revolution. 

Fin  tlicrniore,  in  France,  about  this  tim«\  there  were 
organized  societies  known  as  "  The  Friends  of  the  Blacks,91 
exactly  similar  to  the  abolitionist  party  of  the  Northern 
United  States  prior  to  the  Civil  War.  These  people,  moved 
by  a  spirit  of  philanthropy,  but  ignorant  of  the  laws  of 
sociology,  im-ivas.Ml  th»«  <lisront«-nt  ami  famuli  ran-  hativ.l 
among  the  blacks  of  Haiti.  The  whites  at  this  time,  who 
still  rout  rolled  Haiti,— the  discontent  of  the  black  and 
colored  population,  although  apparent,  being  neither  dan- 
gerous nor  active,— precipitated  the  crisis  by  a  local  au- 
tonomist movement,  very  similar  to  the  events  which  a 
century  later  caused  the  Cuban  rebellion.  They  were  then 
governed  under  a  colonial  system,  somewhat  analogous  to 
that  of  the  Spanish  system  in  Cuba,  in  which  they  had  no 
voice,  and  they  demanded  local  self-government.  Three 

ties  were  immediately  organized:  the  white  planters, 
demanding  a  local  self-government,  constituted  the  colo- 
nial party;  the  official  classes  and  their  hangers-on,  also 
white,  stood  for  the  old  regime  as  the  loyalist  party ;  and 
the  free  blacks  and  colored  people  agitated  for <  i \il  n_ 
u  hi.  h  had  been  withheld  from  them.  No  idea  of  indepen- 
dence of  France  was  contemplated.  The  large  and  o\ 

ng  mass  of  black  slaves  were  entirely  uninterested 

in  thr*o  events.    Then  the  explosion  began.    The  planters, 

who  had  hitherto  treatM  th«  ir  colored  offspring  with  con- 

now  called  upon  them  for  aid,  which  was  freely 

l»ut  afterward  rewarded  with  insult,  which  ere; 

a  strong  racial  hatred  between  these  two  elements.    The 

French  Assembly  in  17!>1  gave  the  freedmen  and  colored 

people  *  11  rights,  and  in  all  the  subsequent  strug- 


-M.*J  OOBA  AND   POBTO  BICO 

gles  they  continued  loyal  to  the  French  government.  In 
17:»4  the  black  slaves,  who  ha<l  hitherto  been  contented, 
were  given  tin-  full  liU«rty,  equality,  and  fraternity  of  the 
French  republic.  The  white  planters  meanwhile  con  t  i  n  u«-<  1 
Lii  insii:  .  Then  another  element  was  introdur.-d 

into  the  strife,  which  was  ultimately  to  overpower  all  the 
others.  The  royalists  called  upon  the  bla<  k  -laves,  who 
had  formerly  been  meekly  quiescent,  to  help  tlM-m  subdue 
the  planters.  Lake  bloodhounds  released  from  the  leash, 
or  a  firebrand  thrown  into  a  heap  of  tinder,  tin •<»•  savair«-s 
rush.  .1  into  the  fray,  fighting  after  the  manner  of  their 
forefathers,  killing,  burning,  ravishing,  and  destroying. 
Their  whole  African  nature  was  given  freest  play,  never  to 
stop  until  eventually  every  white  man  was  murdered  or 
driven  from  Haiti,  and  the  colored  class  sold  as  slaves  to 
the  Spaniards  of  San  Domingo.  In  vain  other  nations  of 
the  world  tried  to  stop  the  fray.  England  and  Spain 
sent  their  forces  to  subdue  the  island.  Disease 
savagery,  and  the  light  of  medieval  civilization  went  out 
in  Haiti. 

We  cinnot  mention  half  tin-  incident*  of  this  fearful 
struggle,  but  the  terrible  cruelty  and  treachery  of  the 
whites  to  the  black  and  colored  people  of  Haiti  were  hardly 
less  savage  than  th.  »n  <>t  the  blacks.  Then 

treatment  by  the  French  of  Toussaint  I/ouv.-rtmv.  who 
at  one  time  had  almost  reduced  these  disloyal  element 
one  of  the  darkest  pages  of  human  history.    "  And  yet  the 
conduct  of  this  black  was  so  remarkable  as  almost 
found  those  who  declare  the  negro  an  inferior  «• 
incapable  of  rising  to  genius.    History,  wearied    with 
dwelling  on  the  petty  passions  of  the  oth«  r  founders  of 
Haitian  independence,  may  well  turn   to  the  <>n«'  jrnmd 
figure  of  thi-  .-ruel  war.n    Born  a  arquhvd  only 

enough  education  to  read  a  littl    Fr.n.h  -""I  Latin,  \\ 
out  mastering  the  art  of  writing.    When  the  insunv« -ti«>n 
broke  out  he  remained  faithful  to  his  master,  and  • 
vented  any  des:  on  his  estate;  but  ulti:  :iud- 


THE  KEPUBUC  OF  HAITI  L".i;; 

ing  that  ho  could  not  stem  th»»  tide,  he  sent  his  master's 
family  for  safety  into  Cape  Haitien  and  joined  the  black 
loyalists.  Having  a  knowledge  of  simples,  he  was  first 
appointed  a  surgeon,  and  later  rose  to  leadership,  ever 
t  ryini:  to  direct  the  course  of  his  unruly  subjects  into  1< 
imate  warfare,  and  to  suppress  their  savage  instincts.  He 
protected  to  tit*'  last  the  lives  of  the  whites,  and  was  even 
honored  by  the  English,  whose  assistance  had  been  sought 
by  France  to  subdue  the  fray.  "  Win -n  ho  once  gave  his 
word,  he  never  l.roke  it,"  it  wa<  sai«l;  "an. I  h«-  H.-V.T  had 
any  prejudice  of  color."  Even  St.  John  says  that "  he  had 
a  greatness  of  mind  which  was  really  remarkable."  Roume 
described  this  negro  chief  as  a  "  philosopher,  a  legislator, 
a  general,  and  a  good  citizen."  Rainsford,  an  English  offi- 
cer, who  visited  the  insurgents  disguised  as  an  American, 
was  much  struck  with  Toussaint,  and  says  he  "  was  con- 

straincd  to  admire  him  as  a  man,  a  iro\vnnT,  and  a  p-n- 
eral,"  who  "receives  a  voluntary  respect  from  every 
description  of  his  countrymen,  which  is  more  than  returned 
by  the  affability  of  his  behavior  and  the  goodness  of  his 
heart" 

It  should  be  remembered  that  this  man,  a  loyal  subject 
of  France,  was  fighting  for  peace  and  order,  and  had  it  not 
been  for  the  venality  of  the  French  themselves,  whose 
political  conditions  at  home  were  almost  as  disturbed  as 
in  Haiti,  he  would  have  restored  it.  When  he  had  almost 
finished  his  task  and  proclaimed  union  and  peace  in  the 
nch  colony,  pardoning  all  those  who  had  been  led  into 
tin-  revolution  against  him,  keeping  his  word  to  his  ene- 
mies by  putting  into  execution  a  constitution  which  was 
a  model  of  liberality,  Bonaparte  determined  to  reestablish 
slavery  in  Haiti,  and  sent  a  French  army  of  invasion  to 
carry  out  this  most  infamous  attempt.  Rochambeau,  who 
led  the  French  troops,  shot  every  prisoner  that  fell  into 
his  hands,  justifying  retaliation  by  the  Haitians.  He  even 
hrouirht  t<>  the  siege  two  hundred  Cuban  bloodhounds,  that 
were  fed  on  negro  flesh,  it  is  said,  to  make  them  the  more 


294  MIA    AM-   POBTO  BICO 

savage.    Toussoint,  ever  loyal  to  the  authority  of  his 
rountry,  treated  witli  tin-  Fivuch  commander-in-chit  t 
n-tired  to  his  estate,  where  he  was  subsequently  arrested 
iii  circumstances  of  the  greatest  treachery,  bound  with 
ropes,  and  carried  prisoner  to  1  The  indignities  to 

which  he  was  subjected  can  hardly  be  believed  as  the  acts 
of  French  officers  who  broke  tlu-ir  plighted  word.  In 
France  he  was  separated  from  his  family  and  cast  into  a 
prison,  where  he  died  from  cold  and  iH'^l--«-t.  the  suspi< 
being  justified  that  the  close  of  his  illustrious  life  was  in- 
t«-nt  ionally  hastened. 

Thus  ended  the  career  of  a  man  of  whom  th«*  Marquis 
d'Hermonas  said  that  "  God  in  this  terrestrial  globe  could 
not  commune  with  a  purer  spirit."  "  The  one  mistake  of 
his  life  appears  to  have  been  his  refusal,  when  urged  to  do 
so  by  England,  to  declare  the  independence  of  all  1 1. mi. 
Hod  he  accepted  the  English  proposals  and  entered  into  a 
treaty  with  the  Americans,  it  is  not  likely  that  Bonaparte 
would  have  ever  attempted  an  expedition  against  him,  and 
thi»  history  of  Haiti  might  have  been  happi- 

With  the  exile  of  Toussaint  ended  the  influence  of  1 1n- 
white  race  in  Haiti.  A  most  fearful  epidemic  of  yellow 
fever  fell  upon  the  French  army  and  almost  annihilate!  it. 
Forty  thousand  of  them  perished  in  1802-03.  Tin-  Haitians 
saw  their  opportunity,  and  aroused  tht'ir  countryim-n  t<> 
expel  the  weak  remnants  of  the  French  army.  The  foreign 
fleets  left  Haiti's  shores  to  engage  in  their  own  warfares. 
Roc-ham  beau,  pushed  by  an  army  of  thirty  thousand 
blacks,  pinched  by  hunger,  and  having  U"  hope  of  rein- 
forcements, surrendered  to  the  English  and  embarked  for 
Europe,  leaving  an  independent  country  t<>  the  victorious 
blacks. 

Thus  ended  in  1804,  after  fifteen  years  of  horrible  v 
fare,  one  of  the  darkest  chapters  in  the  i  "ft  he  West 

Indies,  and  colonial  Haiti  was  lost  to  <-i\ -ili/.ati«n.  The 
Haitian  negroes  have  since  been  left  to  work  <*ut  t  h«-ir  own 
destinies.  At  first  they  set  up  an  empire  uft«-r  the  Napo- 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  HAITI 

Iconic  example  in  France.    Then  followed  monarchies, 

nt in ;.. mil  presidencies,  and  even  a  second  empire  in 

1  -  n>,  sometimes  accompanied  by  union  with  Ban  Domingo. 

:  the  revolutionary  alliance  with  San  Domingo  was 

broken,  and  since  that  day  the  republic  of  Haiti  ha-  < 

tinned,  marked  by  many  revolutions,  but  gradually  becom- 

more  and  more  quiet 

No  Haitian  of  intelligence  now  thinks  it  possible  to  keep 

•  •Mimtry  in  isolation,  OTOOtof  line  in  the  onward  man  h 

of  the  nations.    With  this  opinion  prevalent  and  other 

favorable  forces  at  work,  it  may  be  hoped  that  order  and 

<!'  velopment  will  obtain  in  Haiti.    The  tendency  of  things 

there  is  clearly  against  irregular  changes  of  government 

The  Haitian  government  has  made  endeavors  to  increase 

the  population  by  inviting  immigration  from  abroad  of 

persons  of  African  origin,  especially  the  negroes  of  the 

United  States.    Under  the  presidency  of  General  Boyer,  in 

i,  thousands  of  these  people  settled  in  different  parts 

of  the  country;  many  of  them  <li*  <i  from  the  climate;  a  few, 

however,  became  prosperous,  and  many  <>l'  t  h.  i  r  descendants 

are  still  living,  and  have  preserved  the  love  of  the  American 

Union  and  their  knowledge  of  the  English  languair 

During  our  Civil  War  President  .leiTrnd  offered  liberal 
terms  to  negro  settlers  from  the  United  States.  T 
passages  were  to  be  paid,  lands  placed  at  their  disposal, 
and  they  were  to  be  housed  and  cared  for  during  a  reason- 
able period,  and  to  be  exempt  from  mill  t  ary  service.  Freed- 
men  were  even  shipped  by  our  national  government  from 
Norfolk,  but  the  experiment  was  a  failure. 

As  a  rule,  negroes  become  1  t«»  the  people  and 

customs  of  the  first  Caucasian  lands  of  their  a d«.pti..n. 
Negroes  from  the  rnited  States,  differing  from  the  Haitians 

•!!.  r.'li_'i..n.ai:d  usages,  generally  keep  aloof  and  can- 

ivtta.-h  t  h.  i  n  selves  to  the  Pren.-h  language  and  enti- 
different  habits  of  th«-   1!         D  Macks.    1>  the  past 

years  n  -nnvnt  «.f  l.la.-ks  has  been  flowing  into 

Haiti  t'rnm  th«-  i-  -ing  islands,  im-luding  Janui: 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  BAHAMAS 

General  geographic  features.  Dissimilarity  to  other  West  Indian  Islands. 
Products  and  population.  Poverty  and  decadence  of  the  people. 
Varied  race  character  of  the  blacks. 

HAVING  described  the  Great  Antilles  except  the  Vir- 
gin Islands,  let  us  now  turn  to  the  other  islands  of 
the  West  Indies,  most  of  which  occur  along  an  immense 
semicircular  stretch,  over  a  thousand  miles  in  length,  be- 
tween eastern  Florida  and  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco. 
These  islands,  with  tho  on  «>t'  tin-  Virgin  group,  ju-t 

east  of  Porto  Rico,  are  entirely  different  in  tlu-ir  ph\ 
graphic  features  and  natural  resources  from  the  Great 
Antilles,  and  in  many  cases  from  one  another. 

Before  reading  individual  descriptions  of  tin-in,  it  is  well 

to  take  a  map  and  study  closely  their  succession  an<l  1*1,1- 

tive  position,  and  endeavor  to  fix  in  our  minds  a  pn-limi- 

naryclassifiV..!!..!,.    Th-  first  strikin.tr  fart  is  th.-ir  sul.<li\i- 

into  two  grand  groups  lying  north  and  south  of  the 

;tu«lr  ..f  the  Great  Antill.-an  tn-n-l.      Tin-  im-iv   stu.lv 
of  the  map,  however,  fails  to   show  the  great  phy- 
difT.-r.-!ir..<   which  separnto    tlioso    irroiips   still    nmiv 
tin.-tly.      In    fn.-t,  th.-y    .litT.-r    frnyn    .-IH-   aimth.-r    in    ••'. 
aspect — geologic  structure,    v.'L".-t.-iti..n,    produrtix 
mate,  an <1    fltn.'ss   fur  human    hal.itat!- 
The  northern  group, betw.  •  -n  I  l<.ii.la  an.l  tho  east  end  of 

m 


UNITED   STATES  CONSUL'S    MOUSI 


STREET   SCCMC, 


UAH  \M  V- 


HIE  BAHAMAS  -".'7 

Santo  Domingo,  constitutes  the  Bahamas.  This  lies  entirely 
within  tii«>  Atlantic  ( )eean,  havm.  i  parallel  with 

tliat  of  the  Antilles.  The  other  group,  stn-t. -hiug  from 
Porto  Ki.-o  x.uthwanl,  popularly  known  as  the  Lesser 
Antilles,  lies  between  the  Atlantic  ami  the  Caribbean,  and 
has  no  affinities  or  relations  with  the  Bahamas. 

ips  give  the  same  title  to  the  south,  in  islands. 
By  some  they  are  called  collectively  the  Leaser  Antilles,  by 
others  the  Wimlwa  :  by  still  others  the  <  'arib- 

bees.  On  English  maps  the  northern  half  of  the  chain  is 
marked  the  Leeward  Islands  and  the  southern  half  the 
\\ "in.lwanl.  For  the  present  let  us  speak  of  the  whole 
as  the  Lesser  Antilles,  reserving  for  a  later  page  their 
more  accurate  classification,  and  first  disposing  of  the 
Bahamas. 

The  Bahama  group,  which  stretches  through  a  total  dis- 
tance of  780  miles,  includes  over  690  islands  and  islets  and 
2387  rocks,  whose  total  number  can  hardly  be  less  than 
3200,  and  embraces  an  area  of  5600  square  miles.  The 
aggregate  land  surface  of  all  these  islands  is  larger  than 
that  of  Porto  Rico.  In  aspect  the  Bahamas  are  more  like 
the  land  of  our  Floridian  coast  ami  keys  than  any  of  the 
other  West  Indies,  yet  they  are  so  entirely  unlike  the  latter 
that  the  traveler  who,  after  visiting  them,  imagines  that 
he  has  seen  the  West  Indies  is  sadly  mistaken. 

The  Bahamas  are  not  composite  lands  like  the  Antilles, 
or  volcanic  summits  like  the  Caribbees,  or  even  of  coral 
reef- roe k  origin,  as  many  l.,.li,.\,.:  hut  all  of  th.-m.  iMOfd- 
ing  to  the  researches  of  Professor  A.  Agassiz,  are  win«l- 
blown  piles  of  shell  and  coral  sand,— once  much  more 
extensive  than  now,— whose  areas  have  been  restricted  by 
a  ireiieral  regional  sul»Mtleiiee  of  >..me  three  hun.hv.l  f,.,-t, 
so  that  much  of  their  former  surface  now  occurs  as  shallow 
banks  beneath  the  water.  This  sand  is  not  the  brown 
si  lie  ions  material  with  which  we  are  familiar,  but  white 
shell-sand,  the  comminuted  particles  of  shells  and  corals 
ii  as  still  inhabit  the  waters  around  these  islands,  wl. 


298  CUBA   AND  PORTO   I: 

give  to  them  a  glaring  white  aspect  in  the  setting  of  blue 
waters  and  crystalline  atmosphere. 

The  islands  are  merely  the  expo-  of  a  great  sul- 

merged  ridp ,  having  an  outline  and  configuration  which 
would  be  crudely  comparable  to  the  island  of  Cuba  if  the 
latter  were  so  submerged  that  its  highest  points  merely 
reached  the  surface.  In  fact,  the  trend  and  character  of 
this  bank  are  such  as  to  suggest  that  it  might  possibly  rep- 
resent one  of  the  lost  Antilles.  The  bank  is  more  of  a  pe- 
ninsula t  han  an  island,  projecting  as  it  does  southeastward 
from  the  narrow  submerged  shelf  of  the  Atlantic  coast— a 
kind  of  submarine  extension  of  eastern  Florida,  as  it  were. 

The  shallow  waters  around  the  Bahamas  are  beautiful. 
Some  of  the  deeper  basins,  encircled  by  reefs,  are  call«l 
sea-gardens,  from  the  lovely  growth  of  polyps  and  marine 
algw  which  can  be  seen  beneath  the  water.  Or  and 

manatees  are  also  found  near  some  of  the  shores. 

There  are  several  groups  of  these  islands,  tin-  largest  of 
which,  constituting  fully  one  half  the  area,  and  situated  to 
the  westward,  is  known  as  the  Great  Bahama  Bank,  from 
the  vast  shallow  platform  from  which  it  rises  above  the 
water.  This  group  comprises  Andros,  the  largest  of  the 
Bahamas,  at  its  northern  extremity,  Green  Key,  New 
Providence,  Eleuthera,  Watlings,  and  Long  islands.  To 
the  east  there  are  four  smaller  groups— the  Fortune  islaml 
group,  the  Caicos  or  Turks  island  group,  and  (just  north 
Of  Bttnana,  San  I  ^min-..)  t},.-  Silvr  ami  Navi-ia-l  hanks. 
Great  Inagua,  situate!  n.  ,n  th.-  Windward  Passage, oppo- 
site the  converging  ends  of  Cuba  and  Santo  Domingo,  is  a 
kind  of  outlier  to  the  south  of  the  main  .ham. 

Some  of  these  islands,  like  Navidad,  Silvr.  an<]  M-u- 
choir  banks,  barely  reach  tho  surface  of  the  wat.-r :  "there 
are  similar  banks  wh i'li  pn.j--.-t  \\vll  al.ov,-  it:  whil< 
still  are  compounds  of  the  two  types. 

From  the  sea  the  Bahamas  appear  as  low  stretches  of 
green  land  bordered  by  a  strip  of  white  beach  < >  •  \  i  t  h 

here  and  there  a  few  villages,  built  of  Ann  i  i.  an  lumber. 


THE  BAHAMAS  !'!»!» 

ieir  topography  consists  of  low  rounded  hills— 1\ 
sand-dunes,  rising  to  no  great  height,  which  are  usually 
more  rugged  and  numerous  on  the  leeward  side,  where  low 
Muffs  also  occur.  Some  of  these  bluffs  are  picturesque, 
with  great  boulders  surrounding  them  whi.-h  have  been 
cast  up  by  the  sea,  like  the  rocks  call.-d  the  Cow  and  Bull 
on  New  Providence,  and  the  bluffs  of  Fortune  Island,  or 
with  low  cliffs  with  eirenlar  holes  worn  through  them,  like 
the  Glass  Window  of  Kleuthrra  and  the  Hole  in  the  Wall 
of  Great  Abaco. 

With  the  exception  of  Andros,  the  Bahamas  are  all  des- 
t it ute  of  springs  or  running  waters.  Andros  has  a  few 
brooks  and  marshy  streams.  As  in  Yucatan,  the  rain-water 
rollerts  in  underground  reserve >; 

The  flora  is  tropical,  )>ut  quite  different  in  general  assem- 
blage from  that  of  the  Antilles,  being  more  closely  related 
t"  that  of  the  American  coast.  A  majority  of  the  islands 
are  covered  by  a  stunted  growth,  largely  mangrove.  Only 
a  fVw  possess  foivsts;  the  pine  of  our  southern  coast,  mixed 
with  tli.-  tropical  mahogany,  covers  some  of  the  western 
islands. 

Like  the  Antilles,  the  Bahamas  are  almost  destitute  of 
native  mammals.  A  species  of  opossum  occurs  in  one  of 
the  western  islands  near  the  American  shore.  Bird  life  is 
al.undant,  however,  and  the  adjacent  waters  are  rich  in 
tin  ties,  fishes,  and  beautiful  niollusks. 

Lying  as  they  do  in  the  Gulf  Stream  at  the  border  of 
the  temperate  and  torrid  zones,  the  el i mate  of  the  Bahamas 
is  agreeable  and  healthful,  l.ut  subject  to  greater  extremes 
of  heat  and  <  <»ld  than  the  oth«  Indies.  In  the  win- 

t.-r  months  trom  November  to  May  the  temperature  varies 
from  60°  to  75°,  and  the  remainder  of  the  year,  constitut- 
ing the  warm  season,  from  75°  to  85°.    The  general  i 
ness  allows  the  full  benefit  of  the  sea-breezes,  which,  with 
the  ocean  views,  may  be  considered  the  most  valuable 

as  are  historically  interesting  because  of  * 


300  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

with  the  first  landfall  of  <  'oluinlnis  their  f,  n 
relation  with  the  Am<M-i«-an  .  olonies,  and  the  part   they 
played  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  Tory  emigrants  during 
our  War  of  In«l.  pcndence.    The  aborigines  were  hunted 
i  enslaved  during  the  first  century  «>f  Spanish  conquest, 
being  especially  desired  for  the  pearl-fisheries  of  1 
on  account  of  their  superior  skill  as  divers.    The  ar<  In 
pelago  was  neglected  for  over  a  century,  1  >ut  win -n  the  coast 
of  Carolina  was  colonized  the  islands  were  regarded  as  its 
natural  dependency,  and  later  became  the  home  of  adv.  n- 
turers  of  all  sorts,  who  lived  by  wrecking  and  bucaneering, 
making  New  Providence  their  capital. 

The  islands  were  permanently  occupied  by  British  troops 
for  the  first  time  in  1718,  and  since  then  have  been  under 
tli.-  flag  of  Great  Britain.  The  government,  with  its  seat 
at  Nassau,  consists  of  a  governor  and  executive  couneil ; 
there  is  also  a  legi-lativ.-  «  Miincil  presided  over  by  the 
governor,  and  a  representative  assembly  of  twenty-nine 
members  elected  by  suffrage.  So  far  as  law,  order,  an.l 
e.lueation.-il  opportunities  are  concerned,  the  administra- 
tion has  the  usual  excellence  of  British  colonial  govern- 
ment, but  likewise  accompanied  by  high  taxation  and 
expenditure.  The  revenues  of  1895  amounted  t 
an.l  the  expenditures  to  $295,022.50. 

Industrially  and  comnn  T.  -ially  the  Bahamas  are  in  str  a 
The  soil  is  not  rich,  but  is  suitable  for  the  cultivation  of 
small  fruit-,  vegetables,  pin*  apples, oranges, and cocoannts. 
Their  only  market,  the  United  States,  is  embargoed  by  • -Hi- 
tariff  laws.  The  government  «1  to  encourage  the 
Cultivation  of  the  sisal-fiber  plant;  the  shipments  have  as 
yet  been  small,  however,  as  the  plantations  are  now  only 
rearliim_r  the  productive  stage.  Abaco  is  the  chief  center 
of  the  in. lu-try.  Except  in  the  Caicos  and  Turks  -m. 
where  salt  is  found,  most  of  the  inhabitants  earn  their  liv- 
ing from  the  products  of  the  sea,  such  as  sponges,  tur 

shells,  p.-arU.  aml.erLrris.  an.l  wre.-kaire.      Sponire-lMiiui:  is 
e\!,-nMv.-ly  oarried  OH,  empl.-yim:  many  p.-npl...  ;Jtli..uurh 


THE   BAHAMAS  301 

Its  total  product  does  not  aggregate  more  than  $300,000  a 
year. 

The  total  exports  amounted  to  $809,733  in  1896.  The 
imports  from  the  United  Kingdom  were  $181,608,  and  from 
the  United  States  $635,113,  out  of  a  total  of  $819,760.  So 
far  as  commerce  goes  the  Bahamas  are  an  American  pos- 
session, for  we  take  all  that  they  produce  and  sell  to  them 
most  of  what  they  consume. 

The  Bahamas  have  regular  mail  connection  with  New 
York  and  Florida,  and  in  the  winter  season  steamers 
run  to  Palm  Beach.  A  subsidized  steamer  conveys  pas- 
sengers among  the  different  islands.  Scrut  ton's  line  runs 
directly  to  London.  Nearly  all  the  people  own  small  sail- 
ing-vessels which  ply  between  the  islands.  There  is  cable 
r..!iiM-.-ti..ii  between  Nassau  ami  Fl.-ri.la,  and  Nassau  and 
the  Bermudas,  and  thence  to  Halifax. 

The  population  of  the  Bahamas  is  a  decadent  one;  tln-iv 
is  neither  immigration  nor  inducement  for  immigration, 
except  for  those  who  wish  to  enjoy  the  salubrity  of  the 
.-lunate.  Only  thirty-one  of  the  islands  were  inhabited  in 
1890,  with  a  total  population  of  fifty-four  thousand.  The 
people,  though  not  in  distress,  are  all  poor  in  worldly  goods. 
The  whites  are  few  in  number,  and  are  not  noted  for  their 
industry.  Most  of  the  Bahama  people  are  negroes,  de- 
scriidants  of  form.-r  -lav.-,  ami  th.  — •  an-  of  many  p,-,-nliar 
types  and  kinds.  The  isolation  of  en«-h  Kaknd  has  pre- 
served or  produced  distinct  characteristics.  Powles  has 
said  that  these  "concha,11  as  they  are  called,  appear  still  to 
be  divided  into  various  groups  which  retain  the  tribal 
peculiarities  of  their  African  descent,  each  tribe  annually 
electing  its  own  queen  and  recognizing  her  authority. 
Furthermore,  they  vary  in  language  according  to  that  of 
the  masters  who  introduced  them.  Most  of  them  speak 
English ;  some  have  a  decided  Scotch  dialect,  while  it  is 
alleged  that  upon  one  key  the  Irish  dial  .  Some 

of  these  negroes,  notably  the  Fortune  Islanders,  are  excel- 
lent sailors,  and  are  eagerly  sought  by  the  American 


CUBA   AND  POBTO   RICO 

steamers  on  account  of  the  superiority  of  tln-ir  iu«l 
that  of  thr  other  West  Indian  blacks. 

The  principal  inhal.itrd  inlands  are  New  Prov 
Abaco,  Harbor  Island,  Klmth-  .  Mayaguana,  Ragged 
Island,  Rum  Key,  Exuma,  Long  Island,  Long  Key,  and  the 
Biminis,  all  ports  of  entry,  and  the  Great  Bahama,  Crooked 
Island,  Acklin  Island,  Cat  Island  and  Watlings  Islnn<l. 
Berry  Island,  Andros  Islands,  and  Turks  and  Caicos  islands. 

New  Providence,  having  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants, 
contains  over  one  fourth  the  people  of  the  entire  group. 
On  this  island  is  situated  Nassau,  the  capital  and  only  city 
of  importance  in  the  Bahamas.  Nassau  is  a  pretty  place, 
and  is  a  favorite  resort  of  American  tourists,  who  reach  it 
from  the  Floridiaii  coast.  It  has  a  population  of  ten 
thousand  people.  Flowers  and  plants  and  neat  English 
houses  give  it  a  very  attractive  appearance.  Its  shops  are 
good,  and  it  has  a  large  and  well-conducted  American 
hotel,  which  is  principally  supported  by  American  visitors. 
It  was  notable  during  our  Civil  War  as  the  headquarters 
of  the  blockade-runners,  some  of  whom  made  great  for- 
tunes. 

Great  Abaco  is  one  of  the  most  thi«  kly  peopled  of 
islands.    Its  population  in  1881  was  3610.    These  people 
are  mostly  whites,  and  are  interesting  to  us  in  that  th.-y 
are  descendants  of  American  Tories,  some  of  the  best 
families  of  colonial  times.    In  order  to  preserve  the  pn 
of  the  race,  however,  they  have  always  intermarried  within 
the  same  family  circle,  and  show  a  marked  physical  degen- 
eration. 

The  Andros  Islands  are  the  largest  of  the  entire  group. 
and  represent  nearly  a  third  of  the  dry  land  of  the  an-hi- 
pelago.  They  are,  moreover,  the  most  densely  wooded  of 
the  Bahamas. 

Hail,  r  Mand  is  the  most  densely  populated,  having 
two  thousand  inhabitants  COD  1  in  a  space  about 

two  miles  in  extent,  who  are  descended  from  the  old 
aneers  and  have  a  communal  land  system. 


THE  BAHAMAS 

Eleuthera,  which  takes  its  name  from  Eh 
a  plant  formerly  inu< -h   us.  .1   in   ni.-dirino,  has  but  few 
inhabitants.    Cat  Island,  so  named  from  the  domestic  ani- 
mal, whirh  has  run  wild,  is  about  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  square  miles  in  extent.     It  has  a  population  of  four 
i-and    people,  descendants  of    revolutionary  Tories. 
Watlings  Island  and  Rum  Key  are  inhabited  by  small 
unities. 

East  of  Watlings  Island  there  is  a  long,  narrow  strait 
through  which  the  Windward  Passage  commerce  threads 
its  way.  On  the  east  of  this  is  an  archipelago  composed 
of  the  three  islands  called  Fortune,  Crooked,  and  A<  klin, 
which  really  constitute  a  single  island,  being  divided  by 
shallow  channels  fordable  at  low  water.  Fortune  Island 
is  a  port  of  call,  touched  by  steamers  plying  between  New 
York  and  the  West  Indies. 

St  ill  to  the  eastward  the  only  islands  of  importance  are 
the  and  Caicos  groups,  which  are  attached  to 

Jamaica  for  administrative  purposes.  They  consist  of 
Grand  Turk,  Salt  Key,  and  a  few  uninhabited  keys.  Grand 
Turk  is  only  seven  miles  long  and  a  mile  and  a  half  wide. 
Salt  Key  is  niii..  inil.-s  lon.tr. 

Turks  Island  was  made  famous  as  a  port  of  call  by  the 
sailing-masters  who  frequented  it  in  former  years.  The 
principal  features  of  interest  and  revenue  are  the  salt- 
ponds,  aggregating  five  hundred  and  ninety-three  acres, 
each  acre  of  which  is  capable  of  yielding  about  four  thou- 
sand l.ushels  of  salt  per  annum,  dependent  upon  the 
weather.  A  million  and  a  half  bushels  are  annually  shipped 
to  the  United  States  and  to  Halifax,  where  it  is  pi -inripally 
used  in  the  codfish  industry.  The  total  export  is  valued 
T  156,750.  Sponges  are  also  extensively  gathered  and 
shipped.  Here  also  is  the  home  of  the  conch  from  wl 
is  obtained  the  valuable  pink  pearl.  There  is  no  water  fit 
human  consumption  except  rail.  for  which  s« 

e  tanks  have  been  constructed  on  Turks  Island. 

The  total  population  of  the  group  is  fifty-seven  hundred 


304  ODBI    AM>   TOBTO  BICO 

people,  about  one  half  of  whom  are  blacks,  one  third  col- 
ored, and  one  sixth  whit**.  The  negroes  are  largely  the 
descendants  of  slaves  brought  over  by  Tory  refugees  from 
Georgia.  The  latter  constructed  substantial  stone  houses 
and  made  good  roads,  traces  of  which  still  remain.  Before 
these  came,  the  islands  were  srul.-d  l»y  immigrants  from 
Bermuda  in  ir,;n. 

Turks  and  Caicos  islands  were  separated  politically  from 
the  Bahamas  in  1848,  and  made  a  dependency  of  Jamaica, 
administered,  however,  by  a  commissioner  as  chief  execu- 
1 1  v<>  officer,  who  is  president  of  the  legislative  board.  The 
governor  of  Jamaica  has  supervisory  power  over  tin-  !<>< -al 
government,  and  is  the  medium  of  communication  between 
the  commissioner  and  the  Colonial  Office.  Besides  this,  the 
legislature  of  Jamaica  can  pass  laws  applying  to  the  islands, 
and  c*  i  tain  classes  of  their  judicial  cases  must  be  dealt 
with  by  the  supreme  court  of  Jamaica. 

Grand  Turk  is  the  capital,  and  the  commissioner  res: 
there.  The  town  has  been  described  as  neat,  clean,  and 
without  the  appearance  of  poverty,  although  the  inhabi- 
tants complain  of  ruin.  It  contains  several  stores,  a  good 
market-place,  a  respectable  hotel,  and  a  free  library  and 
reading-room.  The  library  is  in  a  building  erected  in 
honor  of  her  Majesty's  jubilee. 

The  revenues  are  derived  almost  entirely  from  import 
duties,  the  only  direct  tax  being  one  on  dogs.  A  royalty 
is  paid  on  the  shipment  of  salt. 


CUAPTER  XXVII 

THE  LESSER  ANTILLES 


Natural  beauty  of  tbe  iibndiL     Distribution 

into  four  type*, 


ET  as  now  examine  the  chain  of  islands  which  sweeps 
in  a  gentle  curve  from  the  eastern  end  of  Porto  Rico 
around  the  Caribbean  to  the  northern  coast  of  South  Amer- 
ica—the most  beautiful  and  ideal  of  the  tropical  lands, 

:iy  of  them  veritable  fairy  islands,  where  the  magic  hand 

of  nature  has  produced  the  most  esthetic  and  beautiful 

products  of  her  handiwork,  even  if  ruthless  man  has  done 

much  to  despoil  them. 

The  beauties  of  the  Great  Antilles  and  the  charms  of  all 

ii-al  lands  about  which  poets  have  written  fade  before 
these.  Th.-ir  histories  have  been  as  broken  and  disturbed 
as  their  topography,  and  no  less  turbid  than  the  wind- 
driven  waves  of  the  Atlanti.-  which  beat  against  their  wind- 
ward shores,  and  as  cruel  as  the  hurricanes,  earthquakes, 
and  volcanic  outbursts  which  from  time  to  time  have  de- 
stroyed the  works  of  man.  Pirates  and  bucaneers  have 
preyed  up<>  i \ilization,  and  great  nations  fighting 

these  gems  of  the  sea  have  successively  seized  them  so 

•  •ach  has  had  a  history  more  complicated  than 

that  which  marks  our  national  existence.    Here,  too,  the 

institution  <»f  A:n«  an  slavery  was  introduced,  to  grow  until 

Caucasian  races  were  gradually  crowded  out,  while  each 
island  of  importance  has  successively  become  great  in 


I;A  AND  POBTO  RICO 

wealth  from  sugar-culture,  and  finally  impoverished  by  the 
same  industry,  until  all  now  present  pitiful  spectacles  of 
decaying  civilization,  these  fair  lands  being  gradually 
abandoned  to  the  erstwhile  African  bondmen. 

Here  are  remarkable  mixtures  and  contrasts  of  political 
condition,  and  economic  conditions  especially  interesting 
in  th.->«-  days  when  the  world  is  attempting  similarly  to 
subdivide  the  Orient. 

Although  the  largest  of  these  islands  hardly  exceeds  in 
area  an  average  American  county,  each  assumes  the  in  li- 
vi.luality  and  political  importance  of  an  independent 
empire.  By  travelers  sailing  among  them  they  are  com- 
monly spoken  of  as  the  French,  English,  1  Mitch,  Danish, 
or  Spanish  islands.  Th«-  British  possessions  are  primarily 
segregated  at  the  ends  of  the  chain,  constituting  several 
distinct  colonial  governments,  especially  the  Leeward 
Islands  to  the  north  and  the  Windward  Islands  to  the 
south.  Besides  these  the  former  French  islands  of  Do- 
minica and  St.  Lucia,  near  the  center  of  the  chain,  are  im- 
portant British  possessions. 

The  French  group  includes  the  two  largest  islands  of 
the  chain,  Guadeloupe  and  Martinique;  with  these,  how- 
ever, are  Dominica  and  St.  Lucia,  which  passed  int<>  British 
control  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  although 
the  French  language  continues  to  be  that  of  the  common 
people. 

The  Dutch  possessions  are  islands  near  the  northern 
end,  attached,  for  administrative  purges,  to  Curasao, on 
the  other  side  of  the  Caribbean.  The  two  Danish  islands 
are  also  small  affairs  near  the  northern  end  of  the  group, 
almost  abandoned  by  the  country  that  owns  them. 

The  historic  interest  of  these  islands  is  great.  They 
hav.-  hcen  in  ptVfiool  centime*  the  ehi,-f  LattN-  irn-und  <»t 
Kuropean  nations  in  their  attempts  to  gain  supremacy  in 
the  New  Wm-ld.  The  conflicts  between  Frenchman,  Si 
iard,  Dane,  and  Hollander  are  in  themselves  enough  t<>  fill 
many  volumes,  while  hero  t  i .  .  ueers  flourished  beyond 


THE  T.^qgwii  ANTILLES 


t  ho  wildest  fancy  of  those  who  seek  pleasure  in  the  reading 
<>t  piiati.  i(  .    Some  of  these  islands,  like  Barbados 

and  the  Bahamas,  are  interesting  to  the  student  of  early 
American  colonial  history  because  of  the  close  blood- 
relationship  of  their  early  settlers  with  those  of  our  own 
country,  as  well  as  of  a  similarity  in  «>l<.nial  institutions. 
The  student  of  slavery  and  the  ethnology  of  the  black 
race  will  also  find  in  these  islands  a  fruitful  and  int. -rest- 
ing field.  Tho  student  of  political  economy  will  find 
here  instru. -live  lessons  growing  out  of  their  dependence 
upon  the  single  industry  of  sugar,  while  the  student  of 
politics  will  find  the  administration  of  the  various  colonial 
governments  a  subject  unique  in  interest. 
Sugar  is  everywhere  the  principal  subject  of  converaa- 
and  interest.  One  is  astounded  by  the  apparently 
unbreakable  fetters  with  which  its  culture  ha*  I  ".mid  the 
inhabitants.  The  dependence  of  the  Indian  of  the  North 
American  plain  upon  the  buffalo,  or  of  the  Eskimo  upon 
the  seal  and  walrus,  was  no  greater  than  that  of  these 
people  upon  sugar.  The  rise  ami  fall  in  its  j.ri. ••  -.  the  revo- 
lution of  methods  of  its  extraction  from  the  cane,  or  of  its 
refinement,  have  affected  their  whole  lives,  at  one  time 
enriching  them  and  at  others  reducing  them  to  the  most 
ul  poverty. 

\ved  from  the  deck  of  the  passing  steamer,  /ill  the 
Lesser  Antilles  are  beautiful  beyond  description.  Rising 
as  they  mostly  do  in  wooded  summits  from  the  azure  sea, 
th.  y  appear  to  be  the  acme  of  all  that  is  picturesque,  lovely, 

arid  restful.      B.-autiful  M  th.  — •   Mand<   nr--  in   na'  nr.-,  •  — 
•ally  in  perspective,  tln-ir  charm  is  diminished  when 
the  traveler  steps  on  shore  and  comes  in  contact  with  the 
poverty  of  the  inhabitants.    This  does  not  impress  one  by 
outward  aspect  of  actual  want  and  suffering,  but  by 
t  h«»  general  appearance  of  decay.    Everywhere  one  sees  in 
the  well-construct. -d  buildings  and  plantations,  once  in- 
habited by  the  wealthy  and  hospitable  Creoles,  reminders 
of  the  former  conditions  of  prosperity ;  yet  these  no  longer 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

exhibit  the  signs  of  wealth  which  made  the  islands  famous. 
By  their  owners  the  traveler  will  be  treated  with  hospital- 
ity and  kindness,  the  people  always  welcoming  an  int<  lli- 
gent  stranger ;  but  the  latter  can  have  only  a  feeling  of  ]  >i  t  v 
as  he  sees  their  struggles  against  an  inevitable  fate,  wliil.- 
they  endeavor  to  maintain  the  outward  semblance  and 
graces  of  their  former  lavish  hospitality.  The  hotel  ac- 
commodations, at  least,  have  the  merit  of  cleanliness,  and 
the  food  is  the  best  that  the  country  affords. 

Before  proceeding  to  describe  the  individual  islands,  it 
is  well  to  consult  the  map  again;  for  the  Lesser  AntilI.-< 
are  of  at  least  four  distinct  types,  each  differing  from  til-- 
others in  physical  aspects,  geologic  origin,  and  induct 
possibilities.  These  groups  may  be  termed  the  Virgin,  the 
CariM".'.  the  South  American,  and  the  Barbadian,  each 
of  which  will  now  be  described  in  turn. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE  VIBOIN  ISLANDS  AND  ST.  CROIX 

Their  Antfflean  character  and  portion.     Geological  character.    Vi 
kind*  of   government      8t  Thomaa.      8t  John.      Virgin   Gorda. 


A  HYDROGRAPHIC  chart  of  the  West  Indies,  such  as 

JLJL  sailors  use,  shows  a  long,  shallow  bank,  hardly  one 

hundred  fathoms  deep,  extending  eastward  from  the  end 

of  Porto  Iv  no  1  ike  a  crescent  curving  to  the  northward,  from 

which  rise  numerous  small  islands  of  the  Virgin  group. 

-  bank  is  the  eastward  continuation  of  the  same  shoal 

or  platform  that  surrounds  all  the  Great  Ant  lies,  and  the 

islands  are  An  til  lean  in  their  structure  and  origin,  and  are 

the  summits  of  the  submerged  eastern  end  of  the  Antillean 

mountain  <  Imin.    On  the  south  and  east  this  bank  is 

•-.mated  by  the  Anegada  Passage,  which  separates  the 

-ins  from  the  Caribbean  chain  by  a  narrow  marine  strait 

nearly  three  thousand  fathoms  deep. 

The  Virgin  Islands  were  discovered  by  Columbus  on  8t 
Ursula's  day,  and  so  named  by  him  because  they  extended 
in  a  long  procession  like  that  of  the  eleven  thousand  vir- 
gins of  the  C).  legend.  Most  of  the  islands  are 
small,  and  some  of  them  precipitous  and  hardly  habitable. 
Proceeding  eastward  from  Porto  Rico,  the  largest  of  them 
are  Crab  Island,  Culebra,  St.  Thomas,  8t  John,  Tortola, 
Virgin  Gorda,  and  Anegada.  Besides  these  there  are  more 
than  fifty  smaller  islands  or  keys— Scrub  Island,  Beef 


310  GOBI    VM>   PORTO  RICO 

Island,  Old  Jerusalem,  Round  Rook,  Ginger,  Coopers,  Salt, 
Peters,  Norman  Islands,  etc. 

They  are  all  mountainous,  projecting  above  the  w,- 
like  tips  of  submerged  peaks,  which  they  really  are.  They 
are  very  rugged,  and  an  1,, -autit'ul  when  viewed  from  the 
sea.  The  upper  outline  of  hills  of  the  larger  islands,  v 
its  multitudinous  little  coves  and  dry  gullies,  reminded 
Kingsley  of  the  Auvergne  Mountains.  "Their  water-line 
has  been  exposed  to  the  gnawing  of  the  sea  at  the  present 
level,  and  everywhere  the  cliffs  are  freshly  broken,  toppling 
down  in  dust  and  boulders,  and  leaving  detached  stacks 
and  skerries.  Most  beautiful  meanwhile  are  the  winding 
channels  of  blue  water,  like  landlocked  lakes,  whi«-h  part 
the  Virgins  from  each  other;  and  beautiful  the  white 
triangular  sails  of  the  canoe-rigged  croft  which  beat  up 
and  down  them  through  strong  Currents  and  cockling  seas. 
The  clear  air,  the  still  soft  outline,  the  rich  yet  delicate 
coloring,  stir  up  a  sense  of  purity  and  freshness,  and  peace 
and  cheerfulness,  such  as  is  stirred  up  by  certain  views  of 
the  Mediterranean  and  its  shores." 

The  total  area  of  all  the  islands  hardly  aggregates  two 
hundred  square  miles,  the  largest  of  them,  St.  Thomas, 
possessing  only  thirty-seven  square  miles.  The  current 
impression  that  these  islands, as  a  whole, are  either  of  \« •!- 
came  or  coral-reef  origin,  is  a  mistake.  Traces  of  mar  in.- 
volcanism  are  less  apparent  than  in  New  England,  while 
the  coral  rocks  are  only  an  attenuated  fringe  added  in 
recent  geologic  time.  They  are  all  <>f  the  same  general 
geologic  composition  as  the  Great  Antilles,  consisting  of  a 
foundation  of  rocks  of  suspected  Paleozoic  origin,  covered 
by  great  masses  of  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  conglomerate 
and  clay,  derived  from  the  now  vanished  geolop<  A 1 1,. 
which  in  turn  are  veneered  by  the  mantle  of  oceanic  chalky- 
white  limestones,  and  these  fringed  by  a  border  of  coral- 
reef  rock.  Penetrating  the  older  rocks  are  dikes  of  ancient 
volcanic  material. 

The  smaller  islets  are  marked  by  stretches  of  coral  and 


THE  VIRGIN  ISLANDS  AND  ST.  CBOIX  1  1 

shell-sand  overgrown  by  cocoloba  and  cactus,  largely  prick ly- 
'I'hey  are  all  more  or  less  densely  covered  by  vege- 
tati«.!i  similar  to  that  of  nil  the  Lesser  Antilles.  The  trees 
mi  t  lu»  windward  sides  are  rough  and  shaggy,  and  are  bent 
downward  against  the  land  by  the  wind.  On  the  leeward 
or  sheltered  sides,  palms,  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers  grow  in 
profusion,  while  aloes,  cacti,  and  thorny  shrubs  occur  in 
the  more  arid  spots. 

Even  this  small  group  of  islands  is  divided  among  vari- 
ous nationalities,  much  to  their  detriment  Crab  and  <  'ul«- 
bra,  which  have  already  been  described  under  the  head  of 
Porto  Rico,  are  Spanish.  The  Danes  own  the  islands  of 
liomas  and  8t  John.  Anegada,  Virgin  Gorda,  Tor- 
tola,  and  a  number  of  smaller  islets  belong  to  Great  Bri  t  a  i  1 1 . 

The  English  Virgins  constitute  a  crown  colony  of  Great 
ud  are  ruled  by  a  commissioner  who  is  responsi- 
ble to  the  governor  of  the  Leeward  Islands  colony,  \vhi<  h 
has  its  capital  at  Antigua.    They  have  a  total  area  of  only 
ii  i  i  irtv-three  square  miles  and  a  decay  ing  population,  v. 
numbered  8506  in  1881,  and  8340  in  1891.    Their  inhabi- 
tants are  what  Great  Britain  graciously  terms  peasant 
!  s— negroes  supporting  themselves  by  the  cult  i  vn- 
tion  of  small  crops  of  yams  and  other  foods  upon  which 
the  white  man  could  not  live,  and  by  fishing. 

In  all  the  islands  the  majority  <»f  tin*  population  is  com- 
posed of  negroes,  above  whom  are  the  white  colonial  offi- 
cials of  the  government,  who  constitute  a  kind  of  local 
aristocracy.  The  negroes,  as  a  rule,  are  thoroughly  con- 
t.-nt  and  orderly,  being  allowed  a  sufficient  degree  of 
democracy  in  the  local  government  to  k-  •  p  thorn  loyal 
Besides  these  two  classes  there  are  a  few  white  creole 
planters,  the  remnants  of  a  vanishing  stock  which  was  once 
the  chief  element  of  the  population,  but  has  gradually 
migrated  to  more  prosperous  lands,  leaving  behind  weak 
shed  descendants— excellent  people,  who  are 
to  be  pitied. 

These  small  islands  are  now  unimportant.    The  only 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  KIOO 

one  vhieh  is  at  all  conspicuous  is  St.  Thomas,  which  was 
fonm  rly  t  ho  commercial  metropolis  of  the  \\ « >t  Indies,  and 
whidi  still  ranks  inong  the  Lesser  Antilles,  to 

Bridgetown,  Barbados,  and  Port  of  Spain,  Trini.lad.    Its 
capital,  which  all  the  world  calls  St.  Thomas,  is  officially 
known  as  Chariot te  Amalia.    It  has  a  population  of  < 
ten  thou-aii'i.  and  is  the  seat  of  government  of  the  Danish 
West  Indian  Islands. 

St.  Thomas  is  built  on  three  hills  running  in  a  parallel 
line  on  the  northern  or  inner  extremity  of  the  hay,  with 
Mill  higher  hills  beyond.  The  many-colored  houses  and 
the  vegetation  make  a  very  pretty  picture,  i-sp.  < -ially  when 
viewed  from  the  sea.  Kingsley  described  the  town  as  "  a  col- 
lection of  scarlet  and  purple  roofs  piled  up  among  orange- 
t  r-  es,  at  the  foot  of  hills  some  eight  hundred  feet  high ;  a 
veritable  Dutch  oven  for  cooking  fever  in,  with  as  veritable 
a  dripping-pan  for  the  poison  when  concoct.  <1  in  the  tide- 
less  basin  below  the  town,  as  ever  man  invented.  The 
beach  of  St.  Thomas  is  lined  by  the  usual  tro]>i<  al  fringe 
of  cocoan  tit-trees,  though  here  they  look  more  sad  and 
shabby  than  elsewhere.  Above  these,  on  the  cliffs,  are 
tall  aloes,  gray-blue  een-i  like  huge  brand.  delabra, 

and  bushes,  the  foliage  of  which  is  utterly  unlike  anything 
of  the  temperate  climes,  while  still  hi-li. -r  the  bright  deep 
green  of  patches  of  guinea-grass  and  a  few  fruit-trees  may 
be  seen  around  some  island  cottage." 

The  city  is  lighted  with  gas,  possesses  a  th<  a 
club-houses,  and  several  hotels,  as  well  as  a  slip  on  wlii.-h 
small  vessels  can  be  repaired.  i « i  i  »al  street  f ol  I 

the  shore  line;  l.ehind  it  an   tiers  of  houses  covering  the 
slopes  of  the  hill  whieh  rises  from  the  harhor.    The  h 
est  point  of  the  island,  behind  the  city,  i<  1560  feet,  ami  it 
affords  a  beautiful  view  of  the  surrounding  waters,  with 
•ids. 

The  harbor  is  a  nearly  eiivular  basin  on  the  south  - 
easy  of  access  and  sheltered  from  the  trade-wind-.     It  has 
been  visited  by  terrible  hurricanes,  especially  in  lsli»,  1837, 


THE  VIRGIN   ISLANDS  AND  ST.  CBOIX  313 

and  1867.  For  the  accommodation  of  larger  ships  there  is 
a  floating  dock  belonging  to  the  Royal  Mail  Steamship  Com- 
]  .any,  which  is  much  resorted  to  for  the  docking  of  steamers. 
The  same  company  has  also  a  large  stock  of  coal,  and  a 
factory  fitted  up  with  the  necessary  appliances  for  keep- 
ing its  il.-..t  in  ivpair.  The  Hamburg- American  Packet 
Company  makes  St.  Thomas  its  West  India  headquarters 
and  coaling-station,  and  many  American  and  European 
steamers  stop  there.  It  is  still  the  terminus  of  the  north- 
ern route  of  the  Royal  Mail  auxiliary  steamers,  whi«-h 
branch  out  in  every  direction  from  Barbados.  Steamers 
also  run  at  frequent  intervals  from  St.  Thomas  to  Porto 
Rico,  thirty-eight  miles  to  the  westward;  also  to  San 
Domingo  and  Haiti.  The  island  is  in  telegraphic  com- 
munication with  Europe  and  the  principal  islands  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  is  the  headquarters  of  tho  \\Vst  India 
and  Panama  Telegraph  Company,  which  connects  with  the 
United  States. 

Nearly  every  language  is  spoken  in  St.  Thomas,  English 
predominating.  The  official  language  is  Danish,  but 
Spanish,  Dutch,  and  French  are  also  spoken.  Trollope 
describes  St.  Thomas  as  a  "  niggery,  Hispaflo,  Dano,  Yan- 
kee Doodle  sort  of  place,  with  a  general  flavor  of  sherry- 
cobbler." 

St.  Thomas  has  been  declining  for  many  years,  for  vari- 
ous reasons.  The  supplanting  of  sailing-ships  by  steamers 
was  the  first  great  blow ;  then  the  construction  of  cables 
was  detrimental  to  the  business  of  the  place  as  an  inter- 
mediary port.  Between  1870  and  1880  trade  took  wings, 
the  old  commercial  importance  of  the  island  disappeared, 
and  Denmark  tried  to  sell  it  to  the  United  States,  offering 
it  an. I  St.  John  for  $4,750,000.  The  inhabitants,  sharing 
the  universal  desire  of  the  West  Indian  people  for  annexa- 
ti"ii  to  the  United  States,  gave  their  unanimous  consent 
to  the  arrangement,  but  our  government  declined  to  rn* 
the  purchase.  As  a  final  blow,  the  Royal  Mail  Steamship 
Company,  the  great  English  distributing  line,  which  is  so 


314  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

important  a  factor  in  th««  Wrst  Indies,  removed  its  head- 
quarters to  Barbados.  It  is  estimated  that  this  removal 
caused  a  loss  of  many  thousand  pounds  a  year  to  the 
island. 

The  production  of  sugar  in  St.  Thomas  has  been  falling 
off  since  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  1848,  and  it  is  here  that 
the  traveler,  proceeding  southward  through  the  Caribbee 
Islands,  sees  upon  landing  those  ever-present  signs  of 
natural  decay,  the  abandoned  sugar-houses  and  -mills, 
though  nature  conceals  the  old  cane-fields  by  rapidly 
spreading  over  them  her  mantle  of  ti«  i  i-al  vegetation. 
The  cultivation  of  aloes  and  fibrous  plants  is  being  tried, 
but  not  with  any  particular  prospect  of  success.  There 
are  also  plantations  of  divi-divi  trees  and  the  usual  tropi- 
cal fruits. 

The  healthf  ulness  of  the  place  has  been  greatly  improved 
of  late  years  by  cutting  a  channel  which  gives  another 
outlet  from  its  harbor  to  the  sea,  thereby  creating  currents 
which  remove  the  filth,  an  experiment  that  suggests  the 
possibilities  of  Havana  in  the  same  line. 

St.  John,  which  also  belongs  to  the  Danes,  lies  almost 
within  gunshot  of  St.  Thomas,  to  the  east,  and  is  very 
similar  to  the  latter  in  general  aspects;  but  as  it  is  away 
from  the  paths  of  ocean  trade,  it  is  obliged  to  live  upon  its 
own  meager  internal  resources.  It  has  a  port  called  Coral 
Bay,  which  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  best  harbors  of  refuge 
in  tho  Antilles.  The  capital  of  the  island  is  an  obscure 
village  on  the  northern  side. 

Tortola  succeeds  St  John  to  the  northeast.    It  is  trav- 
ersed by  a  central  ridge  which  culminates  in  a  peak 
eighteen  hundred  feet  high.    It  is  the  largest  of  the  Bri  t  i  -  h 
Virgins,  and  presents  a  very  rocky  and  precipitous  configu- 
ration.  The  absence  of  forests  on  the  mountains  cont  ril 
to  its  rugged  appearance.     The  island  is  eighteen  miles 
from  east  to  west,  and  seven  from  north  to  south,     i 
very  poorly  watered,  and  abounds  in  waste  lands  and 
pasturage.    The  soil  is  not  good  enough  for  sugar,  though 


THE  VIRGIN  ISLANDS  AND  ST.  CKOIX 

cane  has  been  grown  there.  This  island  was  a  great 
stronghold  of  the  bucaneers,  but  afterward  fell  into  the 
hands  nt  the  peaceful  Quakers,  who  freed  the  slaves  and 
made  them  grants  of  land.  The  emancipated  negroes  then 
deserted  the  island,  and  many  of  the  impoverished  whites 
•  iui.-kly  followed  them,  so  that  the  population  fell  from 
eleven  thousand  to  four  thousand.  Road  Town,  on  the 
south  side,  is  the  capital  of  the  English  Virgin  Islands 


Virgin  Gorda,  or  Spanish  Town  Island,  also  British,  is 
nearly  eight  miles  long,  of  irregular  shape,  and  v.-ry  nar- 
row at  both  ends.  It  contains  fifty-two  thousand  acres, 
and  has  a  rocky  coast  ;  it  is  arid,  almost  uninhabited,  and 
nearly  surrounded  by  dangerous  reefs.  Its  former  con- 
siderable plantations  are  now  largely  abandoned. 

Extending  northward  from  Virgin  Gorda  are  a  number 
of  small,  uninhabited,  rocky  islets,  which  con-t  it  ut«»  a  men- 
ace to  navigation.  Anegada,  or  Drown  Island,  the  most 
northeasterly  of  the  group,  about  twelve  miles  long  and 
two  miles  wide,  is  surrounded  by  the  famous  Horseshoe 
Beef.  The  island  is  low,  and  the  sea  often  breaks  over  it. 
The  few  inhabitants  are  principally  engaged  in  raising 

tfoats,  sli.-fp.  and  ruttlr.     Tin*  iv\vnui-  <>f  th»-  Maud  is  v.-ry 

small,  and  the  trade  is  almost  exclusively  with  St.  Thomas 
and  St.  Croix. 

It  has  been  said  that  as  a  great  work  of  nature  th< 
gin  Islands  seem  full  of  intelligent  design  ;  but  as  cultivable 
lands  they  do  not,  in  their  present  condition,  show  that 
much  success  has  attended  the  efforts  of  man.  The  white 
men  who  formerly  inhabited  them  are  rapidly  leaving,  and 
the  blacks  are  following  them,  though  more  slowly. 

St.  Croix,  or  Santa  Cruz,  lies  to  the  southeast  of  Porto 
o,  and  due  south  of  the  Virgin  Islands,  isolated  from 
the  other  islands,  but  more  Antillean  than  Caribbean  in  its 
geognostic  aspects.  Its  area  is  seventy-four  square  miles. 
It  has  a  high  and  sharp  configuration,  with  deep  cliffs 
near  the  shore  and  many  low  hills  in  the  interior,  all  cov- 


316  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

ered  with  beautiful  vegetation.  Hearn  has  told  of  the 
"  wonderful  variation  of  foliage  color  that  meets  the  eye." 
"  Gold-greens,  sap-greens,  bluish  and  metallic  greens  of 
many  tints,  reddish  greens,  yellowish  greens.  The  cane- 
fields  are  broad  sheets  of  beautiful  gold-green,  and  nearly 
as  bright  are  the  masses  of  pomme-cannelle  frondescence, 
the  groves  of  lemon  and  orange ;  while  tamarinds  and  ma- 
hoganies are  heavily  somber.  Everywhere  palm-crests 
soar  above  the  wood-lines  and  tremble  with  a  metallic 
shimmering  in  the  blue  light." 

The  island  is  Denmark's  largest  American  possession, 
but  the  nineteen  thousand  inhabitants,  mostly  blacks, 
speak  English,  and  give  no  signs  of  their  nationality  beyond 
a  little  garrison  and  its  flag. 

There  are  many  magnificent  drives  through  avenues 
of  cocoa- palms,  tamarind- trees,  and  ceibas.  Frangipani, 
bananas,  cacti,  and  jasmine  are  cultivated  everywhere. 
The  sugar-planters  have  endeavored  to  live  by  adopting 
new  methods  and  machinery,  and  are  better  off  than  those 
of  the  English  islands;  but  there  are  many  abandoned 
plantations  and  buildings  going  to  decay.  Several  New 
England  ship-captains  have  become  planters  on  the  island 

The  temperature  ranges  from  66°  to  82°.  The  lower 
temperature  is  considered  exceedingly  cold  by  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  is  usually  the  southern  fringe  of  the  extreme  cold 
waves  which  occasionally  sweep  the  eastern  United  States. 

There  are  two  towns,  Frederiksted  and  Christ iansted, 
which  are  generally  called  West  End  and  Basse  End  re- 
spectively. Frederiksted,  when  viewed  from  the  sea, 
looks  like  a  beautiful  Spanish  town,  with  Romanesque 
piazzas,  churches,  and  many-arched  buildings  peeping 
through  breaks  in  the  breadfruit-,  mango-,  tamarind-,  and 
palm-trees ;  but  on  entering  the  streets  you  find  yourself 
iu  a  crumbling  town  with  dilapidated,  two-story  buildings, 
from  which  the  stucco  or  paint  is  falling.  The  fissures  in 
the  walls  and  the  tumbling  roofs  may  be  largely  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  .  ity  was  sacked  by  the  negroes,  who  revolt  c-1 


I  HE   VIRGIN   ISLANDS  AND   8T.  CEOIX  317 

in  1878.  A  broad  paved  square  is  the  market-place,  where 
I!M-  darkies  stand  or  squat  upon  the  ground,  with  their 
wares  piled  at  their  feot.  Tin-  <  ity  is  full  of  short,  thick- 
set women  carrying  bundles  upon  their  heads  and  wearing 
bright  «>ttonade  stuffs,  chatting  loudly  in  an 
jargon. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE  CARIBBEE  ISLANDS 

Classification  into  volcanic  and  calcareous  subgroup*.  The  Angnillan 
subgroup.  Sombrero.  Anguilla.  8t  Barts.  8t  Martin.  Bar- 
buda.  Antigua. 

STRETCHING  like  the  piers  of  a  bridge  across  th<« 
•  ii trance  to  the  Caribbean  Sea,  from  the  Auegada 
Passage  to  Trinidad,  is  a  chain  of  beautiful  lands  which 
may  be  called  the  Caribbee  Islands.  They  rise  from  a 
narrow  submarine  bank,  like  the  Antilles,  but  have  a  nort  h- 
and-south  trend,  directly  at  right  angles  to  that  of  the 
latter,  and  separated  therefrom  by  the  deep  Auegada  Pas- 
sage, each  chain  probably  representing  the  survival  of 
what  were  great  islands  in  former  geologic  times. 

1  'rimarily  the  Caribbees  are  composed  of  a  long  chain  of 
old  volcanic  islands,  upon  the  summits  of  some  of  whi.-h 
the  volcanic  fires  are  still  somnolent,  bordered  on 
windward  or  Atlantic  side  of  the  north  end  of  the  quad- 
rant by  great  banks  of  white  calcareous  rocks  \vhi.-h  have 
been  elevated  from  the  sea  as  a  kind  of  shelf  or  appendage 
to  the  main  volcanic  chain.    The  main  rhaiu  of  islands 
will  be  called  the  Caribbees,  and  the  calcareous  outlier- 
Anguillan  subgroup. 

These  calcareous  islands  occur  in  parallel  alinemental<>ni; 
the  northeast  side  of  the  main  Caribbean  chain,  extending 
from  Sombrero  to  Maria  Gnluntr  inrhisive.    They  coi 
of  the  islands  of  Sombrero,  Anguilla,  St.  Bartholomew, 

ni 


THE  CARIBIiEE   ISLANDS  319 

St.  Martin,  Barbuda,  Antigua  (in  part),  the  Grande-Terre 
of  Guadeloupe,  and  Maria  Galante.  Inasmuch  as  these 
are  of  secondary  importance  to  the  main  .-Lain,  they  will 
be  but  briefly  discussed. 

Sombrero,  the  most  northern  of  the  islands,  is  so  named 
because  at  a  di>  looks  like  a  grayish  hat  floating  on 

the  sea.  It  is  a  small  and  Uirren  mass  of  calcareous  rock, 
— <>M  beach  debris  elevated  into  laud,— and  was  considered 
of  no  value  until  Americans  developed  extensive  phosphate 
deposits  upon  it,  u  hi.-h  are  now  nearly  exhausted.  Near 
by  is  a  cluster  of  rocks  called  the  Dogs,  from  tln-ir  resem- 
blance to  a  pack  of  houi:  11  chase  over  the  waves. 

Anguilla  is  fourteen  miles  long  and  three  miles  broad. 
It  is  a  long,  low,  treeless,  and  unfruitful  area.  Of  its 
population  of  twenty-five  hundred  less  than  one  hundred 
are  white.  Several  small  outlying  islands  are  associated 
\\ith  Anguilla  in  form  ing  a  British  colony,  whieh  is  under 
tli"  general  government  of  St.  Kitts.  Pasturage  is  the 
principal  resource.  The  people  raise  small  ponies  that 
graze  on  the  salt-grass  along  the  beach.  Some  phosphate 
of  lime,  salt,  a  little  tobacco,  corn  and  cattle  are  produced. 

St.  Bartholomew,  familiarly  called  St.  Barts,  is  on  the 
southern  extremity  of  a  bank  from  which  rise  also  Anguilla 
and  St.  Martin.  It  is  a  narrow  island,  only  eight  square 
miles  in  area,  the  whole  surface  of  which  is  mountainous, 
eulmiuatini:  in  a  limestone  hill  one  thousand  feet  lii-li. 
The  place  has  no  fresh  water,  although  many  brackish 
lagoons  occur  along  the  coast.  The  geological  formations 
-land,  except  the  fringe  of  recent  rocks,  are  mostly 
old  Tertiary  limestones.  The  surface  is  a  very  stony  soil 
composed  of  rock  fragments  and  boulders.  The  mountain 
masses  contain  older  igneous  rocks— a  kind  of  syenitie 
poi  i  conglomerates  and  breccias  occur  in  number- 

Tho  island  is  an  adiuii.  e  dependency  of  Guade- 

loupe.   The  capital  is  Fort  Oustave;  the  people,  mainly  of 
:u  h  descent,  speak  English.    It  was  originally  settled 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  BIOO 

by  the  French,  who  held  possession  until  17S4,  when  it 
was  traded  to  Sweden;  1-ut  in  1878,  France  purchased  it 
back. 

St.  Mai-tin,  thirty-'ML'ht  Mjiiaiv  mil.--  in  aiva,  i<  almost 
•.rnia!  in  outline  and  composed  of  many  lofty  rnniral 
hills,  culminating  on  tin-  north  side  in  Paradise  Peak,  1920 
feet  liiirli,  while  other  peaks  follow  to  the  south.  The  west 
side  is  marked  by  stretches  of  a  low-lying  peninsula  known 
as  Basse-Torre.  Along  the  shores  are  many  large  lagoons, 
and  in  the  interior  several  rivulets  and  permanent  springs. 
It  is  diversified  by  lofty  mountains  and  broad  plains.  On 
the  lower  slopes  and  hillsides  are  fertile  plantations,  while 
the  heights  are  covered  with  dense  forest.  The  rocks  are 
largely  composed  of  silicious  limestone  intersected  by 
dikes  of  greenstone  and  diorite,  all  of  which  are  bordered 
by  the  more  recent  formations  of  white  granular  li 
stone. 

The   political   complexion  of   St.  Martin    is  pecul 
Seventeen  square  miles  of  the  northern  section  belong  to 
France,  and  the  rest  to  Holland,  while  the  settlers,  largely 
blacks,  are  jn *in< -ipally   British,  who  outnumber  both  the 
Dutch  and  French.    About  three  thousand  of  th<   inhabi- 
tants are  in  the  French  portion  of  the  island,  and  five  1 1 
sand  in  the  Dutch. 

The  French  capital,  <>n  the  west  side,  is  a  queer  place  by 
the  name  of  Marigot ;  it  is  a  free  port  and  has  a  little  ship- 
ping. The  Dutch  town  Phili;  sburg  lies  on  a  narrow  beach 
at  the  south  side.  Like  all  the  other  West  Indies,  this 
island  was  once  the  seat  of  sugars  nit  un,  but  the  inhabi- 
tants are  now  generally  engaged  in  making  salt  and  raising 
provisions. 

Barbuda  lies  thirty  miles  northeast  of  Antigua,  well  out 
in  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Its  area  is  sixty-two  sqna 

-  low  and  flat,  consisting  of  two  general  levels,  one  of 
which  hardly  rises  more  than  five  feet  above  the  sea,  ex< 
near  the  eastern  side,  where  a  terraced  table-land 
one  hundred  and  fifteen  feet  in  height.    On  a  misty  day 


THE  CABIBBEE  ISLANDS  321 

;he  island  is  hardly  visible,  and  many  shipwrecks  occur. 

In  former  years  these  a«-«'i«l«-iit8  were  the  chief  support  of 
the  population,  who  made  tlu-ir  living  by  wrecking.  The 
absence  of  a  lighthouse  makes  navigation  dangerous. 
Barbuda  is  composed  entirely  of  granular  shell-debris,  ele- 
vated by  geological  action.  The  surface  is  covered  by  a 
dense  thicket  of  chaparral,  with  a  few  good-sized  trees 
jrn»\viii£  upon  th«*  thin  linifstonf  soil.  Notwithstanding 
assertions  to  the  contrary,  the  land  is  unfit  for  general 
agriculture.  As  there  are  no  running  streams,  the  inhabi- 
tants are  dependent  upon  cisterns,  while  the  wild  animals 
live  upon  such  rain-water  as  is  caught  in  the  cracks  and 
crevices  of  the  rocks.  Nearly  all  the  European  domestic 
animals  introduced  in  former  centuries  have  run  wild; 
goats,  horses,  cattle,  and  cats  have  returned  to  their  prime- 
val state,  while  hundreds  of  English  fallow-deer  are  found. 
The  African  guinea-fowl  is  here  in  great  abundance,  and 
is  as  shy  and  timid  as  the  American  quail.  Wild  dogs 
also  abound. 

Politically  Barbuda  is  a  parish  of  Antigua,  being  admin- 
istered by  a  resident  justice  of  the  peace,  whose  business 
it  is  to  look  after  poachers.  His  staff  consists  of  a  school- 
teacher and  a  midwife.  For  three  hundred  years  it  was 
a  hunting-preserve  of  the  Codrington  family  of  Barbados, 
whose  name  so  frequently  appears  in  the  annals  of  the 
British  W.-st  Indies,  and  it  has  never  been  opened  to  set- 
tl'-ment.  Nevertheless,  the  island  has  been  squatted  upon 
by  a  hardy  race  of  negroes,  who  have  developed  into  a 
peculiar  class,  noted  throughout  the  West  Indies  for  their 
splen*  1  i<  1 1 1 1  ysical  development  and  ability  as  sailors.  They 
are  restricted  by  the  company  owning  the  island  to  the  use 
of  a  few  acres  of  land  ;  and  although  they  are  n 
initted  by  law  to  gather  a  stick  of  wood,  to  kill  the  wiM 
uals,  or  to  fish  inshore,  they  manage  to  poach  a  good 
living.  Thoy  live  in  a  village  which  is  perhaps  more  thor- 
oughly African  than  any  other  in  the  New  World.  The 
huts  are  of  the  most  primitive  African  type,  composed  of 


CUBA  AND   PORTO  RICO 

wickerwork   with   thatched  roofs,  ea«-h   «  n<  ii-  Ld  by  a 
",  and  so  huddled  t<>:  .at  in  order  to  walk 

through  the  village  one  follows  serpentine  paths  barely 
wide  enough  for  a  single  person. 

At  present  the  island  is  leased  by  a  Scotch  company, 
\vhirh  derives  a  small  revenue  from  hunting  the  deer  for 
their  hides,  and  rutting  the  yellow  sandalwood.  The 
overseer,  the  only  white  man  on  the  island,  lives  in  com- 
fort in  the  one  eiviliz»-d  Imildintf,  known  as  the  Great 
House,  which  was  formerly  the  Codrington  hunting-lodge. 

Barbuda  has  been  seldom  visited  by  travelers;  in  fact, 
the  writer  is  one  of  the  few  who  have  had  an  opportunity 
to  explore  it  within  recent  years,  thanks  to  t  h»- 
Mr.  Donald  Dougald,  the  genial  Scotch  agent,  who  kindly 
granted  the  hospitality  of  his  private  schooner  and  the 
attendance  of  his  servants  upon  the  island. 

There  are  several  ruins  of  old  forts,— strongholds  l.nilt 
by  England  during  the  last  century,— whose  massive  walls 
and  round  towers  are  still  found  in  various  parts  of  the 
island,  reminders  of  the  days  when  every  foot  of  the  West 
Indies  was  so  valiantly  struggled  for  by  the  European 
nations. 

The  island  has  no  harbor,  and  lauding  is  made  through 
the  surf  on  the  backs  of  sailors,  who  deposit  one  on  a  beach 
of  shell-sand.  In  the  distance  this  beach  looks  Ilk.-  a  nar- 
row band  of  white  intercalated  between  the  blue  of  th<> 
ocean  and  the  green  of  the  land.  Upon  close  ap 
however,  beaut  it  ul  blushes  of  carmine  can  be  seen  to  glow 
and  fade  away  with  each  dash  of  the  ocean  MI!  t.  These 
blushes  vie  in  color  with  the  iridescent  tints  of  the  royal 
Caribbean  sunsets.  This  phenomenon  was  easily  explained 
upon  close  examination.  Each  wash  of  the  waves  brings 
up  millions  of  tiny  pink  shells,  which  are  deep  red  whil«* 
wet,  but  fade  as  they  dry  between  long  rolls  of  the  surf. 

ua  is  the  principal  island  of  the  Leeward  group,  of 
which  it  is  the  political  capital,  l>.-ing  the  residence  of  tin- 
governor  and  his  staff.  Until  recent  years  this  was  one  of 


STREET  SHOWING  CATHEDRAL  AND  PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  ST.  JOHN 


•MH  mm 

AMI., I    V 


THE  CARIBBEE   ISLANDS 

the  most  valuable  of  K  '•<  possessions  in  the  Lesser 

Antilles.  The  north* m  half  consists  of  undulating  plains 
of  calcareous  formation,  like  Sombrero  and  Barbuda,  while 
tli''  southern  side  is  of  a  more  mountainous  type,  composed 
of  old  volcanic  tuffs  and  covered  with  forests. 

On  the  west  side  is  the  principal  and  practically  the  only 
port  at  present  utilized,  that  of  St.  John.  The  town  lies 
at  tin*  inn*  rend  of  a  magnificent  oblong  bay,  with  a  pictur- 
esque island  in  its  center.  This  bay  is  so  shallow,  howe 
that  steamers  are  obliged  to  lie  five  miles  away  from  the 
city  and  load  from  lighters.  An  immense  sum  has  been 
expended  in  preparing  to  dredge  a  channel  to  the  city,  but 
through  some  financial  difficulty  the  machinery  lies  in  the 
harbor  unutilized.  St.  John  is  a  pleasant  place,  consisting 
of  large  and  commodious  frame  houses  situated  upon  clean, 
well-graded,  and  macadamized  streets.  There  are  many 
public  buildings,  handsome  gardens  and  lawns,  the  public 
institutions  all  being  models  of  neatness  and  order.  There 
is  an  imposing  English  cathedral.  A  good  public  library, 
freely  patronized  by  the  inhabitants,  is  found  upo»  one  of 
the  central  streets. 

Royal  Harbor,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  island,  was  the 
headquarters  of  the  British  admiralty  in  the  West  Indies 
during  the  French  wars.  The  gateway  leading  into  this 
harbor  from  the  landward  side  is  now  guarded  by  a  single 
marine,  and  the  massive  buildings  in  which  English  naval 
heroes  were  formerly  quartered  are  silent  and  deserted. 

Most  of  Antigua  is  in  a  state  of  cultivation,  being  laid 
out  in  neat  plantations  with  extensive  manor-houses  and 
sugar-mills,  while  finely  constructed  roads  lead  to  all  parts 
of  the  island.  Each  estate  has  extensive  sugar-houses, 
with  huge  Dutch  windmills  for  grinding  cane,  although 
steam  machinery  has  been  largely  introduced,  and  the 
people  believe  that  the  introduction  of  improved  processes 
will  l.ont'fit  them.  The  population  is  36,119,  mostly  blacks, 
yet  the  land  is  held  by  less  than  sixty  owners.  The  white 
planters— intelligent  and  respectable  Englishmen  or  their 


AND  r<>i;i"   i;i.  <» 

descendants— arc  reduced  in  «-in  u  instances,  and  presei 
the  stranger  the  aspect  of  a  refined  1>ut  impoverished  peo- 
ple, bravely  endeavoring  to  keep  up  appearances.    The 
negroes  are  orderly,  well  educated  in  the  elementary 
branches,  and  willing  laborers  at  less  than  a  shilling  a  <1 
but  even  these  show  poverty  in  th»*ir  emaciated  forms,  tl 
depressed  manner,  and  the  lack  of  that  luster  of  complex- 
ion which  always  indicates  the  well-fed  blink. 

The  economic  condition  of  Antigua  is  indeed  pitiful. 
Of  the  total  exports  of  the  island  ninety-six  per  cen 
sugar,  and  !•••! \\.-.-n  the  years  1882  and  1896  the  value  of 
the  sugar  exports  decreased  fully  one  half.  In  former 
times  it  was  one  of  the  most  productive  of  the  sugar 
islands,  but  has  suffered  from  falling  prices  and  the  con- 
stant strain  upon  the  soil  of  over-rulti  vat  ion.  The  scrawny 
cane-fields  require  a  greater  outlay  in  f»-rtili/.«-rs  than  ; 
can  possibly  return  in  profit ;  furthermore,  the  cane  is  sub- 
ject to  mildews  and  other  parasitic  fungi  which  sap  its 
vitality.  Arroinpanyiug  this  struggle  to  maintain  th. 
sugar  industry  tin -re  has  been  a  falling  off  of  wages  of  the 
hosts  of  laborers  who  are  dependent  upon  it.  It  <ii<l  not 
require  the  evidence  taken  before  the  late  British;  Sugar 
Commission  to  show  that  poverty  is  increasing,  houses 
falling  int«>  i«l  that  jreuerally  a  state  of  depres- 

sion exists,  which  must  eventually  cause  still  more  sufiVr- 
ing  and   discontent    So   far  as   the  •  nltnn   of  •  -ane  is 
concerned,  the  people  have  availed  themselves  of  e\ 
method  of  modern  agriculture.    The  government  supports 
ach<  mi.  a  1  laboratory  where  the  needs  of  the  soil  n 
fully  stu.li.'d,  as  well  as  the  diseases  of  the  cane,  yet  the 
crop  is  constantly  decreasing  in  quantity  as  \\.-ll  as  depre- 

n  value.  Most  of  the  sugar  is  still  mad« 
muscovado  process,  owing  to  the  special  fitness  of  the  soil 
for  producing  a  cane-juice  yielding  a  rich  ami  valuable 
quality  «.f  molasses.  As  in  all  places  which  depend  on  the 
>rt  of  muscovado  sugar,  the  great  fall  in  molasses  has 
been  another  blow  to  tl 


A   SUBURBAN    HIGHWAY 


VIEW   Of   CITY   AND   HARBOR 

ST.    JOHN,     IXTKil    \ 


THE  CARIBBEE  ISLANDS 

England  has  done  all  within  her  power  to  give  this 
island  civilization,  l>ut,  with  th<»  «l«M-ivas«»  in  the  price  of 
sugar,  government  expomlit  mvs  have  rapidly  grown,  owing 
lurp-ly  to  thf  att.-iiipts  t«»  improv.-  tin-  harlM.r:  and  th.- 
public  revenue  is  now  far  less  than  the  expenses.  It 
sugar  in. lii-try  fails,  the  future  of  Antigua  will  be  more 
gloomy  than  that  of  the  other  islands,  its  capabilities  being 
less  and  its  liability  to  droughts  and  hurricanes  greater. 
The  local  trade,  once  in  the  hands  of  ri.-h  Knglish  mer- 
chants, is  now  rapidly  falling  into  the  hands  of  a  people 
who  are  known  as  Portuguese,  but  in  reality  are  natives 
of  the  Azores. 

Grande-Terre (Guadeloupe),  Desirade,  and  Maria  Oalan to, 
which  by  natural  affinities  belong  to  the  Anguillau  group, 
are  politically  essential  parts  of  Guadeloupe,  and  will  later 
be  described  with  that  island. 


CHAPTER 

THE  VOLCANIC  CARIBBEE8 

Singular  beauty  of  the  inland*     Flora,  fauna,  and  geological  character. 
Saba.     8t  Euatatiua     8t  Christopher.     Nevi&     Montaerrat 

THE  symmetrical  row  of  true  Caribbees  begins  with 
Saba,  on  the  north,  and  ends  with  Grenada,  on  the 
south.  It  consists  of  eleven  conspicuous  members,  in- 
cluding, in  order,  the  islands  of  Saba,  St.  Eustatius,  St. 
Christopher  (St.  Kitts),  Nevis,  Montserrat,  < 
I>Mininira,  Martinique,  >  i,  St.  Vincent,  and  Grenada. 

This  group  is  perfectly  nlined  in  a  flattened  crescent,  the 
concave  side  of  which  faces  westward;  its  members  o<*<  ur 
at  remarkably  regular  intervals,  averaging  about  thirty 
miles.    They  are  extraordinarily  alike  in  configure 
rlininte,  and  economic  possibilities,  and  yet 
different  in  natural  aspect  from  any  other  West  Indian 
group. 

A  beautiful  sight  presents  itself  to  the  traveler  who  sails 
down  the  inner  side  of  the  Caribbee  Islands  and  views 
from  the  steamer's  deck  these  wonderful  lands  as  t 
pass  in  rapid  procession,  rising  almost  iy  from  the 

<1«  p-l,lue  sea,  which  on  this  side  is  onli:  t  glassy 

smoothness.  Each  island  seems  to  float  in  the  atmosphere 
between  the  azure  waters  and  the  wraith  of  mi-ty  <  louds 
which  en\v  summits;  the  gorgeous  colors  on 

slopes  present,  under  the  various  influences  of  tli.  «l..u<l- 
tempered  lights,  every  shade  of  delicate  tn»pi<al  vegetation. 


THE  VOLCANIC  r.A*nanm 

When  thus  viewed  the  islands  appear  as  Edens  of  loveliness. 
Their  general  tone  is  fresh  and  green,  or,  in  comparison 
\Mt  h  the  other  islands,  more  somber,  for  the  glaring  whites 
so  conspicuous  where  limestones  and  shell-sand  aboun<l 
are  entirely  missing  here. 

While  precipitous  to  an  astonishing  degree,  they  are  not 
craggy  or  angular,  hut  rise  in  great  carves  and  slopes  to 
the  rounded  summits  of  the  high  monies  which  crown 
th.'in.  These  mountains  are  peaks,  but  not  pointed,  and 
while  appeal -ing  everywhere,  they  do  not  occur  in  regular 
crests  or  ridges,  but  are  arranged  in  intangible  masses. 
From  the  sea  the  slopes  appear  so  steep  that  the  beholder 
constantly  wonders  h<>\v  human  beings  can  find  upon  them 
foothold  to  till  the  cult  i\  ated  areas  or  to  travel  from  place 
I-  | .la.-,,  through  the  jungle  of  verdure;  yet  one  will  see 
here  and  there,  surrounded  by  the  more  somber  forests, 
bright  patches  of  green  cane  accompanied  by  large  groups 
of  houses.  In  a<Min<>n  to  its  own  matchless  verdure, each 
island  is  ornamental  with  palms,  roses, and  exotic  plants 
brought  from  all  parts  of  the  world  by  the  former  inhabi- 
tants. Here  the  gigantic  banian  of  India  grows  beside  the 
African  date-tree  and  the  traveler's  palm  of  Madagascar. 

Ashore,  so  far  as  nature  is  concerned,  the  illusion  is  not 
dispelled.  The  vast  moni.-s,  .-lifts,  and  ravines  are  disked 
with  »»\vry  .l.-lieate  species  of  deciduous  vegetation,  from 
ferns  that  entangle  the  feet  to  forest  giants  that  . -a>t  their 
shade  from  high  overhead.  These  are  moistened  by  p-n- 
tle  daily  rains,  giving  the  delicious  odors  and  aspect  of  a 
laiHlsrajM'  atVr  a  sunnier  .  Nature  has  been  no 

less  generous  in  her  bestowal  of  limpid  waters  than  in  her 
v«'iMnl  l"»unti«'<:  i»v.-ry\vh.-iv  tln-r.-  ar«>  runniui:  -t '•••;. ms 
springs,  fountains,  and  cascades,  so  copious  and  abundant 
that  it  is  a  >f  wonder  how  watersheds  so  small  can 

supply  th.'in.    TlM>  pi.'tuivs.jne  houses  of  the  European 
l«>nts,  t.uilt  in  the  styles  of  former  centuries,  and  the 
vari.-'l  .hvss  ami  habits  of  the  peculiar  people  are  «• 
interesting,  especially  in  the  five  central  islands  of  the 


328  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

group,  Montserrat,  Guadeloupe,  Dominica,  Martinique,  and 
8t  Lucia. 

The  climate  of  the  Caribbee  Islands  is  in  general  pleat- 
ing, the  equable  temperature  ranging  from  about  616°  to 
82°  at  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  slightly  decreasing  toward 
the  summits.  The  rainfall  also  varies  with  alt  it  u« It- 
locality  relative  to  the  trade-winds,  the  precipitation  being 
usually  much  greater  on  the  leeward  side.  There  is  hardly 
a  day  in  the  year  when  gentle  rains  fail  to  fall,  and  some- 
times tremendous  cloud-bursts  occur,  with  disastrous 
T6fults. 

Geologically  these  islands  are  peculiar.  They  are  of 
volcanic  origin,  but  not  volcanoes,  although  a  few  craters 
can  be  found,  though  invisible  from  the  distance,  nestled 
in  some  of  the  lofty  eroded  summits.  The  islands  are  great 
heaps  of  old  volcanic  debris  piled  up  in  the  Tertiary  period, 
whi.-l i  have  been  carved  by  water  into  their  present  forms. 
The  rocks  are  all  basalts  or  crum  1.1  iiig  tuffs,  whi<  h  \v<  uther 
into  1  »lack  soils  of  marvelous  depth  and  richness. 

While  not  blessed  with  native  mammals,  these  islands 
abound  in  beautiful  birds;  each  has  a  special  fauna. 
Of  one  hundred  and  t\v* -nty-iMirht  l»irds  collected  l-y 
Ober,  wven  ipeeiei  «»i,iy  ar«-  common  to  all  th«-  i-land-. 
while  as  many  as  fifty-two  of  them  occur  in  one  island. 
There  are  singularly  few  venomous  reptiles  or  insects, 
except  on  Martinique  and  St.  Lucia,  where  are  found  the 
fer-de-lance,  a  poisonous  trigonocephalons  snake,  the  most 
venomous  and  deadly  of  the  serpentine  kind. 

The  windward  sides  are  quite  different;  the  open  Atlan- 
tic breaks  with  a  terrible  surf  against  the  shores,  and  the 
trade-winds  sweep  them  with  such  fero.-ity  that  the  vege- 
tation all  bends  in  a  cringing  position  toward  th-  land. 
There  are  no  ports  along  this  side,  and  passing  steamers 
keep  far  from  the  shores. 

These  islands,  so  allied  by  natural  affinities  into  a  kin- 
dred group,  are  cursed  by  unnatural  distribution  an 
the  nationalities.    Sailing  down  them  yon  first  meet  I  hit.  h 


Of   BOTTOM,  ISLAND  OF  SABA,   SITUATED   IN   AN   OLD  CRATER 


OUST  AVI  A.  ST.  BARTHOLOMEW 

«  \i;ii.i.i  I.    1-1  UfDfl 


THE  VOLCANIC  rA»nmnM| 

Saba,  from  which  you  can  see  the  same  flag  flying  over  St 
Eustatius,  or  beyond  it  the  I'nion  .laek  of  England  on  St. 
K  ;ts.  The  last-named  government  also  owns  Nevis. 
Then  comes  French  Guadeloupe,  from  whi.  h  you  ran  iee 
English  Dominica,  intentionally  left  between  it  and  French 
.Martinique  for  the  purpose  of  severing  the  two  French 
colonies.  From  Martinique  southward  the  others  are 
British  possessions,  though  St.  Lucia  is  French  in  popula- 
tiou  and  tradition. 

Saba,  St.  Eustatius,  St.  Christopher,  Nevis,  and  Mont- 
serrat  constitute  the  northern  end  of  the  chain,  and  their 
l  >ined  area  is  not  equal  to  that  of  any  one  of  the  five 
central  islands.  Saba  and  St.  Eustatius  are  exceptional 
features,  inasmuch  as  they  are  each  fine  examples  of  old 
volcanic  cones  or  craters. 

The  queer  little  Duteh  island  of  Saba  is  only  five  square 
miles  in  area.  It  is  a  single  volcanic  cone  rising  sharply 
out  of  the  sea  to  a  height  of  nearly  twenty-eight  hundred 
feet.  The  volcanic  rocks  of  the  island  are  not  solid  basalts, 
but  mostly  irregularly  strati  tied  tuffs.  There  is  said  to  be  a 
large  mine  of  pure  sulphur.  The  landing  is  a  rocky  cove, 
aii'l  from  this  one  must  ascend  a  preeipitous  pathway 
known  as  the  Ladder,  consisting  of  steps  cut  in  the  rock,  to 
the  height  of  eight  hundred  feet,  in  order  to  reach  the 
principal  settlement,  known  as  the  town  of  Bottom,  which 
is  located  on  the  floor  of  the  old  crater.  Everything  has 
to  be  transported  up  to  this  height  on  the  heads  of  the 
people;  one  hundred  pounds  is  the  ordinary  load.  The 
twenty-five  hundred  Dutch  residents  forming  the  priu- 
.!  population  are  fair-skinned,  rosy-cheeked,  and  tow- 
hea«le«l,  ami  atYonl  an  int.-ivM  ini:  .-xan.pl.-  «.f  m066fHtn] 
north -Kuropean  colonization  in  the  tropics.  Strange  to 
say,  their  principal  occupations  are  seafaring  and  boat- 
building. The  best  and  stanchest  fishing-boats  of  the 
Caribbees  are  built  in  this  crater  an. 1  lowered  ,l.,wn  the 
mountain-side  with  ropes.  The  timber  for  constructing 
the  uust  also  be  drawn  up  in  a  similar  manner. 


330  CUBA    A 

Saba  is  also  exceptional  in  that  its  population  is  white,  the 
blacks  overwhelmingly  predominating  in  the  other  islm 

St.  Eustatius,  St.  Christopher,  and  Nevis  seem  to  be  the 
tips  of  a  larger  submerged  area  represented  by  a  shallow 
bank  which  closely  follows  their  shores.  St.  EusUit 
eight  s.jimiv  iiiili-s  in  aiva,  is  al>o  a  part  of  Hollands  di- 
miuutive  American  domain,  and  has  a  population  of  2350 
people,  mostly  Dutch  and  negroes.  The  island  has  a  few 
patches  of  level  land,  but  is  largely  made  up  of  several  old 
volcanic  hills,  like  two  or  three  Sabas  crowded  on  a  si i 
platform.  The  principal  crater  is  near  the  southern  end  of 
the  island,  and  is  a  perfect  specimen  of  a  cinder-cone, 
slightly  broken  down  on  the  north,  in  side,  tin-  low.  -r  > lopes 
falling  away  into  low  hills  and  meadows,  which  make  up 
by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  island,  \\hi.h  is  thinly 
inhabited  and  without  trade.  In  olden  times  its  caves  and 
secret  valleys  served  as  hi<l ing-places  for  pirates  and 
smugglers,  and  it  is  not  entirely  free  from  suspicion  at 
the  present  day.  Stoddard,  in  his  charming  book  entitled 
" Cruising  among  the  Caribbees,"  says  that  St.  Eustatius 
is  a  great  resort  for  picnic  parties.  Judging  from  the 
condition  in  which  a  party  returned  thence  to  St.  K 
some  of  whose  members  paid  a  visit  to  Stoddard's  ship 
after  their  day's  outing,  there  must  still  be  stores  of  spirits 
i  n  t  he  craters,  and  a  readiness  to  share  them  w  i  t  h  a  1 1  comers. 

St.  Christopher— or  St.  Kins  as  the  English  call  it- 
can  be  seen  from  St.  Ku-tatius,  apparently  floating  like  a 
huge  black  iceberg  in  the  sea.  A  nearer  approach  l-rings 
out  it>  Beautiful  colors.  Hearn  has  pictured  it  as  a  long 
chain  of  crater  shapes,  truncated,  jagged,  or  round.  All 
these  are  united  by  the  curving  hollows  of  land  or  by  fila- 
ments,—very  low  valleys,-  distance  not  remote 
take  on  a  curious  segmented,  jointed  appearance,  like 
tain  insect  forms. 

The  oval-shaped  island  is  thirteen  mil.-s  long  and  from 
throe  to  six  in  width,  embracing  in  all  about  pi 
•qpUN  :!.:!••>.  t:.!-.-.-  fovHhfl  of  i^  aiva  l.«-inir  ui.d«-r  .-ultiva- 


THE  VOLCANIC  CARIBBEE8  331 

tion.  The  mountains  of  St.  Kitts  are  broken  into  wild 
ridges  and  ravines  for  several  thousand  feet,  meeting  the 
sky  with  an  edge  like  a  knife-blade,  and  culminating  in  a 
pyramid  of  black  lava  known  as  Mount  Misery,  4330  feet 
hL'h.  Since  emancipation  it  has  borne  the  name  of  Mount 
Liberty.  In  its  summit  is  a  crater  about  one  thousand  feet 
deep,  which  has  been  long  quiescent,  and  is  now  trans- 
formed into  a  lake  frim:«'d  with  trees.  A  sister  summit. 
Monkey  Hill,  is  nearly  as  high.  One  of  the  parasitic  cones, 
known  as  Brimstone  Hill,  seven  hundred  and  eighty  feet 
high,  is  crowned  by  a  citadel  formerly  called  the  Gibraltar 
of  the  West  Indies,  but  now  abandoned. 

The  principal  town,  Basse-Terre,  is  situated  on  a  beau- 
tiful curving  inlet  of  the  shore.  The  town  from  the  sea 
presents  a  charming  glimpse  of  red  and  white  roofs  nestled 
among  tall  trees,  while  gradual  slopes  covered  with  sugar- 
plantations  and  dotted  with  tall  chimneys  or  groups  of 
whitestone  buildings  appear  behind  the  town.  There  are 
palms  everywhere,  cocoa-,  fan-,  and  cabbage-palms ;  many 
breadfruit  trees,  tamarinds,  bananas,  Indian  fig-trees, 
mangos,  and  unfamiliar  things  the  negroes  call  by  incom- 
prehensible names— "sap-saps"  and  " dhool-dhools." 

all  the  English  colonies,  St.  Kitts  has  excellent 
roads.  There  are  several  small  villages  throughout  the 
island.  The  people,  who  call  themselves  Kittefonians,  have 
many  tidy,  wrll-bnilt  wooden  bouses,  arranged  in  neat 
streets,  or  surrounding  a  handsome  square  containing  a 
wonderful  l»anian-tree  and  many  other  beautiful  plants. 
The  population  of  about  31,900  is  nearly  all  black  or  col- 
ored. The  d  i  st  i  n « •  t  ion  between  these  classes  is  very  marked 
and  always  insisted  upon.  Colored  people  may  associate 
with  whites  upon  terms  of  equality,  l.ut  th.»  negro  is  always 
reckoned  as  belonging  to  a  servile  race,  and  must  keep  an 
appropriate  stati 

Sugar  is  practically  the  only  export,  and  this  industry 
is  almost  dead,  the  condition  being  very  similar  to  that  in 
Antigua.  Reduction  of  labor  and  want  of  employment 


CUBA   AND   PORTO   RICO 

have  caused  great  distress  among  the  black  laborers,  who 
are  unable  to  obtain  holdings  of  their  own,  ami  in  1896 
there  were  serious  riots. 

St.  l\  itts  i<  known  as  th«-  mother  colony  of  the  Caribbees. 
Here  were  founded  the  first  French  and  English  settlements, 
and  from  this  point  thr  soiitln-rn  islands  w.-iv  gradually 
p«M,pl,  .1.  Tiir  Maud  \\  a  s  iiaiiM-il  St.  riiriMoph.-r  l.y  C..1  inn- 
bus,  l>nt  when  it  came  into  t he  possession  of  the  English 
its  name  was  changed  to  St.  Kitts.  The  aboriginal  name 
was  Li  a  Minga.  The  Spaniards  did  not  settle  th- 
the  English  were  the  first  to  take  possession,  and  th<  y 
were  followed  shortly  afterward  by  the  French.  At  first 
ill--  English  and  French  divided  the  opposite  ends  between 
th.  in,  and  the  respective  domain-  \v. -re  marked  l>\ 
hedges.  Later  the  island  underwent  various  attacks  from 
th«»  Spaniards  and  bucaneers,  and  suffered  by  warfare 
between  the  French  and  tin-  Knjrlish.  In  1(590  the  English 
settlers,  aid«»d  l.y  the  forces  of  their  country  brought  in  for 
the  purpose,  expelled  the  French.  At  present  Sv  I 
and  Nevis  form  one  British  presidency  under  a  single  ad- 
ininistration. 

»vii,  from  a  distance,  appears,  as  said  by  Beam,  to  be 
"flouting  like  a  cloud  on  the  purplish  dark  edge  of  the 
sea."    As  one  approaches,  "th<   <  loud  shape  enlarges 
heightens,  without  changing  contour,   into  a  wonderful 
island."      "Its    outlines  begin   to  >harp.-n,    uiili 
pencilings  of  color.    Shadowy  valleys  appear,  sj  •« ct  i  al  hol- 
lows, phantom  slopes  of  palli-1  Mtu»  or  green.     Th.-api' 
tion  is  so  like  a  mirage  that  it  is  diflScult  to  persuade  < 
self  that  one  is  looking  at  r.  al  land  — that  it  i-  n«-i  a  «ir 
It  seems  to  have  shaped  itself  sii'ld*  iily  out  ..f  ti..- 

.  ."      It   i-  a   -  "in   tin-  sea  to  a 

:md  flanked  by 

This  littl.-  i-land  is  one  of  the  most  rhannin^  and  pi«-- 
tui.-sque  of  all  tho  Lesser  Antilles.  Althoni:h  it  i-  not  in 
tin-  ivirnlar  route  of  steamers,  it  is  reached  by  a  half-h- 

St.   Kitts.     It   was  originally  nan i.-«  1   Ni. -\i-l.y 


PUBLIC   GARDEN 


THE  VOLCANIC  CARIBBEE8  333 

Columbus,  in  honor  of  "  Our  Lady  of  the  Snow,"  but  the 
Kn-lMi  havcornij.t.Mlit  in  to  "Nevis."  It  is  famous  as  the 
}.ii  thplace  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  and  in  the  old  Fig-tree 
Church,  a  few  miles  from  town,  the  register  sho 
Horatio  Nelson,  then  a  captain  in  the  British  navy,  was 
married  tx>  Mrs.  Fanny  Neslutt. 

The  estimated  present  population  is  13,700.  The  acre- 
ige  if  :  52,000,  of  which  6868  acres  are  cultivated.  The 
precipitous  nature  of  the  surface  prevents  cultivation  with 
the  plow,  so  that  all  tillage  is  that  of  the  spade.  Here, 
as  elsewhere  in  the  British  Caribbees,  the  black  man  has 
emigrated  in  search  of  employment,  and  the  women  greatly 
nut  number  the  men. 

Charlestown,  the  capital,  has  only  a  few  hundred  inhabi- 
tants, and  hardly  more  than  a  single  street  stretching  along 
the  beach.  The  architecture  is  of  the  ancient  period  of 
English  West  Indian  settlements,  and  embraces  quaint  old 
houses  of  stone  with  tiled  roofs.  General  decay  is  notice- 
able. Whites  are  few,  negroes  many.  In  olden  days  this 
island  was  famous  for  its  fertility  and  wealth,  and  Charles- 
town  was  the  principal  pleasure-resort  of  the  West  Indies, 
where  wealth  and  fashion  gathered  to  spend  the  season  at 
tin*  famous  sulphur  baths.  These  are  a  short  distance  from 
the  town,  where  the  ruins  of  an  immense  hotel,  which  might 
have  accommodated  several  hundred  guests,  can  be  seen. 

Politically  Nevis  is  really  a  part  of  St.  Kitts,  from  which 
it  is  separated  by  fourteen  miles  of  water,  the  channel 
being  only  twenty-six  feet  deep  and  scarcely  two  miles 
wide  at  its  narrowest  part.  The  two  islands  have  daily 
communication  by  a  steam  ferry.  Nevis,  however,  seems 
t"  be  much  better  off  than  its  neighbor,  the  difference 
bfiiiLT  attnl.utc.l  to  the  fact  that  in  tin-  fnnnrr  Man-1  tin* 
negroes  have  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  land,  which  has 
been  broken  up  and  sold  in  small  lots.  Like  the  <r 
British  islands,  Nevis  is  heavily  charged  with  debts  and 
-increasing  expenditures,  accompanied  by  a  declining 
revenue. 


334  CUBA   AND  PORTO   RICO 

From  Nevis  one  can  Bee  the  summits  of  Montserrat, 
about  forty  miles  southeast.  This  is  the  first  and  smallest 
of  tin-  niicMle  islands  of  the  chain—the  larger  beads  of  the 
graduated  necklace. 

Montserrat  was  so  named  by  Columbus  in  1493,  in  mem- 
ory of  a  mountain  in  Spain  similarly  broken  in  appear- 
ance. It  is  small,  its  length  being  only  eleven  miles  and 
its  greatest  width  seven,  with  a  total  area  of  thirty-two 
and  a  half  square  miles. 

From  St.  Kins  southward  the  crater-like  appearance  of 
the  Caribbees  ceases,  and  Montserrat  is  of  the  rugged 
morne  type  of  Martinique,  with  soitfrteres,  or  secondary 
craterlets,  nestled  within  the  greater  mass  of  old  eroded 
volcanic  material.  It  is  a  confusion  of  hills  and  mountains, 
the  highest  reaching  three  thousand  feet.  These  are  richly 
wooded,  and  their  steeply  sloping  sides  are  gullied  by  deep 
ravines.  The  island  is  called  the  Montpellier  of  the  West, 
because  of  the  elasticity  of  its  atmosphere,  the  pictur- 
esqueness  of  its  hills,  and  its  lovely  scenery.  The  tem- 
perature varies  according  to  height,  and  is  generally  cool 
and  dry. 

Plymouth,  the  capital,  like  all  the  prominent  towns  of 
the  Caribbees,  is  on  the  west  or  leeward  side.  It  lies  close 
to  the  sea-shore,  backed  by  high  hills  and  mountains,  and 
is  a  collection  of  closely  crowded  two-story  frame  and 
stone  houses  with  gabled  roofs. 

The  Englishman  will  tell  you  that  Montserrat  is  histori- 
cally conspicuous  from  the  fact  that  it  has  not  suffered  in 
the  past  to  the  same  extent  as  the  other  islands  from  the 
brunt  of  the  imperial  wars,  although,  like  the  others,  it  waa 
a  bone  of  contention  between  the  French  and  the  English. 
It  was  settled  by  the  English  in  1632,  occupied  by  the 
French  in  1G64,  became  English  again  in  1668,  surrendered 
:-*2,  and  returned  to  the  English  in  1784, 
since  which  it  has  been  an  English  colony.  To  an  Ameri- 
can this  may  appear  a  complicated  history,  but  iii  coiupari- 


THE  VOLCANIC  CARIBBEES  335 

son  with  the  vicissitudes  of  the  other  islands  its  career  as 
a  whole  has  been  delightfully  quiescent  Montserrat  has 
also  passnl  through  all  of  tin-  various  chanp-s  lfa«liiitf  to 
an  English  crown  colony.  It  has  a  president,  or,  as  he  is 
now  called,  a  commissioner,  with  the  usual  executive  coun- 
cil, legislative  council,  etc.,  under  the  supervision  of  the 
general  government  of  the  Leeward  Islands. 

1 1  was  peopled  at  the  last  census  by  11,762  souls,  but 
the  number  is  now  estimated  at  12,500,  and  it  is  one  of  the 
most  densely  populated  of  the  British  Lesser  Antilles.  In 
former  centuries  the  island  had  a  large  European  popula- 
tion, but  it  is  now  mostly  inhabited  by  negroes,  who, 
strange  to  say,  speak  to  this  day  with  an  Irish  brogue, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  earlier  settlers  were  of  that  race. 
A  story  is  told  of  an  Irishman  who,  on  arriving  at  the 
island,  was  hailed  in  vernacular  Irish  by  a  negro  from 
one  of  the  boats  that  came  alongside.  "  Thunder  and  turf ! " 
exclaimed  the  Irishman,  "how  long  have  yez  been  here?" 
"Thray  months,"  the  black  man  answered.  "Thray 
mouths !  and  so  black  already !  Be  the  powers,  I  '11  not 
stay  among  yez ! "  And  the  visitor  returned,  a  sadder  and 
wiser  man,  to  his  own  Emerald  Isle. 

Most  of  the  negro  peasants  possess  some  land,  and,  while 
there  is  poverty,  there  is  no  distress.  Between  the  yean 
1882  and  1896  the  value  of  its  chief  crop,  sugar,  fell  off 
one  half.  The  sugar-estates  produce  muscovado  sugar 
only,  ami  this  is  no  longer  in  demand.  But  the  British  in 
the  West  Indies  will  tell  you  that  Montserrat  is  distin- 
guished by  the  fact  that  it  has  largely  survived  the  sugar 
desolation  and  branched  out  into  new  lines  of  agriculture, 
particularly  the  cultivation  of  limes.  Arrowroot  is  also 
exported  in  small  quantities,  as  well  as  essential  oils.  To 
my  eyes,  however,  there  was  no  sign  of  what  we  call  pros- 
perity iu  this  country,  where  a  condition  similar  to  that  of 
:  rat  would  suggest  only  the  "  abandoned  farms"  of 
Now  Euglaud.  The  revenue,  at  elsewhere,  is  constantly 


336  »  riiA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

f  a  1 1  i  ng  off.  Public  works  are  being  advanced  and  new  roads 
built,  but  these  only  add  to  the  taxation  and  suffering 
of  the  people. 

In  November,  1896,  a  terrific  storm  of  wind  and  rain 
wrought  havoc  and  desolation  over  the  island ;  roads  be- 
came roaring  torrents,  and  valuable  properties  were  de- 
stroyed by  the  floods. 


rilAlTKR    XXXI 
THE  ISLANDS  OF  GUADELOUPE  AND  DOMINICA 

Government  and  resource*  of  Guadeloupe,  RJMH  Terra.  Grand*- 
Terra.  Maria  Galante.  Detirade.  Lea  Saintea.  Cities  and  town* 
of  Guadeloupe.  Dominica  the  beautiful  A  fertile  soil  awaiting 
•fetation. 

FROM  Montserrat  the  beautiful  French  island  of  Gua- 
deloupe is  plainly  seen,  but  the  chances  are  ten  to 
one  that  you  cannot  go  to  it  without  first  returning  to  St 
Thomas  or  New  York,  to  get  some  other  than  an  English 
line  of  steamers.  A  perpetual  quarantine  seems  to  exist 
between  the  French  and  English  possessions,  which  renders 
communication  between  them  difficult  and  oftentimes  im- 
possible. 

(Suadeloupe  ami  Martinique  an-  th.-  two  larp-t  islands 
of  the  Caribbees  and  are  owned  by  France.  They  are 
separated  from  each  other,  however,  by  the  large  English 
possession  of  Dominica,  almost  equating  either  of  them  in 
size,  and  they  have  little  in  common,  as  each  island  con 
tutes  a  distinct  depart  ment  of  the  republic  of  France.  But 
<o  two  large  French  islands  are  most  picturesque  and 
i  n  t « •  i •«  •  s t  i  n  «r.  T here  is  no  appearance  of  that  abject  poverty 
and  ineessant  begging  which  meet  one  at  every  turn  in 
the  English  possessions.  People  have  an  air  of  thrift  and 
self-respect,  which  finds  expression  in  the  cleanliness  and 
the  taste  displayed  in  th«  ir  dress,  streets,  houses,  customs, 
and  airrii  ultural  possessions.  The  reader  who  wishes  to 


338  HA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

know  more  about  them  than  I  can  tell  now  should  read  Cher's 
" Camps  in  the  Caribbees," and  Lafcadio  Beam's drli-J.t  f  u! 
book  entitled  "Two  Years  in  tl  h  West  ! 

These  French  islands  also  excel  the  others  in  agricnlt 
development,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  general  Caribbean 
industrial  depression  show  at  least  some  signs  of  vitality. 
Furthermore,  each  is  populated  by  a  wonderfully  pictur- 
esque people,  having  costumes  and  habits  which  preserve 
as  nearly  as  possible  the  old-time  Fr.-n.-h  colonial  life  of 
Haiti  and  Louisiana. 

Guadeloupe  lies  in  latitude  15°  N.  and  longitude 
61°  W.,  and  has  an  area  of  five  hundred  and  eighty-three 
square  miles— more,  in  fact,  than  the  combined  aiva  of 
all  the  small  Caribbees  thus  far  descriU •«!.  It  consists  of 
an  archipelago,  or  rather  one  large  double  island  with 
several  small  dependent  ones ;  for  the  main  Guadeloupe  is 
divided  into  two  well-defined  and  entirely  distinct  islands 
by  a  marine  strait  known  as  the  Rivi&re  Suite,  which  is 
navigable  for  small  sailing-vessels. 

The  western  half,  known  as  Basse-Terre,  is  a  rugged 
mass  of  old  volcanic  tuffs,  like  Martinique  and  Montserrat, 
surmounted  by  four  superb  .loud-capped  mornes.    These 
are  known  as  Grosse  Montagne,  Deux  Mamelles,  La  ^ 
frterc,  and  the  Caraibe,  and  ris«  _7)40,  4900,  and  2300 

feet  respectively.    Besides  these  there  are  dozens  of 
peaks,  such  as  th«>  H<»ul. -mom,  1.  ss  than  1800  fe«  t  1 
The  Soufri&re  was  an  activ.-   volcano  in    17'(7,  when  it 
hurled  forth  dense  ashes,  pinni. •<>,  and  sulphurous  vapors. 
In  1843  its  convulsions  shook  the  island  and  tnml  1«  d  it- 
towns  into  ruins.    There  is  no  record  of  more  reemt  \ «  1- 
canic  action,  },ut  the  many  thermal  springs  and  soufrieres 
emitting  vapors  and  gases  show  that  it  is  not  altogether 
quiescent     Like  all  the  volcanic  Caribbees,  the  Basse- 
Terre  is  beautiful  beyond  description,   its  mornes  and 
valleys,  its  steep  coastal  bluffs  and  mantle  of  vep 
being  especially  fine.    The  forests  are  interspersed  with 
valuable  timber,  but  this  is  little  worked.     The  mean 


I  HI:   ISLANDS  OF  GUADELOUPE  AND  DOMI  339 

temperature  is  78°  F.,  the  minimum  being  61°  and  the 
maxmuin  101°. 

The  eastern  or  windward  island  is  known  as  the  Grande- 
Terre.  Geologically  it  is  entin-ly  different  from  the 
Basse-Torre,  belonging  to  the  Anguillan  type,  previously 
deseriU-'l.  It  <  (insists  of  a  calcareous  plain,  some  two 
or  three  hundred  feet  in  height,  which  has  been  cut  into 
numerous  fireular  islands  by  erosion.  The  highest  point 
on  this  island  is  only  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  This 
region  is  now  the  seat  of  extensive  sugar-estates.  The 
coast  of  Grande-Terre  is  constantly  increasing  through 
coral  growth  and  the  washing  of  the  debris  upon  the 
shores.  This  consolidates  and  is  quarried  for  building 
purposes.  The  process  of  consolidation  goes  on  so  rapidly 
that  small  objects  are  constantly  eml><><  i  1  the  supply 

for  1  »ui  1.1  ing  renewed.  The  Grande-Terre  is  almost  a  con- 
tinuous plain  of  sugar. 

Attached  to  Guadeloupe  are  several  adjacent  outlying 
islands— Maria  Galanto,  Desirnde,  and  Les  Saintes.  Maria 
(Jalante  and  Desirade  an-  ealemvous,  like  <  irande-Tenv,  of 
the  Anguillan  type,  but  more  largely  made  up  of  elevated 
coral-reef  rock.  The  former  is  a  few  miles  south  of 
Guadeloupe.  It  is  so  terraced  that  it  resembles  an  old 
Babylonian  tower,  surmounted  by  a  plateau  six  hundred 
and  seventy-five  feet  high.  The  island  is  forty  miles  in 
circumference  and  supports  seventeen  thousand  people. 
De'sirade  lies  to  the  east  of  Grande-Terre.  It  is  a  little 
island  with  a  terraced  platform,  very  similar  to  the  round 
hills  of  the  mainland.  It  is  ten  square  miles  in  area  and 
supports  fourteen  hundred  people.  Les  Saintes,  to  the 
south  of  Basse-Terre,  are  fragmentary  igneous  rocks  dis- 
posed in  the  same  direetion  as  the  wholr  interior  ehain  of 
the  Caribbees.  These  picturesque  islets  culminate  in  La 
Chameau,  altitude  ten  hundred  and  forty  feet  They  were 
once  the  health-resort  of  Guadeloupe,  and  their  summits 
are  crowned  with  old  fortifications.  The  basin  of  the 
Saintes  is  still  an  important  French  naval  station. 


CUBA   AND   PORTO   RICO 

Guadeloupe  was  a  Spanish  possession  until  1635,  when 
it  was  taken  by  the  French,  Since  then  the  island  has 
several  times  changed  hands,  the  English  having  captured 
it  in  1794  and  freed  the  slaves.  1  n  lsoi»,  the  island  having 
been  returned  to  France,  together  with  Martinique,  in 
exchange  for  St.  Lucia,  the  French  attempted  to  restore 
slavery ;  but,  rather  than  return  to  their  masters,  many  of 
the  people  committed  suicide,  four  hundred  under  Delgris 
having  blown  themselves  up  at  one  time,  in  a  fortification. 
Over  ten  thousand  blacks  were  killed  or  transported,  and 
thousands  sent  to  the  Napoleonic  wars  in  Italy.  England 
again  captured  the  island,  in  1810,  during  Napoleon's  brief 
reign  of  one  hundred  days,  but  afterward  returned  it  to 
France.  In  1848  emancipation  was  declared. 

Communication  is  carried  on  entirely  by  highways  and 
coasting- vessels.  All  over  this  double  island  are  the  best 
of  roads,  some  of  which  lead  up  to  the  woods  that  border 
on  the  gloomy  crater  of  the  quiescent  volcano.  Here,  as 
well  as  in  the  sister  colony  of  Martinique,  will  be  noted 
the  thrift  and  good  management  of  the  French.  The  peo- 
ple go  from  place  to  place  afoot,  or  in  quaint  Fn  neh 
\ehieles  like  those  seen  in  the  mountainous  portions  of 
France.  There  are  no  railways,  nor  have  any  Anieri<  -an 
inventions  been  introduced  into  Guadeloupe. 

Whil«-  Guadeloupe  is  agriculturally   more  prosperous 
than  tho  British  colonies,  it  nevertheless  presents  signs  of 
the  universal  decay  which  has  overtaken  the  Caribbee 
NamU.      SiiL'ar  is   the  ehief  airrienltnral   jTo'lurt,  ami    is 
grown  upon  502  properties,  emi>l<  'yin.ir  4-,<HK)  people.    The 
sugar  industry  is  nmeh  more  economically  e..n«iuet,-«l  • 
in  the  British  islands,  through  a  system  oi 
There  are  numerous  coffee-plantations  in  Guadeloupe.   The 
coffee  and  sugar  interests  do  not  contli.-t.  t»r  eoffee  is 
grown  on  the  highlands  and  sugar  on  the  lower  pi. 
The  eu  i  of  coffee  employs  4936  people.      In  all 

there  are  62,760  acres  in  sugar,  86,485  D  coffee,  and 

4037  in  cocoa.    France  consumes  most  of  the  pn  .duets  of 


ISLANDS  OF  GUADELOUPE  AND  DOMINICA          341 

ideloupe,  although  there  is  an  extensive  trade  with  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain. 

Guadeloupe  is  a  department  of  France.  The  government 
consists  of  a  governor  and  his  council,  and  a  general  legis- 
lative  assembly  of  thirty  members.  The  jurisdiction  em- 
•li"  islands  of  Basse-Terre,  Grande-Terre,  Maria 
<  ialante,  Desirade,  Les  Saintes,  and  half  of  St.  Martin,  pre- 
viously mentioned.  The  colony  is  div !<!<•< I  into  arroudisse- 
ments,  cantons,  and  communes.  The  municipal  councils 
are  framed  on  the  French  model,  and  the  department  is 
represent-  <1  in  the  French  chambers  by  one  senator  and 
two  (l.'j.u!  ics.  The  revenue  and  expenditure  of  the  island 
each  amounted  to  $1,305,000  in  l-'»7  Iran.  ,  further- 
more, expended  $403,000  on  the  colony.  No  specie  is  in 
•  imitation— only  notes  of  the  bank  of  Guadeloupe.  They 
I  Redeemable  upon  presentation  in  specie."  No  ex- 
Change  is  obtainable  with  the  United  States,  and  only  a 
limited  exchange  with  Paris,  at  a  premium  of  ten  per  cent. 
i«»r  a  draft  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  days.  There  are 
ninety-seven  elementary  schools,  with  11,000  pupils;  also 
one  lycee,  with  350  pupils.  The  imports  for  1896  amounted 
to  $•">.  l  " ».  1 48 ;  the  exports,  $4,700,000.  One  fourth  of  the 
value  of  the  imports  in  1895  was  from  the  United  States, 
hut  the  island  products  went  to  France. 

Point-a-Pitre  (population  17,100)  is  the  principal  seaport, 
and  is  situated  on  the  windward  side  of  Basse-Terre.  The 
nt  town  is  new,  but  stands  on  a  site  where  older 
1  .nil- lings  have  been  destroyed  by  fire,  earthquakes,  and 
hurricanes.  It  is  laid  out  in  broad  streets  with  pul.lic 
squares,  and  contains  many  large  buildings  with  high 
gabled  roofs.  There  is  an  interesting  museum  containing 
specimens  of  the  animals  and  archaeological  remains  of  the 
island.  Tln»  city  has  many  official  buildings,  a  cathedral, 
a  market-place,  and  some  beaut  if  ul  gardens.  Point-a-Pitre 
has  suffered  many  disasters,  especially  a  terrible  earthquake 
in  184& 

Le  Moule,  on  the  east  side  of  Grande-Terre,  is  as  large 


CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

as  Point -a- 1 'it  r«v  Thrre  are  many  small  villages,  like 
Porte  d'Enfer,  and  Grand  Bourg,  the  capital  of  Maria 
Galante. 

The  population  of  the  main  island  in  1894  was  107,000, 
three  fourths  of  whom  were  colored  people  and  blacks. 
There  were  also  15,000  coolies.  These  people  are  largely 

: ich  mulattos,  of  a  type  which  will  be  more  fully  dis- 
cussed in  our  description  of  Martinique. 

Dominica  stands  between  the  two  French  islands  of 
Guadeloupe  and  Martinique,  almost  rivaling  them  in 
and  is  the  largest  of  the  British  Caribbees.    The  island  is 
twenty-nine  miles  long,  sixteen  miles  broad,  and  has  an 
area  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-one  square  miles.     It 
presents  the  same  magnificent  scenery  as  all  the  Caril> 
bees,  in  fact  exceeding  them  in  the  loftiness  of  its  monies 
and  the  beauty  of  its  vegetation ;  for  here  is  found  the  high- 
est summit  of  the  island  chain,  known  as  Morne  Diabl<  > 
5314  feet  high.    From  the  top  of  this  the  scenery  is  terrible 
in  its  grandeur,  yet  enchanting  in  its  beauty.     A  little 
sulphur  occurs  in  old  soufrieres  in  the  monies,  and  there 
are  several  thermal  springs,  but  there  are  no  true  or 
recent  volcanic  craters.     There  is  a  beautiful  <>M 
lake,  however,  about  2500  feet  lower  than  Morne  DiaH«»- 
ten,  which,  unt  il  recently,  was  still  flooded  by  boiling  water 
from  springs  bubbling  up  from  the  bottom,  and  every  five 
minutes  upheaving  in  a  foaming  geyser.    In  1880,  how- 
ever, land-slips  took  place,  and  much  of  the  water  es- 

.•d,  the  lake  having  thereby  been  greatly  diminished  in 
area.  "Within  a  short  distance  from  the  margin  it  is  not 
less  than  three  hundred  feet  deep. 

The  island  is  noted  for  the  quan:  rainfall.    The 

temperature  ranges  from  70°  in  spring  winter,  and  au- 
tumn, to  80°  in  summer.  The  exports  are  cat tl«>,  cocoa, 

••-juice,  rum,  molasses,  and  SUK 
Dominica  has  one  miserable  little  town  called  Roseau, 

•uresquely  Mtuated  upon  its  western  side.  It  is  at  tin* 
foot  of  the  mountains,  where  they  drop  into  the  sea,  while 


THi:    ISLANDS    01'    (iTADLU  >fl'K    ANI>    I»oMINI«'A 

a  river  comes  rushing  and  roaring  down  the  hills  through 
a  rugged  and  broken  ravine  1>< -hi ml  it.  The  streets  are 
long  and  spacious  and  regularly  paved,  and  there  is  one 
large  square  or  promenade,  used  also  as  a  market-place. 
These  streets  are  now  deserted  by  commerce,  however,  and 
the  government  officials  hold  court  in  a  community  of 
blacks.  There  are  French  Catholic  and  English  churches, 
a  well-kept  botanical  garden,  and  a  public  libra: 

The  population  of  the  island  in  1891  was  26,841,  or  1  :7<  > 
less  than  in  1881.  The  people  are  mostly  black,  descen- 
dants of  the  slaves  of  the  days  when  Dominica  was  a  pros- 
perous French  colony,  and  they  still  speak  a  French  patois. 
These,  together  with  the  white  Dominicans,  are  mainly 
French  Catholic,  and  still  look  upon  the  British  owners  as 
foreigners.  The  people  live  almost  entirely  within  a  mile 
or  two  of  the  coast,  and  there  are  no  roads  into  the 
interior. 

One  of  the  two  surviving  groups  of  Caribs,  or  aborigines 
of  these  islands,  is  not  the  least  interesting  part  of  the 
Dominican  population.  These  people,  about  three  hun- 
dred in  number,  are  now  largely  mixed  with  the  blacks. 
They  inhabit  the  mountains  of  the  interior,  and  make  th«-ir 
livelihood  by  weaving  a  peculiar  basket  which  is  unh 
sally  used  in  the  island  for  carrying  baggage. 

The  soil  of  Dominica  is  a  rich  brown  mold  reeking  with 
dense  vegetation,  and  is  capable  of  growing  any  tropical 
produce;  and  yet,  while  all  but  60,000  of  the  IN 
are  crown  lands,  which  the  blacks  would  gladly  till  if  they 
could  acquire  small  holdings,  agriculture  is  rapidly  dyi 
There  were  once  many  fine  sugar-plantations,  especially 
those  on  the  Grand  Savanna,  twelve  miles  from  Roseau. 
In  tli.'  last  fifteen  years  the  exports  of  sugar,  rum,  nn«l 
molasses  have  fall,  n  from  seventy-one  to  fifteen  per  cent 
<>f  th»»  total  value  of  the  exports,  which  in  1896  were  valued 
at  $232,750.  In  the  other  islands  the  sugar  industry  has 
managed  to  struggle  along,  but  the  Dominican  planters 
have  practically  given  up  the  struggle.  As  Froude  has 


344  CUBA  AND   PORTO   RICO 

stated,  its  government  has  struck  the  island  with  j.arah •- 
sis,  and  the  contrast  it  presents  with  its  French  neighbors 
from  an  economic  standpoint  cannot  be  flattering  to  Great 
Britain's  pride. 

The  laboring  people  have  largely  migrated  to  Venezuela 
and  to  Cayenne.  At  the  docks  of  both  this  island  and 
St.  Lucia,  England's  other  French  possession,  schooners 
can  always  be  found  loading  with  black  emigrants.  Form- 
erly the  slopes  of  Dominica  were  covered  with  coffee-trees, 
l>iit  this  industry  has  practically  disappeared.  In  1843 
there  was  as  much  as  1,333,000  pounds  of  coffee,  besides 
rum,  sugar,  and  molasses.  The  coffee-culture  even  reached 
2,500,000  pounds  in  1828.  Now  the  whole  of  this  industry 
has  vanished,  except  a  few  trees  set  out  within  recent 
years.  Faint  attempts  are  being  made  to  increase  the  pro- 
duction of  cocoa,  limes,  and  lime-juice,  as  well  as  of  essen- 
tial <»ils. 

Dominica  was  discovered  and  named  by  Columbus  on  a 
tin  Sunday  in  the  year  1493.    In  1627  the  English 
took  possession  of  the  island,  but  could  not  settle  it  on 
account  of  the  Caribs.     In  1748  the  treaty  of  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  made  the  island  neutral  territory  between  the 
i<  h  and  English,  but  it  became  a  French  islaml  in 
population,  although  treaties  have  twice  since  awarded  it 
to  Enjrlaml.     In  the  final  settlement  between  England  and 
nee  after  the  imperial  wars,  Great  Britain  followed  the 
advice  of  Rodney  and  retained  this  island,  so  situated 
between  the  French  possessions  of  Guadeloupe  and  M 
tiniquo  that  its  loss  would  greatly  debilitate  the  Fr» 
powor  in  the  West  Indies. 

Domini,  a  is  apresidency  within  the  general  government 
of  the  Leeward  Island  federation.  The  president,  or  com- 
missioner, has  an  executive  council  of  seven  members; 
traces  of  the  old  constitutional  rights  still  exist  in  the  fact 
that  there  is  a  legislative  assembly.  The  revenues,  as  in 
all  of  the  English  islands,  do  not  equal  the  expenditures, 
and  taxes  are  increasing. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

THE   ISLAND    <>I 

Beauty  of  it*  landscape.  A  description  of  the  fore*te.  History  and 
present  economic  condition.  The  city  of  8t  Pierre.  Botanical 
gardens.  Fort-de-France.  The  fantastic  population. 

WHILE  the  ship  is  still  passing  in  the  shadows  of  lofty 
•  1 1  i  1 1  ica,  the  passenger  can  see  the  monies  of  Mar- 
tiiiiqu''  rising  from  the  vast  expanse  of  sea  to  the  south- 
ward. Martinique  is  the  most  picturesque  in  outline  and 
the  most  interesting  of  all  these  wonderful  Caribbees— the 
central  l>cu<l  in  the  great  necklace  that  encircles  the  throat 
of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  and  the  most  prosperous  of  these 
unhappy  isles.  Some  one  has  given  to  the  island  the  p< 
cal  name  of  "Les  Pays  des  Revenants,  where  nature's 
unspeakable  spoil  bewitches  wandering  souls  like  the  spell 
of  a  Circe.* 

inland  is  second  in  size  only  to  Guadeloupe,  having 
an  area  of  three  hundred  and  eighty-one  square  miles.  It 
is  completely  mountainous,  culminating  in  the  peak  of 
Mount  IV1/M-,  44.")<i  f.-'-t  hitfh.  This  is  usually  wrapped  in 
•lit  now  and  then  it  can  be  seen,  and  its  vast  flanks 
sweep  in  <teep  but  graceful  slopes  to  the  sea.  Another 
peak  it*  ur  tli.-  south  end  is  3950  feet  high,  while  the  three- 
cre-  l»et,  near  the  northern  coast,  rises  nearly  to  the 

altituoV  of  Mount  Pele"e. 

y  inrh  of  this  mapic  island,  except  where  man  has 
made  temporary  clearings,  is  draped  in  forests— forests 

345 


346  CUBA  AND  POBTO  KICO 

which  cannot  be  described,  photographed,  or  painted.  The 
following  description  by  Dr.  £.  Ruiz  gives  only  a  faint 
idea  of  the  island's  wonders : 

Only  the  sea  can  afford  us  any  term  of  comparison  for  the  atten  1 1  »t 
to  describe  a  grand  boi*;  but  even  then  one  must  imagine  the  sea 
on  a  day  of  storm,  suddenly  immobilized  in  the  expression  of  its 
mightiest  fury.  For  the  summits  of  these  vast  woods  repeat  all 
the  inequalities  of  the  land  they  cover;  and  these  inequa 
are  mountains  from  forty-two  to  forty-eight  hundred  fe« 
height,  and  valleys  of  corresponding  profundity.  All  this  is  h id- 
den,  blended  together,  smoothed  over  by  verdurr,  in  soft  and 
enormous  undulations,  in  immense  billowings  of  foliage.  Only, 
instead  of  a  blue  line  at  the  horizon,  you  have  a  green  line ;  instead 
of  flashings  of  blue,  you  have  flashings  of  green,  and  in  all  the 
tints,  in  all  the  combinations  of  which  green  is  capable— deep 
green,  light  green,  yellow-green,  black-green. 

When  your  eyes  grow  weary-if  it  indeed  be  possible  for  them 
to  weary— of  contemplating  the  exterior  of  these  tremendous 
woods,  try  to  penetrate  a  little  into  their  interior.  What 
tricable  chaos  it  is !  The  sands  of  a  sea  are  not  more  closely 
pressed  together  than  the  trees  are  here— some  straight,  some 
curved,  some  upright,  some  toppling,  fallen,  or  leaning  against 
one  another,  or  heaped  high  upon  each  other.  Climbing  lianas, 
which  cross  from  one  tree  to  the  other,  like  ropes  passing  from 
mast  to  mast,  help  to  fill  up  all  the  gaps  in  this  treillage;  and 
parasites— not  timid  parasites  like  ivy  or  like  moss,  but  parasites 
which  are  trees  self-grafted  upon  trees— dominate  the  primitive 
trunks,  overwhelm  them,  usurp  the  place  of  their  foliage,  and  fall 
back  to  the  ground,  forming  fictitious  weeping-willows.  Tou  do 
not  find  here,  as  in  the  great  forests  of  the  >  eternal 

monotony  of  birch  and  fir:  this  is  the  kingdom  of  infinit* 
species  the  most  diverse  elbow  each  other,  interlace,  strangle  and 
devour  each  other ;  all  ranks  and  orders  are  confounded,  as  in  a 
human  mob.    The  soft  and  tender  balifier  opens  its  parasol  of 
leaves  beside  the  gummier,  which  is  the  cedar  of  the  colonies ;  you 
see  the  acomat,  the  courbaril,  the  mahogany,  the  ttndrt-4-cailbu, 
onwood ;  .  .  .  but  as  well  enumerate  by  name  all  the  soldiers 
of  an  army!    Our  oak,  the  balata,  forces  the  palm  to  1 
itself  prodigiously  in  order  to  get  a  few  thin  beams  of  sunlight ; 


THE  ISLAND  OF  MARTINIQUE 

it  is  as  difficult  hero  for  the  poor  trees  to  obtain  one  glance 
t ion i  tin-  king  of  the  world,  as  for  us,  subjects  of  a  monarchy,  to 

•  M  ••!!••  look  from  our  monarch.    As  for  it  is  needless 

t«.  think  of  looking  at  s  as  far  below  us,  probably,  at  the 

bottom  of  the  sea ;  it  disappeared,  ever  so  long  ago,  under  the 
heaping  of  debris,  under  a  sort  of  manure  that  has  been  accu- 
mulating there  since  the  creation ;  you  wink  into  it  as  into  slime ; 
you  walk  upon  putrefied  trunks,  in  a  dust  that  hat  no  name ! 
Here,  indeed,  it  is  that  one  can  get  some  comprehension  of  what 
vegetable  antiquity  signifies :  a  lurid  light  (/uri</<i  /MX),  greenish, 
as  wan  at  noon  as  the  light  of  the  moon  at  midnight,  confuses 
forms  and  lends  them  a  vague  and  fantastic  aspect;  a  nw\>\ 
hum  Jiles  from  all  parts ;  an  odor  of  death  prevails ;  and  a 

calm  which  is  not  silence  (for  the  ear  fancies  it  can  bear  the  great 
movement  of  composition  and  of  decomposition  perpetually  going 

tends  to  inspire  you  with  that  old  mysterious  horror  which  the 
uts  felt  in  the  primitive  forests  of  Germany  and  of  Gaul: 

"  Arboribuj  atius  horror  inert." 

Among  the  trees  are  the  silk-cotton,  species  of  mahogany, 
and  the  caleta,  or  iron  wood,  a  very  strong  wood.  The  flora 
rous,  and  closely  related  to  that  of  the  equatorial 
zone  of  South  America.  The  fauna  abounds  in  minor 
reptiles  and  insects.  There  are  various  kinds  of  fish  and 
of  crab.  The  manicon  and  a  certain  lizard  are  eaten.  Tbe 
only  animal  of  note  is  the  vicious  serpent  known  as  the 
fer-de-lance,  which  lurks  in  the  woods,  the  cane-fields,  and 
the  gardens,  and  whose  fatal  bite  is  the  only  thing  upon  the 
island  to  be  dreaded.  This  snake  is  from  four  and  a  half 
to  seven  feet  long,  has  four  fangs,  at  the  root  of  which  is 
secreted  the  virus,  and  rudimentary  fangs  to  take  the 
place  of  the  old  ones.  The  mongoos  was  introduced 
years  ago  to  exterminate  the  fer-de-lance,  but  it  has  not 
been  successful. 

Tbe  climate  shows  three  seasons— cool  in  spring,  hot  and 
dry  in  summer,  and  hot  and  wet  in  autumn  and  part  of 
winter.  The  thermometer  runs  from  76°  to  86°,  rarely 
88°,  but  there  is  much  humidity.  The  tropical  beat  is 


348  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

mitigate.)  by  the  sea-breezes  and  fresh  win  the 

mountains.     Violent  hurricanes  and  earthquakes  some- 
times occur. 

The  island  has  no  deep  harbors,  although  there  are  tin ••  ••• 
imputations  which  afford  good  shelter.  The  principal  of 
these  is  the  Bay  of  Fort-de-France,  the  capital  of  the  island, 
and  the  headquarters  of  the  French  admiralty  in  the  West 
Indies.  On  the  south  side  are  the  Grande  Anse  <lu  Dio- 
inant.'  and  th.-  Bay  du  Mann  ;  <>n  tin-  w»-M  th»-iv  an-  s«-\vrul 
other  small  coves.  The  eastern  side  is  a  dangerous  shore, 
where  the  Atlantic  breakers  roar  and  foam  in  a  grand  and 
indescribable  surf,  which  prohibits  approach  to  land. 

Martinique  was  originally  settled  by  the  Frem-h  in  1 
and  with  the  exception  of  twenty- two  years,  between  1794 
and  1816,  when  it  was  held  by  the  English,  it  has  always 
been  French.  It  is  now  a  favored  colony  of  France,  con- 
stituting a  department  of  the  republic,  with  a  governor  and 
excellent  administration,  sending  a  senator  and  two  depu- 
ties to  the  National  Assembly  at  Paris. 

The  imports  for  1896  aggregated  about  $5,721,000,  and 
the  exports  about  $5,358,000.  In  1895-96 
States  sent  $1,502,332  worth  of  goods  to  the  island.  The 
food-stuffs  of  the  United  States  are  absolutely  necessary 
t<>  th.  lifeof  the  colony,  but  the  United  States  takes  almost 
nothing  from  Martinique  in  n  turn.  Sugar,  coffee,  cocoa, 
tobacco,  cotton,  and  rum  are  the  principal  products,  and 
all  the  plantations  producing  these  are  in  a  flourishing 
state  in  comparison  with  those  of  the  adjacent  Brit  Mi 
islands.  There  are  seventeen  large  central  usines,  and 
upward  of  five  hundred  ordinary  sugar-works. 

One  fourth  the  revenue  of  the  island  ($1,342,000)  is 
devoted  to  education.    There  is  a  law  school  at  Fort-de- 
Mr,-,  with  seventy-six  students.    There  are  three  secon- 
dary schools,  with  four  hundred  and  eighty-seven  pupils;  a 
normal  school ;  thir  y  schools,  with  ten  t 

sand  pupils;  and  thirteen   cl<  schools. 

There  are  also  two  government  hospitals,  military  and 


LANDING,    ST.   PIERRE 


ST.    PIERRE 

MM:  1 1 MQUE 


THE   ISLAND  OP  MARTINIQUE  349 

civil,  and  the  charge  for  a  native  in  the  last  is  twenty 

is  a  day.  At  the  two  prisons  the  discipline  is  very 
in i  1.1.  France  also  encourages  agriculture  by  giving  a 
bounty  of  ten  cents  for  every  coffee-  and  cocoa-tree.  This 
is  to  prevent  th«-  «-\<-lusivc  cultivation  of  the  sugar-cane. 
There  is  also  a  colonial  bank,  the  object  of  which  is  to  assist 
the  planters ;  experts  determine  the  value  of  crops,  and 
the  bank  advances  one  third  their  value.  If  the  obliga- 
tion is  not  met  by  the  crops,  the  bank  carries  over  its 
claim  on  the  valuation  of  the  next  year's  crop. 

An  excellent  system  of  highways  has  reduced  the  diffi- 
culty <>t  traveling  across  the  rugged  island.  Transporta- 
tion is  also  carried  on  by  small  coasting- vessels,  although 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  island  this  is  especially  difficult, 
as  the  cargoes  have  to  be  carried  through  the  surf  on  fin- 
backs of  men,  or  pushed  by  swimming  negroes  in  small 
boats  through  the  water. 

nee  has  always  nurtured  this  colony  with  a  tender, 
loving  hand,  giving  it  the  best  of  administrations,  helping 
it  freely  when  in  distress,  and  protecting  its  industries 
wherever  possible.  In  1896  she  assisted  it  to  the  extent  of 
$659,500. 

The  large  towns  are  St.  Pierre  and  Fort-de-France,  on  the 
l«M>ward  si.U»,  and  (Jrandc  Ans«\  <>n  tin-  windward  shop-. 
St.  Pierre,  on  the  west  side  (population  25,382),  is  the  prin- 
It  is  built  on  cliffs  overlooking  the  bay  of  the 
same  name,  which  is  nothing  more  than  a  very  slight  curve 
in  the  shore-line,  vessels  having  to  anchor  in  the  op-  n 
ron«  It  N  a  picturesque  and  beautiful  place,  v 

neat  public  buildings  and  an  interesting  Creole  population. 
Tli.«  town  has  a  handsome  cathedral  and  other  public 
buildings.  1 1  earn  thus  describes  it: 

The  quaintest,  queerest,  and  the  prettiest  withal,  among  West 
Indian  cities;  all  stone-built  and  stone-flagged,  with  very  narrow 
streets,  wooden  or  zinc  awnings,  and  peaked  roofs  of  red  tile, 
pierced  by  gabled  dormers.  Most  of  the  buildings  are  painted  in 


:;;><>  CUBA  AND  POBTO  KICO 

a  clear  yellow  tone,  whi<-h  rout  rusts  delightfully  with  the  burning 
blue  ribbon  of  tropical  sky  above ;  and  no  street  IB  absolutely  level ; 
nearly  all  of  them  climb  hills,  descend  into  hollows,  curve,  twist, 
describe  sudden  angles.    There  is  everywhere  a  loud  uuirrir. 
running  water.  ;><>uring  through  the  deep  gutters  contrived  be- 
tween the  pav.-.l  thoroughfare  and  the  absurd  little  sidewalks, 
varying  in  width  from  one  to  three  feet    The  arrhit.-rtun-  is 
of  the  s«  h  rrntury,  and  reminds  one  of  the  antiquated 

French  quarter  of  New  Orleans.  All  the  tints,  the  forms,  the 
vistas,  would  seem  to  have  been  especially  selected  or  designed  for 
aquarelle  studies.  The  windows  are  frameless  openings  without 
glass ;  some  have  iron  bars ;  all  have  heavy  wooden  shutters  with 
movable  slats,  through  which  light  and  air  can  ent<  r 

The  town  has  an  aspect  of  great  solidity,  looking  as  if  it 
had  l»een  hewn  out  of  one  mountain  fragment  instead  of 
constructed  stone  by  stone.  Although  commonly  consist- 
ing of  only  two  stories  and  an  attic,  the  dwell  ings  have 
walls  three  feet  in  thiekness.  There  are  also  many  foun- 
tains throughout  the  city,  carrying  drinking- water,  which 
comes  from  another  source  than  that  of  the  water  in  the 
gutters.  The  main  street  is  known  a*  --tor  Hugo. 

St.  Pierre  has  many  images  and  some  fine  statues.  One 
of  the  latter,  standing  on  a  height  and  easily  visible  from 
the  sea,  is  a  gigantic  "Christ,"  which  overlooks  the  bay;  a 
great  white  "Virgin"  surmounts  the  Morne  d*Orang<»,  t«> 
the  south  of  the  city,  while  "Our  Mother  of  the  Wat.-h" 
overlooks  the  anchorage.  There  is  a  great  white  cathedral 
with  a  superb  chime  of  bells.  Behind  the  « -ity  is  a  1>- 
t if ul  cemetery. 

The  market  of  St.  Pierre  is  most  picturesque.  It  \<  \n 
the  middle  of  a  square  surrounding  a  fountain,  ami  tilled 
with  eonntrywomen  dressed  in  gorgeous  Oriental  colors, 
selling  their  little  products,— oranges,  bananas,  vanilla- 
beans,  cocoa,— while  the  fishermen  lift  their  lx>ats  bodily 
out  of  the  water  ami  «-i»nv«-rt  them  into  stalls,  where  con  I"4 
seen  a  most  wonderful  li>h  display,  rivaling  in  »•<,!<. rs  th»- 
tints  of  the  rainbow,  and  having  a  hu  •  m -h 


THE  ISLAND  OF  MAI: 

names,  whirh  it  is  useless  to  repeat  here,  such  as  the  Bon- 
1  M-maniM-mom  ("  The  good  God  handled  me"),  etc. 

A  tin.  Is  from  8t  Pierre  to  the  village  of  Mon 

Rouge,  situated  two  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.    In  th«« 
villas  t  lie  Virgin,  which  il  the 

ini:.  .    Along  this  road  are  many  shrines  ami  lin!.- 

:.«-lx  \\itli  rruri  fixes  and  statues,  wit  h  lamps  1.  timing 
before  th.-m.  This  road  leads  by  the  beautiful  botanical 
ganl.-n.  and  passes  many  fine  and  solid  stone  bridges. 

1  i  11  des  Plantes  is  one  of  the  famous  places  of  the 
world,  although  now  somewhat  neglect*  «1  ami  "\  •  mm  by 
the  native  foliage.  One  of  Hearu's  most  beautiful  word- 
i<  that  which  he  gives  of  this  lovely  spot: 


The  Janlin  des  Plantes  is  not  absolutely  secure  from  the  visit* 
he  serpent;  for  the  trigonocephalus  goes  everywhere,  mount- 
ing to  the  very  summits  of  the  cocoa-palms,  swimming  rivers, 
ascending  walls,  hiding  in  palm-thatched  roofs,  breeding  in  ba- 
gasse-heaps.   But,  despite  what  has  been  printed  to  the  contrary, 
this  reptile  fears  man  and  hates  light;   it  rarely  shows  itself 
luring  the  day.    Therefore,  if  yon  desire  to  obtain 
some  conception  of  the  magn  >t   Martinique  vegetation, 

without  incurring  the  risk  of  entering  the  high  woods,  you  can  do 
so  by  visiting  the  Jardin  dcs  Plantes,  only  taking  care  to  use 
•  •s  well  while  climbing  over  fallen  trees  or  picking  your 
way  through  dead  branches.  The  garden  is  less  than  a  mile  from 
the  city,  on  the  slopes  of  the  Morne  Parnasse;  and  the  prim 
forest  itself  has  been  utilized  in  the  formation  of  it,  so  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  garden  is  a  primitive  growth.  Nature  has 
accomplished  here  infinitely  more  than  art  of  man  (though  such 
art  has  done  much  to  lend  the  place  its  charm),  and  until  within 
a  very  recent  time  the  result  might  have  been  deemed,  without 
exaggeration,  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world.  .  .  . 

A  moment  after  passing  the  gate  you  are  in  twilight,  though 
the  sun  may  be  blinding  on  the  white  road  without  All  about 
you  is  a  green  gloaming,  up  through  which  you  sec  immense 
trunks  rising.  ...  As  you  proceed,  the  garden  on  your  right 
deepens  more  and  more  into  a  sort  of  ravine;  on  your  left  rises 
a  sort  of  foliage-shrouded  cliff;  and  all  this  in  a  beautiful  c  n  pus- 


(TIIA    ANI> 


cular  dimness,  made  by  the  foliage  of  gre 


Palms  rooted  a  hundred  feet  below  you  hold  their  heads  a  hum  In  <1 
feet  above  you ;  yet  they  can  barely  reach  the  light  In  h«  r 

on  the  ravine  widens  to  frame  in  two  tiny  lakes,  dotted  with 
ficial  islands,  which  are  miniatures  of  Martini. ju. 
and  Dominica.  These  are  covered  with  tropical  plants,  mm 
which  are  total  strangers  even  here ;  they  are  natives  of  India, 
Senegambia,  Algeria,  and  the  most  eastern  East  Arborescent 
ferns  of  unfamiliar  elegance  curve  up  from  path-verge  or  lake- 
brink,  and  the  great  arbrc-du-wyagc*r  outspreads  its  colossal  fan. 
Giant  lianas  droop  down  over  the  way  in  loops  and  festoons ; 
tapering  green  cords,  which  are  creepers  descending  to  take  root, 
hang  everywhere;  and  parasites  with  stems  thick  as  caM<-s  <•<.]! 
about  the  trees  like  boas.  Trunks  shooting  up  out  of  sight,  into 
the  green  wilderness  above,  display  no  bark ;  you  cannot  guest 
what  sort  of  trees  they  are ;  they  are  so  thirkly  wrapped  in  creep- 
ers as  to  seem  pillars  of  leaves.  Between  you  and  the  sky,  where 
everything  is  fighting  for  sun,  there  is  an  almost  unbroken  vault 
<>f  leaves,  a  cloudy  green  confusion  in  which  nothing  particular  is 
distin  jru  i  s  liable. 

You  come  to  breaks  now  and  then  in  the  green  steep  to  your 
left— openings  created  for  cascades  pouring  down  from  one  mossed 
basin  of  brown  stone  to  another,  or  gaps  occupied  by  flights  of 
stone  steps,  green  with  mosses,  and  chocolate-colored  by  age. 
These  steps  lead  to  loftier  paths;  and  all  the  stonework,— the 
grottoes,  bridges,  basins,  terraces,  steps,— are  darkened  by  time  and 
velveted  with  mossy  things.  .It  is  of  anothi  -r  <•«  -ntury. 
garden ;  special  ordinances  were  passed  concerning  it  during  the 
French  Revolution ;  it  is  very  quaint  :  it  suggests  an  art  spirit  as 
old  as  Versailles,  or  older;  but  it  is  indescribably  beautiful  even 
now. 

.  At  last  yon  near  the  end,  to  hear  the  roar  of  falling  water 
—there  is  a  break  in  the  vault  of  green  above  the  bed  <>: 
below  you ;  and  at  a  sudden  turn  you  come  in  sight  of  the  cascade. 
Before  you  is  the  Home  itself;  and  against  the  burst  of  desf 
ing  light  you  discern  a  precipice-verge.    Over  it,  down  one  jr; 
furrow  in  its  brow,  tumbles  the  rolling  foam  <»f  a  .at  at  art.  like 
falling  smoke,  to  be  caught  below  in  a  succession  of  moss-cov 
basins.    The  first  clear  leap  of  the   water  is  nearly  sev< 
feet  '  •!  Josephine  ever  rest  uj-.n  that  shadowed  IM-IM -h 


FILLE    DE    COULEUR 


FRENCH    NEOAE88 


MULATTO   GIRL 


M  \l;i  IN; 


THE  ISLAND  OP  MABTIXIQUE  353 

near  by  f  ...  Sho  knew  all  these  paths  by  heart ;  surely  they 

•  have  haunted  her  dreams  in  the  aftertime ! 
The  beautiful  garden  is  now  little  more  than  a  wreck  of  what  it 
onee  was;  since  the  fall  of  the  empire  it  has  been  shamefully 
abused  and  neglected.  Some  agronome,  sent  out  to  take  charge  of 
y  the  republic,  began  its  df.-tru.-ti..n  l-\  rutting  down  acres  of 
enormous  and  magnificent  trees,— including  a  superb  ahV\ 
palms,— for  the  purpose  of  experimenting  with  roses.  But  the 
rose-trees  would  not  be  cultivated  there,  and  the  serpents  avenged 
the  demolition  by  making  the  experimental  garden  unsafe  to 
enter;  they  always  swarm  into  underbrush  and  shrubbery  a 
forest-trees  have  been  cleared  away.  .  .  .  Subsequently  the  garden 
was  greatly  damaged  by  storms  and  torrential  rains,  the  moun- 
tain verflowed,  carrying  bridges  away  and  demolishing 
stonework.  No  attempt  was  made  to  repair  these  destructions; 
but  neglect  alone  would  not  have  ruined  the  loveliness  of  the  place 
—barbarism  was  necessary!  Under  the  present  negro-radical 
regime,  orders  have  been  given  for  the  wanton  destruction  of  trees 
older  than  the  colony  itself;  and  marvels  that  could  not  be  re- 
placed in  a  hundred  generations  were  cut  down  and  converted  into 
charcoal  for  the  use  of  public  institutions. 

The  capital,  Fort-de-France,  formerly  Fort  Royal,  is 
it-«l  on  ful  l.ut  shallow  bay  near  the  south  end 

lie  west  side  of  the  island.  The  town,  though  secon- 
dary in  commercial  importance  to  St.  Pierre,  is  the  military 
tor  and  arsenal  of  the  French  Antilles,  the  rendezvous 
of  the  navy,  the  terminus  of  the  French  transatlantic 
steamships  and  West  Indian  cable  system.  It  was  half 
ruined  by  an  earthquake  in  1839,  and  nearly  consumed  by 
a  flre  in  1890.  After  the  last  ev-nt  th-  inhabitants  offered 
a  bounty  of  lift  nt.  of  the  value  of  the  old  buildings 

to  help  rebuild,  and  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars  has 
been  thus  spent  Among  the  several  interesting  statues 
adorning  its  public  gardens  the  most  noted  is  that  of  the 
press  Josephine,  erected  by  the  people  of  the  island  in 
honor  of  her  nativity. 

>ughout  tli-  island   th-r-  ar-  many  littl-  villages, 
such  as  Le  Moutim*,  IVtit  Bourg,  Le  Francois.    Grande 


;;;>4  i,\  AND  POBTO  RICO 

Anse  is  situated  across  the  high  mountain  ranges,  an 
reached  by  a  picturesque  road  from  St.  Pierre,  which  rises 
into  the  higher  passes,  and  is  shaded  by  tree-ferns,  accom- 
panied by  graceful  bamboo  and  arborescent  grass.  I 
in  a  region  of  black  stones,  out  of  which  the  houses  are 
l.uilt.  Black  volcanic  boulders  dot  the  hillsides,  and  even 
the  sands  of  the  beach  are  black,  and  full  of  valuable 
magnr-tir  iron.  The  village  is  a  small  place,  ]>rin<  i]>ally 
noted  for  the  wonderful  expert  ness  of  its  men  in  swim- 
ming the  breakers,  and  for  the  beauty  of  its  female  por- 
tcuses— young  girls  who  cany  burdens  upon  thrir  h«'ads. 
At  Diamond  Rock  there  is  the  tomb  of  the  commander  of 
one  of  the  English  ships,  and  the  remains  of  the  cistern 
whirh  furnished  the  English  with  water  while  the  rock  was 
fortified  by  them  in  1844. 

Not  less  intrivxtin^  than  the  natural  features  are  the  in- 
habitants of  this  island,  distinguish*-'!  l.y  luaiity,  thrift, and 
markal.h'  and  peculiar  individuality.  In  1895  they 
numbered  nearly  five  hundred  to  the  square  mile,  aggre- 
gating 187,692  people,  most  of  whom,  except  1307,  were 
rith.-r  l.la.-ks  or  members  of  that  r-niarkable  mixed  race 
wliirh  disiiniruishrs  the  island.  The  mixed  populations 
show  every  variety  of  color  and  typr,— mulattos,  copre, 
chabin,  and  mates,— but  they  are  generally  h.althy  and 
tlirivinir.  Traces  of  Caribbean  blood  are  seen  in  th.-ir 
color,  physiognomy,  and  physiral  «-ha  H.-arn 

thus  describes  the  population  of  Martinique: 

Fantastic,  astonishing— a  population  of  the  "Aral  hts." 

It  is  many-colored,  but  the  general  dominant  tint  is  yellow. 
Straight  as  palms,  and  supple  and  tall,  these  colored  women  and 
men  impress  one  powerfully  by  their  dignified  carriage  and  easy 
elegance  of  movement    All,  or  nearly  all,  are  without  shoes. 
Perhaps  the  most  n<>\  .1  impression  of  all  is  that  produced  by  the 
singularity  and  brilliancy  of  certain  of  the  women's  costumes. 
Some  of  these  fashions  suggest  the  Orient ;  they  offer  beautiful 
audacities  of  color  contrast;  and  the  full-dress  coiffure.  ah.,ve  all, 
is  most  striking.    It  is  an  immense  Madras  handkt  n  hiif.  \\  1. . 


THE  ISLAND  OP  MARTINIQUE  ."•"»"> 

about  the  head  with   a.lmirable  art,  like  a  turban;  one 
•:.t  mil.  pushed  through  at  the  top  in  front,  being  left  sticking 
tip  lik«-  ;i  plume.    Then  this  turban,  always  full  of  bright  canary- 
color,  is  fastened  with  golden  brooches,  one  in  front  and  one  at 
either  side.    As  for  the  rem  a  i  nd  dress,  it  is  simple  enough : 

an  embroidered,  low-cut  chemise  with  sleeves;  a  skirt,  or  jupe, 
very  long  behind,  but  caught  up  and  fastened  in  front  below  the 
breasts,  so  as  to  bring  the  hem  everywhere  to  a  level  with  the  end 
of  the  long  chemise ;  and  finally  a  foulard,  or  silken  kerchief,  thrown 
over  the  shoulders.  These  jupes  and  foulards,  however,  art 
qnisite  in  pattern  and  color :  bright  crimson,  bright  yellow,  bright 
blue,  bright  green,  lilac,  violet,  rose,  sometimes  mingled  in 
plaidings  or  checkering*  or  stripings ;  black  with  orange,  sky-blue 
with  purple.  And  whatever  be  the  colors  of  the  costume,  which 
vary  astonishingly,  the  coiffure  must  be  yellow— brilliant,  flashing 
yellow;  the  turban  is  certain  to  have  yellow  stripes  or  yellow 
squares.  To  this  display  add  the  effect  of  costly  and  curious 
jewelry :  immense  ear-rings,  each  pendant  being  formed  of  five  gold 
<  vlinders  joined  together,  cylinders  sometimes  two  inches  long 
and  an  inch  at  least  in  circumference ;  a  necklace  of  one  or  many 
rows  of  large,  hollow  gold  beads,  called  collier-ckoux. 

But  few  are  thus  richly  attired ;  the  greater  number  of  the 
women,  carrying  burdens  on  their  heads,— peddling  vegetables, 
cakes,  fruit,  ready-cooked  food,  from  door  to  door,— are  very  sim- 
ply dressed  in  a  single  plain  robe  of  vivid  colors  (doHillrtte),  reach- 
from  neck  to  feet,  and  made  with  n  train,  but  generally  girded 
w.  11  up  so  as  to  sit  close  to  the  figure  and  leave  the  lower  limbs 
partly  bare  and  perfectly  free.  These  women  can  walk  all  day 
long  up  and  down  hill  in  the  hot  sun,  without  shoes,  carrying 
loads  of  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  on 
r  heads;  and  if  their  little  stock  sometimes  fails  to  come  up  to 
the  accustomed  weight,  stones  are  added  to  make  it  heavy  enough. 
With  the  women  the  load  is  very  seldom  steadied  with  the  hand. 
The  head  remains  almost  motionless ;  but  the  black,  quick,  pier- 
«  flash  into  every  window  and  doorway  to  watch  for  a 
customer's  signal.  These  women  also  carry  the  produce  across 
mountain  from  plantation  to  seaport 

Cornilliac  ascribes  the  wonderful  beauty  of  the  Mar- 
tinique women  to  the  admixture  of  Carib  blood  with  that 


;;;>(*>  .  •  i.\       :    K.KTO  Kim 


of  the  Europeans  and  blacks.  Both  men  and  women  are 
often  so  perfect  anatomically  that  the  artist  wishing  to 
create  a  "  Mercury  "  or  "  Venus  "  need  only  take  a  oast  of 
such  a  body,  without  making  one  modification  from  neck 
to  heel 

There  is  great  love  of  the  mother-country  among  all 
classes.  This  is  due  to  the  liberty  of  the  press  and  politi- 
cal freedom.  Laborers  in  Martinique  receive  wages  of  from 
fifteen  to  nineteen  cents  a  day;  house-servants  $1.52  to 
$2.87  a  month;  mechanics  seventy-six  to  ninety-five 
cents  a  day  ;  and  bookkeepers  from  $43  to  $55  a  month. 
The  women  do  most  of  the  hard  work. 


ONE    OF    THE    PlTONS 

ST.   l.i  «  l\ 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

8T.  LUCIA,  ST.  VINCENT,  THE  GRENADINES,  AND  GRENADA 

England's  stronghold  in  the  West  Indies.    The  Pitons.    Agricultural  de- 
pression.   Recollections  of  Rodney. 

ST.  LUCIA  was  the  Ste.  Alouise  of  the  French.  This 
u  wildly  beautiful  island,"  as  it  is  called  by  Montgom- 
ery Martin,  lies  twenty-four  miles  south  of  Martinique  and 
twenty-one  miles  northeast  of  St.  Vincent.  It  has  the  same 
rugged  aspect  as  the  other  large  Caribbees,  but  is  noted  as 
one  of  the  loveliest,  if  not  the  loveliest,  in  the  chain  of 
islands  to  which  it  belongs.  It  is  forty-two  miles  long, 
twenty  miles  broad,  has  a  coast-line  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles,  and  embraces  two  hundred  and  thirty-three 
square  miles.  Like  Guadeloupe,  Montserrat,  Dominica, 
and  Martinique,  it  is  a  mass  of  high  monies,  with  steep 
bluffs  along  the  sea  and  steep  acclivities  leading  up  to  the 
cloud-wrap} MM!  summits,  the  highest  of  which,  La  Sou- 
!';•;. -iv,  at  the  south  end  of  the  island,  is  four  thousand  feet 
in  a  1 1  i  t  ude.  Near  by  there  is  another  mountain,  the  Pi  ton 
dt's  Canaris,  thiv««  thousand  f<-«-t  hiirh.  <Hhfr  hiirh  sum- 
mits occur  al-mi:  thr  riitiro  length  of  the  island,  but  are 
always  wrapped  in  a  silky  veil  of  mist.  The  so-called 
ater"  of  the  Soufriere  is  about  one  thousand  feet  up 
the  mountain.  It  is  composed  of  old  volcanic  tuff  and 
cinder,  coated  with  sulphur,  and  contains  a  few  boiling 
springs. 
Of  all  the  examples  of  the  wonderful  acute  configuration 

357 


358  CUBA   AND   POBTO  RICO 

of  the  Caribbees,  the  Pitons,  at  the  southern  end  of  St. 
Lucia,  are  the  m«>M  n-markaMe.  These  ar-  u\.,  immense 
pointe.l  peaks  whieh  rise  from  the  sea-]--\ei  iike 
dragons'  t.-eth  to  _7_"  ami  -Jti^u  feel  rtftpeetively, 
as  vertical  as  the  peaks  of  the  MMt<  rlmm.  Their  slopes 
are  fully  sixty  degrees,  and  they  are  covered  densely  by 
vegetation.  These  peculiar  forms  are  not  craters,  but  may 
be  old  volcanic  stocks.  The  beautiful  coves  and  bays  are 
aUo  very  picturesque;  dense  forests,  fertile  valleys,  ver- 
dant plain-,  frowning  precipices,  lively  rivers,  and  <leep 
ravines,  the  whole  covered  by  a  perfect  mass  of  deciduous 
vegetation,  make  up  the  wonderful  landscape. 

The  vegetation  and  climate  are  very  similar  to  those  of 
Martinique.  In  fact,  St.  Lucia,  Martinique,  Dominica, 
Basse-Terre  (Guadeloupe),  and  Montserrat  are  all  so  niu«  h 
alike  in  configuration,  climate,  and  vegetation,  that  I  can- 
not recall  a  single  distinguishing  feature  on  any  of  thorn. 
They  constitute  the  summits  of  a  continuous  mountain  — 
a  great  sierra  made  up  of  the  same  masses  of  old  volcanic 
tuiTs  and  basalts,  just  as  one  of  the  long  sierras  of  our 
Southwest  deserts  would  appear  if  its  lower  passes  were 
flooded. 

St.  Lucia,  like  Dominica  and  Martinique,  is  a  Fr<  m-h 
island  which  has  several  times  passtnl  into  English  pos- 
session, finally  Incoming  a  permanent  holding  of  the  Eng- 
lish after  the  imperial  wars,  on  ar.-oimt  of  its  excellent 
harlM.r.  It  is  now  under  the  general  government  of  the 
\Viml\vard  Islands,  with  a  local  legislative  ...un.il.  ,n 
the  strictest  pattern  of  a  crown  colony,  which  has  the 
u-ual  .  \, .  llont  administrative  features,  accompanied  l.y 
high  taxation  and  economic  decay.  There  are  thi 
seven  primary  schools  in  the  island,  but  a  great  <hawl>ark 
to  educational  progress  is  the  Fi  •  n<  h  patois  spoken  by  the 

natives. 

The  soil,  like  that  of  all  th*-  other  Carihbees,  is  ri«-h 
beyond  desci  i] *t  ion  ;  one  third  of  the  isl  :•••«!  with 

superb  forests,  inhabited,  like  those  of  Martinique,  l,y  the 


\,  ST.  VINCENT,  THE  GRENADINES,  AND  GRENADA 

deadly  fer-de-lance.  Agriculturally  St.  Lucia  shows  the 
same  depression  everywhere  visible  in  the  English  inlands. 
The  sugar  industry  has  almost  been  eliminated  within  th.« 
laM  t.-ii  \vars.  Only  a  small  portion  of  tin-  total  . -ulr  :\  aMe 
acreage  is  under  cultivation.  The  forty-six  thousand 
l-l.i.-k  inhal.itants,  who  are  Fn-in-h  in  speech  and  lial.it,  live 
luridly  <>n  Mi.-h  picking  as  th»-y  ran  irathrr  from  th«-  .-oal- 
ing  of  ships,  public  works,  and  th.-ir  little  yam-patches. 
.Many  of  them  leave  the  island  to  s.-ck  «-mpl-.\  m.  nt  in 
Cayenne  and  other  places.  The  revenues  are  not  su  Hi  <  •  i « •  n  t 
to  meet  the  expenditures,  and  the  high  taxes  are  already 
more  than  the  people  can  meet  Sugar-plant  in-;  i-  dying 
out,  and  this  beautiful  inland,  once  as  fair  as  Martinique, 
will  soon  sink  into  the  economic  condition  of  Doinii 

St.  Lucia  is  chiefly  noted  for  possessing  the  only  deep 
harbor,  except  St.  Thomas  and  Trinidad,  in  the  Lesser 
Antilles,  and  for  being  the  only  one  of  the  Caribbee  Islands 
which  has  a  completely  protected  landlocked  basin,  where 
ships  can  go  alongside  a  dock.  This  is  an  oblong  bay 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  high  hills,  upon  which  England 
is  mounting  some  of  the  strongest  Latteries  in  the  world. 
The  town  of  Castries  is  a  small  place  built  on  made  ground 
on  the  interior  side  of  the  harbor,  at  the  foot  of  its  steep 
surrounding  hills.  It  looks  quite  diminutive  in  compari- 
son with  the  overt  o  wring  natural  surroundings.  Its 
•  -MI  seems  to  consist  mostly  of  negro  women,  who 

coal  th,.  pas<in«rship<.  Th.-iv  i<  a  hand-om,.  mark.'t-hoii<,., 
a  pretty  botanical  garden,  and  a  comfortable  reading-room 
and  library.  The  whites  all  live  upon  the  highlands 
around  the  harbor,  the  low  grounds  being  considered  un- 
healthful. 

For  the  past  few  years  England  has  been  making  a  most 
formidable  naval  station   here,  and  the  A  .lingo 

press  has  often  called  attention  t..  it.    Castries  is  also  the 
chi.-f  ••oalinir-station  of  th.-  British  navy  in  the  West  In.: 
and  the  imperial  troops  are  to  be  concentrated  here  an<  i 
«lan 


CUBA   AND   PORTO    I: 

The  waters  off  thi>  Mand  are  famous  to  all 
as  the  scene  of  what  they  consider  one  of  the  great < -t  1  Bat- 
tles of  all  naval  history,  although  they  have  never  given  it 
a  name  other  than  "I:  A-  our  ship  passed 

1  y  these  waters,  every  Briton  hung  over  the  rail  \\ith  in- 
tense interest,  recalling  this  great  conflict  which  took  place 
on  April  1'J,  1782,  between  Admiral  Rodney  and  the  Fn- 
admiral  De  Grasse.  This  battle,  which  is  fully  described 
in  Captain  Mahan's  book,  was  really  one  of  the  decisive 
events  of  the  world's  history,  for  it  not  only  reduced  the 
French  to  a  secondary  po>itinn  in  the  West  Indies,  l.ut 
established  England's  great  position  as  a  modern  sea- 
power.  Furthermore,  it  saved  Jamaica  to  England, 
the  <-i  re  n  instances  leading  up  to  it  indirectly  freed  the 
American  colonies,  for  had  not  England  been  so  <>< ,  upi<  d 
during  tin-  American  Revolution  with  her  struggles  agu 
the  French  in  the  West  Indies,  which  were  then  considered 
of  somuch  pvat.T  value  than  the  American  colonies,  there 
is  little  donl.t  that  our  own  cause  would  have  been  lost. 
In  the  English  mind  this  victory,  whirh  n.-nirr.  d  >inml- 
taneously  with  the  surrender  of  Yorktown,  completely 
shadowed  the  latter  event. 

In  the  peace  that  followed  St.  Lucia  became  a  Brii 
possession,  but  the  erstwhile  French  < -iti/.-ns  made  things 
lively  for  th.-ir  new  masters.    In  a  revolution  the;. 
ered  the  whole  of  the  island  with  the  exception  of  two  mil- 
itary  posts,  and  it  r.  .piii,  d  Lord  Abercrombie  with  t  v, . 
thousand  British  soldiers  to  restore  <pii. -t. 

The  whole  southern  half  of  the  Caril ,}„ -an  «  ii<  1. 
lish,— St.  Lucia,  St.  Vincent,  and  Grenada  are  three  of  a 
kind,  — while  the  little  Grenadines  are  largely  uninhabited 
isleto. 

It  has  been  said  that  four  islands  aimm^  the  Carihbees 
realize  one's  ideals— Guadeloupe,  homim  'ini^pie, 

and  St.  Yine.-nt.  "The  first  is  grand  and  gloomy:  the 
s.-eond  is  somber  in  ite  mountains,  l»ut  ln-eaks  out  into 
smil  t>  «.f  .ultivated  land;  the  third  combine! 


NMWI    *  '• 

M\.  1  M 


ST.  LUCIA,  ST.  VINCENT,  THE  GRENADINES,  AND  GRENADA     361 

features  of  the  first  two  and  adds  the  element  of  a  large 
and  picturesque  population ;  while  St.  Vincent  has  all  the 
mil  wonders  and  beauties  of  the  other  three,  and  a  cer- 
tain  air  of  delicate  culture  which  is  entirely  its  own." 
Furthermore,  it  is  an  agreeable  place  to  spend  a  week  or 
two. 

Vincent  is  a  single  island  with  no  outlying  rocks  or 
islets.  It  is  seventeen  miles  long  and  ten  miles  broad,  with 
an  area  of  one  hundr.  ••!  ami  thirty-one  square  miles,  and  a 
population  of  nearly  fifty  thousand  people.  A  ridge  of 
niou  -ses  along  th<>  middle  through  its  whole 

length,  the  highest  of  wiii.-h,  the  Soufriere,  is  at  the  north 
extremity.  Its  scenery  is  slight  ly  different  from  that  of  the 
other  Caribbees.  There  are  more  extensive  open  views,— 
slopes  and  valleys,— while  vast  areas  of  more  recent  cinder 
and  lava  indicate  t  hat  later  volcanic  action  has  taken  place. 

The  island  culminates  in  tho  vast  crater  of  Morne  Garon, 
whieh  was  the  scene  of  a  tremendous  eruption  in  1812, 
when  the  earthquakes  which  for  two  years  had  terrified 
the  West  Indian  region  and  the  South  American  coast  cul- 
minated  in  an  explosion  which  was  a  most  devastating  and 
far-reaching  cataclysm,  being  rivaled  within  recent  years 
only  by  the  explosion  of  Krakatau,  in  the  Straits  of  Sunda. 
In  Caracas  ten  thousand  people  were  buried  in  a  single 
moment,  and  ruin  was  wrought  along  the  entire  line  of  the 
Andes  by  earthquakes  accompanying  the  event.  The 
Soufriere  of  St.  Vincent  vomited  vast  clouds  of  dust,  whieh 
darkened  the  sun  for  an  entire  day  and  spread  over  a  hun- 
dred miles  of  sea  and  land.  This  eruption  changed  the 
L:  11  rat  ion  of  the  island  and  destroyed  its  eastern  end. 
The  present  .-rat.-r,  formed  at  that  time,  is  a  half-mile  in 
diameter  and  live  hundred  feet  deep,  and  is  now  a  beauti- 
ful Lake  walled  in  by  ragged  cliffs  to  a  height  of  eight  him. 
dred  feet.  Since  1812  the  volcanic  forces  have  been  quies- 
cent, and  nature  has  repaired  the  ruin  and  made  the  island 
more  beautiful  than  ever. 

Kingstown,  the  capital,  with  about  eight  thousand  in- 


362  HA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

habitants,  is  on  the  southwest  side,  th»-  town  st 
along  a  lovely  hay,  with  mountains  gradually  rising  behind 
in  the  form  of  an  amphitheater.  Its  red-roofed  houses  and 
a  few  fine  stone  structures  show  picturesquely  through  the 
palm- groves.  Behind  these  are  the  governor's  house  and 
botanieal  huil< lings, overlooking  the  town.  Three  streets, 
broad  and  lined  with  good  houses,  front  the  water.  On 
these  are  stone  buildings  occupied  as  a  police  station  and 
government  stores.  There  are  many  other  intersecting 
highways,  some  of  which  lead  back  to  the  foot-hills,  from 
which  good  roads  ascend  the  mountains. 

In  St.  Vincent  we  meet  the  same  story  of  the  decay  of 
the  sugar  industry;  here  it  is  on  the  verge  of  extinction. 
No  improvements  have  been  introduced  in  the  manufact 
and  the  canes  have  in  recent  years  suffered  severely  from 
disease.  No  industry  has  taken  its  place.  Arrowroot  is 
next  in  importance  to  sugar,  but  its  price  has  also  declined, 
adding  to  the  depression.  It  is  grown  in  fields  which  are 
planted  like  Indian  corn  when  sown  for  fodder.  When 
matured  it  is  duir  up  and  t,tk.-n  to  a  mill,  where  the  roots 
are  broken  off,  ground,  washed,  and  strained,  and  the  mass 
allowed  to  settle  for  a  few  days.  The  product  is  th«-n 
placed  on  wireframes  with  difTerent-si/.ed  meshes  to  dry. 
It  gradually  sifts  down  through  these,  and  is  then  barreled 
for  shipm.  -lit.  In  reeent  years  it  has  brought  about  five 
dollars  a  harrel,  or  eight  cents  per  pound;  formerly  it 
brought  from  forty  to  s  ;its. 

Wages  are  very  low  and  constantly  being  red' 
th.-ro  is  a  lamentable  want  of  employment  even  at  the 
price  of  less  than  a  shilling  a  day  for  able-bodied  i 
who  are  constantly  emigrating,  leaving  the  women  and 
ehiMren  to  shift  for  themselves.    There  are  few  Caribs 
remaining  in  St.  Vincent,  the  remnant  of  a  large  nun 
that   lived  here  until   IT'.'i;.  \\h.-n  <ir»-at   I'.ritain  deported 
five  thousand  of  them  to  the  coast  of  Honduras. 

Between  St.  \"in«-.-nt  and  fiivnada.  instead  of  open  v. 
we  find  several  hundred  little  m<-ky  islands,  all  disposed 


SUGAR-PLANTATION,    FORT    DAVINET 


WINDWARD   COAST 


ST.    VIM 


8T.  LUCIA,  ST.  VINCENT,  THE  GRENADINES,  AND  GRENADA     363 

in  the  trend  of  the  larger  Caribbees,  but  offering  an  eml- 
less  variety  in  shape  and  configuration.  Kingsley  has 
summarized  their  essential  features  as  follows : 

On  leaving  8t  Vincent,  the  track  lies  past  the  Grenadine*,  For 
sixty  miles,  long  low  islands  of  quaint  forms  and  euphonious 
names— Beoqnia,  Mustique,  Canonau,  Carriaeou,  lie  de  Rhone- 
rise  a  few  hundred  feet  out  of  the  unfathomable  sea,  bare  of  wood, 

r.l^'.-.l   with   rlifT>  an«l    MIVJIN-.  ••!"  r« -.  1    ainl    (jniv   r«"-k.   r«  —  inMiU}.'. 

says  Dr.  Davy,  the  Cyelades  of  the  Grecian  Archipelago;  their 
number  is  counted  at  three  hundred.  The  largest  of  them  all  is 
not  eight  thousand  acres  in  extent,  the  smallest  about  six  hundred. 
A  quiet,  prosperous  race  of  little  yeomen,  besides  a  few  planters, 
dwell  there ;  the  latter  feeding  and  exporting  much  stock,  the 
former  mu.-h  provisions,  and  both  troubling  themselves  less  than  of 
yore  with  sugar  and  cotton.  They  build  coasting-vessels,  and  trade 
with  them  to  the  larger  islands;  and  they  might  be,  it  is  said,  if 
they  chose,  much  richer  than  they  are— if  that  be  any  good  to  them. 
The  steamer  does  not  stop  at  any  of  these  little  sea-hermitages, 
so  that  we  could  only  watrh  their  shores;  and  they  were  worth 
watching.  They  had  been,  plainly,  sea-gnawn  for  countless  ages, 
and  may,  at  some  remote  tun.-,  have  been  all  joined  in  one  long 
ragged  chine  of  hills,  the  highest  about  one  thousand  feet  They 
seem  to  be,  for  the  most  part,  made  up  of  marls  and  limestones, 
with  trap-dikes  and  other  igneous  matters  here  and  there.  And 
one  could  not  help  entertaining  the  fancy  that  they  were  a  speci- 
ni'-n  of  what  the  other  island**  were  once,  or  at  least  would  have 
been  now,  had  not  each  of  tin-in  had  its  volcanic  vents  to  pile  up 
hard  lavas  thousands  of  feet  aloft,  above  the  marine  strata,  and  so 
consolidate  each  ragged  chine  of  submerged  mountain  into  one 
solid  conical  island,  like  St.  Vincent  at  tin -ir  n<>r 
their  south.*™  end  that  In-autiful  Grenada  to  which  we  were  fast 
approaching,  and  which  we  reached,  on  our  outward  voyage,  at 
Tt'all.  ninniiiL'  in  toward  a  narrow  gap  of  moon-lit  cliffs,  be- 
yon.  1  which  we  could  discern  the  lights  of  a  town. 

The  beautiful  island  of  Grenada  is  the  most  southern  of 
the  Caribbean  clinin.  It  is  eighteen  miles  long  and  seven 
miles  broad,  and  contains  one  hundred  and  thirty-three 
square  miles— two  more  than  St.  Yin. ••  -nt.  It  is  surmounted 


:;r,4  CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

by  lofty  volcanic  craters,  among  which  is  a  picturesque 
lake  more  than  two  miles  in  rinu inference  ami  tli 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea.    The  capital,  St.  George,  has 
a  fine  harbor  with  a  walled  fort,  and  pretty  houses  and 
churches  situated  on  the  hillsides.     In  the  northwest  are 
successive  piles  of  conical  hills  or  continuous  ridges  < 
ered  with  vast  forest- trees  and  brushwood.     There  are 
many  fertile  valleys  interspersed  with  numerous  rivulets. 

Grenada  is  the  most  British  of  all  the  British  islands, 
for,  although  owned  by  France  until  17u_,  it  has  flown  the 
English  flag  since  then.  The  island  is  the  capital  or  head- 
quarters of  the  Windward  government,  which  cnniprises 
the  colonies  of  St.  Lucia,  St.  Vincent,  the  <  iivnadines,  and 
Grenada,  and  has  all  the  charms  of  liritish  official  colo- 
nial society.  Here  also  we  hear  the  cry  of  the  good  old 
days  that  are  no  more,  and  the  lamentations  of  the  decay 
that  is.  Sugar,  for  which  the  island  was  once  famous,  is 
now  grown  only  in  sufficient  quantities  to  supply  the 
natives  with  cane  to  chew  or  rum  to  drink,  less  than  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars' worth  being  exported  annually. 
Cocoa  is  the  chief  product,  but  this  is  falling  off  in  j 
The  expenditures  are  increasing  on  account  of  enlarged 
educational  institutions  and  public  works— roads,  bridges, 
and  water- works,  which  the  Kni:li  '  always  have. 

The  population  in  IsiU  numbered  fifty-four  thousand, 
or  four  hundred  and  fifteen  to  the  square  mile,  of  wh«  •• 
least  four  fifths  are  a  contented  lot  of  negro  peasar 
owning  their  own  homes  and  grow  ii  little  crops  of 

yams  and  sweet  potatoes.  Like  St.  Yin-  M.  it  presents 
more  open  conn  try  interspersed  between  the  rugged  moun- 
tains than  is  found  in  the  northern  Caril»l>ees,  and  is  of  a 
more  recent  volcanic  <•}  The  Knirli-h  will  tell 

that  it  is  the  loveliest  of  all  the  islands;  1-ut  this  is  told  of 
them  all. 

Md  is  a  delightful  sj>ot,  and  the  KnirlMi  proprie- 
tors a  hospitable  people.  It  th.  reader  should  visit  the 
tropics,  a  brief  stay  here  would  l.e  well  re\\ 


ST.  OCOROC'8    HARBOR 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

THE  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ISLANDS 

Trinidad,  Tobago,  and  Curasao.  The  peculiar  geographical  features  of 
Trinidad.  Port  of  Spain.  Political  condition*  Population  and  peo- 
ple. The  ialand  of  Tobago.  Curacao,  the  capital  of  the  Dutch  West 
Indie*. 


REN  AD  A  is  the  most  southern  of  the  Caribbean  chain. 
Th»-  «  -tluT  islands  of  the  Lesser  Antilles  to  the  south- 
wanl,  an.  I  a<ljao-nt  to  tin-  north  ma>t  of  South  Ain.-ri.-a, 
are,  in  th«-ir  natural  features,  fragments  of  the  latter  con- 
tinent which  have  become  detached  from  the  mainland  by 
tlio  processes  of  time.  They  are  continental  in  their  diver- 
,  and,  were  they  not  insular  in  outline,  they  would  be 
considered  as  belonging  to  the  South  American  rather  than 
the  West  Indian  realm.  Only  a  few  words  can  be  said 
concerning  them. 

These  islands  succeed  one  another  in  elongated  arrange- 
ment like  those  of  the  other  greater  groups,  but  trend  in 
an  east-and-west  direction,  parallel  to  the  adjacent  con- 
1  coast,  extending  through  seven  degrees  of  longi- 
t  u.l.-.  from  Tobago,  on  the  east,  to  the  rocky  islets  known  as 
the  Monks,  at  the  entrance  to  the  great  Gulf  of  Maracaibo, 
on  the  west 

Of  this  group  Trinidad  is  by  far  the  largest  and  most 
interesting,   although  Tobago,  Margarita,  Tortuga,  Los 


:;<,<;  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

Roques,  Buen  Ayr*.  uo,  and  Oruba  are  of  r« 

able  size,  each  possessing  an  ai-.-a  only  a  little  less  than 
that  of  the  average  Caribbee.  Here,  too,  is  multiplicity  of 
nationalities.  Tobago  ami  Trinidad  are  British;  Buen 
A\  re  and  Curacao  I  hitch  :  and  most  of  the  others,  which 
are  not  worthy  of  further  mention,  are  Venezuelan. 

Trinidad  lies  just  south  of  the  eastern  end  of  the  main 
<  •  1 1  a  i  n  of  South  American  islands.    It  is  separated  from  the 
main  continent  by  the  Gulf  of  Paria,  which  has  two  outlets 
on  the  south  and  northwest,  known  as  the  Mouth  of  the 
Serpent  and  the  Mouth  of  the  Dragon  respectively,  which 
are  only  a  few  miles  wide,  and  across  which  the  main 
is  plainly  visible.    Trinidad  is  merely  a  severed  fragment 
of  the  mainland,  having  exactly  the  same  relations  t 
that  Long  Island  has  to  the  adjacent  coast  of  New  York 
and  New  England. 

The  island  is  quadrangular  in  outline  and  embraces  an 
area  of  1754  square  miles— nearly  as  large  as  all  the  Carib- 
bee Islands  combined.  The  volcanic  appearanr* 
marks  the  configuration  of  the  Caribbee  Islands  is  missing, 
and  Trinidad  resembles  the  continent.  It  is  crossed  in 
east-and-west  directions  by  great  mountain  ranges  with 
rivers  and  lakes,  and  is  diversified  by  beautiful  plains  and 
valleys.  On  the  east  it  faces  the  Atlantic,  the  straight 
north  shore  lies  against  the  Caribbean  Sea.  while  to  the 
west  there  is  the  great  bulb- shaped  Oulf  of  Paria.  These 
waters,  instead  of  being  bright  blue,  are  a  muddy  yellow, 
filled  with  segments  from  the  a-ljaccnt  land.  There  are  a 
few  low  wooded  islands  in  this  gulf.  The  equatorial  cur- 
rent, as  it  passes  from  the  Atlantic  into  the  Gulf,  rushes 
with  great  velocity  through  the  Serpent's  Mouth. 

Trinidad  has  been  called  On-.     ! 

nn  colony,  )>ut  there  is  nothing  West  In«lian  al.oiit  it. 
\M  thoroughly  South  American.    The  flora,  ro< 
mals,  and  geology  all  partake  of  the  ndjae, -nt  ('umana 
peninsula,  and  it  should  be  considered  in  the  same  cate- 
gory as  British  Guiana. 


PUBLIC   OFFICES 


PORT  OF   SPAIN 


THE  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ISLANDS  >»7 

The  capital  and  chief  city  of  the  island  is  Port  of  Spain, 
situated  on  a  beautiful  harbor  facing  the  Oulf  of  1'uria, 
whirl  i,  were  it  not  for  its  shullowness,  wouM  h.-l-i 
shipping  of  the  world.  The  larger  vessels  are  loaded  by 
lighters.  It  was  into  this  harbor  that  Colmnhus  first  came, 
when  he  named  the  island  Trinidad,  in  fulfilment  of  a  vow 
he  had  made  to  the  Holy  Trinity.  The  city  is  elevated 
about  four  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  from 
which  it  is  some  six  miles  distant,  and  is  a  pretty,  hilly 
town  of  about  twenty  thousand  inhabitants.  It  is  a  curi- 
ous combination  of  English,  French,  and  Spanish  I  »ui  Id- 
ings,  arranged  on  broad  streets  and  with  many  squares  or 
plazas.  Street-cars  traverse  the  chief  avenues.  The  city 
has  been  made  somewhat  unattractive  by  numerous  fires; 
some  of  these  have  been  very  extensive,  especially  those 
of  1884  and  1891.  The  governor's  house,  as  in  all  the 
English  colonies,  stands  in  large  grounds  out  of  town,  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountains.  It  is  surrounded  by  beautiful 
botanical  gardens,  which  are  especially  rich  in  nutmeg-, 
iamon-,  and  other  spice- trees,  and  every  known  species 
of  palm-tree.  Immense  ceibas,  almonds,  and  orange-trees 
also  ornament  the  grounds. 

-  said  that,  owing  to  its  exposure  to  the  combined 
breezes  of  the  sea  and  mountain,  with  a  most  delicious 
climate,  Port  of  Spain  is  a  very  healthful  place,  while  its 
situation  in  a  rich  and  fertile  country,  its  extended  views, 
the  beauty  of  its  women,  and  the  hospitality  of  its  inhabi- 
tants, make  it  a  most  att  town.  To  this  place 
come  eighteen  steamers  a  month  from  England,  six  from 
the  United  States  (four  steamers  of  the  French  line,  two 
of  the  Quebec),  and  two  from  Holland ;  and  there  are  seven 
steamers  to  \  •  uela.  There  is  also  an  extensive  carry- 
in  ir -trade  between  Port  of  Spain  and  Venezuela.  Gold 
and  other  products  of  the  country  are  reshipped  from  Trini- 
dad ope,  and  goods  from  Europe  are  sent  to  Trini- 
dad for  distribution  in  Venezuela. 

There  are  several  smaller  places,  Princestown  and  San 


•    •    ;    •-.      VM.     i  ^    1.1          l;!,   ,, 


Fernando  being  the  most  notable. 
plaee  of  th.-  Trinidad  asphalt. 

The  Spaniards  rol>l».Ml  tin-  island  of  its  inhabit  a  i 
the  earlier  centuries  and  made  them  slaves.     In  t  h«  •-•<••  -n-  1 
century  of  its  discovery  Sir  Walt,  i  K'aleigh  touched  at  tin- 
island  and  tarred  his  ships  with  the  black  asphalt  found 
native  here,  which  now  supplies  the  pa\  1  for 

so  many  American  cities.    Two  centuries  of  conflict  be- 
tween England,  I  Vance,  and  Spain  ensued  (in  which  the 
natives  suffered  the  most),  until  17D7,  when  the  Engli-h 
came  into  permanent  possession.     Trini.lad  is  histori< 
interesting  as  the  place  where  Cortez  parted  f  re  >  '  rnor 

Velasquez,  with  all  the  vessels  and  men  fitted  out  for  th. 
conquest  of  Mexico. 

Politically,  Trinidad  is  another  British  colony,  with  its 
governor,  staff,  and  legislature,  constituting  a   di-' 
government  from  the  other  West  Indies.    Like  other  1 
ish  colonial  governments,  it  has  good  roads,  good  p<>' 
good  schools,  go<><!  i>ul.li<>  works  and  institutions  <> 
kinds,  together  with  high  taxation  and  a  large  public  d«-l.t. 
There  are  two  colleges  and  one  hundred  and  i.  ight 

public  schools.  There  are  fifty-four  and  a  q  1  1  a  rt  •  •  r  miles  of 
railway  in  operation  on  the  island,  and  thirty  more  in 
process  of  construction.  These  are  owned  by  the  govern- 
ment. 

The  principal  exports  are  fifty  thousand  tons  of  sugar 
yearly,  cocoa,  Angostura  bitters  (of  which  rum  is  the 
basis),  molasses,  asphalt,  and  cocoanuts,  valued  at  $9,w 
244,  of  which  one  half  the  value  is  for  sugar.  The  exports 
of  asphalt  to  the  United  States  in  1897  amounted  to  109,- 
243  tons. 

About  one  fourth  of  the  soil  is  cultivated.    A  majority 
of  the  sugar-estates  are  provided  with  modern  madm 
while  the  Usine  St.  Madeleine  is  the  largest  sugar-  factory 
in  th«-  British  West  Indies.    The  Agricultural  Society  and 
Chamber  of  Commerce  declare  the  sugar  in<l  0  be 

"  undoubtedly  in  danger  of  •  >n.w 


Tin:  SMITH   \MKKI<  \\  ISI.\NI»S  369 

One  of  the  chief  sources  of  value  to  Trinidad  is  the 
asphalt  hike,  which  supplies  the  material  for  American 
pavements.  This  is  a  plain  of  one  hundred  acres  more  or 
less,  situated  about  sixty  miles  south  of  Port  of  Spain. 
The  lake  has  a  black  surface,  with  inky  pools  of  soft  hit  u- 
men  and  spots  of  yellow  bubbles  and  water-cracks.  The 
surface  is  yielding,  and  a  strong  odor  of  sulphurated  hy- 
drogen prevails.  Anything  more  black  and  repulsive  can 
hardly  be  imagi IP- i.  It  has  been  lik.-ned  to  a  vast  asphalt 
•  •incut  with  many  holes  filled  with  inky  waters  in 
which  swim  ugly  fish  and  black  beetles.  When  pieces  of 
h  are  taken  from  the  lake,  nature  at  once  begins  to  re- 
pair the  damage,  and  in  twenty-four  boon  the  hole  is  filled 
again.  The  tract  is  leased  by  the  government  to  an 

American  asphalt  company  for  forty-one  years.  an-1  vi.-Ms 

a  revenue  of  $142.500  a  year  to  the  government  The 
company  has  established  machinery  near  the  lake  to  crush 
and  purify  the  pitch,  which  comes  from  the  lake  in  carts. 
It  is  formed  in  blocks,  packed  in  barrels  or  transported  in 
hulk  by  elevated  trolleys  direct  t<>  th<-  ships  at  La  Brea. 

The  population  of  Trinidad  is  two  hundred  and  forty- 
five  thousand  people,  and  it  is  a  medley  of  Kmrli>h.  French, 

•lies.     The  Knirlish  p>  there  to 

make  money  and  go  home  again.  Old  families  have  but 
few  representatives  1  1  1  .bean  natives  have  long 

since  vanished,  and  negroes  and  East  India  coolies  have 
taken  their  place,  and  now  constitute  four  fifths  of  the 
population. 

<  iiiof  laboring  » •!•  inent  of  Trinidad  are  the  coolies, 
of  whom  there  are  ninet\  .  -hi  thousand  upon  the  island. 
They  are  brought  from  Hindustan,  under  contract,  at  the 
expense  of  the  colony,  and  under  care  of  the  government 
agents.  They  are  apprenticed  to  owners  for  five  years. 
The  Hindus  are  of  low  caste  and  do  not  amalgamate  with 
the  black<.  They  dwell  by  themselves  in  little  huts  of  a 
peculiar  type,  and  maintain  their  own  dp  — .  and 

religious  ceremonials.   Rice,  cassava-roots,  and  fruits  sup- 


CUBA  AND  PORTO  I:: 

ply  their  scanty  meals.    They  are  bound  by  law  to  v 
nine  hours  a  da  iro  hundred  and  eighty  days  ii. 

year,  and  receive  a  regular  rate  of  wages,  usually  less  t 
sixpence  a  day.  The  law  concerning  this  appreut 
labor  is  very  strongly  enforced  both  upon  the  coolie  and 
his  employer.  Each  estate  employing  coolies  is  obliged  to 
provide  hospitals  under  the  inspection  of  medical  visitors, 
all  tin-  labor  arrangements  are  sul.j.-.-t  t,,  the  inspec- 
tion of  government  agents,  who  visit  the  estates  constant  ly 
and  report  each  week  to  the  agent-general  of  immignu 
he  in  turn  reports  to  the  governor,  who  has  absolute  au- 
thority to  cancel  the  contract  and  remove  any  and  all  the 
coolies  from  an  estate.  When  tin*  time  of  indenture  is 
ended  the  coolie  is  entitled  to  transportation  back  to  his 
native  land.  In  lieu  thereof  he  can  make  a  new  contract 
for  a  year,  or  he  can  remain  and  work  wherever  he  chooses, 
and  receive  the  amount  of  his  return  passage  in  cash.  He 
is  also  allowed  the  option  of  a  government  grant  of  ten 
acres  of  land  instead  of  return  passage-money.  Low  as 
their  wages  are,  most  of  them  accumulate  considerable 
sums,  which  are  often  converted  into  silver  bracelets  ami 
bangles  for  the  arms  and  ankles  of  their  women,  who  thus 
preserve  the  family  treasure.  Some  have  settled  perma- 
nently on  the  island,  and  others  l,;iv,.  returned  for  a  second 
term  of  service,  bringii i  L  Is  and  relatives  with  th.-m. 

The  system  is  a  good  one  for  the  country,  and  it  may  be 
remarked  that  it  is  similar  to  that  \vhieh  piwail.-d  in  Vir- 
ginia, Smith  Carolina.  <  I«-ori:ia,  and  .Jamaica  before  tin' 
American  Revolution,  \\h,  n  the  poor  people  of  England 
were  similarly  ,  iced  to  Southern  planters. 

There  is  a  steady  flow  of  negro  poj  »ulat  i<  »n  from  the  ot  h« -r 
British  West  Indies  to  Trinidad,  especially  from  St.  Vin- 
cent and  Barbados. 

Tobago,  about  sevc n  t  y  n  i  i les  to  the  southeast  of  G  n  n , 
is  the  most  eastern  island  of  the  South  American  group. 
Its  area  is  one  hundred  and  fourteen  squar.-  mil. -s, 
it  is  diversified  with  hills  and  vales,  and  is  equal  in  rich- 


COOHES 


COOLIE    HOUSES 

IKIMI'U' 


THE  SOUTH   AMERICAN  ISLANDS  371 

ness  of  production  to  the  other  islands.  Two  thirds  of 
Tobago  are  still  covered  with  primeval  forest,  comprising 
many  varieties  of  hard-wood  and  ornamental  trees.  The 

rlimatp  is  ivmarkably  healthful,  ami  tho  air  very  fine  and 
I  »ure.  The  scenery  is  beautiful,  and  dflL'litt'ul  rides  can  be 
taken.  Horses  can  be  easily  obtained  at  very  moderate 

This  is  another  island  where  the  former  heavy  produc- 
tion of  sugar  has  ceased.  The  people,  since  the  great  col- 
lapse in  sugar  in  1885,  have  taken  to  diversified  agriculture 
and  the  raising  of  sheep  and  horses.  Tobacco  and  cotton 
have  been  lately  introduced. 

Tobago's  welfare  is  intimately  associate!  with  that  of 
Trinidad,  the  two  islands  being  politically  and  comn 
.•ially  roniKTt.'d.    The  only  place  of  importance  is  the 
litilo  town  of  Scarborough. 

The  only  other  island  of  the  South  American  group 
worthy  of  present  mention  is  Curasao— that  quaint  frag- 
ment of  old  Holland  located  on  the  southern  border  of  the 
Caribbean.  Nearly  five  hundred  miles  west  of  Trinidad, 
ami  just  off  the  western  part  of  the  northern  coast  of 
Venezuela,  it  is  the  capital  of  the  few  square  miles  of 
America  owned  by  Holland  in  widely  disseminated  frag- 
ments at  the  extremes  of  the  Lesser  Antilles. 

The  island  embraces  two  hundred  and  ton  miles  of  rugged 
topography,  composed  of  volcanic  rocks  surrounded  by 
coral  reefs.  Some  of  the  tweiitv-oi^ht  thousand  inl, 
tants  grow  beans,  corn,  cattle,  and  salt,  1-ut  most  of  them 
are  engaged  in  commerce  or  office-holding.  They  are  by 
no  means  wealthy.  The  Dutch  Creoles  are  a  fair-skinned 
and  pleasant  people  who  speak  I  >nt  «-h.  Kr.-n.-li.  and  English, 
but  the  negroes  have  a  queer  dialect  known  as  the  papai- 
mctttn. 

Willemstad,  the  capital  of  the  island,  has  an  excellent 
harbor.    It  is  a  quaint  old  Dutch  city,  suggestive  of  \v 
New  York  may  have  IMMMI   two   hundn-d   y.-ar<  a^'".      It< 
substantial  Uiildings  include  the  colonial  offices,  for  Wil- 


CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

lemstad  is  the  residence  of  the  governor  of  all  the  West 
Indian  Dutch  islands,  including  Saba,  St.  Eustatius,  and 
the  half  of  St.  Martin,  three  hundred  miles  away,  ;u,«l  t  !,•• 
adjacent  islands  of  Oruba  and  Buen  Ayre.  He  has  his 
staff  and  council  and  army,  and  the  gciaghclbers,  or  chiefs, 
of  all  the  other  islands  report  to  him. 

Curasao  does  a  large  business  with  Venezuela,  largely 
through  smugglers,  who  take  the  goods  to  the  mainland. 
The  cordial  made  of  orange-peel  and  known  as  Curasao  is 
not  made  on  the  island,  but  in  Holland,  although  it  is  the 
favorite  island  drink. 

The  remaining  islands  of  this  group,  of  which  Margarita 
is  the  largest,  are  rocky,  dry,  and  arid,  and  of  little  com- 
mercial or  economic  importance. 


PUBLIC    LIBRARY,  B 


LAUNOfttMU 


THE   WINDMILL 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

BARBADOS 

Insular  position  of  the  island.  The  coralline  origin  of  its  soils.  Govern- 
ment and  economic  conditions.  The  Barbadians.  Density  of  popula- 
tion. The  struggle  for  ffristepee. 

STANDING  alone  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  miles  east  of  the  Caribbean  chain,  is 
Barbados,  which  might  as  well  be  located  in  the  Indian  Ocean 
or  the  China  Sea  so  far  as  the  resemblance  of  its  natural 
features  to  the  other  West  Indian  Islands  is  concerned.  1 1 
is  as  solitary  as  the  Bermudas  or  Azores,  and  in  its  social 
and  cultural  aspects  is  equally  anomalous.  Furthermore, 
although  much  has  been  said  in  prose  and  poetry  of  the 
coral  islands  of  the  West  Indies,  this  is  the  only  one  exten- 
sively populated  by  man  which  may  be  said  to  be  of  that 
nriiriu,  with  the  exception  of  Grande-Terre  (Guadeloupe), 
and  its  dependencies  of  D&irade  and  Maria  Galante. 

The  island  resembles  a  pear  in  outline  (the  narrow  end 
of  which  points  to  the  north),  and  is  slightly  concave  on 
the  east.  There  are  no  outlying  islands,  as  many  suppose, 
probably  owing  to  the  final  l«-t  tcr  of  the  name  of  the  island, 
which  suggests  plurality.  Its  area  is  one  hundred  and 
sixty-six  square  miles. 

In  configuration  the  island  is  elevated,  and  yet  not  moun- 
tainous, the  highest  point,  near  the  center,  Mount  Hillaby, 
being  eleven  hundred  feet,  from  which  the  land  descends 
ina  series  of  low  terraces  on  all  sides  to  the  sea.  So  gen- 
tle are  the  hills  that  as  one  drives  to  the  summit  over  the 

373 


374  CUBA  AND  POBTO  RICO 

well-lmilt  ronds  the  ascent  is  scarcely  noticeable.  The 
aspect  of  the  country  is  that  of  a  beautiful  rural  landscape, 
with  innumerable  sugar-fields,  interspersed  with  groups  of 
neat  houses  and  plantations  sin  rounded  by  gardens  an<l 
trees,  while  ancient  Dut<  h  windmills  may  be  seen  in  every 
direction  cleaving  the  air  with  their  gi  pm  tic  arms. 

In  geological  composition  the  island  is  unique.    It  con- 
sists of  a  nucleus  of  folded  and  crumpled  clays  and  gravel 
of  Eocene  age,  like  the  older  sedimentaries  of  the  Antilles, 
derived  from  some  unknown  land  of  the  past,  accompanied 
by  thick  layers  of  white  marl  and  radiolarian  earth  of 
deep  oceanic  origin.    Over  the  whole,  like  the  rind  of  a 
melon,  there  is  a  thick  veneering  of  calcareous  coral  i 
made  up  of  gigantic  coral  heads  consisting  of  reefs 
those  now  growing  around  the  island,  which  have  been 
gradually   elevated   to   their   present   height  above  th. 
waters.    This  old  reef  rock  is  everywhere  except  iii 
limited  Scotland  district  on  the  east  side,  where  it  has 
been  worn  away.    It  is  never  over  one  hundred  feet  1 1 
The  highways  are  cut  through  these  coral  reefs;  the  Ft 
houses  are  constructed  of  them;  the  planter  plows  into 
their  surface  to  grow  his  cane.    The  beautiful  nati 
races  everywhere  so  conspicuous  are  the  edges  of  these 
elevated  reefs. 

The  climate  of  the  island  is  delicious.    The  trade-winds 
blowing  across  the  vast  expanse  of  the  ocean  l.rin.i:  ai. 
of  crystalline  purity,  which  has  been  fittingly  compared  to 
champagne.    The  rainfall  is  ample,  but  not  excessive. 

The  principal  city  and  only  port  is  Bridgetown,  on  the 
leeward  or  western  side;  a  pretty  place,  with  chur< 
public  buildings,  gigantic  warehouses,  shops,  some  hand- 
some residences,  clubs,  and  many  neat  little  houses  of  the 
lower  classes,  besides  pleasure-grounds,  a  handsome  mili- 
tary j.arad.-.  MMkk  drives,  and  ex«jui>it.-  l.eaehes.  Th.-n- 
is  also  a  good  library,  an  interior  view  of  which  is  shown 
in  an  illustration. 

There  is  no  harbor,  although  shallow-draft  schooners 


RABBUXM 

may  enter  a  small  creek ;  but  before  the  city  lies  a  beaut i- 
t'ul  roadstead,  where  can  be  seen  lying  at  anchor  a  host  of 
sailing-vessels,  old-time  brigs,  frigates,  ships,  and  modern 
schooners,  presenting  a  sight  which  is  rarely  seen  in  these 
days  when  steam  has  so  largely  supplanted  sailing-craft 

The  place  is  a  central  port  of  call  and  repair  for  all  tho 
sailing-craft  of  the  South  Atlantic,  as  well  as  for  many 
steamship  lines.  Above  all,  it  is  the  headquarters  of  the 
Royal  Mail  Steamship  Company.  The  Royal  Mail  in 
pride  of  every  English  heart  in  the  West  Indies— the  great 
artery  of  communication  that  keeps  the  islands  in  touch 
with  tho  mother-country.  It  is  a  glorious  sight  on  every 
other  Saturday,  when  five  great  steamers  of  this  line 
anchor  in  the  roadstead— one  from  England,  one  goinir 
home  from  Colon  and  Jamaica,  and  three  supplementary 
steamers  that  go  up  and  down  th»«  <  'arihbees  to  St.  Thomas 
on  the  north,  Trinidad  on  the  south,  and  Demerara  on  the 
east.  They  are  usually  crowd.  «1  with  English  tourists, 
who  come  out  to  see  these  beautiful  islands  and  review  the 
scenes  of  England's  past  colonial  and  naval  glories. 

Like  Jamaica,  the  Bahamas,  the  Leeward  Islands,  the 
Windward  Islands,  and  Trinidad,  Barbados  is  an  indepen- 
dent colony,  with  its  governor  and  legislature  and  all  the 
excellent  features  of  colonial  adininist  rat  i«  »n.  The  religion 
is  chiefly  that  of  the  Church  of  England,  although  oth«-r 
denominations  are  represented.  There  is  one  little  railroad 
about  twenty  miles  long,  which  carries  the  passengers 
through  vast  sugar-fields  to  the  east  coast,  and  then  follows 
the  rocky  shores  of  the  latter  into  the  Scotland  dist 
This  road  is  a  narrow-gage  affair  with  a  diminutive  engine, 
which  is  fired  with  a  common  house-shovel.  Good  high- 
ways extend  throughout  the  island. 

The  economic  condition  of  Barbados,  like  its  natural 

aspects,  is  different  from  that  of  any  other  colony  in  the 

idies.    There  is  substantially  but  one  industry,  one 

product,  and  one  export,  that  of  sugar ;  nor  does  the  island 

appear  to  be  suited  for  the  growth  of  any  other  product  on 


376  CUBA   AND  PORTO   RICO 

a  scale  of  commercial  impm-tanc...  Tin -re  are  no  large 
central  factories,  the  estates  are  small,  and  th<>  mills,  in 
most  cases,  are  primitive,  a  large  proportion  of  them  being 
anci«-nt  windmills;  but  the  sugar  industry  has  survived 
beOMIM  Of  tin-  superior  ran-  with  \\hi.-h  the  .-ult  i\  at  i«m  of 
the  cane  is  carried  on,  the  exceeding  richness  of  the  juice 
of  the  cane,  and  the  cheapness  of  labor.  If  cane  were  cul- 
t  i  \ated  as  carefully  in  Cuba  as  it  is  in  Barbados,  the  former 
island  would  be  capable  of  supplying  the  world  with  sugar. 
The  whole  area  of  the  island  is  occupied,  and  of  its  total 
acreage  of  106,470,  every  foot  is  under  cultivation,  except 
•  170  acres  occupied  by  towns,  cliffs,  or  highways.  There 
are  no  crown  lands,  no  forests,  and  the  population  has 
probably  reached  the  maximum  which  the  island  can  > 
port,  even  in  favorable  circumstances. 

Nowhere  are  the  resources  of  nature  so  closely  garnered 
as  here.    Not  a  thing  goes  to  waste ;  even  when  one  darky 
ejects  a  mouthful  of  cane-fiber  after  extracting  the  ji 
follower  on  the  roadside  picks  up  the  mass  to  sa\ 
for  fuel ;  the  negroes  brave  the  billows  in  boats  which  no 
whit.«  man  could  sail,  and  perform  the  apparently  impos- 
sible task  of  catching  by  thousands  ng-fish— an 
mal  which  seems  especially  adapted  to  avoid  man's  cum 

Barbados  has  but  one  other  resource  besides  the  sugar 
industry,  and  that  is  the  presence  of  tourists  in  the  winter 
and  the  shipping-men  who  touch  there. 

The  imports  of  the  island  g;  \ceed  the  exports;  in 

1896  the  former  amounted  to  £J. '.'-_'. -'08.50,  and  the  latter 
to  $3,603,953.25.  Many  of  the  sugar-estates  are  being 
carried  on  under  governmental  aid.  The  island  is  chit-fly 
dependent  upon  the  United  States  for  its  food-supplies 
and  mules  (from  Kentucky)  for  the  estates,  and  we  prac- 
tically consume  the  whole  of  its  sugar  product.  The  mili- 
tary establishment  has  also  been  the  means  of  distrilnr 
some  $237,500  per  annum,  but  as  the  government  intends 
sferrin^r  >ops  to  St.  Lucia,  the  welfare  of  the 

island  will  be  still  further  redu- 


BRIDGETOWN 


OUNTRY  CHURCH 


LANDING  WHARF.  BRIDGETOWN 
IIAKHAIXM 


RABBADOi 

The  only  mineral  product  of  Barbados  is  "  manjook," 
a  form  of  asphalt  which  occurs  in  the  older  rocks  of  the 
Scotland  district.  During  the  last  two  years  a  few  experi- 
mental shipments  have  been  made  to  Boston  by  the  Ameri- 
can owners. 

The  radi«»larian  earth  is  a  splendid  abrasive  material 
which  could  be  used  in  the  arts,  but  no  one  has  thought 
of  shipping  it. 

Barbados  is  in  many  respects  an  ideal  place  for  those  in 
search  of  a  restful  tropical  spot.  A  large  hotel  for  Ameri- 
can tourists  is  open  during  the  winter  months,  while  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  island  are  some  charming  country 
inns  at  Bathsheba  and  Cranes  Point,  well  kept  in  the  Eng- 
lish style.  1 11  winter  many  visitors  come  here.  The  Eng- 
lish of  Trinidad  and  Guiana  seek  the  place  as  a  health- 
resort.  Each  fortnightly  ship  of  the  Royal  Mail  from 
Great  Britain  brings  hundreds  of  English  tourists  who 
come  out  to  see  the  colonies;  and  it  is  seldom  that  an 
American  yachting-party  or  man-of-war  cannot  be  found 
in  tin-  roadstead.  Excellent  carriages  are  everywhere 
available  for  driving,  while  the  sea-shore  and  bathing  are 
as  l>rantit'nl  as  could  be  desired. 

It  is  an  interesting  historical  fact  that  the  only  foreign 
M-ip  ever  taken  by  George  Washington  was  made  to  this 
inland  in  1752,  in  company  with  his  brother  Lawrence,  who 
was  an  invalid.  Here  the  "  Father  of  his  Country  w enjoyed 
the  hospitality  of  the  island,  and  also  had  the  small-pox. 
It  was  a  pleasure  to  revisit  the  scenes  which  he  had  de- 
scribed in  his  diary,  especially  the  old  Christ's  Church, 
whi.-h  now  stands  almost  as  he  saw  it. 

The  whites  of  Barbados  are  descended  from  people  who 
were  blood-relations  of  our  Virginia  colonists,  and  there  are 
the  same  family  names  which  are  met  with  in  Virginia. 
Before  the  Revolution  there  was  an  intimate  communica- 
tion  between  the  relatives  of  the  two  distant  colonies,  and 
t'tv.ju.'iit  vi -its  were  made. 

The  inhabitants  of  Barbados  number  186,000,  averaging 


378  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 


to  the  square  mile,  the  most  densely  i  1  <  -<,un- 

try  in  the  world  to  be  found  outside  of  China.  There  are 
many  white  families,  numlx  ring  altogether  20,000  persons, 
most  of  whom  have  for  generations  looked  upon  Barbados 
as  their  home;  the  attachment  of  these  people  to  th»-  i-land 
and  the  traditions  of  the  past  is  exceedingly  strong.  The 
island  has  been  settled  for  so  long,  and  so  many  generations 
have  lived  side  by  side,  that  a  general  understanding  ap- 
pears to  have  grown  up  of  the  respective  habits  and 
requirements  of  the  different  classes.  The  whites  are  out- 
numbered by  the  blacks  in  the  proportion  of  over  eight  to 
one,  and  such  blacks  as  cannot  be  seen  elsewhere. 

The  Barbadian  blacks  have  evolved  into  a  distin.  t  race, 
well  marked  by  a  physiognomy  and  dialeet  whirl. 
recognized  wherever  seen.  They  are  especially  noted  fur 
their  large  and  rotund  heads,  accompanied  by  open  coun- 
tenances and  pleasant  features.  To  the  credit  of  the  Eng- 
lishman it  can  be  said  that  the  effects  of  miscegenation  are 
hardly  visible  upon  tin-  Maud.  and  that  the  African  race 
seems  to  have  been  preserved  in  all  its  opaque  purity.  In 
dress  the  Barbadians  differ  from  the  other  West  In- 
Islanders,  the  costumes  of  the  men  being  neat  suits  of 
white  rotton,—  coat,  shirt,  and  trousers,—  while  the  univer- 
sal costume  of  the  women  is  also  pure  white,  accompai 
by  a  neatly  folded  head-dress.  Their  clothing  is  stiffly 
starched  with  cassava.  Shoes  are  worn  only  to  rhur.  -h. 
Obiism  seems  to  have  almost  disappeared  from  among 
these  black  people  in  Barbados,  and  most  of  them  can  read 
and  write. 

Before  the  ship  has  dropped  its  anchor  in  the  offinL 
mile  from  shore,  it  is  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  these 
people  in  boats.    They  are  passed  masters  in  the  art  of 
tracting  the  attention  of  the  stranger,  and  scramble  with  a 
good-natured  ferocity  for  his  patronage.    A  rowboat  hav- 
ing been  selected  from  the  crowd,  the  journey  to  the 
wharves  begins.    AB  these  are  approached  they  are  seen  to 
be  a  living  mass  of  black  humanity,  and  almost  as  soon  as 


BARBADOS 

is  within  ear-shot  the  passenger  is  assailed  by  a  clamor 
of  voices  begging  the  privilege  of  carrying  his  baggage.  As 
la n«l  111*011  the  mall  they  beg,  cajole,  and  grab  you, 
until  in  sheer  desperation  you  sit  down  upon  your  trunk, 
and  \M-  th«'  imploring  mob.  Then  they 

laugh  at  you,  and  defy  you  to  strike  them,  griuniugly  be- 
seeching a  blow.  '  I  wish  you  would  hit  me,  massa;  I  Ml 
take  the  law  on  You  soon  learn  that  t  here  is  no 

ousness  on  the  island.  You  are  merely  witnessing  the 
iggle  for  existence,  which  is  keener  here  than  anywhere 
else  in  the  world.  I'vorywhere  you  go  upon  the  island 
you  meet  the  grinning  faces  of  these  blacks,  who  stop  you 
upon  the  road,  and,  after  securing  your  attention  \\ith  a 
salute  both  gracious  and  flattering,  politely  inform  you 
that  they  would  "  t'ank  you  for  a  penny,  sali." 

This  island  is  one  of  the  few  places  in  the  world  where 
human  labor  is  so  cheap  that  it  competes  with  the  beast  of 
burden.  On  the  densely  crowded  commercial  streets  of 
Bridgetown  may  be  seen  great  drays  loaded  with  mer- 
chandise, sugar-hogsheads,  or  lumber.  In  some  instances 
these  are  drawn  l.y  teams  of  Kentucky  mules,  while  near  l.y 
is  a  vehicle  of  the  same  character  pulled  by  a  sweating 
team  of  human  beings.  Yet  never  have  I  seen  a  people 
who  were  withal  so  cheerful  and  good-natured;  with  them 
the  very  struggle  for  existence  seems  to  have  increased 
their  cheerfulness  and  good-natured  impudence,  and  in  no 
manner  to  have  quenched  their  spirits. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  island  is  now  devel- 
oped to  its  fullest  capacity,  these  people  are  so  attached  to 
hey  can  hardly  be  forced  to  leave,  and  are  as  proud 
of  their  nationality  as  if  they  were  citizens  of  some  great 
country. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

GEOLOGICAL  FEATURES  OP  THE  WEST  INDIES 


General  paucity  of  mineral  resource*.  Iron.  Manganew.  Salt  Pho»- 
phate.  Sulphur.  Asphaltum.  Peculiar  geological  history  of  the 
region.  It*  bearing  upon  the  myth  of  Atlantis. 

TI1HE  reader  may  have  noted  the  brevity  of  my  remarks 
JL  concerning  the  mineral  resources  of  the  West  Indies. 
In  general  it  may  be  stated  that  these  islands  are  poor  in 
those  products  of  the  rocks  which  are  useful  to  mankind. 
No  mineral  fuels  of  any  kind  are  found,  unless  rock 
asphalt  (which  is  used  in  Cuba  for  the  manufacture  of 
gas,  and  in  Barbados  for  running  a  locomotive)  may  be 
so  considered. 

The  precious  metals  are  found  only  in  the  Great  An- 
tilles, and  even  there  they  are  restricted  to  Cuba  and 
Santo  Domingo,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  they  occur  in  paying 
quantities  in  either  of  these.  Copper  is  found  in 
same  islands,  but  also  in  doubtful  quantities.  But  two 
metallic  ores  are  known  to  oemr  in  quantity,  iron  and 
manganese.  These  occur  in  eastern  Cuba  in  great  purity 
and  large  quantity,  and  have  been  or  are  the  source  of 
much  value.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  similar 
ores  may  be  found  in  Haiti  and  San  Domingo.  Salt, 
which  in  these  islands  is  more  a  product  of  the  sea  than 
of  the  land,  is  worked  for  profit  in  *  ml, 

Anguilla,  St.  Martin,  and  perhaps  other  pla«-,-.     Sulphur 
is  known  to  occur  in   the   soufrieres  of  the  Caribbee 

Islands,  but  it  is  probably  not  in  great  quantities  or  com- 

HI 


GEOLOGICAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  WEST  INDIES 

in. !«  ially  accessible,  for  the  exports  have  never  been  con- 
siderable. 

Asphalt  may  be  said  to  rank  next  to  iron  as  the  chief 
mineral  product.  This  occurs  in  Cuba,  Santo  Domingo, 
Barbados,  and  Trini<lu<l.  The  Cuban  kind  is  of  a  superior 
quality  for  the  purpose  of  making  varnish.-.  The  Bar- 
badian "  manjack  "  is  also  a  species  ef  rock  asphalt  valu- 
able in  the  arts.  In  Trinidad  alone,  however,  does  this 
material  occur  in  any  great  abundance,  Pitch  Lake  being 
the  greatest  asphalt-producer  in  the  world.  While  build- 
ing-stone,  good  enough  for  local  uses,  is  abundant  in  all 
the  islands,  they  are  singularly  void  of  ornamental  export 
rock.  Closely  textured  marbles  and  sandstones  are 
unknown.  In  the  backbone  of  the  Antillean  Mountains 
in  the  two  larger  islands  there  are  some  fine  granitoid 
rocks,  but  no  commercial  development  has  been  made  of 
them. 

Many  hypotheses  have  been  advanced  in  literature 
concerning  the  origin  of  the  West  Indian  Islands.  Some 
have  believed  that  the  Caribbees  and  Bahamas  represent 
tii'-  remnants  of  a  great  isthmus,  like  the  present  Panama 
neck,  which  extended  from  the  southern  end  of  Florida  to 
northern  South  America,  and  this  hypothetical  feature 
has  been  called  the  Windward  l»rid;re.  Others  have 
looked  upon  the  islands  as  decayed  remnants  of  the 
former  eastward  extension  of  the  American  continent. 
Others  still  have  considered  the  Antilles  the  remnants  of 
the  ancient  Atlantis— the  large  island  which,  according 
to  an  ancient  tradition  that  was  credited  to  the  Greek 
geographers,  was  situate. 1  in  the  Atlantic  O.-.-an  w.-st  of 
Africa,  opposite  the  Pillars  nf  Hnvule<.  Plato  says  that 
nine  thousand  years  before  his  time  this  was  inhabited  by 
a  populous  and  powerful  people,  who  conquered  the 
western  part  of  Hump.,  and  Africa.  an«l  furnished  a 
tremendous  force  of  invaders  who  threatened  to  overcome 
all  the  people  of  the  Mediterranean,  until  the  gods  finally 
came  to  the  rescue  and  sent  a  great  earthquake  which 


."•>l2  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

-od  the  island  to  sink  into  tho  sea.  Some  writers  of 
e  recent  date  have  explained  the  shallows  of  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  Gulf  by  alleging  them  to  be 
remnants  of  this  mythical  island.  None  of  these  hypoth- 
eses is  correct,  however,  although  there  are  facts  whi<-h 
might  seem  to  the  superficial  observer  to  support  any  one 

of  tin-in. 

The  West  Indies,  as  we  have  shown,  are  largely  the  tips 
of  great  rugosities  of  the  earth's  solid  crust,  the  larger 
portions  of  which  are  submerged  below  the  ocean.  Great 
areas  of  these  irregularities,  like  the  banks  of  the  western 
Carihhean,  do  not  reaeh  tho  surface  of  the  water  at  all; 
<  >t  JUTS,  like  the  Bahamas,  rise  thousands  of  feet,  yet  barely 
project  as  tips  of  land;  still  others,  like  the  superb  Antii- 
l.-an  Mountains,  although  two  thirds  submerged,  are  so 
hi^h  that  they  rise  ten  thousand  feet  or  more  above  the 
present  sea-level.  If  the  submerged  banks  could  be 
elevated  a  hundred  fathoms,  or,  conversely,  it  the  sea 
enuld  l»o  lowered  to  the  same  extent,  the  area  of 
\V,-t  Indies  would  be  nearly  doubled.  That  the  sub- 
inerged  portions  of  these  ridges  and  banks  have  stood 
nmeh  higher  than  now,  making  more  extensive  bodies  of 
la  ml,  is  most  probable;  and  it  is  likely  that  there  have 
been  many  changes  ol  level. 

It  is  reasonably  certain  that  the  West  In<lian  lands  before 
the  close  of  the  Tertiary  period  were  much  more  extensive 
than  now,  and  that  the  Great  Antilles  were  once  a  con- 
neeted  body  of  l;md.  Thi-  hrini:  IO,  without  other  evi- 
denee  the  Windward  bridge  might  have  been  apossihility. 
But  the  facts  of  biology  and  geology  show  us  that  sn.-h 
was  not  the  case,  for  if  this  bridge  had  existed,  the 
Great  and  Lesser  Antilles  would  now  be  jwpulatod  by 
tin-  animals  common  to  the  two  oontin.-nK  instead  of 
being  nearly  void  of  mammals  and  absolutely  without 
any  North  Ann-riean  features  among  their  living  or  f< 
land  faunas.  Furthermore,  geologi<  v,  \s  1 

proved  that,. luring  this  time  of  tho  expanding  Antillean 


GEOLOGICAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  WEST  INDIES  383 

<Julf  Stream  flowed  out  from  the  American 
Mediterranean  as  now,  but  through  a  passage  across  the 
IM  in  half  of  Fl'-ri.la,  completely  severing  the  West 
In. lies  from  North  America,  and  that  south,  in  Florida 
was  at  one  time  a  West  Indian  island.  Nevertheless, 
•  luring  at  least  one  epoch  the  Great  Antilles  were  prob- 
ably connected  into  a  single  large  island,  while  the 
Bahama  banks  to  the  uorthwanl  made  a  long  peninsula 

•  iy   us  large  in  area,  projecting  out  from  Florida. 

more,  the  great  banks  of  the  western  Caribbean 
Sea  were  at  that  time  projections  of  laud  probably  con- 
necting Central  America  with  Jamaica  and  possibly  Cuba. 
All  of  these  areas,  with  parts  of  Central  America,  may 

"  been  a  vast  island  lying  between  the  continents  (for 
it  iv  in..,?  probable  that  Central  America  then  had  no 

::••<•! i.,  11  with  North  or  South  America),  thereby  ful- 
filling the  old  conception  of  an  Atlantis;  l.ut  man  hod  not 
at  that  time  appeared  upon  the  earth, or,  if  so,  it  has  not 
been  proved,  and  hence  there  is  no  reason  for  supposing 
that  this  body  of  land  was  the  Atlantis  of  the  Grecian 
myth. 

The  geological  history  of  these  islands  has  l"-,-n  <  harac- 
teri/.ed  l»y  ^i^antir  revolutions,  marked  l,y  ivmarkal»le 
oscillations  up  and  down,  and  general  changes  in  area  of 
th<>  land  and  sea,  such  as  are  unknown  or  but  feebly  re- 
flected in  the  synchronous  history  of  the  more  stable  and 
ntinents.  The  merest  tyro  in  geologic  know- 
ledge knows  that  the  eastern  half  of  the  United  States, 
except  the  narrow  coastal  plain,  has  long  been  a  stable 
laml,  covered  with  vegetation  and  drained  by  rivers  since 

Carboniferous  period.  He  also  knows  that  at  the  end 
of  the  Cretaceous  and  the  beginning  of  the  Tertiary 
period  the  great  Cordilleras  of  the  western  half  of  North 
an<l  South  America  were  elevated  approximately  to  their 

nt  outlines  and  that  the  main  continents  then  passed 

•  a  period  of  old  age.     At  this  time,  however,  the 
known  history  of  the  West  Indies  was  just  beginning; 


384  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

there  may  have  been  a  few  Paleozoic*  nud.-al  rocks  in 
Cuba  and  Santo  Domingo,  but  even  this  is  uncertain,  for 
the  oldest  positively  determined  rocks  belong  to 
Cretaceous,  Tertiary,  and  Pleistocene  ages.  During  these 
later  epochs  remarkable  changes  have  taken  place  in  the 
i  lies,  folio  wing  one  another  with  such  rabidity  that  they 
have  made  a  more  complicated  hi>t..ry  than  all  the  events 
that  marked  the  earlier  ages  of  the  mainland. 

At  the  close  of  the  Cretaceous  period  the  Great  Antilles 
were  regions  of  volcanic  activity,  by  which  material  was 
transferred  from  the  bosom  of  the  earth  into  .iriu'aiiti.- 
heaps  of  volcanic  rooks.  \\ "In -tin -r  these  stood  as  islands 
in  the  sea  or  rose  from  a  body  of  preexisting  land  no  one 
can  answer,  but  the  vast  heaps  of  land-derived  gravel 
and  conglomerate  whi.-h  make  the  great  thicknesses  of  old 
sedimentary  rock  in  the  Antillean  Mountains  and  coi 
tute  the  oldest-known  formations  of  Barbados  and  the 
•-rin  Islands  l«-ad  to  the  conclusion  that  at  the  begin- 
ning of  Tertiary  timr  tin-re  were  land  areas  in  the  West 
In- lies  concerning  the  shape  and  area  of  which  we  cannot 
even  speculate.  This  may  have  been  a  still  earlier  At- 
lanti-  than  the  one  we  have  above  suggested.  At  this  timr 
t  he  Caribbean  chain  was  probably  a  line  of  active  volcanoes. 

Then   followed  another  vast  revolution.     The  pr- 
icing lands  subsided  beneath  the  sea  to  great  depths,  in 
places  five  miles  or  more,  until  only  the  m< 
the  highest  land  of  the  Great  Antilles  remained  above  ih«- 
sea.    Then  these  were  probably  reduced  to  small  islands, 
possibly  as  diminutive  as  the  smallest  Caribbee  of  to-day, 
and  their  former  areas  covered  with  the  caleareoi 
larian  -slime  of  the  ocean's  bottom.   This  was  in  the  second 
quarter  of  the  Tertiary  history. 

Then  came,  in  the  third  quarter  of  Tertiary  history, 
another  revolution  by  whi«-h   the  ocean's  floor  wiu* 
rugated  into  land,  and  the  old  sediments  with  • 
sea  chalks  and  muds  W.T.-  folded  into  the  ^iiranti.-  Antil- 
lean  mountain   systems,   whieh    at    this    time    probably 


GEOLOGICAL  FEATURES  OP  THE  WEST  INDIES 

reared  their  summits  to  twenty  thousand  feet  or  more, 
connecting  all  the  Antilles  into  a  body  of  land,  and  pro- 
•  luring  the  Atlantis  which  we  first  described.  This 
mountain-making  epoch  was  the  one  which  produced  the 
remarkable  east-and-west  folds  we  have  so  frequently 
mentioned  in  these  pages,  and  which  formulated  th«« 
present  major  geography  of  the  Antilles.  With  this  oro- 
genic  revolution  en<l«-«l  tho  volcan  irbances  of  the 

Great  Antilles,  but  the  Caribbean  vents  were  piling  their 
heaps  of  tuff  and  cinder  higher  and  hi-h. -r. 
Then  followed  another  general  subsidence  throughout 

region  in  the  fourth  quarter  of  the  Tertiary  history. 

s  subsidence  was  great,  but  not  so  profound  as  that  of 
the  previous  epochs.  It  was  sufficient,  however,  to  cut 
up  the  Antilleau  Atlantis  into  its  present  island  mem- 
bership, to  carry  }>•  n.ath  th--  vratan  tho  former  lands 
represent.  <1  in  the  now  submerged  banks, and  to  restore 
the  limits  of  the  narrow  ridge  from  which  rose  the  Carib- 
bean volcanoes. 

In  lat.-r  geologic  time,  when  great  glacial  sheets  covered 
the  North  American  region,  and  since  then,  tin*  \\Yst 
Indian  ivirinn  has  been  rising  again  in  most  places, 
although  subsiding  in  others.  The  old  banks  of  the 
Caribbean  Sea  and  submerged  platforms  around  the 

uds  were  bmuirlit  up  to  within  one  hundred  fathoms 
of  the  surface,  and  upon  them  the  reef-making  coral 
polyps  found  lodgment  and  began  to  add  their  «.ntribn- 

ng  forces  of  the  earth.    This  is 

vn  by  elevated  benches  of  reef  rock  around  so  many 
of  the  islands,  and  by  the  elevated  wavr-<  ut  terraces  of 
Cuba  and  Haiti,  to  which  we  have  called  attention. 

in:  t  h-  se  later  changes  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  tho  two  great  basins  of  the  Amei : 
—the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Caribbean  Sea— at  any 
time  lost  their  general  integrity  or  connection  with  the 
mother  oceans,  although  their  limits  were  expanded  and 
contracted,  and  at  tim.->  they  may  have  been  invaded  by 


386  CUBA   AND  PORTO   RICO 

the  Pacific;  for  Agassiz's  researches  have  shown  that  their 
bottoms  are  still  inhabited  by  the  old  marin*   HtV  \\hi.-h 
began  further  back  in  geologic  time  than  is  recorded  in 
the  rocks  of  the  surrounding  lands. 
In  conclusion  we  can  only  say  that  the  West  Indian 
'  >ry,  although  peculiar  and  still  largely  uninterpreted, 
shows  no  evidence  that  these  islands  were  ever  in  any 
manner  connected  with  the  North  American  continent. 


I  \ 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

RACE  PROBLEMS  IN  THE  WEST  INDUS 

Varied  nationality  and  character  of  the  inhabitant*.  Condition  of  the 
native  whites.  Possibilities  of  the  white  race.  The  negroea.  Their 
general  character,  habits,  and  moral  condition.  Obiism,  or  witchcraft 

I  BELIEVE  it  was  Froude  who  remarked  that  the  West 
Indies  might  be  a  very  interesting  field  for  the  con- 
templation of  the  naturalist,  but  for  the  student  of  people 
they  presented  little  that  was  of  interest.  I  cannot 
wholly  agree  with  this  proposition.  The  spectacle  of  the 
political  conditions  of  the  natives  of  the  West  Indies  is 
indeed  pitiful,  l>ut  the  people  themselves  are  interesting, 
whether  perturbed  Cubans,  despondent  San  Domingoans, 
hopeless  English,  atavistic  Mnrtiniques,  or  the  vast  hordes 
of  Macks  of  many  kinds.  I  have  tried  to  convey  an  idea 
of  how  each  of  these  islands  is  breeding  a  different  species 
«>f  man kin<l,  I  »ut  a  volume  would  not  suffice  to  amplify 
this  topic.  Not  only  upon  each  island,  but,  as  Hearn  has 
shown,  in  mountainous  Martinique  "  people  are  born  and 
Uiried  in  the  same  valley  without  ever  seeing  towns  but  a 
few  hours'  journey  beyond  their  native  hills,  and  distinct 
ra  <  -ial  types  are  forming  within  three  leagues  of  each  other." 
The  West  Indian  people  represent  many  original  stocks, 
whi.-h  have  develop  ations  of  habits  and  customs  in 

their  New  World  environment  They  are  practically 
divisible  into  three  great  races,  the  white,  colored,  and 
Mark,  modified  by  Spanish,  English,  and  French  civiliza- 
tions. 

HI 


388  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

The  Danish  and  Dutch  influences  are  trivial.  The 
English  ha  I  »it,  wherever  implanted,  is  one  of  law  and 
order.  Where  the  Latin  predominates,  civilization 
lacking,  at  least  in  methods  of  mod.-rn  sanitation.  In 
the  countries  in  whi< -h  the  French  race  habit  has  been 
implanted,  Haiti,  Mart  ini»  pit-,  ami  Guadeloupe,  there  has 
ivsultrd  a  inuiv  ronipl«-t.'  .-limination  of  tin-  ( 'am-asian 
type  than  in  • -it her  the  English  or  Spanish  islands. 

The  condition  of  the  native  whites,  with  some  excep- 
tions, is  most  unfortunate,  and  yet  at  the  close  of  the  last 
century  no  finer  race  existed  than  the  whites  of  the  West 
Indies,  of  whom  were  Hamilton.  l)umas,  ami  the  Empress 
Josephine.  With  the  industrial  ruin  these  people  have 
rapidly  decreased,  ami  their  children  are  sent  to  more 
progressive  parts  of  the  world.  We  do  not  mean  to  say 
that  most  excellent  white  people  may  not  be  found  in  all 
the  leading  walks  of  life,  upon  every  island,  l.ut  these  are 
not  increasing,  and  the  oM  planter  class  is  almost  gone. 

Yet  here  and  there  we  find  proofs  that  the  white  race 
still  maintains  its  foothold.  The  descendants  of  the  old 
Dut.ii  s.  tilers  of  Saba,  St.  Eustatius,  and  Curacao  are 
examples  of  a  lon«:-doniiciled  European  race  \\hirh  has 
not  lost  in  complexion  or  sturdiness.  Upon  every  littl<- 
island  can  be  found  an  old  Yankee  skipper  or  two  who 
has  settled  there  to  enj«»y  oM  age;  merchants,  bankers, 
consuls,  and  shipping-agents  seem  also  to  find  life  pleas- 
ant in  these  tropical  surroundings. 

Modern  science  has  done  mm  h  to  alleviate  th<>  process 
of  nr< -lunation  in  the  tropics,  yet  every  one  who  goes 
th.-iv  must  pay  a  penalty.  Changes  in  th*  tissue  must 
follow  if  tli.-  individual  is  to  become  wholly  acclimated  or 
adapted  to  th.-  m-\v  oonditioiia,  Th«-  ni'-f  i-aiam-.-  <»f 
power  i-  up-.-t.  Many  unduly  expose  themselves  to  tin- 
scorching  sunliglr  rs  expose  themseh-  to  :!.,• 

heavy  dews.     Many   indulire  in  the  fully  matured  jui.-y 
fruits  of  the  trnpu-s,  thereby  upsetting  the  already  <• 
tax*  nal  machin*  I'over  of  some  kind  is  a  mere 


RACE  PROBLEMS  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES 

question  of  weeks  or  months.  It  may  be  a  simple  mala- 
rial f.ver,  a  pernicious  malarial  fever,  or  the  dreaded  u  yel- 
low Jack." 

White  men  went  to  the  West  Indies  long  before  these 
s  of  modern  sanitation,  and  lived  to  ..1-1  a-e.  an<l 
others  can  now  do  the  same.  It  is  but  fair  to  say  that 
the  present  population,  both  white  and  bla«-k.  has  only 
been  established  at  a  tremendous  cost  of  life.  The  Eng- 
lish have  reduced  the  death-rate  in  •  •  from  100 
to  19  per  1000,  and  the  Americans  will  reduce  that  of 
Cuba;  but  even  with  all  that  science  has  done  and  is 
doing,  acclimation  will  for  many  years  remain  a  costly 
process,  which  will  always  require  sacrifice  of  strength, 
if  not  of  life. 

In  the  West  Indies  there  are  but  two  or  possibly  three 
islands  in  which  there  is  room  for  further  Caucasian 
coloni/atioii— Cuba,  Santo  Domingo,  and  possibly  Ja- 
maica. Porto  Rico  is  already  crowded,  while  the  Lesser 
Antilles,  owing  to  their  remoteness  from  markets,  offer 
no  inducement  at  present  to  white  immigration.  It  is 
only  to  the  business  man  and  developer  of  large  enter- 
prises that  these  islands  offer  opportunities.  With  the 
exception  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,  they  are  overwhelm- 
in  irly  populated  by  the  black  races.  These  people,  consti- 
tuting the  laboring  element,  are  there  to  stay,  for  better 
or  for  worse,  and  their  future  advancement  or  degenera- 
tion depends  upon  the  treatment  they  reeeive  from,  and 
the  example  that  is  set  them  l»y,  the  p.v, -rnin^  elusses. 
Some  of  the  islands  are  so  densely  populated  that  they 
seem  incapable  of  supporting  another  human  being,  while 
others  possess  room  for  future  black  populations. 

y  thoughtful  reader  must  ask  if  this  large  propor- 
tion of  blacks  is  not  a  menace  to  our  civilization.  I  have 
d  from  time  to  time  to  show  that  the  West  Indian 
negroes  are  of  many  varieties,  but  that  they  are  a  harm- 
less and  useful  race,  that  they  are  the  only  people  who 
can  do  hard  manual  labor  in  the  tropics,  and  that  they 


390  CUBA  AND   PORTO  RICO 

could  not  be  easily  replaced.     Many  suppose  that   the 

pivs.-nt    \V.-t    Indian   n.-irr"  i>  tli«-  nalural   r.-Mill   <>\    adap- 
tation to   a   climate   somewhat   similar   to    that   of 
am-estral  home;  but  this  is  not  altogether  tru-.  for  it 
been  shown  that  In;  is  in  a  degree  a  result  of  the  sur\i\  al 
nf  the  tin. ->t,  I'm  tho  process  of  acclimation  cost  many  ! 
for  every  individual  that  surviv 

The  black  races  of  the  West  Indies,  and  their  habits,  are 
most  ii  _r  st  in  lies.  Gathered  as  they  were  from 

numerous  trihcs  of  Africa  and  settled  upon  the  diffc: 
islands,  they  naturally  show  not  only  differences  in 
inherited  qualities,  but  in  those  habits  acquired  from 
different  masters  for  which  the  African  is  noted.  Thus 
there  are  English,  French,  Spanish,  Irish,  Scotch,  and 
Hutch  negroes  in  the  various  islands. 

As  a  class  these  an-  industrious  and  orderly,  varying  in 
these  respects  with  tin-  political  condition  of  their  mas- 
ters; hut  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  great  crimes  of  rape 
and  murder,  which  have  been  such  a  blot  upon  the  record 
of  the  American  negroes,  are  almost  unknown  in  the  West 
Indies.  As  Sir  Henry  Blake,  lately  governor  of  Jamaica, 
remarked  to  tl  r,  a  woman  can  travel  alone  from 

one  end  to  the  other  of  that  island,  without  thought  of 
danger.    Furthermore,  the   horrible   habit  of  lynch 
which  prevails  in  our  Southern  States  as  an  accomp 
ment  of  those  crimes,  is  entirely  unknown;  in  fact,  hut 
few  capital  crimes  are  committed  in  the  West  Indies. 

Another  quality  concerning  the  West  Indian  negro  is 
the  fact  that  the  caste  system,  which  exists  there  as  a  ml.-. 
is  quite  different  from  that  of  the  United  States.  Here 
the  negro  is  almost  universally  debarred  from  civil  equal- 
.md  seems  to  have  more  strongly  impressed  upon  him 
the  constant  feeling  that  the  white  race  is  opposed  t. 
obtaining  opportunities  and  civil  advancement,  altln'Ui:h 
"tir  laws  convey  the  impression  that  all  men  are  equal. 
In  the  mor«  \\Vst  Indies,  e>pecially 

social  equality  is  m-ith.-r  taught   imr  U-lieved  in  l»y 


CAftlB   INDIANS 


CARlB   ROCK-INSCRIPTIONS 

M.     \1\< 


RACE  PROBLEMS  IN  THE  WIST  INDIES  391 

Caste  and  station  are  acknowledged,  and  the 
negroes  realize  that  it  depends  upon  intelligence  and 
merit;  and  they  do  not  feel  that  service  is  degrading. 
They  also  recognize  the  necessity  of  strong  government, 
and  have  a  deep-seated  respect  for  the  laws  and  those 
who  administer  them. 

The  devotion  and  respect  of  the  English  negroes  for 
their  country  is  most  impressive.  One  morning,  while 
watching  a  landing-drill  of  the  British  tars  upon  the 
beautiful  campus  at  Barbados,  my  attention  was  dis- 
tracted by  a  great  black  market-woman  who  kept  mut- 
tering to  herself  in  a  perfect  ecstasy  of  delight :  "  Dem  's 
Mistress  Keen's1  soldiers,  and  in  <!••  time  when  de  enemy 
comes  dey  '11  take  care  ob  me."  This  feeling  that  the 
government  will  protect  the  rights  of  the  lowest  is  the 
great  safeguard  against  any  inherited  tendency  of  sav- 
agery to  be  disorderly. 

In  ii iy  travels  in  the  West  Indies  I  have  never  seen  the 
least  incivility  on  the  part  of  the  negroes  toward  the 
whites,  though  I  have  seen  them  at  their  best  and  at  tin  Mi- 
worst  As  a  geologist,  it  has  been  my  habit  to  employ 
the  first  man  or  boy  I  saw  upon  the  road  to  carry  speci- 
mens and  do  the  drudgery  on  my  excursions  into  th<> 
country.  I  have  never  had  one  fail  me  within  his  limita- 
tions, nor  be  less  respectful  than  if  he  were  the  private 
orderly  to  a  general. 

Much  has  been  written  upon  the  low  moral  condition, 
mental  degradation, and  superstition  of  the  West  In-i 
negroes.    Concerning  the  first  charge  it  can  be  said  t 
in  all  respects  other  than  that  of  looseness  in  sexual  rela- 
tious,  they  are  superior,  as  a  class,  to  the  negroes  of  our 
own  country.    The  white  clergy  in  the  West  Indies  aro  in 
close  touch  with  the  black  population,  who  are  not 
off  from  the  higher  class  of  religious  instruction,  a*  in  this 
country.     Crimes  against  property  or  person  are  com- 
paratively rare,  and  the  negroes  have  not  the  reputation 

i  Queen  Victoria. 


CUBA  AND  POBTO   RIOO 

there  of  a  natural  propensity  for  stealing,  as  expressed  in 
American  caricature.  So  far  as  mental  de^i  u  is 

ronerrned,  1  have  l"-en  a>tMni>h,.d  at  th««  lit.-raey  <>f  tin-so 
people,  especially  in  ti  h  West  Indies,  where  men 

women  working  for  a  shilling  or  less  a  day  are  able 
to  read  and  write.  Furthermoi  ,  iii.-iv  have  been  excep- 
tional cases  where  negroes,  outside  of  Haiti,  have  risen  to 
positions  of  learning  and  influence,  like  the  chief  justice 
of  Barbados,  and  many  blacks  in  the  English  < -ivil  ><-i 

Concerning  the  charge  of  superstition,  it  is  true  t 
both  the  blacks  and  whites  of  the  West  Indies  are  satu- 
rated with  it,  but  not  to  the  degree  that  has  been  alleged. 
Every  book  of  West  Indian  travels  tells  of  ti  joct, 

pi' -turing  the  terrible  doings  of  the  obi-men,  th«-ir  influ- 
ence over  the  ignorant  peasants,  and  the  deadly  fear 
they  create  among  the  white  planters.  Some  even  go  so 
far  as  to  tell  of  horrible  cannibalistic  sacrifices  and  orgies 
which  defy  the  most  vivid  ima.Lri nation  to  describe.  One 
who  reads  St.  John's  book,  "  Hayti ;  or,  The  Black  Re- 
publie,"  will  be  filled  with  horror  at  the  tales  of  cannibal- 
ism and  savagery  it  recounts,  and  shudder  at  the  thought 
of  such  deeds  within  gunshot  of  our  own  country.  Yet  it 
is  my  calm  conclusion,  borne  out  by  the  testimony  of 
others,  that  the  writer  of  this  book  has  emimiitted  the 
common  mistake  of  adding  to  the  a<  tual  facts  of  the 
African  obi  rites  the  imaginary  French  witeh-hnv  known 
as  vaudoux  (voodoo). 

In  opposition  to  St.  .!<>!  Mr.   I'.as<.-tt,  the 

Haitian  consul-general,  wrote:  "I  have  lived  in  Hai: 
United  States  minister  for  nine  years,  and  there  is  just 
about  as  much  cannibalism  there  as  there  is  in  the  city  of 
New  Haven." 

A  doctor  of  divinity,  a   native  West  Indian,  wrote: 
I  torn  my  own  knowledge  I  can  testify  that  th.   voodoo 
worship  and  the  snake  dance  are  practised  in  Haiti,  hut 
cannibalism,  I  am  sure,  is  not  a  custom  of  t  I.- 
Mr. Preston,  who  for  many  yean  was  dean  of 


HUT 


AFRICAN  BASKET-WATTLE    MOUSE,   BOARD   HOUSE,   ADAPTATION   OF  SAME 

-     . 


BACE  PROBLEMS  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES  393 

corps  in  Wash  I  was  born  in 

bout  half  of  my  life  in  th. 

and  I  never  saw  any  person  who  had  seen  anything  there 
in  the  shape  of  cannibalism.  1  have  seen  persons  who 
were  known  serpent-worshipers,  but  no  such  thing  exists 
as  voodoois; 

Mr.  Whiddcn,  the  first  minister  of  the  United  States  to 
Haiti,  believed  that  these  ivports  were  based  on  popular 
ranwr,  sometimes  originating  in  private  malice,  and  was  of 
the  opinion  that,  it  tin-  truth  wore  ascertained,  there  would 
be  found  no  more  cannibalism  in  Haiti  than  in  Jamaica. 

Most  of  the  West  Indian  negroes,  only  a  few  genera- 
tions removed  from  savagery,  undoubtedly  believe  in 
witchcraft,  and  practise  it,  too,  as  I  shall  describe ;  but  the 
most  absurd  feature  is  that  the  native  whites,  while  not 
practising  it,  believe  in  its  |K>wers  and  exaggerate  its 
actual  performance  tributin^  to  it  all  the  absurd 

doings  which  their  Gaelic  or  Saxon  forefathers  believed 
in  two  thousand  years  ago.  I  have  taken  great  pains  to 
study  this  peculiar  subject  in  both  the  United  States  and 
the  West  Indies. 

Nearly  all  races  of  mankind  in  primitive  ages  have 
believed  in  witchcraft;  that  is,  that  certain  persons  have 
dealings  and  influences  with  evil  spirits  whereby  they 
obtain  the  power  to  work  spells  for  good  or  evil  upon 
other  people  or  their  belongings.  This  is  not  religion  at 
all.  It  contains  no  moral  or  contemplative  conception, 
but  is  merely  a  sanction  of  savage  fear  and  revenge— a 
form  of  belief  and  practice  which  preceded  religion  in  the 
evolution  of  all  mankind.  Its  conceptions  still  linger  in 
the  folk-lore  of  civilization,  and  more  strongly  than  we 
are  inclined  to  think,  for  thousands  of  the  peasantry  of 
European  countries,  and  perhaps  our  own,  still  believe  in 
lies  and  their  supernatural  powers. 

an  witchcraft  goes  under  many  names.     In  the 

English  colonies  it  is  known  as  obiism,  in  Haiti  and  the 

oh   colonies  as  vaudouxism,  in  Louisiana  as  voo- 


<  1  I  \ 

dooism,  and    in    the   other   Southern   States  of  En^r 
settlement  ac  conjure.     Its  reflection   in  the  Northern 
States  is  called  hoodo<  hermore,  obi  ism  and  con- 

jure on  the  one  hand,  and  vaudoux  and  voodoo  on  the 
other,  are  two  distinct  •  •••n.-. -ptions. 

The  first  is  African  \\  itch, -raft  a^  actually  practised  by 
negroes  the  world  over.  The  second  is  the  French  con- 
ception of  imaginary  witchcraft— inherited  folk-Inn-  from 
the  days  of  ancient  Gaul,  something  which  all  French 
peasants  believe  to  be,  but  which  is  not  and  has  not  been. 

Obiism,  like  all  savage  religions,  is  based  upon  belief 
in  evil  spirits  which  can  be  invoked  or  propitiated  by 
gifted  human  beings.  The  conception  of  a  lent 

Supreme  Being  is  not  essential  or  necessarily  considered; 
or  if  considered,  he  is  all-good  and  needs  no  human 
pitiation,  but  the  evil   spirits  an-  thos««  which  must  be 
guarded  against  or  cajoled.     Obiism  is  characterized  by 
four   essential  beliefs:    (1)  that   certain   human   beings 
can  propitiate  or  influence  the  evil  powers;  (2)  that  evil 
spirits  are  associated  with  serpents  and  reptiles;  (::•  that 
the  shades  of  the  dead  return  to  work  revenge  ui 
living;  (4)  that  charms  for  good  or  evil  can  cast  spells 
upon  the  victim. 

The  first  and  chief  factor  of  this  savage  belief  is  the 
witch-doctor  or  obi-man— the  voodoo-doctor  of  Louis i 
and  the  conjure-doctor  of  the  South.  His  power  lies 
in  the  influence  of  his  presence  upon  simple-minded  folk, 
and  the  faith  he  creates  in  the  potency  of  his  charms 
and  actions.  He  is  usually  a  venerable  man  of  hideous 
mien,  who  goes  about  pretending  to  practise  spells  and 
charms,  and  selling  a  few  simple  herb  remedies.  He  is 
undoubtedly  a  survival  of  the  m.-dirine-mnn  found  in 
every  tribe  in  ises  a  great  power  for 

good  or  evil  through  his  hypnotic  powers.  He  may  or 
may  not  possess  a  knowledge  of  a  few  simple  vegetable 
poisons,  as  alleged.  In  exceptional  cases  he  may  cause 
ignorant  servants  to  administer  poison  or  slov 


NEGROES   AND   LOW   WHITES,    EAST    SIDE    OF    BARBADOS 


FISHERMAN'S   HUT,   BARBADOS 

i  A    \\i>   i:\i;r.\]">s 


RACE  PROBLEMS  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES 

drugs  to  their  masters  from  motives  of  vengeance.  All 
the  whites  of  the  West  Indies  believe  that  they  do  so,  and 
weird  stories  are  told  of  planters  who  have  thus  sickened 

ami  died 

Another  strong  feature  of  obiisin  is  the  belief  in 
haunts.  The  negroes  believe  that  not  only  the  spin 
the  person  of  the  dead,  in  a  modified  form,  returns  to 
t!<>u).l.  the  living.  These  more  nearly  correspond  to  the 
shades  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  having  body  and  substance, 
than  to  our  conception  of  spirits  which  are  without  them. 
These  shades  are  known  in  Jamaica  as  "duppies,"  in 

-Line  as  "zoinl'i,"   in  Antigua  and   Barbados  as 

hies,"  and  in  America  as  "harnts."  They  are  some- 
what related  to  the  myths  of  the  will-o'-the-wisps,  for 
Jamaica  duppies,  at  least,  have  fiery  eyes  ("I)  is  for 
Duppy ;  him  eye  shine  like  fire "),  and  the  darkies  are  in 
dread  of  moving  lights  at  night  Duppies  an-1  their  kin-1 
are  supposed  to  inhabit  certain  trees,  especially  the  giant 
ceiba,  which  in  Jamaica  is  particularly  feared  by  the 
negroes  on  this  account ;  ami  they  will  not  cut  or  injure  it, 
except  after  threats  or  violence,  and  even  then  they  must 
first  be  made  drunk;  and  while  felling  it  they  chant  a 
song,  "Me,  no  cut  you,  inassa;  he  rut  you."  Dead  chil- 
dren are  especially  liable  to  return  as  duppies  to  haunt  the 

••r,  who,  even  though  she  may  have  been  the  ten- 
derest  of  creatures,  always  recalls  some  act  of  omission  or 
commission  on  her  part  which  will  cause  the  child  to 
return  and  punish  her.  To  prevent  this,  they  an- 

•ilar  to  put  heavy  weights  upon  the  graves;  other- 
wise th.-y  will  awake  >«»iii.-  niirht  t«»  lin«l  the  <luj.j-y  Mttintf 
upon  the  foot  of  their  bed. 

in   its  most  primitive   form,  is  accompanied 
l.y  a  few  cru.le  rite<.      Its  lM-li,.v.-r>  are  suj'j.ov,.,!  f.  in.-,-! 

:ht  in  some  wild  and  secret  place,  where  the  obi- 
doctors  or  priests  perform  incantations,  and  the  believers 
sing  and  dance  themselves  into  wild  trances  (such  as  the 
dance  on  the  Place  Congo  in  New  Orleans,  described  by 


CUBA   AND   PORTO  RICO 


CaM«  •>.  and  rv.-n  to  offer  blood-sacrifices  of  cocks,  g« 
orchildren,  to  propitiate  th«-  .-\il..ne.    Sometimes  the 
one  is  present  in  the  person  of  a  harmless  s< 
West  Africa  an<l   in   Haiti,  where  a  large  native  snake 
takes  the  place  of  the  At'ri.  -an   reptile.     Among  (>• 
people,  as  in  Jamaica  ami  th-  I   State*,  th«- 

pitiat  ion  of  the  snake,  as  such,  has  been  abandoned,  but 
all  of  the  reptilian  tribe  is  shunm-d  with  horror  and 
rdt-d  as  influential  for  evil  (powerful  ohi).  Even  in 
Louisiana  snakes  are  said  to  ent«  -r  still  into  the  cere- 
monials of  ol.iisni. 

The  trances  into  which  our  negroes  fall  at  th*  ii  r<  ligious 
revivals  are  undoubtedly  survivals  of  these  rites.  These 
meetings  have  practically  been  abandoned  by  the  blacks 
wherever  white  churches  have  been  instituted,  except 
possibly  in  Haiti  and  Jamaica,  and  even  there  they  are 
infrequent 

A  remarkable  fact  concerning  these  rites  is  that  descrip- 
tions of  them  are  based  on  hearsay,  the  narrators  always 
asserting  that  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain  anything 
thcntic  respecting  them,  owing  to  the  secrecy  with  \\ 
tht-y  are  carried  on.    This  fact  adds  to  the  suspicion  that 
even  the  African  devils  are  painted  blacker  than 
really  are,  and  that   many  of  their  alleged  doings  have 
taken  place  only  in  the  imagina  he  nan 

Such  is  the  worst  obiism  of  the  West  Indian 
which  may  survive  only  in  Haiti,  if  even  there;  which,  in 
a  modified  form,  can   l»e  found  everywhere  in  our  own 
country;  and  which  is  in  no  manner  markedly  ditT. 
from  the  tales  of  witchcraft  which  '»nc  cannot  escape  if  he 
-  Salem,  Massachu>< 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  African  ol.iisni  I 
vivcs  in  some  form  wherever  the  African  race  is  extant, 
just  as  the  Germans  and  KnirlMi  believe  gnomes, 

and  fairies;  and  in  a  degree  it  is  practised  in  A 
from  Boston  to  the  equator.     Tn  writing  in  tin- 

Boston  "Post"  of  February  1,  1883,  describes  a  negress 


RACE  PROBLEMS  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES  397 

conjurer,  and  states  that  u  her  reputation  on  the  northerly 
slopes  of  Beacon  Hill  fully  equals  that  \\hi.-h  the  most 
fashionable  physician  has  acquired  on  the  south,  ily  side 
of  the  same  eminence." 

In  1*:»7,  within  a  week  after  my  return  from  the  West 

In. li<>s   wh.Mv    I    had  made  various  observations  upon 

nl.ii-M,,   I   rlipp.-d   t'l-Min  tin-  daily  |>apers  of  Washington 

thr.-,.  n.'ti.-.- «••  'ctorsand  their  doings. 

On.-  had  1 M  anvM.-d  f..r  ill.-^al    pra.-ti f  in.-di.-in.-   in 

;  another  of  much  celebrity  had  died;  and  a  thinl 
had  been  guilty  of  some  trifling  misdemeanor  \\ l.i.-l. 
tracted  piihlif  attention. 

I  can  recall  vividly  to  this  day  the  scene  I  witnessed, 
as  a  IM.V,  np<>n  a  farm  within  f«»nr  mil.-<  of  Na-hvill.-, 
T«-nn.'ssr.',  uh.-n  a  tfivnt  <'.>nnn<»t i«»n  .M-.-UIT.-.!  aim-iii:  th.> 
former  slaves  in  the  quarters  then  still  occupied  by  tin-in. 
There  was  such  a  loud  chattering  of  African  voices  from 
the  cabin*  that  the.  proprietor  of  the  place  proceeded  to 
ascertain  the  cause.  An  old  aud  trusted  female  sen-ant. 
who  was  afflicted  with  8cmfnliti<»  sores  upon  one  of  her 
arms,  was  denouncing  a  certain  negro,  who,  she  said,  had 
employed  an  aged  and  toothless  old  man,  then  standing  in 
the  center  of  the  crowd,  to  cast  his  spell  u  j  :  and  as 

proof  of  her  assertions  she  produced  a  small  bottle  whi.-h 
she  had  dug  from  the  path  before  her  cabin  door,  con- 

ii ^  a  few  horsehairs  and  reptile-claws,  which,  she  .- 
had  made  snakes  grow  in  her  arm. 

The  papers  of  t!  ii  frequently  mention  the  doings 

ofconjure-doctors.   The  Atlanta  "Constitution  r  of v 

ber,  1885,  stated  that  perhaps  one  hundred  old  men  and 

women  practised  voodooism  in  that  .ity  — telling  fortunes, 

pointing  out  the  whereabouts  of  lost  and  stolen  goods, 

tiuni-hinir  love-philters,  and  casting  spells  upon  people  and 

y  belonged  to  all  ranks  and  classes  of  negroes. 

American  conjure-doctors,  like  those  of  the  West 

ies,  carry  bags  to  hold  their  charms,  consisting  of 

lizards'  claws,  dried  rats,  human  bones,  and  other  grue- 


398  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

some  objects.  The  Selma  (Alabama) "  Times"  of  May,  1884, 
describes  one  of  the  bags  picked  up  in  Broad  Street  of 
that  rity,  which  contained  a  rabbit's  foot,  a  piece  of  dried 
"  coon-root,"  some  other  roots,  and  particles  of  parched 
tobacco.  The  rabbit's  foot,  perhaps,  possesses  more 
powers  of  sorcery  than  any  other  instrument  in  use 
among  the  black  doctors  of  the  South,  being  an  etpedd 
charm  against  evil,  particularly  "  if  it  is  a  left  hind  foot 
from  an  animal  caught  in  a  country  graveyard  on  a  cloudy 
night  in  the  new  of  the  moon." 

The  rabbit's  foot  of  late  years  has  pervaded  white  so- 
ciety. Base-ball  players  and  sporting  men  generally  carry 
one;  ami,  mount*-*!  in  silver,  they  are  displayed  in  the 
shops  of  our  great  cities.  Even  statesmen  can  be  seen 
wearing  these  as  watch-charms  in  Washington.  The 
Philadelphia  "Evening  Telegram"  of  August  7, 1884,  noted 
that  the  left  hind  foot  of  a  graveyard  rabbit  had  been 
presented  to  Grover  Cleveland  as  a  talisman  in  the  cam- 
paign. 

The  vaudouzism  of  the  French  colonies  is  something 
different  from  obiism.  It  is  obiism  which  has  been 
magnified  by  attributing  to  it  the  imaginary  doings  of 
the  French  vaudois— the  supposed  cannibalistic  witches 
whom  every  French  peasant,  white  or  black,  thoroughly 
believes  in.  The  superstition  of  the  terrible  doings  of  the 
vaudois  is  as  firmly  embedded  in  the  folk-lore  of 
French  peasant's  mind  as  our  belief  in  the  rotation  of 
the  earth,  and  the  word  contains  a  strong  moral  reproach  . 
and  it  is  a  strange  coincidence  that  the  Van-l'-is  of  the 
fifteenth  century  were  accused  of  all  the  horrible  things 
which  to-day  are  attributed  to  th>  u  negroes,  such 

as  cannibalism,  especially  the  sacrificing  of  chiMn -n  and 
eating  of  their  remains;  the  disinterment  aft.-r  Initial  of 
those  parts  of  the  victims  of  such  sacrifices  as  have  not 
been  eaten;  the  transubstantiation  of  the  human  form 
into  the  shape  of  wolves  for  the  purpose  of  s- 
victims  for  the  sacrifice;  their  secret  knowledge  in  the 


RACE  PROBLEMS  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES 

use  of  herbs,  whereby  they  can  produce  health,  sickness, 
etc.,  especially  slow  death,  impotence,  riches,  povi 
storm,  rain,  hail,  and  tempest. 

•n  tin*  similarity   between  the  stories  told  of  t)i<> 
Vaudois  and  of  tl.  audoux,  there  can  be  littN- 

doubt  that  most  of  the  horrors  attnl.ut.  .1  t<>  the  latter  are 
merely  products  of  the  imagination  of  a  people  who 
•  utfli  th.-ir  Fr.-ii.-li  a^iM-iati«»n  have  become  impreg- 
natr«l  with  tlu'ir  U-lirt'  in  tin-  •  •xiM^m-f  of  this  parti. -nlar 
species  of  witchcraft. 

Mr.  W.  W.  Newell,1  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  many  of 
the  data  herein  presented,  has  shown  the  remarkable 
identity  of  the  charges  which  the  French  of  the  middle 
ages  made  against  the  good  and  pious  sect  of  Waldenses, 
and  those  now  daily  reiterated  concerning  the  vaudoux. 
These  good  people,  called  Vaudois,  were  then  accused  of 
practising  nearly  everything  that  is  laid  upon  the  vau- 
doux. They  were  called  a  sect  infernal  and  worthy  of  the 
red  of  all  good  Christians,  and  were  bitterly  perse- 
••d,  and  the  pious  members,  under  torture,  were  made  to 
confess  the  practice  of  witchcraft  and  all  horrible  things. 
ti"rmore,  the  word  vaudois  meant  a  witch,  and  vau- 
derie  signified  a  sorcerer,  in  France.  At  the  same  time 
the  name  Vaudois  was  applied  to  an  imaginary  sect  of 
lies,  and  the  respectable  Waldenses  were  regarded  as 
guilty  of  all  horrible  crimes  laid  to  the  account  of  sor- 
cerers. The  word  still  survives  in  France.  In  the 
canton  of  Vaud  the  form  is  vandal,  a  sorcenr;  in 
Morvan  it  is  vaudont,  and  the  corresponding  verb  is 
envaudoueiller,  signifying  to  bewitch  or  voodoo,  or,  in 
the  corrupted  form  which  it  has  assumed  north  of  Mason 
an -I  Dixon's  line,  "hoodoo." 

i  «  Journal  of  American  Folk-lore,"  January,  1888,  rot  i,  po.  16-30. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

TIU    Hi  i  HE  OF  THE  WEST  INDIES 

Vicissitude*  which  have  been  survived.  Depression  of  the  sugar  indus- 
try. The  bane  of  alien  land-tenure,  Bad  effect  of  political  distribu- 
tion. Prospective  relations  with  the  United  State*, 

I  HAVE  endeavored  to  give  a  picture  of  the  pr» 
condition  of  the  West  Indi.-s  with  sufficient  notes  on 
their  history  to  convey  an  idea  of  their  past  and  present : 
l>ut  now  not  only  to  the  few  representatives  < 
casian  race  upon  these  islands,  hut  to  th««  civilized  world, 
the  question  is.  What  of  the  future! 

These  beautiful  islands  have  stood  the  shocks  of  earth- 
quake, the  devastation  of  floods,  and  even  some  of  them 
the  greater  catastrophe  of  volcanic  outbreaks,  ami 
recovered.     Five  times  have  they  been  prostrated  by 
events  of  human  agency,  not  mnntin^  the  extern, 
of  the  aborigines.     During  the  first  three  centuries  of 
their  settlement,  civilization  flourished  in  the  face  of  the 
most  rapacious  piracy  and   freebooting  the  world  has 
ever  known.    Then  came  European  wars  at  tin-  close  of 
the  last  century,  when  France,  Spain,  and  England 
with  one  another  in  despoiling  the  D  era  of  revolu- 

tions followed,  when  the  people  rose  or  threatened   to 
rise  aga  ;ropean  domination.     \.  \t  tho  emancipa- 

tion of  slav.  rv  upset  the  labor  system,  and  caused  as 
h  impoverishment  as  the  other  causes.     Finally,  in 
1885,  came  the  great  fall  in  *  •••  of  sugar  and 

ruin  of  their  chief  in  In  all  but  Cuba,  sugar 


NEWCASTLE   SUGAR-MILL 


SPREADING    BAGASSE    TO   DRY 
FOR   FUEL 


CANE-GRINDING  BY   WINDMILL 


\l;-«  I  1.1  TBE  —  BAKBADOS 


THE  FUTURE  OP  THE  WEST  INDIES  401 

ml'  is  now  paralyzed.    In  some  of  the  Lesser 

Antilles  it  is  still  carried  on  without  profit,  giving  the 
plantation  hands  a  mere  subsistence  and  tightening  the 
«>il  of  debt  around  the  planters;  in  others,  such  as  Do- 
mini* a  and  St  Thomas,  the  planters  have  given  up  the 
struggle,  and  the  once  productive  cane-fields  are  going 
back  to  jungle.  Unless  something  is  done  to  nll<>viat<> 
th.-ir  agricultural  <  us,  many  of  these  islands  will 

revert  to  primeval  forests  iniml>ite<l  solely  l.y  negroes.  It 
iii'leed  seemsapity  that  countries  blessed  with  tin-  richest 
conceivable  soils,  possessing  an  abundance  of  laborers 
who  are  will  in-  ixious  to  work  for  prices  averaging 

tit't.M-n  r.-iits  a  •lay,  >h<>uM  t.«-  .l.-.-ayin^  at  tin-  dot€  "f  tin- 
nun  t.Miith  o'ntury,  when  the  demand  for  agricultural 
products  is  greater  than  ever  before  in  the  world's  history. 
if  true  that  the  beet-root  has  appeared  as  a  com- 
petitor with  the  cane  as  a  source  of  sugar;  l-ut  th*>  \\<*rl\ 
would  consume  at  fair  prices  all  the  sugar  that  these 

i  uds  could  produce,  were  it  not  for  the  embargoes  of 
trade  and  artificial  political  conditions  produced  by  go v- 

•iM-ntal   urr 1.      <MTinany  alone,  notwithstanding  her 

enormous  production  of  beet-roots,  could  consume  the 
West  Indian  siiLrar-pri.din't,  were  it  not  for  the  fa«t  that 
by  its  bounties  an«l  tariffs  it  makes  this  nrti.-l.-  too  dear 
for  its  own  people  to  use. 

:rli>h  islands  are  in  a  more  depressed  «•• 
•  on.lition  than  the  others.     The  government  has  sa. 
ficed  her  West   Indian  colonies  fora  prinriple.     Had  she 
put  a  protective  tariff  on  mm- British  sugars,  these  islands 
would  be  at  least  \\.-ll-t. •-.!...      But  her  statesmen  have 
failed  to  see  why  the  millions  of  sugar-consumers 
be  taxed  for  the  few  West   In  lian  planters,  even 
the  Germans  w.  r.   .  nriehed  by  P.ritUh  free  trade,  and  the 
island-'  pr..<p,.rity  .l.-tro\v,l. 

An  -at  bane  of  the  EnirlMi  inlands  is  the  fact 

that   the   1;  y  held  by  alien  owners,  who 

acquiiv<l  th«-m  in  days  when  the  large  plantations  were 


M  AM*  POBTO  BICO 

profitable.     In  St.  Vincent,  for  instance,  there  are  thou- 
sands of  acres  of  fertile  lands  uncultivated  and  lik<  1 
remain  so.     The  holders  of  these  lands  appear  to  be 
unwilling  to  sell  them  in  small  lots  at  reasonable  pri 
and  are  unable  to  cultivate  them.     The  British  Sugar 
Commission  has  recommended  that  these  lands  be  ac- 
quired by  the  government  and  sold  to  the  peasai 
It  has  justly  said  that  a  monopoly  of  the  most  accessible 
and  fertile  lauds  by  a  few  persons  who  are  unable  any 
longer  to  make  beneficial  use  of  them  cannot,  in   the 
p-iH-ral   int«-ivM>,  U-   tol.-ratrd,  ami  is  a  source  of   puMic 
danger. 

What  is  needed  in  the  British  West  Indies  is  a  com- 
bination of  the  English  and  American  systems— a  preser- 
vation of  the  English  respect  for  law  with  a  mixture  of 
American  push  and  go,  with  a  relaxation  of  the  English 
official  pi  Me  which  looks  down  upon  trade  and  indu- 
and  a  little  less  American  familiarity,  which  breaks  down 
even  the  resj.. •« -t  in  whi< -h  the  West  Indian  negro  holds 
the  white  race,  and  which  is  the  only  barrier  between 
himself  and  his  political  supremacy  in  these  islands. 

A  great,  i  drawback  to  the  West  Indies  than  tin-  "in- 
sided    agriculture    is    their    political    condition.      Th.-ir 
distribution  among  too  many  jealous  nationalities  neces- 
sitates the  support  of  expensive  and  useless  adm 
trations,  and  prevents  federation  of  interests  and   the 
development  of  trade  among  themselves  and  with   the 
United  States,  the  nearest  and  largest  natural  consumer 
of  their  products.    Very  ridiculous  some  of  these  polit 
conditions  seem.    The  island  of  St.  Martin,  urge 

as  an  average  county  in  the  United  States,  is  divided  into 
two  principalities,  th«>  h   and   the   I  hitch,  <»ach  of 

which  maintains  an  adiniiii>trativo  force  as  large  as  that 
of  the  State  of  Texas.  Then,  as  we  sail  down  the  .-a-t.-rn 
islands,  hardly  a  score  in  number,  and  within  si^ht  of  one 
another,  aggregating  in  area  less  than  our  little  State  of 
aware,  we  find  five  foreign  flags  and  no  less  than  a 


THE  FUTUUB  OP  THE  WEST  INDIES  403 

d<>/on  distinct  colonial  governments,  each  responsible  to 
.•!„.,  with  no  shadow  of  federation  between  them,  or 
even  cooperation  of  any  kind— a  condition  not  only  j 
able,   Lin   absurd.    Why  should  Dominica,  whose  people 
are  French  in  language  and  institutions,  be  sandwiched 
in  between  Martinique  and  Guadeloupe,  and  within  easy 
sight  of  both,  yet  so  cut  off  from  them  by  quarantine  and 
ft  laws  that  ally  n.-an-r  England,  some 

three  thousand  miles  distant,  than  it  is  to  its  neighbors? 

•  roduct  of  these  islands,  were  it  not  for  the  polit- 
<•.. Md  it  ions,  would  as  naturally  find  a  mark.-t  in  the 
1  "nited  States  as  the  magnetic  needle  finds  the  north. 
Notwithstanding  the  heavy  embargoes  of  our  tariff,  an 
average  of  sixty  per  cent  of  the  West  Indian  products 
reaches  our  shores;  but  sinr<>  in  this  case,  at  least,  th«- 
producer  pays  the  tax,  there  is  no  present  profit  for  him, 
or  inducement  for  furtli-  r  agricultural  extension.     1 
thermore,  while  permitting  sugar  and  coffee  to  reach  us, 
these  tariffs  are  a  barrier  to  the  cultivation  of  the  small 
fruits  for  which  the  West  Indies  are  peculiarly  adapted. 
Concerning  the  future  of  these  islands,  of  whatever 
•nality,  there  is  but  one  hope  and  one  en<l,  ami  that 
is  political  or  commercial  annexation  to  the  United  States. 
As  Froude  has  said,  "  The  Yankee,  whether  we  like  it  or 
.  is  sovereign  of  tl  1  we  may  add  t 

is  fast  ac.juirinir  domination  of  the  land.    Every  En g- 
the  past  fifty  years  has  seen  and  pre- 
dicted that   such  would  U»  the  destiny  of  the  Antilles. 
t  quoted  once  said,1  describing  the  harbor 
of  Trinidad :  "When  we  arrived,  there  were  three  Am 

i^ates,  old  wooden  vessels  out  merely  on  a  cruise, 
but  heavily  sparred,  smart  and  well  set  up,  with  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  floa  i  elessly  at  th««ir  sterns,  as  if  in  these 

Western  seas,  be  the  nominal  dominion  British,  French, 
or  Spanish,  the  American  has  a  voice  also  and  intends  to 
be  heard." 

»  J.  A.  Froude,  "The  English  in  the  Wett  Indte"  (1887). 


404  CUBA  A  10  BICO 

He  little  dreamed,  when  he  wr«>t,-  t!i. -,.  Word>,  only  ten 
years  ago,  th.it  in  so  short  a  time  those  wooden  frigates 
would  have  disappeared  from  our  navy,  ami  that  one  of 
the  most  effective,  if  not  one  of  the  largest.  inm-dad 
navies  of  the  world,  manned  by  these  same  Yankees, 
WOliM  I"-  in  their  place,  hammering  at  the  gates  of  Cuba, 
preliminary  to  tin-  estaMUhinent  of  Aineri-  ii«»n 

in  the  Great  Antilles,  just  as  Rodney's  guns  a  hundred 
years  ago  determined  English  supremacy  in  the  lesser 
islands. 

The  event  s  t  ak  ing  place  as  the  writing  of  this  book  closes 
will  release  at  least  two  of  the  Great  Antilles  from  their 
unnatural  political  and  trade  conditions,  and  w«  unt 

Pori  n<l  Cuba  as  saved  from  the  chaos.  If  American 

domination  is  established  in  Cuba  and  Porto  K'i« •«>,  i 
can  be  little  reason  for  longer  refusing  San  Domingo's 
plea  for  our  protection.  The  people  of  that  country  were 
the  first  to  realize  the  hopelessness  of  their  political  in- 
sularity and  to  seek  a  union  with  our  country,  which  was 
declined  for  reasons  now  no  longer  valid. 

The  growing  friendship  between  England  and  A 
may  tlflO  r«-uli  in  lOOM  ••..nvid. -ration  of  the  pe«.pl.-  «,f  the 
British  West  Indies.  wh<>  before  the  Revolution  \\.  reso 
closely  allied  to  us  in  blood  and  trade.     Surely  it  is  a 
crime  against  nature  and  civilization  tha- 
bados,  I><>minica,  Antigua,  ih«-  Uahamas,  and  others  of  the 
British- American  Mauds  should  be  allowed  to  die  of  dry- 
rot  because  of  tariff  laws. 

The  annexation  of  Hawaii  broke  down  the  great  senti- 
mental barrier  concern inir  the  pn.teetioii  of  the  fewsii: 
planters  of  Louisiana  uhi<  h  has  hitherto  stood  between 
us  and  indies,  and  there  is  no  doul»t  that  <>ur 

tariff  laws  of  the  future  will  have  son 
Went  Indian  neighbors.     Th.-  West   Indies  and  the  Span- 
ish-American  n-pul.lies  once   had   in   Aineriea  a   fri.-i 

"sniau  who,  in  the  greatness  of  the 

fact  that  the  interest  of  our  country  lay  in  cultivating 


THK    FTTl'lii:    oK     I  III.    \U>1     IM»Ii:> 

ons  with  these  people.  While  the  reciprocity 
laws  whirh  were  passed  at  I  Cation  were  in  force  for 

a  few  years  prior  to  1882,  the  prosperity  of  the  West 
Indies  revived,  and  American  commerce  grew  as  it  had 
never  grown  before.  Their  abolition,  however,  quickly 
ivartrd  upon  Ix.th  parties. 

There  can  be  no  douht  that  if  absolute  free  trade  were 
•  •<tal»lished  between  the  West  Indies  and  the  United 
States  it  wouM  prove  most  beneficial  to  both  countries, 
iwivintf  the  agricultural  prosperity  of  the  former,  and 
creating  a  market  for  the  manufactured  products  and  food- 
stutTs  of  the  latter.  In  this  alone  is  there  any  hope  for 
the  future  of  these  islands. 

It  may  be  appropriate,  before  closing  this  work,  to 
speak  a  few  words  concerning  methods  of  seeing  the 
West  Indies.  Unless  you  have  your  own  yacht,  or  can 
take  one  of  the  great  ocean  liners  which  in  winter  make 
excursions  from  New  York,  touching  hastily  at  all  of  the 
principal  ports,  it  will  be  a  very  difficult  matter  to  get 
even  a  perspective  of  the  West  Indies  in  a  single  tour. 
But  excursion  steamers  and  yachts  at  their  best  give  little 
idea  of  the  true  inwardness  of  countries  and  peoples.  If 
you  wish  to  travel  rather  than  merely  tour,  you  must 
avail  yourself  of  the  tracks  of  commerce. 

Many  st«»anu»rs  W\v  X«nv  York  f«»r  tin-  \\'.->t  Indies, 
hut  there  is  no  line  which  takes  in  more  than  a  few  of 
the  islands.  Some  of  the  best  go  to  Cuba  and  Mexico 
without  touching  elsewhere;  others  only  to  Jamaica,  and 
th.'iice  around  the  Isthmian  regions  and  back  to  New 
York;  others  go  only  to  Haiti,  Santo  Domingo,  or  Porto 
k  ;<•<>.  One  of  the  best  companies  takes  passengers  to  the 
Virgin  and  Caribbee  Islands— or,  rather,  touches  at  the 
ports  of  such  islands  as  are  not  quarantined  against  one 
another.  The  curse  of  West  Indian  travel  is  quarantine. 
The  English  islands— and  wisely,  too— are  usually  in 
quarantine  against  <'ul»a,  Haiti,  Santo  Domingo,  Mar- 
and  Guadeloupe,  and  it  is  only  in  exceptional 


4<H)  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

that  one  can  get  from  an  English  island  to  any  of 


these. 

My  advice  to  the  traveler  would  be  to  plan  two  separate 
tours,  giving  a  winter  to  each.  One  should  be  devot< 
the  French  and  Spanish  islands;  the  other  to  the  Engli-h 
colonies.  The  first-mentioned  tour  can  be  initiated  by 
leaving  New  York  by  rail  for  Tampa,  Florida,  whence  one 
can  go  to  Havana  within  less  than  a  day.  Steamers  can 
also  be  taken  diivctly  from  New  York  either  to  Santiago 
or  Havana,  from  which  places  coasting-vessels  in  time  of 
peace  skirt  the  island.  Cuba  alone  is  worthy  of  a  winter's 
stay;  but  if  the  reader  wishes  to  proceed  farther,  he  < -an 
take  a  regular  line  from  Havana  to  Haiti,  and  from  II 
to  San  Domingo,  Porto  Rico,  and  the  Danish  Virgin  Islands 
as  far  as  St.  Thomas.  There  he  will  find  means  of  reach- 
ing Martinique  and  Guadeloupe.  The  traveler  who  makes 
this  journey  should  remember  that  he  is  almost  constantly 
exposed  to  disease  and  contagion,  and  should  acquire  such 
sanitary  and  hygienic  knowledge  as  will  enable  him  to 
avoid  them. 

The  second  tour  can  be  ma«l«'  in  rith.-r  of  two  ways. 
The  Quebec  steamship  line  carries  travelers  directly  from 
New  York  to  St.  Thomas,  and  thence  down  the  English 
Caribbees  to  Trinidad  and  Barbados.  At  Barbados  con- 
nection can  be  made  semi-weekly  with  the  excellent 
steamers  of  the  English  Royal  Mail,  proceeding  thence  to 
Jamaica.  The  second  and  preferable  method  of  making 
this  tour  will  be  to  leave  New  York  by  one  of  the  bt'tt«T 
steamers  of  the  various  lines  for  Jamaica  direct.  These 
steamers,  as  a  rule,  do  not  carry  sugar,  and  one  avoids 
the  horrible  stenches  of  sugar-ships.  After  seeing  Ja- 
maica the  Royal  Mail  can  be  taken  from  thence  eastward 
to  Barbados,  from  which  point  one  can  use  the  subsidiary 
steamers  of  the  same  line  up  and  down  the  Enjj 
islands,  south  to  Trinidad  or  Demerara  and  north  t<> 
Thomas,  where  connections  can  be  made  for  the  United 
Btatot,  I  v,  in  no(  vanbh  iw  th«-  axoeDenM  or  o.mtwts  «.f 


THB  FUTURE  OF  THE  WEST  INDIES  407 

tin-  average  steamer  to  America,  except  the  larger  vessels. 
I  have  made  delightful  trips  on  some  of  the  smaller  and 
it  i^ellaneous  vessels,  however,  and  what  they  lack  in 
luxuries  is  compensated  by  th-  freedom  of  the  ships  and 
th«»  absence  of  disagreeable  company  or  overcrowding. 
One's  companions  are  generally  seafaring  men  or  West 
Indian  natives,  who  are  always  interesting. 

The  traveler  will  find  the  West  Indies  anything  bnt 
unpleasant  places;  but  the  tourist  will  miss  the  luxurious 
American  hotels,  except  at  Bridgetown,  Barbados.    For 
my  part,  the  absence  of  these  has  not  been  regretted,  for 
one  gains  little  insight  into  the  life  of  a  place  when  he 
puts  up  at  a  foreign  caravansary,  and  the  West  In 
abound  in  small  and  hospitable  inns  where  one  can  find 
pleasure  and  entertainment 
The   stories   of   un<-l<»anliness   so   often    reported   by 

ught  less  travelers  in  the  tropics  haw  littl<>  foundation. 
The  buildings  are  everywhere  neatly  colored  with  j . 
or  calcimine,  freely  renewed.    The  streets  of  the  smallest 
villages,  especially  in  Spanish  communities,  are  paved  with 
blocks  or  cobblestone,  and  all  contain  some  place  of  recre- 

•ii  and  attempts  at  ornamentation.  Kvery  Spanish 
village  possesses  one  or  more  public  squares,  beautifully 
lai'l  out  with  trees,  walks,  and  flowers,  neatly  ornamented 

ii  seats  and  railings,  and  usually  with  a  band-stand  in 
the  The  English  u  h  villages  have  botani- 

cal gardens,  preserving  the  floral  beauties  of  every  tropical 
land. 

Such   m  ness   as  exists  is  not  of  a  personal, 

private,  or  visible  kind,  but  solely  that  of  a  municipal 
-actor,  such  as  the  concealed  cesspools  and 
lark  of  modern  sewerage,  above  which  one  may  walk 
even  in  some  of  our  American  towns.    Perhaps  the  wr 
is  p  d  l.y  having  se.«n  in  his  own  country  unk» 

places  of  similar  size,  beside  which  the  t-  villages 

are  models  of  neatness  and  sanitation.  ily  no  such 

spectacle  can  be  seen  in  the  tropics  as  the  untidy  public 


4<>S  CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO 

squares  of  our  cotton  belt,  with  tin  ir  hideous  architec- 
tural surroundings;  while  even  the  sight  of  the  worst 
spots  in  th<-  t ropics  has  suggested  the  reflection  that  this 
was  at  least  better  than  what  I  had  seen  in  some  of  the 
citi.-s  of  my  own  country. 

My  task  is  done.  I  have  tried  to  present  tin-  \V-  ' 
I  IK  lies  as  I  have  seen  them.  Americans  who  have  not 
vi-it.-d  01-  >tudi«-d  tin-  m-iL'hhorini:  iv^ion  may  havr  found 
some  of  the  statements  and  conclusions  presented  con- 
trary to  the  popular  opinion;  but  to  the  English  i-ul-lir 
what  I  have  stated  will  be  nothing  new.  Great  Britain's 
statesmen  have  long  been  aware  of  the  condition  and 
destiny  of  these  American  islands,  and  in  the  writings  of 
Trollope,  Froude,  and  others,  written  before  the  present 
cataclysm  of  tropical  history,  may  be  found  prophecies 
which  told  of  what  has  happened  or  is  taking  place.  The 
present  struggles  of  the  Spanish  Creoles  are  but  r-  ; 
tions  of  the  events  which  took  place  in  Haiti  a  century 
ago,  when  England  endeavored,  unsuccessfully,  to  in 
fere  on  the  grounds  of  humanity,  as  we  have  done  this 
year.  As  these  pages  are  being  written,  ominous  fears  are 
expressed  concerning  the  Cuban  people;  l>ut  Americans 
will  -.•••  that  the  intervention  of  our  government  has  been 
liable  on  every  ground,  and  that  that  int.-rv.-ntion  in 
behalf  of  the  "  Pearl  of  the  Antilles"  meant  the  beginning 
of  n  md  brighter  day  for  all  tin-  \\Y>t  Indies.  The 

establishment  of  trade  relations  in  their  natural  channels, 
and  the  sweeping  away  of  the  antique  and  barbarous 
government  of  Cuba,  will  so  influence  the  conditions  of 
the  other  islands  that  they  must  inevitably  be  bettered. 


APPENDICES 


AI'I'KNDIX    I 
CUBA  SINCE  THE  WAR 

STANDING  on  this  spot  which  baa  become  consecrated,  the  mind 
can  scarcely  grasp  the  vast  changes,  so  rapid  in  action  and  so 
momentous  in  significance,  which  have  taken  place  since  the  pre- 
ceding pages  were  written.  The  song  of  birds,  the  drone  of  insects, 
and  the  flowering  landscape  which  mark  the  rrstwhil**  luittlr  nVM, 
erase  impressions  of  the  carnage  which  here  forever  ended  Spain's 
dominion  in  Western  waters  and  ended  the  tyranny  of  centuries. 
On  the  superb  macadamized  highway,  built  but  yesterday  by  the 
American  commander,  General  Wood,  the  contented  peasant  is 
seen  carrying  his  produce  to  market ;  laborers,  still  wearing  the 
palmetto  hat  and  cockade  of  Cuba  Libre,  are  hauling  stone  for  its 
further  continuation.  The  peaceful  harbor  with  its  many  ships  of 

comniiTci'.  th«>  l.usy  Inrninotivrs  |iMftini:  umlrr  tln-ir  l<>;i'l>  of  in-n 

and  manganese  from  the  mountains,  and  the  quiet  and  clean  little 
are  portentous  manifestations  of  the  peace  which  is  not  to 
come,  but  which  has  come  to  Cuba.    Already  upon  the  hill  to  the 
south  the  American  soldiers  may  be  seen  folding  their  tent* 
paratory  to  leaving  the  island  to  its  lawful  owners.    According  to 

>n  of  the  American  Congress,  emphasized  in  the  noble 
words  of  Pr  in  his  message  of  Decemlx : 

•m try  will  extend  to  Cuba  the  protection  needed  for 
its  rehabilitation  ami  TVL'«'! 

Would  that  I  .-.mid  say  that  the  political  future  of  Cuba  is  as 
clear  as  this  cloudless  sky.  The  Cubans  have  yet  to  learn— per- 
haps  less  so  than  other  subjects  lately  freed  from  the  Spanish  sys- 

Timcnt  —  the  meaning  and  benefits  of  the  incalculable 
blessing  which  has  been  brought  to  them  by  the  American  flag,  and 

411 


41J  APPENDICES 

without  which  their  future  would  have  been  hopeless.  May  they 
not  forget,  in  the  effervescence  which  follows  a  sudden  breaking  of 
the  chains,  the  great  fact  that  liberty  does  not  mean  license,  and 
in  the  American  constitution  and  temperament  there  is  no 
cause  or  reason  for  insurrection  and  physical  stn 

Let  them  not  confound  the  invective  and  criticism  which  we 
hurl  so  freely  at  our  executives,  friends,  and  representatives  as 
sanctions  for  deeds  of  violence.  On  the  other  hand,  let  not 
Americans  regard  the  vain  sayings  of  the  new-made  children  of 
liberty  more  seriously  than  they  regard  the  frothing  of  their  own 
political  agitators. 

SAX  JUAN  HILL,  SANTIAGO  DE  CUBA, 
January  30,  1889. 


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APPENDIX   III 

ISLANDS  ATTACHED  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  PORTO  RIOO 

DEPENDENT  on  the  department  of  Mayaguez  is  the  island  of 
Mona,  which  lies  forty-two  miles  dne  west  of  Mayaguez  and  gives 
its  name  to  the  broad  channel  flowing  between  Porto  Kico  and 
Santo  Domingo.  Its  total  area  is  about  ten  thousand  acres.  It  is 
surrounded  by  perpendicular  cliffs,  white  in  color,  about  one  hun- 
ilivd  and  seventy-five  feet  high,  full  of  holes,  and  with  numbers  of 
grottoes  or  caves.  Mona  terminates  on  the  west  in  a  bold  head- 
land topped  by  a  huge  overhanging  rock  known  to  seafarers  by  the 
suggestive  name  of  Caigo-o-no-Caigo  ("  Shall  I  fall  or  not  T ").  The 
neighboring  islet  has  been  christened  Monito,  the  "  Little  Monk 
The  latter  is  a  rock  about  five  hundred  yards  in  diameter,  v 
rises  straight  above  the  sea  to  a  height  of  one  hundred  feet  It  is 
covered  with  a  growth  of  cactus. 

The  highest  portion  of  Mona  Island  is  at  the  south  end  and  runs 
up  to  one  hundred  a  i  i«l  >•  \.  nty-flve  feet  above  the  water-level.  West 
of  these  hills,  and  sloping  off  gently  toward  the  low,  sandy  beach 
that  encircles  the  whole  western,  southwestern,  and  southern  sides 
of  the  island,  are  lands  overgrown  with  "  good  grass  for  cat 
as  is  quaintly  recorded  on  the  older  charts. 

From  West  Point  tin-re  extends  for  « -i-jlit  miles  along  the 
southern  edge  a  fine  beach  of  white  sand  beaten  hard  by  the 
waves  that  roll  up  from  the  Caribbean  Sea.  This  1>- 
width  from  a  few  hundred  yards  to  nearly  a  mile,  and  while  free 
from  vegetation  near  the  shore,  farther  back  toward  the  high 
ground  it  is  covered  with  ooooanut-palms  and  '.  plants. 

This  sandy  beach  is  the  resting-place  of  thousands  of  green  turtles. 

Outside  the  coral  reef  which  closely  rims  this  souti  re  is 

good  <i«-pth  of  water  for  anchorage,  while  just  mirth  «.f  WeM  1 
is  a  little  bay  called  "Sardinero  Anchorage,"  \\hi.h  has  from  five 
t<>  twenty-two  fathoms  of  water  with  liMMin^-im-uM.!.  On  East 
Cape,  a  high  Muff  jutting  sharply  into  the  sea,  is  the  lighthouse, 
with  the  light  one  hundred  ami  four  feet  above  the  water,  visible 
twenty-two  miles  away 

414 


APPENDICES  415 

Mona  was  tha  home  of  bucaneere  for  two  hundred  yean.    In 

the  big  cave  in  the  hillside  about  a  mile  west  of  the  lighthouse 

r  treasures.    There  are  many  oaves  in  the  cliff  that 

is  the  coast  which  have  not  been  explored  in  recent  yean, 

and  which,  according  to  tradition,  were  the  homes  of  the  pirates. 

At  present  the  island  is  populated  by  about  oue  hundred  and  fifty 

peoj 

Vieques  and  Culebra  are  known  as  the  Islas  de  Pasaje,  because 
they  lie  in  the  passage  between  Porto  Rico  and  the  Virgin  group. 
Culebra  Inland,  the  more  northern  of  these,  lies  about  ten  miles 
northeast  of  Vieques  and  directly  east  of  Cape  San  Juan,  the 
«-aM«-nmm>t  point  of  iWto  Ki,-,,.  It  is  two  l.-a^u.-.s  Jon,;  and  one 

league  wide.  While  only  about  nine  square  miles  in  area,  its 
highest  peak  runs  up  nearly  a  thousand  feet  above  sea-level  It 
has  a  population  of  a  few  hundred.  There  is  little  or  no  cultivation 
of  the  soil.  Its  product*  are  principally  horses,  cattle,  and  minor 
fruits,  which  are  sent  mostly  to  St  Thomas.  The  island  is  arid 
and  has  no  running  streams,  but  water  is  supplied  by  public  cis- 
terns. Its  inhabitants  are  mostly  fishermen  and  turtlers.  There 
is  a  lighthouse  on  Culebrita,  a  rocky  islet  about  a  mile  east  of 
Culebra.  The  light  is  on  the  peak  of  the  island  mount,  three 
hundr.-d  and  !;•>••  feet  above  the  water. 

Culebra  is  said  to  possess  a  remarkably  fine  harbor  of  refuge 

which  indents  the  southern  coast.    Admiral  Porter  chartered  this 

island  many  yean  ago,  and  made  the  statement  that  the  combined 

••••!•••  could  find  anchorage  in  Deep  Harbor,  the  great 

landlocked  bay  that  extends  far  into  its  hills. 

-aid  that  *  is  the  original  of  Robert  Louis  Stevenson's 

"  Treasure  Island."  The  topography  of  the  island  is  well  described 
in  the  book. 

The  island  of  Vieques,  known  otherwise  as  Crab  Island,  about 
tint  t<  •  n  miles  east  of  Porto  Rico,  is  to  that  island  what  the  Isle  of 
Pines  is  to  Cuba.  The  island  is  twenty-one  miles  long  and  six 
w-id.-.  having  an  area  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  square 
miles.  Its  land  is  very  fertile  and  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of 
almost  all  the  fruits  and  vegetables  that  grow  in  the  West  Indies. 
Cattle  are  raised  and  sugar  cultivated.  It  has  a  population  of  some 
six  thousand.  The  people  are  very  simple  folk  and  poorly  educated, 
town  Isabel  Segunda  is  on  the  north,  and  the  port  is  unsafe 
in  times  of  northerly  wind,  like  all  the  anchorages  on  that  side ;  the 


416  All  INDICES 

few  ports  on  the  south  are  1  >  M  £  Punta  Arenas, 

long  ago  there  were  two  importing  and  exporting  houses  on 
island  of  Vieques ;  but,  on  account  of  the  long  period  of  drought 
and  the  high  duties  on  imported  goods,  trade  has  decreased  to  local 
consumption  ,,i,ly.     All  supplies  an-  drought  from  San  Juan.    The 
'•lunate  is  flue  and  may  be  considered  health tul :  there  have  n 
been  any  contagious  diseases. 

Culebrita  and  Southwest  Key  are  rocky  islets  near  <'ul< 
Between  Culebra  and  the  mainland  of  Porto  Rico  is  a  chain  of 
small  uninhabited  coral  islands.  Along  the  eastern  coast  of  Porto 
Rico  are  the  small  islands  of  Palominos,  Ramos,  Pineros,  Cabras, 
North  and  South,  and  Santiago  Keys.  They  are  unimportant,  rang- 
ing from  a  few  acres  to  about  a  square  mile,  and  are  merely  coral 
reefs  with  sand  washed  over  them. 


AITKNIHX    IV 
GOVERNMENT  AND  RE8OUBCE8  OP  PORTO  RICO 

1898,  the  American  army  under  General  Miles 
uled  Porto  Rico,  and  from  that  date  the  island  has  been 
American  territory,  although  at  this  writing  the  final  treaty  con- 
firming it  as  an  American  possession  has  not  been  com  pi ' 
The  landing  of  the  American  flag  marked  the  most  important 
event  in  the  history  of  the  island  since  its  discovery  by  Columbus, 
and  inaugurated  changes  in  its  customs  and  civilization  as  mo- 
mentous as  those  which  took  place  when  it  passed  from  a  primeval 
1 1 Mian  settlement  to  a  colony  of  New  Spain.  Everywhere  the 
American  invaders  were  welcomed  with  joy  and  thanksgiving,  and 
when  the  Spanish  troops  finally  evacun  >  Rico,  the  island 

practically  became  an  integral  part  of  our  domain,  and  was  placed 
under  a  form  of  military  government  constituting  the  military  de- 
partment of  Porto  Rico,  having  its  capital  at  San  Juan. 

The  first  military  governor  was  Major-General  Brooke,  U.  S.  A. 

He  was  succeeded  after  a  short  time  by  Brigadier-General  (now 

Major-General)  Guy  V.  Henry,  upon  whose  shoulders  has  rested  the 

f  responsibility  of  reconstruction.    The  island,  for  administra- 

purposes,  is  divided  into  two  subdepartments,  those  of  San 

Juan  on  tin-  north  and  Ponce  on  the  south,  the  former  of  which  is 

under  the  directorship  of  Brigadier-General  Fred  D.  Grant,  and  the 

•l.iiirl  Burke. 

Governor-General  Henry  has  ruled  the  island  with  wisdom  and 
skill.  He  has  governed  gently  but  firmly,  and  respected  and  pre- 
served as  far  as  consistent  with  the  new  order  of  things  the  tradi- 
tions  and  laws  to  whi.-h  the  people  were  accustomed.  Hence  the 
span  Mi  laws  and  officials  have  largely  been  retained  until 
they  could  be  improved  and  until  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
which  alone  has  the  authority  for  the  creation  of  laws,  should 
have  time  to  draw  up  a  proper  bill  for  the  territorial  government 
of  Porto  L 

Some  Americans,  unappreciative  of  the  tremendous  differences 
between  the  Spanish  and  American  usages,  have  argued  that  sweep* 

IT  417 


418  APPENDICES 

ing  and  revolutionizing  laws  should  be  enacted,  wiping  out  ,-r 
Ml  stroke  all  the  local  forms  of  gov.rniii.ut  mid  juri>pru«l.-nce  of 
this  foreign  people  who  are  to  be  assimilated  into  our  body  j-  .lit  i.-. 
While  such  a  coarse  might  be  of  great  benefit  to  those  who  look 
upon  our  newly  acquired  territory  m.  r.  ly  for  financial  gain,  it 
would  be  repulsive  and  foreign  to  our  entire  system  of  go\ 
ment.  whi.-h  i»  founded  upon  just  consideration  for  the  rights  and 
piness  of  the  people. 

Much  has  been  written  of  the  resources  of  this  little  island  wlii.-h 
so  easily  fell  under  our  jurisdiction  during  the  recent  war,  especially 
by  people  enthusiastic  over  tin -ir  first  glimpse  of  tropical  nature, 
and  who  lacked  familiarity  with  the  tropics  and  acquaintance  with 
the  economic  history  of  the  other  West  Indian  Islands.  Hence 
much  of  what  has  been  said  has  been  the  result  of  first  impressions 
of  the  charming  scenery,  natural  products,  and  social  customs  of 
the  inhabitants,  which  were  a  novelty  to  the  newly  arrived  North 
Americans.  It  has  been  described  as  a  "  priceless  gem,"  "  an  island 
of  unlimited  resources,  teeming  in  mineral  and  agricultural  possi- 
bilities/1 "a  grand  field  for  Anirri.-an  inv.-stnirnt  and  develop- 
in,  nt,"  .-t.v  Of  the  esthetic  beauties  of  the  island  and  the  sn: 

.   of  its  economic  possibilities  «»v. -r  the  other  West  Indies 
excepting  Cuba,  no  one  can  be  more  appreciative  than  the  wr 
A  calm  conspectus  of  the  island,  however,  should  show  its  limita- 
n.'iis  as  well  as  its  resources. 

First,  it  should  be  remembered  that  it  is  a  small  place,— hardly 
a  twelfth  the  area  of  Cuba,— and  this  fact  alone  limits  its  possibili- 
ties ss  a  wealth-producing  country.  A  glance  at  the  physiogra]  >\.\. 
which  here,  as  elsewhere,  determines  the  cultural  po.-  - .  will 

aid  in  understanding  its  capacity.    Porto  Rico  is  mountainous; 
nine  tenths  of  its  area  is  composed  of  steep  slopes,  peaks, 
ridges  of  a  nigged  topography,  win-  h  ordinarily  would  be  cot 
ered  an  unsuitable  environment  for  man     Yet  these  nmm  • 
are  except ;..nal.  in  that  they  are  coated  with  a  thick  regolith,  as 
geologists  term  the  decaying  surface  of  the  rocks,  which  is  here 
ofari«-)i  -  clay  soil  and  permits  culti  vat  ion  t< 

mountain-tops.    This  soil  is  suitable  for  1  upland  pro- 

—coffee  and  tobacco  of  the  staple  crops,  and  provision  ground  ; 
nets,  called  minorts  in  Porto  Rico,  such  as  yams,  sweet  potatoes, 
man  i  tins,  y autin,  oranges,  and  other  vegetable  foods,  v 

afford  the  peasantry  an  easy  subsistence.    The  Spaniards  are  essen- 


KNDICE8 

ly  a  mountain-loving  race,  and  on  this  island,  where  soil  ten* 
.sly  clings  to  the  slopes  and  peaks,  v.  is  noobstru. 

to  cultivation.  The  native  gibaro,  by  anatomical  adaptation,  can 
cling  to  these  slopes  and  cultivate  th'-ir  soils  with  ease.  His  feet 
are  adapted  to  this  rough  configuration  and  the  almost  impassable 
fcnrfk 

••••  are  no  vast  plains  in  Porto  Rico,  such  as  are  found  in  our 
country  and  in  Cuba.     It  is  true  that  around  the  coast  and  along 
some  of  the  streamways  there  are  alluvial  plains  of  limited  extent 
which  may  be  locally  considered  of  large  area,  but  these  do  not 
constitute  one  tenth  the  total,  and  the  island  itself  does  not  aggre- 
gate in  area  one  thinl  as  much  as  the  great  central  sugar  plain  of 
Cuba,  nor  one  thirteenth  as  much  as  any  one  of  the  many  fertile 
rie  plains  of  our  own  country,  the  Black  Prairie  of  Texas,  for 
i  nee.    These  topographic  facts  have  an  important  bearing 
upon  municipal  development  and  communication,  as  will  be  shown 

Porto  Rico  is  a  wet  country.    We  hear  of  a  wet  season  and  a 
dry  season,  and  a  wet  side  and  a  dry  side  of  the  island,  but  these 
s  are  merely  local  and  relative,  and  convey  no  meaning  to  the 
American  mind.    Within  tli<>  island  there  are  considerable  differ- 
ences of  precipitation.    The  larger  mountainous  portion,  which 
constitutes  nine  tenths  of  the  island,  is  always  much  wetter  than 
the  coasts.    The  eastern  end  is  not  only  wet,  but  literally  saturated, 
tli.-  rainfall  averaging  120  inches  a  year.     This  rainfall  decreases 
he  westward  less  r  tin*  north  side  than  on  the  south, 

and  hence  the  former  is  called  the  rainy  region  and  the  Intt«-r  the 
arid.     It   is  Lathed  in  ni-rhtly  showers  of  mint     Language  can 
hardly  describe  the  dampness  of  these  daily  showers  and  down- 
say  nothing  of  the  atmosphere,  which  is  usually  heavily 
D  with  moisture.    The  sun  weeps  and  the  stars  drop  tears 
upo!  these  showers  appear  from  an  almost 

•  Hess  sky.    The  south  side  of  the  island  is  ly  called 

dry.  >.T  .  \.  n  th-P'  rain  is  excessive,  viewed  in  the  lijrht  of  the 
-d.  although  irrigation  is  necessary  for  certain 
•Tops  which  cannot  live  except  when  constantly  wat» 

Her  coast  the  roads  are  bogs  and  puddles  for  two 

thirds  of  the  •  d  in  onl.-r  to  prevent  the  hoofs  of  horses 

from  excess  in  necessary  to  build 

:'-»rms  for  them  to  stand  upon.     Yet  with  all  of  its  dampness 


•4lM  AITF.NI.K  T.S 

the  air  is  pleasant  and  refreshing  and  the  sensation  of  sultriness 
which  accompanies  the  low  barometer-waves  in  our  own  «.untr\ 

\;  •••:.'•    : 

The  conditions  of  warmth  an<l  humidity  eonduce  to  the  growth 
of  funjri  and  bacteria.  As  the  saying  that  •«  an  ounce  of  prevent  i.  .n 
is  worth  a  pound  of  cure  "  has  not  as  yet  been  incorporated 

•therwise  ri<-h  stock  of  Spanish  j.n.v.  rhs,  the  natives  of  the 
island  are  largely  affected  with  tuberculosis,  and  other  zyn 


Porto  Rico's  3600  square  miles  are  inhabited  by  nearly  850,000 
people,  or  an  average  <  > :  n )  to  the  square  mile.    These  people 

are  acclimated  nnt  i\  <  s.  immune  from  tropical  diseases,  and  adapted 
to  the  island  conditions.  Of  the  total,  500,000  are  practically  illit- 
erate. These  people  must  of  necessity  be  hewers  of  wood  and 
drawers  of  water,  and  they  will  eagerly  welcome  any  employment 
their  new  political  fellowship  will  bring  them.  They  will  supply 
all  the  labor  that  can  be  needed.  To  the  trades  and  laboring 
classes  the  island  offers  little  inducements.  There  are  as  good,  or 
better,  tailors,  hatters,  shoemakers,  and  barbers  on  the  island  as  in 
our  own  country.  In  fact,  one  is  overwhelmingly  impressed  by 
the  vast  amount  of  idle  labor  which,  for  money  inducement, 
could  be  converted  into  wealth-producing  factors.  The  laboring 
and  trade  classes  are  not  only  skilful,  l>ut  they  are  cheap. 

Porto  Rico  does  offer  inducements,  however,  to  intelligent  agri- 
culturists, or  rather  horticulturists— scientific  farmers  who  can 
ut  ili/.e  and  direct  native  labor.  The  American  farmer  cannot  give 
the  Porto  Rican  many  lessons  in  the  culture  of  the  three  staple 
crops  of  cane, coffee,  and  tobacco,  but  the  sci« -untie  hortlml? 
can  improve  the  quality  and  increase  the  quantity  of  the  fruit 
product.  The  only  present  opening  in  Porto  Rico  to  the  farmer 
of  small  capital  is  that  of  growing  export  fruits— oranges  and 
bananas.  Some  people  may  find  profit  and  pleasure  in  the  culture 
of  these,  but  with  the  consumption  limited,  and  Cuba  as  a  pros- 
pective  competitor,  the  industry  can  hardly  add  more  than  five 
million  dollars  to  the  annual  produ 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  under  the  old  regime  the  island  had 
attained  the  fullest  possible  development  of  the  ox-cart 
wooden  plow  civilization.    Its  forests  had  been  culled  and  almost 
destroyed,  its  agricultural  lands  fui  ed,  the  seed  and  prod- 

had  deteriorated,  and  export  plantation  crops,  such  as  were 


APPENDICES 

il.le  without  the  cooperation  of  the  United  State*,  developed 
to  th.-ir  limit 

Hut  the  opj*  '.r  future  expansion  of  commerce  is  re- 

.itir.sin  this  line  are  limited  in  volume  and  d» 
oped  almost  to  their  capacity.    More  of  the  annual  trade  (\\  • 

me  exoev  'XX),OOOof  imports  and  $15,000,000  of 

rt«,  or  a  total  of  $30,000,000)  will  be  diverted  to  this  country 

•  ad  of  Spain,  and  thereby  benefit  our  commercial  interests  to 

a  Miiall  lAt.-Mt. 

•o  has  but  few  natural  resources  other  than  agricultural. 

c  are  no  mines  or  minerals  worthy  of  serious  considers 
except  a  little  iron.  Th.-re  are  a  few  phosphate  rocks  and  some 
guano-filled  bat  caves,  the  contents  of  which  should  be  applied 
to  the  island  soils.  There  are  hardly  any  wild  lands  awaiting 
virgin  cultivation.  Its  once  glorious  mantle  of  forests  has  been 
almost  destroyed.  In  fact,  the  cream  of  its  resources  has  been 
skimmed  for  three  hundred  yean  by  a  shrewd  people. 

The  island  offers  no  opportunity  to  the  boomer  and  builder  of 
cities  otherwise  than  in  suburban  expansion  of  those  already  con- 
structed. It  has  an  abundance  of  towns.  Some  have  suggested 
the  buildint:  of  a  new  American  metropolis,  but  the  configuration 
is  such  that  no  single  city  can  serve  the  whole  island.  The  pres- 
« nt  ritirs  an-  iml. •{>« -udi -ut  municipalities,  each  with  its  own  small 
sphere  of  trade,  and  all  are  commercially  embargoed  from  one 

i  IT  by  topographic  barriers,  and,  owing  to  easy  access  of  ocean 
steamers,  in  closer  communication  with  the  outer  world  than  with 
tln-ir  neighbors.  To  every  ten  square  miles  of  the  island  there  is 
one  mile  of  sea-coast,  while  the  United  States  averages  but  one 

of  sea-coast  to  each  three  hundred  and  twenty  square  n 
of  area.    This  makes  all  parts  readily  accessible  from  the  sea,  and 

accessibility  will  always  obviate  the  necessity  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  any  single  commercial  center  upon  the  isl.-. 

some  few  opportunities  for  mechanical  de- 
it.  principally  in  the  line  of  improvement  of  transports^- 

and  sewerage  construct  ion.  Its  .it  ies  are  supplied  with  public 
far  more  commodious  and  ornate  than  most  plaices  of 
then-  M/.e  iu  America  possess,  or  can  hope  to  possess  for  years  to 
come.  Most  of  these  towns  are  lighted  by  gas  or  electricity,  and 
often  well  paved  or  macadamised.  Water-works  and  sewerage 
are  needed  in  most  places,  but  there  is  idle  capital  lying  in  the 


A  I  I  IM'ICES 

treasury  of  many  of  the  munieipalities  to  huild  these,  without 
necessarily  giving  the  American  opportunity  to  invest  in  Porto 
Rican  intm-st-bearing  bonds. 

While  transportation  and  means  of  communication  are  sadly 
needed,  the  field  is  small.  The  railway  system  originally  pla: 
to  encircle  the  island  is  hut  one  fourth  completed,  )>ut  the  franchise 
in  equity  belongs  to  the  French  company  which  was  working  under 
it  when  we  took  possession.  The  power  of  the  system  should  be 
itfed  from  steam  generated  by  coal  to  t-1  furni>hed  l«y 

the  unchained  t-.n-.-nts  of  the  island.     There  should  also  be  elec- 
trie  trolley  lines  throughout  the  interior,  and  railways  count- 
the  principal  eir  ies.     Perhaps  a  fifth  of  the  mileage  which  now 
rates  at  Scollay  Square,  Boston,  would  suffice  for  the  island. 

The  reader  must  not  adjudge  me  a  pessimist,  or  conclude  that 
no  good  can  come  from  tin-  acquisition  of  such  an  island,  because 
scient itii*  duty  necessitates  the  presentation  of  these  facts.  There 
is  another  side  to  the  question.  Porto  Rico  has  a  value  \\  hi«-h 
cannot  be  expressed  in  dollars,  charms  which  need  not  be  mea- 
sured in  rate  per  cent  The  American  mind  has  not  yet  become 
so  completely  mercenary  that  it  has  no  interest  in  tin-  humane, 
the  natural,  and  the  esthetic.  We  have  given  liberty  to  a  people 
who  never  knew  tin-  n.  f  that  word ;  we  have  gained  a  trop- 

ical Riviera  of  our  own.  which  will  offer  winter  rest, 
and  broadening  of  vision  to  thousands  of  our  country?! 
have  rounded  out  our  possessions  with  a  v.  ritaUe  tropical  gar 
which,  with  its  landscapes,  *<-.  ustoms,  and  products,  will 

always  be  a  source  of  pleasure  and  of  pride.  Above  all,  we  have 
accepted  a  challenge  to  our  boasted  enlightenment,  and  have  an 
opportunity  to  experiment  with  our  methods  in  the  rehabilitation 
of  a  country  despoiled  by  a  people  whom  we  have  called  hurl 

The   microcosm  which  has   so   suddenly    and 
dropped  into  the  responsibility  of  our  jurUdi, -ti.m.  with  its  p, 
habits,  customs,  language,  and  products  so  entirely  differ,  nt 
anything  hitherto  possessed  by  us,  challenges  every  aspcet  of  our 
so-called  Yankee  civilization,  and  dares  then]>}  li  art, 

science,  industry,  and  administrative  method  l,y  \\hieh  we  have 
made  our  own  land  great     It*  imp.. v.-rished  soils  and  deforested 
mountains  cry  aloud  for  a^rieultural  expcriim  nters  to  apply  the 
magic  wand  of  chemistry,  drninap     and  urination,  in 
rescue  them  from  the  waste  and  ruin  of  :  -.  and  to 


423 


itate  the  island  and  transform  it  into  an  a^  1  and 

paradise.    Homes  and  communiti. •>  im|.lore  the  a\>\ 

s  hand,  and  beg  outlets  for  thrir  own  cesspools 
through  modern  sewers  to  the  sea.  Mountain  summits  with  inde- 
scribable charms  of  air  and  landscape  iuvitr  tlu-  invalid  who  seeks 
a  .-lime  ideal  for  its  warmth  and  saluhi 

The  intelligent  engineer  is  demanded  on  ev<  Ilarbors 

say :  "  Dredge  us,  so  that  greater  ships  may  come  closer  to  the 

lands  we  guard."    A  thousand  copious,  rushing  streams  constantly 

murmur:  "Chain  us,  chain  us!     We  have  the  energy  to  generate 

y  to  furnish  all  the  power  this  island  needs  for  its  indus- 

i  economy.     We  can  li^ht   <*iti<-s.  j.ull  cars,  cook  food,  hull 

coffee,  and  grind  cane.     Turn  our  waters  on  the  arid  ii.-l.ls.  BO  that 

we  can  improve  the  production  of  this  already  productive  i> 

!^e  us,  so  that  communication  can  be  free;  lead  us  i-  ities 

and  the  homes ;  turn  u  m  tains,  baths,  and  sewers."    A  hun- 

dred villages,  t  \v. -nty-ftve  thousand  farms,  a  dozen  cities,  the  foot- 
sore peon,  the  passing  tourist,  and  those  who  would  reside  here, 
call  for  good  roads.  The  very  stones  of  the  hills  and  brooks  beg 
us  to  crack  th<  m  into  road-metal,  the  humblest  and  most  potent 

factor  Of   ri\ili/ati«i!i. 

On  every  hand  there  is  an  appeal  for  the  npi-li'-atmn  of  politi- 
cal science.  Old  and  cumbersome  laws  demand  atmlitinn  and 
the  substitution  of  those  which  have  a  basis  of  equality  ami  justice. 
1'uMic  officials  must  learn  that  they  are  the  servants,  and  not  the 
masters,  of  the  people.  The  tariffs,  which  are  now  a  double-act- 

•ft ween  the  commerce  of  Porto  Rico  and  ti 
States,  must  go;  banks  are  needed,  the  monetary  system  must 
be  reformed,  public  education  must  be  made  universal,  free,  and 

What  h  stment  or  more  noble  return  could  An 

make  and  receive  than  the  reward  of  giving  these  blessings  to  • 
so  small  a  spot  as  1  Such  indeed  would  be  a  noble  justi- 

t  a  war  for  humai. 


API'KNDIX  V 
RAINFALL  OP  SAN  JUAN,  PORTO  RIOO 

THE  following  figures,  made  by  the  "Obras  Publicas,"  an 
fled  by  Professor  Mark  W.  Harrington,  show  the  average  rainfall 
af  San  Juan  for  each  month  in  the  year  for  a  period  of  thirty  years 
(1867-96  inclusive) ;  also  the  maximum  and  minimum  fall,  and  the 
month  and  year  in  which  they  occurred. 


Oct.      M«*.      D«.       AM. 


ATEKAOr   KAimTALL   r*OM   1867  TO  IBM. 


1.971      U71      1.316      SJ9T      4.0T4      4.*70      6.7J8      MTl 


«.17t    6.4W    4.2»    MJOI 


MAXIMUM    MOXTHLY 


1.   41 


11.77 


n  -j.-. 


11. -.7 


IT...; 


11. TJ 


1746 


MI5IMI-M 


LSI 


There  are  two  rainy  seasons  in  the  island,  and  perhaps  m-p  . 
but  these  two  stand  out  clearly.  The  one  is  the  spring  ram. 
which  improves  with  increase  of  elevation,  and  the  other  is  the  late 
rain,  which  improves  with  the  lowering  of  the  place  of  observation. 
The  first  belongs  to  May  and  the  second  to  November. 


424 


:>ix  vi 


AOJUNTAS. 


AGUADILLA. 
ARECIBO 

BAYAMON. 
CAYEY 


T* 


TABLE  OP  DISTANCES,  IN  MILES, 

BETWEEN    PRIN    ll'.vi.    CITIES 

IN  POBTO  RICO,  AS  GIVEN 

BY  THE  UNITED  STATES 

\\.\U    M.'-AKIMI.M' 


COAMO. 


FAJAROO. 

GUAYAMA. 

MUMACAO. 

MAVAGUEZ. 
PONCE. 


SAN  GERMAN. 


Ill 


SAN  JUAN. 


VCQA  BAJA. 

5    VAoca 


APPENDIX  VH 


RAILWAY  STATIONS  OP  PORTO  RICO 

in  kflooMten. 


SAN    JUAN    TO   CAMUY. 


8.    Martin  Pefia, 


Pins* 

v, 


SAN    JUAN    TO   CAROLINA. 
0.    BuJiuin. 
a    Martin  Prft.. 

U      Ki..  IM..!r,... 


PONCE   TO  YAUCO. 


I 

14. 
M. 


BhtetoorctAffefKNBYaoeo 
to  MajafM*,rta8atMa»  Grande 

and  Han  German). 

MAYAOUEZ   TO   AOUAOILLA. 


AflASCO  TO  ALTO  SANO. 
0.    Aftacco. 
U.    AltoBaoo. 

MAYAOUEZ   TO   HORMIOUERAS. 

0. 

T. 


INDEX 


IXDKX 


NoTB.-fbrpoliMeal.Xi 


ll.*e..  Urmt.  tff  <Me  name*  of  the 


Abaco.  800,  801 
Acclimation,  tropical. 
Acklin  Island.  800,000 
Adjuntaa,  188 

Africa.  3«;   overrun  by  th 
-worahlp,  896. 


M|   BOfMM  wr-hip.  :i-*-..     •*,-,•  | 
African  dances,  folk-lore,   habit.,  e 


See  alao  NK- 


Anguillan  Islands.  316,  896.  889 
Annatto.  In  Jamaica,  118 
Annatto  Bay,  Ina 
Anse  d-Hainault.174 


h.b.ts.  etc.,  917, 


Again/. 

nirlMM 


Agabama.  Rio.  4?.  196 

ain/.   Alexander,  nomenclature   of   the 

«lr,  |.«.    1.1  ;     i|r<-|.  P.-ii    ••XJ.Iuni- 

t.  886;  on  the  structure  of  ti.. 
a*.  197;  on  the  Porto  Rlcan  tor- 

out.  :  in  «•„»,».  88;  Porto  Rico,  149;  Banto 
90S.    Bee  alao  WAO  WATER 


Agout.  :  in  «•„», 
'' 


Aguad.. 
Aguadilla.  .-I 
Aguadilla,    ; 
1M,  179.  180 


146,  14T,  150.  184.  186.  190,  140,  141,  809,861, 


Aguadilla.  .-Ity.  l.w.  l«n.  179.  IHO 
uadilla,    ; 


y.  In 

Appalachian  continent,  5 
Appalachians,  the,  19 
Aquin,  981,  181 
Arachnid*,  56 
Arawaks,  167 
Arcahaie.  904 
Areas  de  Canasi.  43 


Aguas-Buenas,  150,  188;  care,  160 

Aibonito.  ixi 

Alabama.  H  ;  «unrr«tltliiu  In.  SW 

Alameda.  the.  Santiago.  119.100  Architecture  :  In  Cuba,  110.  DT;  PoitO  RJOO, 

Albemarle.     Lord,    capture*     Havana,   64 :        1«S  1«9.  171.  174-1711.169 

Albufera  de  Joyuda,  Lake,  148 

Aldama  family.  139 

Alligator-gar,  the,  56 

AllspK- 

Almendarea.  Rio.  44,  110.  114.  116 

Almonds,  lu  Trinidad,  867 

Altavela.080 

Ambergris,  li 


Arctic  Ocean.  10 
ArecJbo.  city.  156.  180 
Ar^Ibo.  d>pirt.,;,-nt.  156,  160 


).  Kio.  H-.  !-• 

^T*in  Moi'uerrat,  806;  St.  Ttn- 


America.  Bnalo  loaea  her 


!-«.  7-10. 


4.84,  87,  186,  t8T.  861,  888;  an 
9.    10:   fauna,   14-16;    au 
•opofrrapbj,  is 

ABasco.  l.'A  188 
Aflasco,  Rio.  147.  183 
Anchovy  Sink,  193 
Andean  Cordilleras.  3 
Andes,  the.  ?-«,  13; 
Androa.  398.  189,  809 

91.  808.811. 

809.  818 
130 

Anguilla,  19,  98,  318,  819,  380 


Atlas 

m 

Atrato.  Oulfof.  186 
Atrato.  Rio,  8,6 


•r«  *••. 


429 


480 


IM'IA 


Aim- 
Am  Cay«a.  364. 

--"-    ~- 


Aves  Island,  33,  34,  36 

Ay,  Rio.  126 

A /ores,  373;  traders  frotn.  In 

Aiua  de  la  Compostela,  347,  J 

Bacot.  J.  T.  W.. 

liamaa  by,  33 
Bahama  Banks.  16,668 


Basse-Terre.  St.  Kitts,  til 

Baaeett,  on  Haitian  eaonlballam.  til 


18' 


Bayamo,66.137 
Bayamon.  ,  Ity,  151,  1A6,  19 
B.y.mon.  department.  lit.  168 
Of   the    Ba-     Bayamon.  K 

Bay  du  Mario.  848 

Bay  of  Fort-dc  -France,  S4B 

Batclais-  revolutic 

Becquia,  M 

BeefUJand,  M9 

Beeswax  :  la  Cutw.  tl.  177,  Ul  ;  Potto  Rkx), 

,  TT.  78.  117t  tOt,  4M 


de.  n :i 


In.  •.•:! 


•fthte  Hooda.  M, «. «.  lit 

Baird.  8.  P.,  cleop-wsa  t'xpl 


Mcplora^jaby. 

<    "in  it  in  \       'In 

Balaga  Barracks.  San  luan,  174 

Balearic  Islands,  relations  to  Spain.  88 

Baltimore,  trade  with  Jamaica.  318.  336 

Bamboos  :  in  Jamaica,  186 ;  Martinique,  364 

Bamboula.ths.i8t 

Bananas,  nae  of.  60.  61 .  In  Cuba,  76.  80.  81, 

91.  lit.  136;  Haiti.  363. 373;  Honduras,  338; 

Jamaica,   168.  iOB.  310.  M3.  314.  228^338; 
if.       •" 


Martinique.  360;  Nicaragua. 

Kiwi.  1W;   Ht.  rmlx.  3i«;  HUKItt*.  3^1; 

-iint..  DMBtasfBi  - •'.  hi 
Bandruco  Mountains.  344 
Banes.  133 

Banian  tree.  In  the  Carlbbeca,  327,  ill 
Bank  of  Guadeloupe,  341 
Bank  of  Spain  and  Porto  Rico.  171 
Banks  Strait.  9 
Baptista.  In  Jamaica,  307 
Baracoa.  41-43.  66,  64,  60,  81.  86.  134.  136.  lit, 

138.186 

B.r.hooa.366 
Barahona  Bay.  386.  344,  348 
Baraq  . 
Barbadian  Antilles.  806 


^wS?*1*'1*'*'*7*'  rmble 

i  "  '  '      •.'  i  «     t •     » 

aamae,  •01;  emif^rauon  to  Turku 

:xt* 

Berry  Island,  803 
Bethlehem  Steel  Company,  83 
Bilious  fever  >itl.  379 

Btminis  Ul.nda,  803 
Bird  Island.  33 


Rico,  149  ; 

V.  Cap.  J*J 

Kt  v 


SlSSf****** 


Black  Bacla.  the  eonaplraey  of  the,  it 

Black  Mountains.  364 
Black  River,  198.  196.336 
"Blacks/1  in 

Blake,"  the  deep-aea  exploration*  of  the. 


Sir 


Blanca,  38 

Blanco.  Rio,  180 

Blind  Ash,  66 

Billiards.  1'J 

Bloodhounda.  French  nae  of.  in  Haiti.  388 

Blue  Mountain  Peak,  167-186,  19t 

Blue  Mountains.  Jamaica.  60.  60.   129,   160. 

m  i... : •-.  m,K  .•  !..•...  Mti  t!..  .. .«!.-.- 

ortne,60 


.    ;]..   i-t. !:....   M          •  .  •:    ,  !,    v  ith: 

Fruit  Company,  the.  Jl" 


—  ;>-.-    ,..,.  ,.,,.,,..., 

•artist  &MO.  4. 16. 166 

Basse  End.  St    Cro 

•  Terre,  Guadeloupe,  888,  888,  til,  868 


.no 

Boyer.J.  P.  IT. -.l.ti-nt  Of 

Bran! 

Breadfruit  t  la  MTcroiZ,  316 1  St.  Eitt«.331 


INMA 


4:11 


-,.f.  jw 


ITS,  «M 


l-.,rt..  1:1.  •...  r,i 

a14* 

Bahama^  300 
I  Carm 

Hi.-  !..-««  r  Aiilill, 
ivi;   -I     Kltt».    5 

•ii-j.  iv..  • 

TU 

Cuba.  11« 


.  Cuba,  44, 


Cape  tea  Aatoaiot  M,  ST.  St.  40 
Cap.  TOuroa.  IM.  ffle.  Ml 

i.  64.    Car acaa,  earthquake  la.  Ml 

M4;    Caraibe,  the,  «8 


».  .   -«"t.,   I  .......  MK-.,    .-.-. 

.'-v.  i..tt.,u.  n£  R  MM 


.        , 
Carbct.  Mount,  345 


Ayr..  lt,M.M.SM.STt 
Buff  Bay,  Ml 

•ttU-AfbUoff,  In  Culm,  Iflt 
Bun.l  ol  the  dead  :  tu  Haiti.  MS;  Ji 
«M 

Mount.  M« 


Cabanas,  MS.  87.  118 

Cabana*,  k 

Cabana*  fortress,  Havana,  109 

Cabantlla,  19 

Cabaotlla  and  Maroto  Railroad.  H 


the,  «.  4-11.  14.  14-18,  11.  M. 
M.  M.  M.  M,  44,  1M,  14ft.  IM,  1M,  118,  m 
T.  iMl 


tTRRKAVitAV 
Caribbaa  lalaaea,  Sl-M.  M,  MT.  MS,  SM,  M4. 

a  ssswr**  **-**-'* 


in  N,-w  or 


Carpet  . 
Carriacou. 
Casa  Blanca.  San  Juan.  174 


Juan.  ITS 


:    II.    H.iMll:.!.    11.:. 


;  Jamaica,  Ml; 
Caau:  In  tbTualMd  Btatea.  MO.  401;  the 


C»igo-o-no.Caliro.  til 
Calcareous  shells.  0 
California,  early  exploration.  104; 

Havana.  115 
llv.  Havana,  lift 
Esteban.  Matantaa.  1U 


u.  ~t  in.li.  - 
Castillo  del  Principc.110 


fruit- 


Uoiversity.  Enf land,  work    In 

90 

General  Martina*,  bis  bu- 
rn the  Caribbeaa 


CataBo.m 

Catarrh.  In  Porto  Rico,  IM 

Catarro.tha.f4 

Cat  Island.  SOS.  Ml 

Cat.    .  n  Barbuda,  Ml;  Cat 

Cattle:  In  Anecada 


Camu.  River,  Mt 
Camuy.  UN) 
Camuy.  Ki 
Canada,  trad*  With  Jl 

Canal  Mountains. 


Canar 


in  Cuba,  14 


M;  C<nbe,4a.T9,Hi 

t..l.  ,!,•.,.      Mil     i.r  .,.,.1     «   .^_i,,,,,.    ;    «. 

•       ^'_  •  •  •         •         •**   fOIUlD^lIp  ••V» 


raet.  In  the  Weat  Indim,  Mt,  M9. 

Cauto  River.  Cuba.  SI.  40,  45,  47,  76,  11T.  IM 

Cave  Halt  Pen.  IM 

Cave  of  Mexico,  196 

Cave  River.  198 

Caverns.  In  Cuba,  4T-49 

Cave  Valley.  19i 

Cayenna,  iinni«ration.  Me,  M9 


148 


urones. 
Caatan 

Camera  family,  IM 

CaRuelo  fortress.  Porto  Rico.  173 

Caparra.  153 

Cape  Cnu.  M.  SI.  M,  40 

Cape  Dami  Mart,.  Ml 


an 

Cayman  1. lands,  M. 
Cayo  del  Sabinal.  38 
Cayo  RomaaoTst,  M,  M 


489 


IM»L\ 


C.drela  ode  

aica,l86;  8t  Crolx,  J16 ; 
Trinidad.  867 

tincnt.or.  1.  a.  *-«;  tue  crocodile, of.  86: 


aftft" 


fr-.u,    .-...KM,,  nt 
,-,.l..ni,--  in.  .....-.-. 


r,,,,,,,, 
.c~    h.  r 


Central  American  archipelago. 

Central  Dominican  Railway,  366 

Central..  T 

-  Century  Magaxine,"  died,  00 

Cereu..  lit 

Cerro,  the,  116 

Cerro  del  Oro,  40 

Cerro  de  Sal,  189 

Cerro  of  Columbus,  Ml 

Cerro  Santo,  346 

Ceut..  the  Hnanlah  prlaon  at,  60 
c  h., lie".  Dr.  s.  E., on  the  aanltary 

Chalcedony.  In  Banto  Domingo,  340 
Chsmp  de  Mar..  Port-au-Prince,  MO 
Chapapote,  «.    See  alao  A8THAI.T 

Charle.town.  Nevis,  OH 

Charlotte  Amalia.  912 

Charm  •> 

Che.ter  River.  196 

Chesterfield  Sink,  193 

Chiapa..  4 

Chimboraxo,  18 

China,  trade  with  the 

Chme% 

Chocolate. 

Cholera  infantum,  s* 

Chorerra.  46.  116 

Chri.tian  Brothers.  In  Haiti.  109 

Chri.tian  Church,  In  Jamaica,  30T 

Chri.tian.ted.  St.  Croix.  816 

Chn.tophe,  King.  343;  bla  palace  Of  Sana 

,-OIH-I.  M| 

Chri.f.  Church,  Barbadoa,  877 
Church  of  England,  In  Jamaica,  307 
Ciales.160 

Cibao  Mountains,  341,  342,  246,  347 
Cibuco,  Rio. 
Cidra.  188 
Cienags,  Lake,  148 

42,46,68,79,84,86-88,88.107, 


Cigar..  Havana.  R7.    Pee  also  Td«ACCO 


'•     '•' 

•ulthth.-  nutM  Static,  w 
( •,,!..,.  -r...  i,u,  J,,ii,al.-a,  XiC 


•M- 


to.  1V3.197 
Cochinos  Ir. 
Cock-fighting.  In 
Cocoa  and    chocolate:    In  III. 


Cocoanuts:  ill  the 


im.m.ttfm,  w   I-..M.,  K.,,..  r>.  B 

.n.ix.   .,!.,.    M     in,.,,,.,-.    >:..     Irn.Mu.l. 


Cocobol.  m.crophylU.  ID  Porto  BfaO,  1« 


Cimarrooea, 

Cinchona.  In  Jamaica,  189, 314 

Cinco  Reales.  138 

Cinco  Villas.  83.  68 

Cinnamon,  in  Trinidad.  867 

.«aaa.  N.  P..  in  the,  809 
Clsrs,  valley  of.  Cuba,  49 
Clarendon  Mountains,  181 
Clarendon  Parish.  190.  196,  196 
Clarendon  Valley.  199-198 
Clay,  In  Cuba,  80 
O«rilaad,  Orover.  hia  rabblfs-foot  charm, 

aovd-bursts.  in  the  Caribbeea,  838, 880 

Clouet.  O«nc:- 

Club  Nsutics.  Santisgo,  180 

Club  Sao  Carlos.  •"£,"•€<>.  gjjj,^,^^,^ 


n  family,  owners  of  Barbuda,  tU. 

.. 


Cod*  Napoleon,  li.  ! 

*  i>.  tin-  Ant.ii,  ...u. 


..  «  atavism 


- 

>-J7a.  381. 

!  •     . 

College  de  Belen.  the,  113 

College  de  St.  lldefon.a.  San  Juan.  176 

College  P'  the  Sacred   Heart  of  Jesus,  San 

Juan. 
Colombia,  3-4,  8;    protectorate  of 

3ft4j   totMffraphy,  MO;    trade   with   Ja- 

Coloo.  7,  68,  »S.  98,  311,  876 
••Colore 


Colored  people.    Hee  NKOB 
Bartholomew, 


Colore 

olored  p 

Columbus, 

Col 


ubus.  Christopher,  138,  181;    burial- 
laceof  bia  family.  361;  cant 


J76;  Porto 

I...  mine...    'i«7.    881, 

of,    87,    88;    last 


Columbus, 
eT 
I 


Us  Tran.atlantique,  Hoi- 


139 


Conception  de  la  Vega.  363.181 

Concepcion  .ugar-e.tate,  77 


sr,r 


Con.ejo,  «-av«-  of,  ISO 
Con.tancia  a.phaltu 
Con.tancia  sugar-*.  tats.  88 

Hotel.  K.ng.ton,  321 


t.,     DiBatopt    MJl     ii..utxi.|.iit     iu 
Caaaio,  161 

Co. mo]  Rio    148 

g2j  j2Tgvwort  -01  "^ 14 


Spring  Hotel.  K. 

U  Vslc 

itlon:    in    Cuba, 


Coohe..  in  Cuba,  100; 
dad.  808. 870 

Coopers  I.lsnd,  S!0 
Copellsnis.,  Rio,  47 


143.    Haiti.   279; 


.  Iriul- 


INDEX 


In  »;  Cut*.  M.  64. 


1'..  If..  l-   .-.•  :4.  i7. 


.  i7.  ML 
.iv..4i4 


and  Coral 

xu.l  B.y.  St.John,  314 
^oraxal,  IM 

:ordillcran  continent,  the.  .1 
••.  27,  39,80 


>unty,  Jamaica,  *» 


i.  .1  i.  pi 

Cortex,  Hcrnandu. 
Costa  Kita,  4,  6,8.  911,  990 
Cotton      in 

Cow  and  Bull,  the,  900 

Crab  Island   (Vieques*.  21.  184,  309,  311.  416 

Cranes  Point.  877 

Creoles     In  mint.  f.7,  73.  101,  108.  104,  197; 

Hie  Leaeer  AntUlea,  807; 

811 

d  and  formations,  41.  43,  88. 


Cnttemlcn'.  t'l,,-^ 


at  Ml 


66;  Jamaica.  66, 199;  Huiito  l 
Crotx  des  Bouquets.  La.  -JHO,  989 
Cromv^r 

Crooked  Island,  309.  008 
Crucea,  88 

Cruel-  .WO 

"Cruising    among    the   Caribbeea"   <8tod- 

Crustacea.  : 

Crui.  Cape.  ». 37.  89. 40 

Cuba.  :..  •.'.  10.  13.  16-18.  21.  22.  94.  96,  30.  83- 

U4.  IT:..  3a]   !-«-.   r.".    ML    i  •».    i  -.   HI 

Saa-ffiEESSr15 

AfM,-.iiit/.,ti..ii  ..r.  M.-.  164;  ...n.  Hi 
64.  66.  76-81.  91.  186-139;  arrnbtabf 
167;  arelii:.  .  194.  196.  19H-1JO; 

lirr.l.    I-.    .14    U|    .ml., !„.•„>.    Of,     ".    ft*    1    Ol 

..•mil  >    in.  ; 
fair*.  139;  cable  communlciillon*.  90,  91. 

nmirnt".  H|OsWOnO,fT  • -.  X|   <  In" 
M,     lat;     Ottfeo.      101    II     .     .iv  I     /.. 

1.11  i.u.  iis.ni  ;,,.i, .„,/.,!. .....  •  1. 04;  com 

:in.i  troaeportatkm,  -    -  .  ooo» 

HlamU.  87  ; 

;  imp.   101 ;    u 
TO:    declarm    war 

..r    i-.  •-. 


t.  .in  ooonmi  nt.  4i .  ••  iii.  n  in  M  u  •  M 

BsrcMOTsrwasisrB! 

•r,  ...  .  9*u**f**\  ""  PWOO,   :-  »l  i""' 
|iroveinenta,06,13ft.  i  -  ui ;  iiuaran- 

t,,,,  mSSS^m.  m  52N  ti  ••  HJ  m,  m 

u-i.^.-^i.^  1i;iu'ii:( ,'/"•/  •  : '•'•.;,'•  ;;• 

»mir.  .  -.:..  -'.;  r.  \..  •  -  .:  :  .  ••  .  l-«4.-^  ; 
1040.  66.  67;  1800.  66.  07;  1861.  66,  07.  109; 
1066,  67;  1088.06.  67.  log.  197;  Iw6.  66.  08; 

w :  aanltado0VoT-6i,  TO.  73.  107.  i 

14V,   \Z  m    aWl>M  ..  -        .  pi-  '  ft 

100. 190. 199-190.190. 188,  141;  alieoomiNinii 

wltli8paln.36;alaVe|.l 

,.  5«w,  •;.  ......  pv  moo,  .-  . 

r.  10]  -p.m. -i,  rd  .  M,  Hii 

•  :-.:-.   ....  i,.  ;   M  113  ,:;..„ 


iUnea,90.9i;tii 

Hi.   71  .  I 


tu,    i:,.   H%   i"-'.   ^ 

•1;  an  ii 


...;      ,'„  ,   ,,-        ,.f       M 

'.'••:,  •        • 

.'.      ',      IM: 

Ml?    -::.. ,n,k,-.     .; 


Cubans.  Hi.  ir  canae.  101:  the  Cliba  <>r  Hi. . 
63;   <  1   r.-Hurnirnt.  1' 

pOBM '.  ;  I  I       •••••....'• 

"Cuban  Saratoga."  the.  40 
Cuchillas.  the.  4J.  48,  48,00 
Cul-de-sac.  Haiti.  964,  980 
Culebra.  21.  24.  189,  184.  800,  HI.  416 
Culebrtnat.  K. 
Culcbnta.  21.  415.  410 

Cuna-Cuna,  180 
Cuna-Cuna  Pasa.  990 
Cupey  Mountain.  Cuba.  40 
Curacao.  98.  96.  161.  806. 086.OT1.fnf 


96.  879;  area,  19,  871;      . 
079;  people.  808;  population.  10. 871 


64.    67 

..f   tin- 

r-4;   f.iun.i.  .•  .  M,  U  ..  :;i.  n...  -. 


the,    | 


Dame  M 


Ml 


ah  people.  In  the  Weat  Indiea.  SM 

,.  nr . ,.:.  ti,.  QtmSBm  -.  m 

Kivcr.   !  • 

i  of  18*3.  Cuba,  f 
.  .sea  explorationa,  15-16 
Deer,  r 
De  Qrasae.  Admiral,  defeated  by 

MO.  404 
De  la  Hotte  Mountain.,  944 

•si- '"asaa-Ms 


1' 


Po'tln  Ul.  o.  144 

.1 


of  Ja- 
H.  p.  A.,  on  the  lorn  of 


Demerara.  trade  with 
Den'm.'X,  We* 


35, 


.«•  .  m  SMI  MM  t.. .. ,.  -i 

Department  of  the  North,  Haiti,  M7 
Department  of  the  South.  Haiti,  367 
De»calabrado.  Rio,  u: 
De.courtiim,  If.  8..  reaearohca  Into  HaiUan 


Bleuthera.  MS.  MS.  MS,  MS 

El  Junk 

.  43 

El  Tempiada  mineral  .prtnfp  • 

mancipation:    .: 

104;  <fuadekmpe.S40;  H 

EernTB,   -•"    .    -i     KM'-     .,!-.   M, 

I  ,,,t,,i   MSJSs!   5s      Wei    In- 


BM|  J 


iSJKid!  American   colonial    rev. 

.••'.    Bl     l.n.an.-,  M   Bf,   -  I.    M,    HSl   .  a|. 
dSTMMLMl  '   •  ""   "••••  tr.,.l.-.  -.-; 

toJaiiial.il. 

„,..„.„,.   SM]    ••••  "|.i.-    tl..- 
,-,   £  \\.-l    !., 


Deux  MameUevt 
Dhool-dhoolt,  Ml 
Dialect:  in  Haiti. 


Diamond  Rock.  Martinique.  M4 

Diana  Key.  84 

Diarrhea:  tu Cuba.  5ft;  Jamaica  300 

Dickens,  Charles.  »\\  \\\< 
Diputacion  Provincial.  San  Juan.  174 
Divi-divi.ii 
"  Doctor."  the.  11 
Dogs,  in  Barbuda,  831 
the.  819 


Dominican.,  936 

Dondon.  MX.  «Q 

Dour  aid.  Donald,  of  Barboda,  SO 

Drinlinc-water  :  In  Cube,  140,  141  ;  in  the 


404;  aminclewithPrmnetsMO; 
Parti  •;:.,,.. .4.  HMM  th.  n,.l 
of  Haiti.  294.  Bee  al*O  OftKAT  : 

^2o«*i.h  Otin  ""n?"  Weat     Indiea,    The," 

(Kroude),  eited.  408 

Engliah  race  in  the  We.t  Indiea,  807-890 
Ennery,  978 
Enriquillo.  Laguna.  948 
Ensenada  Honda 
Eocene  epoch  and    formation.,  40.  41,  83, 

Eppinff  Forest  Cave,  197 

Equatorial  current,  the.  10.  M 

Ermita  del  Santo  Cristo  Church,  San  Juan. 

175 

.acalera  de  Jaruco,  43 

•  calicrs.  Lea,  344 
tcrihanov  1-J 

•  peranxa,  1*» 

.spinosa.  on  th>-  Porto  Rlcan  people,  167 
stevan,  an  early 

strella.  1 


Drown  Island.  315 

Dry  Harbor.  196 

Dry  River.  196 

Dumas.  Alexandre.  Sr..  «Q.  SM 

'•  Duppy.-  the,  M9. 

Durdcner.  Colon.!, 

Dutch  West 


lodiem.  MS,  MS,  S71.  SW 

la  Ormnd  CBJTBBB,  394;  Ja- 


.-!  .  u.,. I,  Vhlfl  r>8CW>BM»| 
the.CS 

""•"*""" 

Execution.,  in  Cuba,  100 
E.uma.809 

Pairie..  belief  In.  8M 
Paiardo.  1ST.  181 
Pa  ardo.  Rio,  14S 
Fallow-deer 
Palmouth,  Jamaica,!" 
Familiarity.  In  UP    I 
Fer-de-lance  :  In  tl,.- 


u;  Haiti,  m: 
fiee,  m]  w.--t 


u 


Wast  India*.  83.  MS,  4*»;  IB  MM,  Ml .  ur.h    Nrvis.Ml 

MS;  1813.  Stl:  IMS, MS:  ISM.flTt;  1843.  Ml  PiFibustermf  eipeditioaa.  81 

E-.trrn  DC  t^ar  -.  ,,.cr.t  of  Cub,.  M  „    1 1,  '  HaWlIiaa,  30.  MS;  Cm 

•bea^:  IB  JwJMkia,  318;  Porto  Bloo,  149  *  <  ui..».  4:.  >...„,  at  &s5M,M;  li..m 


Fi.h 


tm  m  *i.i8j  m, 

IUIIN  with  the  Ituhn 


\ln.   I  I.     ;. 

i  • '  - 1 .  Hi 

.HI   •'.    1".' 


2*1;   Jamaica.  199; 

Flamencos,  Lai 

Flamingos.  In  Porto  Rico.  180 

Flmtcr.Co. 

Flogging,  in  <iil.il,  67 

Plor  de  Carillo.  Trinidad  city.  118 

Plor  de  Cuba,  131 

m.i-.  .'  i.  .":   . 

r..,,n.-i  ,,.,,,„ 

Florida  Capes,  t 
Florida 

Plor  ida.  Strafe  c 
Plying  fish,  lu  i 
Pol  k  -  fora,  888  81 

186:  Jamaica.  __ 
Food-stuff*,  i 
Foraminifers.  1« 

France.  178,  848.  848. 888 
Port  Gustave.  St.  Bartholomew,  319 
Port  Libert  r 
Port  Royal,  889 
Portunate.  . 

Fortune  Islands,  2H8,  399.  301.  801 
Poaails.  14 

Prance,  \\.~t   In.llan  poaavaalona.  15:  Do- 
win.  s«4;  Guade- 


:,';:':"' '.;,.:-,::; 


ratectoM  with 

377;  trade 

Gcy^r^.U,   I,..,,.,.,!,    ,.    .i: 

Oibara.  43. «.  183 

Gibaro*.  in  I 

••  Gibraltar  of  the  New  World/'  the,  37T 

"  Gibraltar  of  the  West  Indict/1  the,  881 

Ginger. 


Cuban*  In.  : 


•-.  i|. ii.it. •- 
..!   I 


..,»...  /-^:;;  •:.::: A1,:.;1 

Haiti. 

Prederikstr 

Preebooting.  in  tl..-  U,-t  India*,  400.    Be« 

alM>  l 

Freemasonry,  in  Haiti,  387, 188 
Free  trade.  »• 
French  Antilles.  806 
French  race,  n,  the  Weat  Indlea,  887,  888. 

..  <>.   ,  M.   ,  ft   ,  | 

French  West  Indies.  \Nitinc  the,  408 
Friends  of  the  Blacks,  the,  391 
Frou,  381 
Froude.  ]   A..  08]  the  Weat  Indlea,  U6,  US, 

848,  844,  887.  403.  408 

tie  Antille*,  81, 83 :  Cuba,  80. 81. 
138, 188,  188;  Jamaica,  m  331 ; 


Ginger  laiand.  3lo 
Glaciers.  In  North  <».««..«•.  —. 
i    Glass  Window,  Eleuthcra,  388 

Gnomes,  i- 
»;  Haiti.    Goats:    In    Anntada.  315  ;  Barbuda,    HI; 

"Goat  without  horns,"  the,  338 
Gobiernoa,  88 
Gold:  in  tin-  Antlil.-. 
i-.. it-  i:., ...  gf  S8   t..  DM   ftf*  I  ..  •  . 

Gorr.e/.  Genera!    -   - 

Gonalvea.  154.  375. 177. 178 

Gonalves.  Gulf  of.  344.  34 H,  353.  378 

Gonave  laiand.  330.  344.  364 

Gonave  Peninsula,  341 

Oordontown.  188 

Gosse.  P.  H..  ..n  the  fauna  of  Jamaica,  199 

Gottschalk,    intnxluoea   Adeiina   Path   la 

Gourde,  the.  160 

Govadonga,  San Jua 

Gracias  a  Dios,  Cape,  4,  188 

Granad  lla.  the,  58 

Grand  l'~urg,  343 

Grand  Lave,  197 

Grand  Cayman.  134.  Ml 

Grande  An*e  du  Diamante,  848,  848,  888.  884 

Grande  Riviere  du  Nord.Ml 

Grande.Terre,  Guadeloupa,  319. 835.  889. 341. 

Grand  Savanna,  Dominica. 343 
Grand  Seminary  of  Haiti.  Paria.188 
Grand  Turk  Island.  308,  804 
Gran  Hotel  Ingtaterra,  La,  Havana,  110,  111 
Gran  Piedra,  La.  4O 
Grape-fruit,  in  Jamaica,  310 
Grapes,  In  Jamaica.  311 
Graiing.  In  Ctiba,  HI.  137 
Great  Abaco,  199,  801 

Great  Antilles,  the,  6.  8.  13. 10-14. 17-88. 148. 
1M,  886,  188.  340,  39ft,  305.  309.  310.  880,  883- 

Hfi    \n,.  n,  ..i,  AM  i  <••••«    8   lam   4-4. 

HM  noanpU  BOB*  r  H8i ... .,.,,,•.,!,. -...-... 

|N.|..,|:,ii..u.lB.8l;  rivera,M.81 
Great  Bahama.  3O3 
Great  Bahama  Bank.  198 
Great    Brita  ••  of  slavery.  184: 

775;  colonial  •ratem,  80.  lot, 
117.  339.  MO.  3Si..800.  304.  Ml.  335. 


Fund*.  Lake. 
Funeral  c 


in  H.ntl.  .--. 

"in  <•„:,.,.  vi.  B| 


Oabb.     W. 

MHtrrc 
Oalapago 
Galve.ton, 


v.    M  .  t     .-Miitatea  mineral  ro-       Haftl.  177;   Martlnlqne.  348,  854 

.,  •-  -.     ,          -•   K  ••-          -r  i  ,.,  IB, 

o.  Islands,  t he  torioUe  In.  150  858-WO:  V^ntln  lalaada.  311.  814,  315;  re- 

.n.  Teaaa,  7,  186  -|- •  "t  f-r  ia»  .««'.-.  SBllfiil  UwMsf, 


8Q :    Barbados.  178,  177;   Cuba,  93 

.:•    MM  .    m  •  Baltf,  I    '.  MSI  .l.in... :•    ,.  :II. 

H   .   -•:-.    Ptftfl   K  60.  M     i-  l|    I.  »%*£ 

^AV    .       •  •4,«,...lH     *»VM»     «-«.11..M»      ?MWM»       Jt(i 

aw  .  mimipQ  t> TC«  TQJ  10 w  roTcr.  aw ,  w  cv% 
lii'l:.ni  n. «\  .,1  -t.ttl.iu-    . .'.'.     .-«•«•  ul 


I '•'••-.  IM|    I  •  Mat    'i.-i 


:at  hurri< 


Great  Inac ua,  288 
Great  Plaint,  the.  5,  11 
Great  River.  190.  191,  191,  196 
Great  Sound.  2M 
Green  Bay.  201 
Green  Key.  298 

Grenada.  19.  22.  21,  26,  26,  U6,  MO, ,  — 

Grenadine*,  the,  I  M,  19,  22.  23,  2ft.  26.800,  888, 

Oroa  Morne,  277.  278. 


Guaiaba,  18 
Guajataca,  Rio,  148 
Guamani.  Rio,  148 
Guanabacoa,  M,  88.  84.  96, 117 
Gu.najay.08,88,118 
Guanalay.  Rio.  47 
Guanajibo,  Rio,  148,  181 
Guanica.  IM.  108 
Guanica,  Lake.  148 

MO,  44.  68,  86.  89,  90,  HI.  U2. 


vttfe  i !.•   r..» 


Ouarabo.  Rio.  US 
Guatemala.  4.  6.  8,  228 
Guayama.  <  It).  158 
Guayama.  <!. 
Guayanes.  Rio,  148 
Guiana,  9T7 

Guinea-fowl.  In  Barbuda,  821 
Gume.-gr...     ,„  ,;rnl,  ,; 


Gulf  of  Gonalvea.  344.  248,  282,  278 

Gulf  of  Honduras,  the,  9.  188 

Gulf  of  Maracaibo,  88ft 

0«Jf  oyjajieo.  2,  ft,  7-11,  13,  16,  17,  M.  84,  86, 

'of  Parta,  888.  887 
of8aa7llcoUa,282 


ES 


Hamburg- American  Packet  Company,  West 
Indian  aanrlee.  811 

Hamburg    Mail  Steamship   Company,  Hai- 
tian aenrlee.  274 

"  HamTky."  208 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  818,868 

Hanover,  ivl,  196 

Harbor  Iiland,  80 

"Harnt."  the.  y.-.«;  In   »h«  Ul 
m     -••  .ii-'-i  1-1  •rrni    -- 
Joel  Chandler,  218 

Hart.  Captain  John  S..  Cuban  il 
i»teHnj(.  81 ;  conviction.  81 

Hatillo  Maimon.  24ft 

Haunt.  •   :,     .. 

-III   K-TIII'  -N 

Havana.  S5.  88,  40-42.  44-48,  82-48.  89. 

:.:,,:':..::•  1;,'.;.,:,.;,^;1  ;.;,',:;,;. 


•taien  ,.  u,,.  in;  1,11 

.n.H-tn...    U7;     th- 
Worid.-38.l08; 


,     '      •   ,.-!,     ..      •          ,-        ,     -.  ,....:,.     >.-.,     |  •  i- 

;.'      .    .  .  ;•     -  •;,   /  „.,.,:-, •. 

Hapoleon.  266;  oommenw.  269,  278.  274; 


motto.  88.  108;    M 

Minltallnt) 

I  mm  -  aVfMifl  I  '  8tl 
ana  opera,  in. 

Volunteera,  100,  111;  water* 


i  ..p.!  i  .  r ...      ''..•:  i  ..•:«; 

•!,     v  ..  \,.rtL  m, 


op  of.  8tftt88»88Jt  M  to  Inter* 
Havana.    |>r  14,  48,  82.  84.    ISft; 

106 
Havre,  in,.!.  1.278 

Hawaii 


•Hayti;     or.    The     Blmck 


Hayti;     or.    The    BI 

Jolll 

.•II   til.- 

••i,    the   appearance   of 

ti..   i  NM  !•  \\>  -'  Ind  •  -."•  IN.:,  m 

"1,  196 

Heli>  p.cta.56 
Hematite.  luCuba,M 

II,  IT! 

...  Guy  V  .  136,417 
i,  Ml 

Hermanos,  Marques  do*.  Ill 
Hermanos,  Marqui.  d'. 

•  rtiirr,  294 
a.  Antonio. 
Heurcau*.   General    Ulysaea,  Itraldent  of 

Hlghvs 

160,  161.  m.  178 
Himalayas.  SI 
Hiipanfola,  336 
Hoe.  Rio.  1W 

Hole  in  the  Wall.  Great  Abaco,  999 
Holguin,  •  -i.  M*.  107.  I*.  If, 
Holland,  in 

pirate*  of,  64:  poeweaalon  of.  Curacao, 
lutin,  390.  402;   trade    with: 

i  .....  .  loioao,  •-••..  K  9  v....  man,  m 

«,  13.  188,  MS;  deportation  of 

Hondura..  Gulf  of,  188 
Honduras  Sea  34 


r. mate*,  91* 
Icoteadc  Limoa.949 
Iguana:  InCttba.M; 
lie  de  la  Tortue.  999.  MO, 973 
lie  du  Rh6ne.  363 
Illegitimacy.  In  Jamaica.  998 
India.  MMM  in  Trinidad  from.  389 
Indian  corn,  89 
Indians.    In   |»»rto  Klco,  168;    Panto 

.......   :. ..1:.:.r   .  f.  .      i       :     - 

Indto.  in  Haiti.  979. 189 

Injuriado.  7».  89 

Inquisu. 

Insanity.  In  > 

Insects.  In  Jamaica.  199 

Institute  of  Jamaica.  906 

Intendencia.  the.  San  Juan.  175 

Intermittent  fever  :  iuVuba,  97 ;  Porto  Rloo, 

lntran.ig.nte,  90 

Ipswich  River.  193 

Ire  la  r. 

Irish  dialect 

Irish  negroei 

Iron  :  li.  tli.   AMillr*.  99;  Cuba,  81.  89.  131, 

Ironwood.  In  Martinique,  343,  947 
{••bell..  Santo  r*»mtafO,  It*  981 
Isabel  Sejunda. 4 U 
Islas  de  Pesaje,  413 


toRioO,  163; 


•  '"•  IgJ  >"rl"  I:«"- 

;;; .",;;,:,!  M,,,-.  ,,. 


Hoodeoism. 
See  alao  V AUDOUX  ; 

Gardens.  Jamaica.  214 

Hormlgueras.  1M.  179,498 

Horse.  .rhnda,   391; 

.lyman,  934; 

Horseshoe  k 

T.I  Rico.  167 

Hospital  of  Santa  Rosa.  San  Juan.  176 
Hotel  Inglatcrra.  Sanjuaa.  1?4 
Houlemont,  the,  333 

Howcll.  j.  c  it  Ion*  by,  14 

Humacao.  .its.  1.UI,  181 
Humaca 
Humacao,  k 
Human    mac: 
alao  CAKKIBAU9M 

•:     A     roo 

•MBHn   ..f  .;.,;..    MM  iU<    M3MI  MI 
«.• 

Humming-bird,  the.  56 

anes.   19,  69.  905:    In     \ 

1788,19;  1813,319;  1837, 319 ;  1343, 
tlatioa of  Cuban  trade  07,93- 

• 

Hypnotism,   OOaWeJIoa    with    witchcraft, 


KSJSiCaShgii 

•SSSi^SS?1' 

Italy 
trade  with,  99 

lacaguas.  Rio.  147 
>cmel.  945. 373-375. 181.  Ml 


N.M..     lagua.  Bay  of.  193 

Jamaica.  4.  7.  9,  11-13.  16.  91 

!••-.:•         •...-..   .       .      . 
of  *l.ivc  trade.  204: 
95,  ra; 


,*«.,». 


rt>m.99;  fauna.  199,193. 
106;  flnanera.  997.  908;  flora,  in.  in.  199. 

i       :  •  . 


Hyde.  Job 

• 


138 


wtfton.  18.  226.  226 ;  prison  system.  2M ; 

•was,1*5  *  «ra** 


S3-«««aa515S»S:Si  fcra:,^ 

1217.71H.723f235:8panUhoccapatlon.     La  Isabella. 
;  rammitof  prosperity.  104;  so  Derail     La  Miranao 


211.  317. 


amaica.  Cuba.  89 

amaica  Agricultural  Society.  214 

amatcan  Channel.  : ; 

apan.  IriKl'-  Will)  t 

•  rdm  des  Plantcs.  Martinique,  961-30* 

ardines.  the.  37.  M 

ardimllos.  the.  38,  44 


La  Crus.  129 
2M;    L'Acul  du  Nord.  276 

Ladder,  the.  Saba.  229 
217.224;  aani     La  Pcrricre 

quillo.  248 
Mountains.  264 


114 


La  Pita,  ii.in.-ral  M.rln**  of.  49 

La  Plame  du  Nord,  17* 

La  Punt*.  ' 

Lares.  Porto  Rico.  181,  IT» 

Las  Cahobaa.  181 

Las  Casas.  Bishop  Bartolome.  on  the  B«J 

<>f  Jiik'ua.  128 
Las   Casas,  Captain-General,  hrlllia: 


President  of  Haiti,  268,    L-. 


-ft,*-  -• 

eremie.  774.  775.  Ml 

erusalem,  Jamaica,  193 

esus  del  Monte,  110 

ews.  in  Jamaica.  206, 104, 107,  223,  226,  227 

iguani.  63 

tmonea,  243 

ohn  Crow  Hill,  189 

osephine.  Empress.  382, 888. 3M 

Journal  of  American  Folk-lore,"  cited,  MO 
Juacaro.  123 
Juhan  II.  founds  bishopric  of  Porto  Rico, 

157 

-  Jumbies."  229.  SM 
Junki.  the,  43.    Bee  YUXQCE. 


c.   «.>. 

lup«ter  Inlr- 
luragua.  KJ.  f*. 


181 


luragua  Company,  the,  82 

Jurassic  period  and  formations,  40,  41 

Kaja  de  Muestot,  149 

Kenskoff.  MO 

Kentucky,  the  caves  of,  40 

-Key  of  the  New  Wo 

Keys.  31.  X>  A-..  44.  132,23ft.     6ee  also  RBEF8 

Key  West,  3ft,  M 

King's  Hou»e.  Kingston. 221.  232 

Kingsley.  Chsrle..  <>n  ti 

.maira.  2W :    on    the   town   of  8L 

'I  !„„„,-.    .:     .   ,„,(!„    \    rv.n  1-1  ,,„!,.  ,1- 
KtefSton.  Jamaica.  188,  188, 189. 194, 197.  200. 

Ms.  107.  ill .  216-117.  M9-2J 

latlon.  219 : 
Kingstown,  s 
King's  Valley,  193 
Kittefonlans.  Ml 
Krakatau.  <  iploskm 


La  BrM,  86H.  389 
La  C.imanera.  89 


LaChameau. 
La  CroiH  des 


iiUa.64-M.U8 
elicias.  Playa.  178 
La  Selle  Mountains.  244 


La  Soufriere,  Guadeloupe.  888 
La  Soufriere.  St.  Lucia.  80T 
La  So  Vincent.  Ml 

Las  Playas.  8M 
Las  Roques.  28 
Las  Tunas,  62,  89 


14  J;  Weat  Indie*.  MS 
La  Tortue  Island,  204 
La  Union,  M 
La  Vega.  289 
La  Vegs.ritjr.14S 
»  Leew.rd.  '  inr  word.  11 
Leeward    Islands,  25,  297,  808,  811,  822,  8M, 

U  '• 

Le  Francois,  80 
Lemons:  tn  riiba.  131.  137.  138;   Hnr 

Jamaica,  210;    Porto  Rico,  140,  180;  HI. 


trasasr 


1 


"  Les  Pays  des  Revenants,"  145 
Les  Ssintea.  8M,  841 

Lesser  Antilles.  If..  21.  160,  101,  2M.  M7.  218, 
236.  2T,  2^7*48-808,  811.  Ml,  823,  882,  888, 


••]   PMM  Kl....  M 
Lia  Mmf  a.MX    Bee  also  8r.  CHRUTHI 
Liberian  coffee,  in  Jainaira.  212 
Lignite.  In  h.. 
Lignum-vit. 


Limbe.  Cape,  144 
Limes:    In  Caba 


, 

In  Caba,  131. 
342.344;  Jamaica,  210; 

Cuba,  49 


ma.     Limonar. 
K    LSSK 

MO*         II  Mil  Mil 


ittle  Monkeylsls 
"  Little  Psrim."  H« 
Lhrar  complaints  :  lu  (  'iiha,  87  ;  Porto  Rloo. 

Liverpool.  England.  -I  .vr  trade  of.  204 
Llfsrds.  In  H 

Mundo.-  10H.     Beealao 
"  s 


Ktr  or  THE  MKW  \s 


tag 


Jamaica.  19«;    Maroons:  In  Haiti.  241:  Jamaica,  ltt>86f, 

Maroto,  83 

Loma  Diego  Campo,  S46 
Lomaa  de  Camoa.  4J 
Lomo  del  Puerto.  126 


with 


,,r  anal 


Marriage:  h  -J  1O4  ;  Haiti.  186 

M.r.ciIW  tile  toman*  of.  136 

Mr  una  zr1**""''0*  *• tatalid  *  * 

@a&32Ss 


Long  Key.  88S 

Lopei.  General  Narciso,  remit  of.  66.  67 
Los  Molinos.  Matanias,  1SS 
Los  Ro<; 
Lottery,  the. 

Louisiana.  •  -I. mini  Mf.-  In.  888; 

iiri>t*Ttliiii  ..f  -uiriir  iiliiniiTo.  41*; 

.»atnt.  164, 177,178. 
jblea.  Ill  Cuba.  I  - 

,   Mi   ll.r    lMlt,.l 


Maceo,  Antonio.  104.  133 
Machete 

a  wharf,  Havana 

Madrid,  Im, 

Madruga.  mliuTu)  *|,riuga  of.  48 
Magar*  R.o.  47 
klena, 


Sn^flora.  86§-««7.  349.  351^54;  for«iu, 

BsSsaSsrLruwS 

bor.888t  mogntataa.846,846;  ygf{M>»» 

s^S^S 

Martinpena.  Lake,  148 
Marvin.  A    R..OU   tbo 

D.Mi.Uik'".  V4  • 

Maacarene  lalaoda,  the  tortolar  In.  188 
Maaio  Bay.  125 
Maaaachuaetts.  tin- 


..rr.  -.-.•:  »ii|«  i- •  •     •     •       ..  .iv: 
117.  l'.i. 

|H,|,UU- 


999;  Cntw.Bf,      100 
n.  «M;    Mar-   May 

Ml    IMK     May 


Mahogany 

tlnt<|iie.  340,   »47: 

n..iniiiK-  .  M4,  287.  364.  *T1 
Mai...  Cape.  35,  44.  1S«,  136 
Maue. 

Maia.  the.  M 
Malm ...  i  i It  1,279; 

Malaria! 

"  Mampoateria,"  'JOO 

Manatee.  :  tn  Bahama*,  M;  Cuba,  M;  Ja- 

lll.ll.-.l.  1  • 

Manati.  Rio.  Cuba.  196 

Manati.  Kio.  Porto  Rico.  148 

Manchester  Pariah,  »1,  198.  196,  197.  SIS 

Mandel  de  loa  Negroa  Marron,  S44 

Mandeville.  xti 

Manganeme     In    tho  AntlllfM,  91;  Cuba,  8S, 

.l:i!l.:i!.-.|.  1  •]    I'- MM 

816;    8t  K 


Mangos  :  tn  Haiti.  ITS  j  Jan 

331 

Mangrove  islands.  15.  Si.  91 
Mangrove* 

175 

- lanioc. M 
V 


Manioc.  M 

lialck       111 

Mantr 

Man/an. i;.  Bay.  38.  S38,  S39.  Ml.  34* 

Mantanillo.  4A.  03.  as.  98,  \< 

Maraca.bo.th.OulfQC8.8S5 

Marble 

Margarita.  K».  23,  365,  ITS 

Maria  Oalaau,  19. 2*.  S5. 818, 319.  asf,8»,au. 

•  '.  57,  MS,  117 
Mariel.  «••,  n- 
Marigot.  St    Martin,  330 
Marina.  Porto  Ri, 
Marine  fauna  and  flora  : 
Ibbean  Sea.  14-16 


;;:.':.:•;;,;,,:;•„;: 


Mayaguana.  80S 

Mayague*.  city.  155.  157.  ITS.  178.  179 

Maya,  155,  106,  188,  414 

Mayague*    Rio    14 

Maymon  River!  S58 

Mediterranean    Sea.    the    Icrnooa    . 

eoaata.  136;  tbVLlvcrpool  of  the.  Iff; 

oxrrrur.  i.v   tl..-  At I:,IM,-.»I,..  :.«l 
Memory  Rock.  10 
Merced  Church.  Havana.  Ill 
Mesa  Toar.  . 

Meaoxoic  era  and  formationa.  40 
Me.tiioa:    in   Jamaica.  SSI;    Porto  Bko. 

167 

Methodists.  In  Jamaica.  SOT 
Mexican  Plateau,  the.  ».  6 
Mexico.   1.  5.  6,  A,    85.  87.  158.  196.  SOI.  274 ; 

arrhttWturr.no.  ui;  an.llanda,33;com- 
k.  405;  con- 
Porto  Rico.  168;  Hrmnlarti*  in.  W: 

with  Jamaica,  •.-: 

fOTCO*.  M 

Mexico.  Cave  of.  196 
Middleaex  County.  Jai 
Milk  River.  196 
Milot.  776 
Mineral    and 


issssippi.  8 
SJlMlil'll    River.  th«,  18 
Misteroma  Ridge,  the.  Sf,  88 


IM'i.X 


v 

Molasses.     Hr*  RCOAB 

Mole  St.  MliOlM.  00,260.  774.  776.  377 

Mon.  Islan  ' 

Mona  Passat 

Moneague 

Mongooa:    to  Jamaica,   1M;   Martinique, 

347 
Monito.  I- 

Monks,  the.  966 

Monologues,  the  DffTOea'.  286 

MOD  Koufe 

Montagnes  Noire*  Cahoa.  M« 

Moot  Agua.  208,    gre  al*o  MojtEAOCB 

Monte  Cristi.  259.  262 

Monte  Crtsti  Mountains.  240,  MA.  346 

Montego.  XXJ 

Montego  Bay,  1M.  196,  216,  217.  22S 

Montego  River,  196 

Monte  Tina.  29 

Montpelier.  226 

Montpeher  Sink.  193 

Montpelier  Valley,  191.  193 

"Montpellier 

Montserrat,  23.  25.  326.  326.  329,  111  lit,  367, 


:    ' 


Murga.  09 
MUSK 

Musttaoe.900 
Naguabo,  1-1 
Naguabo,  Rio.  148 


Nalgo  de  Maco.  10 

:&S£EKS! 


mau-.  M*    hurricane.  336;  popalut 

Ml  pObik  VOrka,  •  :  VMlOMMBol  M- 

•  _  y  <£|4  VIA 

Montserrat,  the  shrine  of,  Porto  Rico.  151 

Moorish  architecture.  Ml 

Morality,  in  Cuba.  lul.  102 ;  Haiti,  286-288 

Morant  Bay.  210 

Morant  Keys.  296 

Moravians,  In  Jamaica.  207 

Itoreau,  on  Hauto  l^miu*o  eoenery,  249 

Morgan.  Sir  Henry  John,  ••••fair.  204 

Morgan's  Gut  Valley,  191 

Morne  Diabloten. 

Morne  d'Or,  242 

Morne  d'Orange.  360 

Morne  du  Cap,  246. 140 

Morne  Garon,  361 

Morne  Fsmasae.  361.  362 

Mornea  de  la  Hotte.  344 

Moron,  45.63 

Moron-lucara  trocha.  the,  00 

Morro  Castle.  Havana.  64.  108-110 

Morro  Castle.  Sa-  Juan.   Porto   Rico,  173 

Morro  Cas  le,  San.lago.  128 

Morvan.  **n|M?ntttk>n  in,  900 

Mosquito  Gulf,  the,  9 

Moaquito  Reef,  the,  0 

Mouchoir  Bank.  108 

Mount  Busu.  246 

Mount  Carbct,  346 

Mount  Diablo,  191.  191 

Mount  Hillaby.373 

Mount  Liberty,  331 

Mount  Misery,  991 

Mount  Pelee.  946 

Mount  Plenty  Cave.  197 

Mouth  of  the  Dragon.  908 

Mouth  of  the  Serpent.  060 

Mouth  KiverCavr 

Mucrtoe,  care  of.  151 

'••.  m.  **4 :  Hnade- 

,  .'"  .'   '  ',     ,,1,, M.1,'  '     '-• 


Nashville,  T 
Nassau.  N.  1..,.*^ 
Nassau 
Navassa.  J4.26 

Nav.dad  Bank.  208 
Nectarines,  in  ruba.  196 
Negroes.ii*- 
pOMaft      •    .    bsbOl    Ot      • 


mtgtfim 


MM.  .-  . 
•  So 


BriMafe  rate,   •)  i  Itefe 

H 


Jamaica,  32.  105,  142.  199. 


06|  IsV 

269.264,901; 

SiftSKfc.TWft 


v;.-,,  ••..-;:.  .;,.. .....:,' 

M    '  :-     •     f.  N,       -.       .    .    !•    .-,, 

iivZB^JK&ttSjt 


097. 
BAM 


Nelson.  Horatio,  mairlac*  In  Nerla,  339 
Ne.b.tt.  Mrs.  Fanny,  married  to  Huratio 


s,  :-...,. 
•' 

Bsar**-^ 


castle  Barracks.  188.  197 

ell.  W.  W.,  on  vaiidouxUm.  900 

Orles: 

.   rrnr  , :,.  • 


•          t    ,•!,', 

New  Providence.  109000.  i 
Newtown.  Matanaaa.  in 
New    York, 


eggssaSBS* 

u.--i  iii-in  -.  i: 

Neyba  River.  Santo  Domingo.  91 
Niagara  Kiver.  Jamaica.  191.  199,  100 
Nicaragua.  4.  24.  228 
NievisfoM!    fleet         " 
Nipe.  Cuba.  47.86 
Norman  Islands. 


«,:-,,     N,     MS 
.     1     I 


Norw.v 

NovaScotta.4 

Nova  Zembla.  10 

Nueva  Gerona.  144 

Nuevitaa.  60,  00,  80.  80. 177.  131 


Osxsca.  4 

Ober.  P.  A..  hU  ••  Campa  in  the  fnrlbbeea,- 

OfcUam  ;*5  Bartmdo..  978;  Haiti.  307;  Ja- 

Ocampo.  123 

A  Monies  de,  101 


Ocoa.  Bay  of.  347 

Old  Bahama  Channel,  tht.  0,  33 

Old  Jerusalem  Islat 


• 

Oligocene  •erica 

Opal.  In  Hanto  - 
Opossum.  In  il,. 
Oranges :  In  the 

..373;  M* of  line*; 

0..0;  Porto  1:1.-.,.  H-J,   in,  r.j.   M.  . 


Orinoco  Kivcr.  4.  7.  8,  186,  96* 
Oruba,  366,  879.    Heeal- 
"Our  Lady 
Oxford  Basin.  198 
Oiama  River i  948,  980,  961 

Pacific   coast,  the   fruit  industry  of  the, 

Pacific  Ocean.  1.9,886 

Padre. 

Pajita.  rave  of.  161 

Paleozoic  era   and   formations.   40,  43.  310. 

<-4 

Palisades,  the.  Jamaica,  219,  111 

Palma.  Rio.  4? 

Palm  Beach,  Florida.! 

II).-  I: 


Philip  I,  patron  of  the  Ctobui 

burg.  St.  Martin.  899 
Phosphate:  in  < ;  rand  OftjrsMB.  184 ;  Haiti. 

Pic?aPrdo?Bat"ba<n°.  IT*  urn*,  of  Cuba.  88 
;  Cuba.  16.  81.    Pico  del  Potrenllo.  1M 
Pico  del  Turqulr»o,39 
Pteo  del  Yaqul.  39.  341,  343,  346 
Pijuan.  133 

Pillars  of  Hercules.  881 
Pimento,  in  Jamaica,  1M.  30*.  313.  314 


Palmira.  88 

Palms  :  In  <  'iiti*.  &3-M.  79. 199, 144 ;  the  Carib- 

IM-,-,.  .«:.   ttl    «.r.unl    <  a>n.aii.    BMj    .1., 
M.al.-.i.      Iff]       M.utm,,,,,,.    ,„.    |d   .,,,; 

Panan  i«i«.  with  Jamaica,  ai: 

Panama,  Isthmus  of,  1.  4,  «,  9,  8ft,  SS8,  fTO, 

.1-1 

Pan  de  Guajaibon.  40 
Pan  de  Matanias,  . 
Papa  mento,  371 
Paradise  Peak.  St.  Martin,  890 
P«ria.  Gulf  of,  866,  807 

•  UN  in.  KM  :  education  of 
t:iD«ln,386,38«;  the  Unuitl  tk>iuiuar> 

e,775 

Parrots  :  In  (  uha,  .V»;  Jamaica,  199 
lode  Fucra.69 

1'jltlduB.    '     1 

Paseo,  the,  Havana.  111.  110 

Paseo,  the,  Matanza*.  l.'l 

Patti.  Adelina.  her  il^but  In  Santiago,  130 

"  Pays  des  Revenants,  Lcs,"  346 

Peaches.  In  Cuba,  136 

Pearl-nshcrics.  Panama,  300 

'•  Pearl  of  the  Antilles."  th«,  S3,  408 

Pearls,  in  I  he  Bahama*.  800 

Pedernales,  Rio.  47 

Pedro  Bank,  an.  186 

Pedro  Keys.  336 

Pedro  River.  198 

Pelec.  Mount.  346 

Penalver,  Conde.  114 

Penones  Mountains,  346 

Pentacr 

Pepper.  In  Jamaica,  114 

Peru  C« 

Peters  Island.  310 

Petionv 

Petit  Bourg,  888 

Petit  Goave.  274,  378,  Ml 

Petroleum,  n 

Philadelphia.   <  nhan  maiifanrao  In.  ta; 
ri-atm  81 ;  trade  with  Ja 

Philadelphia  "Evening  Telegram."  OB  8O> 


Pimento-gra-. 

Pinar  del  Rio.  rlty.  HH.  98.  107.  118,  119 

Pinar  del  Rio.  |.r»\  in,  t-.  1".  44.  4rt.  47.  49,  O, 

•9,88,76,79,90.11 

lallon.  87.  103,  108 

10  Itabamaa,  300 ;  CnlMt,  S3.  78. 

nTiafl  uM,  .  :.  .I.,!.,,:, ...  MI  RMS 

moo.  160,  179 
Pine  River,  198 
Pines.  Isle  of.  86,88 
Pme  timber     in  Hahamaa,  999 ;   Cuba,  41. 

88;  Banto  I>miihiiro,  948 

Pmoftes.  L«. 

Piracy,  in  tiiu  W.-M  Iiuliea.  64.  806,  880,  400. 

-.  .    .1!-..   I.I   .    VM   I  l:- 
Pitch  Lake.  Trinidad, 881 
Piton  des  Canar is.  347,  881 
Pitons.  the.  388 
Place  Congo,  New  Orleans,  obliam  In  the, 

.'*    '..  !        '» 

Plainedu  Nord.  La.  976 

Plaisance,  989 

Plaisance.  Cape.  944 

Plantains  :  >  ;  Jamaica,  198, 996, 

Planter*,  diaappeartaoe  from  the  Weat  In- 

Pla't^S,  148 

Platanoe,  79 

Platinum,  in  Santo  Domingo.  949,  979 

Plato,  on  Hi.-  n, \  ttiirul  Atlanta.  381 

"  Playj 

Playa,  of  Ponce,  Porto  Rico,  1S7.  177 

Play  a  de  Naguabo.  1-1 

Plaza  de  Armas.  Santiago.  130 

Plata  de  Isabella.  Havana.  110 

Pleistocene  series  and  epoch,  41.  43.  884 

Pliocene  series  and  epoch,  41.  4.1 

Plymouth.  Montserrat,  334 

Point-a-Pitre.  :t4l,  349 

Poisons,  uae  in  the  Weat  Indtoa,  884,  886, 

Politeness,  In  Haiti.  3M,  387 

Polygamy,  iu  Haiti.  988 

Polyp*,  16 

Ponce,  city,  167-168,  161.  168,  179,  in,  178 

Ponce,  department,  iss 

Ponce  de  Leon.  1 

Ponupo.  88 

Ponupo  Mining  Company,  the.  88 

Porpoises,  in  tfanto  DomUuto.  949 

Port  Antonio.  189.  317.  918,  998 

Port  A   Pimc 

Port  au- Prince.  344.  34S. 948-960. 989.  944.  967. 

:.  v:,,;l  ;^  :-:,•:•:;:.;::  .-•••--• 

Port -au. Prince  Bay.  949 

Port  de  PaiK.  278-377 

Porte  d'Enfer.  343 

Portland  Cave.  197 

Portland  Pariah,  380 

Port  M  argot.  344 

Port  Marfa.  187, 189.  998 

Port  Morant.  998 

Port  of  Spain.  313.  367,  849 

'    :-.:-.:-. 


Porto  Rico  — 

iffmmmMi.  991.990.  909,  911.913,  91*. 

lit    m\    ,.-.;,Mltu,,.    I",:.    I'-.    109,   171.  IT'. 


Quint.. 

Quintana,  1A1 

Quitman.  General  John   A.. 

»  Hi..,.,; 


,  Mil 

Soooo*  nsi  aoatmiM  »Ui  «  •«>•.. 

,,„.,,,.  BOMMlS 


lu-i.t  .tu.i  ,H,w,.r.  i:-..  it*  BOM*  u-.  i»i 
flora,  147-149;  fruiU.  u  -i  (A p. 

pendlx. ;  (aa-worka,  17 

ShMWL    l->:    k'.^.  rim ••  '  '.    UTJ    ).i.il"T-. 
14-.  r.7.1'.-.    IT:    I'!.  IT    .  177.   I-.!-!      II.  hix. 

!50;hUtory  and  n 

.r...  r.i  iv.  ,AI.|N..,.HM  .   aoapttallt/,  Uii 

ri...   M  -  i-i     :     . 


;J?  £?*••  «•  *>'•  HlUtl-  **'•  J»- 

900 ;_  Porto  Moo.  i«.  109, 434 ;  Ban  to 


rt4.iaa.ifl;  in.! 

Manda,  166,  itt,  184  (Ap- 
pendix); lakea.148;  lai 

M..,-k.  iv...   I.'-..  1-.I  .     .-•-      •  .   '••  -I.-.H..  l  .4; 
minerals,  150.  421 ;  mortaUt> 

tali.*.    •.-  .m.   14.-.,    1*7,    rn   Mi    IN-,. ,,!,•.    U'. 
164.  156,  164-170.  173,  176.  SW: 

.•*».  156 ;  railroad*.  160, 
178,179.433,436;  relatim 


L'Ouv 

Raleigh.  Sir  Walter.  In  Trinidad,  M8 
Ramor. 

Kape.  (DdiM.tW 

Rat*.  In  Jamaica.  199 


irai 

»  MI 


e.um«te 

on  the  Haitian  people, 
Reconcentratton,  1<M 
Recreo.  IM 
Redonda,  M 
Reed.  George   W. 


.ltt.19B 

|||oi  lattOfl   with  .M|  ,,,ini..  :r.^. 

;  la  UM  Oaribbeea,  Mis.  Janata* 


1  w>;  sanitation,  163. 176.  l 

173.  ITS,  176, 171.180;  alt uat 

featurna,  140-103;  slaven . 

IT.. .-:-.—.  Mi   '•  h  p  OT  •!  h  -  phoi  i 

4O5;  waU»r  aupph 
Port  Royal,  Jam.. 
Portuges.  R>< 

Portuguese.  In  Antigua.  995 
Potatoes.  In  Jiunal.-a.  211.  214.  391 
Poultry  .ml  Cayman,  134;       Trinidad.  a»9 

Jajnatea,  916;  Porto  ftteo,M9  Rio.   See  the  apeoMo  name 

Rio  Grande.  Mexico.  196 

Rio  Grande.  Porto  Rico.  148,  161 


t.  i  I  '..tun,.-...  •„••-.. 
blic.  Dommicana.  9M 
t.  deCuba 

H    -U.    |-,.:t.. 


Pourtsles.  Count.  <lrep-aea  explorationa,  14 
Bahama  "  concha."  901 


Powles.  on  the 

Pr.do.  the,  Havana.  Ill 

metals.   In  the  Weat  Indiea,  990. 


Praabvtenans.  In  Jamaica,  907 
Presidio  Provincial.  San  Just. 
Press,  the:  h  «-o.  167 

Prestoo. Stephen. Haitian  tnlnUtor  at  Waah- 
inirton.  37oTra  eaojnibaliian.  999, 3»3 

Prieto.  Rio.  161 
Prlacaaa.  Sao  jaaa,  174 

Prtncestown.  987 

Proverbs:  In  Haiti.  288;  Jamaica,  393.  999 

Ptaropoda. 16 

Puentes  Grandes.  117 

Puertade  EapaAa.  174 

Puerta  Plata.  361,  999,  Ml,  90 

Puerta  Plata  Mountains.  946 

Puerto  de  Tlerra.  San  Juan.  174 

Puerto  Pr.ncipc.  prmln  «.  69. 

89;arra.  r. 

Puerto  i  v  0.63,64,89, 9H.  107. 136. 127 

Pulmonary  dlscasea  :  In  Cnba.  149 ;  Haiti. 379 


Rio  Grande  dc  Arecibo 
Rio  Palma.  Marqueaa  de.  114 
Rivat.  Don  Emiiio  de.  132 
River  Head.  197 


. 
SaMe,BM 

own.  Tortola. 


Road  Town.  Tortola.  315 
Roads.     .-«•«•  II  lull  WATS 
Roaring  River.  199 
Rocca.  Pedro  de  la.  119 
Rochambeau.  General.  expelled 


Halt!. 


Punta  Arenas.  Vieques.  416 
Punta  battery.  115 
Punta  Blanca.  129 
Punt!  fortress,  64 
Pyrenaaa.  the,  99 

Quakers.  In  Toitola,  815 

Ouarantin.  laws.  In  We*  Indiea.  00.403.  499 


Rocky  Mountains,  the.  9-6.  90 
Rodney.  Admiral.  XW 

844;  rtetorr orer  De Ora 

Roman  Catholic   Church: 

Ij.utl.  J   7    •.., ••  ;   .1.,, 

Romano  Key.  36,  98 
Roncador  Reef.  36,  90 

Rotahnd  Bank.  the.  9.  90,  109 
Rosarlo.  Palls  of.  47 

*o™:XftX+~~*.«T~iiit«  L-OO. 


Royal    Dutch    West 

Company.  Haitian  aenrice 
Royal  Viarbc 


India 
aerrtoe, 


Mall 
373 


Service 


Royal  Jamaica  Society  of  Agriculture.  214 


Royal   Mall  Steamship  Company.  Weat  In-    Samana.  389.  393. 381 
dluu  n.ui«».  318,  ™;  3*3,  3i3. 114,175, 876.    Samaaa  Bay.  338.  31 


Royal   palm, 

•I- "'  '. 


846.147 

144:    Grenada,   804;    h 


"•"••-•-••"•« 


.    .-.  .->.      ...-.•. 

ftaUntM   fr/All*     *LAA 

inAntoaio*.  brldjte..' 

lio'de  loa  Baaoe.  88. 118. 119 


•I  : 


Sagua,  06.88 

Sagua  la  Grande.  (9.  88.  131 

Sagua  la  Grande,  K. 
Sagua  River.  Cuba. 
St.  Ann  Parish.  193.  193,  196,  197,  313 

s  Bay.  333 

St.  Augustine.  Florida.  110 
St.  Augustine  Church.  Sao  Juan,  174 
St.  Bartholomew.  U».  23.  30,  3  1H.  319 
St.  Catherine's  Peak.  189 
St.  Christopher.  33-35,  819.  836.  839-884 

.      ..   - 

rabcth,  191.  198.  196.  197.  300 
Saintes.  the.  15.36 

t«t.us.  19,  S8,  35,  836,  8*9,  888,  ITS,  888 
rge,  Grenada,  864 
Saint  Jago.     .*«•«•  H  v- 
St.  James  Put 
St.  John.  18.  31.  36.  36.  809.  811,  818.  814 

11*1  .     .      .    .  '.    t 


n  Domingo.  coaat-llM  and  harbors  369- 

I    I'll     II :<    !   •    I 

St.  Tbomaa.  113;  Cvban  taalaTm- 


railways,  366.369;   rvliclon.  SM;   the  re- 
MT.  361- 


-.1-366. 

>  *S  t..     IH. VIM,.. 


St.  Louis  du  Nord,  /?« 

St.  Ma 

St    Martin.  10.33,36,819, 

St.  Nicolas   Peninsula,  -J 

St.  Pierre.  V 

St.  Thomas.   :.'.  Id,  31,  '. 


in.    300; 

TH.  35M.  toe; 
pulaUuo,  19 


J41.   •.'*•.•.    Mftfl!1 

M,  188,884 

W&StJZ 

9&|   Mfl    feH 

I  aad  coiiinnnii 

Ir.-llMr.     Htj      HI  . 

'•i.  UK  -    (H     i 

,...-.;.:,:,•»,„,  i 
i.i-. 


...  i.....  :-„.  M-it      s 


St.  Thomas. 
St.  Thomas, 
St.-Thomas-i 

an  .1.  l  '.    I 
t.  mi;.-.  |8| 

Salem,  Mass; 

Salt,  ua  a  Tl 

OllM.    •'..    -. 


San  Fernando,  867. 388 

San  Fernando,  Cuba,  rllmatr.  53 

San  Francisco  Church,  San  Juan,  174 

San  German.  147,  181 

San  Geronimo.  San  Juan,  175 

Sanitation  :  in  Cuba,  111,  114  ;  Jamaica,  1C6 ; 

San  Joee"  Church.  San  Juan.  175 

San  Josl  de  los  Mates.  343 

San  Juan.  Porto  Rico      Hce  8A»  JCAV  BAC- 

San  Juan.  San  Domingo,  founded  383 
San  Juan.  Bautista  de  Puerto  Rico.  166-168, 
101.  171-177.360 

de  loa  Remedioa.  61 
River.  Cuba.  130, 133 
River.    Saato    Domingo.    341. 

SaTLula.69 

Sao  Miguel  sulphur  baths.  Cuba,  49 

San  Nicolas.  Gulf  of.  391 

Baa  Salvador.  6 

Sana  Souci.  Haiti,  370 

Alaila.  eaaeade  of.  181 

>n  Juan.  174 


.:,     •  =  .      - 


: . 
Sam.  General  Tiresias  Simon.  PrecidcntOf 


iinW*"1 

Santa  Cru«.  19.  35.  iai!.    £ce  alao  BT.  C«OIX 
Santa  Elena.  San  Juan 
Santa  Fe.  Isle  of  Pines 
Santa  Fc.  Rio.  144 
Santa  Maria  del  Roaario.  68 
Santiago.  Santo  Dominfo.  363.  399 
Santiago,  valley  of,  346 
Santiago  Bay.  88 

Santiago  de  Cuba.  39.  40.  43.  44,  88. 79,  81.  83, 
84-37789,  90.  107.  117.  134.  137-111.  lit,  319, 


74;  battle  of.  44  .cable 

99;  irl*7-r^.  61.   Hi; 


444 


ffli,1 

Santiago  da  Cuba,  |.rm  luce  of.  39.  48-47,  98, 

Saatiagod*  Ua  Vega..  Cuba. 68 
Santiago  de  la  Vega,  Jamaica.  3» 
Santiago  de  los  Cabafleroa,  361.  308 
Santo  Domingo.  9.  16,  31.  33,  34.  3ft.  39.  188, 

:4   .  I-   .    :-   .  it,    ML    tL    i       «,   -•'.:•-. 


3*.  M 

;  al«L  :-. 

•8l*?A*Ul»4*' 

N  <  \\ 


•  .    .T..   198 1    ••  Hi  ,.|.i.,k,  -.    •'.[     .•-.-..    ::•  ; 

.•!,  ,:.,  p.?  oo,  Mi  •  •  mm  to  ratio 
Rico,  155;  fauna.  943.  349,  360;  flora,  343, 

384 ;    lakes,  941.  945.  946,  94*. 

>!„:.....  .  inn,,  nli,  •-•»•'.-•»'.  Mr,  198,  m, 


Sffsesan 

Beeaaio  HAITI  N<H> 

Santo  Domingo,  Cuba,  88 

Santo   Domingo    Improvement  Company, 

Santo  Eapiritu.  Cuba.  63.  64,  98, 107 

Santo  Espiritu.  I-luud  42, 
SanTurce.  174 


Sap-sap.,  331 

Satinwood.  In  Hanto  Domingo.  957 

Savana  de  la  Puerta,  344 

Savana-la-Mar.  r.M.  199,  199,888 

Scalfa,  W.  B..  on  the  future  of  Cuba,  188, 

Scarborough,  Tobago.  371 

Schomburgk.  Sir   Robert   H.,  on  the  BltaV 

anil  »i  -  ,,,-.,  DoUtBfO,  :i'. 
flaorpton,  the,  A6 

Scotch  dialect.  amnn«  Bahama  negroea.801 
Scotch  Kirk,  in  Jamaica,  907 
Scotch  negroea,  890 

Scotland,  ,  ink-ration  to  Jamaica,  888.  904 
Scotland.  Barbados.  874 
Scotland  district.  Barbados,  374,  875,  877 
Scrub  Island,  809 

Scrutton's  Steamship  Company,  801 
Sea-birda.  on  Mon. 
Sea-gardens,  898 
Seals.  In  Jamaica,  199 
Seborucco.  the.  81.  36. 180. 194 
Selma  "Timea,"  on 


•mrvW 

(Jafpaflt*  worship,  398,  894,898 
Serfa  de  Casa.  Rio  de.  144 
Serrano.  General.  134 

S-v:..r  .   :a:.,;rv   ...  .!   M  'i'-i.  M 

Seybo,  393 


Shaddocks" 


-:.  PatjSJSj 


Sierra  Cibao.  19. 341,  343.  34*.  HT 
Sierra  Cubita..  42 
Sierra  de  Cayey.  It: 
Sierra  del  Cobre.  4O 

le  la  Monte  Cristl,  848 
Sierra  del  M.. 

Sierra  de  los  Organos.  4O.  41,  79 
Sierra  Luqutllo.  u 


4.  -J9.  so,  37.  19-44.  BO,  «,  83, 


;    Sierra  Zatibonico 


Sigabee.  Captain  C.  D.. 
Sigsbee  Deep.  the.  13 

Sigua  mine-. 

MDeaeeU 

.i'.  ML  .•  -. 

Silver  Bank.  399 

Silver  Hill.  1M9 

Sir  John'.  Peak.  189 

Sisal  hemp.  In  Itanamiim  300 

Sisters  of  Charity. 


.      .   I.. i',     i.     :        !•,•,,!        -. 

fr^ffffiS^frffttdL  m 

II      •  .    .--.    .-  -.    .    :.    ...    l    ;.  r.-i    -•  ,i,  -. 
-  • ".  .  •! 

Slave-trade,  67.  304.  384 

Smallpox:   in   <  uba.   113.  140;   Haiti.    179; 


Snake  dance 

Snakes.  M.  6«;  In  Hanto  Domingo.  890.    See 

alao  KEKTILKa 
Snake  worship,  989,  894,  898 
Socapa.  La.  139 
"  Soldiers  of  Fortune,-  88 


Soledad  estate.  184 

Soleoodon,  the.  56;  In  Santo  Domingo.  880 


tie  rontlnrnt.  1.  X  4-6 ;  c 
:V.l :  Ulan.lH  f,,nn,-,J  fnui.  t»i.-  rnntlni  nt.  23; 

fi  1 84  '  BOlOl  k  -  ).:.•    ,99)  ta9jB> 

ds  In,  389;  trade  with  PortoRloo,  ft9 


South  American  Antilles.  308,  ; 
Southward  air  cui 

architecture  n-.  ill;  colonial  ad- 

„   .   (  IB  ft   |oi   .  h     !••.  •    .  ".    •-  :    •  ui.a1* 

relati 

•Mil 

Cuba.  64 ;  loaa  of  America.. 

•       •     .      -    ••'    :    •  i-     r,   -   n'.ii.  •:; 

*iieoto,i54 
^wfffihtf**  *~'' 


Spaniards,  in  Culm.  142 

h   America 


With, 


Spanish-American  Company,  the.  0 

Spamsh-Amerttan  mine  . 

Spamih  Antilles.  906 

Spanish  Mam.  the.  1M 

Spanish  rate.  In  tue  Weat  IndJea.  9S7,  MB, 


Spanish   Royal  Mail  Steamship  Company, 
•  Ian  nervier.  174 

Spanish  T 
Spanish  Town  Islu 

Mttof  the.  406,  407 
114;    Trinidad. 


Sparrow  Point  Company,  Hj 
uiiaicaTlis, 


Tarnation.  In  Cuba.  67,  T1-T3,  141 
Teatro  T  scon,  the.  111.  lit 
Tehuantcpec.  Isthmus  of.  4 
Telegraph  lines,  in  tuba.  90.  91 
Tencnciaa  de  gobteroo,  69 

asB^srsEssr 

Terre  Neuve.177 
Terry,  Don  Tot 
Tertiary  period  __ 

Tetas  de  Managua,  u 
Tetas  dc  Montero.  147 
Texas.  H.  11.  Itt 
Thackeray.  W.  M..  mi 


bnaattoae,a,9J.40.41. 

• 


Spices:     in 


Spiders,  in  Cuba.  M 
Sponges.  In 

Standard  Oil  Company,  works  ot  Ban  Joan, 

l'..rl. 

Starvation.  In  Cuba,  106 
Steelton  Company,  th«.  83 
Sternberg.    Surgeon-General.     on     yellow 

Stoddard,  Charles  A..  lit*"  Crulaluic  in  the 

r.uii.i,,-.  -..'•  ,11.  .!.     4> 
Stomach  complaints.  In  Cuba,  87 
Strsit  of  Florida,  t 
Strait  of  Yucatan,  the.  i 
Straits  of  Sunda,  r\|>l<>*i<>n  in.  361 
Stuart.  William  H 
Suffrage,  iu  Porto  Rioo,  1M 
Sugar.   IH.III 

>  -odoa,  374-376,  879  ;  Cuba. 

>i  lira,  19H-100,  908-  . 

\ntillpa.aoc, 

'••rrat,  aa&; 


Tierra  Adeatro,  «,  61 


Tierra 
Timber: 


the  flora  of. 


. 

imber:  in  HaJuunaa,  T, 
61.91.M;  uraad  Carwau.  «M;  Januoa, 

Si3tMT.367:Tobafo.3Tl 

n  Hum.  ™;Maulo  Domingo.  349 


Tina.  Mou: 

esa.  43.  4T 


Toar.  Mesa. 
Tobacco  and 


obacco  and  cigar*  :  In  A  n  jtullla.  319  :  Cuba. 
34.  64.  76.  '9-A,  87,  93,  99.  91.  99-99.  l  : 
119.  1S7.  131.  136;  Kh.rt.ia.  ICQ;  Jaiiiair. 
10).  908.  11  1.  iu  ;  Mart  Inlqur.  34«  :  Me 

BBBM  ,  I    .-.,:.  ....  ..  -  .-... 


Mexico. 


;  airrlrnl 
,3Tl;pop- 


110.  161,  1T9-I 

•>•:  r..  i..»_-,..  m\  rnni.i.i.i.  m\  u.-t  i,. 

Sugar  Commission,  the  British,  SM.  4tt 

Sugar-Loaf  Peak.  189 

Sufphur:  m  the  i'aHbbeea,  380;  Dominica, 

Sulphur  baths.  In  Ne  via,  333 

lS:irlMil..-.  9Mj  «,,-,.i  L-I.I.  Ml  .  .1  !•  h  >. 
•tf\  »N.IW;  M.iriinn.i.-.  •§]  M  MMMlM 
*.«-tfM.  Hfvlfri  >.int..  I  >..  mint.-.  •.  .•»-..  |.-n 
MtMt.Sfri  MM^tlM  VMU.I,.,,.  >,,.,-... 
Ill  till-  N\. 

Surrey  County.  Jamaica,  MS 

Swan  Islar. 

Sweden.  pnaieaaJQiH 
Sweet  potato.  In  Cu 
Taboo,  the.  169 


Tobago,  11.  93. 16,  938. 968.  919,  971 | 

:i:  area,  19,  370;    * 
uJatlon,  10 

Tomatoes.  In  Jamaica,  111 
Tom.tom.the.il)  Haiti.  986 
Tortoise  In  • .  . I  1 1 .airoa.  180;  Ml 

Tortola    Island,  vil.  aw.  311.  314;  area,  19; 
••num.  Ipatlun,  316;  population.  19;  ala- 

.  316 

Tortuga  Island.  163.  396 
Tortuguero.  Lake.  148 
Torture,  In  Oiba.  • 
Trade -winds,  the.  11   13.  SO.  SI,  117,  140.  1T6, 

776.  311.  S3H,  374 
Treat  yo/PariaJlW8V64 
klaraa: 


Tree-ferns    In  <  nlw.40;  Jamaica, 
•IIM.  361.  364;Porto  Bkw.  149 
Trelawney  Pariah.  193.  198.  m 
Triaaaic  period  and  formations.  40 


1*9;  Mar- 


.«n-370;  area.  19.  996;  eUmair, 
967 1  commerce,  987^69 ;  eonunnsOeMloM 


tbotomew, 


ia6;dfaeoTer7.897:edn. 
on.  989;  flora.  938. 991;  Fronde  on  the 
«7.369,370;popn- 
M09.  369;  railwaja.  369;  trade  irTth 

Trinidad  da  Cuba.  37.  41.  40.  44.  47.  63.  79.  86. 

«0.  107.  10  ITT;   i-iiniu- 

of.  64 :  population,  98 
Tro.s  Riviiraa.  Lea,t1 
Trollope.  Anthony,  on 

HO-on  St.  Thomaa.  313;  on 


Tamarinds:  .  316  ;  St.  Kltta,  3U 

Tampa.  Florida,  406 
Tangle  River.  196 
Tariff  laws    : 
Taverner,  mi 


Tropical  __ 

Tropical  countries,  n  l:»tton between  pnlltl 

ml  dtaonrantaat 

949:  rainfall  of.  61 ;  UareUnc  In.  09.61 
Turgeau.  180 
TurEa  Island.  H.  94,  16,  993,  999.  999.  909-904. 

Turtles :  In  »-*r— **  199. 999:  Grand  Cay- 

M  .   •  N!     :   .     •     -..      '. 

....  ::.  -.:.:..  I-  •£«•»• 


Mfi 


INI'IA 


Tuasac.  rMcarvhcM  into  Haitian  flora.  184 
Twelve- League  Keys,** 

••Two  Year,  in  the  French  We.t  Indies" 
(lleuru,.  clUHl.  X» 


Ubajay,  Cuba. 
Ucares,  1-1 

.<•  KemuB 
Union  pueblo.  Malanxas,  121 

m.     8ee  EVOUUTD;  GREAT 


"f  IN  i't- 


United    Kingdom. 

vis 
United  St..' 

BJOj   *   ||   .-.,;...    1: 

888;  oommmi't!. 

83, 84 ;  Cuban  banana*,  MI  ;  Cuban  copper. 
,  80;  Cuban  Iron-trade 


143:  arid  land*.  S3  ;caate, 
.  lapoaltnm, 


Cuban 


66.87.  -1  .  t! 
II..H.  '.".»•.  I 

;,:;:::;:,:.:'":;  Sfi 


II.UTil 


Mi   protoc 


in    tiii-    K.  \  .  •!  il 

.-..    HMOttOOJ 
a  pew  \v  1 1 1 1  •  r 


tliiU-|H-n<l«-lir<<  of   Haiti,  _ 

to  the 
Weot  Sdlei  MI  MI   t.,,  i:,  •.  ..T,.,,  MI 

and  8t  John  offerrd  to.  313 ;  Marery.  184 ; 

t.M.n.iK-.  In  UK  •  ubao  t:  ,.:.  .  -:  tndi 
with:  Bahaiuaa,  300.  301,  30i;  Bararoa, 
MB]  i:.,i  N.I.I,...  'i  .  '.-.-  .  fa  llM,  I  -.  :«'  ; 
•Mi  Qmaid  •  .,..,.,„.  ...i.  ..„  ,!.!,,„,... 
841:  Haiti.  180.  170;  Jamaica,  ISO.  iTo^ 


-.  Martinique.  348;  Matanxaa,  in ; 

tniuiro.  1M :  tribute  t. 

Trinidad.  30T-360;   Weat 

fr  Annexation  to.  si 
United  States  of  Colombia,    t 
United  System  of  Havana,  88 
Univcrnty  of  Havana.  Ii 
Up-town  Camp.  Kmgsto: 
Usine  St.  Madeleine.  Trinidad.  368 
Utuado.  151 


Vaca.  Cabeia  de.  104 
Valamascda.  Capt.i 

•    i  .,..-..- 
Valliere.  la. 


bin  rale  in 


Vaudou.isn 

Vega  "«J».|J**.  346.  3*7.  3W.  363 

nas.  DM6JO. 


km  amonc  the.  388.  388 
m+XTWo  Boo- 


Diego.  194.  128;  cototttsea 

r-t  IMPSSW  U  «  5!  i 

'  " 


_ 

.      II. 


344  1 


-.  ----  , 

'•raCriTI  expulaion  of  yellow  fever  from, 


V«r«  Pariah.  19&-1VT 

• 


Versailles.  Matanias,  171 

Vieques  Island,  24.  188 

1.4.  .: 

Sgtf-AftV 

lhi>  i-avra  of.   * 


with 


Virgin  Islands.  IS,  16.  11.  iff,  131.  188.  188. 

-  .  -.  !'.       ..  %  .  •          '  .         .         . 

•v  York.  408,408:  d«car. 

•  i    .    •:  - i  .  .     I       Hi  ..     . :.    04,    Hi. . 


Volcanic  Carib 
Volcanoes    and 


Vomito.  M.   Bee  alao  TBLLDW  PBTEB 

v^-""':  -.::,';  .....  KUBfi 


Vualta  Abajo,  41.  44.  62.  63.  7»,  88.  118.  lit. 
Vuelta  Arriba.  the,  44,  62,  63,  88, 1H,  113 

Wag  Water  River.  188,  WO,  334 

Wakes,  in  . 

Walden.es.  vainlotizlam  among  the,  398 

Washington.  D.  C.,  climate,  ft,  in  ;  ran- 

.!..  :  \l-lii   Hi.    .  -7 

Washington.  George.  In 
Washington.  Lawrence, 
Water.  Jrliikliiit.  80 
Watlings  Island.  288.803, SOI 
Wax.    Bee  But*" 
Werwolf,  the.  398 
West  End.  St.  Croix.  316 
Western  Department  of  Cuba,  03 
Western  hemisphere.  <l i  ••,  1 

West  India  Improvement  Compans 
West  Indian  Regiment.  • 
West    Indies,  the.  T;  adminl- 

-  •  '•'•-'"-•  -;• 


iSPfcT" 

ft&aa 


INDM  447 

taJftJjfftiP-*--^" .™e"   wyrna,, L.«.r12^^«.rmi.o.Jr«Ilow4mr 


198 

18   harhan.ua 

«.[.., iiii-ii. .M..I..   M|    hi,    r MMJMl 

WhirtMBL  on  oanulliallmu  lit  Iliuil  Mi  Yacua.tha.tf 

«2jft*-^Krswer&-^  j^'ssi., 

<  Saddle,  the.  Ml  Yamanif  acy.  Rio.  47 

w,-''|  .1  £,  In ,      :,  ?!n?.V  RJ'TS1  "* 

YJIqu'  PUo  dal.^» 

>    the  wian.  tb«.  888  vlr'a 'i*-'  "°n''  Ri°*  81>  Ml,  M8,  Bit.  Ml 

W,    ,!.-.' T:';  !.:    !    r    -hr  ''  ,;'    •  Yauc'hia.  In  I'urtn  Rico,  180 

v.rd  Ch.»n;i.  the7lO  Xauco 

,:d   Ulanda.  «.  H.  9.  11.  if.  18,  18,  U  Y'U,°W,  ,f,eVe,V   '?  ^2^  "^  Ml'  "*•  "*• 

•j-.  -...:..».-..   ..-..-«;  i,.li,,miMr.,t.,,l.    :,:•:  ;';.;.     "  '•'.-'•./•«    .-'-»"  '"  '     -t(1 


,      -.        .        , 

rtuld, 
town.  - 


y.  I    (iri«     I 

»«.  M.  31.  38.  381  Yorktown.  -urmtxlrr  at,  *K 

•*  »•  v-g1".  «•  «•  ••  U.  i».  «•: 

",  .  Sfrliff'wSt  Yucatan  Channel,  tha.f,!*- 

Yumurl,  the  river  and  vi 

•  i  i  .->  •  i . .    :    • 

Wome^lnHaJU.MT.Mi,M4-MT:Janiak«.  ^una<  Rl°'  ™<  »*•  *^  * 

»*.  Mi,  Mt-MtTlMi  J&rtbdaae:  M4HIM:  Yun<»ue  Mountain.  43. 147 


'ft1 

Ml 


.1-1.  .'  . 

Zanjon,  «urr<>utlrr  of.  M 
300;  Barbuda,     Zapata.  the.  44.  48 

••  ZVmbt/'  In  Martinique,  Ml 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO  LIBRARY 


Hill,  Robert  Thoww 
Cuba  and  Porto  Rico 


1903