quality. The piña blanca is the sweetest variety, but it does not keep well and is therefore not adapted to exportation. The piña morada is smaller, more scaly, and less juicy than the former. It has, however, greater resisting qualities and represents almost the entire export of this fruit, whilst the piña blanca meets the domestic demand. The United States market takes several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of pineapples annually from Cuba.

When the industry was first started, the fruit fetched one dollar per dozen in Habana, for export. The price has now fallen to about one-fourth of that figure on account of the increase in production of several countries, but even at present rates the pineapple can be raised in Cuba at a very fair profit. Little labor is involved in the cultivation, preparation for shipment is simple, and the yield is very great. One caballeria of land devoted to pineapples will cost about $4,000 to keep up during the five years that the plant bears. In that period it will give five crops of 18,000 dozen pineapples each. The last crop, however, will be too small for use except in the manufacture of preserves, and the full market price can only be counted on for the yield of the first three years. But, even at that, if 54,000 dozens of the fruit are marketed at twenty-five cents per dozen, there is a balance of $9,800, after paying expenses, in addition to the profit to be secured from the last two crops.

From this it would seem that pineapple culture is well worth while to the man of comparatively small capital, especially as the necessary ground can be bought in hundreds of places at less than ten dollars an acre.

It must be admitted, however, that practical growers scout these statements of profits, which are derived from official sources. The owners of pineapple plantations, Americans and Spaniards for the most part, declare that they are actually shipping at a loss. But for some inscrutable reason they continue to raise the fruit with a constantly increasing output.

One of the chief difficulties experienced by the investigator in Cuba lies in the proneness of all classes of planters to deny that there is any money in their business. They declare that the transportation companies and commission merchants are absorbing all the profits. On the other hand, a railroad manager will take paper and pencil and demonstrate convincingly that

the pineapple grower or the citrus fruit shipper is earning a very fair income.

It is probable that the Cuban growers may find the canning business profitable, as those of Hawaii have done. If the Government would lend its encouragement to such an enterprise by reducing or removing the high duty on sheet tin and cans, there is no doubt but that a cannery could be successfully conducted in western Cuba, where the greater part of the pineapple cultivation is carried on.

Although, for lack of proper cultivation, Cuba has long produced an orange of second rate quality, it has been demonstrated by actual accomplishment in several instances that the fruit can be grown in the Island to equal any in the world. But this result can only be attained by the expenditure of considerable money, the application of considerable knowledge, and the exercise of considerable patience. Without either of these necessary factors, hundreds of Americans have entered upon orange growing, and thousands have invested in orange lands during the past ten years or so. The citrus fruit boom was launched on a very unstable basis and its decline was as rapid as its growth.

There is as little ground for the statement frequently made nowadays that there is nothing in orange culture in Cuba, as there was for the former claim that a fortune was easily to be made out of it in ten years. The simple fact is that the man who has the means to buy suitable ground, to plant and tend and fertilize it properly, and maintain himself until the grove yields, may depend upon a satisfactory return from his investment. At present the margin is small, owing mainly to the expenses incurred in marketing the product, but there is every reason to believe that this burden will be considerably lightened in the next few years.

Many growers have abandoned their orange groves in Cuba. Others have turned to grape-fruit, which appears to promise a greater prospect of profit, although there is some danger of over-production injuring the business. In Cuba the grape fruit grows to perfection. The cost of its production and shipment is no greater than that of the orange, and it stands carriage a great deal better. The prices at present obtained for it leave a considerably higher margin than can be secured from oranges.

Though by no means great as yet, the market

for what may be called fancy fruits, such as the mango, guava, and alligator pear,—which perhaps would more properly be classed as a vegetable,—is constantly expanding in the United States. Cuba produces a number of delicious fruits which are quite unknown to Americans at home, but which they soon learn to enjoy when resident in the Island. It is altogether probable that a persistent effort to introduce some of these to the United States market would result in a permanent demand at profitable prices. There is a large class of New York consumers of delicacies who are ever ready to pay for the pleasure of having their palates tickled.

In the middle of the nineteenth century there were upwards of two thousand coffee plantations in Cuba, and the annual output amounted to more than two million arrobas of the berry. During the latter half of the century the industry rapidly declined under the severe competition of South America, until it became almost extinct before the war. There is little doubt, however, but that the product of the Island might have withstood the competition in question had a more rational system of cultivation and preparation been in vogue.

In the past few years there have been signs of a revival of the coffee industry, especially in Oriente, where the tree can be cultivated to the best advantage. All classes of Cubans drink the beverage freely and about two million dollars’ worth of the berries are imported yearly. It will probably not be long before native plantations are taking care of the entire domestic demand, after which they may be able to make an entrance to some of the foreign markets.

Efforts are being made in several directions to revive the old-time cotton industry in Cuba, whence upwards of one million arrobas of the fibre were shipped in the year 1842. The Upland and Sea Island varieties grow well in many parts of the Island and recently several small plantations have been set out under the direction of Americans of experience.

Ramie and henequen grow well in Cuba and seem to deserve greater attention than is at present being paid to their cultivation. As these plants thrive in what is generally classed as barren land, there is a distinct economy involved in their culture.

CHAPTER XIII

FUTURE FARMING IN CUBA

The possibilities latent in Cuba’s splendid agricultural resources are incalculably great. It is practically certain that at some day, not distant as the lives of nations go, this Island will be completely covered with plantations and farms, scientifically worked by intensive methods, and sustained by the capital of many large corporations. There is hardly room to doubt this conclusion. The demands of America and the great manufacturing countries of Europe for food supplies are constantly on the increase and must grow ever greater with the increase of their populations and the further development of their mechanical industries. There are few agricultural regions better situated and conditioned to take advantage of this demand. But before this can be done a complete reformation in the agricultural methods of Cuba must be brought about. Capital must be attracted, not in independent driblets, scattered the country, but in large sums, concentrated upon particular districts and devoted to definite developments. In a word, the arable lands of Cuba, now lying idle, or being wasted by a ruinous method of cultivation, must be subjected to a process of exploitation similar to that which has brought the sugar and tobacco industries to their present conditions of high development. Such a movement must necessarily tend to the uplift and prosperity of the individual farmer. It must influence his methods and his product for the better. It must open new markets to him and afford him increased facilities for transportation. Organized enterprise, with ample capital, could make Cuba a great exporter of food stuffs. Under good management the investments in such enterprises would undoubtedly be safe and profitable. Coincident with a movement of this kind a national agricultural bank should be established, and conducted somewhat after the manner of the Egyptian Agricultural Bank, which has a counterpart in the Philippines. In Cuba, almost more than anywhere else, the small farmer needs loans and credit on moderate terms. At present, if he can borrow at all, he must pay an exorbitant rate of interest.

Cuba is now importing annually forty millions of dollars’ worth of food supplies. More than half of the commodities making up this purchase, enormous for an agricultural population of two millions, might be raised in the country, at lower cost and of better quality.

There is here an excellent opportunity for foreign capital. One or two such companies as have successfully developed new tracts in our Western States would find a profitable enterprise in the business of supplying Cuba’s food demands from the product of Cuban soil. This statement is made on the assumption that such concerns would avoid the errors into which several colonization companies, which otherwise had good prospects, have fallen. No such project should be started, except with well defined plans, plenty of capital to carry them through, and, above all, a management familiar with Cuban soils and conditions.

To begin with, the acquisition of one thousand acres of the best arable land, well situated for the transportation of produce, will require the investment of one hundred thousand dollars, which would, however, cover the cost of buildings, water supply, and other necessary permanent accessories. Each acre would then call for the further investment of one hundred dollars, which would include all expenses until the first crop should be secured. The expense of cultivation would average about fifty dollars an acre, and an average return of one hundred dollars could be looked for. This estimate of fifty dollars gross profit per acre will appear excessive, and doubtless most Cuban farmers would call it ridiculous. Nevertheless, there are directors of experimental stations in Cuba, who are prepared to demonstrate the feasibility of accomplishing it with ordinary staple crops, and several experts, familiar with local conditions, who endorse it. If it is possible to produce thirty, or even fifteen per cent. net profit from the cultivation of Cuban farm lands, then the fact is the most striking evidence of the shortcomings of the present methods of agriculture. Of course, a large proportion of the estimated results would accrue from the economies in production which a well-capitalized corporation could effect by the employment of labor-saving mechanical devices, and the economies which would naturally arise from shipping in great bulk.

In Hawaii, Mexico, and other tropical countries, the agricultural development has been

effected mainly by large corporations, and in the majority of cases the enterprises have enjoyed financial success. All things considered, the prospect for such a project would be unusually good in Cuba. One such undertaking would be a revelation to the Cubans, and to the world at large. It would attract additional capital to the same field and otherwise work such benefit to the country that the Government and the railroad which would be immediately affected by it might reasonably be expected to lend substantial aid in its establishment and operation.

It is to be feared that capitalists who have considered such an enterprise, have been deterred from entering upon it by knowledge of the failures of some of the ill-judged colony projects. Several of these were doomed to failure from the outset. In some cases the promoters had bought poor land at low figures, which they sold to inexperienced settlers at high prices. Not infrequently these were invalids, or men looking for a life of ease, to whom it was represented that anyone might make a comfortable livelihood, if not a fortune, from Cuban land, with little effort and the investment of a trifling amount. The principal object of such companies is to dispose of their property as quickly as possible. They do little, or nothing, for the community which they create. The natural result of such a combination of unfavorable conditions is failure in its worst form. Cuba has suffered incalculable harm from the effects of dishonest and ignorant exploitation by American and Canadian land companies. But the fact remains that there are few more inviting fields for effort in agriculture, if intelligently undertaken with sufficient means.

The future development of Cuba must be along agricultural lines and it must depend mainly upon foreigners, of whom the greater proportion will unquestionably be Americans. The colony, or community system, is the best means of promoting this development, and there are a number of large companies engaged in it under admirable methods. These corporations are affording every possible aid to the settlements for which they are responsible, and are encouraging none to take up their lands without the means of profitably working them.

One of the greatest present requirements of Cuba is a revival of its old-time stock industry. The annual imports of cattle, horses, and mules

are large, and would be much larger if the peasants had the means of buying the animals that they sorely need. There is probably a shortage of not less than half a million head of various kinds of stock in the Island. The demand is constant and great. Horses and mules are everywhere employed as beasts of burden, and the ox is the universal draft animal. A sugar plantation of fifteen hundred acres will need about three hundred oxen, besides perhaps fifty horses and mules, and will slaughter twenty-five or more head of cattle monthly for meat.

There is no doubt but that several large cattle ranches and establishments for breeding horses and mules might be run on American lines with profit to the owners. As in the case of farm products, the first object to be aimed at should be the supply of the domestic demand. After that has been accomplished, there should be no difficulty in finding markets for all the surplus cattle that Cuba can raise. Europe is in need of constantly increasing meat supplies, and the United States will soon be a heavy importer of animal foods. Provided that the industry is conducted upon modern methods and the breed improved, as it may be without difficulty, Cuba should be able to compete with any of the foremost cattle raising countries.

In this connection attention may be called to the neglect of alfalfa in Cuba. It has been ascertained that the plant can be grown in the Island with the best results. It is well known to be a powerful soil fertilizer and an excellent crop with which to rotate. The abundance of fattening grasses and the quantity of refuse from the sugar mills available, make it improbable that alfalfa could be profitably used as fodder on Cuban farms. There is no doubt however, about its ready sale in the place of the hay which is now imported to the extent of several hundred thousand dollars annually, and at a cost of forty dollars a ton. The market for alfalfa hay could be greatly enlarged by supplying the small towns to which the Cuban farmers carry pack-horse loads of grass, to be sold in the streets at five cents for two armfuls.

One of the first steps in the improvement of Cuban farming must be the attainment of greater yield and better crops from the land. Let us take corn as an illustration of present conditions and future possibilities. For long past, Cuba has been importing this grain in constantly increasing quantities and at present is paying two million dollars a year for it. This is one of the most glaring instances of neglect. The Island should produce every ear of corn that is consumed in it and much more. As it is, a comparatively small area is devoted to this crop, which is deficient in both yield and quality. This is fully accounted for by the haphazard method of cultivation. In very rare cases is any other cause responsible for the poor results.

Tests, made at one of the experiment stations, of several parcels of the seeds usually bought for planting, showed that from forty to sixty per cent. were sterile, whilst the remainder were far from uniform in size and vitality. By using such seeds the farmer is wasting half the ground planted and paying six dollars per hundred pounds for the half that germinates. Under such circumstances he can hardly raise a crop from rented ground that will sell at a profit. Instead of attempting to do so, he grows enough to feed his few head of stock and takes no note of the cost.

The use of good seed is one of the urgent needs in Cuban farming, but so long as dependence is had upon imported seeds, which invariably degenerate in the new environment, no appreciable improvement can be looked for. Nor would a campaign of education in seed selection, such as has been carried on in various parts of the United States, be economically feasible. The most direct and effective remedy will be found in the establishment of one or more seed farms, run on modern methods, with modern machinery. Such enterprises would not fail to return large profits on the money invested in them.

The national and other experiment stations have not been established long enough to permit of wide effect from their efforts. In their immediate vicinities the improvement in farming due to their influence is marked and there is every reason to count upon its extension. The most interesting of these stations is that maintained by the Cuba Railroad, under the direction of Dr. Paul Karutz. It covers about six acres of land, immediately contiguous to the Hotel Camaguey.

Here may be seen an acre of cotton, all the plants healthy and vigorous, and most of them bearing more than one hundred and twenty pounds each. A model citrus fruit grove, with

mulched trees, and velvet beans growing between, will encourage those who still have faith in the citrus fruit industry of Cuba. An acre of peanuts, in remarkably good condition, yields a crop of fourteen hundred pounds. Broomcorn, cassava, arrowroot, jute, and many other commercial plants, may be seen in different stages of growth and development.

Experiments with corn are constantly in progress, with the object of producing a serviceable seed by crossing Cuban, United States, and Argentine varieties. Three new varieties have been secured, each having long ears, large kernels, and thin cobs. The station is distributing small parcels of this seed-corn to such farmers as show an inclination to improve their crops.

Failure has fallen upon the efforts of a large proportion of the thousands of Americans who have taken up farming in Cuba. This has been due to a variety of causes. The chief of these has been insufficient money to make a fair start. Too often the settler comes out with little more than enough to pay for his land, build a modest dwelling, and buy a few pounds of seed. He is forced to depend upon his own labor solely, with inadequate mechanical equipment, and the land must support him from the first crop, or he is faced by starvation. In other cases, where the immigrant has money enough to buy good land and proper farm equipment, he approaches the task in complete ignorance of the peculiar conditions of agriculture in Cuba, and often with the additional handicap of preconceived ideas that are entirely wrong. He plunges into the cultivation of certain crops without any previous study or experience, and regardless of shipping and market conditions. Sooner or later he awakes to his mistake, but seldom before the loss of time and money has seriously crippled his resources. Many failures are to be attributed to the widespread tendency among American settlers in Cuba to take to fancy farming. They are fired with the desire to do something out of the ordinary and to produce something that no one else is growing. It is usually the pure amateur who is afflicted with this mania, which always costs him dearly. He generally ends as a man whose sole possession is a theory.

There is no question about the assured success of the man who may undertake farming in Cuba with the proper equipment. He must have ample capital,—that is to say, enough for all calculable requirements and a little over. He must defer serious work until he has made a thorough study of the conditions. He should then devote his efforts to the production of the surest crops, those entailing the least hazard in cultivation, and for which there is a permanent market with a steady demand. If, furthermore, he uses intelligent methods in the cultivation of his land, he can not fail of success.

After all, so much depends upon the character of the individual. One man will force success under conditions which completely crush another. Here you will find a flourishing farm, due to the natural aptitude of the owner for his work. On the other side of the fence, a misguided individual, with better opportunities than his neighbor, is making a miserable mess of it, because he is entirely unsuited to the job. The literature of certain land companies is responsible for the presence of many amateur farmers in Cuba. One of these pamphlets assures the reader that he may safely embark in farming in Cuba without experience or knowledge, and after the first year the land may be depended upon to yield him a handsome income. This statement is supported by figures showing profits realized from the cultivation of certain staples, but no mention is made of the fact that these results were produced by corporations operating with advantages from which the individual farmer is precluded.

It is difficult to hold the publicity man down to a consistently honest story. He must be an enthusiast to serve his employers well and, with perhaps the best intentions in the world, he shuts his eyes to the disadvantages which pertain to farming in Cuba as well as to farming in any part of the world, and expends his eloquence solely on the roseate aspects of the situation. The literature of the best of the land companies is deceptive inasmuch as it draws a picture of the results attainable under the most favorable conditions, and not those which the average settler will experience. On the other hand, if the officials of such companies are approached, or even the publicity man himself, a fair and honest statement can usually be obtained.

It is not intended that anything in the foregoing should convey the impression that all, or even a majority, of the land companies in Cuba are untrustworthy. Many of them are fulfilling their obligations to the utmost and several are exceeding them, with a generosity that must meet with deserved reward in time. No matter how reliable the company, however, the prospective settler will do well not to purchase land until after he has seen it and had a chance to compare its situation and other conditions with property offering elsewhere. The man who can not spare the time and money to look round before making his investment has not sufficient means to justify his embarking in the contemplated enterprise. The information to be gained on the spot, although it must be accepted with discrimination, is worth more than a cart-load of literature.

Unless the intending settler has the capital and experience to justify his “going it alone,” he had better attach himself to a colony. This will give him social and economic advantages which he might not be able to secure otherwise. There is a string of colonies from one end of the Island to the other. A leisurely tour through these could not but largely repay an observant man, and would qualify him to make intelligent selection of a location for his own venture. He would gain much useful information regarding crops and methods of cultivation. He would learn from instances of failure what to avoid, and from instances of success would get examples to be followed. Too much stress can not be laid upon the advantage of this plan of “projecking around,” as Uncle Remus calls it, before settling down. Several American farmers, whom the writer has met, attribute their prosperity largely to having proceeded in this manner.

Without assuming the responsibility of giving advice, it may be said that the opinion is quite widespread, and apparently well-grounded, that Oriente will be the seat of the greatest agricultural development in Cuba. There are in this Province a number of flourishing colonies, under the direction of well-capitalized and well-managed companies. Whether or not a settler takes up land in one of these developments, he will be wise to look them over before making a decision as to his ultimate location.

The prices of land in Cuba vary according to the character of the soil, the location, the size of the tract, its situation, and the terms of purchase. Thus, land may be had at from three to one hundred dollars an acre.

There is room for a great deal of deception in selling land to persons at a distance and

some agents and colony promoters take the fullest advantage of this fact. A prospective purchaser should, unless he is dealing with a corporation whose reliability is beyond question, have the titles to the land offered examined by a capable attorney, and should get a certificate from the registrar of property in the district in which the property is situated as to the encumbrances that may exist against it. This precaution should always be taken before making a payment. The cost will be but a few dollars, but the outlay may save a great deal of subsequent worry and trouble. Verbal assurances on these points can only be accepted with hazard. A promise made to remove a cloud upon a title is often avoided after payment has been made. Trouble may be obviated by depositing the required sum in a bank to be paid over to the seller when the purchaser’s lawyer has declared his satisfaction with the transaction. On no account should quit-claim deeds be accepted, nor payments made on lands in Cuba, without the execution of the proper legal documents. At least as much care should be exercised in buying Cuban property as would be considered necessary to a similar transaction at home.

It is extremely hazardous to make deposits and undertake obligations on the strength of a simple paper promising to convey property after the completion of a certain number of instalment payments. There are concerns offering Cuban lands for sale which have defective titles, only an equity interest, or perhaps no more than an option.

Land titles in Cuba are generally good and no money need be lost on account of them if proper care is taken in the preliminaries of purchase. A transfer costs more than it does in the States, but there is absolute security in it when properly executed. No real estate agent whose intentions are honest will object to a full investigation of the title he offers. There are many reputable agents in Habana and other cities, who have spent years in the study of Cuban properties. It will generally be better for the inexperienced purchaser to deal with one of these, and pay him his legitimate commission, than to do business directly with the owner. The real estate agent can often give valuable information and advice. In this matter, as in that of location, the important point is to investigate first and be sure of connecting with a desirable man.

CHAPTER XIV

THE CAPITAL OF CUBA

Habana is one of the several towns founded by the governor Diego Velasquez. He placed it upon the south coast, where the town of Batabano now stands. It was shortly removed to its present position and rapidly grew to be the chief centre of the Island and one of the most important places in the New World. The first century of its history was uneventful, save for the attacks of buccaneers, who twice sacked it during that period. To guard against the danger from this source, La Fuerza, the oldest fortification in the City, was erected, near the close of the sixteenth century. Shortly afterwards, Philip the Second of Spain ordered the construction of the Punta and Morro forts, for the protection of the harbor, and at about the same time the official residence of the governor of the Island was transferred from Santiago de Cuba to Habana.

In 1650, the population of Habana was hardly more than three thousand, but in the following two or three decades it doubled, owing to a large immigration of Spaniards from Jamaica. During this period, the City rose to be the commercial centre of the Spanish-American possessions and the principal rendezvous of the royal fleets that carried on the trade monopoly between Spain and America. The walls enclosing the City were commenced in 1671 and finished thirty years later. The City was frequently threatened by English squadrons, and actually captured in 1762. At the close of the Seven Years’ War Habana was restored to Spain in exchange for the Floridas. The short period of the British occupation, during which the port was thrown open, greatly

stimulated the trade of the City and the general commerce of the Island. The modern history of Habana dates from this event.

A map of the City at the beginning of the nineteenth century strikingly illustrates its rapid growth. Then the residences were almost all intramuras, or within the walls. Large estancias and huertas occupied ground which is now intersected by paved streets and covered with substantial buildings. Even in the past decade a marked change has taken place, amounting to complete transformation in certain sections. The improvements have in many instances been at the expense of picturesqueness and have entailed the loss of several historic landmarks. But the gain in sanitation and convenience has been great. Habana, which under Spanish rule had a death rate exceeding thirty to the thousand, now boasts a lower mortality than that of New York.

The first impression made upon the visitor is by the massive character of the architecture. This characteristic is more pronounced than in any other Latin-American city. The building material generally used is a conglomerate of marine material, which hardens on exposure to the air. It is hewn into great blocks and so used in construction. Walls are usually covered with stucco, or plaster, and colored in a variety of tints. Roofs are either flat, or built of the old Spanish red tiles. The effect, which is enhanced by the presence almost everywhere of trees and shrubs, is pleasing in the extreme.

In the city proper the houses are mostly two stories in height. A plain front is the fashion nowadays, but in former times the dwellings of the wealthy presented ornate facades and elaborate balconies. Large windows,—they are doors in appearance,—heavily grated and closed with lattices, give light and air. Large double doorways open upon the central patio. The houses are built close together and on a level with the narrow pavement. The thick walls and the narrow streets tend to mitigate the heat. In former times, when all but the lowest classes went about in carriages, the two-foot sidewalks, which receive the drippings of balconies, met the requirements of the population, but now the inconvenience of walking in Habana is severely felt.

People in Habana live in the public view to an extent that surprises the stranger from the North. Passing along the street one may plainly see the family at meals in the diningroom, or resting in the cool of the evening among the plants of the patio. From one flat roof may be witnessed the doings on the neighboring azoteas. From this it might be inferred that the domestic circle of the Habanero may be easily invaded. Such is not, however, the case. He is hospitable, and a genial host, but the stranger is not admitted to his home as readily as is the case with us.

The people of Habana are fond of the outdoor life of the parks and the cafés. In the evening thousands gather about the bandstand in Central Park, or sit at the tables of the hotels and restaurants upon its edge, eating ice cream or drinking harmless liquids. They are a pleasure-loving people, and this characteristic has earned for Habana the name of the “Paris of the West.” There is little about the City, however, to remind one of the capital of France. The theatres are numerous and well patronized. The best travelling companies have always found it profitable to include Habana in their itinerary.

The most interesting portion of Habana is that which formerly lay within the walls. The houses here have for the most part been converted to business purposes, but a few persons still cling to their old homes. The old wall, of which very little remains, followed the line of what is now Montserrat Avenue. The seaward end of it commenced at the Puerta de la Punta and ended at the narrowest part of the harbor, just east of the Arsenal. This refers to the interior section of the wall, which was continued completely round the shore from the points mentioned.

To-day the neighborhood of Central Park is the heart of the City. Formerly, social and official life of the capital revolved about the Plaza de Armas, which is close to the waterfront. The old-time palace of the governors, now the residence of the presidents, is a long, low building, occupying the entire west face of the square. The oldest church of the City was torn down to make room for the palace, which was erected in 1834, during the administration of Tacon.

On the opposite side of the Plaza stands El Templete, a little edifice venerated by all good citizens of Habana. It marks the site of the mass which was celebrated in connection with the founding of the City. The building has the appearance of a chapel and perhaps was at first intended to serve the purpose of one. Its

sole contents are three historical paintings by Escobar. El Templete is opened only on the 16th day of November, which is the anniversary of the City’s birth. On that day all Habana walks solemnly down to the little building and gazes upon the pictures, one of which depicts the event that the temple is designed to commemorate.

“Each and every street south of the Plaza de Armas is interesting, in itself as it is now, and for details of its previous history. Here, at Oficios 94, lived the bishop of the diocese, D. Pedro Agustin Morel de Santa Cruz, who used to take his daily promenade up Obispo, and thereby gave that avenue its name (Bishop Street); it has since been rechristened Pi y Margall, for a Cuban patriot, but nobody heeds the change. On the corner of Mercaderes and Obrapia (Pious Act Street) is the house (its handsome high entrance with coat of arms above it, its stairways, its corridors, its quiet patio, retaining in decay the aristocratic bearing of better days), income from which the owner, D. Martin Calvo de Arrieta, willed, in 1679, to be divided into dowries for five orphan girls yearly; the city is executor and in this capacity still launches five brides per annum so dowered by Don Martin. Lamparilla is the ‘Little Lamp Street’ (in commemoration of a light a devotee of All Souls’ kept burning in the corner of this and Habana in years when there was no public illumination). Here, too, on the corner of Mercaderes and Amagura, is ‘The Corner of the Green Cross.’ The cross is there, and it is green; no painter, furbishing up the house it marks, would venture to give it any other color, though why it should be green nobody knows. It was one of the stations when, before religious processions were prohibited in the streets, good Catholics used to travel the Via Crucis along Amargua (Bitterness) Street from Cristo Plaza at its head to San Francisco Convent at the other end. In the house walls along the way one can distinguish yet where other stations were. Damas is Ladies Street, because of the number of pretty women who at one time made its balconies attractive. Inquisidor was so called because a Commissary of the Inquisition once resided in a house facing upon it, which now the Spanish legation owns and occupies. Refugio (Refuge) got its name because once General Rocafort was caught in a storm and found refuge in the house of a widow named Mendez, who lived there. Here, and in other districts throughout town, not only the streets had names—Empedrado, because it was the first paved; Tejadillo (Little Tile), because a house upon it was the first to have a tiled roof; Blanco (Target), because the artillery school practised there when it was well outside the walled city,—but many corners and crossings had their own particular titles. The corner of Habana and Empedrado was called ‘the Corner of the Little Lamp,’ because in a tobacco shop there shone steadily the only street light of the district. The corner of Compostela and Jesus Maria was ‘Snake Corner,’ because of the picture of a serpent painted on a house wall there. Sol and Aguacate was ‘Sun Corner,’ for a similar reason, and the facade decoration there probably named the whole of Sol (Sun) Street. The block on Amargura between Compostela and Villegas was known as the ‘Square of Pious Women,’ because two very religious ladies lived near, and because, too, of the particular station of the cross located on Amargura at this point.”[3]

Just off the Plaza de Armas is la Fuerza, that quaint fortress constructed by the order of De Soto in 1538. This, which is probably the oldest building of any kind in the City, attracts the greatest amount of attention from visitors. For a long period the fort was the official residence of the governors of the Island, who embellished its interior with handsome furniture, statuary and paintings. As the City grew and more formidable works usurped the protective office which La Fuerza had so capably filled in earlier days, the building was utilized as barracks, storehouse and even jail. The moat was filled in and a high wall raised in its place. During the American occupation the fortress was restored to something like its original form by the replacement of the moat and drawbridge and the restoration of the bastions. At present the building is used as a depository for the national archives.

An excellent view of the harbor may be had from the tower of La Fuerza. The bell in this old tower bears the date 1706. Formerly it sounded the hours throughout the day and night, and was used to give the alarm in time of danger. The guns of the fort have repelled more than one attack, and so highly was the importance of La Fuerza held in the infant period of the colony, that a royal decree

required all war vessels entering the harbor to salute the fortification. La Fuerza failed, however, to stop the French pirate De Sores, who captured and partially destroyed it, before firing and sacking the City.

The Cathedral, a short stone’s throw from La Fuerza, is not the largest, nor the most beautiful, nor even the oldest church in Habana, but it has a special interest for the tourist because the bones of Christopher Columbus reposed there until the Spaniards evacuated Cuba, when they carried the relic with them and deposited it in the Cathedral of Seville.

The Cathedral was erected close to the waterfront, in what was then the centre of the City. Originally a Jesuit convent, the building was remodelled and devoted to its present purpose in 1789.

In an official map of Habana published in 1800, there are thirty-two notations referring to the most important points and buildings of the City. Of these references, seventeen apply to religious institutions. Whilst far from maintaining the same proportion, the ecclesiastical structures are very numerous. The oldest of these is the Convent of San Francisco, which stands upon the waterfront, adjoining the plaza of the same name. The Dominican Convent, near by, is almost as aged; both were completed before the close of the sixteenth century. The latter has for some years past been occupied by business offices and storerooms. These are but a few of the most interesting among at least a score of churches and convents within the limits of the walled portion of the City.

The fortifications of Habana have perhaps been more extensively described than any other buildings of the City. They are not, however, very remarkable, nor, with a few exceptions, are there historic incidents of unusual interest associated with them. La Punta is, of course, the most prominent object on the Malecon and constantly within the view of the guest at the Miramar Hotel. With the exception of the heroic defence against the attack of the British, Morro Castle can not boast of any romantic episode in its history. Atares Castle, at the extreme southern end of the City, was the scene of the confinement and death of Colonel Crittenden and his companions. It has a chamber of horrors, containing an assortment of instruments of torture, from which visitors derive novel entertainment.

The two busiest, and perhaps best known, streets of Habana are O’Reilly and Obispo, running from the sea wall, through the Plaza de Armas, to Central Park, where they meet the Prado at right angles. The two streets in question might be compared to the shopping section of Broadway, and the Prado to Fifth Avenue. This splendid boulevard was shorn of much of its glory by the cyclone which a few years ago wrecked the magnificent laurels that lined its central promenade. The finest residences of Habana are upon the Prado, but boarding houses, and even business establishments, are beginning to invade the street. It is still a fashionable promenade and drive, although it no longer has the exclusive attraction that it once enjoyed.

Habana is famous for its parks, chief of which is the Parque Central. The surrounding blocks are occupied by hotels, clubs, cafés, theatres, and restaurants. When, on a concert night, the lights of these are added to the electric illumination of the park, the scene is a striking one.

The installation of a good electric car system has made suburban life popular, and a large proportion of the population of Habana now enjoy breathing space and elbow room such as the former inhabitants never dreamed of. The newest and most attractive of the residence suburbs is Vedado by the sea. Here are handsome homes facing broad avenues and standing in gardens of beautiful plants and flowers. The greater number of resident Americans live out at Vedado.

The modern streets beyond the old walls are laid out on liberal lines and with regularity. Habana, which used to be one of the most filthy cities on the earth, can now boast with justice of being among the cleanest centres in the Americas. It has a good water supply and is efficiently policed. One of the effects of this improvement has been to attract American tourists in constantly increasing numbers, until Habana has taken a prominent place among our winter resorts.

CHAPTER XV

THE PROVINCES OF CUBA

It is a short run from the capital to Hoyo Colorado, the route traversing a rich tobacco district and the centre of the pineapple culture. Ten miles out, the line reaches the Playa of Marianao, Habana’s fashionable bathing resort and the headquarters of the yacht club. Marianao is to Habana what Waikiki Beach is to Honolulu.

The trip to Guines is beginning to rival in popularity with tourists the excursion to the famous caves of Bellamar. The railroad is one of the oldest in the world, having been opened to traffic in 1837. The picturesque little town occupies a beautiful situation in an extensive valley, almost entirely surrounded by mountains. It is in the centre of a rich sugar district, but the lands in the immediate vicinity are devoted to truck farming, in which a number of Americans are engaged with marked success. Near by is the village of Madruga, famed long ago for the curative quality of its sulphur baths and mineral waters. Centuries ago, solitary invalids performed the tedious journey to the spot and sojourned in the peasants’ huts, whilst undergoing the cure. Nowadays Madruga is much frequented and has comfortable hotels, as well as several well-appointed bathing establishments.

The most recent railroad to be opened in Cuba is the Habana Central, running from the capital to the great Providencia Sugar Mill, situated thirty-five miles to the southwest. This line has the distinction of being operated entirely by electricity. Thousands of tourists last year visited the plantation and factory at the terminus of the road. As the crop season is from the beginning of December to the first or second week of May it coincides with the tourist season, and thus visitors have an exceptionally good opportunity to see one of the most up-to-date mills of Cuba in full operation, with little trouble and in a few hours’ time.

Batabano, situated on the coast almost directly to the south of Habana, is an unattractive place, but a port of considerable importance. An extensive sponge industry is carried on in the neighboring waters and great numbers of turtles are shipped from here to the United States.

Batabano is the port from which the traveller takes steamer to the Isle of Pines. The value and importance of the Isle of Pines have only been realized in recent years. It was at one time a rendezvous of pirates and Henry Morgan once planned to assemble his men there and make a raid upon Habana by way of Batabano. In the hands of Spain the Isle was turned to account only to the extent of working its marble quarries. After the last war of independence an American colony settled there and has since become numerous and prosperous. The Island is now practically owned by citizens of the United States, who represent a majority of the population. Several land companies have been in operation for the past ten years, and have established many thriving towns and settlements. The soil of the island is adapted to all kinds of farming and the climate has been famous for its salubrity during the past hundred years.

Pinar del Rio is best known for the possession of the finest tobacco lands in the world. Tobacco is, however, by no means the only industry of the Province. Along its north coast are extensive sugar lands and a number of large mills; also numerous plantations owned by Americans and Canadians. The Province is singularly deficient in harbors. The best of the few which it has is Bahia Honda. A coaling station in this bay was ceded to the United States by Cuba, but it has not been used as yet.

The most pronounced physical feature of the Province is the group, rather than range, of mountains called the Organo. Their verdant sides form the background of the view from almost every point. The soil in the valleys between the numerous spurs is exceedingly fertile. These lands were peaceably tilled through all the disturbances previous to the last war, but then Maceo carried the conflict into the far west, and Pinar del Rio will not recover from its effects for many a year to come. On the north and on the south the Organo Mountains slope down to undulating plains. That on the southern side is the more extensive and in it the celebrated Vuelta Abajo tobacco district lies.

For two centuries the Spaniards looked upon the Province of Matanzas as a hotbed of rebellion. The Cubans style it “El Suelo natal de Independencia,” meaning the birthplace of independence. Though, after Habana, the smallest of the provinces of Cuba, it is one of the richest sections of the country. In the beginning it was a great cattle grazing region, but long since its fertile plains were extensively planted with sugar-cane. Before the War there were five hundred stock farms in the Province, nearly as many sugar estates, and at least three thousand plantations of various other kinds. During the rebellion all this industrial wealth was practically destroyed. Its rich lands insured a revival, however, and the Province has again taken its place in the forefront of sugar-producing sections of Cuba.

The favorite excursion of visitors to Habana is to the Valley of the Yumuri, which Humboldt characterized as the “loveliest valley in the world.” It has been described by many pens, as have the caverns of Bellamar, with their numerous chambers filled with stalactite and stalagmite crystals.

The City of Matanzas is one of the most attractive in Cuba. It contains several beautiful parks and boulevards and, in the newest portion, some of the finest residences in the Island.

Not far from Matanzas is Cardenas, a centre of about twenty-five thousand inhabitants. It ranks third among the sugar shipping ports of Cuba, handling most of the output of the Province. Cardenas is beautifully situated and enjoys a delightful climate. It is sometimes spoken of as an “American city,” on account of the number of persons of that nationality resident there. Cardenas appears to be justified in its boast that it is the most progressive city in Cuba. No more than seventy years old, it is far in advance of every other city of its size in the matter of public utilities, whilst its