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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/11464-0.txt b/11464-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b9fa943 --- /dev/null +++ b/11464-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6144 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11464 *** + +[Illustration: TOWER OF LA FUERZA + +_Havana_] + +CUBA + +OLD AND NEW + +BY + +ALBERT G. ROBINSON + +1915. + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + +I. OLD CUBA + +II. NEW CUBA + +III. THE COUNTRY + +IV. THE OLD HAVANA + +V. THE NEW HAVANA + +VI. AROUND THE ISLAND + +VII. AROUND THE ISLAND (_Continued_) + +VIII. THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA + +IX. CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS + +X. INDEPENDENCE + +XI. FILIBUSTERING + +XII. THE STORY OF SUGAR + +XIII. VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES + +XIV. POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +Tower of La Fuerza, Havana +The Morro, Havana +A Planter's Home, Havana Province +Iron Grille Gateway, El Vedado, suburb of Havana +Watering Herd of Cattle, Luyano River, near Havaria +Royal Palms +Custom House, Havana +Balconies, Old Havana +Street in Havana +Street and Church of the Angels, Havana +A Residence in El Vedado +The Volante (now quite rare) +A Village Street, Calvario, Havana Province +Street and Church, Camaguey +Cobre, Oriente Province +Hoisting the Cuban Flag over the Palace, May 20,1902 +A Spanish Block House +Along the Harbor Wall, Havana +Country Road, Havana Province +Street in Camaguey +Palm-Thatched Roofs +A Peasant's Home + + + + +CUBA + +OLD AND NEW + + + + +I + +_OLD CUBA_ + + +Christopher Columbus was a man of lively imagination. Had he been an +ordinary, prosaic and plodding individual, he would have stayed at home +combing wool as did his prosaic and plodding ancestors for several +generations. At the age of fourteen he went to sea and soon developed an +active curiosity about regions then unknown but believed to exist. There +was even then some knowledge of western Asia, and even of China as +approached from the west. Two and two being properly put together, the +result was a reasonable argument that China and India could be reached from +the other direction, that is, by going westward instead of eastward. + +In the early autumn of the year 1492, Columbus was busy discovering islands +in the Caribbean Sea region, and, incidentally, seeking for the richest +of the group. From dwellers on other islands, he heard of one, called +Cubanacan, larger and richer than any that he had then discovered. A +mixture of those tales with his own vivid imagination produced a belief +in a country of wide extent, vastly rich in gold and gems, and already a +centre of an extensive commerce. Cruising in search of what he believed to +be the eastern coast of Asia, he sighted the shore of Cuba on the morning +of October 28, 1492. His journal, under date of October 24, states: "At +midnight I tripped my anchors off this _Cabo del Isleo de Isabella_, where +I was pitched to go to the island of Cuba, which I learn from these people +is very large and magnificent, and there are gold and spices in it, and +large ships and merchants. And so I think it must be the island of Cipango +(Japan), of which they tell such wonders." The record, under date of +Sunday, 28th of October, states: "Continued for the nearest land of Cuba, +and entered a beautiful estuary, clear of rocks and other dangers. The +mouth of the estuary had twelve fathoms depth, and it was wide enough for a +ship to work into." Students have disagreed regarding the first Cuban port +entered by Columbus. There is general acceptance of October 28 as the +date of arrival. Some contend that on that day he entered Nipe Bay, while +others, and apparently the greater number, locate the spot somewhat to the +west of Nuevitas. Wherever he first landed on it, there is agreement that +he called the island Juana, in honor of Prince Juan, taking possession "in +the name of Christ, Our Lady, and the reigning Sovereigns of Spain." + +His record of the landing place is obscure. It is known that he sailed some +leagues beyond it, to the westward. While on board his caravel, on his +homeward voyage, he wrote a letter to his friend, Don Rafael Sanchez, +"Treasurer of their most Serene Highnesses," in which the experience is +described. The original letter is lost, but it was translated into Latin +and published in Barcelona in the following year, 1493. While the Latin +form is variously translated into English, the general tenor of all is the +same. He wrote: "When I arrived at Juana (Cuba), I sailed along the coast +to the west, discovering so great an extent of land that I could not +imagine it to be an island, but the continent of Cathay. I did not, +however, discover upon the coast any large cities, all we saw being a few +villages and farms, with the inhabitants of which we could not obtain any +communication, they flying at our approach. I continued my course, still +expecting to meet with some town or city, but after having gone a great +distance and not meeting with any, and finding myself proceeding toward +the north, which I was desirous, to avoid on account of the cold, and, +moreover, meeting with a contrary wind, I determined to return to the +south, and therefore put about and sailed back to a harbor which I had +before observed." That the actual landing was at or near the present port +of Nuevitas seems to be generally accepted. + +Columbus appears to have been greatly impressed by the beauty of the +island. In his _Life of Columbus_, Washington Irving says: "From his +continual remarks on the beauty of scenery, and from his evident delight in +rural sounds and objects, he appears to have been extremely open to those +happy influences, exercised over some spirits, by the graces and wonders +of nature. He gives utterance to these feelings with characteristic +enthusiasm, and at the same time with the artlessness and simplicity of +diction of a child. When speaking of some lovely scene among the groves, or +along the flowery shores of these favored islands, he says, "One could +live there forever." Cuba broke upon him like an elysium. "It is the most +beautiful island," he says, "that ever eyes beheld, full of excellent ports +and profound rivers." A little discount must be made on such a statement. +Granting all that is to be said of Cuba's scenic charms, some allowance is +to be made for two influences. One is Don Cristobal's exuberance, and the +other is the fact that when one has been knocking about, as he had been, +for nearly three months on the open sea and among low-lying and sandy +islands and keys, any land, verdure clad and hilly, is a picture of +Paradise. Many people need only two or three days at sea to reach a similar +conclusion. In his letter to Luis de Santangel, Columbus says: "All these +countries are of surpassing excellence, and in particular Juana (Cuba,), +which contains abundance of fine harbors, excelling any in Christendom, as +also many large and beautiful rivers. The land is high, and exhibits chains +of tall mountains which seem to reach to the skies and surpass beyond +comparison the isle of Cetrefrey (Sicily). These display themselves in all +manner of beautiful shapes. They are accessible in every part, and covered +with a vast variety of lofty trees which it appears to me never lose their +foliage. Some were covered with blossoms, some with fruit, and others in +different stages according to their nature. There are palm trees of six or +eight sorts. Beautiful forests of pines are likewise found, and fields of +vast extent. Here are also honey and fruits of thousand sorts, and birds of +every variety." + +Having landed at this indefinitely located point, Columbus, believing that +he had reached the region he was seeking, despatched messengers to the +interior to open communication with some high official of Cathay, in which +country he supposed himself to be, the idea of Cipango apparently having +been abandoned. "Many at the present day," says Washington Irving, "will +smile at this embassy to a naked savage chieftain in the interior of Cuba, +in mistake for an Asiatic monarch; but such was the singular nature of this +voyage, a continual series of golden dreams, and all interpreted by the +deluding volume of Marco Polo." But the messengers went on their journey, +and proceeded inland some thirty or forty miles. There they came upon a +village of about fifty huts and a population of about a thousand. They were +able to communicate only by signs, and it is quite certain that the replies +of the natives were as little understood by the messengers as the questions +were by the natives. The messengers sought something about which the +natives knew little or nothing. The communications were interpreted through +the medium of imagination and desire. Nothing accomplished, the commission +returned and made its disappointing report. Washington Irving thus +describes the further proceedings: "The report of the envoys put an end to +the many splendid fancies of Columbus, about the barbaric prince and his +capital. He was cruising, however, in a region of enchantment, in which +pleasing chimeras started up at every step, exercising by turns a power +over his imagination. During the absence of the emissaries, the Indians +had informed him, by signs, of a place to the eastward, where the people +collected gold along the river banks by torchlight and afterward wrought it +into bars with hammers. In speaking of this place they again used the words +Babeque and Bohio, which he, as usual, supposed to be the proper names of +islands or countries. His great object was to arrive at some opulent and +civilized country of the East, with which he might establish commercial +relations, and whence he might carry home a quantity of oriental +merchandise as a rich trophy of his discovery. The season was advancing; +the cool nights gave hints of approaching winter; he resolved, therefore, +not to proceed farther to the north, nor to linger about uncivilized places +which, at present, he had not the means of colonizing, but to return to the +east-south-east, in quest of Babeque, which he trusted might prove some +rich and civilized island on the coast of Asia." And so he sailed away for +Hispaniola (Santo Domingo) which appears to have become, a little later, +his favorite West Indian resort. + +[Illustration: THE MORRO _Havana_] + +He began his eastward journey on November 12th. As he did not reach Cape +Maisi, the eastern point of the island, until December 5th, he must have +made frequent stops to examine the shore. Referring to one of the ports +that he entered he wrote to the Spanish Sovereigns thus: "The amenity of +this river, and the clearness of the water, through which the sand at the +bottom may be seen; the multitude of palm trees of various forms, the +highest and most beautiful that I have met with, and an infinity of other +great and green trees; the birds in rich plumage and the verdure of the +fields, render this country of such marvellous beauty that it surpasses all +others in charms and graces, as the day doth the night in lustre. For which +reason I often say to my people that, much as I endeavor to give a complete +account of it to your majesties, my tongue cannot express the whole truth, +nor my pen describe it; and I have been so overwhelmed at the sight of so +much beauty that I have not known how to relate it." + +Columbus made no settlement in Cuba; his part extends only to the +discovery. On his second expedition, in the spring of 1494, he visited and +explored the south coast as far west as the Isle of Pines, to which he gave +the name _La Evangelista_. He touched the south coast again on his fourth +voyage, in 1503. On his way eastward from his voyage of discovery on the +coast of Central America, he missed his direct course to Hispaniola, and +came upon the Cuban shore near Cape Cruz. He was detained there for some +days by heavy weather and adverse winds, and sailed thence to his unhappy +experience in Jamaica. The work of colonizing remained for others. Columbus +died in the belief that he had discovered a part of the continent of Asia. +That Cuba was only an island was determined by Sebastian de Ocampo who +sailed around it in 1508. Baron Humboldt, who visited Cuba in 1801 and +again in 1825, and wrote learnedly about it, states that "the first +settlement of the whites occurred in 1511, when Velasquez, under orders +from Don Diego Columbus, landed at Puerto de las Palmas, near Cape Maisi, +and subjugated the Cacique Hatuey who had fled from Haiti to the eastern +end of Cuba, where he became the chief of a confederation of several +smaller native princes." This was, in fact, a military expedition composed +of three hundred soldiers, with four vessels. + +Hatuey deserves attention. His name is not infrequently seen in Cuba today, +but it is probable that few visitors know whether it refers to a man, a +bird, or a vegetable. He was the first Cuban hero of whom we have record, +although the entire reliability of the record is somewhat doubtful. The +notable historian of this period is Bartolome Las Casas, Bishop of Chiapa. +He appears to have been a man of great worth, a very tender heart, and an +imagination fully as vivid as that of Columbus. His sympathies were aroused +by the tales of the exceeding brutality of many of the early Spanish +voyagers in their relations with the natives. He went out to see for +himself, and wrote voluminously of his experiences. He also wrote with +exceeding frankness, and often with great indignation. He writes about +Hatuey. The inference is that this Cacique, or chieftain, fled from Haiti +to escape Spanish brutality, and even in fear of his life. There are other +translations of Las Casas, but for this purpose choice has been made of one +published in London about the year 1699. It is given thus: + +"There happened divers things in this island (Cuba) that deserve to be +remarked. A rich and potent Cacique named Hatuey was retired into the Isle +of Cuba to avoid that Slavery and Death with which the Spaniards menaced +him; and being informed that his persecutors were upon the point of landing +in this Island, he assembled all his Subjects and Domestics together, and +made a Speech unto them after this manner. "You know, (said he) the Report +is spread abroad that the Spaniards are ready to invade this Island, and +you are not ignorant of the ill usage our Friends and Countrymen have met +with at their hands, and the cruelties they have committed at Haiti (so +Hispaniola is called in their Language). They are now coming hither with +a design to exercise the same Outrages and Persecutions upon us. Are +you ignorant (says he) of the ill Intentions of the People of whom I am +speaking? We know not (say they all with one voice) upon what account they +come hither, but we know they are a very wicked and cruel People. I'll tell +you then (replied the Cacique) that these Europeans worship a very covetous +sort of God, so that it is difficult to satisfy him; to perform the Worship +they render to this Idol, they will exact immense Treasures of us, and will +use their utmost endeavors to reduce us to a miserable state of Slavery, +or else put us to death." The historian leaves to the imagination and +credulity of his readers the task of determining just where and how he got +the full details of this speech and of the subsequent proceedings. The +report of the latter may well be generally correct inasmuch as there were +Spanish witnesses present, but the account of this oration, delivered prior +to the arrival of the Spanish invaders, is clearly open to a suspicion that +it may be more or less imaginary. But the historian continues: "Upon this +he took a Box full of Gold and valuable Jewels which he had with him, and +exposing it to their view: Here is (said he) the God of the Spaniards, whom +we must honor with our Sports and Dances, to see if we can appease him and +render him propitious to us; that so he may command the Spaniards not to +offer us any injury. They all applauded this Speech, and fell a leaping and +dancing around the Box, till they had quite tired and spent themselves. +After which the Cacique Hatuey resuming his Discourse, continued to speak +to them in these terms: If we keep this God (says he) till he's taken away +from us, he'll certainly cause our lives to be taken away from us; and +therefore I am of opinion it will be the best way to cast him into the +river. They all approved of this Advice, and went all together with one +accord to throw this pretended God into the River." + +But the Spaniards came and encountered the resistance of Hatuey and his +followers. The invaders were victorious, and Hatuey was captured and burned +alive. Las Casas relates that while the poor wretch was in the midst of the +flames, tied to a stake, "a certain Franciscan Friar of great Piety and +Virtue, took upon him to speak to him of God and our Religion, and to +explain to him some Articles of Catholic Faith, of which he had never +heard a word before, promising him Eternal Life if he would believe and +threatening him with Eternal Torment if he continued obstinate in his +Infidelity. Hatuey reflecting on the matter, as much as the Place and +Condition in which he was would permit, asked the Friar that instructed +him, whether the Gate of Heaven was open to Spaniards; and being answered +that such of them as were good men might hope for entrance there: the +Cacique, without any farther deliberation, told him that he had no mind to +go to heaven for fear of meeting with such cruel and wicked Company as +they were; but he would much rather choose to go to Hell where he might be +delivered from the troublesome sight of such kind of People." And so died +the Cacique Hatuey. Four hundred years later, the Cuban Government named a +gunboat _Hatuey_, in his honor. + +The Velasquez expedition, in the following year, founded Baracoa, now a +small city on the northern coast near the eastern extremity of the island. +It is a spot of exceeding scenic charm. It was established as the capital +city, but it held that honor for a few years only. In 1514 and 1515, +settlements were established at what is now Santiago, at Sancti Spiritus, +Trinidad, and Batabano. The latter was originally called San Cristobal de +la Habana, the name being transferred to the present city, on the north +coast, in 1519. It displaced the name Puerto de Carenas given to the +present Havana by Ocampo, who careened his vessels there in 1508. Baracoa +was made the seat of a bishopric, and a cathedral was begun, in 1518. In +1522, both the capital and the bishopric were transferred to Santiago, a +location more readily accessible from the new settlements on the south +coast, and also from Jamaica which was then included in the diocese. +Cuba, at about this period, was the point of departure for an important +expedition. In 1517, de Cordoba, with three vessels and 110 soldiers, +was sent on an expedition to the west for further and more northerly +exploration of the land discovered by Columbus in 1503. The coast from +Panama to Honduras had been occupied. The object of this expedition was to +learn what lay to the northward. The result was the discovery of Yucatan. +Cordoba returned to die of wounds received in a battle. A second and +stronger expedition was immediately despatched. This rounded the peninsula +and followed the coast as far as the present city of Vera Cruz. In 1518, +Hernan Cortez was _alcalde_, or mayor, of Santiago de Cuba. On November 18, +of that year, he sailed from that port in command of an expedition for +the conquest of Mexico, finally effected in 1521, after one of the most +romantic campaigns in the history of warfare. All that, however, is a story +in which Cuba has no place except that of the starting point and base of +the expedition. There is another story of the same kind, a few years later. +The first discovery of Florida is somewhat uncertain. It appears on an old +Spanish map dated 1502. Following the expedition of Ponce de Leon, in 1513, +and of Murielo, in 1516, Narvaez headed an expedition from Cuba in 1528 +with some three hundred freebooters. They landed in Florida, where almost +the entire band was, very properly, destroyed by the Indians. In 1539, de +Soto sailed from Havana, with five hundred and seventy men and two hundred +and twenty-three horses, for an extended exploration. They wandered for +three years throughout what is now the southern part of the United States +from Georgia and South Carolina westward to Arkansas and Missouri. After a +series of almost incredible experiences, de Soto died in 1542, on the banks +of the Mississippi River at a point probably not far from the Red River. +These and other expeditions, from Cuba and from Mexico, to what is now +territory of the United States, produced no permanent results. No gold was +found. + +Of the inhabitants of Cuba, as found by the Spaniards, comparatively little +is recorded. They seem to have been a somewhat negative people, generally +described as docile, gentle, generous, and indolent. Their garments were +quite limited, and their customs altogether primitive. They disappear +from Cuba's story in its earliest chapters. Very little is known of their +numbers. Some historians state that, in the days of Columbus, the island +had a million inhabitants, but this is obviously little if anything more +than a rough guess. Humboldt makes the following comment: "No means now +exist to arrive at a knowledge of the population of Cuba in the time of +Columbus; but how can we admit what some otherwise judicious historians +state, that when the island of Cuba was conquered in 1511, it contained a +million inhabitants of whom only 14,000 remained in 1517. The statistical +information which we find in the writings of Las Casas is filled with +contradictions." Forty years or so later the Dominican friar, Luis Bertram, +on his return to Spain, predicted that "the 200,000 Indians now in the +island of Cuba, will perish, victims to the cruelty of the Europeans." Yet +Gomara stated that there was not an Indian in Cuba after 1553. Whatever the +exact truth regarding numbers, it is evident that they disappeared rapidly, +worked to death by severe task-masters. The institution of African slavery, +to take the place of the inefficient and fast disappearing native labor, +had its beginning in 1521. Baron Humboldt states that from that time until +1790, the total number of African negroes imported as slaves was 90,875. +In the next thirty years, the business increased rapidly, and Humboldt +estimates the total arrivals, openly entered and smuggled in, from 1521 to +1820, as 372,449. Mr. J.S. Thrasher, in a translation of Humboldt's work, +issued in 1856, added a footnote showing the arrivals up to 1854 as +644,000. A British official authority, at the same period, gives the total +as a little less than 500,000. The exact number is not important. The +institution on a large scale, in its relation to the total number of +whites, was a fact. + +It is, of course, quite impossible even today to argue the question of +slavery. To many, the offence lies in the mere fact; to others, it lies in +the operation of the system. At all events, the institution is no longer +tolerated in any civilized country. While some to whom the system itself +was a bitter offence have found much to criticize in its operation in Cuba, +the general opinion of observers appears to be that it was there notably +free from the brutality usually supposed to attend it. The Census Report of +1899, prepared under the auspices of the American authorities, states that +"while it was fraught with all the horrors of this nefarious business +elsewhere, the laws for the protection of slaves were unusually humane. +Almost from the beginning, slaves had a right to purchase their freedom or +change their masters, and long before slavery was abolished they could own +property and contract marriage. As a result, the proportion of free colored +to slaves has always been large." Humboldt, who studied the institution +while it was most extensive, states that "the position of the free negroes +in Cuba is much better than it is elsewhere, even among those nations which +have for ages flattered themselves as being most advanced in civilization." +The movement for the abolition of slavery had its beginning in 1815, with +the treaty of Vienna, to which Spain was a party. Various acts in the same +direction appear in the next fifty years. The Moret law, enacted in 1870 by +the Spanish Cortes, provided for gradual abolition in Spain's dominions, +and a law of 1880, one of the results of the Ten Years' War, definitely +abolished the system. Traces of it remained, however, until about 1887, +when it may be regarded as having become extinct forever in Cuba. + +For the first two hundred and fifty years of Cuba's history, the city of +Havana appears as the special centre of interest. There was growth in other +sections, but it was slow, for reasons that will be explained elsewhere. +In 1538, Havana was attacked and totally destroyed by a French privateer. +Hernando de Soto, then Governor of the island, at once began the +construction of defences that are now one of the special points of interest +in the city. The first was the Castillo de la Fuerza. In 1552, Havana +became the capital city. In 1555, it was again attacked, and practically +destroyed, including the new fortress, by French buccaneers. Restoration +was effected as rapidly as possible. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged, and +the construction of the Morro and of La Punta, the fortress at the foot of +the Prado, was begun. The old city wall, of which portions still remain, +was of a later period. Despite these precautions, the city was repeatedly +attacked by pirates and privateers. Some reference to these experiences +will be made in a special chapter on the city. The slow progress of the +island is shown by the fact that an accepted official report gives the +total population in 1775 as 171,620, of whom less than 100,000 were white. +The absence of precious metals is doubtless the main reason for the lack of +Spanish interest in the development of the country. For a long time after +the occupation, the principal industry was cattle raising. Agriculture, the +production of sugar, tobacco, coffee, and other crops, on anything properly +to be regarded as a commercial scale, was an experience of later years. The +reason for this will be found in the mistaken colonial policy of Spain, a +policy the application of which, in a far milder manner, cost England its +richest colony in the Western Hemisphere, and which, in the first quarter +of the 19th Century, cost Spain all of its possessions in this half of the +world, with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico. + + + + +II + +_NEW CUBA_ + + +While there is no point in Cuba's history that may be said to mark a +definite division between the Old Cuba and the New Cuba, the beginning of +the 19th Century may be taken for that purpose. Cuba's development dragged +for two hundred and fifty years. The population increased slowly and +industry lagged. For this, Spain's colonial policy was responsible. But it +was the policy of the time, carried out more or less effectively by all +nations having colonies. England wrote it particularly into her Navigation +Acts of 1651, 1660, and 1663, and supported it by later Acts. While not +rigorously enforced, and frequently evaded by the American colonists, the +system at last proved so offensive that the colonists revolted in 1775. +Most of Spain's colonies in the Western Hemisphere, for the same reason, +declared and maintained their independence in the first quarter of the +19th Century. At the bottom of Cuba's several little uprisings, and at the +bottom of its final revolt in 1895, lay the same cause of offence. In those +earlier years, it was held that colonies existed solely for the benefit +of the mother-country. In 1497, almost at the very beginning of Spain's +colonial enterprises in the New World, a royal decree was issued under +which the exclusive privilege to carry on trade with the colonies was +granted to the port of Seville. This monopoly was transferred to the port +of Cadiz in 1717, but it continued, in somewhat modified form in later +years, until Spain had no colonies left. + +While Santiago was the capital of the island, from 1522 to 1552, trade +between Spain and the island could be carried on only through that port. +When Havana became the capital, in 1552, the exclusive privilege of trade +was transferred to that city. With the exception of the years 1762 and +1763, when the British occupied Havana and declared it open to all trade, +the commerce of the island could only be done through Havana with Seville, +until 1717, and afterward with Cadiz. Baracoa, or Santiago, or Trinidad, +or any other Cuban city, could not send goods to Santander, or Malaga, or +Barcelona, or any other Spanish market, or receive goods directly from +them. The law prohibited trade between Cuba and all other countries, and +limited all trade between the island and the mother-country to the port of +Havana, at one end, and to Seville or Cadiz, according to the time of the +control of those ports, at the other end. Even intercolonial commerce was +prohibited. At times, and for brief periods, the system was modified to +the extent of special trade licences, and, occasionally, by international +treaties. But the general system of trade restriction was maintained +throughout all of Spain's colonial experience. Between 1778 and 1803, most +of Cuba's ports were opened to trade with Spain. The European wars of the +early years of the 19th Century led to modification of the trade laws, but +in 1809 foreign commerce with Spanish American ports was again prohibited. +A few years later, Spain had lost nearly all its American colonies. A new +plan was adopted in 1818. Under that, Spain sought to hold the trade of +Cuba and Porto Rico by tariffs so highly favorable to merchandise from +the mother-country as to be effectively prohibitive with regard to many +products from other countries. This, in general outline, is the cause of +Cuba's slow progress until the 19th Century, and the explanation of its +failure to make more rapid progress during that century. + +Naturally, under such conditions, bribery of officials and smuggling became +active and lucrative enterprises. It may be said, in strict confidence +between writer and reader, that Americans were frequently the parties of +the other part in these transactions. In search through a considerable +number of American histories, I have been unable to find definite +references to trade with Cuba, yet there seems to be abundant reason for +belief that such trade was carried on. There are many references to trade +with the West Indies as far back as 1640 and even a year or two earlier, +but allusions to trade with Cuba do not appear, doubtless for the reason +that it was contraband, a violation of both Spanish and British laws. There +was evidently some relaxation toward the close of the 18th Century. +There are no records of the commerce of the American colonies, and only +fragmentary records between 1776 and 1789. The more elaborate records of +1789 and following years show shipments of fish, whale oil, spermaceti +candles, lumber, staves and heading, and other articles to the "Spanish +West Indies," in which group Cuba was presumably included. The records of +the time are somewhat unreliable. It was a custom for the small vessels +engaged in that trade to take out clearance papers for the West Indies. The +cargo might be distributed in a number of ports, and the return cargo might +be similarly collected. For the year 1795, the records of the United States +show total imports from the Spanish West Indies as valued at $1,740,000, +and exports to that area as valued at $1,390,000. In 1800, the imports were +$10,588,000, and the exports $8,270,000. Just how much of this was trade +with Cuba, does not appear. Because of the trade increase at that time, +and because of other events that, soon afterward, brought Cuba into more +prominent notice, this period has been chosen as the line of division +between the Old and the New Cuba. + +Compared with the wonderful fertility of Cuba, New England is a sterile +area. Yet in 1790, a hundred and seventy years after its settlement, the +latter had a population a little exceeding a million, while the former, in +1792, or two hundred and eighty years after its occupation, is officially +credited with a population of 272,300. Of these, 153,559 were white and +118,741 were colored. Several forces came into operation at this time, and +population increased rapidly, to 572,363 in 1817, and to 704,465 in 1827. +In 1841, it was a little more than a million. But the increase in colored +population, by the importation of African slaves, outstripped the increase +by the whites. In 1841, the population was divided into 418,291 whites and +589,333 colored. The importation of slaves having declined, the year 1861 +shows a white preponderance, since continued and substantially increased. +Among the forces contributing to Cuba's rapid growth during this period +were a somewhat greater freedom of trade; the revolution in the neighboring +island of Haiti and Santo Domingo, that had its beginning in 1791 and +culminated, some ten years later, in the rule of Toussaint L'Ouverture; and +an increased demand for sugar. One result of the Haitian disorder was the +arrival, in eastern Cuba, of a large number of exiles and emigrants who +established extensive coffee plantations. During the first hundred and +fifty years of Cuba's history, the principal industry of the island was +cattle raising, aside from the domestic industry of food supply. The +proprietors lived, usually, in the cities and maintained their vast estates +in the neighborhood. To this, later on, were added the production of +honey and wax and the cultivation of tobacco. With the period now under +consideration, there came the expansion of the coffee and sugar industries. +The older activities do not appear to have been appreciably lessened; the +others were added on. + +Europe and the Western Hemisphere were at that time in a state of general +upheaval and rearrangement. Following the American Revolution, there came +the French Revolution; the Napoleonic Wars; the war of 1812 between the +United States and England; and the general revolt of the Spanish colonies. +The world was learning new lessons, adopting new policies, in which the +Spanish colonial system was a blunder the folly of which Spain did not +even then fully realize. Yet from it all, by one means and another, Cuba +benefited. Spain was fortunate in its selection of Governors-General sent +out at this time. Luis de Las Casas, who arrived in 1790, is credited with +much useful work. He improved roads and built bridges; established schools +and the _Casa de Beneficencia_, still among the leading institutions in +Havana; paved the streets of Havana; improved as far as he could the +commercial conditions; and established the _Sociedad Patriotica_, sometimes +called the _Sociedad Economica_, an organization that has since contributed +immeasurably to Cuba's welfare and progress. He was followed by others +whose rule was creditable. But the principal evils, restricted commerce +and burdensome taxation, were not removed, although world conditions +practically compelled some modification of the commercial regulations. In +1801 the ports of the island were thrown open to the trade of friendly and +neutral nations. Eight years later, foreign commerce was again prohibited. +In 1818, a new system was established, that of a tariff so highly favorable +to merchandise from Spain that it was by no means unusual for goods to +be shipped to that country, even from the United States, and from there +reshipped to Cuba. Changes in the rates were made from time to time, but +the system of heavy discrimination in favor of Spanish goods in Spanish +ships continued until the equalization of conditions under the order of the +Government of Intervention, in 1899. + +In his book published in 1840, Mr. Turnbull states that "the mercantile +interests of the island have been greatly promoted by the relaxation of +those restrictive regulations which under the old peninsular system bound +down all foreign commerce with the colonies of Spain, and laid it prostrate +at the feet of the mother-country. It cannot be said that the sound +principles of free trade, in any large or extended sense of the term, +have been recognized or acted upon even at the single port of Havana. The +discriminating duties imposed by the supreme government of Madrid on the +natural productions, manufactures, and shipping of foreign countries, in +contradistinction to those of Spain, are so stringent and so onerous as +altogether to exclude the idea of anything approaching to commercial +freedom. There is no longer, it is true, any absolute prohibition, but in +many cases the distinguishing duties are so heavy as to defeat their own +object, and, in place of promoting the interests of the mother-country, +have had little other effect than the establishment of an extensive and +ruinous contraband." Under such conditions as those existing in Cuba, +from its beginning practically until the establishment of its political +independence, industrial development and commercial expansion are more than +difficult. + +One of the natural results of such a system appeared in the activities of +smugglers. The extent to which that industry was carried on cannot, of +course, be even guessed. Some have estimated that the merchandise imported +in violation of the laws equalled in value the merchandise entered at +the custom houses. An official publication (American) states that "from +smuggling on a large scale and privateering to buccaneering and piracy is +not a long step, and under the name of privateers French, Dutch, English, +and American smugglers and buccaneers swarmed the Caribbean Sea and the +Gulf of Mexico for more than two centuries, plundering Spanish _flotas_ +and attacking colonial settlements. Among the latter, Cuba was the chief +sufferer." Had Cuba's coasts been made to order for the purpose, they could +hardly have been better adapted to the uses of smugglers. Off shore, for +more than half its coast line, both north and south, are small islands +and keys with narrow and shallow passages between them, thus making an +excellent dodging area for small boats if pursued by revenue vessels. +Thoroughly familiar with these entrances and hiding places, smugglers could +land their goods almost at will with little danger of detection or capture. + +Another heavy handicap on the economic progress of the island appears in +the system of taxation. Regarding this system, the Census of 1899 reports +as follows: + +"Apart from imports and exports, taxes were levied on real and personal +property and on industries and commerce of all kinds. Every profession, +art, or manual occupation contributed its quota, while, as far back as +1638, seal and stamp taxes were established on all judicial business and +on all kinds of petitions and claims made to official corporations, and +subsequently on all bills and accounts. These taxes were in the form of +stamps on official paper and at the date of American occupation the paper +cost from 35 cents to $3 a sheet. On deeds, wills, and other similar +documents the paper cost from 35 cents to $37.50 per sheet, according to +the value of the property concerned. Failure to use even the lowest-priced +paper involved a fine of $50. + +"There was also a municipal tax on the slaughter of cattle for the market. +This privilege was sold by the municipal council to the highest bidder, +with the result that taxes were assessed on all animals slaughtered, +whether for the market or for private consumption, with a corresponding +increase in the price of meat. + +"Another tax established in 1528, called the _derecho_ _de averia_, +required the payment of 20 ducats ($16) by every person, bond or free, +arriving in the island. In 1665 this tax was increased to $22, and +continued in force to 1765, thus retarding immigration, and, to that +extent, the increase of population, especially of the laboring class. + +"An examination of these taxes will show their excessive, arbitrary, and +unscientific character, and how they operated to discourage Cubans from +owning property or engaging in many industrial pursuits tending to benefit +them and to promote the material improvement of the island. + +"Taxes on real estate were estimated by the tax inspector on the basis +of its rental or productive capacity, and varied from 4 to 12 per cent. +Similarly, a nominal municipal tax of 25 per cent was levied on the +estimated profits of all industries and commerce, and on the income derived +from all professions, manual occupations, or agencies, the collector +receiving 6 per cent of all taxes assessed. Much unjust discrimination was +made against Cubans in determining assessable values and in collecting the +taxes, and it is said that bribery in some form was the only effective +defense against the most flagrant impositions." + +Some of the experiences of this period will be considered in special +chapters on Cuba's alleged revolutions and on the relations of the United +States to Cuba and its affairs. One point may be noted here. The wave of +republicanism that swept over a considerable part of Europe and over the +Western Hemisphere, from 1775 to 1825 had its direct influence in Spain, +and an influence only less direct in Cuba. In 1812, Spain became a +constitutional monarchy. It is true that the institution had only a +brief life, but the sentiment that lay beneath it persisted and had been +repeatedly a cause of disturbance on the Peninsula. Something of the +same sentiment pervaded Cuba and excited ambitions, not for national +independence, but for some participation in government. A royal decree, in +1810, gave Cuba representation in the Cortes, and two deputies from the +island took part in framing the Constitution of 1812. This recognition of +Cuba lasted for only two years, the Constitution being abrogated in 1814, +but it was restored in 1820, only to cease again three years later. +Representatives were again admitted to the Cortes in 1834, and again +excluded in 1837. The effect of all this was, perhaps, psychological rather +than practical, but it gave rise to a new mental attitude and to some +change in conduct. The effect appears in the numerous recurrences of open +protest and passive resistance in the place of the earlier submission. +Writing in 1855, Mr. J.S. Thrasher stated that "the essential political +elements of the island are antagonistic to those of the mother-country. +While the Cortes and the crown have frequently declared that Cuba does not +form an integral part of the Spanish monarchy, but must be governed by +special laws not applicable to Spain, and persist in ruling her under the +erroneous and unjust European colonial system, the growing wealth and +increasing intelligence of the Cubans lead them to aspire to some share in +the elimination of the political principles under which their own affairs +shall be administered. A like antagonism exists in the economic relations +of the two countries. While the people of Cuba are not averse to the +raising of such revenue as may be required for the proper wants of the +State, in the administration of which they may participate, they complain, +with a feeling of national pride, that fiscal burdens of the most onerous +kind are laid upon them for the expressed purpose of advancing interests +which are in every sense opposed to their own. Thus, Spain imposes taxes to +support a large army and navy, the principal object of which is to prevent +any expression of the public will on the part of the people of Cuba. +Another class of impositions have for their object the diversion of +the trade of Cuba to channels which shall increase the profits of the +agriculturists and mariners of Spain without regard to the interests of the +people of the island." + +[Illustration: A PLANTER'S HOME _Havana Province_] + +Yet in spite of these severe restrictions and heavy burdens, Cuba shows a +considerable progress during the first half of the century. It is far from +easy to reach fair conclusions from contemporaneous writings. Naturally, +Spanish officials and Spanish writers strove to make the best possible case +for Spain, its policies and its conduct. The press of the island was either +under official control or stood in fear of official reprisals. The Cuban +side, naturally partisan, appears to have been presented chiefly by +fugitive pamphlets, more or less surreptitiously printed and distributed, +usually the product of political extremists. Among these was a man of +marked ability and of rare skill in the use of language. He was Don Antonio +Saco, known in Cuba as the "Immortal Saco." In a letter written to a +friend, in 1846, he says, "The tyranny of our mother-country, today most +acute, will have this result--that within a period of time not very remote +the Cubans will be compelled to take up arms to banish her." That British +observers and most American observers should take the side of the Cubans is +altogether natural. Writing in 1854, Mr. M.M. Ballou, in his _History of +Cuba_, says: "The Cubans owe all the blessings they enjoy to Providence +alone (so to speak), while the evils which they suffer are directly +referable to the oppression of the home government. Nothing short of a +military despotism could maintain the connection of such an island with a +mother-country more than three thousand miles distant; and accordingly we +find the captain-general of Cuba invested with unlimited power. He is, in +fact, a viceroy appointed by the crown of Spain, and accountable only to +the reigning sovereign for his administration of the colony. His rule is +absolute; he has the power of life and death and liberty in his hands. He +can, by his arbitrary will, send into exile any person whatever, be his +name or rank what it may, whose residence in the island he considers +prejudicial to the royal interest, even if he has committed no overt act. +He can suspend the operation of the laws and ordinances, if he sees fit to +do so; can destroy or confiscate property; and, in short, the island may be +said to be perpetually in a state of siege." + +The student or the reader may take his choice. On one side are Spanish +statements, official and semi-official, and on the other side, Cuban +statements no less partisan. The facts appear to support the Cuban +argument. In spite of the severe restrictions and the heavy burdens, Cuba +shows a notable progress during the 19th Century. Governors came and went, +some very good and others very bad. There were a hundred of them from 1512 +to 1866, and thirty-six more from 1866 to 1899, the average term of service +for the entire number being a little less than three years. On the whole, +the most notable of the group of 19th Century incumbents was Don Miguel +Tacon, who ruled from June 1, 1834, until April 16, 1838. His record would +seem to place him quite decidedly in the "reactionary" class, but he was a +man of action who left behind him monuments that remain to his credit even +now. One historian, Mr. Kimball, who wrote in 1850, describes him as one +in whom short-sightedness, narrow views, and jealous and weak mind, were +joined to an uncommon stubbornness of character. Another, Mr. M.M. Ballou, +says that "probably of all the governors-general that have filled the post +in Cuba none is better known abroad, or has left more monuments to his +enterprise, than Tacon. His reputation at Havana (this was written 1854) is +of a somewhat doubtful character; for, though he followed out with energy +various improvements, yet his modes of procedure were so violent that he +was an object of terror to the people generally, rather than of gratitude. +He vastly improved the appearance of the capital and its vicinity, built +the new prison, rebuilt the governor's palace, constructed a military road +to the neighboring forts, erected a spacious theatre and market house, +arranged a new public walk, and opened a vast parade ground without the +city walls, thus laying the foundation of the new city which has now sprung +up in this formerly desolate suburb. He suppressed the gaming houses and +rendered the streets, formerly infested with robbers, as secure as those of +Boston or New York." Another writer, Mr. Samuel Hazard, in 1870, says: "Of +all the governors who have been in command of the island Governor Tacon +seems to have been the best, doing the most to improve the island, and +particularly Havana; making laws, punishing offences, and establishing some +degree of safety for its inhabitants. It is reported of him that he is +said, like the great King Alfred, to have promised the Cubans that they +should be able to leave their purses of money on the public highway without +fear of having them stolen. At all events, his name is cherished by every +Cuban for the good he has done, and _paseos_, theatres, and monuments bear +his great name in Havana." The Tacon theatre is now the Nacional, and the +Paseo Tacon is now Carlos III. The "new prison" is the _Carcel_, or jail, +at the northern end of the Prado, near the fortress of La Punta. Don Miguel +may have been disliked for his methods and his manners, but he certainly +did much to make his rule memorable. + +There is no reliable information that shows the progress of the island +during the 19th Century. Even the census figures are questioned. A reported +432,000 total population in 1804 is evidently no more than an estimate, yet +it is very likely not far from the actual. Concerning their distribution +throughout the island, and the number engaged in different occupations, +there are no records. There are no acceptable figures regarding the +respective numbers of whites and blacks. Nor is there any record of the +population in 1895, the year of the war for independence. From the definite +tabulation, under American auspices, in 1899, showing 1,576,797, it has +been estimated that the number in 1895, was a little less than 1,800,000, +the difference being represented by the disasters of the war, by the result +of reconcentration, and by departures during the disturbance. The general +result seems to be that the population was practically quadrupled. A +somewhat rough approximation would show the blacks as multiplied by three, +to an 1899 total of 505,000, with the whites multiplied by four, to a total +of 1,067,000. Nor are there figures of trade that afford any proper clue +to the growth of industry and commerce. There are records of imports +and exports from about 1850 onward, but before that time the matter of +contraband trade introduces an element of uncertainty. An American official +pamphlet on Cuban trade carries the statement, "the ascertainment of full +and exact details of the commerce of Cuba prior to the close of Spanish +dominion in the island is an impossibility. The Spanish authorities, as +a rule, published no complete returns of Cuban trade, either foreign or +domestic. Except with regard to Spain and the United States, most of the +existing commercial statistics of Cuba, prior to 1899, are fragmentary +and merely approximative. Spain and the United States have always kept a +separate and distinct trade account with Cuba; but the United Kingdom, +France, Germany, and other European countries excepting Spain, formerly +merged their statistics of trade with Cuba in one general item embracing +Cuba and Porto Rico, under the heading of "Spanish West Indies." Since +1899, however, all the Powers have kept separate accounts with Cuba, +and the statistics of the Cuban Republic have been reasonably full and +accurate." + +[Illustration: IRON GRILLE GATEWAY _El Vedado, Suburb of Havana_] + +Cuba's recorded imports in 1894 show a total value of $90,800,000, and +exports show a value of $102,000,000. Writing about the year 1825, Humboldt +says: "It is more than probable that the imports of the whole island, licit +and contraband, estimated at the actual value of the goods and the slaves, +amount, at the present time, to fifteen or sixteen millions of dollars, of +which barely three or four millions are re-exported." The same authority +gives the probable exports of that time as about $12,500,000. The trade at +the beginning of the century must have been far below this. The official +figures for 1851 show total imports amounting to $34,000,000, and exports +to $33,000,000, but the accuracy of the figures is open to question. The +more important fact is that of a very large gain in population and in +production. The coffee industry, that assumed important proportions during +a part of the first half of the century, gradually declined for the reason +that sugar became a much more profitable crop. Now, Cuba imports most of +its coffee from Porto Rico. Because of its convenience as a contraband +article, there are no reliable figures of the tobacco output. Prior to +1817, the commodity was, for much of the time, a crown monopoly and, for +the remainder of the time, a monopoly concession to private companies. In +that year, cultivation and trade became free, subject to a tax on each +planter of one-twentieth of his production. + +As we shall see, in another chapter, Cuba at last wearied of Spanish +exactions and revolted as did the United States, weary of British rule and +British exactions and restrictions, more than a hundred years earlier. + + + + +III + +_THE COUNTRY_ + + +Description of the physical features of a country seldom makes highly +entertaining reading, but it seems a necessary part of a book of this kind. +Some readers may find interest if not entertainment in such a review. The +total area of the island, including a thousand or more adjacent islands, +islets, and keys, is given as 44,164 square miles, a little less than the +area of Pennsylvania and a little more than that of Ohio or Tennessee. +Illustration of its shape by some familiar object is difficult, although +various comparisons have been attempted. Some old Spanish geographers gave +the island the name of _La Lengua de Pajaro_, "the bird's tongue." Mr. M.M. +Ballou likened it to "the blade of a Turkish scimitar slightly curved back, +or approaching the form of a long, narrow, crescent." Mr. Robert T. Hill +holds that it "resembles a great hammer-headed shark, the head of which +forms the straight, south coast of the east end of the island, from which +the sinuous body extends westward. This analogy is made still more striking +by two long, finlike strings of keys, or islets, which extend backward +along the opposite coasts, parallel to the main body of the island." But +all such comparisons call for a lively imagination. It might be likened to +the curving handles of a plow attached to a share, or to any one of a dozen +things that it does not at all clearly resemble. Regarding the Oriente +coast, from Cape Cruz to Cape Maisi, as a base, from that springs a long +and comparatively slender arm that runs northwesterly for five hundred +miles to the vicinity of Havana. There, the arm, somewhat narrowed, turns +downward in a generally southwestern direction for about two hundred miles. +The total length of the island, from Cape Maisi on the east to Cape San +Antonio on the west, is about seven hundred and thirty miles. Its width +varies from a maximum, in Oriente Province, of about one hundred and sixty +miles, to a minimum, in Havana Province, of about twenty-two miles. It has +a general coast line of about twenty-two hundred miles, or, following all +its sinuosities, of about seven thousand miles. Its north coast is, for +much of its length, steep and rocky. Throughout the greater part of the +middle provinces, there is a border of coral reefs and small islands. At +the western end, the north coast is low, rising gradually to the eastward. +At the eastern end, the northern coast is abrupt and rugged, rising in a +series of hills to the elevations in the interior. Westward from Cape Maisi +to Cape Cruz, on the south coast, and immediately along the shore line, +runs a mountain range. From here westward, broken by an occasional hill or +bluff, the coast is low and marshy. + +Probably the best description of the topography and the orography of the +island yet presented is that given by Mr. Robert T. Hill, of the United +States Geological Survey. In his book on Cuba and other islands of the West +Indies, Mr. Hill says: + +"As regards diversity of relief, Cuba's eastern end is mountainous, with +summits standing high above the adjacent sea; its middle portion is wide, +consisting of gently sloping plains, well-drained, high above the sea, and +broken 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. Over the +whole is a mantle of tender vegetation, rich in every hue that a flora of +more than three thousand species can give, and kept green by mists and +gentle 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. + +"But, at the outset the reader should dispossess his mind of any +preconceived idea that the island of Cuba is in any sense a physical unit. +On the contrary, it presents a diversity of topographic, climatic, and +cultural features, which, as distributed, divide the island into at least +three distinct natural provinces, for convenience termed the eastern, +central, and western regions. The distinct types of relief include regions +of high mountains, low hills, dissected plateaus, intermontane 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 presents a rugged aspect when viewed from the sea. About one-fourth of +the total area is mountainous, three-fifths are rolling plain, valleys, and +gentle arable slopes, and the remainder is swampy. + +"The island border on the north presents a low cliff topography, with a +horizontal sky-line from Matanzas 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 on both the north and south sides +a series of remarkable terraces, rising in stair-like arrangement to six +hundred feet or more, representing successive pauses or stages in the +elevation of the island above the sea, and constituting most striking +scenic features. About one-half the Cuban coast is bordered by keys, which +are largely old reef rock, the creations of the same coral-builders that +may now be seen through the transparent waters still at work on the modern +shallows, decking the rocks and sands with their graceful and many colored +tufts of animal foliage." + +Mr. Hill summarizes the general appearance of the island, thus: "Santiago +de Cuba (now called Oriente) is predominantly a mountainous region of high +relief, especially along the coasts, with many interior valleys. Puerto +Principe (now Camaguey) and Santa 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 +notable elevations of the island are the Cordilleras de los Organos, or +Organ Mountains, in Pinar del Rio, of which an eastward extension appears +in the Tetas de Managua, the Arcas de Canasi, the Escalera de Jaruco, +the Pan de Matanzas, and other minor elevations in Havana and Matanzas +Provinces. In Santa Clara and Camaguey, the range is represented by crest +lines and plateaus along the north shore, and finally runs into the hill +and mountain maze of Oriente. In the south-central section of the island, a +somewhat isolated group of elevations appears, culminating in El Potrerillo +at a height of nearly 3,000 feet. In Oriente, immediately along the south +coast line, is the precipitous Sierra Maestra, reaching its greatest +altitude in the Pico del Turquino, with an elevation of approximately +8,500 feet. Another elevation, near Santiago, known as La Gran Piedra, is +estimated at 5,200 feet. All these heights are densely wooded. From the +tops of some of them, east, west, and central, the views are marvellously +beautiful, but the summits of most are reached only with considerable +difficulty. One of the most notable of these view points, and one of the +most easily reached, is the height immediately behind the city of Matanzas, +overlooking the famous Yumuri valley. The valley is a broad, shallow bowl, +some five or six miles in diameter, enclosed by steeply sloping walls of +five to six hundred feet in height. Through it winds the Yumuri River. It +is best seen in the early forenoon, or the late afternoon, when there come +the shadows and the lights that are largely killed by the more vertical +rays of a midday sun. At those hours, it is a scene of entrancing +loveliness. There are views, elsewhere, covering wider expanses, but none, +I think, of equal beauty. + +The vicinity of Matanzas affords a spectacle of almost enchantment for the +sight-seer, and of deep interest for the geologist. Somewhat more than +fifty years ago, an accident revealed the beautiful caves of Bellamar, two +or three miles from the city, and easily reached by carriage. Caves ought +to be cool. These are not, but they are well worth all the perspiration it +costs to see them. They are a show place, and guides are always available. +In size, the caverns are not comparable with the caves of Kentucky and +Virginia, but they far excel in beauty. They are about three miles in +extent, and their lower levels are said to be about five hundred feet +from the surface. The rock is white limestone, in which are chambers and +passage-ways, stalactites and stalagmites innumerable. These have their +somewhat fantastic but not unfitting names, such as the Gothic Temple, the +Altar, the Guardian Spirit, the Fountain of Snow, and Columbus' Mantle. +The place has been called "a dream of fairyland," a fairly appropriate +description. The colors are snow-white, pink, and shades of yellow, and +many of the forms are wonderfully beautiful. There are many other caves in +the island, like Cotilla, in the Guines region not far from Havana, others +in the Cubitas Mountains in Camaguey Province, and still others in Oriente, +but in comparison with Bellamar they are little else than holes in the +ground. The trip through these remarkable aisles and chambers occupies some +three or four hours. + +Cuba is not big enough for rivers of size. There are innumerable streams, +for the island generally is well-watered. The only river of real importance +is the Cauto, in Oriente Province. This is the longest and the largest +river in the island. It rises in the hills north of Santiago, and winds a +devious way westward for about a hundred and fifty miles, emptying at last +into the Gulf of Buena Esperanza, north of the city of Manzanillo. It +is navigable for small boats, according to the stage of the water, from +seventy-five to a hundred miles from its mouth. Numerous smaller streams +flow to the coast on both north and south. Some, that are really estuaries, +are called rivers. Very few of them serve any commercial purposes. There +are a few water areas called lakes, but they are really little other than +ponds. On the south coast, directly opposite Matanzas, lies a vast swamp +known as the Cienega de Zapata. It occupies an area of about seventy-five +miles in length and about thirty miles in width, almost a dead flat, and +practically at sea-level. Here and there are open spaces of water or +clusters of trees, but most of it is bog and quagmire and dense mangrove +thickets. Along the coast are numerous harbors, large and small, that are +or, by dredging, could be made available for commercial purposes. Among +these, on the north coast, from west to east, are Bahia Honda, Mariel, +Havana, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Nipe Bay, and Baracoa. On the south, from east +to west, are Guantanamo, Santiago, Manzanillo, Cienfuegos, and Batabano. At +all of these, there are now cities or towns with trade either by steamers +or small sailing vessels. Among the interesting physical curiosities of +the island are the numerous "disappearing rivers." Doubtless the action +of water on limestone has left, in many places, underground chambers and +tunnels into which the streams have found an opening and in which they +disappear, perhaps to emerge again and perhaps to find their way to the sea +without reappearance. This seems to explain numerous fresh-water springs +among the keys and off-shore. The Rio San Antonio quite disappears near San +Antonio de los Banos. Near Guantanamo, a cascade drops three hundred feet +into a cavern and reappears a short distance away. Such disappearing rivers +are not unknown elsewhere but Cuba has several of them. + + * * * * * + +The Census Report of 1907, prepared under American auspices, states that +"the climate of Cuba is tropical and insular. There are no extremes of +heat, and there is no cold weather." This is quite true if the records of a +thermometer are the standard; quite untrue if measured by the sensations of +the human body. It is true that, in Havana, for instance, the thermometer +seldom exceeds 90° in the hottest months, and rarely if ever goes below 50° +in the coldest. But a day with the thermometer anywhere in the 80s may seem +to a northern body very hot, and a day with the thermometer in the 50s +is cold for anyone, whether a native or a visitor. There is doubtless a +physical reason for the fact that a hot day in the north seems hotter than +the same temperature in the south, while a day that seems, in the north, +only pleasantly cool, seems bitterly cold in the tropics. When the +thermometer drops below 60° in Havana, the coachmen blanket their horses, +the people put on all the clothes they have, and all visitors who are +at all sensitive to low temperature go about shivering. Steam heat and +furnaces are unknown, and fireplaces are a rarity. Yet, in general, the +variations are not wide, either from day to day or when measured by +seasons. The extremes are the infrequent exceptions. Nor is there wide +difference between day and night. Taking the island as a whole, the average +mean temperature for July, the hottest month, is about 82°, and for +January, the coolest month, about 71°. The mean for the year is about 77°, +as compared with 52° for New York, 48° for Chicago, 62° for Los Angeles, +and 68° for New Orleans. There are places that, by reason of exposure to +prevailing winds, or distance from the coast, are hotter or cooler than +other places. Havana is one of the cool spots, that is, relatively cool. +But no one goes there in search of cold. The yearly range in Havana, from +maximum to minimum, rarely if ever exceeds fifty degrees, and is usually +somewhat below that, while the range in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis +is usually from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five degrees. The +particular cause of discomfort for those unused to it, is the humidity that +prevails throughout the greater part of the year. The worst season for +this, however, is the mid-year months when few people visit the island. The +winter months, locally known as the "_invierno_," a term to be associated +with our word "vernal" and not with "infernal," are almost invariably +delightful, bringing to northern systems a pleasurable physical laziness +that is attended by a mental indifference to, or satisfaction with, the +sensation. + +[Illustration: WATERING HERD OF CATTLE _Luyano River near Havana_] + +The rainfall varies so widely in different parts of the island, and from +year to year, that exact information is difficult. Taken as a whole, it is +little if at all greater than it is in most places in the United States. We +have our arid spots, like El Paso, Fresno, Boise, Phoenix, and Winnemucca, +where only a few inches fall in a year, just as Cuba has a few places where +the fall may reach sixty-five or seventy inches in a year. But the average +fall in Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and Santiago, is little if any +greater than in Boston, New York, or Washington. A difference appears in +the fact that about three-quarters of Cuba's precipitation comes between +the first of May and the first of October. But the term "wet season" does +not mean that it rains all the time, or every day, any more than the term +"dry season" means that during those months it does not rain at all. At +times during the winter, or dry season, there come storms that are due to +unusual cold in the United States. These are known in Cuba, as they are in +Texas, as "northers." High winds sweep furiously across the Gulf of Mexico, +piling up huge seas on the Cuban coast, and bringing what, in the island, +is the substitute for cold weather, usually attended by rain and sometimes +by a torrent of it. The prevailing wind in Cuba is the northeast +trade-wind. In summer when the sun is directly overhead this wind is +nearly east, while in winter it is northeast. The proper way to avoid such +discomfort as attends humidity accompanying a thermometer in the 80s, is to +avoid haste in movement, to saunter instead of hurrying, to ride instead of +walking, to eat and drink in moderation, and where-ever possible, to keep +in the shade. Many of those who eat heartily and hurry always, will, +after a few days, be quite sure that they have yellow fever or some +other tropical disorder, but will be entirely mistaken about it. Modern +sanitation in Cuba has made yellow fever a remote possibility, and the +drinking water in Havana is as pure as any in the world. + +Most of the official descriptions of the flora of Cuba appear to be copied +from Robert T. Hill's book, published in 1898. As nothing better is +available, it may be used here. He says: "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 addition +to those introduced from abroad, over 3,350 native plants have been +catalogued. The flora includes nearly all characteristic forms of the +other West Indies, the southern part of Florida, and the Central American +seaboard. 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, occur, +while the pine trees, elsewhere characteristic of the temperate zone and +the high altitudes of the tropics, are found associated with palms and +mahoganies in the province of Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Pines, both +of which take their name from this tree. Among other woods are the +lignum-vitae, granadilla, the coco-wood, and the _Cedrela Odorata_ +(fragrant cedar) which is used for cigar boxes and the lining of cabinet +work." + +In quoting the number of native plants, Mr. Hill uses a report somewhat +antiquated. Later estimates place the number as between five and six +thousand. Flowers are abundant, flowers on vines, plants, shrubs, and +trees, tall stalks with massive heads, and dainty little blossoms by the +wayside. Brilliant flowering trees are planted to line the roadsides. Among +all the tree-growths, the royal palm is notable. Scoffers have likened it +to "a feather duster stood on end," but it is the prominent feature in most +of Cuba's landscape, and it serves many purposes other than that of mere +decoration. From its stem the Cuban peasant builds his little cottage which +he roofs with its leaves. Medicinal qualities are claimed for its roots. +From different parts of the tree, a wide variety of useful articles is +made, plates, buckets, basins, and even a kettle in which water may be +boiled. The huge clusters of seeds are excellent food for animals, and I +have heard it said, though without proper confirmation, that "a royal palm +will keep a hog." Almost invariably, its presence indicates a rich soil, as +it rarely grows in areas of poor land. The forest area of the island is not +known with exactness, and is variously estimated at from about six thousand +square miles to about sixteen thousand. The difference probably represents +the opinion of individual investigators as to what is forest. About +one-third of the total is reported as in Oriente, another third in +Camaguey, and the remainder scattered through the four remaining provinces. +A part of it is "public land," that is, owned by the central government, +but a greater part is of private ownership under old Spanish grants. Much +of it is dense jungle through which a way can be made only by hacking, +almost foot by foot. A good deal of it has already been cut over for its +most valuable timber. Most of the woods bear names entirely unfamiliar to +us. Some are used as cabinet woods, and some for tanning, for oils, dyes, +gums, or fibres. + +Cuba has few four-footed native wild animals. There are rabbits, but their +nativity is not quite certain. There are deer, but it is known that their +ancestors were brought from some other country. There are wild dogs, wild +cats, and wild pigs, but all are only domestic animals run wild. + +Perhaps the only animal of the kind known to be native is the _jutia_, +sometimes spelled, as pronounced, _hutia_. Some observers have referred to +it as a rat, but it climbs trees and grows to the size of a woodchuck, +or groundhog. It is sometimes eaten and is said to be quite palatable. +Reptiles are fairly common, but none of them is dangerous. The best known +is the _maja_, a snake that grows to a length, sometimes, of twelve or +fifteen feet. The country people not infrequently make of it a kind of +house pet. When that is done, the reptile often makes its home in the +cottage thatch, living on birds and mice. They are dull and sluggish in +motion. While visiting a sugar plantation a few years ago one of the hands +asked if I should be interested by their _maja_. He dipped his hand into a +nearby water-barrel in the bottom of which two of them were closely coiled. +He dragged out one of perhaps ten or twelve feet in length and four or five +inches in diameter, handling it as he would the same length of hawser. He +hung it over the limb of a tree so that I could have a good chance for +a picture of it. The thing squirmed slowly to the ground and crawled +sluggishly away to the place from which it had been taken. Of bird-life +there is a large representation, both native and migratory. Among them +are some fifty species of "waders." In some parts of the island, the very +unpleasant land-crab, about the size of a soup-plate, seems to exist in +millions, although thousands is probably nearer the actual. The American +soldiers made their acquaintance in large numbers at the time of the +Santiago campaign. They are not a proper article of food. They have a +salt-water relative that is most excellent eating, as is also the lobster +_(langosta)_ of Cuban waters. In the swamp known as the Cienega de Zapata +are both alligators and crocodiles, some of them of quite imposing +dimensions. + +[Illustration: ROYAL PALMS] + +The insect life of the island is extensive. From personal experience, +particularly behind the search-light of an automobile that drew them +in swarms, I, should say that the island would be a rich field for the +entomologist. There are mosquitos, gnats, beetles, moths, butterflies, +spiders, and scorpions. The bites of some of the spiders and the stings of +the scorpions are, of course, uncomfortable, but they are neither fatal nor +dangerous. With the exception of an occasional mosquito, and a perhaps more +than occasional flea, the visitor to cities only is likely to encounter +few of the members of these branches of Cuban zoology. There is one of +the beetle family, however, that is extremely interesting. That is +the _cucullo_, which Mr. Hazard, in his book on Cuba, calls a "bright +peripatetic candle-bearer, by whose brilliant light one can not only walk, +but even read." They are really a kind of glorified firefly, much larger +than ours, and with a much more brilliant light. I do not know their +candle-power, but Mr. Hazard exaggerates little if at all in the matter of +their brilliancy. + +While those referred to in the foregoing are the most notable features +in this particular part of the Cuban field, there are others, though of +perhaps less importance, to which reference might be made. Among them would +be the sponge fisheries of the coast in the neighborhood of Batabano, +and the numerous mineral springs, some of them really having, and others +supposed to have, remarkable curative qualities. A half century or so ago, +a number of places not far from Havana were resorts to which rich and +poor went to drink or to bathe in springs hot or cold or sulphurous or +otherwise, for their healing. Among these were the baths at San Diego, near +the Organ Mountains in Pinar del Rio; Santa Rita, near Guanabacoa in Havana +Province; others near Marianao, on the outskirts of the city; and San +Antonio, also in Havana Province. Most of these places now appear to have +lost their popularity if not their medicinal virtues. Some, like those +at Madruga, not far from Havana, still have a considerable patronage. +Something may also be said of earthquakes and hurricanes. The former +occur, on a small scale, more or less frequently in Oriente, and much less +frequently and of less severity in Havana. The latter come from time +to time to work disaster to Cuban industries and, sometimes but not +frequently, to cause loss of life and the destruction of buildings. They +rarely occur except in the late summer and the autumn. + +Nearly a hundred years ago, Alexander Humboldt, a traveller and a +scientist, wrote thus of the island of Cuba: "Notwithstanding the absence +of deep rivers and the unequal fertility of the soil, the island of Cuba +presents on every hand a most varied and agreeable country from its +undulating character, its ever-springing verdure, and the variety of its +vegetable formations." + + + + +IV + +_THE OLD HAVANA_ + + +Among the many pictures, stored away in the album of my memory, there are +two that stand out more vividly than any others. The subjects are separated +by half the world's circumference. One is the sunsets at Jolo, in the +southern Philippines. There the sun sank into the western sea in a blaze +of cloud-glory, between the low-lying islands on either hand with the rich +green of their foliage turned to purple shadows. The other is the sunrise +at Havana, seen from the deck of a steamer in the harbor. The long, soft +shadows and the mellow light fell on the blue and gray and green of the +buildings of the city, and on the red-tiled roofs, with the hills for a +background in one-half of the picture, and the gleaming water of the gulf +in the background of the other half. I had seen the long stretch of the +southern coast of the island, from Cape Antonio to Cape Maisi, while on an +excursion with a part of the army of occupation sent to Porto Rico in the +summer of 1898, and had set foot on Cuban soil at Daiquiri, but Havana in +the morning light, on January 2, 1899, was my first real Cuban experience. +It remains an ineffaceable memory. Of my surroundings and experiences aside +from that, I have no distinct recollection. All was submerged by that one +picture, and quickly buried by the activities into which I was immediately +plunged. I do not recall the length of time we were held on board for +medical inspection, nor whether the customs inspection was on board or +ashore. I recall the trip from the ship to the wharf, in one of the little +sailboats then used for the purpose, rather because of later experiences +than because of the first one. I have no purpose here to write a history +of those busy days, filled as they were with absorbing interest, with much +that was pathetic and not a little that was amusing. I have seen that +morning picture many times since, but never less beautiful, never less +impressive. Nowadays, it is lost to most travellers because the crossing +from Key West is made in the daytime, the boat reaching Havana in the +late-afternoon. Sometimes there is a partial compensation in the sunset +picture, but I have never seen that when it really rivalled the picture at +the beginning of the day. + +The visitor to Cuba, unfamiliar with the island, should take it leisurely. +It is not a place through which the tourist may rush, guide book in hand, +making snapshots with a camera, and checking off places of interest as they +are visited. Picturesqueness and quaintness are not at all lacking, but +there are no noble cathedrals, no vast museums of art and antiquity, no +snow-clad mountains. There is a charm of light and shade and color that +is to be absorbed slowly rather than swallowed at a single gulp. It is +emphatically a place in which to dawdle. Let those who are obliged to do +so, work and hurry; the visitor and the traveller should take it without +haste. It is far better to see Havana and its vicinity slowly and +enjoyably, and look at pictures of the rest of the country, than it is to +rush through the island merely for the sake of doing so. In his essay on +_The Moral of Landscape_, Mr. Ruskin said that "all travelling becomes dull +in exact proportion to its rapidity." Nowhere is that more true than it +is in Cuba. There is very little in all the island that cannot be seen in +Havana and its immediate vicinity. It is well to see the other places if +one has ample time, but they should not be seen at the expense of a proper +enjoyment of Havana and its neighborhood. In Havana are buildings as old +and buildings as beautiful as any in the island. In its vicinity are sugar +plantations, tobacco fields, pineapples, cocoanuts, mangoes, royal palms, +ceibas, peasants' homes, typical towns and villages, all the life of the +people in the city and country. The common American desire to "see it all" +in a few days, is fatal to the greatest enjoyment, and productive mainly +of physical fatigue and mental confusion. It is the misfortune of most +travellers that they carry with them only the vaguest of ideas of what they +want to see. They have heard of Cuba, of Havana, the Morro, the Prado, of a +sunny island in the midst of a sapphire sea. While it is true that almost +everything in Cuba is worth seeing, it is best to acquire, before going, +some idea of the exhibition. That saves time and many steps. The old city +wall, La Fuerza, and La Punta, are mere piles of masonry, more or less dull +and uninteresting unless one knows something of their history. The manners +and customs of any country become increasingly interesting if one knows +something about them, the reason for them. + +It is only a short trip to the Castillo del Principe, the fortress that +crowns the hill to the west of the city. From that height, the city and the +harbor are seen below, to the eastward. Across the bay, on the heights at +the entrance, are the frowning walls of Morro Castle surmounted by the +towering light-house, and the no less grim walls of La Cabaña. The +bay itself is a sprawling, shapeless body of water with a narrow neck +connecting it with the Florida Straits. Into the western side of the bay +the city thrusts itself in a shape that, on a large map, suggests more than +anything else the head and neck of an over-fed bulldog. Into this bay, in +1508, came Sebastian Ocampo, said to be the first white man to visit the +spot. He entered for the purpose of careening his little vessels in order +to remove the barnacles and accumulated weed-growth. It is possible that +the spot was discovered earlier, but there is no record of the discovery +if such was made. Ocampo gave it the name of Puerto de Carenas. The next +record is of its occupation, in 1519. Four years earlier, Diego Velasquez +had left a little colony near what is now called Batabano, on the south +coast. He gave the place the name of San Cristobal de la Habana, in memory +of the illustrious navigator and discoverer. Habana, or Havana, is a term +of aboriginal origin. It proved to be an uncomfortable place of residence, +and in 1519 the people moved across the island to the Puerto de Carenas, +taking with them the name given to the earlier settlement, and substituting +it for the name given by Ocampo. After a time, all was dropped except the +present title, Habana, or more commonly by English-speaking people, Havana. +It was not much of a place for a number of years, but in 1538 it was sacked +and burned by a French pirate, one of the many, of different nations, who +carried on a very lively buccaneering business in those and in later years +in West Indian waters. Hernando de Soto was then governor of the island, +with headquarters at the then capital city, Santiago de Cuba. He proceeded +at once to the scene of destruction. On his arrival, he ordered the +erection of a fortress. Some of the work then done still remains in the +old structure near the Palace, at the foot of Calle O'Reilly, known as La +Fuerza. A few years before this time, Hernan Cortes had conquered Mexico, +then called New Spain, and a business between Old Spain and New Spain soon +developed. The harbor of Havana made a convenient halting-place on the +voyages between the two, and the settlement assumed a steadily increasing +importance. A new governor, Gonzales Perez de Angulo, who arrived in 1549, +decided to make it his place of residence. The year 1552 is generally given +as the time of the creation of Havana as the capital city. It was at that +time made the residence city of the Governors, by their own choice, but +it was not officially established as the capital until 1589. The fortress +erected by order of de Soto proved somewhat ineffective. In 1554, another +French marauder attacked and destroyed the town. The principal industry of +those early days was cattle-raising, a considerable market being developed +for export to Mexico, and for the supply of vessels that entered the harbor +for food and water. + +The continuance of incursions by pirates made necessary some further +provision for the defence of the city. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged and +strengthened, and the construction of Morro Castle was begun. To this +work was added La Punta, the little fortress on the western shore of +the entrance, at the point of the angle now formed by the Prado and the +Malecon. These ancient structures, of practically no value whatever in +modern warfare, are now among the most picturesque points of interest in +the neighborhood. Another, in the same class, of which only a little now +remains, is of a later time. This is the old city wall, the construction +of which was begun in 1671. Following the simile of the bull-dog's head, +a tract of land, formerly known as the Arsenal yard, and now the central +railway station, lies tucked away immediately under the animal's jaw. From +there to a point on the north shore, near La Punta, in a slightly curving +line, a high wall was erected for the purpose of defence on the western +or landward side. The old city lay entirely in the area defined by this +western wall and the shore of the harbor. At intervals, gates afforded exit +to the country beyond, heavy gates that could be closed to exclude any +possible attacking party. The fortifications erected from time to time were +supposed to afford a system of effective defence for the city. They are now +little else than picturesque features in the landscape, points of interest +for visitors. Taking the chain in its order, El Morro stands on the point +on the eastern side of the entrance to the harbor. Just beyond it is La +Cabaña. About a half a mile to the east of this was the stone fort on the +hill of San Diego. Three miles east of the Morro, on the shore at Cojimar, +is a small and somewhat ancient fortification. This group constituted the +defence system on the east. At the head of the bay, on an elevation a +little to the south of the city, stands El Castillo de Atares, begun in +1763, immediately after the capture and occupation of the city by the +British. This is supposed to protect the city on the south, as Castillo del +Principe is supposed to defend it on the west. This stands on a hill on +the western outskirts, a somewhat extensive structure, begun in 1774 and +completed about twenty years later. A little further to the west, at the +mouth of the Almendares river, stands a little fort, or tower, called +Chorrera, serving as a western outpost as Cojimar serves as an eastern +outpost. Both were erected about the year 1650. On the shore generally +north of Principe was the Santa Clara battery, and between that and La +Punta, at the foot of the Calzada de Belascoain, stood the Queen's battery. +From any modern point of view, the system is little more than military +junk, better fitted for its present use as barracks, asylums, and prisons +than for military defence. But it is all highly picturesque. + +In the beginning, most of the buildings of the city were doubtless of wood, +with palm-thatched roofs. In time, these gave place to rows of abutting +stone buildings with tiled roofs. Most of them were of one story, some were +of two stories, and a few "palaces" had three. The city within the wall +is today very much as it was a century and more ago. Its streets run, +generally but not accurately, at right angles, one set almost due east and +west, from the harbor front to the line of the old wall, and the other set +runs southward from the shore of the entrance channel to the shore of the +inner harbor. Several of these streets are practically continuous +from north to south or from east to west. But most of them are rather +passage-ways than streets. The houses come to their very edges, except +for a narrow strip hardly to be classed as a sidewalk, originally left, +presumably, only for the purpose of preventing the scraping of the front of +the building by the wheels of passing carts and carriages. It is a somewhat +inconvenient system nowadays, but one gets quite used to it after a little, +threads the narrow walk a part of his way, takes to the street the rest +of the way, and steps aside to avoid passing vehicles quite as did the +carriageless in the old days. One excellent way to avoid the trouble is to +take a carriage and let the other fellow step aside. Riding in the _coche_ +is still one of the cheapest forms of convenience and entertainment in the +city, excepting the afternoon drive around the Prado and the Malecon. That +is not cheap. We used to pay a dollar an hour. My last experience cost me +three times that. + +[Illustration: CUSTOM HOUSE, HAVANA _Formerly Franciscan Convent Begun_ +1574, _finished_ 1591] + +Much of the old city is now devoted to business purposes, wholesale, +retail, and professional. But there are also residences, old churches, and +old public buildings. On the immediate water-front, and for many years used +as the custom house, stands the old Franciscan convent, erected during the +last quarter of the 16th Century. It is a somewhat imposing pile, dominated +by a high tower. I have not visited it for a number of years and do not +know if its interior is available for visitors without some special +introduction, but there is much worth seeing inside its walls, the flying +buttresses of the super-structure, some old and interesting frescoes, and +a system of dome construction that is quite remarkable. To the latter, my +attention was first called by General Ludlow, a distinguished engineer +officer of the United States Army, then acting as governor of the city. To +him belongs, although it is very rarely given, the credit for the cleansing +of Havana during the First Intervention. He frequently visited the old +convent just to see and study that interior dome construction. Immediately +behind the Palace is the old convent of the Dominicans, less imposing but +of about the same period as the Franciscan structure. It is now used as +a high-school building. The Cathedral, a block to the northward of the +Dominican convent building, is of a much later date, having been begun as +recently as 1742. It was originally the convent of the Jesuits, but became +the Cathedral in 1789. Many have believed, on what seems to be acceptable +evidence, that here for more than a hundred years rested the bones of +Christopher Columbus. He died in Valladolid in 1506, and was buried there. +His remains were removed to the Carthusian Monastery, in Seville, in 1513. +From there they are said to have been taken, in 1536, to the city of Santo +Domingo, where they remained until 1796, when they were brought to Havana +and placed in a niche in the walls of the old Cathedral, there to remain +until they were taken back to Spain in 1898. There is still an active +dispute as to whether the bones removed from Santo Domingo to Havana were +or were not those of Columbus. At all events, the urn supposed to contain +them was in this building for a hundred years, below a marble slab showing +a carving of the voyager holding a globe, with a finger pointing to the +Caribbean. Beneath this was a legend that has been thus translated: + + OH! REST THOU, IMAGE OF THE GREAT COLON, + THOUSAND CENTURIES REMAIN, GUARDED IN THE URN, + AND IN THE REMEMBRANCE OF OUR NATION. + +In this neighborhood, to the east of the Plaza de Armas, on which the +Palace fronts, is a structure known as _El Templete_. It has the appearance +of the portico of an unfinished building, but it is a finished memorial, +erected in 1828. The tradition is that on this spot there stood, in 1519, +an old ceiba tree under which the newly arrived settlers celebrated their +first mass. The yellow Palace, for many years the official headquarters and +the residence of successive Governors-General, stands opposite, and speaks +for itself. In this building, somewhat devoid of architectural merit, much +of Cuba's history, for the last three-quarters of a century, has been +written. The best time to see all this and much more that is to be seen, +is the early morning, before the wheels begin to go around. The lights and +shadows are then the best, and the streets are quieter and less crowded. +The different points of interest are easily located by the various guide +books obtainable, and the distances are not great. A cup of _cafe con +leche_ should precede the excursion. If one feels lazy, as one is quite +apt to feel in the tropics and the sub-tropics, fairly comfortable open +carriages are at all times available. With them, of course, a greater +area can be covered and more places seen, though perhaps seen less +satisfactorily. There is much to be seen in the early morning that is best +seen in those hours, and much that is not seen later in the day. In all +cities there is an early morning life and Havana is no exception. I confess +to only a limited personal knowledge of it, but I have seen enough of it, +and heard enough about it, to know that the waking-up of cities, including +Havana, is an interesting process. I have, at least, had enough personal +experience to be sure that the early morning air is delicious, the best of +the day. I am not speaking of the unholy hours preceding daybreak, but +of six to eight o'clock, which for those of us who are inclined to long +evenings is also the best time to be in bed. The early morning church bells +are a disturbance to which visitors do not readily adjust their morning +naps. Mr. Samuel Hazard, who visited Cuba about the year 1870, and wrote +quite entertainingly about it, left the following description of his +experience in Havana: + +"Hardly has the day begun to break when the newly arrived traveller is +startled from his delightful morning doze by the alarming sound of bells +ringing from every part of the town. Without any particular concert of +action, and with very different sounds, they ring out on the still morning +air, as though for a general conflagration, and the unfortunate traveller +rushes frantically from his bed to inquire if there is any hope of safety +from the flames which he imagines, from the noise made, must threaten the +whole town. Imagine, O reader! in thy native town, every square with its +church, every church with its tower, or maybe two or three of them, and +in each particular tower a half-dozen large bells, no two of which sound +alike; place the bell-ropes in the hands of some frantic man who pulls +away, first with one hand and then the other, and you will get a very faint +idea of your first awakening in Havana. Without apparent rhyme or reason, +ding, dong, ding they go, every bell-ringer at each different church +striving to see how much noise he can make, under the plea of bringing the +faithful to their prayers at the early morning mass." + +[Illustration: BALCONIES IN OLD HAVANA STREET IN HAVANA] + +The only conceivable advantage of these early bells is the fact that they +turn out many a traveller at the hour when Havana is really at its best. +Yet, as I read the descriptive tales left by those who wrote forty, fifty, +and sixty years ago, I am struck by the fact, that, after all, the old +Havana has changed but little. There are trolley lines, electric lights, +and a few other so-called modern improvements, but there is still much of +the old custom, the old atmosphere. The old wall, with its soldier-guarded +gates, is gone, and there are a few modern buildings, but only a few, for +which fact I always feel thankful, but the old city is much what it was +when Mr. Ballou, and Mr. Dana, and Mr. Kimball, and numerous others wrote +about it soon after 1850, and when Mr. Hazard wrote about it in 1870. The +automobile is there now in large numbers, in place of the old volante, and +there are asphalted streets in place of cobble-stones. The band plays in +the evening in the Parque Central or at the Glorieta, instead of in the +Plaza de Armas, but the band plays. The restaurants are still a prominent +feature in Havana life, as they were then. The ladies wear hats instead +of _mantillas_, but they buy hats on Calle Obispo just as and where their +mothers and grandmothers bought _mantillas_. Bull-fighting is gone, +presumably forever, but crowds flock to the baseball grounds. The midday +suspension of business continues, generally, and the afternoon parade, on +foot and in carriages, remains one of the important functions of the day. +There are many who know Havana, and love it, who pray diligently that it +may be many years before the city is Americanized as, for instance, New +Orleans has been. + +Most of the life of the city, as it is seen by most visitors, is outside +the old city, and probably few know that any distinction is made, yet the +line is drawn with fair clearness. There is a different appearance in both +streets and buildings. While there are shops on San Rafael and Galiano and +elsewhere, the principal shopping district is in the old city, with Calle +Obispo as its centre. They have tried officially, to change the name of the +street, but the old familiar name sticks and seems likely to stick for a +long time yet. Far be it from a mere man to attempt analysis or description +of such a place. He might tell another mere man where to buy a hat, a pair +of shoes, or eyeglasses, or a necktie, or where to find a lawyer, but the +finer points of shopping, there or elsewhere, are not properly for any +masculine description. The ladies may be trusted to learn for themselves, +and very quickly, all that they need or want to know about that phase of +Havana's commerce. I am leaving much to the guide books that can afford +space for all necessary information about churches, statues, and other +objects of interest for visitors. Havana's retail merchants have their own +way of trading, much as they do in many foreign countries, and in not a few +stores in our own country. Prices are usually a question of the customer's +ability to match the commercial shrewdness of the dealer. Much of the trade +of visitors is now confined to the purchase of such articles as may be +immediately needed and to a few souvenirs. One of the charms of the place +is the cheap transportation. If you are tired, or in a hurry, there is +always a coach near at hand that will take you where you wish to go, for a +peseta, or a quarter, if within certain officially prescribed bounds. If +you desire to go beyond those bounds, make a bargain with your driver or +be prepared for trouble. Down in the old city are to be found several +restaurants that are well worth visiting, for those who want good food. I +shall not advertise the particular places, but they are well known. As the +early morning is the best time to see the old city, the forenoon is the +best time for shopping. Such an expedition may well be followed by the +_almuerzo_, the midday breakfast or lunch, whichever one sees fit to call +it, at one of these restaurants. After that, it is well to enjoy a midday +_siesta_, in preparation for the afternoon function on the Prado and the +Malecon. + + + + +V + +THE NEW HAVANA + + +The new Havana, the city outside the old wall, is about as old as Chicago +but not nearly as tall. There is no reason why it should be. Here are wide +streets and broad avenues, and real sidewalks, some of them about as wide +as the entire street in the old city. About 1830, the region beyond the +wall was held largely by Spaniards to whom grants of land had been made +for one reason or another. These tracts were plantations, pastures, or +unimproved lands, according to the fancy of the proprietor who usually +lived in the city and enjoyed himself after the manner of his kind. Here +and there, a straggling village of palm-leaf huts sprang up. The roads were +rough tracks. To Governor-General Tacon seems due much of the credit for +the improvement beyond the walls. During his somewhat iron-handed rule +several notable buildings were erected, some of them by his authority. +The most notable feature of the district is the renowned Prado, a broad +boulevard with a park between two drive-ways, running from the water-front, +at the entrance to the harbor, southward for about a mile. A few years ago, +rows of trees shaded the central parkway, but they were almost entirely +wrecked by the hurricanes in 1906 and 1910. + +A half mile or so from its northern end, the Prado runs along the west side +of the Parque Central, the most notable of the numerous little squares of +walks and trees and flowers. A block or two further on is a little park +with an excellent statue, known as La India. Opposite that is another +really beautiful park, from the western side of which runs a broad street +that leads to the Paseo de Carlos Tercero, formerly the Paseo de Tacon, one +of the monuments left to his own memory by one of Cuba's most noted Spanish +rulers. The Paseo runs westward to El Castillo del Principe, originally a +fortress but now a penitentiary. The Prado stops just beyond the companion +parks, La India and Colon. These originally formed the Campo de Marte, laid +out by General Tacon and, in his time, used as a military parade ground. +In a way, the Parque Central is the centre of the city. It is almost that, +geographically, and perhaps quite that, socially. In its immediate vicinity +are some of the leading hotels and the principal theatres. One of the +latter, facing the park on its western side, across the Prado, is now known +as the Nacional. Formerly it was the Tacon, a monument to that notable man. +There is quite a story about that structure. It is somewhat too long for +inclusion here, but it seems worth telling. The following is an abridgment +of the tale as it is told in Mr. Ballou's _History of Cuba_, published in +1854. Tacon was the Governor of the island from 1834 to 1838. At that time, +a certain man named Marti was eminent in the smuggling and piracy business, +an industry in which many others were engaged. But Marti seems to have +stood at the top of his profession, a man of skill and daring and evidently +well supplied with brains. Tacon's efforts to capture him, or to break up +his business, were entirely unsuccessful, and a large reward was offered +for his body, alive or dead. Mr. Ballou tells the story in somewhat +dramatic manner: + +"It was a dark, cloudy night in Havana, a few months after the announcement +of the reward, when two sentinels were pacing backward and forward before +the main entrance to the Governor's palace. A little before midnight, a man +was watching them from behind a statue in the park, and after observing +that the sentinels paced their brief walk so as to meet each other, and +then turned their backs as they separated, leaving a brief moment in the +interval when the eyes of both were turned away from the entrance, seemed +to calculate upon passing them unobserved. It was an exceedingly delicate +manoeuvre, and required great care and dexterity to effect it; but, at +last, it was adroitly done, and the stranger sprang lightly through the +entrance, secreting himself behind one of the pillars of the inner court. +The sentinels paced on undisturbed. The figure which had thus stealthily +effected an entrance, now sought the broad stairs that led to the +Governor's suite, with a confidence that evinced a perfect knowledge of the +place. A second guard-post was to be passed at the head of the stairs; but, +assuming an air of authority, the stranger offered a cold military salute +and passed forward, as though there was not the most distant question of +his right to do so; and thus avoiding all suspicion in the guard's mind, he +boldly entered the Governor's reception room unchallenged, and closed the +door behind him." + +In his office, alone, the stranger found Tacon, who was naturally surprised +at the appearance of an unannounced caller. He demanded to know who the +visitor was, but a direct answer was evaded. After referring to the matter +of the reward offered for the discovery of Marti, and the pledge of +immunity to the discoverer, the caller demanded and obtained a verbal +endorsement of the promise of immunity, under the Governor's word of honor, +whatever might be the circumstances of his revelation. He then announced +himself as the much-sought pirate and smuggler, Marti. Tacon was somewhat +astounded, but he kept his word. Marti was held overnight, but "on the +following day," the Ballou account proceeds, "one of the men-of-war that +lay idly beneath the guns of Morro Castle suddenly became the scene of the +utmost activity, and, before noon, had weighed her anchor, and was standing +out into the gulf stream. Marti the smuggler was on board as her pilot; +and faithfully did he guide the ship on the discharge of his treacherous +business, revealing every haunt of the rovers, exposing their most valuable +depots; and many a smuggling craft was taken and destroyed. The amount of +money and property thus secured was very great." The contemptible job +of betraying his former companions and followers being successfully +accomplished, Marti returned with the ships, and claimed his reward from +Tacon. The General, according to his word of honor, gave Marti a full +and unconditional pardon for all his past offences, and an order on the +treasury for the amount of the reward offered. The latter was declined but, +in lieu of the sum, Marti asked for and obtained a monopoly of the right +to sell fish in Havana. He offered to build, at his own expense, a public +market of stone, that should, after a specified term of years, revert to +the government, "with all right and the title to the fishery." This +struck Tacon as a good business proposition; he saved to his treasury +the important sum of the reward and, after a time, the city would own a +valuable fish-market. He agreed to the plan. Marti thereupon went into +the fish business, made huge profits, and became, so the story goes, the +richest man in the island. After a time, being burdened with wealth, he +looked about for means of increasing his income. So he asked for and +obtained a monopoly of the theatre business in Havana, promising to build +one of the largest and finest theatres in the world. The result of the +enterprise was the present Nacional theatre, for many years regarded as +second only to the Grand theatre in Milan. But it was named the Tacon. Its +special attraction was internal; its exterior was far from imposing. It has +recently been considerably glorified. Having thus halted for the story of +the theatre, we may return to the Prado on which it fronts. Here, Havana +society used to gather every afternoon to drive, walk, and talk. The +afternoon _paseo_ was and still is the great event of the day, the great +social function of the city. At the time of my first visit, in 1899, there +was no Malecon drive along the shore to the westward. That enterprise +was begun during the First Intervention, and continued by succeeding +administrations. In the earlier days, the route for driving was down the +east side of the Prado, between the Parque Central and the _Carcel_, and +up the west side, around and around, up and down, with bows and smiles to +acquaintances met or passed, and, probably, gossip about the strangers. +Many horsemen appeared in the procession, and the central promenade was +thronged with those who walked, either because they preferred to or because +they could not afford to ride around and around. In the Parque Central were +other walkers, chatting groups, and lookers-on. Some days the band played. +Then the Prado was extended to the water-front; the _glorieta_ was erected; +and that became another centre for chatterers and watchers. The building of +the Malecon extended the range of the driveway. This afternoon function is +an old established institution and a good one. It may not compare favorably +with the drive in some of our parks in this country, but it is the best +substitute possible in Havana. Indulgence in ices, cooling drinks, +chocolate, or other refections, during this daily ceremony, is fairly +common but by no means a general practice. The afternoon tea habit has not +yet seized upon Havana. The ices are almost invariably excellent. Some of +them are prepared from native fruit flavors that are quite unknown here. +The _guanabana_ ice is particularly to be recommended. All such matters are +quite individual, but a decoction called _chocolate Espanol_ is also to be +recommended. It is served hot, too thick to drink, and is to be taken with +a spoon, to the accompaniment of cake. It is highly nourishing as well as +palatable. There is a wide variety of "soft drinks," made with oranges, +limes, or other fruits, and the _orchata_, made from almonds, and the +products of American soda fountains, but there is little use of the +high-ball or the cocktail except by Americans. + +[Illustration: STREET AND CHURCH OF THE ANGELS _Havana_] + +The Cubans are an exceedingly temperate people. Wine is used by all +classes, and _aguadiente_, the native rum, is consumed in considerable +quantity, but the Cuban rarely drinks to excess. I recall an experience +during the earlier years. I was asked to write a series of articles on the +use of intoxicants in the island, for a temperance publication in this +country. My first article so offended the publishers that they declined +to print it, and cancelled the order for the rest of the series. It was +perhaps somewhat improper, but in that article I summed up the situation +by stating that "the temperance question in Cuba is only a question of how +soon we succeed in converting them into a nation of drunkards." Beer is +used, both imported and of local manufacture. Gin, brandy, and anisette, +cordials and liqueurs are all used to some but moderate extent, but +intoxication is quite rare. One fluid extract I particularly recommend, +that is the milk of the cocoanut, the green nut. Much, however, depends +upon the cocoanut. Properly ripened, the "milk" is delicious, cooling and +wholesome, more so perhaps on a country journey than in the city. The nut +not fully ripened gives the milk, or what is locally called the "water," an +unpleasant, woody taste. I have experimented with it in different parts of +the world, in the Philippines, Ceylon, and elsewhere, and have found it +wholesome and refreshing in all places. + +The houses in the new Havana are, on the whole, vastly more cheerful +than are the dwellings in the old city. They are of the same general +architectural type, but because of the wider streets, more air and sunshine +gets into them. Some of the best and most costly are along the Prado. +A Cuban house interior generally impresses an American as lacking in +home-like quality. Some of the best are richly adorned, but there is a +certain bareness and an absence of color. As is usual with customs unlike +our own, and which we are therefore prone to regard as inferior to ours, +there are excellent reasons for Cuban interior decoration, or rather the +lack of it. A little experience, or even a little reflection, shows clearly +the impossibility of anything resembling American house decoration in +such a climate as that of Cuba. Our warm colors, hangings, upholstered +furniture, rugs, and much else that we regard as essential in northern +latitudes, would be utterly unendurable in Cuba. There, the marble or tiled +floors, the cool tones of wall and ceiling, and the furniture of wood and +cane, are not only altogether fitting but as well altogether necessary. Our +glass windows would only serve to increase heat and shut out air. As some +barrier is necessary to keep passers, even Americans, from intrusive +entrance by the windows whose bottoms are at floor level, the system of +iron bars or elaborate grille work is adopted. Few Americans see much, if +anything, of Cuban home life except as they see it through these barriers +as they pass. It is not the custom of the country to invite promiscuous or +casual acquaintances to call. It is even less the custom there than it is +with us. A book about Cuba, published a few years ago, gives a somewhat +extended account of what is called "home life," but it is the home life of +workmen and people who do laundry work to eke out a meagre living. It is +not even the life of fairly paid artisans, or of people of modest but +comfortable income. It is no more a proper description of the domestic life +of the island than would be a presentation of the life in the palaces of +the wealthy. Such attempts at description are almost invariably a mistake, +conveying, whether from purpose or from indifference to truth, a false +impression. Domestic economy and household management vary in Cuba as +they vary in the United States, in France, England, Japan, or Mexico. The +selection of an individual home, or of several, as a basis for description, +in Cuba or anywhere else, can only result in a picture badly out of drawing +and quite misleading. + +There are Cuban homes, as there are American homes, that are slatternly and +badly managed, and there are Cuban homes that are as spick and span and as +orderly in their administration as any home in this country. Their customs, +as are ours, are the result of environment and tradition. To some of us, a +rectangle of six or eight rocking-chairs, placed in the centre of a room, +in which family and visitors sit and rock while they talk, may seem +curious, but it is a custom that we may not criticize either with fairness +or common decency. The same may be said of the not uncommon custom of using +a part of the street floor of the house as a stable. It is an old custom, +brought from Spain. But I have wandered from description to incident. I +have no intention to attempt a description of Cuban home life, beyond +saying that I have been a guest in costly homes in the city and in the +little palm-leaf "shacks" of peasants, and have invariably found in both, +and in the homes of intermediate classes, only cordial hospitality and +gracious courtesy. Those who have found anything different have carried it +with them in their own attitude toward their hosts. Many of us, probably +most of us, in the United States, make a sort of fetich of the privacy of +what we call our home life. We are encased in walls of wood or masonry, +with blinds, curtains, or shades at our windows. It might be supposed that +we wanted to hide, that there was something of which to be ashamed. It +might at least be so interpreted by one unfamiliar with our ways. It is +only, like the open domestic life in Cuba, a custom, a habit of long +standing. Certainly, much of the domestic life of Cuba is open. The +mistress of the house chides a servant, rebukes or comforts a child, sits +with her embroidery, chaffers with an itinerant merchant or with the +clerk from a store, all in plain sight and hearing of the passer-by. What +everyone does, no one notices. The customs of any country are curious only +to those from other countries where customs are different. Our ways of life +are quite as curious to others as are their ways to us. We are quite +blind to that fact chiefly because of an absurd conviction of the +immense superiority of our ways. We do not stop to consider reasons for +differences. A cup of coffee on an American breakfast table usually +consists of about four parts coffee and one part milk or cream. Most Cubans +usually reverse these percentages. There is a good reason for it. In +our climate, we do not need the large open doors and windows, the high +ceilings, and the full and free ventilation that make life endurable +in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Their system here would be as +impossible as would be our system there. Houses in Cuba like those of an +American city or town would make life a miserable burden. The publicity, or +semi-publicity, of Cuban home life is a necessary result of conditions. +It is, naturally, more in evidence in the city proper, where the houses, +abutting immediately on the street, as do most of our city houses, are +built, as ours are, in solid rows. We avoid a good deal of publicity by +piling our homes on top of each other, and by elevators and stair-climbing. + +The location of a residence in Havana gives no special idea of the wealth +or the social standing of those who occupy it. Not a few well-to-do people +still live in the old city, where the streets are narrow and where business +is trying to crowd out everything except itself. The home in that quarter +may be in a block in which a number of buildings are residences, or it +may stand with a warehouse on one side and a workshop on the other. A few +people, of unquestionable social position still live in buildings in which +the street floor is a store or an office. There is nothing curious about +this. In many American cities, old families have clung to old homes, and +not a few new families have, from one reason or another, occupied similar +quarters. Such a residence may not conform to modern social ideas and +standards, but there are Americans in this country, as well as Cubans and +Spaniards in Havana, who can afford to ignore those standards. The same is +true of many who live in the newer city, outside the old walls. There as +here, business encroaches on many streets formerly strictly residential. +This holds in the newer part of the city as well as in the old part. A +number of streets there are, for a part of their length, quite given over +to business. Even the Prado itself is the victim of commercial invasion. +What was once one of the finest residences in the city, the old Aldama +place fronting on the Campo de Marte, is now a cigar factory. A little +beyond it is the Tacon market, occupying an entire block. Stores and shops +surround it. The old avenue leading to the once fashionable Cerro, and +to the only less fashionable Jesus del Monte, is now a business street. +Another business street leads out of the Parque Central, alongside the +former Tacon theatre. The broad Calzada de Galiano, once a fashionable +residence street, is now largely commercial. While less picturesque than +some parts of the old city within the walls, the most attractive part of +Havana is undoubtedly the section of El Vedado, the westward extension +along the shore. Here are broad streets, trees, gardens, and many beautiful +and costly dwellings. This is really the modern Havana. A part of it is +only a little above sea-level, and behind that strip is a hill. A few years +ago, only a small number of houses were on the hillside or the hilltop. +Now, it is well built over with modern houses. The architectural type is +generally retained, and it is rather a pity that there should be even +what variation there is. El Vedado is the region of the wealthy and the +well-to-do, with a large percentage of foreigners. It has its social ways, +very much as other places have, in this country, in France, Hong Kong, or +Honolulu. They are not quite our ways, but they are a result of conditions, +just as ours are. + +On the hill, a little back of El Vedado, are two "points of interest" for +visitors; the old fortress, el Castillo del Principe, and the cemetery. +In the latter are some notable monuments. One is known as the Firemen's +Monument. For many years, Havana has had, supplementary to its municipal +organization, a volunteer firemen's corps. In various ways the latter +resembles a number of military organizations in the United States. It is at +once a somewhat exclusive social club and a practical force. Membership +is a social distinction. If you are in Havana and see men in admirably +tailored, uniforms and fire helmets, rushing in a particular direction in +cabs, carriages or automobiles, you may know that they are members of the +_Bomberos del Comercio_ on their way to a conflagration. Most excellent +real work they have done again and again in time of fire and flood. On +parade, they look exceedingly dapper with their helmets, uniforms, boots +and equipment, somewhat too dandified even to suggest any smoke other than +that of cigars or cigarettes. But they are the "real thing in smoke-eaters" +when they get to work. They have a long list of heroic deeds on their +records. The monument in Colon Cemetery commemorates one of those deeds. +In an extensive and dangerous fire, in May, 1890, thirty of these men +lost their lives. A few years later, this beautiful and costly shaft was +erected, by private subscription, as a tribute to their valor and devotion. +Another shaft, perhaps no less notable, commemorates a deplorable and +unpardonable event. A number of medical students, mere boys, in the +University of Havana, were charged with defacing the tomb of a Spanish +officer who had been killed by a Cuban in a political quarrel. At +its worst, it was a boyish prank, demanding rebuke or even some mild +punishment. Later evidence indicates that while there was a demonstration +there was no defacement of the vault. Forty-two students were arrested as +participants, tried by court-martial, and sentenced to be shot. Eight of +them were shot at La Punta, at the foot of the Prado near the sea-front, +and the remainder sentenced to imprisonment for life. All of these, I +believe, were afterward released. The Students' Monument expresses the +feeling of the Cubans in the matter, a noble memorial. There are numerous +other shafts and memorials that are notable and interesting. A number of +Cuba's leaders, Maximo Gomez, Calixto Garcia, and others, are buried in +this cemetery. + +[Illustration: A RESIDENCE IN EL VEDADO] + +Further on, to the southeast, are other sections of the new Havana, the +districts of Cerro and Jesus del Monte. El Vedado has largely supplanted +these neighborhoods as the "court end" of the city. Many of the fine old +residences of forty or fifty years ago still remain, but most of them are +now closely surrounded by the more modest homes of a less aristocratic +group. A few gardens remain to suggest what they were in the earlier days. +Still further out, in the west-and-south quarter-circle, are little towns, +villages, and hamlets, typically Cuban, with here and there the more +imposing estate of planter or proprietor. But, far the greater number of +visitors, perhaps with greater reason, find more of charm and interest +in the city itself than in the suburbs or the surrounding country. The +enjoyment of unfamiliar places is altogether personal. There are many who +really see nothing; they come away from a brief visit with only a confusion +of vague recollections of sights and sounds, of brief inspection of +buildings about which they knew nothing, of the big, yellow Palace, of this +church and that, of the Morro and the harbor, of sunny days, and of late +afternoons along the Prado and the Malecon. To me, Havana is losing its +greatest charm through an excess of Americanization, slowly but steadily +taking from the place much of the individuality that made it most +attractive. It will be a long time before that is entirely lost, but +five-story office buildings, automobiles in the afternoon parade, steaks +or ham and eggs at an eight or nine o'clock breakfast, and all kinds of +indescribable hats in place of dainty and graceful _mantillas_, seem to +me a detraction, like bay-windows and porticos added to an old colonial +mansion. + + + + +VI + +_AROUND THE ISLAND_ + + +A hundred years ago, the Cubans travelled from place to place about the +island, just as our ancestors did in this country, by water and over rough +trails few of which could, with any approach to correctness, be described +as roads. It was not until about a hundred years ago that we, in this +country, began to build anything even remotely resembling a modern highway. +Our towns and cities were on the seaboard or on the banks of rivers +navigable for vessels of size sufficient for their purposes. Commodities +carried to or brought from places not so located were dragged in stoutly +built wagons over routes the best of which was worse than the worst to be +found anywhere today. Because real road-making in Cuba is quite a modern +institution, an enterprise to which, in their phrase, the Spanish +Government did not "dedicate" itself, the Cuban wagons and carts of today +are chiefly those of the older time. They are heavy, cumbrous affairs with +large wheels, a diameter necessitated by the deep ruts through which a +passage was made. A smaller wheel would soon have been "hub-deep" and +hopelessly stuck. So, too, with the carriages of the nabobs. The poorer +people, when they travelled at all, went on foot or on horseback, as our +ancestors did. The nabobs had their _volantes_, still occasionally, but +with increasing rarity, seen in some parts of the island. Forty years ago, +such vehicles, only a little changed from the original type, were common +enough in Havana itself. About that time, or a few years earlier, the +four-wheeler began to supplant them for city use. + +There is a technical difference between the original type of _volante_ and +its successor which, though still called a _volante_ was properly called a +_quitrin_. The only real difference was that the top of the _quitrin_ was +collapsible, and could be lowered when desirable, while the top of +the _volante_ was not. I have ridden in these affairs, I cannot say +comfortably, over roads that would have been quite impossible for any other +wheeled vehicle. At the back, and somewhat behind the body were two wheels, +six feet in diameter. From, the axle, two shafts projected for a distance, +if memory serves me, of some twelve or fifteen feet. A little forward of +the axle, the body, not unlike the old-fashioned American chaise, was +suspended on stout leather straps serving as springs. Away off in front, at +the end of the shafts, was a horse on which the driver rode in a heavy and +clumsy saddle. For long-distance travel, or for particularly rough roads, +a second horse was added, alongside the shaft horse, and sometimes a third +animal. The motion was pleasant enough over the occasional smooth places, +but the usual motion was much like that of a cork in a whirlpool, or of a +small boat in a choppy sea. Little attention was paid to rocks or ruts; it +was almost impossible to capsize the thing. One wheel might be two feet or +more higher than the other, whereupon the rider on the upper side would be +piled on top of the rider or riders on the lower side, but there was always +a fair distribution of this favor. The rocks and ruts were not always on +the same side of the road. The safety from overturn was in the long shafts +which allowed free play. In the older days, say sixty or seventy years +ago, the _volante_ or the _quitrin_ was an outward and visible sign of a +well-lined pocket-book. It indicated the possessor as a man of wealth, +probably a rich planter who needed such a vehicle to carry him and his +family from their mansion in the city to their perhaps quite as costly home +on the plantation. The _calisero_, or driver, was dressed in a costume +truly gorgeous, the horses were of the best, and the vehicle itself +may have cost two thousand dollars or more. The operation of such a +contrivance, extending, from the rear of the wheels to the horse's nose, +for twenty feet or more, in the narrow streets of the old city, was a +scientific problem, particularly in turning corners. + +Cuba was early in the field with a railway. In 1830, the United States +had only thirty-two miles of line, the beginning of its present enormous +system. Cuba's first railway was opened to traffic in November, 1837. It +was a forty-five mile line connecting Havana with the town of Guines, +southeast of the city. While official permission was, of course, necessary +before the work could be undertaken, it was in fact a Cuban enterprise, due +to the activity of the _Junta de Fomento_, or Society for Improvement. It +was built with capital obtained in London, the construction being in charge +of Mr. Alfred Cruger, an American engineer. Ten years later there were +nearly three hundred miles of line. At the beginning of the American +occupation, in 1899, there were about nine-hundred and fifty miles. There +are now more than 2,000 miles of public service line in operation, and in +addition there are many hundreds of miles of private lines on the sugar +estates. Several cities have trolley lines. For some years after the +American occupation, as before that experience, there was only a +water-and-rail connection, or an all-water route, between the eastern and +western sections of the island. The usual route from Havana to Santiago +was by rail to Batabano or to Cienfuegos, and thence by steamer. The +alternative was an all-water route, consuming several days, by steamer +along the north coast, with halts at different ports, and around the +eastern end of the island to the destination. It is now an all-rail run of +twenty-four hours. The project for a "spinal railway" from one end of +the island to the other had been under consideration for many years. The +configuration lent itself excellently to such a system, and not at all +well to any other. A railway map of such a system shows a line, generally, +through the middle of the island along its length, with numerous branch +lines running north and south to the various cities and ports on the coast. +The plan, broadly, is being carried out. A combination of existing lines +afforded a route to the city of Santa Clara. From these eastward, the Cuba +Company, commonly known as the Van Home road, completed a through line in +1902. In its beginning, it was a highly ambitious scheme, involving the +building of many towns along the way, the erection of many sugar mills, and +the creation of a commercial city, at Nipe Bay, that would leave Havana in +the back-number class. All that called for a sum of money not then and not +now available. But the "spinal railroad" was built, and from it a number of +radiating lines have been built, to Sancti Spiritus, Manzanillo, Nipe +Bay, and to Guantanamo. About the only places on the island, really worth +seeing, with the exception of Trinidad and Baracoa, can now be reached by a +fairly comfortable railway journey. + +[Illustration: THE VOLANTE _Now quite rare_] + +In most of the larger cities of the island, a half dozen or so of them, the +traveller is made fairly comfortable and is almost invariably well fed. But +any question of physical comfort in hotels, more particularly in country +hotels, raises a question of standards. As Touchstone remarked, when in the +forest of Arden, "Travellers must be content." Those who are not ready to +make themselves so, no matter what the surroundings, should stay at home, +which, Touchstone also remarked, "is a better place." If the standard is +the ostentatious structure of the larger cities of this country, with its +elaborate menu and its systematized service, there will doubtless be cause +for complaint. So will there be if the standard is the quiet, cleanly inn +of many towns in this country and in parts of Europe. The larger towns and +villages of the island have a _posada_ in which food and lodging may be +obtained; the smaller places may or may not have "a place to stay." Cuba +is not a land in which commercial travellers swarm everywhere, demanding +comfort and willing to pay a reasonable price for it. However, few +travellers and fewer tourists have any inclination to depart from known +and beaten paths, or any reason for doing so. Nor does a fairly thorough +inspection of the island necessitate any halting in out-of-the-way places +where there is not even an imitation of an inn. All that one needs to see, +and all that most care to see, can be seen in little tours, for a day, from +the larger cities. Yet if one wants to wander a little in the by-paths, it +is easy enough to do so. + +What one sees or does in Cuba will depend mainly upon the purpose of the +visit, and upon the violence of the individual mania for seeing as many +places as possible. If the object is merely an excursion or an escape from +the rigors of a northern winter, there is no occasion for wandering out of +sight of the capital city. There is more to see and more to do in Havana +than there is in all the rest of the island. Nor is there much to be seen +elsewhere that cannot be seen in the immediate vicinity of that city. This, +of course, does not cover the matter of scenery. There are no mountains, +no forest jungles in that neighborhood, but forests in Cuba are not +particularly interesting, and even the mountains of Oriente are no more +beautiful or majestic than are our own summits, our own White Hills of New +Hampshire, the Adirondacks, the Blue Ridge, the Alleghenies, the Rockies, +and the Sierras. The charm of Cuba, and it is extremely charming, is not +its special "points of interest." It is rather a general impression, a +combination of soft and genial climate with varying lights and shades and +colors. Even after much experience there, I am not yet quite ready either +to admit or to deny that the island, taken as a whole, is either beautiful +or picturesque, and yet there is much of both. Attention is rarely +challenged by the sublime or the majestic, but is often arrested by +some play of light and shade. Cuban villages, with few exceptions, are +unattractive, although there is not infrequently some particular building, +usually a church, that calls for a second look or a careful examination. +Most of these little communities consist of a row of low and ungraceful +structures bordering the highway. They are usually extended by building on +at the ends. If the town street gets undesirably long, a second street or a +third will be made, on one or both sides of the main street, and thus the +town acquires breadth as well as length. The houses are built immediately +upon the roadside, and sidewalks are quite unusual. Nor, until the place +becomes a large town or a small city, is there, in most cases, any attempt +at decoration by means of shade trees. A tree may be left if there happened +to be one when the village was born, but rarely do the inhabitants turn +their streets into tree-shaded avenues. There would be an excellent +opportunity for the activities of Village Improvement Societies in Cuba, if +it were not for the fact that such tree-planting would involve pushing all +the houses ten or fifteen feet back from the roadside. + +I have never studied the system of town building in the island, yet it is +presumable that there was some such system. In the larger places, there is +usually a central park around which are arranged the church, the public +buildings, and the stores. Whether these were so constructed from an +original plan, or whether they are an evolution, along a general plan, from +the long, single street, I do not know. I am inclined to believe that the +former was the case, and that it followed the location of a church. The +custom is, of course, of Spanish origin, and is common throughout the +greater part of Latin America. It finds a fair parallel in our own country +custom, by no means infrequent, of an open "green" or common in front +of the village church and the town hall. Tree-setting along the Cuban +highways, more particularly in the neighborhood of the cities, is not at +all unusual, and some of these shaded roads are exceedingly charming. Some +are entirely over-arched by laurel trees and the gorgeous _flamboyan_, +making long tunnels of shade "through whose broken roof the sky looks in." +Evidently the Spanish authorities were too much interested in making money +and enjoying themselves in the cities to care very much for what happened +to the Cubans in the villages, as long as they paid the money that filled +the official pocket and paid for the official entertainment, and the Cubans +were too busy getting that money to have much time for village improvement. +The Spaniards, following their home custom, might decorate a military +highway to some extent, but the rough trail over which the peasant carried +his little crop did not concern them. That was quite the business of the +peasant who had neither the time nor money to do anything about it. + +The question of good roads in Cuba is very much what it is in this country. +Cuba needs more good roads than its people can afford to build; so does the +United States. At the time of the American occupation, in 1899, there were +only 160 miles of improved highway in the entire island. Of this, 85 miles +were in Havana Province, and 75 miles in Pinar del Rio. The remainder of +the island had none. Some work was done during the First Intervention +and more was done under the Palma government. At the time of the Second +Intervention, there were about 380 miles. That is, the United States and +the Cuban Republic built, in six years, nearly 40 per cent, more highway +than the Spanish authorities built in four hundred years. During the Palma +regime, plans were drawn for an extensive road system, to be carried out +as rapidly as the financial resources permitted. Not unlike similar +proceedings in this country, in river and harbor work and public +buildings, politics came into the matter and, like our own under similar +circumstances, each Congressman insisted that some of such work as could +immediately be undertaken, some of the money that could be immediately +spent, should benefit his particular district. The result was that what was +done by the Cubans was somewhat scattered, short stretches built here and +there, new bridges built when there might or might not be a usable road to +them. The Cuban plan involved, for its completion, a period of years and +a large appropriation. It called for comparatively small yearly +appropriations for many roads, for more than four hundred different +projects. Then came the Second Intervention, in 1906, with what has seemed +to many of us an utterly unwise and unwarranted expenditure for the +completion of certain selected projects included in the Cuban plan. It may +be granted that the roads were needed, some of them very much needed, but +there are thousands of miles of unconstructed but much needed roads in +the United States. Yet, in this country, Federal, State, county, and town +treasuries are not drained to their last dollar, and their credit strained, +to build those roads. From the drain on its financial resources, the island +will recover, but the misfortune appears in the setting of a standard for +Federal expenditure, in its total for all purposes amounting to about +$40,000,000 a year, far beyond the reasonable or proper bearing power of +the island. But the work was done, the money spent, and the Cubans were +committed to more work and to further expenditure. I find no data showing +with exactness the mileage completed by the Magoon government, which came +to an end in January, 1909, but a Cuban official report made at the end of +1910 shows that the combined activities of the respective administrations, +Spanish, American, and Cuban, had given the island, at that time, +practically a thousand miles of improved highway, distributed throughout +the island. + +To see the real Cuba, one must get into the country. Havana is the +principal city, and for many it is the most interesting place on the +island, but it is no more Cuba than Paris is France or than New York is the +United States. The real Cuba is rural; the real Cuban is a countryman, a +man of the soil. If he is rich, he desires to measure his possessions in +_caballerias_ of 33-1/3 acres; if poor, in _hectareas_ of 2-1/2 acres. I do +not recall any Cuban cartoon representing the Cuban people that was not a +picture of the peasant, the _guajiro_. Cuba, as a political organism, is +shown as a quite charming _senorita_, but _el pueblo Cubano_, the Cuban +people, are shown as the man of the fields. With the present equipment +of railroads, trolley lines, automobile busses, and highways, little +excursions are easily made in a day. The railways, trolleys, and automobile +busses are unsatisfactory means of locomotion for sight-seeing. The +passenger is rushed past the very sights that would be of the greatest +interest. To most of us, a private hired automobile is open to the very +serious objection of its expensiveness, an item that may sometimes be +reduced by division. It has been my good fortune in more recent years to be +whirled around in cars belonging to friends but my favorite trip in earlier +days is, I presume, still open to those who may care to make it. I have +recommended it to many, and have taken a number with me over the route. + +It is an easy one-day excursion of about sixty miles, by rail to Guanajay, +by carriage to Marianao, and return to Havana by rail. Morning trains +run to Guanajay, through a region generally attractive and certainly +interesting to the novice, by way of Rincon and San Antonio de los Banos, a +somewhat roundabout route, but giving a very good idea of the country, its +plantations, villages, and peasant homes. At Guanajay, an early lunch, or a +late breakfast, may be obtained at the hotel, before or after an inspection +of the town itself, a typical place with its little central park, its old +church, and typical residences. Inquiry regarding the transportation to +Marianao by carriage should not be too direct. It should be treated as a +mere possibility depending upon a reasonable charge. I have sometimes spent +a very pleasant hour in intermittent bargaining with the competitors for +the job, although knowing very well what I would pay and what they would +finally accept. Amiably conducted, as such discussions should be in +Cuba, the chaffering becomes a matter of mutual entertainment. A bargain +concluded, a start may be made about noon for a drive over a good road, +through a series of typical villages, to Marianao, in time for a late +afternoon train to Havana, reaching there in ample time for dinner. Along +the road from Guanajay to Marianao, Maceo swept with ruthless hand in +1896, destroying Spanish property. Here the Spaniards, no less ruthless, +destroyed the property of Cubans. It is now a region of peaceful industry, +and little or nothing remains to indicate its condition when I first saw +it. The little villages along the way were in ruins, the fields were +uncultivated, and there were no cattle. At intervals there stood the walls +of what had been beautiful country estates. Only one of many was left +standing. At intervals, also, stood the Spanish blockhouses. All along that +route, in 1906, were the insurrectos of the unfortunate experience of that +year. In the village of Caimito, a short distance from Guanajay, along that +road, I visited Pino Guerra at his then headquarters when he and his +forces so menaced Havana that Secretary Taft, in his capacity of Peace +Commissioner, ordered their withdrawal to a greater distance. The trip by +rail and road, exhibits most of Cuba's special characteristics. There are +fields of sugar cane and fields of tobacco, country villages and peasant +homes, fruits and vegetables, ceiba trees, royal palms, cocoanut palms, and +mango trees. There is no other trip, as easily made, where so much can be +seen. But there are other excursions in the vicinity, for many reasons best +made by carriage or by private hired automobile. Within fifteen miles or so +of the city, are places like Calvario, Bejucal, and Managua, all reached +by good highways through interesting and typical country, and all well +illustrating the real life of the real Cubans. It was in the vicinity of +those places that Maximo Gomez operated in 1895 and 1896, terrorizing +Havana by menacing it from the south and the east while Maceo threatened it +from the west. Another short and pleasant trip can be made around the head +of the harbor to Guanabacoa, and thence to Cojimar. Another interesting and +easily reached point is Guines, a good example of places of its size and +class. + +Of Cuba's larger cities, there are a score that would demand attention in a +guide-book. Just as there is a certain similarity in most American cities, +in that they are collections of business and residence buildings of +generally similar architecture, so is there a certain sameness in most of +Cuba's cities. To see two or three of them is to get a general idea of all, +although each has its particular features, some particular building, or +some special charm of surroundings. The most difficult of access are +Baracoa, the oldest city of the island, and Trinidad, founded only a few +years later. Glancing at some of these places, in their order from west +to east, the first is Pinar del Rio, a comparatively modern city, dating +really from the second half of the 18th Century. It owes its past and its +present importance to its location as a centre of the tobacco region of the +_Vuelta Abajo_. From comfortable headquarters here, excursions can be made, +by rail or road, through what is perhaps the most attractive, and not +the least interesting section of the island. To the north are the Organ +Mountains and the picturesque town of Vinales, one of the most charming +spots, in point of scenery, in Cuba. To the west, by rail, is Guane, the +oldest settlement in western Cuba, and all around are beautiful hills and +cultivated valleys. Eastward from Havana, the first city of importance is +Matanzas. Here is much to interest and much to charm, the city itself, its +harbor, its two rivers, the famous valley of the Yumuri, and the caves of +Bellamar. The city, founded in 1693, lies along the shore of the bay and +rises to the higher ground of the hills behind it. It lies about sixty +miles from Havana, and is easily reached by rail or by automobile. The +next city in order, also on the north coast, is Cardenas, a modern place, +settled in 1828, and owing its importance to its convenience as a shipping +port for the numerous sugar estates in its vicinity, an importance now +somewhat modified by the facilities for rail shipment to other harbors. +Seventy-five miles or so further eastward is Sagua la Grande, another point +of former convenience as a shipping point for sugar. The city itself is +located on a river, or estuary, some ten or twelve miles from its mouth. +Forty miles or so further on are Remedies and Caibarien, a few miles apart, +the latter on the coast and the former a few miles inland. Caibarien, like +Cardenas and Sagua, is chiefly notable as a sugar port, while Remedios is +the centre of one of the great tobacco districts, producing a leaf of good +quality but generally inferior to the _Partidos_ of Havana Province, and +quite inferior to the famous _Vuelta Abajo_. Southward of this region, and +about midway the width of the island, somewhat more than two hundred miles +eastward of Havana, is the city of Santa Clara, better known in the island +as Villa Clara. The city dates its existence from 1689. It lies surrounded +by rolling hills and expansive valleys, but in the absence of extensive +plantations in its immediate environs, one is led to wonder just why so +pleasant a place should be there, and why it should have reached its +present proportions. For the tourist who wants to "see it all," it is an +excellent and most comfortable central headquarters. + +[Illustration: A VILLAGE STREET _Calvario, Havana Province_] + +From Villa Clara it is only a short run to Cienfuegos, the "city of a +hundred fires," a modern place, only about a hundred years old. There is +every probability that Columbus entered the harbor in 1494, and perhaps +no less probability that Ocampo entered in 1508, on his voyage around the +island. The harbor extends inland for several miles, with an irregular +shore line, behind which rises a border line of hills. The city itself +is some four or five miles from the entrance to the harbor. It came into +existence, and still exists, chiefly by reason of the sugar business. It +is an important outlet for that industry, and many estates are in its near +vicinity. The old city of Trinidad is reached, by boat, from Cienfuegos, or +rather its port city, Casilda, is so reached. Presumably, it was the port +city that Velasquez founded in 1514, a location a few miles inland +being chosen later, as being less exposed to attacks by the pirates and +freebooters who infested the Caribbean Sea for many years. It is said that +Cortes landed here and recruited his forces on his way to Mexico, in 1518. +The city itself stands on the lower slopes of the hills that form its +highly effective background. Its streets are narrow and tortuous. Like most +of the cities of the island, and most of the cities of the world, it has +its humble homes of the poor, and its mansions of the rich. Immediately +behind it stands a hill with an elevation of about nine hundred feet above +sea-level. Its name indicates the reason for its application, _La Vigia_, +the "lookout," or the "watch-tower." From its summit, we may assume that +the people of earlier times scanned the horizon for any sign of approaching +pirates by whom they might be attacked. It serves a more satisfactory +purpose nowadays in that it affords one of the loveliest panoramic views to +be found anywhere in Cuba. Not far away, and accessible from the city, is +the Pico de Potrerillo, about 3,000 feet elevation, the highest point in +Central Cuba. Northeast of Trinidad, and reached by rail from Villa Clara, +is Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad's rival in antiquity, both having been +founded, by Velasquez, in the same year. Here also are narrow, crooked +streets in a city of no mean attractions, although it lacks the picturesque +charm of its rival in age. It is an inland city, about twenty-five miles +from the coast, but even that did not protect it from attack by the +pirates. It was several times the victim of their depredations. + + + + +VII + +_AROUND THE ISLAND: Continued_ + + +The next city, eastward, is Camaguey, in many ways doubtless the best +worth a visit, next to Havana, of any city on the island. It is a place +of interesting history and, for me personally, a place of somewhat mixed +recollections. The history may wait until I have told my story. I think +it must have been on my third visit to the island, early in 1902. On my +arrival in Havana, I met my friend Charles M. Pepper, a fellow laborer in +the newspaper field. He at once informed me that he and I were to start the +next morning for a three or four weeks' journey around the island. It was +news to me, and the fact that my baggage, excepting the suitcase that I +carried, had failed to come on the boat that brought me, led me to demur. +My objections were overruled on the ground that we could carry little +baggage anyway, and all that was needed could be bought before starting, or +along the way. The next morning saw us on the early train for Matanzas. We +spent a week or ten days in that city, in Cardenas, Sagua, Santa Clara, and +Cienfuegos, renewing former acquaintance and noting the changes effected by +the restoration from the war period. That was before the completion of the +Cuba Railway. To get to Camaguey, then known as Puerto Principe, we took +the steamer at Cienfuegos and journeyed along the coast to Jucaro. There, +because of shallow water, we were dropped into a shore boat some four or +five miles from the coast, and there our troubles began. Fortunately, it +was early morning. We got something to eat and some coffee, which is almost +invariably good in Cuba, but when we meet nowadays we have a laugh over +that breakfast at Jucaro. I don't know, and really don't care, what the +place is now. After some hours of waiting, we secured passage in an +antiquated little car attached to a freight train carrying supplies and +structural material to Ciego de Avila, for use by the railway then being +built in both directions, eastward and westward from that point. The line +that there crosses the island from north to south was built in the time +of the Ten Years' War (1868-1878) as a barrier against the revolutionists +operating in eastern Cuba. It was restored for use in the revolution of +1895, but its blockhouses at every kilometre, and its barbed wire tangles, +were entirely ineffective against Gomez and Maceo and other leaders, all of +whom crossed it at their own sweet will, although not without an occasional +vicious little contest. We reached Ciego de Avila soon after noon, and had +to wait there over night for a further advance. The place is now a thriving +little city, but it was then a somewhat sprawling village with a building +that was called a hotel. But we got food and drink and beds, all that is +really necessary for experienced campaigners. For the next two days, Old +Man Trouble made himself our personal companion and did not lose sight of +us for a single minute. + +Through personal acquaintance with the railway officials, we obtained +permission to travel over the line, on any and all trains, as far as it was +then built, some forty miles or so toward Camaguey. Through them, also, we +arranged for saddle horses to meet us at railhead for the remainder of the +journey. There were no trains except construction trains carrying rails, +ties, lumber, and other materials. We boarded the first one out in the +morning. We had our choice of riding on any of those commodities that we +might select. There was not even a caboose. We chose a car of lumber as the +most promising. For four or five hours we crawled through that country, +roasting and broiling on that pile of planks, but the ties and the rails +were even hotter. The only way we could keep a place cool enough to sit on +was by sitting on it. I once occupied a stateroom next to the steamer's +funnel. I have seen, day after day, the pitch bubble between the planks of +a steamer's deck in the Indian Ocean. I have been in other places that I +thought plenty hot enough, but never have I been so thoroughly cooked as +were my companion and I perched on the lumber pile. On top of that, or +rather on top of us, there poured a constant rain of cinders from the +locomotive puffing away a few cars ahead of us. The road-bed was rough, and +at times we had to hang on for our very lives. We can laugh about it now, +but, at the time, it was no joke. At last we reached the end of the line, +somewhere in a hot Cuban forest, but there were no horses. We watched the +operation of railway building, and took turns in anathematizing, in every +language of which we had any knowledge, the abandoned ruffian who failed to +appear with those horses. Before night, we were almost ready to wish that +he had died on the way. At last he came. Our baggage was loaded on a +pack-horse; we mounted and rode gallantly on our way. We had about thirty +miles to cover by that or some other means of locomotion. Before we had +gone a mile, we developed a clear understanding of the reasons for the sale +of those horses by the Government of the United States, but why the United +States Army ever bought them for cavalry mounts we could not even imagine. +There was no road. Most of the way we followed the partly constructed +road-bed for the new railway, making frequent detours, through field or +jungle, to get around gaps or places of impossible roughness. Before we had +covered two miles, we began to wish that the man who sent those horses, a +Spaniard, by the way, might be doomed to ride them through all eternity +under the saddles with which they were equipped. We were sorry enough for +the poor brutes, but sorrier still for ourselves. For several days, I +limped in misery from a long row of savage blisters raised on my leg +by rawhide knots with which my saddle had been repaired. An hour after +starting, we were overtaken by a heavy thunder-shower. At nightfall, after +having covered about fifteen wretched miles, we reached a construction camp +where an American nobleman, disguised as a section-boss, gave us food and +lodging in the little palm-leaf shack that served as his temporary home. It +was barely big enough for one, but he made it do for three. + +[Illustration: STREET AND CHURCH _Camaguey_] + +Early in the morning, we resumed our journey, plodding along as best we +could over a half-graded "right-of-way." A couple of hours brought us to +a larger construction camp where we halted for such relief as we could +secure. We then were some twelve or fourteen miles from our destination. We +discussed the wisdom of making the rest of the way on foot, as preferable +to that particular kind of saddle-work, leaving our baggage to come along +with the horses when it might. But fortune smiled, or it may have been just +a grimace. Word came that a team, two horses and a wagon, would go to the +city that afternoon, and there would be room for us. We told our pilot, +the man with the horses, just what we thought of him and all his miserable +ancestors, gave him a couple of _pesos_, and rejoiced over our prospects of +better fortune. But it proved to be only an escape from the fire into +the frying-pan. I have driven over many miles of South African _veldt_, +straight "across lots," in all comfort, but while the general topography of +Camaguey puts it somewhat into the _veldt_ class, its immediate surface +did not in the least remind me of the South African plateau. The trip was +little short of wonderful for its bumpiness. We got to Camaguey sore and +bruised but, as far as we could discover, physically intact, and, having +arrived, may now return to its history and description. May no "gentle +reader" who scans these pages repeat our experience in getting there. It +is supposed that here, or immediately here-about, was the place of "fifty +houses and a thousand people" encountered by the messengers of Columbus, +when he sent them inland to deliver official letters of introduction to the +gorgeous ruler of the country in which he thought he was. Different writers +tell different stories about the settlement of the place, but there is no +doubt that it was among the earliest to be settled. Columbus gave to a +harbor in that vicinity, in all probability the Bay of Nuevitas, the name +Puerto del Principe, or Port of the Prince. He called the islands of the +neighborhood the Gardens of the King. On that bay, about 1514, Diego +Velasquez founded a city, probably the present Nuevitas, which he is said +to have called Santa Maria. Somewhere from two to ten years later, an +inland settlement was made. This developed into the city that was afterward +given the name of Santa Maria del Puerto del Principe, now very properly +changed to the old Indian name of Camaguey. + +If the idea of an inland location was, as it is said to have been, +protection against pirates and buccaneers, it was not altogether a +success. The distinguished pirate, Mr. Henry Morgan, raided the place very +effectively in 1668, securing much loot. In his book, published in 1871, +Mr. Hazard says: "Puerto Principe (the present Camaguey) is, probably, the +oldest, quaintest town on the island,--in fact, it may be said to be a +finished town, as the world has gone on so fast that the place seems a +million years old, and from its style of dress, a visitor might think he +was put back almost to the days of Columbus." There have been changes +since that time, but the old charm is still there, the narrow and crooked +streets, forming almost a labyrinth, the old buildings, and much else that +I earnestly hope may never be changed. There is now an up-to-date hotel, +connected with the railway company, but if I were to go there again and the +old hotel was habitable, I know I should go where I first stayed, and where +we occupied a huge barrack-like room charged on our bill as "_habitaciones +preferentes_," the state chamber. It had a dirty tiled floor, and was the +home of many fleas, but there was something about it that I liked. I do not +mean to say that all of Camaguey, "the city of the plain," is lovely, or +picturesque or even interesting. No more is all of Paris, or Budapest, +or Amsterdam, or Washington. They are only so in some of their component +parts, but it is those parts that remain in the memory. The country around +the city is a vast plain, for many years, and still, a grazing country, a +land of horses and cattle. The charm is in the city itself. If I could see +only one place outside of Havana, I would see Camaguey. A little less than +fifty miles to the north is Nuevitas, reached by one of the first railways +built in Cuba, now if ever little more than the port city for its larger +neighbor. Columbus became somewhat ecstatic over the region. Perhaps it was +then more charming, or the season more favorable, than when I saw it. I +do not recall any feeling of special enthusiasm about its scenic charms. +Perhaps I should have discovered them had I stayed longer. Perhaps I should +have been more impressed had it not been for the impressions of Camaguey. I +saw Nuevitas only briefly on my way eastward on that memorable excursion by +construction train and saddle. The only route then available was by boat +along the north shore, and it was there that we caught the steamer for +Santiago. + +That sail along the coast would have afforded greater pleasure had it +lacked the noisy presence of an itinerant opera company whose members +persisted, day and night, in exercising their lungs to the accompaniment of +an alleged piano in the cabin. I have a far more pleasant recollection, or +rather a memory because it stays with me, of music in those waters. The +transport on which I went to Porto Rico, in the summer of 1898, carried, +among other troops, a battery of light artillery. It had an unusually good +bugler, and his sounding of "taps" on those soft, starlit nights remains +with me as one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. The shrieks, +squalls, and roars of those opera people were in a wholly different class. +About seventy-five miles east of Nuevitas is Gibara, merely a shipping port +for the inland city of Holguin. The former is only one of a number of such +places found along the coast. Most of them are attractive in point of +surrounding scenery, but little or not at all attractive in themselves, +being mere groups of uninteresting structures of the conventional type. +Holguin is perhaps two hundred years old, quite pleasantly situated, but +affording no special points of interest for the tourist. The city is now +easily reached by a branch of the Cuba Railway. It is worth the visit of +those who "want to see it all." Beyond Gibara is Nipe Bay, not improbably +the first Cuban harbor entered by Columbus. Nipe Bay and its near neighbor, +Banes Bay, are the centres of what is now the greatest industrial activity +of any part of the island. Here, recent American investment is measured in +scores of millions of dollars. Here, in the immediate neighborhood, are +some of the largest sugar plantations and mills on the island, the Boston +and the Preston. A little to the west of Gibara are two others, Chaparra +and Delicias. Hitherto, the western half of the island has been, the great +producing district, but present indications point to a not distant time +when the eastern district will rival and, it may be, outstrip the section +of older development. The foundation is already laid for an extensive +enterprise. Nature has afforded one of the finest land-locked harbors in +the world at Nipe, and another, though smaller, a few miles away, at Banes. +The region now has railroad connection with practically all parts of the +island. Around those bays are sugar lands, tobacco lands, fruit lands, and +a few miles inland are the vast iron ore beds that, as they are developed, +will afford employment for an army of workmen. Nipe Bay is the natural +commercial outlet for a vast area of richly productive soil. At present, +the region affords nothing of special interest except its industrial +activities, its miles and miles of sugar cane, its huge mills, and the +villages built to house its thousands of workmen. + +Seventy-five miles or so eastward of Nipe, lies one of the most charming +and interesting spots on the island. This is old Baracoa, the oldest +settlement on the island, now to be reached only by water or by the +roughest of journeys over mountain trails. The town itself does not amount +to much, but the bay is a gem, a little, circular basin, forest-shaded to +its border, its waters clear as crystal. Behind it rise the forest-clad +hills, step on step, culminating in _el Yunque_, "the anvil," with an +elevation of about eighteen hundred feet. Baracoa is supposed to be the +place about which Columbus wrote one of his most glowing and extravagant +eulogies. Whether it is really worth the time and the discomfort of a +special trip to see it, is perhaps somewhat doubtful. It is a place of +scenery and sentiment, and little else. There is an old fort on a hilltop, +not particularly picturesque, and an old church in which is a cross quite +doubtfully reported as having been furnished by Columbus. Sometime, years +hence, there will be easier communication, and the fertile hillsides and +still more fertile valleys will supply various produces for consumption in +the United States. About twenty-five miles east of Baracoa is the end of +the island, Cape Maisi. Swinging around that, the coasting steamers turn +due west along the shore to Santiago, passing the harbor of Guantanamo, +with its United States naval station. That place is reached by rail from +Santiago, a highly picturesque route through the Guantanamo valley. Besides +the naval station, the place is a shipping port, affording nothing of +special interest to the traveller who has seen other and more easily +accessible cities of its type. It always seems to me that Santiago, or more +properly Santiago de Cuba, would be more engaging if we could forget the +more recent history of this city, known to most Cubans as Cuba (pronounced +Cooba). No doubt, it is a much better place in which to live than it was +twenty years ago, and much of its old charm remains. Its setting cannot +be changed. It is itself a hillside town, surrounded by hills, with real +mountains on its horizon. The old cathedral, a dominant structure, has +been quite a little patched up in recent years, and shows the patches. The +houses, big and little, are still painted in nearly all the shades of the +spectrum. But there is a seeming change, doubtless psychological rather +than physical. One sees, in imagination, Cervera's squadron "bottled up" in +the beautiful harbor, while Sampson's ships lie outside waiting for it to +come out. It is difficult to forget San Juan Hill and El Caney, a few +miles behind the city, and remember only its older stories. A good deal of +history has been made here in the last four hundred years. Its pages +show such names as Velasquez, Grijalva, Hernan Cortes, and Narvaez, and +centuries later, Cespedes, Marti, and Palma. Here was enacted the grim +tragedy of the _Virginius_, and here was the conflict that terminated +Spain's once vast dominion in the western world. My own impression is +that most of its history has already been written, that it will have no +important future. As a port of shipment, I think it must yield to the new +port, Nipe Bay, on the north coast. It is merely a bit of commercial logic, +the question of a sixty-mile rail-haul as compared with a voyage around the +end of the island. Santiago will not be wiped from the map, but I doubt its +long continuance as the leading commercial centre of eastern Cuba. It is +also a fairly safe prediction that the same laws of commercial logic will +some day operate to drain northward the products of the fertile valley of +the Cauto, and the region behind old Manzanillo and around the still older +Bayamo. + +[Illustration: COBRE _Oriente Province_] + +Except the places earlier mentioned, Jucaro, Trinidad and Cienfuegos, there +are no southern ports to the west until Batabano is reached, immediately +south of, and only a few miles from, the city of Havana. It is a shallow +harbor, of no commercial importance. It serves mainly as the centre of a +sponge-fishing industry, and as a point of departure for the Isle of Pines, +and for ports on the south coast. The Isle of Pines is of interest for a +number of reasons, among which are its history, its mineral springs, its +delightful climate, and an American colony that has made much trouble +in Washington. Columbus landed there in 1494, and gave it the name _La +Evangelista_. It lies about sixty miles off the coast, almost due south +from Havana. Between the island and the mainland lies a labyrinth of islets +and keys, many of them verdure-clad. Its area is officially given as 1,180 +square miles. There seems no doubt that, at some earlier time, it formed a +part of the main island, with which it compares in geologic structure and +configuration. It is now, in effect, two islands connected by a marsh; the +northern part being broken and hilly, and the southern part low, flat, and +sandy, probably a comparatively recently reclaimed coralline plain. The +island has been, at various times, the headquarters of bands of pirates, a +military hospital, a penal institution, and a source of political trouble. +It is now a Cuban island the larger part of which is owned by Americans. It +is a part of the province of Havana, and will probably so remain as long as +Cuba is Cuba. My personal investigations of the disputed question of the +political ownership of the island began early in 1899. I then reached a +conclusion from which I have not since seen any reason to depart. The +island was then, had always been, and is now, as much a part of Cuba as +Long Island and Key West have been and are parts of the United States. + +Just who it was that first raised the question of ownership, none of us who +investigated the matter at the time of its particular acuteness, was +able to determine satisfactorily, although some of us had a well-defined +suspicion. The man is now dead, and I shall not give his name. Article I, +of the Treaty of Paris, of December 10, 1898, presumably disposes of the +Cuban area; Article II refers to Porto Rico; and Article III refers to the +Philippines. The issue regarding the Isle of Pines was raised under +Article II, presumably referring only to Porto Rico. A slight but possibly +important difference appears in the Spanish and the English versions. The +English text reads that "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and other +islands now under Spanish sovereignty" etc. The Spanish text, literally +translated runs: "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and the others +that are now under its sovereignty." The obvious reference of the article +is to Mona, Viequez, and Culebra, all small islands in Porto Rican waters. +But the question was raised and was vigorously discussed. An official map +was issued showing the island as American territory. Americans jumped +in, bought up large tracts, and started a lively real estate boom. They +advertised it widely as American territory, and many put their little +collections of dollars into it. The claim of Spanish cession was afterward +denied in the very document that served to keep the issue alive for a +number of years. Article VI of the Platt Amendment, which the Cubans +accepted with marked reluctance, declared that the island was omitted from +the boundaries of Cuba, and that the title and ownership should be left to +future adjustment by treaty. But no alternative appears between cession and +no cession. Had the island become definitely American territory by cession, +its alienation, by such a step, would not have been possible. When we left +Cuba, in 1902, the official instructions from Washington were that the Isle +of Pines would remain under a _de facto_ American government. President +Palma, accepting the transfer, expressed his understanding that it would +"continue _de facto_ under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Cuba." In +some way, the departing American authority failed to leave any agent or +representative of the _de facto_ government of the United States, and the +Cubans included the island in their new administration, very properly. When +the treaty proposed by the Platt Amendment came before the United States +Senate, it hung fire, and finally found lodgment in one of the many +pigeon-holes generously provided for the use of that august body. There it +may probably be found today, a record and nothing more. Why? For the very +simple reason that some of the resident claimants for American ownership +sent up a consignment of cigars made on the island from tobacco grown on +the island, and refused to pay duty on them. The ground of refusal was that +they were a domestic product, sent from one port in the United States to +another port in the same country, and therefore not dutiable. The case of +Pearcy _vs_ Stranahan, the former representing the shippers, and the latter +being the Collector of the Port of New York, came before the Supreme Court +of the United States, and that final authority decided and declared that +the Isle of Pines was Cuban territory and a part of Cuba. The question is +settled, and the Isle of Pines can become territory of the United States +only by purchase, conquest, or some other form of territorial transfer. + +While the American settlers in the Isle of Pines, and the several +real-estate companies who seek purchasers for their holdings, own a large +part of the territory, they still constitute a minority of the population. +Many of the settlers, probably most of them, are industrious and persistent +in their various productive activities. Their specialty is citrus fruits, +but their products are not limited to that line. More than a few have tried +their little experiment in pioneering, and have returned to their home land +more or less disgusted with their experience. Those who have remained, +and have worked faithfully and intelligently, have probably done a little +better than they would have done at home. The great wealth for which all, +doubtless, earnestly hoped, and in which many, doubtless, really believed, +has not come. This settlement is only one of many speculative exploitations +in Cuba. Some of these have been fairly honest, but many of them have been +little better than rank swindles. Many have been entirely abandoned, the +buyers losing the hard-earned dollars they had invested. Others, better +located, have been developed, by patience, persistence, and thrift, into +fairly prosperous colonies. I do not know how many victims have been +caught by unscrupulous and ignorant promoters in the last fifteen years, +principally in the United States and in Canada, but they are certainly +many, so many that the speculative industry has declined in recent years. +Many of the settlers who have remained have learned the game, have +discovered that prosperity in Cuba is purchased by hard work just as it is +elsewhere. In different parts of the island, east, west, and centre, there +are now thrifty and contented colonists who have fought their battle, and +have learned the rules that nature has formulated as the condition of +success in such countries. Whether these people have really done any better +than they would have done had they stayed at home and followed the rules +there laid down, is perhaps another question. At all events, there are +hundreds of very comfortable and happy American homes in Cuba, even in the +Isle of Pines, where they persist in growling because it is Cuba and not +the United States. + +In a review of a country including forty-four thousand square miles of +territory, condensed into two chapters, it is quite impossible to include +all that is worth telling. Moreover, there is much in the island of which +no adequate description can be given. There is much that must be seen if it +if to be fairly understood and appreciated. + + + + +VIII + +_THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA_ + + +IN his message to Congress, on December 5, 1898, President McKinley +declared that "the new Cuba yet to arise from the ashes of the past must +needs be bound to us by ties of singular intimacy and strength if its +enduring welfare is to be assured." + +Probably to many of the people of the United States, the story of our +relations with Cuba had its beginning with the Spanish-American war. +That is quite like a notion that the history of an apple begins with its +separation from the tree on which it grew. The general history of the +island is reviewed in other chapters in this volume. The story of our +active relations with Cuba and its affairs runs back for more than a +hundred years, at least to the days of President Thomas Jefferson who, +in 1808, wrote thus to Albert Gallatin: "I shall sincerely lament Cuba's +falling into any other hands but those of its present owners." Several +other references to the island appear at about that time. Two great +movements were then going on. Europe was in the throes of the Napoleonic +disturbance, and for more than twenty-five years both France and England +schemed, sometimes openly and sometimes secretly, for the possession of +Cuba. The other movement was the revolution in Spain's colonies in the +Western Hemisphere, a movement that cost Spain all of its possessions in +that area, with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico. The influence of the +revolutionary activities naturally extended to Cuba, but it was not until +after 1820 that matters became dangerously critical. From that time until +the present, the question of Cuba's political fate, and the question of our +relations with the island, form an interesting and highly important chapter +in the history of the United States as well as in the history of Cuba. + +In his book on the war with Spain, Henry Cabot Lodge makes a statement that +may seem curious to some and amazing to others. It is, however, the opinion +of a competent and thoroughly trained student of history. He writes thus: + +"The expulsion of Spain from the Antilles is merely the last and final step +of the inexorable movement in which the United States has been engaged for +nearly a century. By influence and by example, or more directly, by arms +and by the pressure of ever-advancing settlements, the United States drove +Spain from all her continental possessions in the Western Hemisphere, until +nothing was left to the successors of Charles and Philip but Cuba and Porto +Rico. How did it happen that this great movement stopped when it came to +the ocean's edge? The movement against Spain was at once national +and organic, while the pause on the sea-coast was artificial and in +contravention of the laws of political evolution in the Americas. The +conditions in Cuba and Porto Rico did not differ from those which had gone +down in ruin wherever the flag of Spain waved on the mainland. The Cubans +desired freedom, and Bolivar would fain have gone to their aid. Mexico and +Colombia, in 1825, planned to invade the island, and at that time invasion +was sure to be successful. What power stayed the oncoming tide which had +swept over a continent? Not Cuban loyalty, for the expression 'Faithful +Cuba' was a lie from the beginning. The power which prevented the +liberation of Cuba was the United States, and more than seventy years later +this republic has had to fight a war because at the appointed time she set +herself against her own teachings, and brought to a halt the movement she +had herself started to free the New World from the oppression of the Old. +The United States held back Mexico and Colombia and Bolivar, used +her influence at home and abroad to that end, and, in the opinion of +contemporary mankind, succeeded, according to her desires, in keeping Cuba +under the dominion of Spain." + +For a number of years, Cuba's destiny was a subject of the gravest concern +in Washington. Four solutions presented themselves; first, the acquisition +of Cuba by the United States; second, its retention by Spain; third, +its transfer to some power other than Spain; fourth, its political +independence. That the issue was decided by the United States is shown by +all the history of the time. While other factors had their influence in the +determination, it is entirely clear that the issue turned on the question +of slavery. In his book on _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan +summarizes his review of the official proceedings by saying that "the South +did not want to see Cuba independent _without_ slavery, while the North did +not want to annex it _with_ slavery." In his work on the _Rise and Fall of +the Slave Power in America_, Mr. Henry Wilson declares that "thus clearly +and unequivocally did this Republic step forth the champion of slavery, and +boldly insist that these islands should remain under the hateful despotism +of Spain, rather than gain their independence by means that should inure to +the detriment of its cherished system. Indeed, it (the United States) would +fight to fasten more securely the double bondage on Cuba and the slave." + +From this point of view, unquestionably correct, it is altogether evident +that the United States assumed responsibility for Cuba's welfare, not by +the intervention of 1898, but by its acts more than seventy years earlier. +The diplomatic records of those years are filled with communications +regarding the island, and it was again and again the subject of legislation +or proposed legislation. President after President dealt with it in +messages to Congress. The acquisition of the island, by purchase or +otherwise, was again and again discussed. Popular interest was again and +again excited; the Spanish colonial policy was denounced; and the burdens +and sufferings of the Cubans were depicted in many harrowing tales. For the +policy that led to the imposition of a restraining hand on proposals to +free Cuba, in those early days, the people of the United States today must +blush. The independence movement in the States of Spanish-America may be +said to have had its definite beginning in 1806, when Francisco Miranda, +a Venezuelan, sailed from New York with three ships manned by American +filibusters, although the first land battle was fought in Bolivia, in 1809, +and the last was fought in the same country, in 1825. But the great wave +swept from the northern border of Mexico to the southernmost point of +Spanish possession. When these States declared their independence, they +wrote into their Constitutions that all men should be free, that human +slavery should be abolished forever from their soil. The attitude of the +United States in the matter of Cuba was determined by the objection to the +existence of an anti-slavery State so near our border. The experience of +Haiti and Santo Domingo was, of course, clearly in mind, but the objection +went deeper than that. Those who are interested may read with profit the +debates in the Congress of the United States, in 1826, on the subject of +the despatch of delegates to the so-called Panama Congress-of that year. On +the whole, it is not pleasant reading from any present point of view. + +Our cherished Monroe Doctrine was one of the fruits of this period, and in +the enunciation of that policy the affairs of Cuba were a prominent if not +the dominant force. The language of this doctrine is said to have been +written by Secretary Adams, but it is embodied in the message of President +Monroe, in December, 1823, and so bears his name. In April, of that year, +Secretary Adams sent a long communication to Mr. Nelson, then the American +Minister to Spain. For their bearing on the Cuban question, and for the +presentation of a view that runs through many years of American policy, +extracts from that letter may be included here. + + DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + WASHINGTON, April 28, 1823. + +"In the war between France and Spain, now commencing, other interests, +peculiarly ours, will, in all probability, be deeply involved. Whatever may +be the issue of this war, as between these two European powers, it may be +taken for granted that the dominion of Spain upon the American continent, +north and south, is irrecoverably gone. But the islands of Cuba and Porto +Rico still remain nominally, and so far really, dependent upon her, that +she possesses the power of transferring her own dominion over them, +together with the possession of them, to others. These islands, from their +local position are natural appendages to the North American continent, +and one of them, Cuba, almost in sight of our shores, from a multitude of +considerations, has become an object of transcendant importance to the +commercial and political interests of our Union. Its commanding position, +with reference to the Gulf of Mexico and the West India seas; the character +of its population; its situation midway between our southern coast and +the island of St. Domingo; its safe and capacious harbor of the Havana, +fronting a long line of our shores destitute of the same advantage; the +nature of its productions and of its wants, furnishing the supplies and +needing the returns of a commerce immensely profitable and mutually +beneficial,--give it an importance in the sum of our national interests +with which that of no other foreign territory can be compared, and little +inferior to that which binds the different members of this Union together. +Such, indeed, are the interests of that island and of this country, the +geographical, commercial, moral, and political relations, that, in looking +forward to the probable course of events, for the short period of half +a century, it is scarcely possible to resist the conviction that the +annexation of Cuba to our federal republic will be indispensable to the +continuance and integrity of the Union itself." + +The communication proceeds to relate the knowledge of the Department that +both Great Britain and France were desirous of securing possession and +control of the island, and to disclaim, on the part of the United States, +all disposition to obtain possession of either Cuba or Porto Rico. +The complications of the situation became increasingly serious, more +particularly with regard to Cuba, and on December 2, of that year (1823), +President Monroe issued his message carrying the "doctrine," which may be +given thus: + +"In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we +have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do so. +It is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent +injuries or make preparations for our defense. With the movements in this +hemisphere we are of necessity more immediately connected. We owe it, +therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the +United States and those powers (of Europe) to declare that we should +consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion +of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing +colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and +shall not interfere. But with the Governments that have declared their +independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have recognized, +we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or +controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power in any +other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward +the United States." + +From this time onward, Cuba appears as an almost continuous object of +special interest to both the people and the officials of the United States. +Notwithstanding this disclaimer of President Monroe's message, the idea +of the acquisition of the island, by the United States, soon arose. It +persisted through all the years down to the time of the Teller amendment, +in 1898, and there are many who even now regard annexation as inevitable at +some future time, more or less distant. The plan appears as a suggestion +in a communication, under date of November 30, 1825, from Alexander +H. Everett, then Minister to Madrid, to President Adams. It crops up +repeatedly in various quarters in later years. It would be a difficult and +tedious undertaking to chase through all the diplomatic records of seventy +years the references to Cuba and its affairs. + +From that period until the present time, the affairs of the island have +been a matter of constant interest and frequent anxiety in Washington. Fear +of British acquisition of the island appears to have subsided about 1860, +but there were in the island two groups, both relatively small, one of +them working for independence, and the other for annexation to the +United States. The great majority, however, desired some fair measure of +self-government, and relief from economic and financial burdens, under the +Spanish flag. The purchase of the island by the United States was proposed +by President Polk, in 1848; by President Pierce, in 1854; and by President +Buchanan, in his time. Crises appeared from time to time. Among them was +the incident of the _Black Warrior_, in 1854. Mr. Rhodes thus describes the +affair, in his _History of the United States_: + +"_The Black Warrior_ was an American merchant steamer, plying between +Mobile and New York, stopping at Havana for passengers and mail. She had +made thirty-six such voyages, almost always having a cargo for the American +port, and never being permitted to bring freight into Havana. The custom +of her agent was to clear her 'in ballast' the day before her arrival. The +practice, while contrary to the regulations of Cuban ports, had always +been winked at by the authorities. It was well understood that the _Black +Warrior_ generally had a cargo aboard, but a detailed manifest of her load +had never been required. She had always been permitted to sail unmolested +until, when bound from Mobile to New York, she was stopped on the 28th of +February, 1854, by order of the royal exchequer, for having violated +the regulations of the port. The agent, finding that the cause of this +proceeding was the failure to manifest the cargo 'in transit,' offered to +amend the manifest, which under the rules he had a right to do; but this +the collector, on a flimsy pretext, refused to permit. The agent was at the +same time informed that the cargo was confiscated and the captain fined, in +pursuance of the custom-house regulations. The cargo was cotton, valued +at one hundred thousand dollars; and the captain was fined six thousand +dollars. The United States consul applied to the captain-general for +redress, but no satisfaction was obtained. A gang of men with lighters were +sent to the ship under the charge of the _commandante_, who ordered the +captain of the _Black Warrior_ to discharge her cargo. This he refused to +do. The _commandante_ then had the hatches opened, and his men began +to take out the bales of cotton. The captain hauled down his flag and +abandoned the vessel to the Spanish authorities." + +The news of the incident created great excitement in Washington. President +Pierce sent a message to Congress, stating that demand had been made on +Spain for indemnity, and suggesting provisional legislation that would +enable him, if negotiations failed, "to insure the observance of our just +rights, to obtain redress for injuries received, and to vindicate the honor +of our flag." + +Mr. Soule, then the American Minister to Madrid, was the official through +whom the negotiations were conducted. He was a man of somewhat impetuous +temperament, and an ardent advocate of Cuba's annexation. He quite +overstepped both the bounds of propriety and of his authority in his +submission, under instructions, of a demand for three hundred thousand +dollars indemnity. This, and Spanish diplomatic methods, led to delay, and +the excitement died out. In the meantime, Spain released the vessel and its +cargo, disavowed and disapproved the conduct of the local officials, paid +the indemnity claimed by the owners of the vessel, and the ship resumed its +regular trips, being treated with every courtesy when visiting Havana. But +the incident gave rise to active discussion, and for a time threatened +serious results. It followed on the heels of another experience, the Lopez +expeditions, to which reference is made in another chapter, and came at a +time when Cuba and Cuban affairs were topics of a lively public interest. +The subject of acquisition was under general public discussion and occupied +a large share of public attention. Some wanted war with Spain, and others +proposed the purchase of the island from Spain. But the immediate cause +of complaint having been removed by the release of the ship, Soule was +instructed to take no further steps in the matter, and the excitement +gradually passed away. + +Immediately following this experience, and growing out of it, came the +incident of the "Ostend Manifesto." At that time, James Buchanan was +Minister to England. John Y. Mason was Minister to France, and Pierre Soule +was Minister to Spain. Secretary of State Marcy suggested a conference +between these three officials. They met at Ostend, but afterward +transferred their deliberations to Aix la Chapelle. The meeting attracted +general attention in Europe. The result of what they reported as "a full +and unreserved interchange of views and sentiments," was a recommendation +that an earnest effort be made immediately to purchase Cuba. They were of +opinion that the sum of one hundred and twenty million dollars be offered. +The report proceeded thus: "After we shall have offered Spain a price for +Cuba far beyond its present value, and this shall have been refused, it +will then be time to consider the question, does Cuba in the possession +of Spain seriously endanger our internal peace and the existence of our +cherished Union? Should this question be answered in the affirmative, then, +by every law, human and divine, we shall be justified in wresting it from +Spain if we possess the power; and this upon the very same principle that +would justify an individual in tearing down the burning house of his +neighbor if there were no other means of preventing the flame from +destroying his own home." It is evident that Soule dominated the meeting, +and only less evident that he, in some way, cajoled his associates +into signing the report. No action was taken on the matter by the +Administration, and the incident has passed into history somewhat, perhaps, +as one of the curiosities of diplomacy. At all events, all historians note +it, and some give it considerable attention. + +The next serious complication arose out of the Ten Years' War, in Cuba, +in 1868, to which reference is made in a chapter on Cuba's revolutions. +Spain's leaders seemed quite incapable of grasping the Cuban situation, of +seeing it in its proper light. It is more than probable that, even then, +the Cubans would have remained loyal if the Spanish authorities had paid +attention to their just and reasonable demands. As stated by Mr. Pepper, +in his _Tomorrow in Cuba_, "The machete and the torch then gained what +peaceful agitation had not been able to achieve." The demands of the +Cubans are thus stated by Señor Cabrera, in his _Cuba and the Cubans_: "A +constitutional system in place of the autocracy of the Captain-General, +freedom of the press, the right of petition, cessation of the exclusion of +Cubans from public office, unrestricted industrial liberty, abolition of +restrictions on the transfer of landed property, the right of assembly and +of association, representation in the Cortes, and local self-government," +all reasonable and just demands from every point of view of modern +civilization. Spain refused all, and on October 10, 1868, an actual +revolution began, the first in the history of the island to be properly +classed as a revolution. The United States soon became concerned and +involved. In his message to Congress on December 6, 1869, President Grant +said: "For more than a year, a valuable province of Spain, and a near +neighbor of ours, in whom all our people cannot but feel a deep interest, +has been struggling for independence and freedom. The people and the +Government of the United States entertain the same warm feelings and +sympathies for the people of Cuba in their pending struggle that they have +manifested throughout the previous struggles between Spain and her former +colonies (Mexico, Central America and South America) in behalf of the +latter. But the contest has at no time assumed the conditions which amount +to a war in the sense of international law, or which would show the +existence of a _de facto_ political organization of the insurgents +sufficient to justify a recognition of belligerency." On June 13, 1870, +President Grant sent a special message to Congress, in which he reviewed +the Cuban situation. Another reference appears in his message of December +5, 1870. In his message of December 4, 1871, he stated that "it is to be +regretted that the disturbed condition of the island of Cuba continues +to be a source of annoyance and anxiety. The existence of a protracted +struggle in such close proximity to our own territory, without apparent +prospect of an early termination, cannot be other than an object of concern +to a people who, while abstaining from interference in the affairs of other +powers, naturally desire to see every other country in the undisturbed +enjoyment of peace, liberty, and the blessings of free institutions." In +the message of December 2, 1872, he said: "It is with regret that I have +again to announce a continuance of the disturbed condition in the island of +Cuba. The contest has now lasted for more than four years. Were its scene +at a distance from our neighborhood, we might be indifferent to its result, +although humanity could not be unmoved by many of its incidents wherever +they might occur. It is, however, at out door." Reference was made to it in +all following annual messages, until President Hayes, in 1878, announced +its termination, ten years after its beginning. The contest had become +practically a deadlock, and a compromise was arranged by General Maximo +Gomez, for the Cubans, and General Martinez Campos, for Spain. + +[Illustration: HOISTING THE CUBAN FLAG OVER THE PALACE, MAY 20, 1902 +_Senate building on the right_] + +The entanglements that grew out of the experiences of this period are too +long and too complicated for detailed review here. This country had no +desire for war with Spain, but approval of the Spanish policy in Cuba was +impossible. The sympathies of the American people were with the Cubans, as +they had been for fifty years, and as they continued to be until the end of +Spanish occupation in the West Indies. Rumors of all kinds were afloat, and +again and again the situation seemed to have reached a crisis that could be +ended only by war. A particularly aggravating incident appeared in what is +known as the _Virginius_ case. This was described as follows, in President +Grant's message to Congress on December 1, 1873. + +"The steamer _Virginius_ was on the 26th day of September, 1870, duly +registered at the port of New York as a part of the commercial marine +of the United States. On the 4th of October, 1870, having received the +certificate of her register in the usual legal form, she sailed from +the port of New York, and has not since been within the territorial +jurisdiction of the United States. On the 31st day of October last (1873), +while sailing under the flag of the United States on the high seas, she was +forcibly seized by the Spanish gunboat _Tornado_, and was carried into the +port of Santiago de Cuba, where fifty-three of her passengers and crew were +inhumanly, and, so far at least as related to those who were citizens of +the United States, without due process of law, put to death." + +Only for the timely arrival of the British man-of-war _Niobe_, and the +prompt and decisive action of her commander, there is no doubt that +ninety-three others would have shared the fate of their companions. Some +were Americans and some were British. The excitement in this country was +intense, and war with Spain was widely demanded. Further investigation +revealed the fact that the American registry was dishonest, that the ship +really belonged to or was chartered by Cubans, that it was engaged in +carrying supplies and munitions of war to the insurgents, and that its +right to fly the American flag was more than doubtful. The ship was seized +by the American authorities under a charge of violation of the maritime +laws of the United States, and was ordered to New York, for a trial of the +case. American naval officers were placed in command, but she was in bad +condition, and foundered in a gale near Cape Fear. As far as the vessel +was concerned, the incident was closed. There remained the question of +indemnity for what Caleb Cushing, then the American Minister to Spain, in +his communication to the Spanish authorities, denounced as "a dreadful, +a savage act, the inhuman slaughter in cold blood, of fifty-three human +beings, a large number of them citizens of the United States, shot without +lawful trial, without any valid pretension of authority, and to the horror +of the whole civilized world." England also filed its claim for the loss +of British subjects, and payment was soon after made "for the purpose of +relief of the families or persons of the ship's company and passengers." In +his _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan says: "The catalogue +of irritating affairs in relation to Cuba, of which the _Virginius_ was +only the culmination, might have been urged as sufficient to justify a +policy of intervention to stop the stubborn war of extermination which had +been tolerated by peaceful neighbors for five years. Some would have been +ready to advocate intervention as a duty. The relations of Cuba to the +United States, the Spanish commercial restrictions which placed Cuba at +the mercy of Spanish monopolists, and the character of the Spanish rule, +pointed to the conclusion that if Spain should not voluntarily grant +reforms and guarantee pacification of the island, the United States might +be compelled, especially for future security, temporarily to occupy it and +assist in the organization of a liberal government based upon modern views. +Such action might have led to annexation, but not necessarily; it might +have led to a restoration of Spanish possession under restrictions as to +the character of Spanish rule, and as to the size of the Spanish army and +naval force in the vicinity; more likely it would have resulted in the +independence of Cuba under American protection." + +These are only some of the more prominent features in fifty years of +American interest in Cuba. Throughout the entire period, the sympathies +of the American people were strongly pro-Cuban. Money and supplies were +contributed from time to time to assist the Cubans in their efforts to +effect a change in their conditions, either through modification of Spanish +laws, or by the road of independence. Only a minority of the Cubans sought +to follow that road at that time. The movement for independence was not +national until it was made so in 1895. What would have happened had we, +at the time of the Ten Years' War, granted to the Cubans the rights of +belligerents, is altogether a matter of speculation. Such a course was then +deemed politically inexpedient. + + + + +IX + +_CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS_ + + +Only by magnifying protests into revolts, and riots into revolutions, is it +possible to show Cuba as the "land of revolutions" that many have declared +it to be. The truth is that from the settlement of the island in 1512 until +the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1898, there were only two experiences +that can, by any proper use of the term, be called revolutions. This +statement, of course, disputes a widely accepted notion, but many notions +become widely accepted because of assertions that are not contradicted. +That a strong undercurrent of discontent runs through all Cuba's history +from 1820 to 1895, is true. That there were numerous manifestations of that +discontent, and occasional attempts at revolution, is also true. But none +of these experiences, prior to 1868, reached a stage that would properly +warrant its description as a revolution. The term is very loosely applied +to a wide range of experiences. It is customary to class as revolution all +disorders from riots to rebellions. This is particularly the case where +the disorder occurs in some country other than our own. The _Standard +Dictionary_ defines the essential idea of revolution as "a change in the +form of government, or the constitution, or rulers, otherwise than +as provided by the laws of succession, election, etc." The _Century +Dictionary_ defines such proceedings as "a radical change in social or +governmental conditions; the overthrow of an established political system." +Many exceedingly interesting parallels may be drawn between the experience +of the American colonies prior to their revolution, in 1775, and the +experience of Cuba during the 19th Century. In fact, it may perhaps be +said that there is no experience in Cuba's history that cannot be fairly +paralleled in our own. In his _History of the United States_, Mr. Edward +Channing says: "The governing classes of the old country wished to exploit +the American colonists for their own use and behoof." Change the word +"American" to "Spanish," and the Cuban situation is exactly defined. The +situation in America in the 18th Century was almost identical with the +situation in Cuba in the 19th Century. Both, in those respective periods, +suffered from oppressive and restrictive trade laws and from burdensome +taxation, from subordination of their interests to the interests of the +people of a mother-country three thousand miles away. Unfortunately for the +Cubans, Spain was better able to enforce its exactions than England +was. Cuba's area was limited, its available harbors few in number, its +population small. + +Not until the years immediately preceding the revolutions by which the +United States and Cuba secured their independence, was there any general +demand for definite separation from the mother-country. The desire in both +was a fuller measure of economic and commercial opportunity. One striking +parallel may be noted. The Tories, or "loyalists," in this country have +their counterpart in the Cuban _Autonomistas_. Referring to conditions in +1763, Mr. Channing states that "never had the colonists felt a greater +pride in their connection with the British empire." Among the great figures +of the pre-revolutionary period in this country, none stands out more +clearly than James Otis, of Boston, and Patrick Henry, of Virginia. In an +impassioned address, in 1763, Otis declared that "every British subject in +America is of common right, by acts of Parliament, and by the laws of God +and nature, entitled to all the essential privileges of Britons. What God +in his Providence has united let no man dare attempt to pull asunder." +Thirteen years later, the sundering blow was struck. Patrick Henry's +resolutions submitted to the Virginia House of Burgesses, in 1765, set +that colony afire, but at that time neither he nor his associates desired +separation and independence if their natural rights were recognized. It was +not until the revolution of 1895 that the independence of Cuba became a +national demand, a movement based on realization of the hopelessness of +further dependence upon Spain for the desired economic and fiscal relief. +As in the American colonies there appeared, from time to time, individuals +or isolated groups who demanded drastic action on the part of the +colonists, so were there Cubans who, from time to time, appeared with +similar demands. Nathaniel Bacon headed a formidable revolution in Virginia +in 1676. Massachusetts rebelled against Andros and Dudley in 1689. From the +passage of the Navigation Acts, in the middle of the 17th Century, until +the culmination in 1775, there was an undercurrent of friction and a +succession of protests. The Cuban condition was quite the same excepting +the fact of burdens more grievous and more frequent open outbreaks. + +The records of many of the disorders are fragmentary. Spain had no desire +to give them publicity, and the Cubans had few means for doing so. The +_Report on the Census of Cuba_, prepared by the War Department of the +United States, in 1899, contains a summary of the various disorders in +the island. The first is the rioting in 1717, when Captain-General Roja +enforced the decree establishing a government monopoly in tobacco. The +disturbances in Haiti and Santo Domingo (1791-1800) resulting in the +establishment of independence in Haiti, under Toussaint, excited +unimportant uprisings on the part of negroes in Cuba, but they were quickly +suppressed. The first movement worthy of note came in 1823. It was +a consequence of the general movement that extended throughout +Spanish-America and resulted in the independence of all Spain's former +colonies, excepting Cuba and Porto Rico. That the influence of so vast a +movement should have been felt in Cuba was almost inevitable. As disorder +continued throughout much of the time, the period 1820-1830 is best +considered collectively. The same influences were active, and the same +forces were operative for the greater part of the term. The accounts of +it all are greatly confused, and several nations were involved, including +Spain, the United States, France, England, Mexico, and Colombia. The +slavery question was involved, as was the question of the transfer of the +island to some Power other than Spain. Independence was the aim of some, +though probably no very great number. Practically all of Cuba's later +experiences have their roots in this period. During these ten years, the +issue between Cubans who sought a larger national and economic life, +and the Spanish element that insisted upon the continuance of Spanish +absolutism, had its definite beginning, to remain a cause of almost +constant friction for three-quarters of a century. The Spanish Constitution +of 1812, abrogated in 1814, was again proclaimed in 1820, and again +abrogated in 1823. The effort of Captain-General Vives, acting under +orders from Ferdinand VII, to restore absolutism encountered both vigorous +opposition and strong support. Secret societies were organized, whose exact +purposes do not appear to be well known. Some have asserted that it was a +Masonic movement, while others have held that the organizations were +more in the nature of the _Carbonari_. One of them, called the _Soles de +Bolivar_, in some way gave its name to the immediate activities. It was +charged with having planned a rebellion against the government, but the +plans were discovered and the leaders were arrested. The movement appears +to have been widespread, with its headquarters in Matanzas. An uprising was +planned to take place on August 16, 1823, but on that day Jose Francisco +Lemus, the leader, and a number of his associates were arrested and +imprisoned. Among them was José Maria Heredia, the Cuban poet, who was, +for this offence, condemned, in 1824, to perpetual exile for the crime of +treason. + +Others engaged in the conspiracy fled the country. Some were officially +deported. But the punishments imposed on these people served to excite +the animosity of many more, and a period of agitation followed, marked by +occasional outbreaks and rioting. To meet the situation, an army intended +to be employed in reconquering some of the colonies that had already +declared and established their independence, was retained on the island. +In 1825, a royal decree conferred on the Spanish Governor in Cuba a power +practically absolute. This excited still further the anger of the Cuban +element and led to other manifestations of discontent. There was a +combination of political agitation with revolutionary demonstrations. +In 1826, there was a local uprising in Puerto Principe, directed more +particularly against the Spanish garrison, whose conduct was regarded as +highly offensive. A year or two later, Cuban exiles in Mexico and Colombia, +with support from the people of those countries, organized a secret society +known as the "Black Eagle," having for its purpose a Cuban revolution. Its +headquarters were in Mexico, and its activities were fruitless. Many +were arrested and tried and sentenced to death or deportation. But Vives +realized the folly of adding more fuel to the flames, and the sentences +were in all cases either mitigated or revoked. This seems to have brought +that particular series of conspiracies to an end. It was a time of active +political agitation and conspiracy, with occasional local riots that were +quickly suppressed. While much of it was revolutionary in its aims and +purposes, none of it may with any fitness be called a revolution, unless +a prevalence of a lively spirit of opposition and rebellion is to be so +classed. The agitation settled down for a number of years, but broke out in +local spasms occasionally. There were riots and disorders, but that is not +revolution. It is to be remembered that the cause of all this disturbance +was, in the main, an entirely creditable sentiment, quite as creditable +as that which led the American colonists to resist the Stamp taxes and to +destroy tea. It was a natural and righteous protest against oppression, a +movement lasting for seventy-five years, for which Americans, particularly, +should award praise rather than blame or carping criticism. Having done, in +our own way, very much what the Cubans have done, in their way, we are not +free to condemn them. The only real difference is that their methods were, +on the whole, a little more strenuous than ours. Cuban blood was stirred +by the successful revolutions in Mexico and in Spanish South America, and +conditions in the island were contrasted with those in the then somewhat +new United States. Something of the part played by this country in the +experiences of the time is presented in another chapter, on the relations +of the two countries. + +The next movement worthy of note came in 1849, if we omit the quarrel, in +1837, between General Tacon and his subordinate, General Lorenzo, and the +alleged proposal of the slaves in the neighborhood of Matanzas to rise +and slaughter all the whites. Neither of these quite belongs in the +revolutionary class. In 1847, a conspiracy was organized in the vicinity +of Cienfuegos. Its leader was General Narciso Lopez. The movement was +discovered, and some of the participants were imprisoned. Lopez escaped to +the United States where he associated himself with a group of Cuban exiles, +and opened correspondence with sympathizers in the island. They were joined +by a considerable number of adventurous Americans, inspired by a variety +of motives. The declared purpose of the enterprise was independence as the +alternative of reform in Spanish laws. An expedition was organized, but +the plans became known and President Taylor, on August 11, 1849, issued +a proclamation in which he declared that "an enterprise to invade the +territories of a friendly nation, set on foot and prosecuted within the +limits of the United States, is in the highest degree criminal." He +therefore warned all citizens of the United States who might participate in +such an enterprise that they would be subject to heavy penalties, and would +forfeit the protection of their country. He also called on "every officer +of this Government, civil or military, to use all efforts in his power to +arrest for trial and punishment every such offender against the laws." The +party was captured as it was leaving New York. The best evidence of the +time is to the effect that there was in Cuba neither demand for nor support +of such a movement, but Lopez and his associates, many of them Americans, +persisted. A second expedition was arranged, and a party of more than six +hundred men, many of them American citizens, assembled on the island of +Contoy, off the Yucatan coast, and on May 19, 1850, landed at Cardenas. But +there was no uprising on the part of the people. The Spanish authorities, +informed of the expedition, sent ships by sea and troops by land. After +a sharp skirmish, the invaders fled for their lives. Lopez and those who +escaped with him succeeded in reaching Key West. He went to Savannah, where +he was arrested but promptly liberated in response to public clamor. But +even this did not satisfy the enthusiastic liberator of a people who did +not want to be liberated in that way. He tried again in the following +year. On August 3, 1851, he sailed from near New Orleans, on the steamer +_Pampero_, in command of a force of about four hundred, largely composed +of young Americans who had been lured into the enterprise by assurance of +thrilling adventure and large pay. They landed near Bahia Honda, about +fifty miles west of Havana. Here, again, the Cubans refused to rise and +join the invaders. Here, again, they encountered the Spanish forces by whom +they were beaten and routed. Many were killed, some were captured, and +others escaped into the surrounding country and were captured afterward. +Lopez was among the captured. He was taken to Havana, and died by _garrote_ +in the little fortress La Punta. His first officer, Colonel Crittenden, and +some fifty Americans were captured and taken to Atares, the fortress at the +head of Havana harbor, where they were shot. For that somewhat brutal act, +the United States could ask no indemnity. In violation of the laws of the +United States, they had invaded the territory of a nation with which the +country was at peace. In the initial issue of the _New York Times_, on +October 18, 1851, there appeared a review of the incident, presenting a +contemporaneous opinion of the experience. It was, in part, as follows: + +"Nothing can be clearer than the fact that, for the present, at least, +the inhabitants of Cuba do not desire their freedom. The opinion has very +widely prevailed that the Cubans were grievously oppressed by their Spanish +rulers, and that the severity of their oppression alone prevented them from +making some effort to throw it off. The presence of an armed force in their +midst, however small, it was supposed would summon them by thousands to the +standard of revolt, and convert the colony into a free republic. Men high +in office, men who had lived in Cuba and were supposed to be familiar with +the sentiments of its people, have uniformly represented that they were +ripe for revolt, and desired only the presence of a small military band to +serve as a nucleus for their force. Believing that the Cuban population +would aid them, American adventurers enlisted and were ruined. They found +no aid. Not a Cuban joined them. They were treated as pirates and robbers +from the first moment of their landing. Nor could they expect any other +treatment in case of failure. They ceased to be American citizens the +moment they set out, as invaders, for the shores of Cuba." + +[Illustration: A SPANISH BLOCK HOUSE] + +The excitement of the Lopez incident was passing when it was revived, +in 1854, by the _Black Warrior_ experience, to which reference is made +elsewhere. Another invasion was projected by exuberant and adventurous +Americans. It was to sail from New Orleans under command of General +Quitman, a former Governor of the State of Mississippi. No secret was +made of the expedition, and Quitman openly boasted of his purposes, in +Washington. The reports having reached the White House, President Pierce +issued a proclamation warning "all persons, citizens of the United States +and others residing therein" that the General Government would not fail to +prosecute with due energy all those who presumed to disregard the laws of +the land and our treaty obligations. He charged all officers of the United +States to exert all their lawful power to maintain the authority and +preserve the peace of the country. Quitman was arrested, and put under +bonds to respect the neutrality laws. There was a limited uprising in +Puerto Principe, in 1851, and a conspiracy was revealed, in Pinar del Rio, +in 1852. A few years later the Liberal Club in Havana and the Cuban Junta +in New York were reported as raising money and organizing expeditions. Some +sailed, but they accomplished little, except as the activities appear as a +manifestation of the persistent opposition on the part of what was probably +only a small minority of the Cuban people. For several years, the unrest +and the agitation continued. Spain's blindness to the situation is +puzzling. In his _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan says: +"Spain, after squandering a continent, had still clung tenaciously to Cuba; +and the changing governments which had been born (in Spain) only to be +strangled, held her with a taxing hand. While England had allowed her +colonies to rule themselves, Spain had persisted in keeping Cuba in the +same state of tutelage that existed when she was the greatest power in +the world, and when the idea of colonial rights had not developed." In +_Tomorrow in Cuba_, Mr. Pepper notes that "though the conception of +colonial home rule for Cuba was non-existent among the Spanish statesmen of +that day, the perception of it was clear on the part of the thinking +people of the island. The educated and wealthy Cubans who in 1865 formed +themselves into a national party and urged administrative and economic +changes upon Madrid felt the lack of understanding among Spanish statesmen. +The concessions asked were not a broad application of civil liberties. When +their programme was rejected in its entirety they ceased to ask favors. +They inaugurated the Ten Years' War." Regarding this action by the Cubans, +Dr. Enrique José Varona, a distinguished Cuban and a former deputy to the +Cortes, has stated that "before the insurrection of 1868, the reform party +which included the most enlightened, wealthy, and influential Cubans, +exhausted all the resources within their reach to induce Spain to initiate +a healthy change in her Cuban policy. The party started the publication of +periodicals in Madrid and in the island, addressed petitions, maintained a +great agitation throughout the country, and having succeeded in leading the +Spanish Government to make an inquiry into the economic, political, and +social conditions in Cuba, they presented a complete plan of government +which satisfied public requirements as well as the aspirations of the +people. The Spanish Government disdainfully cast aside the proposition as +useless, increased taxation, and proceeded to its exaction with extreme +severity." Here not seek its independence; the object was reform in +oppressive laws and in burdensome taxation, a measure of self-government, +under Spain, and a greater industrial and commercial freedom. It is most +difficult to understand the short-sightedness of the Spanish authorities. +The war soon followed the refusal of these entirely reasonable demands, and +the course of the Cubans is entirely to their credit. An acceptance of the +situation and a further submission would have shown them as contemptible. + +The details of a conflict that lasted for ten years are quite impossible +of presentation in a few pages. Nor are they of value or interest to any +except special students who can find them elaborately set forth in many +volumes, some in Spanish and a few in English. Having tried once before to +cover this period as briefly and as adequately as possible, I can do no +better here than to repeat the story as told in an earlier work (_Cuba, and +the Intervention_). On the 10th of October, 1868, Carlos Manuel Cespedes +and his associates raised the cry of Cuban independence at Yara, in the +Province of Puerto Principe (now Camaguey). On the 10th of April, 1869, +there was proclaimed the Constitution of the Cuban Republic. During the +intervening months, there was considerable fighting, though it was largely +in the nature of guerrilla skirmishing. The Spanish Minister of State +asserted in a memorandum issued to Spain's representatives in other +countries, under date of February 3, 1876, that at the outbreak of the +insurrection Spain had 7,500 troops, all told, in Cuba. According to +General Sickels, at that time the American Minister to Spain, this number +was increased by reinforcements of 34,500 within the first year of the war. +The accuracy of this information, however, has been questioned. Prior +to the establishment of the so-called Republic, the affairs of the +insurrection were in the hands of an Assembly of Representatives. On +February 26, this body issued a decree proclaiming the abolition of slavery +throughout the island, and calling upon those who thus received their +freedom to "contribute their efforts to the independence of Cuba." During +the opening days of April, 1869, the Assembly met at Guiamaro. On the tenth +of that month a government was organized, with a president, vice-president, +general-in-chief of the army, secretaries of departments, and a parliament +or congress. Carlos Manuel Cespedes was chosen as President, and Manuel +de Quesada as General-in-Chief. A Constitution was adopted. Señor Morales +Lemus was appointed as minister to the United States, to represent the new +Republic, and to ask official recognition by the American Government. The +government which the United States was asked to recognize was a somewhat +vague institution. The insurrection, or revolution, if it may be so +called, at this time consisted of a nominal central government, chiefly +self-organized and self-elected, and various roving bands, probably +numbering some thousands in their aggregate, of men rudely and +incompetently armed, and showing little or nothing of military organization +or method. + +Like all Cuban-Spanish wars and warfare, the destruction of property was a +common procedure. Some of the methods employed for the suppression of the +insurrection were not unlike those adopted by General Weyler in the later +war. At Bayamo, on April 4, 1869, Count Valmaseda, the Spanish Commandant +of that district, issued the following proclamation: + +1. Every man, from the age of fifteen years upward, found away from his +place of habitation, who does not prove a justified reason therefor, will +be shot. + +2. Every unoccupied habitation will be burned by the troops. + +3. Every habitation from which no white flag floats, as a signal that its +occupants desire peace, will be reduced to ashes. + +In the summer of 1869, the United States essayed a reconciliation and +an adjustment of the differences between the contestants. To this Spain +replied that the mediation of any nation in a purely domestic question was +wholly incompatible with the honor of Spain, and that the independence of +Cuba was inadmissible as a basis of negotiation. Heavy reinforcements were +sent from Spain, and the strife continued. The commerce of the island +was not greatly disturbed, for the reason that the great producing and +commercial centres lay to the westward, and the military activities were +confined, almost exclusively, to the eastern and central areas. In April, +1874, Mr. Fish, then Secretary of State, reported that "it is now more than +five years since the uprising (in Cuba) and it has been announced with +apparent authority, that Spain has lost upward of 80,000 men, and has +expended upward of $100,000,000, in efforts to suppress it; yet the +insurrection seems today as active and as powerful as it has ever been." +Spain's losses among her troops were not due so much to the casualties of +war as they were to the ravages of disease, especially yellow fever. The +process, in which both parties would appear to be about equally culpable, +of destroying property and taking life when occasion offered, proceedings +which are hardly to be dignified by the name of war, continued until the +beginning of 1878. Throughout the entire period of the war, the American +officials labored diligently for its termination on a basis that would give +fair promise of an enduring peace. Many questions arose concerning the +arrest of American citizens and the destruction of property of American +ownership. Proposals to grant the Cubans the rights of belligerents were +dismissed as not properly warranted by the conditions, and questions +arose regarding the supply of arms and ammunition, from this country, by +filibustering expeditions. References to Cuban affairs appear in many +presidential messages, and the matter was a subject of much discussion and +numerous measures in Congress. Diplomatic communication was constantly +active. In his message of December 7, 1875, President Grant said: "The past +year has furnished no evidence of an approaching termination of the ruinous +conflict which has been raging for seven years in the neighboring island +of Cuba. While conscious that the insurrection has shown a strength and +endurance which make it at least doubtful whether it be in the power of +Spain to subdue it, it seems unquestionable that no such civil organization +exists which may be recognized as an independent government capable of +performing its international obligations and entitled to be treated as one +of the powers of the earth." Nor did he then deem the grant of belligerent +rights to the Cubans as either expedient or properly warranted by the +circumstances. + +In 1878, Martinez Campos was Governor-General of Cuba, and Maximo Gomez +was Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban forces. Both parties were weary of +the prolonged hostilities, and neither was able to compel the other to +surrender. Spain, however, professed a willingness to yield an important +part of the demands of her rebellious subjects. Martinez Campos and Gomez +met at Zanjon and, on February 10, 1878, mutually agreed to what has been +variously called a peace pact, a treaty, and a capitulation. The agreement +was based on provisions for a redress of Cuban grievances through greater +civil, political, and administrative privileges for the Cubans, with +forgetfulness of the past and amnesty for all then under sentence for +political offences. Delay in carrying these provisions into effect gave +rise to an attempt to renew the struggle two years later, but the effort +was a failure. + +Matters then quieted down for a number of years. The Cubans waited to see +what would be done. The Spanish Governor-General still remained the supreme +power and, aside from the abolition of slavery, the application of the +Spanish Constitution and Spanish laws to Cuba, and Cuban representation +in the Cortes, much of which was rather form than fact, the island gained +little by the new conditions. Discontent and protest continued and, at +last, broke again into open rebellion in 1895. + +The story of that experience is told in another chapter. In 1906, there +came one of the most deplorable experiences in the history of the island, +the first and only discreditable revolution. The causes of the experience +are not open to our criticism. Our own records show too much of precisely +the same kind of work, illegal registration, ballot box stuffing, threats +and bribery. The first election in the new Republic was carried with only +a limited and somewhat perfunctory opposition to the candidacy of Estrada +Palma. Before the second election came, in 1905, he allied himself +definitely with an organization then known as the Moderate party. The +opposition was known as the Liberal party. Responsibility for the +disgraceful campaign that followed rests on both, almost equally. The +particular difference lies in the fact that, the principal offices having +been given to adherents of the Moderates, they were able to control both +registration and election proceedings. But the methods employed by the +opposition were no less censurable. Realizing defeat, the Liberals withdrew +from the field, by concerted action, on the day of the election, and the +Moderates elected every one of their candidates. Naturally, a feeling of +bitter resentment was created, and there came, in the spring of 1906, +rumors of armed revolt. In August, an actual insurrection was begun. +Disgruntled political leaders gathered formidable bands in Pinar del Rio +and in Santa Clara provinces. President Palma became seriously alarmed, +even actually frightened. Through the United States Consul-General in +Havana, he sent urgent appeals to Washington for naval and military aid. +Mr. Taft, then Secretary of War, and Mr. Bacon, the Assistant Secretary of +State, were sent to Havana to investigate and report on the situation. They +arrived in Havana on September 19. After ten days of careful and thorough +study, and earnest effort to effect an adjustment, a proclamation was +issued declaring the creation of a provisional government. This was +accepted by both parties and the insurgent bands dispersed. Charles E. +Magoon was sent down as Provisional Governor. Americans who are disposed to +censure the Cubans for this experience in their history, may perhaps turn +with profit to some little experiences in the history of their own country +in its political infancy, in 1786 and 1794. Those incidents do not relieve +the Cubans of the censure to which they are open, but they make it a +little difficult for us to condemn them with proper grace and dignity. The +provisional government continued until January 28, 1909, when control was +turned over to the duly elected officials, they being the same who withdrew +from the polls, acknowledging defeat, in the election of 1905. + + + + +X + +_INDEPENDENCE_ + + +Cuba's final movement for independence began on February 24, 1895. Under +the treaty of Zanjon, executed in 1878, Spain agreed to grant to the Cubans +such reforms as would remove their grounds of complaint, long continued. +The Cubans denied that the terms of the agreement had been kept. Those +terms are indicated in a statement submitted by Tomas Estrada y Palma to +Richard Olney, then Secretary of State of the United States. It bore the +date of December 7, 1895. The communication sets forth, from the Cuban +point of view, of course, the causes of the revolution of 1895. It says: + +"These causes are substantially the same as those of the former revolution, +lasting from 1868 to 1878, and terminating only on the representation of +the Spanish Government that Cuba would be granted such reforms as +would remove the grounds of complaint on the part of the Cuban people. +Unfortunately the hopes thus held out have never been realized. The +representation which was to be given the Cubans has proved to be absolutely +without character; taxes have been levied anew on everything conceivable; +the offices in the island have increased, but the officers are all +Spaniards; the native Cubans have been left with no public duties +whatsoever to perform, except the payment of taxes to the Government and +blackmail to the officials, without privilege even to move from place to +place in the island except on the permission of government authority. + +"Spain has framed laws so that the natives have substantially been deprived +of the right of suffrage. The taxes levied have been almost entirely +devoted to support the army and navy in Cuba, to pay interest on the debt +that Spain has saddled on the island, and to pay the salaries of the vast +number of Spanish office holders, devoting only $746,000 for internal +improvements out of the $26,000,000 collected by tax. No public schools are +in reach of the masses for their education. All the principal industries +of the island are hampered by excessive imposts. Her commerce with every +country but Spain has been crippled in every possible manner, as can +readily be seen by the frequent protests of shipowners and merchants. + +"The Cubans have no security of person or property. The judiciary are +instruments of the military authorities. Trial by military tribunals can be +ordered at any time at the will of the Captain-General. There is, besides, +no freedom of speech, press, or religion. In point of fact, the causes of +the Revolution of 1775 in this country were not nearly as grave as those +that have driven the Cuban people to the various insurrections which +culminated in the present revolution." + +Spain, of course, denied these charges, and asserted that the agreement had +been kept in good faith. The Spanish Government may have been technically +correct in its claim that all laws necessary to the fulfillment of its +promises had been enacted. But it seems entirely certain that they had not +been made effective. The conditions of the Cubans were in no way improved +and, some time before the outbreak, they began preparations for armed +resistance. In _Cuba and the Intervention_ (published in 1905) I have +already written an outline review of the experience of the revolution, and +I shall here make use of extracts from that volume. The notable leader +and instigator of the movement was José Marti, a patriot, a poet, and a +dreamer, but a man of action. He visited General Maximo Gomez at his home +in Santo Domingo, where that doughty old warrior had betaken himself after +the conclusion of the Ten Years' War. Gomez accepted the command of the +proposed army of Cuban liberation. Antonio Maceo also accepted a command. +He was a mulatto, an able and daring fighter, whose motives were perhaps a +compound of patriotism, hatred of Spain, and a love for the excitement of +warfare. Others whose names are written large in Cuba's history soon joined +the movement. A _junta_, or committee, was organized with headquarters in +New York. After the death of Marti, this was placed in charge of Tomas +Estrada y Palma, who afterward became the first President of the new +Republic. Its work was to raise funds, obtain and forward supplies and +ammunition, and to advance the cause in all possible ways. There were legal +battles to be fought by and through this organization, and Mr. Horatio S. +Rubens, a New York lawyer, was placed in charge of that department. The +twenty-fourth of February was set for the beginning of activities, but arms +were lacking, and while the movement was actually begun on that day, the +operations of the first six weeks or so were limited to numerous local +uprisings of little moment. But the local authorities became alarmed, and +martial law was proclaimed in Santa Clara and Matanzas provinces on the +27th. Spain became alarmed also, and immediately despatched General +Martinez Campos as Governor-General of the island, to succeed General +Calleja. He assumed command on April 16. Maceo and his associates, among +them his brother José, also a fighter of note, landed from Costa Rica +on April 1. Marti, Gomez, and others, reached the island on the 11th. +Meanwhile, Bartolomé Maso, an influential planter in Oriente, had been in +command of the forces in his vicinity. Many joined, and others stood ready +to join as soon as they could be equipped. Engagements with the Spanish +troops soon became a matter of daily occurrence, and Martinez Campos +realized that a formidable movement was on. Spain hurried thousands of +soldiers to the island. + +For the first five months, the insurgents kept their opponents busy with an +almost uninterrupted series of little engagements, a guerrilla warfare. In +one of these, on May 19, José Marti was killed. His death was a severe blow +to the patriots, but it served rather to inspire a greater activity than +to check the movement. His death came in the effort of a small band of +insurgents to pass the Spanish cordon designed to confine activities to +Oriente Province. Immediately after the death of Marti, Maximo Gomez +crossed that barrier and organized an army in Camaguey. The first +engagement properly to be regarded as a battle occurred at Peralejo, near +Bayamo, in Oriente, about the middle of July. The respective leaders were +Antonio Maceo and General Martinez Campos, in person. The victory fell to +Maceo, and Martinez Campos barely eluded capture. The engagements of the +Ten Years' War were confined to the then sparsely settled eastern half of +the island. Those of the revolution of 1895 covered the greater part of the +island, sweeping gradually but steadily from east to west. During my first +visit to Cuba, I was frequently puzzled by references to "the invasion." +"What invasion?" I asked, "Who invaded the country?" I found that it meant +the westward sweep of the liberating army under Gomez and Maceo. It +covered a period of more than two years of frequent fighting and general +destruction of property. Early in the operations Gomez issued the following +proclamation: + + +GENERAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION + +Najasa, Camaguey, July 1, 1895. + +To THE PLANTERS AND OWNERS OF CATTLE RANCHES: + +_In accord with the great interests of the revolution for the independence +of the country, and for which we are in arms_: + +WHEREAS, _all exploitations of any product whatsoever are aids and +resources to the Government that we are fighting, it is resolved by the +general-in-chief to issue this general order throughout the island, that +the introduction of articles of commerce, as well as beef and cattle, +into the towns occupied by the enemy, is absolutely prohibited. The sugar +plantations will stop their labors, and those who shall attempt to grind +the crop notwithstanding this order, will have their cane burned and their +buildings demolished. The person who, disobeying this order, shall try to +profit from the present situation of affairs, will show by his conduct +little respect for the rights of the revolution of redemption, and +therefore shall be considered as an enemy, treated as a traitor, and tried +as such in case of his capture_. + + (_Signed_) MAXIMO GOMEZ, + The General-in-Chief. + +This proved only partially effective, and it was followed by a circular to +commanding officers, a few months later, reading thus: + + +HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION + +Territory of Sancti Spiritus, November 6, 1895. + +_Animated by the spirit of unchangeable resolution in defence of the rights +of the revolution of redemption of this country of colonists, humiliated +and despised by Spain, and in harmony with what has been decreed concerning +the subject in the circular dated the 1st of July, I have ordered the +following_: + +ARTICLE I. _That all plantations shall be totally destroyed, their cane and +outbuildings burned, and railroad connections destroyed_. + +ARTICLE II. _All laborers who shall aid the sugar factories--these sources +of supplies that we must deprive the enemy of--shall be considered as +traitors to their country_. + +ARTICLE III. _All who are caught in the act, or whose violation of Article +II shall be proven, shall be shot. Let all chiefs of operations of the army +of liberty comply with this order, determined to furl triumphantly, even +over ruin and ashes, the flag of the Republic of Cuba_. + +_In regard to the manner of waging the war, follow the private instructions +that I have already given_. + +_For the sake of the honor of our arms and your well-known courage and +patriotism, it is expected that you will strictly comply with the above +orders_. + + _(Signed)_ MAXIMO GOMEZ, + General-in-Chief. + +To peace-loving souls, all this sounds very brutal, but all war is brutal +and barbarous. In our strife in the Philippines, from 1899 to 1902, many of +us were proud to be told that we were conducting a "humane war." There is +no such thing. The very terms are contradictory. Gomez had declared that +if Spain would not give up Cuba to the Cubans, the Cubans would themselves +render the island so worthless and desolate a possession that Spain could +not afford to hold it. Short of further submission to a rule that was, very +rightly, regarded as no longer endurable, no other course was open to them. +Another proclamation appeared a few days later. + + + HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF + LIBERATION + + Sancti Spiritus, November 11 1895. + +To HONEST MEN, VICTIMS OF THE TORCH: + +_The painful measure made necessary by the revolution of redemption +drenched in innocent blood from Hatuey to our own times by cruel and +merciless Spain will plunge you in misery. As general-in-chief of the army +of liberation, it is my duty to lead it to victory, without permitting +myself to be restrained or terrified, by any means necessary to place Cuba +in the shortest time in possession of her dearest ideal. I therefore place +the responsibility for so great a ruin on those who look on impassively and +force us to those extreme measures which they then condemn like dolts and +hypocrites as they are. After so many years of supplication, humiliation, +contumely, banishment, and death, when this people, of its own will, has +arisen in arms, there remains no solution but to triumph, it matters not +what means are employed to accomplish it_. + +_This people cannot hesitate between the wealth of Spain and the liberty +of Cuba. Its greatest crime would be to stain the land with blood without +effecting its purposes because of puerile scruples and fears which do not +concur with the character of the men who are in the field, challenging the +fury of an army which is one of the bravest in the world, but which in this +war is without enthusiasm or faith, ill-fed and unpaid. The war did not +begin February 24; it is about to begin now_. + +_The war had to be organized; it was necessary to calm and lead into +the proper channels the revolutionary spirit always exaggerated in the +beginning by wild enthusiasm. The struggle ought to begin in obedience to a +plan and method more or less studied, as the result of the peculiarities of +this war. This has already been done. Let Spain now send her soldiers to +rivet the chains on her slaves; the children of this land are in the field, +armed with the weapons of liberty. The struggle will be terrible, but +success will crown the revolution and the efforts of the oppressed_. + +(_Signed_) MAXIMO GOMEZ, +General-in-Chief. + +Such an address doubtless savors of bombast to many Americans, but in the +history of political and military oratory in their own land they can find +an endless number of speeches that, in that particular quality, rival if +they do not surpass it. The Cuban situation was desperate, and the Cuban +attitude was one of fixed determination. Productive industry was generally +suppressed, and much property was destroyed, by both Cubans and Spaniards. +This necessarily threw many out of employment, and drove them into the +insurgent ranks. The Cubans are a peaceful people. All desired relief from +oppressive conditions, but many did not want war. While many entered the +army from patriotic motives, many others were brought into it only as a +consequence of conditions created by the conflict. The measures adopted +were severe, but decision of the contest by pitched battles was quite +impossible. The quoted figures are somewhat unreliable, but the Spanish +forces outnumbered the Cubans by at least five to one, and they could +obtain freely the supplies and ammunition that the Cubans could obtain only +by filibustering expeditions. The Cubans, therefore, adopted a policy, the +only policy that afforded promise of success. Spain poured in fresh troops +until, by the close of 1895, its army is reported as numbering 200,000 men. + +The Cubans carried the contest westward from Oriente and Camaguey, through +Santa Clara, and into the provinces of Matanzas, Havana, and Pinar del Rio. + +[Illustration: ALONG THE HARBOR WALL _Havana_] + +The _trocha_ across the island, from Jucaro on the south to Moron on the +north, originally constructed during the Ten Years' War, was a line of +blockhouses, connected by barbed wire tangles, along a railway. This +obstructed but did not stop the Cuban advance. The authorities declared +martial law in the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Rio on January 2, +1896. Gomez advanced to Marianao, at Havana's very door, and that city was +terrified. Maceo was operating immediately beyond him in Pinar del Rio, +through the most important part of which he swept with torch and machete. +The Spaniards built a _trocha_ there from Mariel southward. Maceo crossed +it and continued his work of destruction, in which large numbers of the +people of the region joined. He burned and destroyed Spanish property; +the Spaniards, in retaliation, burned and destroyed property belonging to +Cubans. Along the highway from Marianao to Guanajay, out of many stately +country residences, only one was left standing. Villages were destroyed and +hamlets were wrecked. On one of his expeditions in December, 1896, Maceo +was killed near Punta Brava, within fifteen miles of Havana. Gomez planned +this westward sweep, from Oriente, six hundred miles away, but to Antonio +Maceo belongs a large part of the credit for its execution. The weakness of +the Ten Years' War was that it did not extend beyond the thinly populated +region of the east; Gomez and Maceo carried their war to the very gates of +the Spanish strongholds. There were occasional conflicts that might well be +called battles, but much of it was carried on by the Cubans by sudden and +unexpected dashes into Spanish camps or moving columns, brief but sometimes +bloody encounters from which the attacking force melted away after +inflicting such damage as it could. Guerrilla warfare is not perhaps a +respectable method of fighting. It involves much of what is commonly +regarded as outlawry, of pillage and of plunder, of destruction and +devastation. These results become respectable only when attained through +conventional processes, and are in some way supposed to be ennobled by +those processes. But they sometimes become the only means by which the weak +can meet the strong. Such they seemed to be in the Cuban revolt against +the Spaniards, when Maximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo made guerrilla warfare +almost a military science. Gomez formulated his plan of campaign, but, with +the means at his disposal, its successful execution was possible only by +the methods adopted. At all events, it succeeded. The Cubans were not +strong enough to drive Spain out of the island by force of arms, but they +showed themselves unconquerable by the Spanish troops. They had once +carried on a war for ten years in a limited area; by the methods adopted, +they could repeat that experience practically throughout the island. They +could at least keep insurrection alive until Spain should yield to their +terms, or until the United States should be compelled to intervene. No +great movements, but constant irritation, and the suspension of all +industry, was the policy adopted and pursued for the year 1897. + +But there was another side to it all, a different line of activity. +Immediately after his arrival on the island, on April 11, 1895, Marti +had issued a call for the selection of representatives to form a civil +government. He was killed before this was effected. An assembly met, at +Jimaguayu, in Camaguey, on September 13, 1895. It consisted of twenty +members, representing nearly all parts of the island. Its purpose was the +organization of a Cuban Republic. On the 16th, it adopted a Constitution +and, on the 18th, elected, as President, Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, and +as Vice-President, Bartolomé Maso. Secretaries and sub-secretaries were +duly chosen, and all were formally installed. Maximo Gomez was officially +appointed as General-in-Chief of the army, with Antonio Maceo as Lieutenant +General. Tomas Estrada y Palma was chosen as delegate plenipotentiary +and general agent abroad, with headquarters in New York. Both civil and +military organizations were, for a time, crude and somewhat incoherent. It +could not be otherwise. They were engaged in a movement that could only +succeed by success. Arms and money were lacking. The civil government was +desirable in a field that the military arm could not cover. Action lay with +the military and with the Cuban Junta in the United States. The latter +organization immediately became active. Calls were made for financial +assistance and liberal responses were made, chiefly by Cubans. In 1896 +and 1897, bonds were issued and sold, or were exchanged for supplies and +munitions of war. For a number of years scandalous stories were afloat +declaring that these bonds were printed by the acre, and issued, purely for +speculative purposes, to the extent of millions upon millions of dollars. +The truth is that every bond printed, whether issued or unissued, has been +fully accounted for, the actual issue being about $2,200,000. Provision was +made in Cuba's Constitution for the recognition of this indebtedness, and +it has since been discharged, while the plates and the unused bonds have +been destroyed. There may have been speculation in the bonds, as there was +in the bonds issued by the United States during the Civil War, but Cuba's +conduct in the whole matter has been honest and most honorable. In that +matter certainly, its detractors have been confounded. The principal +difficulty encountered by the _junta_ was the despatch to Cuba of the men +and the munitions so greatly needed by those in the field. That, however, +is a story that I shall endeavor to tell, in part, in another chapter. It +cannot now, if ever, be told in full. + +Meanwhile, a complicated political situation developed. The story is too +long and too complicated for review in detail. It may be given in general +outline. The Peace of 1878 was followed by the organization of political +parties, the Liberal and the Union Constitutional. At first, there was +comparatively little difference in the essence of their respective +platforms, but the lines diverged as the situation developed. The Liberal +party became, and remained, the Cuban party, and the Union Constitutional +became the Spanish party. Later on, the Liberals became the Autonomists. +Their object, for twenty years, was reform in conditions under the rule of +Spain. There was no independence party. That was organized, in 1895, by +Marti, Gomez, Maceo, Maso, and their associates. It had only one plank in +its platform--_Cuba Libre y Independiente_--whatever the cost to the island +and its people. "The Autonomist group," says Mr. Pepper, in his _Tomorrow +in Cuba_, "became as much a political party as it could become under +Spanish institutions." It grew in strength and influence, and continued its +agitation persistently and stubbornly. The Spanish Cortes busied itself +with discussion of Cuban affairs, but reached no conclusions, produced no +results. In 1893, there came the definite organization of the Reformist +party, with aims not differing greatly from those of the _Autonomistas_. +But Spain delayed until Marti and his followers struck their blow. Official +efforts to placate them failed utterly, as did efforts to intimidate them +or to conquer them. The Autonomists declared their support of the existing +Government, and rebuked the insurgents in a _manifesto_ issued on April 4, +1895, six weeks after the outbreak. They only succeeded in antagonizing +both sides, the Spanish authorities and the revolutionists. Spain, greatly +alarmed, recalled Martinez Campos and sent out Weyler to succeed him. +Had Spain followed the advice of Martinez Campos, the failure of the +insurrection would have been little short of certain. It sent out Weyler, +on whom the Cubans, twenty years earlier, had conferred the title of +"Butcher." This step threw to the side of the insurgents the great mass +of the middle class Cubans who had previously wavered in uncertainty, +questioning the success of revolution while adhering to its general +object. Weyler instituted the brutal policy that came to be known as +reconcentration. It may be said, in a way, that the Cuban forces themselves +instituted this policy. To clear the country in which they were operating, +they had ordered all Spaniards and Spanish sympathizers to betake +themselves to the cities and towns occupied by Spanish garrisons. This was +inconvenient for its victims, but its purpose was humane. Gomez also sought +to concentrate the Cubans, particularly the women and children, in the +recesses of the hills where they would be less exposed to danger than they +would be in their homes. This also was a humane purpose. + +Weyler's application of this policy was utterly brutal. The people of the +country were herded in prison camps, in settlements surrounded by stockades +or trenches beyond which they might not pass. No provision was made for +their food or maintenance. The victims were non-combatants, women, and +children. In his message of December, 1897, President McKinley said of +this system, as applied by Weyler, "It was not civilized warfare; it was +extermination. The only peace it could beget was that of the wilderness +and the grave." In my experience as a campaign correspondent in several +conflicts, I have necessarily seen more or less of gruesome sights, +the result of disease and wounds, but I have seen nothing in any way +comparable, in horror and pitifulness, to the victims of this abominable +system. To describe their condition in detail would be little short of +offensive, those groups of hopeless, helpless sufferers who lingered only +until death came and kindly put them out of their misery and pain. But by +this time, two forces had come into active operation, dire alarm in Spain +and wrath and indignation in the United States. Weyler had failed as +Martinez Campos, when leaving the island, predicted. He was recalled, and +was succeeded, on October 31, 1897, by General Blanco. The new incumbent +tried conciliation, but it failed. The work had gone too far. The party in +the field had become the dominant party, not to be suppressed either by +force of arms or by promises of political and economic reform. At last, +Spain yielded. Outside pressure on Madrid, chiefly from the United States, +prevailed. A scheme for Cuban autonomy was devised and, on January 1, +1898, was put into effect. But it came too late. It was welcomed by many +non-participants in the war, and a form of government was organized under +it. But the party then dominant, the army in the field, distrusted the +arrangement and would have none of it. All overtures were rejected and +the struggle continued. On February 15, 1898, came the disaster to the +battleship _Maine_, in the harbor of Havana. On April 11th, President +McKinley's historic message went to Congress, declaring that "the only hope +of relief and repose from a condition which can no longer be endured is the +enforced pacification of Cuba," and asking for power and authority to use +the military and naval forces of the United States to effect a termination +of the strife in Cuba. Such, in the briefest possible outline, is the +record of this eventful period, eventful alike for Cuba and for the United +States. + +During this struggle, the people of the United States became deeply +interested in the affairs of the island, and the Administration in +Washington became gravely concerned by them. A preceding chapter, on the +United States and Cuba, dropped the matter of the relations of this country +to the island at the end of the Ten Years' War, but the relations were by +no means dropped, nor were they even suspended. The affairs of the island +appear again and again in diplomatic correspondence and in presidential +messages. The platform of the Republican party, adopted at the national +convention in St. Louis, on June 18, 1896, contained the following: "From +the hour of achieving their own independence, the people of the United +States have regarded with sympathy the struggles of other American peoples +to free themselves from European domination. We watch with deep and abiding +interest the heroic battle of the Cuban patriots against cruelty and +oppression, and our best hopes go out for the full success of their +determined contest for liberty. The Government of Spain having lost control +of Cuba and being unable to protect the property or lives of resident +American citizens, or to comply with its treaty obligations, we believe +that the Government of the United States should actively use its influence +and good offices to restore peace and give independence to the island." +The Democratic party platform of the same year stated that "we extend our +sympathy to the people of Cuba in their heroic struggle for liberty and +independence." The platform of the People's party likewise expressed +sympathy, and declared the belief that the time had come when "the United +States should recognize that Cuba is and of right ought to be a free and +independent State." This may be regarded as the almost unanimous opinion of +the people of this country at that time. In 1896 and 1897 many resolutions +were introduced in the Congress urging action for the recognition of Cuban +independence. There was frequent and prolonged debate on the question, but +no final action was taken. In his message of December, 1897, President +McKinley said: "Of the untried measures (regarding Cuba) there remain +only: Recognition of the insurgents as belligerents; recognition of the +independence of Cuba; neutral intervention to end the war by imposing a +rational compromise between the contestants; and intervention in favor of +one or the other party. I speak not of forcible annexation, for that +cannot be thought of. That, by our code of morality, would be criminal +aggression." + +[Illustration: COUNTRY ROAD _Havana Province_] + +Recognition of the Cubans as belligerents would have effected a radical +change in the situation. It would have given the Cubans the right to buy in +the American market the arms and supplies that they could then only obtain +surreptitiously, that they could only ship by "filibustering expeditions," +by blockade-runners. In law, the propriety of granting belligerent rights +depends upon the establishment of certain facts, upon the proof of the +existence of certain conditions. Those conditions did then exist in Cuba. +An unanswerable argument was submitted by Horatio S. Rubens, Esq., the +able counsel of the Cuban _junta_ in New York. The Cubans never asked for +intervention by the United States; they did, with full justification, ask +for recognition as belligerents. The consent of this country was deemed +inexpedient on political rather than on moral grounds. Had it suited the +purposes of this country to grant that right, very much the same arguments +would have been made in support of the course as those that were used to +support the denial of Cuba's requests. Recognition of Cuban independence, +or intervention in favor of the Cubans, would have been the equivalent of +the grant of belligerent rights. But the policy adopted, and the course +pursued, did not serve to avert war with Spain. The story of that war has +been written by many, and is not for inclusion here. The treaty of peace +was signed, in Paris, on December 10, 1898, duly ratified by both parties +in the following months, and was finally proclaimed on April 11, 1899. The +war was over, but its definite termination was officially declared on the +anniversary of the issuance of President McKinley's war message. On January +1, 1899, the American flag was hoisted throughout the island, as a signal +of full authority, but subject to the provisions of the Teller Amendment to +the Joint Resolution of Congress, of April 20, 1898, thus: + +"That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to +exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said Island except +for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is +accomplished, to leave the government and control of the Island to its +people." + +At twelve o'clock, noon, on the 20th of May, 1902, there was gathered +in the State Apartment of the Palace occupied by many Spanish +Governors-General, the officials of the United States, the elected +officials of the new Cuban Republic, and a limited number of guests. In +that same apartment, General Castellanos signed the abdication of Spanish +authority. In its turn, pursuant to its pledges, the United States +transferred authority to the President of the Cuban Republic. Four +centuries of subjection, and a century of protest and struggle, were there +and then ended, and Cuba joined the sisterhood of independent nations. + + + + +XI + +_FILIBUSTERING_ + + +The term "filibuster" affords an interesting example of the way in which +words and their uses become twisted into something altogether different +from their original meaning. It comes from a Dutch word, several centuries +old, _vrijbuiter_, or free vessel or boat. It got somehow into English as +"freebooter," and into Spanish as _filibustero_. The original referred +to piracy. Two or three centuries later, it meant an engagement in +unauthorized and illegal warfare against foreign States, in effect, +piratical invasions. In time, it came into use to describe the supply +of military material to revolutionists, and finally to obstruction in +legislative proceedings. In his message of June 13, 1870, President Grant +said that "the duty of opposition to filibustering has been admitted by +every President. Washington encountered the efforts of Genet and the French +revolutionists; John Adams, the projects of Miranda; Jefferson, the schemes +of Aaron Burr. Madison and subsequent Presidents had to deal with the +question of foreign enlistment and equipment in the United States, and +since the days of John Quincy Adams it has been one of the constant cares +of the Government in the United States to prevent piratical expeditions +against the feeble Spanish American Republics from leaving our shores." + +In 1806, Francisco Miranda, a Venezuelan patriot whose revolutionary +activities preceded those of Simon Bolivar, sailed from New York on what +would have been called, some years later, a filibustering expedition. His +three vessels were manned chiefly by Americans. There are always those +whose love of excitement and adventure, sometimes mixed with an active +sympathy for an under dog, leads them to engage in such an enterprise. This +one was productive of no important results. There were plenty of American +pirates and privateers in earlier days, but I have found no record of any +earlier actual expedition whose purpose was the creation of a new republic. +But during the next hundred years, including the considerable number +of Americans who have engaged in the present disorder in Mexico, such +enterprises have been numerous. Among the most notable are the several +Lopez expeditions to Cuba, about 1850, and the Walker expeditions to +Lower California, Nicaragua, and Honduras, a few years later. The steamer +_Virginius_, to which reference is made in another chapter, was engaged +in filibustering when she was captured, in 1873, and many of her crew and +passengers unlawfully executed, by Spanish authority, in Santiago. But that +was only one of many similar enterprises during the Ten Years' War in Cuba. +It is very doubtful if the war could have continued as it did without them. +During our own Civil War, we called such industries "blockade-running," but +it was all quite the same sort of thing. The Confederate army needed arms, +ammunition, medicine, and supplies of many kinds. On April 19, 1861, +President Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of the ports of the seceded States, +with a supplementary proclamation on the 27th that completed the line, and +thus tied the South hand and foot. In his _History of the United States_, +Elson notes that raw cotton could be bought in Southern ports for four +cents a pound while it was worth $2.50 a pound in Liverpool, and that a ton +of salt worth seven or eight dollars in Nassau, a few miles off the coast, +was worth $1700 in gold in Richmond before the close of the war, all +because of the blockade. + +There is, naturally, a lack of detail regarding the many expeditions, large +and small, of the Ten Years' War, but they began soon after the opening of +hostilities. In his _Diary_, Gideon Welles notes, under date of April 7, +1869, the prevalence of "rumors of illegal expeditions fitting out in our +country to aid the Cuban insurgents," and states that "our countrymen are +in sympathy with them." In December, of that year, President Grant reported +that a number of illegal expeditions had been broken up, but did not +refer to those that had succeeded. In October, 1870, he issued a general +proclamation, without specific reference to Cuba, warning all persons +against engagement in such expeditions. During the years of the war, +Spanish warships, at different times, seized American vessels, a proceeding +which led to some active diplomatic negotiation, and which, on several +occasions, threatened to involve this country in war with Spain. The +problem of the industry variously known as filibustering, blockade-running, +gun-running, and the shipment of contraband, has two ends. There is, first, +the task of getting the shipment out of one country, and, second, the task +of getting it into another country. While it is generally classed as an +unlawful enterprise, there frequently arises a difficulty in proving +violation of law, even when goods are seized and the participants arrested. +There is, perhaps, a moral question involved also. Such shipments may be a +violation of the law. They are generally so regarded. But they may be, +as in the case of the struggling Cubans, struggling against actual +and generally admitted wrongs, the only means of serving a worthy and +commendable end. There is no doubt that, in Cuba's revolution of 1895, +Americans who knew about the work were prone to regard a successful +expedition to the island with satisfaction if not with glee. They were +inclined to regard those engaged as worthy patriots rather than as +law-breakers. + +Under date of February 23, 1898, the House of Representatives requested +the Secretary of the Treasury to inform that body "at the earliest date +practicable, if not incompatible with the public service, what has been +done by the United States to prevent the conveyance to the Cubans +of articles produced in the United States, and what to prevent +'filibustering,' and with what results, giving particulars, and at what +expense to the United States." A reply was sent on the 28th. It makes a +very good showing for the activities of the officials responsible for the +prevention of such expeditions, but from all I can learn about the matter, +it is quite incomplete. There were a number of excursions not set down in +the official records. Sailing dates and time and place of arrival were not +advertised in the daily papers. + +The official statement shows that sixty reports of alleged filibustering +expeditions were brought to the attention of the Treasury Department; that +twenty-eight of them were frustrated through efforts of the Department; +that five were frustrated by the United States Navy; four by Spain; two +wrecked; one driven back by storm; one failed through a combination of +causes; and seventeen that may be regarded as successful expeditions. The +records of the Cuban _junta_ very materially increase the number in the +latter class. The despatch of these expeditions was a three-cornered battle +of wits. The groups engaged were the officials of the United States, the +representatives of Spain, and the agents of the revolution. The United +States employed the revenue service and the navy, aided on land by the +Customs Service, the Secret Service, and other Federal officers. The +official representatives of Spain employed scores of detectives and Spanish +spies. The Cuban group sought to outwit them all, and succeeded remarkably +well in doing so. A part of the story has been told, with general +correctness, in a little volume entitled _A Captain Unafraid_, described +as _The Strange Adventures of Dynamite Johnny O'Brien_. This man, really a +remarkable man in his special line, was born in New York, in 1837, and, at +the time this is written, is still living. He was born and grew to boyhood +in the shadow of the numerous shipyards then in active operation along the +East River. The yards were his playground. At thirteen years of age, he ran +away and went to see as cook on a fishing sloop. He admits that he could +not then "cook a pot of water without burning it," but claims that he +could catch cod-fish where no one else could find them. From fisherman, +sailing-master on private yachts, schooner captain, and officer in the +United States Navy in the Civil War, he became a licensed East River pilot +in New York. He became what might be called a professional filibuster +at the time of the revolution in Colombia, in 1885, following that with +similar experience in a revolt in Honduras two years later. The Cubans +landed a few expeditions in 1895, but a greater number were blocked. +In March, 1896, they applied to O'Brien and engaged him to command the +_Bermuda_, then lying in New York and ready to sail. Captain O'Brien +reports that her cargo included "2,500 rifles, a 12-pounder Hotchkiss +field-gun, 1,500 revolvers, 200 short carbines, 1000 pounds of dynamite, +1,200 _machetes_, and an abundance of ammunition." All was packed in boxes +marked "codfish," and "medicines." + +The _Bermuda_ sailed the next morning, March 15, with O'Brien in command, +cleared for Vera Cruz. The Cubans, including General Calixto Garcia, who +were to go on the expedition, were sent to Atlantic City, there to engage a +fishing sloop to take them off-shore where they would be picked up by the +_Bermuda_ on her way. The ship was under suspicion, and was followed down +the bay by tugboats carrying United States marshals, customs officers, and +newspaper reporters. O'Brien says: "They hung on to us down through the +lower bay and out past Sandy Hook, without getting enough to pay for a +pound of the coal they were furiously burning to keep up with us. I don't +know how far they might have followed us, but when we were well clear of +the Hook, a kind fortune sent along a blinding snow-storm, which soon +chased them back home." General Garcia and his companions were picked up as +planned, and that part of the enterprise was completed. The vessel was +on its way. A somewhat roundabout route was taken in order to avoid any +possible overhauling by naval or revenue ships. The point selected for the +landing was a little harbor on the north coast about thirty miles from the +eastern end of the island. The party included two Cuban pilots, supposed to +know the coast where they were to land. One of them proved to be a traitor +and the other, O'Brien says, "was at best an ignoramus." The traitor, who, +after the landing, paid for his offence with his life, tried to take them +into the harbor of Baracoa, where lay five Spanish warships. But O'Brien +knew the difference, as shown by his official charts, between the Cape +Maisi light, visible for eighteen miles, and the Baracoa light, visible +for only eight miles, and kicked the pilot off the bridge. The landing was +begun at half-past ten at night, and completed about three o'clock in the +morning, with five Spanish warships barely more than five miles away. The +United States Treasury Department reported this expedition as "successful." +The vessel then proceeded to Honduras, where it took on a cargo of bananas, +and returned, under orders, to Philadelphia, the home city of its owner, +Mr. John D. Hart. Arrests were made soon after the arrival, including Hart, +the owner of the vessel, O'Brien, and his mate, and General Emilio Nuñez +who accompanied the expedition as the representative of the _junta_. The +case was transferred from the courts in Philadelphia to New York, and there +duly heard. The alleged offenders were defended by Horatio Rubens, Esq., of +New York, the official counsel of the _junta_. One of the grounds of the +defence was that the defendants might be guilty of smuggling arms into +Cuba, but with that offence the courts of the United States had nothing to +do. The jury disagreed. The indictments were held over the heads of the +members of the group, but no further action was taken, and two or three +years later the case was dismissed by order of the Attorney General of the +United States. + +This expedition fairly illustrates the science of filibustering in its +elementary form, a clearance with some attendant risk; a voyage with +possibility of interference at any time; and a landing made with still +greater risk and danger of capture. The trip had been made so successfully +and with such full satisfaction to the promoters that the _junta_ urged +O'Brien to remain with them as long as there should be need for his +services, and he agreed to do so. A department of expeditions was organized +under the general control of Emilio Nuñez, with O'Brien as navigator. +Credit for the numerous successful expeditions that followed lies in +differing degrees with Nuñez, Palma, Rubens, O'Brien, Hart, Cartaya, and +others less well known in connection with the enterprises. But for the work +they did, the risks they ran, Cuba's revolution must have failed. All of +them risked jail sentences, and some of them risked their lives in ways +perhaps even more dangerous than fighting in the field. The success of the +_Bermuda_ expedition, carried out by what may be called direct evasion, +quite seriously disturbed the authorities in this country, and excited them +to greater precautions and wider activity. Whatever may have been their +personal feelings in the matter, it was their duty to see that the laws of +the country were enforced as far as they could be. The players of the game +for the Cubans met the new activities with complicated moves, many of +which puzzled the watching officials, and landed a number of expeditions. +Meanwhile, minor expeditions continued. The official report notes that on +March 12, 1896, the _Commodore_, a 100-ton steamer, sailed from Charleston +with men, arms, and ammunition, and landed them in Cuba. The _Laurada_, a +900-ton steamer, was reported by the Spanish Legation as having sailed on +May 9, meeting three tugs and two lighters, off the coast, from which were +transferred men and arms. The report states that "some of the men landed in +Cuba, but the larger part of the arms and ammunition was thrown into the +sea," which may or may not have been the case. On May 23, the tug _Three +Friends_ left Jacksonville, took on men and arms from two small vessels +waiting outside, and landed all in Cuba. A month later, and again two +months later, the _Three Friends_ repeated the trip from Florida ports. On +June 17, the _Commodore_ made another successful trip from Charleston. + +While these and other minor expeditions were going on, the department of +expeditions in New York was busy with a more extensive enterprise. An order +was placed for 3000 rifles, 3,000,000 rounds of ammunition, 3 12-pound +Hotchkiss field-guns and 600 shells, _machetes_, and several tons of +dynamite. The steamer _Laurada_ was chartered, and the ocean-going tug +_Dauntless_ was bought in Brunswick, Georgia. A part of the purchased +munitions was ordered to New York, and the remainder, two car loads, +shipped to Jacksonville by express. Ostensibly, the _Laurada_ was to sail +from Philadelphia to Jamaica for a cargo of fruit, a business in which +she had at times engaged. Her actual instructions were to proceed to the +vicinity of Barnegat, about forty miles from New York, and there, at sea, +await orders. The arms and ammunition came down from Bridgeport on the +regular boat from that city, and were left on board until night. There was +no particular secrecy about the shipment, and detectives followed it. But +when, at dark, the big gates of the dock were closed and locked and all +seemed over for the day, the watchers assumed that nothing would be done +until the next day, and went away. But, immediately after their departure, +a big lighter slipped quietly into the dock across the wharf from the +Bridgeport boat, a swarm of men appeared and, behind the closed gates, in +the semi-darkness of the wharf, rushed boxes from steamer to lighter. The +work was finished at midnight; a tug slipped up and attached a hawser to +the lighter; and the cargo was on its way to Cuba. Johnny O'Brien was on +the tug. The _Laurada_ was met off Barnegat, as arranged, and the cargo and +about fifty Cubans put on board of her. She was ordered to proceed slowly +to Navassa Island where the _Dauntless_ would meet her. General Nuñez and +O'Brien returned to New York on the tug, and while the detectives suspected +that something had been done, they had no clue whatever to guide them. +Nuñez and O'Brien started immediately for Charleston, with detectives at +their heels. The _Commodore_, a tug then owned by the Cubans, lay in the +harbor of that city, with a revenue cutter standing guard over her. She was +ordered to get up steam and to go through all the motions of an immediate +departure. But this was a ruse to draw attention away from the actual +operations. Rubens, meanwhile, had gone to Jacksonville where he busied +himself in convincing the authorities that the tug _Three Friends_ was +about to get away with an expedition. With one revenue cutter watching the +_Commodore_ in Charleston, the other cutter in the neighborhood was engaged +in watching the _Three Friends_ in Jacksonville, thus leaving a clear coast +between those cities. In Charleston were about seventy-five Cubans waiting +a chance to get to the island. O'Brien states that about twenty-five +detectives were following their party. Late in the afternoon of August +13, while the smoke was pouring from the funnels of the _Commodore_, the +regular south-bound train pulled out of the city. Its rear car was a +reserved coach carrying the Cuban party, numbering a hundred or so. +Detectives tried to enter, but were told that it was a private car, which +it was. They went along in the forward cars. At ten o'clock that night, the +train reached Callahan, where the Coast Line crossed the Seaboard Air Line. +While the train was halted for the crossing, that rear car was quietly +uncoupled. The train went on, detectives and all. The railroad arrangements +were effected through the invaluable assistance of Mr. Alphonso Fritot, a +local railway man whose authority enabled him to do with trains and train +movement whatever he saw fit. He was himself of Cuban birth, though of +French-American parentage, with ample reason, both personal and patriotic, +for serving his Cuban friends, and his services were beyond measure. By his +orders, when that train with its band of detectives had pulled away for +Jacksonville, an engine picked up the detached car and ran it over to the +Coast Line. A few miles away, it collected from a blind siding the two cars +of arms and ammunition shipped some days before, from Bridgeport. A little +further on, the line crossed the Satilla River. There lay the _Dauntless_, +purchased by Rubens. Steam was up, and a quick job was made of transferring +cargo and men from train to boat. Another tug brought a supply of coal, and +soon after sunrise another expedition was on its way to Cuba. All this may +be very immoral, but some who were on the expedition have told me that it +was at least tremendously exciting. + +On August 17, the passengers and cargo were landed on the Cuban coast near +Nuevitas. The tug then proceeded to Navassa Island to meet the _Laurada_. +Half of the men and half of the cargo of the steamer were transferred to +the tug, and all were safely landed in a little cove a few miles west of +Santiago. The landing was made in broad daylight. There were a number of +Spanish naval vessels in Santiago harbor, and the city itself was filled +with Spanish troops. The tug then returned for the remainder of the +_Laurada's_ passengers and cargo, all of which were landed a few days later +at the place of the earlier landing. The _Laurada_ went on to Jamaica and +loaded with bananas, with which she sailed for Charleston. Arrests were +made as a result of the expedition, and the owner of the ship, Mr. John D. +Hart, was convicted and sentenced to sixteen months in the penitentiary. +After serving four months of his term, a pardon was secured. He is said to +be the only one, out of all those engaged in the many expeditions, who was +actually convicted, and his only offence was the chartering of his ships +to the Cuban revolutionists. The _Dauntless_ was seized on her return to +Jacksonville, but was soon released. An effort was made to indict O'Brien, +but there was too much sympathy for the Cubans in Florida, where the effort +was made. A number of minor expeditions were carried out in the next few +months, by the _Dauntless_, the _Three Friends_, and the _Commodore_, the +latter being wrecked in the last week in December. + +In February, 1897, another complicated manoeuvre was successfully executed. +This involved the use of the _Bermuda_, the _Laurada_, and no less than +seven smaller auxilliary vessels, tugs, lighters, and schooners. Rut the +_Laurada_ landed the cargo on the north-eastern coast of the island. +As O'Brien tells the story, this successful expedition so angered +Captain-General Weyler, then the ruler of the island, that he sent a +message to the daring filibuster, through an American newspaper man, +somewhat as follows: "Tell O'Brien that we will get him, sooner or later, +and when we do, instead of having him shot along with his Cuban companions, +I am going to have him ignominiously hanged from the flag-pole at Cabaña, +in full view of the city." Cabaña is the old fortress across the bay, +visible from nearly all parts of Havana. To this, O'Brien sent reply +saying: "To show my contempt for you and all who take orders from you, I +will make a landing within plain sight of Havana on my next trip to Cuba. +I may even land an expedition inside of the harbor and take you away a +prisoner. If we should capture you, which is much more likely than that you +will ever capture me, I will have you chopped up into small pieces and fed +to the fires of the _Dauntless_." A few months later, this little Irishman, +whom Weyler denounced as a "bloodthirsty, dare-devil," and who may have +been a dare-devil but was not bloodthirsty, actually carried out a part of +this seemingly reckless threat. He landed a cargo within a mile and a half +of Morro Castle. + +By this time, vessels of the United States navy were employed, +supplementing the work of the Revenue Service. This, of course, added both +difficulty and danger to the work. In March and April, several expeditions +were interrupted. For the Spanish blockade of the Cuban coast, there was +only contempt. Captain O'Brien told a naval officer that if the navy and +the revenue cutters would let him alone he would "advertise the time and +place of departure, carry excursions on every trip, and guarantee that +every expedition would be landed on time." In May, 1897, two carloads of +arms and ammunition were shipped from New York to Jacksonville, but, by +the authority of Mr. Fritot, they were quietly dropped from the train at +a junction point, and sent to Wilmington, N.C. Their contents were +transferred to the tug _Alexander Jones_, and that boat proceeded +nonchalantly down the river. Soon afterward, an old schooner, the _John +D. Long_, loaded with coal, followed the tug. Two revenue cutters were on +hand, but there was nothing in the movements of these vessels to excite +their interest. Off shore, the tug attached a towline to the schooner that +was carrying its coal supply, its own bunkers being crammed with guns and +cartridges. Off Palm Beach, General Nuñez and some sixty Cubans were taken +from a fishing boat, according to a prearranged plan. Two days later, at an +agreed upon place, they were joined by the _Dauntless_ which had slipped +out of Jacksonville. The excursion was then complete. About half the cargo +of the _Jones_ was transferred to the _Dauntless_ and was landed, May 21, a +few miles east of Nuevitas. A second trip took the remainder of the cargo +of the _Jones_ and most of the Cuban passengers, and landed the lot under +the very guns, such as they were, of Morro Castle, and within about three +miles of the Palace of Captain-General Weyler. All that time, a force of +insurgents under Rodriguez and Aurenguren was operating in that immediate +vicinity, and was in great need of the supplies thus obtained. Some of the +dynamite then landed was used the next day to blow up a train on which +Weyler was supposed to be travelling, but in their haste the Cubans got one +train ahead of that carrying the official party. The row that Weyler made +about this landing will probably never be forgotten by the subordinates who +were the immediate victims of his rage. + +These are only a few of the many expeditions, successful and unsuccessful, +made during those three eventful years. The Treasury Department report of +February 28, 1898, gives seventeen successful operations. As a matter of +fact, more than forty landings were made, although in a few cases a single +expedition accounted for two, and in one or two instances for three +landings. The experiences run through the entire gamut of human emotions, +from absurdity to tragedy. The former is illustrated by the case of the +_Dauntless_ when she was held up by a vessel of the United States navy, and +boarded by one of the officers of the ship. He examined the tug from stem +to stern, sat on boxes of ammunition which seemed to him to be boxes of +sardines, stumbled over packages of rifles from which butts and muzzles +protruded; and failed utterly to find anything that could be regarded as +contraband. The mere fact that a vessel is engaged in transporting arms and +ammunition does not, of necessity, bring it within reach of the law. But +that particular vessel was a good deal more than under suspicion; it was +under the closest surveillance and open to the sharpest scrutiny. The +temporary myopia of that particular lieutenant of the United States navy +was no more than an outward and visible sign of a well-developed sense of +humor, and an indication of at least a personal sympathy for the Cubans +in their struggle. Tragedy is illustrated by the disaster to the steamer +_Tillie_. One day, late in January, 1898, this vessel, lying off the end +of Long Island, took on one of the largest cargoes ever started on a +filibustering expedition to Cuba. The cause is not known, but soon after +starting a leak developed, beyond the capacity of the pumps. A heavy +sea was running, and disaster was soon inevitable. The cargo was thrown +overboard to lighten the ship and the vessel was headed for the shore on +the chance that it might float until it could be beached. The water in the +ship increased rapidly, and extinguished the fires under the boilers; the +wind, blowing a high gale, swung into the northwest, thus driving the now +helpless hulk out to sea. Huge combing waves swept the decks from end to +end. O'Brien tells the story: "We looked in vain for another craft of any +kind, and by the middle of the afternoon it seemed as though it was all up +with us, for there was not much daylight left, and with her deck almost +awash it was impossible that the _Tillie_ should keep afloat all night. The +gale had swept us rapidly out to sea. The wind, which was filled with icy +needles, had kicked up a wild cross-sea, and it was more comfortable to go +down with the ship than even to think of trying to escape in the boats." At +last, when there seemed no longer any hope of rescue, the big five-masted +schooner _Governor Ames_ came plunging through the heaving seas, and, +by masterly seamanship and good fortune, backed by the heroism of her +commander and crew, succeeded in taking off all except four, who went down +with the ship. But the work went on. There is not space here to tell of the +several vessels whose names, through the engagement of the craft in these +enterprises, became as familiar to newspaper readers as are the names of +ocean liners today. A few months later, the United States Government +sent its ships and its men to help those who, for three hard years, had +struggled for national independence. + + + + +XII + +_THE STORY OF SUGAR_ + + +Chemically, sugar is a compound belonging to the group of carbohydrates, or +organic compounds of carbon with oxygen and hydrogen. The group includes +sugars, starches, gums, and celluloses. Sugar is a product of the vegetable +kingdom, of plants, trees, root crops, etc. It is found in and is +producible from many growths. As a laboratory process, it is obtainable +from many sources, but, commercially, it is derived from only two, the +sugar cane and the beet root. This statement, however, has a certain +limitation in that it omits such products as maple sugar, malt sugar, milk +sugar, and others having commercial or chemical uses on a limited scale. +But it is only with the crystallized sucrose, the familiar sugar of the +market and the household, that we are dealing here. The output of the other +sugars is measurable in hundreds or even thousands of pounds, but the +output of the sugar of commerce is measured in millions of tons. Long +experience proves that the desired substance is most readily, most +abundantly, and most cheaply, obtained from the juices of the plant +commonly known as sugar cane, and from the vegetable known as the sugar +beet. + +The mechanical processes employed in producing sugar from cane and from +beets, are practically the same. They are, broadly, the extraction or +expression of the juices, their clarification and evaporation, and +crystallization. These processes produce what is called "raw sugar," of +varying percentages of sucrose content. Following them, there comes, +for American uses, the process of refining, of removing the so-called +impurities and foreign substances, and the final production of sugar in +the shape of white crystals of different size, of sugar as powdered, cube, +loaf, or other form. In the case of cane sugar, this is usually a secondary +operation not conducted in the original mill. In the case of beet sugar, +production is not infrequently a continuous operation in the same mill, +from the beet root to the bagged or barrelled sugar ready for the market. +The final product from both cane and beet is practically the same. Pure +sugar is pure sugar, whatever its source. In the commercial production, on +large scale, there remains a small fraction of molasses or other harmless +substances, indistinguishable by sight, taste, or smell. With that fraction +removed and an absolute 100 per cent. secured, there would be no way +by which the particular origin could be determined. For all practical +purposes, the sugar of commerce, whether from cane or beet, is pure sugar. +It is doubtful if an adulterated sugar can be found in the United States, +notwithstanding the tales of the grocer who "sands" his sugar, and of the +producer who adds _terra alba_ or some other adulterant. In some countries +of Europe and elsewhere, there are sugars of inferior grades, of 85 or 90 +or more degrees of sugar purity, but they are known as such and are sold at +prices adjusted to their quality. Sugars of that class are obtainable +in this country, but they are wanted almost exclusively for particular +industrial purposes, for their glucose rather than their sucrose content. +The American household, whether the home of the rich or of the poor, +demands the well-known white sugar of established purity. + +There is still obtainable, in this country, but in limited quantity, a +sugar very pleasantly remembered by many who have reached or passed middle +age. It was variously known as "Muscovado" sugar, or as "plantation sugar," +sometimes as "coffee" or "coffee crushed." It was a sugar somewhat +sweeter to the taste than the white sugar, by reason of the presence of +a percentage of molasses. It was a superior sugar for certain kitchen +products, for pies, certain kinds of cake, etc. It has many times been +urged in Congress that the employment of what is known as the Dutch +Standard, now abolished, excluded this sugar from our market. This is not +at all the fact. The disappearance of the commodity is due solely to change +in the mechanical methods of sugar production. It would be quite impossible +to supply the world's sugar demand by the old "open kettle" process by +which that sugar was made. The quality of sugar is easily tested by any one +who has a spoonful of sugar and a glass of water. If the sugar dissolves +entirely, and dissolves without discoloring the water, it may be accepted +as a pure sugar. + +In his book on _The World's Cane Sugar Industry--Past and Present_, Mr. +H.C. Prinsen Geerligs, a recognized expert authority on the subject, gives +an elaborate history of the origin and development of the industry. His +chapters on those branches are much too long for inclusion in full, but the +following extracts tell the story in general outline. He states that the +probability that sugar cane originally came from India is very strong, "as +only the ancient literature of that country mentions sugar cane, while we +know for certain that it was conveyed (from there) to other countries by +travellers and sailors." The plant appears in Hindu mythology. A certain +prince expressed a desire to be translated to heaven during his lifetime, +but Indra, the monarch of the celestial regions, refused to admit him. A +famous Hindu hermit, Vishva Mitra, prepared a temporary paradise for the +prince, and for his use created the sugar cane as a heavenly food during +his occupation of the place. The abode was afterward demolished, but the +delectable plant, and a few other luxuries, were "spread all over the land +of mortals as a permanent memorial of Vishva Mitra's miraculous deeds." In +the time of Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) there appear tales of "a +reed growing in India which produced honey without the aid of bees." + +The early references are to sugar cane and not to cane sugar. While there +may have been earlier experiences, the history of sugar, as such, seems to +begin in the 7th century (A.D.). There is a story that the Chinese Emperor, +Tai Tsung (627-650 A.D.) sent people to Behar, in India, to learn the art +of sugar manufacture. The Arabs and the Egyptians soon learned how to +purify sugar by re-crystallization, and to manufacture sweetmeats from the +purified sugar. Marco Polo, who visited China during the last quarter of +the 13th Century, refers to "a great many sugar factories in South China, +where sugar could be freely bought at low prices." The Mohammedan records +of that period also show the manufacture, in India, of crystallized sugar +and candy. The area of production at that time covered, generally, the +entire Mediterranean coast. The crusaders found extensive plantations in +Tripoli, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Syria, and elsewhere. The plant is said to +have been introduced in Spain as early as the year 755. Its cultivation is +said to have been a flourishing industry there in the year 1150. Through +China, it was early extended to Japan, Formosa, and the Philippines. The +records of the 14th Century show the production and distribution of sugar +as an important commercial enterprise in the Mediterranean region. The +Portuguese discoveries of the 15th Century carried the plant to the Azores, +the Cape Verde islands, and to possessions in the Gulf of Guinea. The +Spaniards took it to the Western Hemisphere in the early years of the 16th +Century. The Portuguese took it to Brazil at about the same time. While a +Chinese traveller, visiting Java in 424, reports the cultivation of sugar +cane, it was not until more than twelve hundred years later that the +island, now an important source of sugar supply, began the production of +sugar as a commercial enterprise. By the end of the 18th Century there +was what might be called a sugar belt, girdling the globe and extending, +roughly, from thirty-five degrees north of the equator to thirty-five +degrees south of that line. It was then a product of many of the countries +within those limits. The supply of that time was obtained entirely from +cane. + +The early years of the 19th Century brought a new experience in the sugar +business. That was the production of sugar, in commercial quantities, +from beets. From that time until now, the commodity has been a political +shuttlecock, the object of government bounties and the subject of taxation. +In 1747, Herr Marggraf, of the Academy of Sciences, in Berlin, discovered +the existence of crystallizable sugar in the juice of the beet and other +roots. No practical use was made of the discovery until 1801 when a factory +was established near Breslau, in Silesia. The European beet-sugar industry, +that has since attained enormous proportions, had its actual beginning in +the early years of the 19th Century. It was a result of the Napoleonic wars +of that period. When the wars were ended, and the blockades raised, the +industry was continued in France by the aid of premiums, differentials, and +practically prohibitory tariffs. The activities in other European countries +under similar conditions of governmental aid, came a little later. The +total world supply of sugar, including cane and beet, less than 1,500,000 +tons, even as recently as 1850, seems small in comparison with the world's +requirement of about twelve times that quantity at the present time. The +output of beet sugar was then only about 200,000 tons, as compared with a +present production of approximately 8,000,000 tons. But sugar was then a +costly luxury while it is today a cheaply supplied household necessity. As +recently as 1870, the wholesale price of granulated sugar in New York +was thirteen and a half cents a pound, or about three times the present +average. + +Cane sugar is produced in large or small quantities in some fifty +different countries and islands. In many, the output is only for domestic +consumption, or in quantity too small to warrant inclusion in the list of +sources of commercial supply. Sixteen countries are included in the list of +beet-sugar producers. Of these, all are in Europe with the exception of the +United States and Canada. Only two countries, the United States and +Spain, produce sugar from both beet and cane. British India leads in the +production of cane sugar, with Cuba a close second on the list, and Java +the third. In their total, these three countries supply about two-thirds +of the world's total output of cane sugar. Hawaii and Porto Rico, in that +order, stand next on the list of producers. Under normal conditions, +Germany leads in beet-sugar production, with Russia second, Austria-Hungary +third, France fourth, and the United States fifth, with Belgium, the +Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark following. The island of Cuba is +the most important source of commercial cane sugar. Immediately before +the revolution of 1895, its output a little exceeded a million tons. The +derangement caused by that experience covered several years, and it was not +until 1903 that so large a crop was again made. Since that time, the output +has more than doubled. The increase is attributable to the large increase +in demand in the United States, and to the advantage given Cuban sugar in +this market by the reciprocity treaty of 1903. Practically all of Cuba's +export product is in the class commonly known as 96 degree centrifugals, +that is, raw sugar of 96 per cent, or thereabout, of sugar content. Under +normal conditions, nearly all of Cuba's shipments are to the United States. +The sugar industry was introduced in Cuba very soon after the permanent +settlement of the island, by Spaniards, in the early years of the 16th +Century, but it was not until two hundred and fifty years later that +Spain's restrictive and oppressive colonial policy made even its fair +extension possible. In 1760, two and a half centuries after the first +settlement, the sugar exports of the island were a little less than 4,400 +tons. In 1790, they were a little more than 14,000 tons. Some relaxation of +the laws regulating production and exportation, made possible an increase +to 41,000 tons in 1802, and further relaxation made possible, in 1850, an +output somewhat unreliably reported as 223,000 tons. It reached 632,000 +tons in 1890, and the stimulus of the "free sugar" schedule of the United +States brought it, in the next few years, to more than a million tons. +Production in recent years has averaged about 2,500,000 tons. + +In forty years, only a little more than a single generation, the world's +supply of sugar has been multiplied by five, from a little more than three +million tons a year to nearly eighteen million tons. The total world output +in 1875 would not today supply the demand of the United States alone. +This increase in production has been made possible by improvements in the +methods and the machinery of manufacture. Until quite recently, primitive +methods were employed, much like those used in the production of maple +sugar on the farm, although on larger scale. More attention has been paid +to varieties of the plant and some, though no very great, change has been +made in field processes. In Cuba, the cane is planted in vast areas, in +thousands of acres. Some of the estates plant and cultivate their +own fields, and grind the cane in their own mills. Others, known as +"_colonos_," are planters only, the crop being sold to the mills commonly +called "_centrales_." In its general appearance, a field of sugar-cane +looks quite like a field of corn, but the method of cultivation is somewhat +different. The slow oxen are still commonly used for plowing and for +carts. This is not because of any lack of progressive spirit, but because +experience has shown that, under all conditions of the industry, the ox +makes the most satisfactory and economical motive power, notwithstanding +his lack of pace. + +The Encyclopædia describes sugar-cane as "a member of the grass family, +known botanically as _Saccbarum officinarum_. It is a tall, perennial +grass-like plant, giving off numerous erect stems 6 to 12 feet or more in +height, from a thick solid jointed root-stalk." The ground is plowed +in rows in which, not seed, but a stalk of cane is lightly buried. The +rootlets and the new cane spring from the joints of the planted stalk which +is laid flat and lengthwise of the row. It takes from a year to a year +and a half for the stalk to mature sufficiently for cutting and grinding. +Several cuttings, and sometimes many, are made from a single planting. +There are tales of fields on which cane has grown for forty years without +re-planting. A few years ago, ten or fifteen years was not an unusual +period. The present tendency is toward more frequent planting, but not +annual, as offering a better chance for stronger cane with a larger sugar +content. The whole process of cultivation and field treatment is hard, +heavy work, most of it very hard work. Probably the hardest and heaviest is +the cutting. This is done with a long, heavy-bladed knife, the _machete_. +The stalk, from an inch to two inches in thickness, is chopped down near +the root, the heavy knife swung with cut after cut, under a burning sun. +Only the strongest can stand it, a wearying, back-breaking task. After +cutting, the stalk is trimmed and loaded on carts to be hauled, according +to distance, either directly to the mill or to the railway running thereto. +The large estates have their own railway systems running to all the fields +of the plantation. These are private lines operated only for economy +in cane transportation. Most of the crushing mills measure their daily +consumption of cane in thousands of tons. While every precaution is taken, +there are occasional fires. In planting, wide "fire lanes," or uncultivated +strips are left to prevent the spread of fire if it occurs. + +Mill installations vary on the different plantations, but the general +principle of operation is the same on all. The first process is the +extraction of the juice that carries the sugar. It is probable that this +was originally done in hand mortars. Next came the passing of the cane +between wooden rollers turned by ox power, the rollers standing upright and +connected with a projecting shaft or beam to the outer end of which the +animal was attached, to plod around and around while the cane was fed +between the rollers. The present system is merely an expansion of that old +principle. At the mill, the stalks are dumped, by carload or by cartload, +into a channel through which they are mechanically conveyed to huge +rollers, placed horizontally, arranged in pairs or in sets of three, and +slowly turned by powerful engines. The larger mills have a series of these +rollers, two, three, or even four sets, the stalks passing from one to +another for the expression of every possible drop of the juice, up to the +point where the cost of juice extraction exceeds the value of the juice +obtained. The expressed juices are collected in troughs through which they +are run to the next operation. The crushed stalks, then known as _bagasse_, +are conveyed to the huge boilers where they are used as fuel for the +generation of the steam required in the various operations, from the +feeding and the turning of the rollers, to the device from which the final +product, the crystallized sugar, is poured into bags ready for shipment. +All this is a seasonal enterprise. The cane grows throughout the year, but +it begins to ripen in December. Then the mills start up and run until the +rains of the next May or June suspend further operations. It then becomes +impossible to haul the cane over the heavily mired roads from the muddy +fields. Usually, only a few mills begin their work in December, and early +June usually sees most of them shut down. The beginning of the rainy season +is not uniform, and there are mills in eastern Cuba that sometimes run into +July and even into August. But the general grinding season may be given as +of about five months duration, and busy months they are. The work goes on +night and day. + +The next step is the treatment of the juices expressed by the rollers and +collected in the troughs that carry it onward. The operations are highly +technical, and different methods are employed in different mills. The first +operation is one of purification. The juice, as it comes from the rollers, +carries such materials as glucose, salts, organic acids, and other +impurities, that must be removed. For this, lime is the principal agent. +The details of it all would be as tedious here as they are complicated +in the mill. The percentages of the different impurities vary with the +variation of the soils in which the cane is grown. The next step, following +clarification, is evaporation, the boiling out of a large percentage of +the water carried in the juice. For this purpose, a vacuum system is used, +making possible a more rapid evaporation with a smaller expenditure of +fuel. These two operations, clarification and evaporation by the use of the +vacuum, are merely improved methods for doing, on a large scale, what was +formerly done by boiling in pans or kettles, on a small scale. That method +is still used in many parts of the world, and even in the United States, in +a small way. For special reasons, it is still used on some of the Louisiana +plantations; it is common in the farm production of sorghum molasses in the +South; and in the manufacture of maple sugar in the North. In those places, +the juices are boiled in open pans or kettles, the impurities skimmed off +as they rise, and the boiling, for evaporation, is continued until a +proper consistency is reached, for molasses in the case of sorghum and for +crystallization in the case of plantation and maple sugars. There is an old +story of an erratic New England trader, in Newburyport, who called himself +Lord Timothy Dexter. In one of his shipments to the West Indies, a hundred +and fifty years ago, this picturesque individual included a consignment of +"warming pans," shallow metal basins with a cover and a long wooden handle, +used for warming beds on cold winter nights. The basin was filled with +coals from the fireplace, and then moved about between the sheets to take +off the chill. He was not a little ridiculed by his acquaintances for +sending such merchandise where it could not possibly be needed, but it is +said that he made considerable money out of his enterprise. With the covers +removed, the long-handled, shallow basins proved admirably adapted for use +in skimming the sugar in the boiling-pans. But the old-fashioned method +would be impossible today. + +The different operations are too complicated and too technical for more +than a reference to the purpose of the successive processes. Clarification +and evaporation having been completed, the next step is crystallization, +also a complicated operation. When this is done, there remains a dark brown +mass consisting of sugar crystals and molasses, and the next step is +the removal of all except a small percentage of the molasses. This +is accomplished by what are called the centrifugals, deep bowls with +perforated walls, whirled at two or three thousand revolutions a minute. +This expels the greater part of the molasses, and leaves a mass of +yellow-brown crystals, the coloring being due to the molasses remaining. +This is the raw sugar of commerce. Most of Cuba's raw product is classed +as "96 degree centrifugals," that is, the raw sugar, as it comes from the +centrifugal machines and is bagged for shipment, is of 96 degrees of sugar +purity. This is shipped to market, usually in full cargo lots. There it +goes to the refineries, where it is melted, clarified, evaporated, and +crystallized. This second clarification removes practically everything +except the pure crystallized sugar of the market and the table. It is then +an article of daily use in every household, and a subject of everlasting +debate in Congress. + + + + +XIII + +_VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES_ + + +The Encyclopædia Britannica states that "although the fact has been +controverted, there cannot be a doubt that the knowledge of tobacco and +its uses came to the rest of the world from America. As the continent was +opened up and explored, it became evident that the consumption of tobacco, +especially by smoking, was a universal and immemorial usage, in many cases +bound up with the most significant and solemn tribal ceremonials." The name +"tobacco" was originally the name of the appliance in which it was smoked +and not of the plant itself, just as the term "chowder" comes from the +vessel (_chaudière_) in which the compound was prepared. The tobacco plant +was first taken to Europe in 1558, by Francisco Fernandez, a physician who +had been sent to Mexico by Philip II to investigate the products of that +country. The English, however, appear to have been the first Europeans +to adopt the smoking habit, and Sir Walter Raleigh was notable for his +indulgence in the weed. He is said to have called for a solacing pipe just +before his execution. Very soon after their arrival, in 1607, the Virginia +settlers engaged in the cultivation of tobacco, and it soon became the most +important commercial product of the colony. Smoking, as practiced in this +country, appears to have been largely, and perhaps only, by means of pipes +generally similar to those now in use. The contents of ancient Indian +mounds, or tumuli, opened in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, show the +use of pipes by the aborigines probably centuries before the discoveries +by Columbus. Many were elaborately carved in porphyry or some other hard +stone, while others were made of baked clay. Others, many of them also +elaborately carved and ornamented, have been found in Mexico. Roman +antiquities show many pipes, but they do not show the use of tobacco. It +is assumed that they were used for burning incense, or for smoking some +aromatic herb or hemp. + +The first knowledge of the use of the plant in Cuba was in November, 1492, +when Columbus, on landing near Nuevitas, sent his messengers inland to +greet the supposed ruler of a supposed great Asiatic empire. Washington +Irving thus reports the story as it was told by Navarete, the Spanish +historian. Referring to those messengers, he says: "They beheld several of +the natives going about with firebrands in their hands, and certain dried +herbs which they rolled up in a leaf, and lighting one end, put the other +in their mouths, and continued exhaling and puffing out the smoke. A roll +of this kind they called a tobacco, a name since transferred to the plant +of which the rolls were made. The Spaniards, although prepared to meet with +wonders, were struck with astonishment at this singular and apparently +nauseous indulgence." A few years later, a different method was reported, +by Columbus, as employed in Hispaniola. This consisted of inhaling the +fumes of the leaf through a Y-shaped device applied to the nostrils. This +operation is said to have produced intoxication and stupefaction, which +appears to have been the desired result. The old name still continues +in Cuba, and if a smoker wants a cigar, he will get it by calling for a +"tobacco." The production of the plant is, next to sugar, Cuba's most +important commercial industry. Its early history is only imperfectly known. +There was probably very little commercial production during the 16th +Century, for the reason that there was then no demand for it. The demand +came in the first half of the 17th Century, and by the middle of that +period tobacco was known and used in practically all civilized countries. +The demand for it spread very rapidly, in spite of papal fulminations and +penal enactments. For a time, in Russia, the noses of smokers were cut off. +The early part of the 18th Century saw Cuba actively engaged in production +and shipment. In 1717, Cuba's tobacco was made a monopoly of the Spanish +Government. Under that system, production was regulated and prices were +fixed by the agents of the government, in utter disregard of the welfare +of the producers. As a result, several serious riots occurred. In 1723, +a large number of planters refused to accept the terms offered by the +officials, and destroyed the crops of those who did accept, a condition +repeated in the State of Kentucky a few years ago, the only difference +being that in the Cuban experience the monopolist was the Government, and +in Kentucky it was a corporation. A few years later, in 1734, the Cuban +monopoly was sold to Don José Tallapiedra who contracted to ship to Spain, +annually, three million pounds of tobacco. The contract was afterward given +to another, but control was resumed by the Crown, in 1760. Finally, in +1817, cultivation and trade were declared to be free, subject only to +taxation. + +[Illustration: STREET IN CAMAGUEY] + +In time, it became known that the choicest tobacco in the market came from +the western end of Cuba, from the Province of Pinar del Rio. It was given a +distinct name, _Vuelta Abajo_, a term variously translated but referring +to the downward bend of the section of the island in which that grade is +produced. Here is grown a tobacco that, thus far, has been impossible of +production elsewhere. Many experiments have been tried, in Cuba and in +other countries. Soils have been analyzed by chemists; seeds from the +_Vuelta Abajo_ have been planted; and localities have been sought where +climatic conditions corresponded. No success has been attained. Nor is the +crop of that region produced on an extensive scale, that is, the choicer +leaf. Not all of the tobacco is of the finest grade, although most of it is +of high quality. There are what may be called "patches" of ground, known +to the experts, on which the best is produced, for reasons not yet clearly +determined. The fact is well known, but the causes are somewhat mysterious. +Nor does the plant of this region appear to be susceptible of improvement +through any modern, scientific systems of cultivation. The quality +deteriorates rather than improves as a result of artificial fertilizers. +The people of the region, cultivating this special product through +generation after generation, seem to have developed a peculiar instinct for +its treatment. It is not impossible that a time may come when scientific +soil selection, seed selection, special cultivation, irrigation, and other +systems, singly or in combination, will make possible the production of a +standardized high-grade leaf in much greater quantity than heretofore, but +it seems little probable that anything so produced will excel or even equal +the best produced by these expert _vegueros_ by their indefinable but +thorough knowledge of the minutest peculiarities of this peculiar plant. +Thus far, it has not even been possible to produce it elsewhere in the +island. It has been tried outside of the fairly defined area of its +production, tried by men who knew it thoroughly within that area, tried +from the same seed, from soils that seem quite the same. But all failed. +Science may some day definitely locate the reasons, just as it may find the +reason for deterioration in the quality of Cuban tobacco eastward from that +area. The tobacco of Havana Province is excellent, but inferior to that of +Pinar del Rio. The growth of Santa Clara Province is of good quality, but +inferior to that of Havana Province, while the tobacco of eastern Cuba is +little short of an offence to a discriminating taste. + +Tobacco is grown from seeds, planted in specially prepared seed beds. +Seeding is begun in the early autumn. When the young plant has attained a +proper height, about eight or ten inches, it is removed to, and planted +in, the field of its final growth. This preliminary process demands skill, +knowledge, and careful attention equal, perhaps, to the requirements of the +later stages. Experiments have been made with mechanical appliances, but +most of the work is still done by hand, particularly in the area producing +the better qualities of leaf. From the time of transplanting, it is watched +with the greatest care. A constant battle is waged with weeds and insect +life, and water must be brought if the season is too dry. If rains are +excessive, as they sometimes are, the crop may be partly or wholly +destroyed, as it was in the autumn of 1914. The plant matures in January, +after four months of constant watchfulness and labor, in cultivation, +pruning, and protection from worms and insects. When the leaves are +properly ripened, the stalks are cut in sections, two leaves to a section. +These are hung on poles and taken to the drying sheds where they are +suspended for three or more weeks. The time of this process, and its +results, depend upon moisture, temperature, and treatment. All this is +again an operation demanding expert knowledge and constant care. When +properly cured, the leaves are packed in bales of about 110 pounds each, +and are then ready for the market. Because of the varying conditions under +which the leaf is produced, from year to year, it is somewhat difficult +to determine with any accuracy the increase in the industry. Broadly, the +output appears to have been practically doubled in the last twenty years, +a growth attributed to the new economic conditions, to the extension of +transportation facilities that have made possible the opening of new areas +to cultivation, and to the investment of capital, largely American capital. +The exports show, generally, a material increase in sales of leaf tobacco +and some decline in sales of cigars. The principal market for the leaf, for +about 85 per cent of it, is in the United States where it is made, with +more or less honesty, into "all-Havana" cigars. This country, however, +takes only about a third of Cuba's cigar output. The United Kingdom takes +about as much of that product as we do, and Germany, in normal times, takes +about half as much. The remainder is widely scattered, and genuine imported +Havana cigars are obtainable in all countries throughout the world. +The total value of Cuba's yearly tobacco crop is from $40,000,000 to +$50,000,000, including domestic consumption and foreign trade. + +The story that all Cubans, men and women alike, are habitual and constant +smokers, is not and never was true. Whatever it may have been in the past, +I am inclined to think that smoking by women is more common in this country +than it is in Cuba, particularly among the middle and upper social classes. +I have seen many American and English women smoke in public, but never a +Cuban woman. Nor is smoking by men without its exceptions. I doubt if the +percentage of non-smokers in this country is any greater than it is in +the island. There are many Cubans who do smoke, just as there are many +Americans, Englishmen, Germans, and Russians. Those who watch on the +street for a respectable Cuban woman with a cigar in her mouth, or even a +cigarette, will be disappointed. Cuba's tobacco is known by the name of the +region in which it is produced; the _Vuelta Abajo_ of Pinar del Rio; the +_Partidos_ of Havana Province; the _Manicaragua_ and the _Remedios_ of +Santa Clara; and the _Mayari_ of Oriente. Until quite recently, when +American organized capital secured control of many of the leading factories +in Cuba, it was possible to identify a cigar, in size and shape, by some +commonly employed name, such as _perfectos, conchas, panetelas, imperiales, +londres_, etc. The old names still appear, but to them there has been added +an almost interminable list in which the old distinction is almost +lost. Lost, too, or submerged, are many of the old well-known names of +manufacturers, names that were a guarantee of quality. There were also +names for different qualities, almost invariably reliable, and for color +that was supposed to mark the strength of the cigar. An accomplished smoker +may still follow the old system and call for a cigar to his liking, by the +use of the old terms and names made familiar by years of experience, but +the general run of smokers can only select, from a hundred or more boxes +bearing names and words that are unfamiliar or unknown, a cigar that +he thinks looks like one that he wants. It may be a "_superba_" an +"_imperial_" a "Wilson's Cabinet," or a "Havana Kid." + +There is a wide difference in the dates given as the time of the +introduction of the coffee plant in Cuba. One writer gives the year 1720, +another gives 1748, and still another gives 1769. Others give various years +near the end of the century. It was doubtless a minor industry for fifty +years or more before that time, but it was given an impetus and began to +assume commercial proportions during the closing years of the 18th Century. +During that century, the industry was somewhat extensively carried on in +the neighboring island of Santo Domingo. In 1790, a revolution broke out +in that island, including Haiti, and lasted, with more or less violent +activity, for nearly ten years. One result was the emigration to Cuba of +a considerable number of refugees, many of them French. They settled in +eastern Cuba, where conditions for coffee-growing are highly favorable. +Knowing that industry from their experience with it in the adjacent island, +these people naturally took it up in their new home. The cultivation of +coffee in Cuba, prior to that time, was largely in the neighborhood of +Havana, the region then of the greater settlement and development. For +the next forty years or so, the industry developed and coffee assumed a +considerable importance as an export commodity, in addition to the domestic +supply. In 1840, there were more than two thousand coffee plantations, +large and small, producing more than seventy million pounds of coffee, the +greater part of which was exported. From about the middle of the century, +the industry declined, in part because of lower prices due to increase in +the world-supply through increased production in other countries, and in +part, because of the larger chance of profit in the growing of sugar, an +industry then showing an increased importance. Coffee culture has never +been entirely suspended in the island, and efforts are made from time to +time to revive it, but for many years Cuba has imported most of its coffee +supply, the larger share being purchased from Porto Rico. It would be +easily possible for Cuba to produce its entire requirement. There are few +more beautiful sights in all the world than a field of coffee trees in +blossom. One writer has likened it to "millions of snow drops scattered +over a sea of green." They blossom, in Cuba, about the end of February or +early in March, the fruit season and picking coming in the autumn. Coffee +culture is an industry requiring great care and some knowledge, and the +preparation of the berry for the market involves no less of care and +knowledge. The quality of the Cuban berry is of the best. It is the +misfortune of the people of the United States that very few of them really +know anything about coffee and its qualities, notwithstanding the fact that +they consume about a billion pounds a year, all except a small percentage +of it being coffee of really inferior quality. But coffee, like cigars, +pickles, or music, is largely a matter of individual preference. + +Cuba produces a variety of vegetables, chiefly for domestic consumption, +and many fruits, some of which are exported. There is also a limited +production of grains. Among the tubers produced are sweet potatoes, white +potatoes, yams, the arum and the yucca. From the latter is made starch and +the cassava bread. The legumes are represented by varieties of beans and +peas. The most extensively used food of the island people is rice, only a +little of which is locally grown. The imports are valued at five or six +million dollars yearly. Corn is grown in some quantity, but nearly two +million dollars worth is imported yearly from the United States. There are +fruits of many kinds. The banana is the most important of the group, and is +grown throughout the island. It appears on the table of all, rich and +poor, sometimes _au naturel_ but more frequently cooked. There are many +varieties, some of which are exported while others are practically unknown +here. The Cuban mango is not of the best, but they are locally consumed by +the million. Only a few of the best are produced and those command a fancy +price even when they are obtainable. The aguacate, or alligator pear, is +produced in abundance. Cocoanuts are a product largely of the eastern end +of the island, although produced in fair supply elsewhere. The trees are +victims of a disastrous bud disease that has attacked them in recent years +causing heavy loss to growers. + +[Illustration: PALM-THATCHED ROOFS A PEASANT'S HOME] + +Since the American occupation, considerable attention has been given, +mainly by Americans, to the production of oranges, grape-fruit, and +pineapples, in which a considerable industry has been developed. There are +several varieties. The guava of Cuba makes a jelly that is superior to that +produced from the fruit in any other land of my experience. If there is a +better guava jelly produced anywhere, I should be pleased to sample it, +more pleased to obtain a supply. But there is a difference in the product +even there, just as there is a difference in currant or grape jelly +produced here. It depends a good deal on the maker. Some of the best of my +experience is made in the neighborhood of Santa Clara, but I have tried no +Cuban _jalea de guayaba_ that was not better than any I have had in the +Far East or elsewhere. The _guanabana_ is eaten in its natural state, but +serves its best purpose as a flavor for ices or cooling drinks. There are +a number of others, like the _anon_, the _zapote_, the _granadilla_, the +_mamey_, etc., with which visitors may experiment or not as they see fit. +Some like some of them and others like none of them. An excellent grade of +cacao, the basis of chocolate and cocoa, is produced in somewhat limited +quantity. The industry could easily be extended. In fact, there are many +soil products not now grown in the island but which might be grown there, +and many others now produced on small scale that could be produced in +important quantities. That they are not now so produced is due to lack of +both labor and capital. The industries of Cuba are, and always have been, +specialized. Sugar, tobacco, and at a time coffee, have absorbed the +capital and have afforded occupation for the greater number of the island +people. The lack of transportation facilities in earlier years, and +the system of land tenure, have made difficult if not impossible the +establishment of any large number of independent small farmers. The day +laborers in the tobacco fields and on sugar plantations have been unable to +save enough money to buy a little farm and equip it even if the land could +be purchased at all. Yet only a very small percentage of the area is +actually under cultivation. Cuba now imports nearly $40,000,000 worth of +alimentary substances, altogether too much for a country of its productive +possibilities. It is true that a part of this, such as wheat flour for +instance, cannot be produced on the island successfully, and that other +commodities, such as rice, hog products, and some other articles, can be +imported more cheaply than they can be produced locally. But the imports of +foodstuffs are undoubtedly excessive, although there are good reasons for +the present situation. It is a matter that will find adjustment in time. + +The island has mineral resources of considerable value, although the number +of products is limited. The Spanish discoverers did not find the precious +metals for which they were seeking, and while gold has since been found, +it has never appeared in quantity sufficient to warrant its exploitation. +Silver discoveries have been reported, but not in quantity to pay for its +extraction. Nothing is ever certain in those industries, but it is quite +safe to assume that Cuba is not a land of precious metals. Copper was +discovered in eastern Cuba as early as about the year 1530, and the mines +near Santiago were operated as a Government monopoly for some two hundred +years, when they were abandoned. They were idle for about a hundred years +when, in 1830, an English company with a capital of $2,400,000 reopened +them. It is officially reported that in the next forty years copper of a +value of more than $50,000,000 was extracted and shipped. During that +time, the mines were among the most notable in the world. In the meantime, +ownership was transferred to a Spanish corporation organized in Havana. +This concern became involved in litigation with the railway concerning +freight charges, and this experience was followed by the Ten Years' War, in +the early course of which the plant was destroyed and the mines flooded. In +1902, an American company was organized. It acquired practically all the +copper property in the Cobre field and began operations on an extensive and +expensive scale. A huge sum was spent in pumping thousands of tons of +water from a depth of hundreds of feet, in new equipment for the mining +operations, and in the construction of a smelter. The best that can be done +is to hope that the investors will some day get their money back. Without +any doubt, there is a large amount of copper there, and more in other parts +of Oriente. So is there copper in Camaguey, Santa Clara, and Matanzas +provinces. There are holes in the ground near the city of Camaguey that +indicate profitable operations in earlier years. The metal is spread over +a wide area in Pinar del Rio, and venturous spirits have spent many good +Spanish pesos and still better American dollars in efforts to locate +deposits big enough to pay for its excavation. Some of that class are at it +even now, and one concern is reported as doing a profitable business. + +The bitumens are represented in the island by asphalt, a low-grade coal, +and seepages of petroleum. At least, several writers tell of coal in the +vicinity of Havana, but the substance is probably only a particularly hard +asphaltum. The only real coal property of which I have any knowledge is a +quite recent discovery. The story was told me by the man whose money was +sought to develop it. It was, by the way, an anthracite property. In +response to an urgent invitation from a presumably reliable acquaintance, +my friend took his car and journeyed westward into Pinar del Rio, through a +charming country that he and I have many times enjoyed together. He picked +up his coal-discovering friend in the city of Pinar del Rio, and proceeded +into the country to inspect the coal-vein. At a number of points +immediately alongside the highway, his companion alighted to scrape away +a little of the surface of the earth and to return with a little lump of +really high-grade anthracite. Such a substance had no proper business +there, did not belong there geologically or otherwise. The explanation +soon dawned upon my friend. They were following the line of an abandoned +narrow-gauge railway, abandoned twenty years ago, along which had been +dumped, at intervals, little piles of perfectly good anthracite, imported +from Pennsylvania, for use by the portable engine used in the construction +of the road. My friend declares that he is entirely ready at any time to +swear that there are deposits of anthracite in Cuba. A very good quality +of asphalt is obtained in different parts of the island, and considerable +quantities have been shipped to the United States. Signs of petroleum +deposits have been strong enough to induce investigation and expenditure. +An American company is now at work drilling in Matanzas Province. The most +extensive and promising mineral industry is iron, especially in eastern +Cuba. Millions of tons of ore have been taken from the mountains along +the shore between Santiago and Guantanamo, and the supply appears to be +inexhaustible. The product is shipped to the United States, to a value of +several millions of dollars yearly. A few years ago, other and apparently +more extensive deposits were discovered in the northern section of Oriente, +The field bought by the Pennsylvania Steel Company is estimated to contain +600,000,000 tons of ore. The Bethlehem Steel Company is the owner of +another vast tract. The quality of these ores is excellent. In Oriente +Province also are deposits of manganese of which considerable shipments +have been made. + +It is not possible in so brief a survey of Cuba's resources and industries +to include all its present activities, to say nothing of its future +possibilities. At the present time, the island is practically an extensive +but only partly cultivated farm, producing mainly sugar and tobacco, with +fruits and vegetables as a side line. The metal deposits supplement this, +with promise of becoming increasingly valuable. The forest resources, +commercially, are not great, although there are, and will continue to be, +sales of mahogany and other fine hardwoods. Local manufacturing is on a +comparatively limited scale. All cities and many towns have their artisans, +the bakers, tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, and others. Cigar making +is, of course, classed as a manufacturing enterprise, and so, for census +purposes, is the conversion of the juice of the sugar-cane into sugar. +A number of cities have breweries, ice factories, match factories, soap +works, and other establishments large or small. All these, however, are +incidental to the great industries of the soil, and the greater part of +Cuba's requirements in the line of mill and factory products is imported. +While little is done in the shipment of cattle or beef, Cuba is a natural +cattle country. Water and nutritious grasses are abundant, and there are +vast areas, now idle, that might well be utilized for stock-raising. There +are, of course, just as there are elsewhere, various difficulties to be +met, but they are met and overcome. There are insects and diseases, but +these are controlled by properly applied scientific methods. There is open +feeding throughout the entire year, so there is no need of barns or hay. +The local cattle industry makes possible the shipment of some $2,500,000 +worth of hides and skins annually. Other lines of industry worthy of +mention, but not possible of detailed description here, include sponges, +tortoise shell, honey, wax, molasses, and henequen or sisal. All these +represent their individual thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, +and their employment of scores or hundreds of wage-earners. Those who start +for Cuba with a notion that the Cubans are an idle and lazy people, will +do well to revise that notion. There is not the hustle that may be seen +further north, but the results of Cuban activity, measured in dollars or in +tons, fairly dispute the notion of any national indolence. When two and a +half million people produce what is produced in Cuba, somebody has to work. + + + + +XIV + +_POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE_ + + +The British colonists in America were in large measure self-governing. This +is notably true in their local affairs. The Spanish colonists were +governed almost absolutely by the mother-country. A United States official +publication reports that "all government control centred in the Council of +the Indies and the King, and local self government, which was developed at +an early stage in the English colonies, became practically impossible in +the Spanish colonies, no matter to what extent it may have existed in +theory. Special regulations, decrees, etc., modifying the application of +the laws to the colonies or promulgating new laws were frequent, and their +compilation in 1680 was published as Law of the Indies. This and the _Siete +Partidas_, on which they were largely based, comprised the code under which +the Spanish-American colonies were governed." There was a paper provision, +during the greater part of the time, for a municipal electorate, the +franchise being limited to a few of the largest tax-payers. In its +practical operation, the system was nullified by the power vested in the +appointed ruler. It was a highly effective centralized organization in +which no man held office, high or low, who was not a mere instrument in the +hands of the Governor-General. Under such an institution the Cubans had, of +course, absolutely no experience in self-government. The rulers made laws +and the people obeyed them; they imposed taxes and spent the money as they +saw fit; many of them enriched themselves and their personally appointed +official household throughout the island, at the expense of the tax-payers. + +A competent observer has noted that such terms as "meeting," +"mass-meeting," "self-government," and "home-rule," had no equivalent in +the Spanish language. The first of these terms, distorted into "_mitin_," +is now in common use, and its origin is obvious. Of theories, ideals, and +intellectual conceptions, there was an abundance, but government based +on beautiful dreams does not succeed in this practical world. Denied +opportunity for free discussion of practical methods, the Cubans discussed +theories in lyceums. Under the military government of the United States, +from January 1, 1899, to May 20, 1902, there was freedom of speech and +freedom of organization. The Cubans began to hold "_mitins_," but visions +and beautiful theories characterized the addresses. Prior to the Ten Years' +War (1868-1878), there were organizations more or less political in their +nature, but the authorities were alert in preventing discussions of too +practical a character. In 1865, a number of influential Cubans organized +what has been somewhat inappropriately termed a "national party." It was +not at all a party in our use of that term. Its purpose was to suggest and +urge administrative and economic changes from the Cuban point of view. The +suggestions were ignored and, a few years later, revolution was adopted as +a means of emphasizing their importance. The result of the Ten Years' War +was an assortment of pledges of greater political and economic freedom. +Much was promised but little if anything was really granted. There was, +however, a relaxation of the earlier absolutism, and under that there +appeared a semblance of party organization, in the form of a Liberal party +and a Union Constitutional party. There was no special difference in what +might be called their platforms. Both focussed, in a somewhat general way, +the political aspirations and the economic desires of the Cuban people, +much the same aspirations and desires that had been manifested by +complaint, protest, and occasional outbreak, for fifty years. National +independence had no place in either. That came later, when an army in the +field declared that if Spain would not grant independence, the island would +be made so worthless a possession that Spain could not afford to hold it. +A few years after their organization, the Liberals became the Cuban party, +and so remained, and the Union Constitutionals became the Spanish party, +the party of the immediate administration. Later on, the Liberal party +became the Autonomist party, but Spain's concession of the demands of that +group came too late, forced, not by the Autonomists but by the party of the +Revolution that swept the island with fire and sword from Oriente to +Pinar del Rio. The Autonomists sought what their name indicates; the +Revolutionists demanded and secured national independence. + +Shortly before the final dispersion of the Army of the Revolution, +there was organized a body with the imposing title of _La Asamblea de +Representantes del Ejercito Cubano_, or the Assembly of Representatives +of the Cuban Army. It was composed of leaders of the different military +divisions of that army, and included, as I recall it, thirty-one members. +This group made no little trouble in the early days of the American +occupation. It gathered in Havana, held meetings, declared itself the +duly chosen and representative agent of the Cuban people, and demanded +recognition as such by the American authorities. Some of its members even +asserted that it constituted a _de facto_ government, and held that the +Americans should turn the whole affair over to them and promptly sail away. +But their recognition was flatly refused by the authorities. At the time, I +supported the authorities in this refusal, but afterward I felt less sure +of the wisdom of the course. As a recognized body, it might have been +useful; rejected, it made no little trouble. Transfer of control to its +hands was quite out of the question, but recognition and co-operation +might have proved helpful. That the body had a considerable representative +quality, there is no doubt. Later, I found many of its members as members +of the Constitutional Convention, and, still later, many of them have +served in high official positions, as governors of provinces, members of +Congress, in cabinet and in diplomatic positions. I am inclined to regard +the group broadly, as the origin of the present much divided Liberal party +that has, from the beginning of definite party organization, included a +considerable numerical majority of the Cuban voters. In the first national +election, held December 31, 1901, this group, the military group, appeared +as the National party, supporting Tomas Estrada y Palma as its candidate. +Its opponent was called the Republican party. Realizing its overwhelming +defeat, the latter withdrew on the day of the election, alleging all manner +of fraud and unfairness on the part of the Nationals. It is useless to +follow in detail the history of Cuba's political parties since that time. +In the election of 1905, the former National party appeared as the Liberal +party, supporting José Miguel Gomez, while its opponents appeared as the +Moderate party, supporting Estrada Palma who, first elected on what he +declared to be a non-partisan basis, had definitely affiliated himself with +the so-called Moderates. The election was a game of political crookedness +on both sides, and the Liberals withdrew on election day. The result +was the revolution of 1906. The Liberals split into factions, not yet +harmonized, and the Moderate party became the Conservative party. By the +fusion of some of the Liberal groups, that party carried the election of +1908, held under American auspices. A renewal of internal disorders, a +quarrel among leaders, and much discontent with their administrative +methods, resulted in the defeat of the Liberals in the campaign of 1912 +and in the election of General Mario Menocal, the head of the Conservative +ticket, and the present incumbent. + +A fair presentation of political conditions in Cuba is exceedingly +difficult, or rather it is difficult so to present them that they will be +fairly understood. I have always regarded the establishment of the Cuban +Republic in 1902 as premature, though probably unavoidable. A few years of +experience with an autonomous government under American auspices, civil and +not military, as a prologue to full independence, might have been the wiser +course, but such a plan seemed impossible. The Cubans in the field had +forced from Spain concessions that were satisfactory to many. Whether they +could have forced more than that, without the physical assistance given +by the United States, is perhaps doubtful. The matter might have been +determined by the grant of the belligerent rights for which they repeatedly +appealed to the United States. At no time in the entire experience did they +ask for intervention. That came as the result of a combination of American +wrath and American sympathy, and more in the interest of the United States +than because of concern for the Cubans. But, their victory won and Spain +expelled, the triumphant Cubans naturally desired immediate enjoyment of +the fruits of victory. They desired to exercise the independence for which +they had fought. Many protests and not a few threats of trouble attended +even the brief period of American occupation. There was, moreover, an acute +political issue in the United States. The peace and order declared as the +purpose of American intervention had been established. The amendment to +the Joint Resolution of April 20, 1898, disclaimed "any disposition or +intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said +Island except for the pacification thereof," etc. The island was pacified. +The amendment asserted, further, the determination of the United States, +pacification having been accomplished, "to leave the government and control +of the island to its people." There was no pledge of any prolonged course +of education in principles and methods of self-government. Nor did such +education play any appreciable part in the experience of the American +military government. The work of the interventors had been done in +accordance with the specifications, and the Cubans were increasingly +restless under a control that many of them, with no little reason, declared +to be as autocratic as any ever exercised by Spain. Transfer and departure +seemed to be the politic if not the only course, and we transferred and +departed. + +That these people, entirely without experience or training in +self-government, should make mistakes was quite as inevitable as it is that +a child in learning to walk will tumble down and bump its little nose. In +addition to the inevitable mistakes, there have been occasional instances +of deplorable misconduct on the part of individuals and of political +parties. For neither mistakes nor misconduct can we criticize or condemn +them without a similar criticism or condemnation of various experiences in +our own history. We should, at least, regard them with charity. There are, +moreover, incidents in the two experiences of American control of the +island that, at least, border on the unwise and the discreditable. The only +issue yet developed in Cuba is between good government and bad politics. +The first President started admirably along the line of the former, and +ended in a wretched tangle of the latter, though not at all by his own +choice or direction. Official pre-eminence and a "government job" make +quite the same appeal to the Cubans that they do to many thousands +of Americans. So do raids on the national treasury, and profitable +concessions. We see these motes in Cuban eyes somewhat more clearly than +we see the beams in our own eyes. A necessarily slow process of political +education is going on among the people, but in the meantime the +situation has afforded opportunity for exploitation by an assortment +of self-constituted political leaders who have adopted politics as a +profession and a means of livelihood. Cuba's gravest danger lies in the +political domination of men in this class. The present President, General +Mario Menocal, is not in that group. The office sought him; he did not seek +the office. Some of these self-constituted leaders have displayed a notable +aptitude for political organization, and it is largely by means of the +many little local organizations that the Cuban political game is played. +Although, I believe, somewhat less now than formerly, the little groups +follow and support individual leaders rather than parties or principles. +Parties and their minor divisions are known by the names of their leaders. +Thus, while both men are nominally of the same party, the Liberal, the +adherents of José Miguel Gomez, are known as Miguelistas, and the adherents +of Alfredo Zayas are known as Zayistas. Were either to announce himself +as a Conservative, or to start a new party and call it Reformist or +Progressive or any other title, he could count on being followed by most +of those who supported him as a Liberal. This is a condition that will, in +time, correct itself. What the Cuban really wants is what all people want, +an orderly, honest, and economical government, under which he may live in +peace and quiet, enjoying the fruits of his labor without paying an undue +share of the fruits to maintain his government. For that the Cuban people +took up arms against Spain. For a time they may be blinded by the idea of +mere political independence, but to that same issue they will yet return +by the route of the ballot-box. The game of politics for individual +preferment, or for personal profit, cannot long be successfully played +in Cuba, if I have rightly interpreted Cuban character and Cuban +characteristics. + +"We, the delegates of the people of Cuba, having met in constitutional +convention for the purpose of preparing and adopting the fundamental law of +their organization as an independent and sovereign people, establishing a +government capable of fulfilling its international obligations, maintaining +public peace, ensuring liberty, justice, and promoting the general welfare, +do hereby agree upon and adopt the following constitution, invoking the +protection of the Almighty. Article I. The people of Cuba are hereby +constituted a sovereign and independent State and adopt a republican form +of government." Thus opens the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba. + +I recall an intensely dramatic moment connected with the closing phrase of +the preamble. I have used a translation published by a distinguished Cuban. +That phrase, in the original, is "_invocando el favor de Dios_," perhaps +more exactly translated as "invoking the favor (or blessing) of God." When +the Constitution had been drafted and broadly approved, it was submitted +to the convention for suggestion of minor changes in verbiage. One of the +oldest and most distinguished members of the body proposed that this phrase +be left out. Another member, distinguished for his power as an orator and +for his cynicism, in a speech of considerable length set forth his opinion +that it made little difference whether it was included or excluded. There +was no benefit in its inclusion, and no advantage in excluding it. It would +hurt none and might please some to have it left in. Immediately across +the semi-circle of desks, and facing these two speakers, sat Señor Pedro +Llorente, a man of small stature, long, snow-white hair and beard, and a +nervous and alert manner. At times, his nervous energy made him almost +grotesque. At times, his absorbed earnestness made him, despite his +stature, a figure of commanding dignity. Through the preceding addresses he +waited with evident impatience. Obtaining recognition from the chairman, +he rose and stood with upraised hand his voice tremulous with emotion, to +protest against the proposed measure, declaring "as one not far from the +close of life, that the body there assembled did not represent an atheistic +people." The motion to strike out was lost, and the invocation remains. + +The result of the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention is a +highly creditable instrument. It contains a well-devised Bill of Rights, +and makes all necessary provision for governmental organization and +conduct. One feature, however, seems open to criticism. In their desire to +avoid that form of centralized control, of which they had somewhat too much +under Spanish power, the new institution provides, perhaps, for too much +local government, for a too extensive provincial and municipal system. It +has already fallen down in some respects, and it has become necessary to +centralize certain functions, quite as it has become desirable in several +of our own matters. Cuba has, perhaps, an undue overload of officialdom, +somewhat too many public officers, and quite too many people on its +pay-rolls. The feature of Cuba's Constitution that is of greatest interest +and importance to the United States is what is known as the Platt +Amendment. The provision for a Constitutional Convention in Cuba was made +in what was known as Civil Order No. 301, issued by the Military Governor, +on July 25, 1900. It provided for an election of delegates to meet in +Havana on the first Monday in November, following. The convention was to +frame and adopt a Constitution and "as a part thereof, to provide for and +agree with the Government of the United States upon the relations to exist +between that Government and the Government of Cuba," etc. Against this, the +Cubans protested vigorously. The United States had declared that "Cuba +is and of right ought to be free and independent." The Cubans held, very +properly, that definition of international relations had no fitting place +in a Constitution "as a part thereof." Their point was recognized and, +under date of November 5, Civil Order No. 310 was modified by Civil Order +No. 455. That was issued to the delegates at the time of their assembly. +It declared as follows: "It will be your duty, first, to frame and adopt a +Constitution for Cuba, and, when that has been done, to formulate what, +in your opinion, ought to be the relations between Cuba and the United +States." Taking this as their programme, the delegates proceeded to draft +a Constitution, leaving the matter of "relations" in abeyance for +consideration at the proper time. Yet, before its work was done, the +Convention was savagely criticized in the United States for its failure +to include in the Constitution what it had been authorized, and virtually +instructed, to leave out. The Constitution was completed on February 11, +1901, and was duly signed by the delegates, on February 21. A committee +was appointed, on February 11, to prepare and submit plans and proposals +regarding the matter of "relations." Prior to that, however, the matter had +been frequently but informally discussed by the delegates. Suggestions had +been made in the local press, and individual members of the Convention had +expressed their views with considerable freedom. Had the United States kept +its hands off at that time, a serious and critical situation, as well as +a sense of injustice that has not yet entirely died out, would have been +averted. + +Before the Cubans had time to put their "opinion of what ought to be +the relations" between the two countries into definite form, there was +presented to them, in a manner as needless as it was tactless, a statement +of what the American authorities thought those relations should be. The +Cubans, who were faithfully observing their earlier instructions, were +deeply offended by this interference, and by the way in which the +interference came. The measures known as the Platt Amendment was submitted +to the United States Senate, as an amendment to the Army Appropriation +bill, on February 25, 1901 The Senate passed the bill, and the House +concurred A storm of indignant protest swept over the island The Cubans +believed, and not without reason, that the instrument abridged the +independence of which they had been assured by those who now sought to +limit that independence. Public opinion in the United States was divided. +Some approved and some denounced the proceeding in bitter terms. The +division was not at all on party lines. The situation in Cuba was entirely +changed. Instead of formulating an opinion in accordance with their earlier +instructions, the members of the Convention were confronted by a choice of +what they then regarded as evils, acceptance of unacceptable terms or an +indefinite continuance of a military government then no less unacceptable. +A commission was sent to Washington to urge changes and modifications. It +was given dinners, lunches, and receptions, but nothing more. At last the +Cubans shrugged their shoulders. The desire for an immediate withdrawal of +American authority, and for Cuban assumption of the reins of government, +outweighed the objection to the terms imposed. A Cuban leader said: "There +is no use in objecting to the inevitable. It is either annexation or a +Republic with the Amendment. I prefer the latter." After four months of +stubborn opposition, the Cubans yielded, by a vote of sixteen to eleven, +with four absentees. + +In many ways, the Cuban Government is like our own. The President and +Vice-President are elected, through an electoral college, for a term of +four years. A "third term" is specifically prohibited by the Constitution. +Senators, four from each Province, are chosen, for a term of eight years, +by an electoral board. Elections for one half of the body occur every four +years. The House is chosen, by direct vote, for terms of four years, one +half being elected every two years. The Cabinet, selected and appointed by +the President, consists of eight Secretaries of Departments as follows: +Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor; State; Government; Treasury (_Hacienda_); +Public Instruction; Justice; Public Works; and Health and Charities. There +is a Supreme Court, and there are the usual minor courts. The Constitution +also makes provision for the organization and the powers of the Provincial +and Municipal Governments. To the Constitution, the Platt Amendment is +attached as an appendix, by treaty arrangement. As far as governmental +system is concerned, Cuba is fairly well equipped; a possible source of +danger is its over-equipment. Its laws permit, rather than require, an +overburden of officials, high and low. But Cuba's governmental problem +is essentially one of administration. Its particular obstacle in that +department is professional politics. + +The whole situation in Cuba is somewhat peculiar. The business of the +island, that is, the commercial business, the purchase and sale of +merchandise wholesale and retail, is almost entirely in the hands of +Spaniards. The Cuban youths seldom become clerks in stores. Most of the +so-called "_dependientes_" come out as boys from Spain. It is an old +established system. These lads, almost invariably hard workers, usually eat +and sleep in the place of their employment. The wage is small but board and +lodging, such as the latter is, are furnished. They are well fed, and the +whole system is quite paternal. For their recreation, education, and care +in case of illness, there are organizations, half club and half mutual +protective association, to which practically all belong. The fee is small +and the benefits many. Some of these are based on a regional plan, that is, +the _Centro de Asturianos_ is composed of those who come from the Spanish +province of Asturia, and those from other regions have their societies. +There is also a general society of "_dependientes_." Some of these groups +are rich, with large membership including not only the clerks of today but +those of the last thirty or forty years, men who by diligence and thrift +have risen to the top in Cuba's commercial life. Most of Cuba's business +men continue their membership in these organizations, and many contribute +liberally toward their maintenance. + +This system more or less effectively bars Cuban youths from commercial +life. Nor does commercial life seem attractive to more than a very limited +number. This leaves to them, practically, only three lines of possible +activity, the ownership and operation of a plantation, a profession, or +manual labor. The greater number there, as elsewhere, are laborers, either +on some little bit of ground they call their own or rent from its owner, +or they are employed by the proprietors of the larger estates. Such +proprietorship is, of course, open to only a few. The problem, which is +both social and political, appears in a class that cannot or will not +engage in manual labor, the well-educated or fairly-educated sons of men +of fair income and a social position. Many of these take some professional +course. But there is not room for so many in so small a country, and the +professions are greatly overcrowded. The surplus either loafs and lives by +its wits or at the expense of the family, or turns to the Government for +a "job." It constitutes a considerable element on which the aspiring +professional politician can draw for support. Having such "jobs," it +constitutes a heavy burden on the tax-payers; deprived of its places on the +Government pay-roll, it becomes a social and political menace. If a Liberal +administration throws them out of their comfortable posts, they become +noisy and perhaps violent Conservatives; if discharged by an economical +Conservative administration, they become no less noisy and no less +potentially violent Liberals. But we may not criticize. The American +control that followed the insurrection of 1906 set no example in +administrative economy for the Cubans to follow. + +The productive industries of the island have already been reviewed in other +chapters. The development of Cuba's commerce since the withdrawal of Spain, +and the substitution of a modern fiscal policy for an antiquated and +indefensible system, has been notable. It is, however, a mistake to +contrast the present condition with the condition existing at the time +of the American occupation, in 1899. The exact accuracy of the record is +questionable, but the returns for the year 1894, the year preceding the +revolution, show the total imports of the island as $77,000,000, and the +total exports as $99,000,000. The probability is that a proper valuation +would show a considerable advance in the value of the imports. The +statement of export values may be accepted. It may be assumed that had +there been no disorder, the trade of the island, by natural growth, would +have reached $90,000,000 for imports and $120,000,000, for exports, in +1900. That may be regarded as a fair normal. As it was, the imports of that +year were $72,000,000, and the exports, by reason of the general wreck of +the sugar business, were only $45,000,000. With peace and order fairly +assured, recovery came quickly. The exports of 1905, at $99,000,000, +equalled those of 1894, while the imports materially exceeded those of the +earlier year. In 1913, the exports reached $165,207,000, and the imports +$132,290,000. This growth of Cuba's commerce and industry is due mainly to +the economic requirements of the American people. We need Cuba's sugar and +we want its tobacco. These two commodities represent about 90 per cent, +of the total exports of the island. We buy nearly all of its sugar, under +normal conditions, and about 60 per cent, of its tobacco and cigars. On the +basis of the total commerce of the island, the records of recent years show +this country as the source of supply for about 53 per cent, of Cuba's +total imports, and as the market for about 83 per cent, of its exports. A +comparison of the years 1903 and 1913 shows a gain of about $87,000,000 in +Cuba's total exports. Of this, about $75,000,000 is represented by sugar. +The crop of 1894 a little exceeded a million tons. Such a quantity was +not again produced until 1903. With yearly variations, due to weather +conditions, later years show an enormous and unprecedented increase. The +crops of 1913 and 1914 were, approximately, 2,500,000 tons each. The +tobacco industry shows only a modest gain. The average value of the exports +of that commodity has risen, in ten years, from about $25,000,000 to about +$30,000,000. The increase in the industry appears largely in the shipment +of leaf tobacco. The cigar business shows practically no change, in that +time, as far as values are concerned. This résumé affords a fair idea of +Cuba's trade expansion under the conditions established through the change +in government. That event opened new and larger doors of opportunity, and +the Cubans and others have been prompt in taking advantage of them. Toward +the great increase shown, two forces have operated effectively. One is the +treaty by which the provisions of the so-called Platt Amendment to the +Cuban Constitution are made permanently effective. The other is the +reciprocity treaty of 1903. + +By the operation of the former of these instruments the United States +virtually underwrites the political stability and the financial +responsibility of the Cuban Government. That Government cannot borrow any +important sums without the consent of the United States, and it has agreed +that this country "may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation +of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the +protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for discharging +the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of Paris on the +United States." This assumption of responsibility by the United States +inspired confidence on the part of capital, and large sums have been +invested in Cuban bonds, and in numerous public and private enterprises. +Railways and trolley lines have been built and many other works of public +utility have been undertaken. The activities of old sugar plantations have +been extended under improved conditions, and many new estates with costly +modern equipment have been created. The cultivation of large areas, +previously lying waste and idle, afforded both directly and indirectly +employment for an increased population, as did the numerous public works. +The other force, perhaps no less effective, appears in the reciprocity +treaty of 1903. This gave to Cuba's most important crop a large though by +no means absolute control of the constantly increasing sugar market of +the United States, as far as competition from other foreign countries +was concerned. The sugar industry of the island may be said to have been +restored to its normal proportions in 1903. Our imports for the five-year +period 1904-1908 averaged 1,200,000 tons a year. For the five-year period +1910-1914 they averaged 1,720,000 tons. In 1914, they were 2,200,000 tons +as compared with 1,260,000 tons in 1904. It is doubtful if the treaty had +any appreciable influence on the exports of Cuban tobacco to this country. +We buy Cuba's special tobacco irrespective of a custom-house advantage +that affects the box price only a little, and the price of a single cigar +probably not at all. On the other side of the account, that of our sales +to Cuba, there also appears a large increase since the application of the +reciprocity treaty. Using the figures showing exports from the United +States to Cuba, instead of Cuba's records showing imports from this +country, it appears that our sales to the island in the fiscal year 1903, +immediately preceding the operation of the treaty, amounted to $21,761,638. +In the fiscal year 1913 they were $70,581,000, and in 1914 were +$68,884,000. + +Not all of this quite remarkable gain may properly be credited to the +influence of the reciprocity treaty. The purchases of the island are +determined, broadly, by its sales. As the latter increase, so do the +former. Almost invariably, a year of large export sales is followed by a +year of heavy import purchases. The fact that our imports from Cuba are +double our sales to Cuba, in the total of a period of years, has given rise +to some foolish criticism of the Cubans on the ground that, we buying so +heavily from them, they should purchase from us a much larger percentage of +their import requirements. No such obligation is held to exist in regard +to our trade with other lands, and it should have no place in any +consideration of our trade with Cuba. There are many markets, like Brazil, +British India, Japan, China, Mexico, and Egypt, in which our purchases +exceed our sales. There are more, like the United Kingdom, France, Germany, +Italy, Canada, Central America, and numerous others, in which our sales +considerably or greatly exceed our purchases. We do not buy from them +simply because they buy from us. We buy what we need or want in that market +in which we can buy to the greatest advantage. The Cuban merchants, who are +nearly all Spaniards, do the same. The notion held by some that, because +of our service to Cuba in the time of her struggle for national life, the +Cubans should buy from us is both foolish and altogether unworthy. Any +notion of Cuba's obligation to pay us for what we may have done for her +should be promptly dismissed and forgotten. There are commodities, such as +lumber, pork products, coal, wheat flour, and mineral oil produces, +that Cuba can buy in our markets on terms better than those obtainable +elsewhere. Other commodities, such as textiles, leather goods, sugar mill +equipment, railway equipment, drugs, chemicals, and much else, must be +sold by American dealers in sharp competition with the merchants of other +countries, with such assistance as may be afforded by the reciprocity +treaty. That instrument gives us a custom-house advantage of 20, 25, 30, +and 40 per cent, in the tariff rates. It is enough in some cases to give +us a fair equality with European sellers, and in a few cases to give us a +narrow margin of advantage over them. It does not give us enough to compel +Cuban buyers to trade with us because of lower delivered prices. + +Cuba's economic future can be safely predicted on the basis of its past. +The pace of its development will depend mainly upon a further influx of +capital and an increase in its working population. Its political future +is less certain. There is ample ground for both hope and belief that the +little clouds that hang on the political horizon will be dissipated, that +there will come, year by year, a sane adjustment to the new institutions. +But full assurance of peace and order will come only when the people of the +island, whether planters or peasants, see clearly the difference between a +government conducted in their interest and a government conducted by Cubans +along Spanish lines. + + + + +INDEX + + +A + +Adams, President John, 127 +Angulo, Governor de, 59 +Animals, wild, 50 +Asphalt, 232, 233 +Autonomy, 143, 178 + + +B + +Babeque, 6, 7 +Bacon, Hon. Robert, 160 +Bacon's Rebellion, 144 +Ballou, M.M., 31, 32, 71 +Banes, 113 +Baracoa, 12, 91, 100, 114 +Batabano, 12, 116 +Baths, 52 +Bellamar, Caves of, 42,110 +Belligerent rights, 136, 140, 157, 158, 181 +_Bermuda_, 189, 197 +Bertram, Luis, 14 +Betancourt, Salvador Cisneros, 174 +Black Eagle conspiracy, 147 +_Black Warrior_, 131 +Blanco, General Ramon, 178 +Bolivia, 126 +Bolivar, Simon, 124, 185 +Bonds, Cuban, 175 +Boston sugar plantation, 113 +Buchanan, President, 130 + + +C + +Cabaña, 57, 60 +Cabinet, Cuban, 250 +Cabrera, Raimundo, 135 +Cadiz, 20 +Caibarien, 102 +Callahan, James M., 125, 139, 152 +Camaguey, city, 105, 110, 111 +Camaguey, province, 40, 109 +Cardenas, 101 +Casa de Beneficencia, 24 +Castillo del Principe, 57, 60, 71, 83 +Cathay, 3 +Cathedral, Havana, 63 +Cattle, 17, 235 +Cauto river, 43 +Caves, 42 +Cemetery, Colon, 83 +Census Reports, United States, 27, 35, 44, 144, 236 +Cespedes, Carlos Manuel,154, 155 +Channing, Edward, 142, 143 +Chaparra sugar plantation, 113 +Ciego de Avila, 106 +Cienaga de Zapata, 43, 51 +Cienfuegos, 102 +Cigars, 224, 225, 254 +Cipango, 2, 5 +Clerks' Associations, 251 +Climate, 45 et seq. +Coal, 232 +Coffee, 23, 36, 226, et seq. +Colonies, American in Cuba, 12, 120 +Colonies, British, 19, 236 +Colonies, Spanish, 19, 21, 123, 126 +Columbia, 124, 145 +Columbus, Christopher + Death and remains, 63 + Describes Cuba, 3, 4, 7 + Discovers Cuba, 2 + Extract from journal, 2 + Letter to Sanchez, 3 + Memorial to, 64 + Mistaken belief, 2, 3, 5, 8 + Report to Spanish sovereigns, 7 + Second expedition, 7 +Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257 +_Commodore_, 193, 195, 197 +Constitutional Convention, 247 +Constitution, Cuban, 154, 245, 246 +Constitution, Spanish, 29, 145, 159 +Copper, 231, 232 +Cordoba, de, 12 +Cortes, Hernan, 13, 58 +Cortes, Spanish, 29, 176 +Crittenden, Col., 150 +Cuba: + Aborigines, 14, 15. + Advice to visitors, 55. + American attitude toward, 135, 137, 140. + Annexation proposed, 125 et seq. + Animals, wild, 49. + Area, 37. + Climate and temperature, 45 et seq. + Colonized, 12. + Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257. + Conquest by Velasquez, II. + Described by Columbus, 3, 4, 7. + Description, general, 37 et seq. + Discovered, 2. + Expeditions from, 13, 14. + Flora, 48. + Forests, 49. + Future of, 258. + Insects, 51. + Intervention by United States, 25, 160, 182, 242. + Mineral springs, 52. + Monopolies in, 20, 144, 220, 231. + Monroe Doctrine, 127. + Nineteenth Century, 142. + Population, 17, 23, 34. + Railways, 89, 91. + Relations with United States, 122 et seq., 247, 248. + Republic of, 182. + Revolutions, 141 et seq. + Roads, 87, 95, 96. + Self-government, 243. + Slavery in, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155. + Spanish Governors, 24, 32. + Spanish policy in, 17, 19 et seq. 24, 31. + Trade restrictions, 20, 21, 24, 25, 30. + Taxation, Spanish, 24, 27, 28, 30. + Villages, 85, 93, 94, 100 +_Cuba and the Intervention_, 154, 164 +Cushing, Caleb, 138 +Custom house, 62 + + +D + +_Dauntless_, 193, 194, 197, 199, 200 +Delicias sugar plantation, 113 +Dexter, Lord Timothy, 216 +Domestic life, 80 + + +E + +EARTHQUAKES, 53 +Elections, 240, 250 +Elson, Henry William, 186 +England, 19, 128, 130, 139, 145 +Everett, Alexander H., 130 + + +F + +FILIBUSTERING expeditions, 148 et seq., 184 et seq. +Firemen, 83 +Fish, Secretary, 157 +Flora, 48 +Florida, 13 +Forests, 48, 49 +Fortifications, 59, 60 +France, 128, 145 +Fritot, Alphonso, 196, 199 +Fruits, 5, 229 +Fuerza, la, 17, 58, 59 + + +G + +Garcia, General Calixto, 84, 190 +Geerligs, H.C. Prinsen, 206 +Gibara, 112 +Gold, 2, 6, 231 +Gomez, General Maximo, 84, 158, 164, 172, 174. Proclamations, 167 et seq. +Government, 250 +Grant, President, 135 et seq. +Guane, 101 +Guantanamo, 91, 115 +Guines, 90 + + +H + +Haiti, 9, 10, 144 +Harbors, 44 +Hart, John D., 191, 197 +Hatuey, 8 et seq. +Havana: + Bells, church, 65. + British occupation, 20. + Capital, 20, 59. + Cathedral, 63. + Changes in, 66, 67, 82, 85. + Commerce limited to, 20. + Destroyed, 17, 58, 59. + Discovered, 12, 57. + Early conditions, 61. + Excursions from, 97 et seq. + Firemen, 83. + Fortifications, 59, 60. + Homes in, 77 et seq. + Las Casas as governor, 24. + Market, fish, 74. + Name, origin of, 58. + New City, 70 et seq. + Old city, 54 et seq. + Parks, 70, 71. + _Paseo_, 75. + Public buildings, 62 et seq. + Sanitation of, 63. + Settled 12, 58. + Shopping in, 68. + Streets 61, 71. + Suburbs, 85. + Sunrise in harbor, 54. + Theatre, Nacional, 71 et seq. +Havana, province, 38, 41 +Hayes, President, 136 +Hazard, Samuel, 33, 65, 111 +Henry, Patrick, 143 +Heredia, José Maria, 146 +Hill, Robert T., 39, 48 +Holguin, 113 +Hotels, 91, 111 +Homes, 77 et seq. +Humboldt, Baron Alexander, 8, 14, 15, 16, 35, 53 +Hurricanes, 53 + + +I + +Imports and Exports, 253, 256 +Independence, 162 et seq. +Insect life, 51 +Intervention, First, 25, 182, 242 +Intervention, Second, 160 +Iron ore, 233, 234 +Irving, Washington, 4, 5, 6 +Isle of Pines, 8, 116, 117 et seq. + + +J + +Jefferson, Thomas, 122 +Joint Resolution of 1898, 242 +Jolo, 54 +Juana, 2, 4 +Jucaro, 106 +Junta, 164, 174, 188 + + +K + +Kimball, R.B. 32 + + +L + +Las Casas, Bartolomé, 9, 14 +Las Casas, Governor Luis de, 24 +_Laurada_, 193 et seq. +Lemus, José Francisco, 146 +Llorente, Pedro, 246 +Lodge, Henry Cabot, 123 +Lopez, Narciso, 148 et seq. +Ludlow, General William, 63 + + +M + +Maceo, General Antonio, 99, 164, 172, 174 +McKinley, President, 122, 178, 179 +Magoon, Charles E., 160 +_Maine_, battleship, 179 +Maisi, Cape, 7, 8, 38, 115 +Malecon, 75 +Manufactures, 234 +Marti, José, 164, 166 +Marti, the smuggler, 72 et seq. +Martinez Campos, General, 158, 165, 166, 177. +Maso, Bartolomé, 165, 174 +Massachusetts rebellion, 144 +Matanzas, city, 41, 101 +Matanzas, province, 41 +Menocal, General Mario, 241, 244 +Mexico, 13, 58, 124, 145 +Minerals, 231 et seq. +Mineral springs, 52 +Miranda, Francisco, 126, 185 +Monopolies, 20, 144, 220, 231. +Monroe Doctrine, 127 +Monroe, President, 129 +Monuments: + Firemen's, 83, 84 + Students', 84 +Moret law, 16 +Morgan, Henry, no +Morro Castle, 17, 57, 59, 60 +Mountains, 5, 41, 93 +Murielo, 13 + + +N + +NARVAEZ, 13 +Navigation acts, British, 19, 144 +Nelson, Hugh, 127 +Nipe Bay, 2, 91, 113, 114 +Nuevitas, 2, 3, 110, 111, 112 +Nuñez, General Emilio, 191, 192, 199 + + +O + +O'BRIEN, "Dynamite Johnny," 189, et seq. +Ocampo, Sebastian de, 8, 12, 57 +Oriente, province, 40, 41 +Ostend Manifesto, 133 +Otis, James, 143 + + +P + +PALACE, Governor's, 64 +Palma, Tomas Estrada y, 162, 174, 192 +Palms, 5, 7, 48, 49 +Panama Congress (1826), 126 +Parks, Havana, 70, 71 +Parties, Political, 159, 176, 237, 238, 240, 244 +Pearcy _v_. Stranahan, 120 +Pepper, Charles M., 105, 134, 152, 176 +Petroleum, 233 +Pierce, President, 130, 132, 151 +Pinar del Rio, city, 101 +Pinar del Rio, province, 41 +Platt Amendment, 118, 247 et seq., 255 +Politics, 252 +Polk, President, 130 +Ponce de Leon, 13 +Population, 14, 17, 23, 34 +Porto Rico, 118 +Prado, 71, 75 +Preston sugar plantation, 113 +Puerto de Carenas, 12, 57 +Puerto Principe, see Camaguey +Punta, la, 17 + + +Q + +QUITMAN expedition, 151 + + +R + +RAILWAYS, 89, 91 +Rainfall, 46 +Real estate speculation, 120 +Reciprocity treaty, 255, 258 +Reconcentration, 177 +"Relations," question of, 247, 248 +Remedios, 102 +Revolutions, 19, 141 et seq. + of 1868, 153 et seq. + of 1895, 162 et seq. + of 1906, 159, 160 +Rhodes, James Ford, 131 +Rivers, 43 44 +Roads, 87, 95, 96 +Rubens, Horatio, S., 165, 181, 191, 192, 195 +Ruskin, John, 56 + + +S + +Saco, Antonio, 31 +Sagua la Grande, 101 +Sanchez, Rafael, 3 +Sancti Spiritus, 12, 91, 104 +Santa Clara, city, 102 +Santa Clara, province, 40 +Santangel, Luis de, 4 +Santiago de Cuba, 12, 13, 20, 115, 116 +Santo Domingo, 7 +Seville, 20 +Slavery, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155 +Smuggling, 21, 26 +Snakes, 50 +Sociedad Economica, 24 +Sociedad Patriotica, 24 +Soles de Bolivar, 146 +Soto, Hernando de, 13, 14, 17, 58 +Soule, Pierre, 132, 133 +Spain, 17, 19, 24, 29, 123 et seq., 145, 236 +Spanish-American independence, 126 +Sugar, 113, 203 et seq. + Beet sugar, 208 + Countries producing, 209 + History, 207 + In Cuba, 210 + Manufacture of, 204, 213 + Muscovado, 205 + Origin of, 206 + Planting and cutting, 213 et seq. + Production of, 209, 254, 256 +Supreme Court, United States, 120 + + +T + +Tacon, Governor Miguel, 32, 33, 70, 71 et seq. +Taft, Hon. William H., 99, 160 +Tariff, Spanish, 21, 25 +Taxes, 24, 27, 30, 163 +Taylor, President, 148 +Teller Amendment, 182 +Temperance question, 76 +Temperature, 45 et seq. +Templete, el, 64 +Ten Years' War, 16, 134, 135 et seq., 153 et seq. +Thrasher, J.S., 15, 29 +_Three Friends_, 193 et seq. +_Tillie_, wreck of the, 210 +Times, New York, 150 +Tobacco, 36, 102, 221, 222 + Cultivation in Cuba, 223 + History, 219 et seq. + Origin, 218 + Use in Cuba, 225 +Trade restricted, 20, 24, 25, 30 +Transportation, 90 +Treaty of Paris, 118, 182 +Trinidad, 12, 91, 100, 103 +Turnbull, David, 25 + + +U + +UNITED STATES: + Diplomatic correspondence, 125 et seq. + Mediation offered, 156 + Presidential messages, 125, 135, 136, 137, 158, 178, 179, 180, 184 + Relations with Cuba, 122 et seq., 179 + + +V + +Valmaseda proclamation, 156 +Varona, Enrique José, 153 +Vedado, el, 82 +Vegetable products, 228 et seq. +Velasquez, 8, 58 +Villages, 85, 93 +_Virginius_ affair, 116, 137, 185 +Volantes, 88 + + +W + +Welles, Gideon, 186 +Weyler, General Valeriano, 177, 198 +Wilson, Henry, 125 + + +Y + +Yumuri valley, 41 + + +Z + +Zanjon, treaty of, 158 + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Cuba, Old and New, by Albert Gardner Robinson + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11464 *** diff --git a/11464-8.txt b/11464-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ce924a8 --- /dev/null +++ b/11464-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6566 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cuba, Old and New, by Albert Gardner Robinson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Cuba, Old and New + +Author: Albert Gardner Robinson + +Release Date: March 5, 2004 [EBook #11464] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CUBA, OLD AND NEW *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Leonard D Johnson and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + +[Illustration: TOWER OF LA FUERZA + +_Havana_] + +CUBA + +OLD AND NEW + +BY + +ALBERT G. ROBINSON + +1915. + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + +I. OLD CUBA + +II. NEW CUBA + +III. THE COUNTRY + +IV. THE OLD HAVANA + +V. THE NEW HAVANA + +VI. AROUND THE ISLAND + +VII. AROUND THE ISLAND (_Continued_) + +VIII. THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA + +IX. CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS + +X. INDEPENDENCE + +XI. FILIBUSTERING + +XII. THE STORY OF SUGAR + +XIII. VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES + +XIV. POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +Tower of La Fuerza, Havana +The Morro, Havana +A Planter's Home, Havana Province +Iron Grille Gateway, El Vedado, suburb of Havana +Watering Herd of Cattle, Luyano River, near Havaria +Royal Palms +Custom House, Havana +Balconies, Old Havana +Street in Havana +Street and Church of the Angels, Havana +A Residence in El Vedado +The Volante (now quite rare) +A Village Street, Calvario, Havana Province +Street and Church, Camaguey +Cobre, Oriente Province +Hoisting the Cuban Flag over the Palace, May 20,1902 +A Spanish Block House +Along the Harbor Wall, Havana +Country Road, Havana Province +Street in Camaguey +Palm-Thatched Roofs +A Peasant's Home + + + + +CUBA + +OLD AND NEW + + + + +I + +_OLD CUBA_ + + +Christopher Columbus was a man of lively imagination. Had he been an +ordinary, prosaic and plodding individual, he would have stayed at home +combing wool as did his prosaic and plodding ancestors for several +generations. At the age of fourteen he went to sea and soon developed an +active curiosity about regions then unknown but believed to exist. There +was even then some knowledge of western Asia, and even of China as +approached from the west. Two and two being properly put together, the +result was a reasonable argument that China and India could be reached from +the other direction, that is, by going westward instead of eastward. + +In the early autumn of the year 1492, Columbus was busy discovering islands +in the Caribbean Sea region, and, incidentally, seeking for the richest +of the group. From dwellers on other islands, he heard of one, called +Cubanacan, larger and richer than any that he had then discovered. A +mixture of those tales with his own vivid imagination produced a belief +in a country of wide extent, vastly rich in gold and gems, and already a +centre of an extensive commerce. Cruising in search of what he believed to +be the eastern coast of Asia, he sighted the shore of Cuba on the morning +of October 28, 1492. His journal, under date of October 24, states: "At +midnight I tripped my anchors off this _Cabo del Isleo de Isabella_, where +I was pitched to go to the island of Cuba, which I learn from these people +is very large and magnificent, and there are gold and spices in it, and +large ships and merchants. And so I think it must be the island of Cipango +(Japan), of which they tell such wonders." The record, under date of +Sunday, 28th of October, states: "Continued for the nearest land of Cuba, +and entered a beautiful estuary, clear of rocks and other dangers. The +mouth of the estuary had twelve fathoms depth, and it was wide enough for a +ship to work into." Students have disagreed regarding the first Cuban port +entered by Columbus. There is general acceptance of October 28 as the +date of arrival. Some contend that on that day he entered Nipe Bay, while +others, and apparently the greater number, locate the spot somewhat to the +west of Nuevitas. Wherever he first landed on it, there is agreement that +he called the island Juana, in honor of Prince Juan, taking possession "in +the name of Christ, Our Lady, and the reigning Sovereigns of Spain." + +His record of the landing place is obscure. It is known that he sailed some +leagues beyond it, to the westward. While on board his caravel, on his +homeward voyage, he wrote a letter to his friend, Don Rafael Sanchez, +"Treasurer of their most Serene Highnesses," in which the experience is +described. The original letter is lost, but it was translated into Latin +and published in Barcelona in the following year, 1493. While the Latin +form is variously translated into English, the general tenor of all is the +same. He wrote: "When I arrived at Juana (Cuba), I sailed along the coast +to the west, discovering so great an extent of land that I could not +imagine it to be an island, but the continent of Cathay. I did not, +however, discover upon the coast any large cities, all we saw being a few +villages and farms, with the inhabitants of which we could not obtain any +communication, they flying at our approach. I continued my course, still +expecting to meet with some town or city, but after having gone a great +distance and not meeting with any, and finding myself proceeding toward +the north, which I was desirous, to avoid on account of the cold, and, +moreover, meeting with a contrary wind, I determined to return to the +south, and therefore put about and sailed back to a harbor which I had +before observed." That the actual landing was at or near the present port +of Nuevitas seems to be generally accepted. + +Columbus appears to have been greatly impressed by the beauty of the +island. In his _Life of Columbus_, Washington Irving says: "From his +continual remarks on the beauty of scenery, and from his evident delight in +rural sounds and objects, he appears to have been extremely open to those +happy influences, exercised over some spirits, by the graces and wonders +of nature. He gives utterance to these feelings with characteristic +enthusiasm, and at the same time with the artlessness and simplicity of +diction of a child. When speaking of some lovely scene among the groves, or +along the flowery shores of these favored islands, he says, "One could +live there forever." Cuba broke upon him like an elysium. "It is the most +beautiful island," he says, "that ever eyes beheld, full of excellent ports +and profound rivers." A little discount must be made on such a statement. +Granting all that is to be said of Cuba's scenic charms, some allowance is +to be made for two influences. One is Don Cristobal's exuberance, and the +other is the fact that when one has been knocking about, as he had been, +for nearly three months on the open sea and among low-lying and sandy +islands and keys, any land, verdure clad and hilly, is a picture of +Paradise. Many people need only two or three days at sea to reach a similar +conclusion. In his letter to Luis de Santangel, Columbus says: "All these +countries are of surpassing excellence, and in particular Juana (Cuba,), +which contains abundance of fine harbors, excelling any in Christendom, as +also many large and beautiful rivers. The land is high, and exhibits chains +of tall mountains which seem to reach to the skies and surpass beyond +comparison the isle of Cetrefrey (Sicily). These display themselves in all +manner of beautiful shapes. They are accessible in every part, and covered +with a vast variety of lofty trees which it appears to me never lose their +foliage. Some were covered with blossoms, some with fruit, and others in +different stages according to their nature. There are palm trees of six or +eight sorts. Beautiful forests of pines are likewise found, and fields of +vast extent. Here are also honey and fruits of thousand sorts, and birds of +every variety." + +Having landed at this indefinitely located point, Columbus, believing that +he had reached the region he was seeking, despatched messengers to the +interior to open communication with some high official of Cathay, in which +country he supposed himself to be, the idea of Cipango apparently having +been abandoned. "Many at the present day," says Washington Irving, "will +smile at this embassy to a naked savage chieftain in the interior of Cuba, +in mistake for an Asiatic monarch; but such was the singular nature of this +voyage, a continual series of golden dreams, and all interpreted by the +deluding volume of Marco Polo." But the messengers went on their journey, +and proceeded inland some thirty or forty miles. There they came upon a +village of about fifty huts and a population of about a thousand. They were +able to communicate only by signs, and it is quite certain that the replies +of the natives were as little understood by the messengers as the questions +were by the natives. The messengers sought something about which the +natives knew little or nothing. The communications were interpreted through +the medium of imagination and desire. Nothing accomplished, the commission +returned and made its disappointing report. Washington Irving thus +describes the further proceedings: "The report of the envoys put an end to +the many splendid fancies of Columbus, about the barbaric prince and his +capital. He was cruising, however, in a region of enchantment, in which +pleasing chimeras started up at every step, exercising by turns a power +over his imagination. During the absence of the emissaries, the Indians +had informed him, by signs, of a place to the eastward, where the people +collected gold along the river banks by torchlight and afterward wrought it +into bars with hammers. In speaking of this place they again used the words +Babeque and Bohio, which he, as usual, supposed to be the proper names of +islands or countries. His great object was to arrive at some opulent and +civilized country of the East, with which he might establish commercial +relations, and whence he might carry home a quantity of oriental +merchandise as a rich trophy of his discovery. The season was advancing; +the cool nights gave hints of approaching winter; he resolved, therefore, +not to proceed farther to the north, nor to linger about uncivilized places +which, at present, he had not the means of colonizing, but to return to the +east-south-east, in quest of Babeque, which he trusted might prove some +rich and civilized island on the coast of Asia." And so he sailed away for +Hispaniola (Santo Domingo) which appears to have become, a little later, +his favorite West Indian resort. + +[Illustration: THE MORRO _Havana_] + +He began his eastward journey on November 12th. As he did not reach Cape +Maisi, the eastern point of the island, until December 5th, he must have +made frequent stops to examine the shore. Referring to one of the ports +that he entered he wrote to the Spanish Sovereigns thus: "The amenity of +this river, and the clearness of the water, through which the sand at the +bottom may be seen; the multitude of palm trees of various forms, the +highest and most beautiful that I have met with, and an infinity of other +great and green trees; the birds in rich plumage and the verdure of the +fields, render this country of such marvellous beauty that it surpasses all +others in charms and graces, as the day doth the night in lustre. For which +reason I often say to my people that, much as I endeavor to give a complete +account of it to your majesties, my tongue cannot express the whole truth, +nor my pen describe it; and I have been so overwhelmed at the sight of so +much beauty that I have not known how to relate it." + +Columbus made no settlement in Cuba; his part extends only to the +discovery. On his second expedition, in the spring of 1494, he visited and +explored the south coast as far west as the Isle of Pines, to which he gave +the name _La Evangelista_. He touched the south coast again on his fourth +voyage, in 1503. On his way eastward from his voyage of discovery on the +coast of Central America, he missed his direct course to Hispaniola, and +came upon the Cuban shore near Cape Cruz. He was detained there for some +days by heavy weather and adverse winds, and sailed thence to his unhappy +experience in Jamaica. The work of colonizing remained for others. Columbus +died in the belief that he had discovered a part of the continent of Asia. +That Cuba was only an island was determined by Sebastian de Ocampo who +sailed around it in 1508. Baron Humboldt, who visited Cuba in 1801 and +again in 1825, and wrote learnedly about it, states that "the first +settlement of the whites occurred in 1511, when Velasquez, under orders +from Don Diego Columbus, landed at Puerto de las Palmas, near Cape Maisi, +and subjugated the Cacique Hatuey who had fled from Haiti to the eastern +end of Cuba, where he became the chief of a confederation of several +smaller native princes." This was, in fact, a military expedition composed +of three hundred soldiers, with four vessels. + +Hatuey deserves attention. His name is not infrequently seen in Cuba today, +but it is probable that few visitors know whether it refers to a man, a +bird, or a vegetable. He was the first Cuban hero of whom we have record, +although the entire reliability of the record is somewhat doubtful. The +notable historian of this period is Bartolome Las Casas, Bishop of Chiapa. +He appears to have been a man of great worth, a very tender heart, and an +imagination fully as vivid as that of Columbus. His sympathies were aroused +by the tales of the exceeding brutality of many of the early Spanish +voyagers in their relations with the natives. He went out to see for +himself, and wrote voluminously of his experiences. He also wrote with +exceeding frankness, and often with great indignation. He writes about +Hatuey. The inference is that this Cacique, or chieftain, fled from Haiti +to escape Spanish brutality, and even in fear of his life. There are other +translations of Las Casas, but for this purpose choice has been made of one +published in London about the year 1699. It is given thus: + +"There happened divers things in this island (Cuba) that deserve to be +remarked. A rich and potent Cacique named Hatuey was retired into the Isle +of Cuba to avoid that Slavery and Death with which the Spaniards menaced +him; and being informed that his persecutors were upon the point of landing +in this Island, he assembled all his Subjects and Domestics together, and +made a Speech unto them after this manner. "You know, (said he) the Report +is spread abroad that the Spaniards are ready to invade this Island, and +you are not ignorant of the ill usage our Friends and Countrymen have met +with at their hands, and the cruelties they have committed at Haiti (so +Hispaniola is called in their Language). They are now coming hither with +a design to exercise the same Outrages and Persecutions upon us. Are +you ignorant (says he) of the ill Intentions of the People of whom I am +speaking? We know not (say they all with one voice) upon what account they +come hither, but we know they are a very wicked and cruel People. I'll tell +you then (replied the Cacique) that these Europeans worship a very covetous +sort of God, so that it is difficult to satisfy him; to perform the Worship +they render to this Idol, they will exact immense Treasures of us, and will +use their utmost endeavors to reduce us to a miserable state of Slavery, +or else put us to death." The historian leaves to the imagination and +credulity of his readers the task of determining just where and how he got +the full details of this speech and of the subsequent proceedings. The +report of the latter may well be generally correct inasmuch as there were +Spanish witnesses present, but the account of this oration, delivered prior +to the arrival of the Spanish invaders, is clearly open to a suspicion that +it may be more or less imaginary. But the historian continues: "Upon this +he took a Box full of Gold and valuable Jewels which he had with him, and +exposing it to their view: Here is (said he) the God of the Spaniards, whom +we must honor with our Sports and Dances, to see if we can appease him and +render him propitious to us; that so he may command the Spaniards not to +offer us any injury. They all applauded this Speech, and fell a leaping and +dancing around the Box, till they had quite tired and spent themselves. +After which the Cacique Hatuey resuming his Discourse, continued to speak +to them in these terms: If we keep this God (says he) till he's taken away +from us, he'll certainly cause our lives to be taken away from us; and +therefore I am of opinion it will be the best way to cast him into the +river. They all approved of this Advice, and went all together with one +accord to throw this pretended God into the River." + +But the Spaniards came and encountered the resistance of Hatuey and his +followers. The invaders were victorious, and Hatuey was captured and burned +alive. Las Casas relates that while the poor wretch was in the midst of the +flames, tied to a stake, "a certain Franciscan Friar of great Piety and +Virtue, took upon him to speak to him of God and our Religion, and to +explain to him some Articles of Catholic Faith, of which he had never +heard a word before, promising him Eternal Life if he would believe and +threatening him with Eternal Torment if he continued obstinate in his +Infidelity. Hatuey reflecting on the matter, as much as the Place and +Condition in which he was would permit, asked the Friar that instructed +him, whether the Gate of Heaven was open to Spaniards; and being answered +that such of them as were good men might hope for entrance there: the +Cacique, without any farther deliberation, told him that he had no mind to +go to heaven for fear of meeting with such cruel and wicked Company as +they were; but he would much rather choose to go to Hell where he might be +delivered from the troublesome sight of such kind of People." And so died +the Cacique Hatuey. Four hundred years later, the Cuban Government named a +gunboat _Hatuey_, in his honor. + +The Velasquez expedition, in the following year, founded Baracoa, now a +small city on the northern coast near the eastern extremity of the island. +It is a spot of exceeding scenic charm. It was established as the capital +city, but it held that honor for a few years only. In 1514 and 1515, +settlements were established at what is now Santiago, at Sancti Spiritus, +Trinidad, and Batabano. The latter was originally called San Cristobal de +la Habana, the name being transferred to the present city, on the north +coast, in 1519. It displaced the name Puerto de Carenas given to the +present Havana by Ocampo, who careened his vessels there in 1508. Baracoa +was made the seat of a bishopric, and a cathedral was begun, in 1518. In +1522, both the capital and the bishopric were transferred to Santiago, a +location more readily accessible from the new settlements on the south +coast, and also from Jamaica which was then included in the diocese. +Cuba, at about this period, was the point of departure for an important +expedition. In 1517, de Cordoba, with three vessels and 110 soldiers, +was sent on an expedition to the west for further and more northerly +exploration of the land discovered by Columbus in 1503. The coast from +Panama to Honduras had been occupied. The object of this expedition was to +learn what lay to the northward. The result was the discovery of Yucatan. +Cordoba returned to die of wounds received in a battle. A second and +stronger expedition was immediately despatched. This rounded the peninsula +and followed the coast as far as the present city of Vera Cruz. In 1518, +Hernan Cortez was _alcalde_, or mayor, of Santiago de Cuba. On November 18, +of that year, he sailed from that port in command of an expedition for +the conquest of Mexico, finally effected in 1521, after one of the most +romantic campaigns in the history of warfare. All that, however, is a story +in which Cuba has no place except that of the starting point and base of +the expedition. There is another story of the same kind, a few years later. +The first discovery of Florida is somewhat uncertain. It appears on an old +Spanish map dated 1502. Following the expedition of Ponce de Leon, in 1513, +and of Murielo, in 1516, Narvaez headed an expedition from Cuba in 1528 +with some three hundred freebooters. They landed in Florida, where almost +the entire band was, very properly, destroyed by the Indians. In 1539, de +Soto sailed from Havana, with five hundred and seventy men and two hundred +and twenty-three horses, for an extended exploration. They wandered for +three years throughout what is now the southern part of the United States +from Georgia and South Carolina westward to Arkansas and Missouri. After a +series of almost incredible experiences, de Soto died in 1542, on the banks +of the Mississippi River at a point probably not far from the Red River. +These and other expeditions, from Cuba and from Mexico, to what is now +territory of the United States, produced no permanent results. No gold was +found. + +Of the inhabitants of Cuba, as found by the Spaniards, comparatively little +is recorded. They seem to have been a somewhat negative people, generally +described as docile, gentle, generous, and indolent. Their garments were +quite limited, and their customs altogether primitive. They disappear +from Cuba's story in its earliest chapters. Very little is known of their +numbers. Some historians state that, in the days of Columbus, the island +had a million inhabitants, but this is obviously little if anything more +than a rough guess. Humboldt makes the following comment: "No means now +exist to arrive at a knowledge of the population of Cuba in the time of +Columbus; but how can we admit what some otherwise judicious historians +state, that when the island of Cuba was conquered in 1511, it contained a +million inhabitants of whom only 14,000 remained in 1517. The statistical +information which we find in the writings of Las Casas is filled with +contradictions." Forty years or so later the Dominican friar, Luis Bertram, +on his return to Spain, predicted that "the 200,000 Indians now in the +island of Cuba, will perish, victims to the cruelty of the Europeans." Yet +Gomara stated that there was not an Indian in Cuba after 1553. Whatever the +exact truth regarding numbers, it is evident that they disappeared rapidly, +worked to death by severe task-masters. The institution of African slavery, +to take the place of the inefficient and fast disappearing native labor, +had its beginning in 1521. Baron Humboldt states that from that time until +1790, the total number of African negroes imported as slaves was 90,875. +In the next thirty years, the business increased rapidly, and Humboldt +estimates the total arrivals, openly entered and smuggled in, from 1521 to +1820, as 372,449. Mr. J.S. Thrasher, in a translation of Humboldt's work, +issued in 1856, added a footnote showing the arrivals up to 1854 as +644,000. A British official authority, at the same period, gives the total +as a little less than 500,000. The exact number is not important. The +institution on a large scale, in its relation to the total number of +whites, was a fact. + +It is, of course, quite impossible even today to argue the question of +slavery. To many, the offence lies in the mere fact; to others, it lies in +the operation of the system. At all events, the institution is no longer +tolerated in any civilized country. While some to whom the system itself +was a bitter offence have found much to criticize in its operation in Cuba, +the general opinion of observers appears to be that it was there notably +free from the brutality usually supposed to attend it. The Census Report of +1899, prepared under the auspices of the American authorities, states that +"while it was fraught with all the horrors of this nefarious business +elsewhere, the laws for the protection of slaves were unusually humane. +Almost from the beginning, slaves had a right to purchase their freedom or +change their masters, and long before slavery was abolished they could own +property and contract marriage. As a result, the proportion of free colored +to slaves has always been large." Humboldt, who studied the institution +while it was most extensive, states that "the position of the free negroes +in Cuba is much better than it is elsewhere, even among those nations which +have for ages flattered themselves as being most advanced in civilization." +The movement for the abolition of slavery had its beginning in 1815, with +the treaty of Vienna, to which Spain was a party. Various acts in the same +direction appear in the next fifty years. The Moret law, enacted in 1870 by +the Spanish Cortes, provided for gradual abolition in Spain's dominions, +and a law of 1880, one of the results of the Ten Years' War, definitely +abolished the system. Traces of it remained, however, until about 1887, +when it may be regarded as having become extinct forever in Cuba. + +For the first two hundred and fifty years of Cuba's history, the city of +Havana appears as the special centre of interest. There was growth in other +sections, but it was slow, for reasons that will be explained elsewhere. +In 1538, Havana was attacked and totally destroyed by a French privateer. +Hernando de Soto, then Governor of the island, at once began the +construction of defences that are now one of the special points of interest +in the city. The first was the Castillo de la Fuerza. In 1552, Havana +became the capital city. In 1555, it was again attacked, and practically +destroyed, including the new fortress, by French buccaneers. Restoration +was effected as rapidly as possible. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged, and +the construction of the Morro and of La Punta, the fortress at the foot of +the Prado, was begun. The old city wall, of which portions still remain, +was of a later period. Despite these precautions, the city was repeatedly +attacked by pirates and privateers. Some reference to these experiences +will be made in a special chapter on the city. The slow progress of the +island is shown by the fact that an accepted official report gives the +total population in 1775 as 171,620, of whom less than 100,000 were white. +The absence of precious metals is doubtless the main reason for the lack of +Spanish interest in the development of the country. For a long time after +the occupation, the principal industry was cattle raising. Agriculture, the +production of sugar, tobacco, coffee, and other crops, on anything properly +to be regarded as a commercial scale, was an experience of later years. The +reason for this will be found in the mistaken colonial policy of Spain, a +policy the application of which, in a far milder manner, cost England its +richest colony in the Western Hemisphere, and which, in the first quarter +of the 19th Century, cost Spain all of its possessions in this half of the +world, with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico. + + + + +II + +_NEW CUBA_ + + +While there is no point in Cuba's history that may be said to mark a +definite division between the Old Cuba and the New Cuba, the beginning of +the 19th Century may be taken for that purpose. Cuba's development dragged +for two hundred and fifty years. The population increased slowly and +industry lagged. For this, Spain's colonial policy was responsible. But it +was the policy of the time, carried out more or less effectively by all +nations having colonies. England wrote it particularly into her Navigation +Acts of 1651, 1660, and 1663, and supported it by later Acts. While not +rigorously enforced, and frequently evaded by the American colonists, the +system at last proved so offensive that the colonists revolted in 1775. +Most of Spain's colonies in the Western Hemisphere, for the same reason, +declared and maintained their independence in the first quarter of the +19th Century. At the bottom of Cuba's several little uprisings, and at the +bottom of its final revolt in 1895, lay the same cause of offence. In those +earlier years, it was held that colonies existed solely for the benefit +of the mother-country. In 1497, almost at the very beginning of Spain's +colonial enterprises in the New World, a royal decree was issued under +which the exclusive privilege to carry on trade with the colonies was +granted to the port of Seville. This monopoly was transferred to the port +of Cadiz in 1717, but it continued, in somewhat modified form in later +years, until Spain had no colonies left. + +While Santiago was the capital of the island, from 1522 to 1552, trade +between Spain and the island could be carried on only through that port. +When Havana became the capital, in 1552, the exclusive privilege of trade +was transferred to that city. With the exception of the years 1762 and +1763, when the British occupied Havana and declared it open to all trade, +the commerce of the island could only be done through Havana with Seville, +until 1717, and afterward with Cadiz. Baracoa, or Santiago, or Trinidad, +or any other Cuban city, could not send goods to Santander, or Malaga, or +Barcelona, or any other Spanish market, or receive goods directly from +them. The law prohibited trade between Cuba and all other countries, and +limited all trade between the island and the mother-country to the port of +Havana, at one end, and to Seville or Cadiz, according to the time of the +control of those ports, at the other end. Even intercolonial commerce was +prohibited. At times, and for brief periods, the system was modified to +the extent of special trade licences, and, occasionally, by international +treaties. But the general system of trade restriction was maintained +throughout all of Spain's colonial experience. Between 1778 and 1803, most +of Cuba's ports were opened to trade with Spain. The European wars of the +early years of the 19th Century led to modification of the trade laws, but +in 1809 foreign commerce with Spanish American ports was again prohibited. +A few years later, Spain had lost nearly all its American colonies. A new +plan was adopted in 1818. Under that, Spain sought to hold the trade of +Cuba and Porto Rico by tariffs so highly favorable to merchandise from +the mother-country as to be effectively prohibitive with regard to many +products from other countries. This, in general outline, is the cause of +Cuba's slow progress until the 19th Century, and the explanation of its +failure to make more rapid progress during that century. + +Naturally, under such conditions, bribery of officials and smuggling became +active and lucrative enterprises. It may be said, in strict confidence +between writer and reader, that Americans were frequently the parties of +the other part in these transactions. In search through a considerable +number of American histories, I have been unable to find definite +references to trade with Cuba, yet there seems to be abundant reason for +belief that such trade was carried on. There are many references to trade +with the West Indies as far back as 1640 and even a year or two earlier, +but allusions to trade with Cuba do not appear, doubtless for the reason +that it was contraband, a violation of both Spanish and British laws. There +was evidently some relaxation toward the close of the 18th Century. +There are no records of the commerce of the American colonies, and only +fragmentary records between 1776 and 1789. The more elaborate records of +1789 and following years show shipments of fish, whale oil, spermaceti +candles, lumber, staves and heading, and other articles to the "Spanish +West Indies," in which group Cuba was presumably included. The records of +the time are somewhat unreliable. It was a custom for the small vessels +engaged in that trade to take out clearance papers for the West Indies. The +cargo might be distributed in a number of ports, and the return cargo might +be similarly collected. For the year 1795, the records of the United States +show total imports from the Spanish West Indies as valued at $1,740,000, +and exports to that area as valued at $1,390,000. In 1800, the imports were +$10,588,000, and the exports $8,270,000. Just how much of this was trade +with Cuba, does not appear. Because of the trade increase at that time, +and because of other events that, soon afterward, brought Cuba into more +prominent notice, this period has been chosen as the line of division +between the Old and the New Cuba. + +Compared with the wonderful fertility of Cuba, New England is a sterile +area. Yet in 1790, a hundred and seventy years after its settlement, the +latter had a population a little exceeding a million, while the former, in +1792, or two hundred and eighty years after its occupation, is officially +credited with a population of 272,300. Of these, 153,559 were white and +118,741 were colored. Several forces came into operation at this time, and +population increased rapidly, to 572,363 in 1817, and to 704,465 in 1827. +In 1841, it was a little more than a million. But the increase in colored +population, by the importation of African slaves, outstripped the increase +by the whites. In 1841, the population was divided into 418,291 whites and +589,333 colored. The importation of slaves having declined, the year 1861 +shows a white preponderance, since continued and substantially increased. +Among the forces contributing to Cuba's rapid growth during this period +were a somewhat greater freedom of trade; the revolution in the neighboring +island of Haiti and Santo Domingo, that had its beginning in 1791 and +culminated, some ten years later, in the rule of Toussaint L'Ouverture; and +an increased demand for sugar. One result of the Haitian disorder was the +arrival, in eastern Cuba, of a large number of exiles and emigrants who +established extensive coffee plantations. During the first hundred and +fifty years of Cuba's history, the principal industry of the island was +cattle raising, aside from the domestic industry of food supply. The +proprietors lived, usually, in the cities and maintained their vast estates +in the neighborhood. To this, later on, were added the production of +honey and wax and the cultivation of tobacco. With the period now under +consideration, there came the expansion of the coffee and sugar industries. +The older activities do not appear to have been appreciably lessened; the +others were added on. + +Europe and the Western Hemisphere were at that time in a state of general +upheaval and rearrangement. Following the American Revolution, there came +the French Revolution; the Napoleonic Wars; the war of 1812 between the +United States and England; and the general revolt of the Spanish colonies. +The world was learning new lessons, adopting new policies, in which the +Spanish colonial system was a blunder the folly of which Spain did not +even then fully realize. Yet from it all, by one means and another, Cuba +benefited. Spain was fortunate in its selection of Governors-General sent +out at this time. Luis de Las Casas, who arrived in 1790, is credited with +much useful work. He improved roads and built bridges; established schools +and the _Casa de Beneficencia_, still among the leading institutions in +Havana; paved the streets of Havana; improved as far as he could the +commercial conditions; and established the _Sociedad Patriotica_, sometimes +called the _Sociedad Economica_, an organization that has since contributed +immeasurably to Cuba's welfare and progress. He was followed by others +whose rule was creditable. But the principal evils, restricted commerce +and burdensome taxation, were not removed, although world conditions +practically compelled some modification of the commercial regulations. In +1801 the ports of the island were thrown open to the trade of friendly and +neutral nations. Eight years later, foreign commerce was again prohibited. +In 1818, a new system was established, that of a tariff so highly favorable +to merchandise from Spain that it was by no means unusual for goods to +be shipped to that country, even from the United States, and from there +reshipped to Cuba. Changes in the rates were made from time to time, but +the system of heavy discrimination in favor of Spanish goods in Spanish +ships continued until the equalization of conditions under the order of the +Government of Intervention, in 1899. + +In his book published in 1840, Mr. Turnbull states that "the mercantile +interests of the island have been greatly promoted by the relaxation of +those restrictive regulations which under the old peninsular system bound +down all foreign commerce with the colonies of Spain, and laid it prostrate +at the feet of the mother-country. It cannot be said that the sound +principles of free trade, in any large or extended sense of the term, +have been recognized or acted upon even at the single port of Havana. The +discriminating duties imposed by the supreme government of Madrid on the +natural productions, manufactures, and shipping of foreign countries, in +contradistinction to those of Spain, are so stringent and so onerous as +altogether to exclude the idea of anything approaching to commercial +freedom. There is no longer, it is true, any absolute prohibition, but in +many cases the distinguishing duties are so heavy as to defeat their own +object, and, in place of promoting the interests of the mother-country, +have had little other effect than the establishment of an extensive and +ruinous contraband." Under such conditions as those existing in Cuba, +from its beginning practically until the establishment of its political +independence, industrial development and commercial expansion are more than +difficult. + +One of the natural results of such a system appeared in the activities of +smugglers. The extent to which that industry was carried on cannot, of +course, be even guessed. Some have estimated that the merchandise imported +in violation of the laws equalled in value the merchandise entered at +the custom houses. An official publication (American) states that "from +smuggling on a large scale and privateering to buccaneering and piracy is +not a long step, and under the name of privateers French, Dutch, English, +and American smugglers and buccaneers swarmed the Caribbean Sea and the +Gulf of Mexico for more than two centuries, plundering Spanish _flotas_ +and attacking colonial settlements. Among the latter, Cuba was the chief +sufferer." Had Cuba's coasts been made to order for the purpose, they could +hardly have been better adapted to the uses of smugglers. Off shore, for +more than half its coast line, both north and south, are small islands +and keys with narrow and shallow passages between them, thus making an +excellent dodging area for small boats if pursued by revenue vessels. +Thoroughly familiar with these entrances and hiding places, smugglers could +land their goods almost at will with little danger of detection or capture. + +Another heavy handicap on the economic progress of the island appears in +the system of taxation. Regarding this system, the Census of 1899 reports +as follows: + +"Apart from imports and exports, taxes were levied on real and personal +property and on industries and commerce of all kinds. Every profession, +art, or manual occupation contributed its quota, while, as far back as +1638, seal and stamp taxes were established on all judicial business and +on all kinds of petitions and claims made to official corporations, and +subsequently on all bills and accounts. These taxes were in the form of +stamps on official paper and at the date of American occupation the paper +cost from 35 cents to $3 a sheet. On deeds, wills, and other similar +documents the paper cost from 35 cents to $37.50 per sheet, according to +the value of the property concerned. Failure to use even the lowest-priced +paper involved a fine of $50. + +"There was also a municipal tax on the slaughter of cattle for the market. +This privilege was sold by the municipal council to the highest bidder, +with the result that taxes were assessed on all animals slaughtered, +whether for the market or for private consumption, with a corresponding +increase in the price of meat. + +"Another tax established in 1528, called the _derecho_ _de averia_, +required the payment of 20 ducats ($16) by every person, bond or free, +arriving in the island. In 1665 this tax was increased to $22, and +continued in force to 1765, thus retarding immigration, and, to that +extent, the increase of population, especially of the laboring class. + +"An examination of these taxes will show their excessive, arbitrary, and +unscientific character, and how they operated to discourage Cubans from +owning property or engaging in many industrial pursuits tending to benefit +them and to promote the material improvement of the island. + +"Taxes on real estate were estimated by the tax inspector on the basis +of its rental or productive capacity, and varied from 4 to 12 per cent. +Similarly, a nominal municipal tax of 25 per cent was levied on the +estimated profits of all industries and commerce, and on the income derived +from all professions, manual occupations, or agencies, the collector +receiving 6 per cent of all taxes assessed. Much unjust discrimination was +made against Cubans in determining assessable values and in collecting the +taxes, and it is said that bribery in some form was the only effective +defense against the most flagrant impositions." + +Some of the experiences of this period will be considered in special +chapters on Cuba's alleged revolutions and on the relations of the United +States to Cuba and its affairs. One point may be noted here. The wave of +republicanism that swept over a considerable part of Europe and over the +Western Hemisphere, from 1775 to 1825 had its direct influence in Spain, +and an influence only less direct in Cuba. In 1812, Spain became a +constitutional monarchy. It is true that the institution had only a +brief life, but the sentiment that lay beneath it persisted and had been +repeatedly a cause of disturbance on the Peninsula. Something of the +same sentiment pervaded Cuba and excited ambitions, not for national +independence, but for some participation in government. A royal decree, in +1810, gave Cuba representation in the Cortes, and two deputies from the +island took part in framing the Constitution of 1812. This recognition of +Cuba lasted for only two years, the Constitution being abrogated in 1814, +but it was restored in 1820, only to cease again three years later. +Representatives were again admitted to the Cortes in 1834, and again +excluded in 1837. The effect of all this was, perhaps, psychological rather +than practical, but it gave rise to a new mental attitude and to some +change in conduct. The effect appears in the numerous recurrences of open +protest and passive resistance in the place of the earlier submission. +Writing in 1855, Mr. J.S. Thrasher stated that "the essential political +elements of the island are antagonistic to those of the mother-country. +While the Cortes and the crown have frequently declared that Cuba does not +form an integral part of the Spanish monarchy, but must be governed by +special laws not applicable to Spain, and persist in ruling her under the +erroneous and unjust European colonial system, the growing wealth and +increasing intelligence of the Cubans lead them to aspire to some share in +the elimination of the political principles under which their own affairs +shall be administered. A like antagonism exists in the economic relations +of the two countries. While the people of Cuba are not averse to the +raising of such revenue as may be required for the proper wants of the +State, in the administration of which they may participate, they complain, +with a feeling of national pride, that fiscal burdens of the most onerous +kind are laid upon them for the expressed purpose of advancing interests +which are in every sense opposed to their own. Thus, Spain imposes taxes to +support a large army and navy, the principal object of which is to prevent +any expression of the public will on the part of the people of Cuba. +Another class of impositions have for their object the diversion of +the trade of Cuba to channels which shall increase the profits of the +agriculturists and mariners of Spain without regard to the interests of the +people of the island." + +[Illustration: A PLANTER'S HOME _Havana Province_] + +Yet in spite of these severe restrictions and heavy burdens, Cuba shows a +considerable progress during the first half of the century. It is far from +easy to reach fair conclusions from contemporaneous writings. Naturally, +Spanish officials and Spanish writers strove to make the best possible case +for Spain, its policies and its conduct. The press of the island was either +under official control or stood in fear of official reprisals. The Cuban +side, naturally partisan, appears to have been presented chiefly by +fugitive pamphlets, more or less surreptitiously printed and distributed, +usually the product of political extremists. Among these was a man of +marked ability and of rare skill in the use of language. He was Don Antonio +Saco, known in Cuba as the "Immortal Saco." In a letter written to a +friend, in 1846, he says, "The tyranny of our mother-country, today most +acute, will have this result--that within a period of time not very remote +the Cubans will be compelled to take up arms to banish her." That British +observers and most American observers should take the side of the Cubans is +altogether natural. Writing in 1854, Mr. M.M. Ballou, in his _History of +Cuba_, says: "The Cubans owe all the blessings they enjoy to Providence +alone (so to speak), while the evils which they suffer are directly +referable to the oppression of the home government. Nothing short of a +military despotism could maintain the connection of such an island with a +mother-country more than three thousand miles distant; and accordingly we +find the captain-general of Cuba invested with unlimited power. He is, in +fact, a viceroy appointed by the crown of Spain, and accountable only to +the reigning sovereign for his administration of the colony. His rule is +absolute; he has the power of life and death and liberty in his hands. He +can, by his arbitrary will, send into exile any person whatever, be his +name or rank what it may, whose residence in the island he considers +prejudicial to the royal interest, even if he has committed no overt act. +He can suspend the operation of the laws and ordinances, if he sees fit to +do so; can destroy or confiscate property; and, in short, the island may be +said to be perpetually in a state of siege." + +The student or the reader may take his choice. On one side are Spanish +statements, official and semi-official, and on the other side, Cuban +statements no less partisan. The facts appear to support the Cuban +argument. In spite of the severe restrictions and the heavy burdens, Cuba +shows a notable progress during the 19th Century. Governors came and went, +some very good and others very bad. There were a hundred of them from 1512 +to 1866, and thirty-six more from 1866 to 1899, the average term of service +for the entire number being a little less than three years. On the whole, +the most notable of the group of 19th Century incumbents was Don Miguel +Tacon, who ruled from June 1, 1834, until April 16, 1838. His record would +seem to place him quite decidedly in the "reactionary" class, but he was a +man of action who left behind him monuments that remain to his credit even +now. One historian, Mr. Kimball, who wrote in 1850, describes him as one +in whom short-sightedness, narrow views, and jealous and weak mind, were +joined to an uncommon stubbornness of character. Another, Mr. M.M. Ballou, +says that "probably of all the governors-general that have filled the post +in Cuba none is better known abroad, or has left more monuments to his +enterprise, than Tacon. His reputation at Havana (this was written 1854) is +of a somewhat doubtful character; for, though he followed out with energy +various improvements, yet his modes of procedure were so violent that he +was an object of terror to the people generally, rather than of gratitude. +He vastly improved the appearance of the capital and its vicinity, built +the new prison, rebuilt the governor's palace, constructed a military road +to the neighboring forts, erected a spacious theatre and market house, +arranged a new public walk, and opened a vast parade ground without the +city walls, thus laying the foundation of the new city which has now sprung +up in this formerly desolate suburb. He suppressed the gaming houses and +rendered the streets, formerly infested with robbers, as secure as those of +Boston or New York." Another writer, Mr. Samuel Hazard, in 1870, says: "Of +all the governors who have been in command of the island Governor Tacon +seems to have been the best, doing the most to improve the island, and +particularly Havana; making laws, punishing offences, and establishing some +degree of safety for its inhabitants. It is reported of him that he is +said, like the great King Alfred, to have promised the Cubans that they +should be able to leave their purses of money on the public highway without +fear of having them stolen. At all events, his name is cherished by every +Cuban for the good he has done, and _paseos_, theatres, and monuments bear +his great name in Havana." The Tacon theatre is now the Nacional, and the +Paseo Tacon is now Carlos III. The "new prison" is the _Carcel_, or jail, +at the northern end of the Prado, near the fortress of La Punta. Don Miguel +may have been disliked for his methods and his manners, but he certainly +did much to make his rule memorable. + +There is no reliable information that shows the progress of the island +during the 19th Century. Even the census figures are questioned. A reported +432,000 total population in 1804 is evidently no more than an estimate, yet +it is very likely not far from the actual. Concerning their distribution +throughout the island, and the number engaged in different occupations, +there are no records. There are no acceptable figures regarding the +respective numbers of whites and blacks. Nor is there any record of the +population in 1895, the year of the war for independence. From the definite +tabulation, under American auspices, in 1899, showing 1,576,797, it has +been estimated that the number in 1895, was a little less than 1,800,000, +the difference being represented by the disasters of the war, by the result +of reconcentration, and by departures during the disturbance. The general +result seems to be that the population was practically quadrupled. A +somewhat rough approximation would show the blacks as multiplied by three, +to an 1899 total of 505,000, with the whites multiplied by four, to a total +of 1,067,000. Nor are there figures of trade that afford any proper clue +to the growth of industry and commerce. There are records of imports +and exports from about 1850 onward, but before that time the matter of +contraband trade introduces an element of uncertainty. An American official +pamphlet on Cuban trade carries the statement, "the ascertainment of full +and exact details of the commerce of Cuba prior to the close of Spanish +dominion in the island is an impossibility. The Spanish authorities, as +a rule, published no complete returns of Cuban trade, either foreign or +domestic. Except with regard to Spain and the United States, most of the +existing commercial statistics of Cuba, prior to 1899, are fragmentary +and merely approximative. Spain and the United States have always kept a +separate and distinct trade account with Cuba; but the United Kingdom, +France, Germany, and other European countries excepting Spain, formerly +merged their statistics of trade with Cuba in one general item embracing +Cuba and Porto Rico, under the heading of "Spanish West Indies." Since +1899, however, all the Powers have kept separate accounts with Cuba, +and the statistics of the Cuban Republic have been reasonably full and +accurate." + +[Illustration: IRON GRILLE GATEWAY _El Vedado, Suburb of Havana_] + +Cuba's recorded imports in 1894 show a total value of $90,800,000, and +exports show a value of $102,000,000. Writing about the year 1825, Humboldt +says: "It is more than probable that the imports of the whole island, licit +and contraband, estimated at the actual value of the goods and the slaves, +amount, at the present time, to fifteen or sixteen millions of dollars, of +which barely three or four millions are re-exported." The same authority +gives the probable exports of that time as about $12,500,000. The trade at +the beginning of the century must have been far below this. The official +figures for 1851 show total imports amounting to $34,000,000, and exports +to $33,000,000, but the accuracy of the figures is open to question. The +more important fact is that of a very large gain in population and in +production. The coffee industry, that assumed important proportions during +a part of the first half of the century, gradually declined for the reason +that sugar became a much more profitable crop. Now, Cuba imports most of +its coffee from Porto Rico. Because of its convenience as a contraband +article, there are no reliable figures of the tobacco output. Prior to +1817, the commodity was, for much of the time, a crown monopoly and, for +the remainder of the time, a monopoly concession to private companies. In +that year, cultivation and trade became free, subject to a tax on each +planter of one-twentieth of his production. + +As we shall see, in another chapter, Cuba at last wearied of Spanish +exactions and revolted as did the United States, weary of British rule and +British exactions and restrictions, more than a hundred years earlier. + + + + +III + +_THE COUNTRY_ + + +Description of the physical features of a country seldom makes highly +entertaining reading, but it seems a necessary part of a book of this kind. +Some readers may find interest if not entertainment in such a review. The +total area of the island, including a thousand or more adjacent islands, +islets, and keys, is given as 44,164 square miles, a little less than the +area of Pennsylvania and a little more than that of Ohio or Tennessee. +Illustration of its shape by some familiar object is difficult, although +various comparisons have been attempted. Some old Spanish geographers gave +the island the name of _La Lengua de Pajaro_, "the bird's tongue." Mr. M.M. +Ballou likened it to "the blade of a Turkish scimitar slightly curved back, +or approaching the form of a long, narrow, crescent." Mr. Robert T. Hill +holds that it "resembles a great hammer-headed shark, the head of which +forms the straight, south coast of the east end of the island, from which +the sinuous body extends westward. This analogy is made still more striking +by two long, finlike strings of keys, or islets, which extend backward +along the opposite coasts, parallel to the main body of the island." But +all such comparisons call for a lively imagination. It might be likened to +the curving handles of a plow attached to a share, or to any one of a dozen +things that it does not at all clearly resemble. Regarding the Oriente +coast, from Cape Cruz to Cape Maisi, as a base, from that springs a long +and comparatively slender arm that runs northwesterly for five hundred +miles to the vicinity of Havana. There, the arm, somewhat narrowed, turns +downward in a generally southwestern direction for about two hundred miles. +The total length of the island, from Cape Maisi on the east to Cape San +Antonio on the west, is about seven hundred and thirty miles. Its width +varies from a maximum, in Oriente Province, of about one hundred and sixty +miles, to a minimum, in Havana Province, of about twenty-two miles. It has +a general coast line of about twenty-two hundred miles, or, following all +its sinuosities, of about seven thousand miles. Its north coast is, for +much of its length, steep and rocky. Throughout the greater part of the +middle provinces, there is a border of coral reefs and small islands. At +the western end, the north coast is low, rising gradually to the eastward. +At the eastern end, the northern coast is abrupt and rugged, rising in a +series of hills to the elevations in the interior. Westward from Cape Maisi +to Cape Cruz, on the south coast, and immediately along the shore line, +runs a mountain range. From here westward, broken by an occasional hill or +bluff, the coast is low and marshy. + +Probably the best description of the topography and the orography of the +island yet presented is that given by Mr. Robert T. Hill, of the United +States Geological Survey. In his book on Cuba and other islands of the West +Indies, Mr. Hill says: + +"As regards diversity of relief, Cuba's eastern end is mountainous, with +summits standing high above the adjacent sea; its middle portion is wide, +consisting of gently sloping plains, well-drained, high above the sea, and +broken 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. Over the +whole is a mantle of tender vegetation, rich in every hue that a flora of +more than three thousand species can give, and kept green by mists and +gentle 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. + +"But, at the outset the reader should dispossess his mind of any +preconceived idea that the island of Cuba is in any sense a physical unit. +On the contrary, it presents a diversity of topographic, climatic, and +cultural features, which, as distributed, divide the island into at least +three distinct natural provinces, for convenience termed the eastern, +central, and western regions. The distinct types of relief include regions +of high mountains, low hills, dissected plateaus, intermontane 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 presents a rugged aspect when viewed from the sea. About one-fourth of +the total area is mountainous, three-fifths are rolling plain, valleys, and +gentle arable slopes, and the remainder is swampy. + +"The island border on the north presents a low cliff topography, with a +horizontal sky-line from Matanzas 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 on both the north and south sides +a series of remarkable terraces, rising in stair-like arrangement to six +hundred feet or more, representing successive pauses or stages in the +elevation of the island above the sea, and constituting most striking +scenic features. About one-half the Cuban coast is bordered by keys, which +are largely old reef rock, the creations of the same coral-builders that +may now be seen through the transparent waters still at work on the modern +shallows, decking the rocks and sands with their graceful and many colored +tufts of animal foliage." + +Mr. Hill summarizes the general appearance of the island, thus: "Santiago +de Cuba (now called Oriente) is predominantly a mountainous region of high +relief, especially along the coasts, with many interior valleys. Puerto +Principe (now Camaguey) and Santa 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 +notable elevations of the island are the Cordilleras de los Organos, or +Organ Mountains, in Pinar del Rio, of which an eastward extension appears +in the Tetas de Managua, the Arcas de Canasi, the Escalera de Jaruco, +the Pan de Matanzas, and other minor elevations in Havana and Matanzas +Provinces. In Santa Clara and Camaguey, the range is represented by crest +lines and plateaus along the north shore, and finally runs into the hill +and mountain maze of Oriente. In the south-central section of the island, a +somewhat isolated group of elevations appears, culminating in El Potrerillo +at a height of nearly 3,000 feet. In Oriente, immediately along the south +coast line, is the precipitous Sierra Maestra, reaching its greatest +altitude in the Pico del Turquino, with an elevation of approximately +8,500 feet. Another elevation, near Santiago, known as La Gran Piedra, is +estimated at 5,200 feet. All these heights are densely wooded. From the +tops of some of them, east, west, and central, the views are marvellously +beautiful, but the summits of most are reached only with considerable +difficulty. One of the most notable of these view points, and one of the +most easily reached, is the height immediately behind the city of Matanzas, +overlooking the famous Yumuri valley. The valley is a broad, shallow bowl, +some five or six miles in diameter, enclosed by steeply sloping walls of +five to six hundred feet in height. Through it winds the Yumuri River. It +is best seen in the early forenoon, or the late afternoon, when there come +the shadows and the lights that are largely killed by the more vertical +rays of a midday sun. At those hours, it is a scene of entrancing +loveliness. There are views, elsewhere, covering wider expanses, but none, +I think, of equal beauty. + +The vicinity of Matanzas affords a spectacle of almost enchantment for the +sight-seer, and of deep interest for the geologist. Somewhat more than +fifty years ago, an accident revealed the beautiful caves of Bellamar, two +or three miles from the city, and easily reached by carriage. Caves ought +to be cool. These are not, but they are well worth all the perspiration it +costs to see them. They are a show place, and guides are always available. +In size, the caverns are not comparable with the caves of Kentucky and +Virginia, but they far excel in beauty. They are about three miles in +extent, and their lower levels are said to be about five hundred feet +from the surface. The rock is white limestone, in which are chambers and +passage-ways, stalactites and stalagmites innumerable. These have their +somewhat fantastic but not unfitting names, such as the Gothic Temple, the +Altar, the Guardian Spirit, the Fountain of Snow, and Columbus' Mantle. +The place has been called "a dream of fairyland," a fairly appropriate +description. The colors are snow-white, pink, and shades of yellow, and +many of the forms are wonderfully beautiful. There are many other caves in +the island, like Cotilla, in the Guines region not far from Havana, others +in the Cubitas Mountains in Camaguey Province, and still others in Oriente, +but in comparison with Bellamar they are little else than holes in the +ground. The trip through these remarkable aisles and chambers occupies some +three or four hours. + +Cuba is not big enough for rivers of size. There are innumerable streams, +for the island generally is well-watered. The only river of real importance +is the Cauto, in Oriente Province. This is the longest and the largest +river in the island. It rises in the hills north of Santiago, and winds a +devious way westward for about a hundred and fifty miles, emptying at last +into the Gulf of Buena Esperanza, north of the city of Manzanillo. It +is navigable for small boats, according to the stage of the water, from +seventy-five to a hundred miles from its mouth. Numerous smaller streams +flow to the coast on both north and south. Some, that are really estuaries, +are called rivers. Very few of them serve any commercial purposes. There +are a few water areas called lakes, but they are really little other than +ponds. On the south coast, directly opposite Matanzas, lies a vast swamp +known as the Cienega de Zapata. It occupies an area of about seventy-five +miles in length and about thirty miles in width, almost a dead flat, and +practically at sea-level. Here and there are open spaces of water or +clusters of trees, but most of it is bog and quagmire and dense mangrove +thickets. Along the coast are numerous harbors, large and small, that are +or, by dredging, could be made available for commercial purposes. Among +these, on the north coast, from west to east, are Bahia Honda, Mariel, +Havana, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Nipe Bay, and Baracoa. On the south, from east +to west, are Guantanamo, Santiago, Manzanillo, Cienfuegos, and Batabano. At +all of these, there are now cities or towns with trade either by steamers +or small sailing vessels. Among the interesting physical curiosities of +the island are the numerous "disappearing rivers." Doubtless the action +of water on limestone has left, in many places, underground chambers and +tunnels into which the streams have found an opening and in which they +disappear, perhaps to emerge again and perhaps to find their way to the sea +without reappearance. This seems to explain numerous fresh-water springs +among the keys and off-shore. The Rio San Antonio quite disappears near San +Antonio de los Banos. Near Guantanamo, a cascade drops three hundred feet +into a cavern and reappears a short distance away. Such disappearing rivers +are not unknown elsewhere but Cuba has several of them. + + * * * * * + +The Census Report of 1907, prepared under American auspices, states that +"the climate of Cuba is tropical and insular. There are no extremes of +heat, and there is no cold weather." This is quite true if the records of a +thermometer are the standard; quite untrue if measured by the sensations of +the human body. It is true that, in Havana, for instance, the thermometer +seldom exceeds 90° in the hottest months, and rarely if ever goes below 50° +in the coldest. But a day with the thermometer anywhere in the 80s may seem +to a northern body very hot, and a day with the thermometer in the 50s +is cold for anyone, whether a native or a visitor. There is doubtless a +physical reason for the fact that a hot day in the north seems hotter than +the same temperature in the south, while a day that seems, in the north, +only pleasantly cool, seems bitterly cold in the tropics. When the +thermometer drops below 60° in Havana, the coachmen blanket their horses, +the people put on all the clothes they have, and all visitors who are +at all sensitive to low temperature go about shivering. Steam heat and +furnaces are unknown, and fireplaces are a rarity. Yet, in general, the +variations are not wide, either from day to day or when measured by +seasons. The extremes are the infrequent exceptions. Nor is there wide +difference between day and night. Taking the island as a whole, the average +mean temperature for July, the hottest month, is about 82°, and for +January, the coolest month, about 71°. The mean for the year is about 77°, +as compared with 52° for New York, 48° for Chicago, 62° for Los Angeles, +and 68° for New Orleans. There are places that, by reason of exposure to +prevailing winds, or distance from the coast, are hotter or cooler than +other places. Havana is one of the cool spots, that is, relatively cool. +But no one goes there in search of cold. The yearly range in Havana, from +maximum to minimum, rarely if ever exceeds fifty degrees, and is usually +somewhat below that, while the range in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis +is usually from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five degrees. The +particular cause of discomfort for those unused to it, is the humidity that +prevails throughout the greater part of the year. The worst season for +this, however, is the mid-year months when few people visit the island. The +winter months, locally known as the "_invierno_," a term to be associated +with our word "vernal" and not with "infernal," are almost invariably +delightful, bringing to northern systems a pleasurable physical laziness +that is attended by a mental indifference to, or satisfaction with, the +sensation. + +[Illustration: WATERING HERD OF CATTLE _Luyano River near Havana_] + +The rainfall varies so widely in different parts of the island, and from +year to year, that exact information is difficult. Taken as a whole, it is +little if at all greater than it is in most places in the United States. We +have our arid spots, like El Paso, Fresno, Boise, Phoenix, and Winnemucca, +where only a few inches fall in a year, just as Cuba has a few places where +the fall may reach sixty-five or seventy inches in a year. But the average +fall in Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and Santiago, is little if any +greater than in Boston, New York, or Washington. A difference appears in +the fact that about three-quarters of Cuba's precipitation comes between +the first of May and the first of October. But the term "wet season" does +not mean that it rains all the time, or every day, any more than the term +"dry season" means that during those months it does not rain at all. At +times during the winter, or dry season, there come storms that are due to +unusual cold in the United States. These are known in Cuba, as they are in +Texas, as "northers." High winds sweep furiously across the Gulf of Mexico, +piling up huge seas on the Cuban coast, and bringing what, in the island, +is the substitute for cold weather, usually attended by rain and sometimes +by a torrent of it. The prevailing wind in Cuba is the northeast +trade-wind. In summer when the sun is directly overhead this wind is +nearly east, while in winter it is northeast. The proper way to avoid such +discomfort as attends humidity accompanying a thermometer in the 80s, is to +avoid haste in movement, to saunter instead of hurrying, to ride instead of +walking, to eat and drink in moderation, and where-ever possible, to keep +in the shade. Many of those who eat heartily and hurry always, will, +after a few days, be quite sure that they have yellow fever or some +other tropical disorder, but will be entirely mistaken about it. Modern +sanitation in Cuba has made yellow fever a remote possibility, and the +drinking water in Havana is as pure as any in the world. + +Most of the official descriptions of the flora of Cuba appear to be copied +from Robert T. Hill's book, published in 1898. As nothing better is +available, it may be used here. He says: "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 addition +to those introduced from abroad, over 3,350 native plants have been +catalogued. The flora includes nearly all characteristic forms of the +other West Indies, the southern part of Florida, and the Central American +seaboard. 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, occur, +while the pine trees, elsewhere characteristic of the temperate zone and +the high altitudes of the tropics, are found associated with palms and +mahoganies in the province of Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Pines, both +of which take their name from this tree. Among other woods are the +lignum-vitae, granadilla, the coco-wood, and the _Cedrela Odorata_ +(fragrant cedar) which is used for cigar boxes and the lining of cabinet +work." + +In quoting the number of native plants, Mr. Hill uses a report somewhat +antiquated. Later estimates place the number as between five and six +thousand. Flowers are abundant, flowers on vines, plants, shrubs, and +trees, tall stalks with massive heads, and dainty little blossoms by the +wayside. Brilliant flowering trees are planted to line the roadsides. Among +all the tree-growths, the royal palm is notable. Scoffers have likened it +to "a feather duster stood on end," but it is the prominent feature in most +of Cuba's landscape, and it serves many purposes other than that of mere +decoration. From its stem the Cuban peasant builds his little cottage which +he roofs with its leaves. Medicinal qualities are claimed for its roots. +From different parts of the tree, a wide variety of useful articles is +made, plates, buckets, basins, and even a kettle in which water may be +boiled. The huge clusters of seeds are excellent food for animals, and I +have heard it said, though without proper confirmation, that "a royal palm +will keep a hog." Almost invariably, its presence indicates a rich soil, as +it rarely grows in areas of poor land. The forest area of the island is not +known with exactness, and is variously estimated at from about six thousand +square miles to about sixteen thousand. The difference probably represents +the opinion of individual investigators as to what is forest. About +one-third of the total is reported as in Oriente, another third in +Camaguey, and the remainder scattered through the four remaining provinces. +A part of it is "public land," that is, owned by the central government, +but a greater part is of private ownership under old Spanish grants. Much +of it is dense jungle through which a way can be made only by hacking, +almost foot by foot. A good deal of it has already been cut over for its +most valuable timber. Most of the woods bear names entirely unfamiliar to +us. Some are used as cabinet woods, and some for tanning, for oils, dyes, +gums, or fibres. + +Cuba has few four-footed native wild animals. There are rabbits, but their +nativity is not quite certain. There are deer, but it is known that their +ancestors were brought from some other country. There are wild dogs, wild +cats, and wild pigs, but all are only domestic animals run wild. + +Perhaps the only animal of the kind known to be native is the _jutia_, +sometimes spelled, as pronounced, _hutia_. Some observers have referred to +it as a rat, but it climbs trees and grows to the size of a woodchuck, +or groundhog. It is sometimes eaten and is said to be quite palatable. +Reptiles are fairly common, but none of them is dangerous. The best known +is the _maja_, a snake that grows to a length, sometimes, of twelve or +fifteen feet. The country people not infrequently make of it a kind of +house pet. When that is done, the reptile often makes its home in the +cottage thatch, living on birds and mice. They are dull and sluggish in +motion. While visiting a sugar plantation a few years ago one of the hands +asked if I should be interested by their _maja_. He dipped his hand into a +nearby water-barrel in the bottom of which two of them were closely coiled. +He dragged out one of perhaps ten or twelve feet in length and four or five +inches in diameter, handling it as he would the same length of hawser. He +hung it over the limb of a tree so that I could have a good chance for +a picture of it. The thing squirmed slowly to the ground and crawled +sluggishly away to the place from which it had been taken. Of bird-life +there is a large representation, both native and migratory. Among them +are some fifty species of "waders." In some parts of the island, the very +unpleasant land-crab, about the size of a soup-plate, seems to exist in +millions, although thousands is probably nearer the actual. The American +soldiers made their acquaintance in large numbers at the time of the +Santiago campaign. They are not a proper article of food. They have a +salt-water relative that is most excellent eating, as is also the lobster +_(langosta)_ of Cuban waters. In the swamp known as the Cienega de Zapata +are both alligators and crocodiles, some of them of quite imposing +dimensions. + +[Illustration: ROYAL PALMS] + +The insect life of the island is extensive. From personal experience, +particularly behind the search-light of an automobile that drew them +in swarms, I, should say that the island would be a rich field for the +entomologist. There are mosquitos, gnats, beetles, moths, butterflies, +spiders, and scorpions. The bites of some of the spiders and the stings of +the scorpions are, of course, uncomfortable, but they are neither fatal nor +dangerous. With the exception of an occasional mosquito, and a perhaps more +than occasional flea, the visitor to cities only is likely to encounter +few of the members of these branches of Cuban zoology. There is one of +the beetle family, however, that is extremely interesting. That is +the _cucullo_, which Mr. Hazard, in his book on Cuba, calls a "bright +peripatetic candle-bearer, by whose brilliant light one can not only walk, +but even read." They are really a kind of glorified firefly, much larger +than ours, and with a much more brilliant light. I do not know their +candle-power, but Mr. Hazard exaggerates little if at all in the matter of +their brilliancy. + +While those referred to in the foregoing are the most notable features +in this particular part of the Cuban field, there are others, though of +perhaps less importance, to which reference might be made. Among them would +be the sponge fisheries of the coast in the neighborhood of Batabano, +and the numerous mineral springs, some of them really having, and others +supposed to have, remarkable curative qualities. A half century or so ago, +a number of places not far from Havana were resorts to which rich and +poor went to drink or to bathe in springs hot or cold or sulphurous or +otherwise, for their healing. Among these were the baths at San Diego, near +the Organ Mountains in Pinar del Rio; Santa Rita, near Guanabacoa in Havana +Province; others near Marianao, on the outskirts of the city; and San +Antonio, also in Havana Province. Most of these places now appear to have +lost their popularity if not their medicinal virtues. Some, like those +at Madruga, not far from Havana, still have a considerable patronage. +Something may also be said of earthquakes and hurricanes. The former +occur, on a small scale, more or less frequently in Oriente, and much less +frequently and of less severity in Havana. The latter come from time +to time to work disaster to Cuban industries and, sometimes but not +frequently, to cause loss of life and the destruction of buildings. They +rarely occur except in the late summer and the autumn. + +Nearly a hundred years ago, Alexander Humboldt, a traveller and a +scientist, wrote thus of the island of Cuba: "Notwithstanding the absence +of deep rivers and the unequal fertility of the soil, the island of Cuba +presents on every hand a most varied and agreeable country from its +undulating character, its ever-springing verdure, and the variety of its +vegetable formations." + + + + +IV + +_THE OLD HAVANA_ + + +Among the many pictures, stored away in the album of my memory, there are +two that stand out more vividly than any others. The subjects are separated +by half the world's circumference. One is the sunsets at Jolo, in the +southern Philippines. There the sun sank into the western sea in a blaze +of cloud-glory, between the low-lying islands on either hand with the rich +green of their foliage turned to purple shadows. The other is the sunrise +at Havana, seen from the deck of a steamer in the harbor. The long, soft +shadows and the mellow light fell on the blue and gray and green of the +buildings of the city, and on the red-tiled roofs, with the hills for a +background in one-half of the picture, and the gleaming water of the gulf +in the background of the other half. I had seen the long stretch of the +southern coast of the island, from Cape Antonio to Cape Maisi, while on an +excursion with a part of the army of occupation sent to Porto Rico in the +summer of 1898, and had set foot on Cuban soil at Daiquiri, but Havana in +the morning light, on January 2, 1899, was my first real Cuban experience. +It remains an ineffaceable memory. Of my surroundings and experiences aside +from that, I have no distinct recollection. All was submerged by that one +picture, and quickly buried by the activities into which I was immediately +plunged. I do not recall the length of time we were held on board for +medical inspection, nor whether the customs inspection was on board or +ashore. I recall the trip from the ship to the wharf, in one of the little +sailboats then used for the purpose, rather because of later experiences +than because of the first one. I have no purpose here to write a history +of those busy days, filled as they were with absorbing interest, with much +that was pathetic and not a little that was amusing. I have seen that +morning picture many times since, but never less beautiful, never less +impressive. Nowadays, it is lost to most travellers because the crossing +from Key West is made in the daytime, the boat reaching Havana in the +late-afternoon. Sometimes there is a partial compensation in the sunset +picture, but I have never seen that when it really rivalled the picture at +the beginning of the day. + +The visitor to Cuba, unfamiliar with the island, should take it leisurely. +It is not a place through which the tourist may rush, guide book in hand, +making snapshots with a camera, and checking off places of interest as they +are visited. Picturesqueness and quaintness are not at all lacking, but +there are no noble cathedrals, no vast museums of art and antiquity, no +snow-clad mountains. There is a charm of light and shade and color that +is to be absorbed slowly rather than swallowed at a single gulp. It is +emphatically a place in which to dawdle. Let those who are obliged to do +so, work and hurry; the visitor and the traveller should take it without +haste. It is far better to see Havana and its vicinity slowly and +enjoyably, and look at pictures of the rest of the country, than it is to +rush through the island merely for the sake of doing so. In his essay on +_The Moral of Landscape_, Mr. Ruskin said that "all travelling becomes dull +in exact proportion to its rapidity." Nowhere is that more true than it +is in Cuba. There is very little in all the island that cannot be seen in +Havana and its immediate vicinity. It is well to see the other places if +one has ample time, but they should not be seen at the expense of a proper +enjoyment of Havana and its neighborhood. In Havana are buildings as old +and buildings as beautiful as any in the island. In its vicinity are sugar +plantations, tobacco fields, pineapples, cocoanuts, mangoes, royal palms, +ceibas, peasants' homes, typical towns and villages, all the life of the +people in the city and country. The common American desire to "see it all" +in a few days, is fatal to the greatest enjoyment, and productive mainly +of physical fatigue and mental confusion. It is the misfortune of most +travellers that they carry with them only the vaguest of ideas of what they +want to see. They have heard of Cuba, of Havana, the Morro, the Prado, of a +sunny island in the midst of a sapphire sea. While it is true that almost +everything in Cuba is worth seeing, it is best to acquire, before going, +some idea of the exhibition. That saves time and many steps. The old city +wall, La Fuerza, and La Punta, are mere piles of masonry, more or less dull +and uninteresting unless one knows something of their history. The manners +and customs of any country become increasingly interesting if one knows +something about them, the reason for them. + +It is only a short trip to the Castillo del Principe, the fortress that +crowns the hill to the west of the city. From that height, the city and the +harbor are seen below, to the eastward. Across the bay, on the heights at +the entrance, are the frowning walls of Morro Castle surmounted by the +towering light-house, and the no less grim walls of La Cabaña. The +bay itself is a sprawling, shapeless body of water with a narrow neck +connecting it with the Florida Straits. Into the western side of the bay +the city thrusts itself in a shape that, on a large map, suggests more than +anything else the head and neck of an over-fed bulldog. Into this bay, in +1508, came Sebastian Ocampo, said to be the first white man to visit the +spot. He entered for the purpose of careening his little vessels in order +to remove the barnacles and accumulated weed-growth. It is possible that +the spot was discovered earlier, but there is no record of the discovery +if such was made. Ocampo gave it the name of Puerto de Carenas. The next +record is of its occupation, in 1519. Four years earlier, Diego Velasquez +had left a little colony near what is now called Batabano, on the south +coast. He gave the place the name of San Cristobal de la Habana, in memory +of the illustrious navigator and discoverer. Habana, or Havana, is a term +of aboriginal origin. It proved to be an uncomfortable place of residence, +and in 1519 the people moved across the island to the Puerto de Carenas, +taking with them the name given to the earlier settlement, and substituting +it for the name given by Ocampo. After a time, all was dropped except the +present title, Habana, or more commonly by English-speaking people, Havana. +It was not much of a place for a number of years, but in 1538 it was sacked +and burned by a French pirate, one of the many, of different nations, who +carried on a very lively buccaneering business in those and in later years +in West Indian waters. Hernando de Soto was then governor of the island, +with headquarters at the then capital city, Santiago de Cuba. He proceeded +at once to the scene of destruction. On his arrival, he ordered the +erection of a fortress. Some of the work then done still remains in the +old structure near the Palace, at the foot of Calle O'Reilly, known as La +Fuerza. A few years before this time, Hernan Cortes had conquered Mexico, +then called New Spain, and a business between Old Spain and New Spain soon +developed. The harbor of Havana made a convenient halting-place on the +voyages between the two, and the settlement assumed a steadily increasing +importance. A new governor, Gonzales Perez de Angulo, who arrived in 1549, +decided to make it his place of residence. The year 1552 is generally given +as the time of the creation of Havana as the capital city. It was at that +time made the residence city of the Governors, by their own choice, but +it was not officially established as the capital until 1589. The fortress +erected by order of de Soto proved somewhat ineffective. In 1554, another +French marauder attacked and destroyed the town. The principal industry of +those early days was cattle-raising, a considerable market being developed +for export to Mexico, and for the supply of vessels that entered the harbor +for food and water. + +The continuance of incursions by pirates made necessary some further +provision for the defence of the city. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged and +strengthened, and the construction of Morro Castle was begun. To this +work was added La Punta, the little fortress on the western shore of +the entrance, at the point of the angle now formed by the Prado and the +Malecon. These ancient structures, of practically no value whatever in +modern warfare, are now among the most picturesque points of interest in +the neighborhood. Another, in the same class, of which only a little now +remains, is of a later time. This is the old city wall, the construction +of which was begun in 1671. Following the simile of the bull-dog's head, +a tract of land, formerly known as the Arsenal yard, and now the central +railway station, lies tucked away immediately under the animal's jaw. From +there to a point on the north shore, near La Punta, in a slightly curving +line, a high wall was erected for the purpose of defence on the western +or landward side. The old city lay entirely in the area defined by this +western wall and the shore of the harbor. At intervals, gates afforded exit +to the country beyond, heavy gates that could be closed to exclude any +possible attacking party. The fortifications erected from time to time were +supposed to afford a system of effective defence for the city. They are now +little else than picturesque features in the landscape, points of interest +for visitors. Taking the chain in its order, El Morro stands on the point +on the eastern side of the entrance to the harbor. Just beyond it is La +Cabaña. About a half a mile to the east of this was the stone fort on the +hill of San Diego. Three miles east of the Morro, on the shore at Cojimar, +is a small and somewhat ancient fortification. This group constituted the +defence system on the east. At the head of the bay, on an elevation a +little to the south of the city, stands El Castillo de Atares, begun in +1763, immediately after the capture and occupation of the city by the +British. This is supposed to protect the city on the south, as Castillo del +Principe is supposed to defend it on the west. This stands on a hill on +the western outskirts, a somewhat extensive structure, begun in 1774 and +completed about twenty years later. A little further to the west, at the +mouth of the Almendares river, stands a little fort, or tower, called +Chorrera, serving as a western outpost as Cojimar serves as an eastern +outpost. Both were erected about the year 1650. On the shore generally +north of Principe was the Santa Clara battery, and between that and La +Punta, at the foot of the Calzada de Belascoain, stood the Queen's battery. +From any modern point of view, the system is little more than military +junk, better fitted for its present use as barracks, asylums, and prisons +than for military defence. But it is all highly picturesque. + +In the beginning, most of the buildings of the city were doubtless of wood, +with palm-thatched roofs. In time, these gave place to rows of abutting +stone buildings with tiled roofs. Most of them were of one story, some were +of two stories, and a few "palaces" had three. The city within the wall +is today very much as it was a century and more ago. Its streets run, +generally but not accurately, at right angles, one set almost due east and +west, from the harbor front to the line of the old wall, and the other set +runs southward from the shore of the entrance channel to the shore of the +inner harbor. Several of these streets are practically continuous +from north to south or from east to west. But most of them are rather +passage-ways than streets. The houses come to their very edges, except +for a narrow strip hardly to be classed as a sidewalk, originally left, +presumably, only for the purpose of preventing the scraping of the front of +the building by the wheels of passing carts and carriages. It is a somewhat +inconvenient system nowadays, but one gets quite used to it after a little, +threads the narrow walk a part of his way, takes to the street the rest +of the way, and steps aside to avoid passing vehicles quite as did the +carriageless in the old days. One excellent way to avoid the trouble is to +take a carriage and let the other fellow step aside. Riding in the _coche_ +is still one of the cheapest forms of convenience and entertainment in the +city, excepting the afternoon drive around the Prado and the Malecon. That +is not cheap. We used to pay a dollar an hour. My last experience cost me +three times that. + +[Illustration: CUSTOM HOUSE, HAVANA _Formerly Franciscan Convent Begun_ +1574, _finished_ 1591] + +Much of the old city is now devoted to business purposes, wholesale, +retail, and professional. But there are also residences, old churches, and +old public buildings. On the immediate water-front, and for many years used +as the custom house, stands the old Franciscan convent, erected during the +last quarter of the 16th Century. It is a somewhat imposing pile, dominated +by a high tower. I have not visited it for a number of years and do not +know if its interior is available for visitors without some special +introduction, but there is much worth seeing inside its walls, the flying +buttresses of the super-structure, some old and interesting frescoes, and +a system of dome construction that is quite remarkable. To the latter, my +attention was first called by General Ludlow, a distinguished engineer +officer of the United States Army, then acting as governor of the city. To +him belongs, although it is very rarely given, the credit for the cleansing +of Havana during the First Intervention. He frequently visited the old +convent just to see and study that interior dome construction. Immediately +behind the Palace is the old convent of the Dominicans, less imposing but +of about the same period as the Franciscan structure. It is now used as +a high-school building. The Cathedral, a block to the northward of the +Dominican convent building, is of a much later date, having been begun as +recently as 1742. It was originally the convent of the Jesuits, but became +the Cathedral in 1789. Many have believed, on what seems to be acceptable +evidence, that here for more than a hundred years rested the bones of +Christopher Columbus. He died in Valladolid in 1506, and was buried there. +His remains were removed to the Carthusian Monastery, in Seville, in 1513. +From there they are said to have been taken, in 1536, to the city of Santo +Domingo, where they remained until 1796, when they were brought to Havana +and placed in a niche in the walls of the old Cathedral, there to remain +until they were taken back to Spain in 1898. There is still an active +dispute as to whether the bones removed from Santo Domingo to Havana were +or were not those of Columbus. At all events, the urn supposed to contain +them was in this building for a hundred years, below a marble slab showing +a carving of the voyager holding a globe, with a finger pointing to the +Caribbean. Beneath this was a legend that has been thus translated: + + OH! REST THOU, IMAGE OF THE GREAT COLON, + THOUSAND CENTURIES REMAIN, GUARDED IN THE URN, + AND IN THE REMEMBRANCE OF OUR NATION. + +In this neighborhood, to the east of the Plaza de Armas, on which the +Palace fronts, is a structure known as _El Templete_. It has the appearance +of the portico of an unfinished building, but it is a finished memorial, +erected in 1828. The tradition is that on this spot there stood, in 1519, +an old ceiba tree under which the newly arrived settlers celebrated their +first mass. The yellow Palace, for many years the official headquarters and +the residence of successive Governors-General, stands opposite, and speaks +for itself. In this building, somewhat devoid of architectural merit, much +of Cuba's history, for the last three-quarters of a century, has been +written. The best time to see all this and much more that is to be seen, +is the early morning, before the wheels begin to go around. The lights and +shadows are then the best, and the streets are quieter and less crowded. +The different points of interest are easily located by the various guide +books obtainable, and the distances are not great. A cup of _cafe con +leche_ should precede the excursion. If one feels lazy, as one is quite +apt to feel in the tropics and the sub-tropics, fairly comfortable open +carriages are at all times available. With them, of course, a greater +area can be covered and more places seen, though perhaps seen less +satisfactorily. There is much to be seen in the early morning that is best +seen in those hours, and much that is not seen later in the day. In all +cities there is an early morning life and Havana is no exception. I confess +to only a limited personal knowledge of it, but I have seen enough of it, +and heard enough about it, to know that the waking-up of cities, including +Havana, is an interesting process. I have, at least, had enough personal +experience to be sure that the early morning air is delicious, the best of +the day. I am not speaking of the unholy hours preceding daybreak, but +of six to eight o'clock, which for those of us who are inclined to long +evenings is also the best time to be in bed. The early morning church bells +are a disturbance to which visitors do not readily adjust their morning +naps. Mr. Samuel Hazard, who visited Cuba about the year 1870, and wrote +quite entertainingly about it, left the following description of his +experience in Havana: + +"Hardly has the day begun to break when the newly arrived traveller is +startled from his delightful morning doze by the alarming sound of bells +ringing from every part of the town. Without any particular concert of +action, and with very different sounds, they ring out on the still morning +air, as though for a general conflagration, and the unfortunate traveller +rushes frantically from his bed to inquire if there is any hope of safety +from the flames which he imagines, from the noise made, must threaten the +whole town. Imagine, O reader! in thy native town, every square with its +church, every church with its tower, or maybe two or three of them, and +in each particular tower a half-dozen large bells, no two of which sound +alike; place the bell-ropes in the hands of some frantic man who pulls +away, first with one hand and then the other, and you will get a very faint +idea of your first awakening in Havana. Without apparent rhyme or reason, +ding, dong, ding they go, every bell-ringer at each different church +striving to see how much noise he can make, under the plea of bringing the +faithful to their prayers at the early morning mass." + +[Illustration: BALCONIES IN OLD HAVANA STREET IN HAVANA] + +The only conceivable advantage of these early bells is the fact that they +turn out many a traveller at the hour when Havana is really at its best. +Yet, as I read the descriptive tales left by those who wrote forty, fifty, +and sixty years ago, I am struck by the fact, that, after all, the old +Havana has changed but little. There are trolley lines, electric lights, +and a few other so-called modern improvements, but there is still much of +the old custom, the old atmosphere. The old wall, with its soldier-guarded +gates, is gone, and there are a few modern buildings, but only a few, for +which fact I always feel thankful, but the old city is much what it was +when Mr. Ballou, and Mr. Dana, and Mr. Kimball, and numerous others wrote +about it soon after 1850, and when Mr. Hazard wrote about it in 1870. The +automobile is there now in large numbers, in place of the old volante, and +there are asphalted streets in place of cobble-stones. The band plays in +the evening in the Parque Central or at the Glorieta, instead of in the +Plaza de Armas, but the band plays. The restaurants are still a prominent +feature in Havana life, as they were then. The ladies wear hats instead +of _mantillas_, but they buy hats on Calle Obispo just as and where their +mothers and grandmothers bought _mantillas_. Bull-fighting is gone, +presumably forever, but crowds flock to the baseball grounds. The midday +suspension of business continues, generally, and the afternoon parade, on +foot and in carriages, remains one of the important functions of the day. +There are many who know Havana, and love it, who pray diligently that it +may be many years before the city is Americanized as, for instance, New +Orleans has been. + +Most of the life of the city, as it is seen by most visitors, is outside +the old city, and probably few know that any distinction is made, yet the +line is drawn with fair clearness. There is a different appearance in both +streets and buildings. While there are shops on San Rafael and Galiano and +elsewhere, the principal shopping district is in the old city, with Calle +Obispo as its centre. They have tried officially, to change the name of the +street, but the old familiar name sticks and seems likely to stick for a +long time yet. Far be it from a mere man to attempt analysis or description +of such a place. He might tell another mere man where to buy a hat, a pair +of shoes, or eyeglasses, or a necktie, or where to find a lawyer, but the +finer points of shopping, there or elsewhere, are not properly for any +masculine description. The ladies may be trusted to learn for themselves, +and very quickly, all that they need or want to know about that phase of +Havana's commerce. I am leaving much to the guide books that can afford +space for all necessary information about churches, statues, and other +objects of interest for visitors. Havana's retail merchants have their own +way of trading, much as they do in many foreign countries, and in not a few +stores in our own country. Prices are usually a question of the customer's +ability to match the commercial shrewdness of the dealer. Much of the trade +of visitors is now confined to the purchase of such articles as may be +immediately needed and to a few souvenirs. One of the charms of the place +is the cheap transportation. If you are tired, or in a hurry, there is +always a coach near at hand that will take you where you wish to go, for a +peseta, or a quarter, if within certain officially prescribed bounds. If +you desire to go beyond those bounds, make a bargain with your driver or +be prepared for trouble. Down in the old city are to be found several +restaurants that are well worth visiting, for those who want good food. I +shall not advertise the particular places, but they are well known. As the +early morning is the best time to see the old city, the forenoon is the +best time for shopping. Such an expedition may well be followed by the +_almuerzo_, the midday breakfast or lunch, whichever one sees fit to call +it, at one of these restaurants. After that, it is well to enjoy a midday +_siesta_, in preparation for the afternoon function on the Prado and the +Malecon. + + + + +V + +THE NEW HAVANA + + +The new Havana, the city outside the old wall, is about as old as Chicago +but not nearly as tall. There is no reason why it should be. Here are wide +streets and broad avenues, and real sidewalks, some of them about as wide +as the entire street in the old city. About 1830, the region beyond the +wall was held largely by Spaniards to whom grants of land had been made +for one reason or another. These tracts were plantations, pastures, or +unimproved lands, according to the fancy of the proprietor who usually +lived in the city and enjoyed himself after the manner of his kind. Here +and there, a straggling village of palm-leaf huts sprang up. The roads were +rough tracks. To Governor-General Tacon seems due much of the credit for +the improvement beyond the walls. During his somewhat iron-handed rule +several notable buildings were erected, some of them by his authority. +The most notable feature of the district is the renowned Prado, a broad +boulevard with a park between two drive-ways, running from the water-front, +at the entrance to the harbor, southward for about a mile. A few years ago, +rows of trees shaded the central parkway, but they were almost entirely +wrecked by the hurricanes in 1906 and 1910. + +A half mile or so from its northern end, the Prado runs along the west side +of the Parque Central, the most notable of the numerous little squares of +walks and trees and flowers. A block or two further on is a little park +with an excellent statue, known as La India. Opposite that is another +really beautiful park, from the western side of which runs a broad street +that leads to the Paseo de Carlos Tercero, formerly the Paseo de Tacon, one +of the monuments left to his own memory by one of Cuba's most noted Spanish +rulers. The Paseo runs westward to El Castillo del Principe, originally a +fortress but now a penitentiary. The Prado stops just beyond the companion +parks, La India and Colon. These originally formed the Campo de Marte, laid +out by General Tacon and, in his time, used as a military parade ground. +In a way, the Parque Central is the centre of the city. It is almost that, +geographically, and perhaps quite that, socially. In its immediate vicinity +are some of the leading hotels and the principal theatres. One of the +latter, facing the park on its western side, across the Prado, is now known +as the Nacional. Formerly it was the Tacon, a monument to that notable man. +There is quite a story about that structure. It is somewhat too long for +inclusion here, but it seems worth telling. The following is an abridgment +of the tale as it is told in Mr. Ballou's _History of Cuba_, published in +1854. Tacon was the Governor of the island from 1834 to 1838. At that time, +a certain man named Marti was eminent in the smuggling and piracy business, +an industry in which many others were engaged. But Marti seems to have +stood at the top of his profession, a man of skill and daring and evidently +well supplied with brains. Tacon's efforts to capture him, or to break up +his business, were entirely unsuccessful, and a large reward was offered +for his body, alive or dead. Mr. Ballou tells the story in somewhat +dramatic manner: + +"It was a dark, cloudy night in Havana, a few months after the announcement +of the reward, when two sentinels were pacing backward and forward before +the main entrance to the Governor's palace. A little before midnight, a man +was watching them from behind a statue in the park, and after observing +that the sentinels paced their brief walk so as to meet each other, and +then turned their backs as they separated, leaving a brief moment in the +interval when the eyes of both were turned away from the entrance, seemed +to calculate upon passing them unobserved. It was an exceedingly delicate +manoeuvre, and required great care and dexterity to effect it; but, at +last, it was adroitly done, and the stranger sprang lightly through the +entrance, secreting himself behind one of the pillars of the inner court. +The sentinels paced on undisturbed. The figure which had thus stealthily +effected an entrance, now sought the broad stairs that led to the +Governor's suite, with a confidence that evinced a perfect knowledge of the +place. A second guard-post was to be passed at the head of the stairs; but, +assuming an air of authority, the stranger offered a cold military salute +and passed forward, as though there was not the most distant question of +his right to do so; and thus avoiding all suspicion in the guard's mind, he +boldly entered the Governor's reception room unchallenged, and closed the +door behind him." + +In his office, alone, the stranger found Tacon, who was naturally surprised +at the appearance of an unannounced caller. He demanded to know who the +visitor was, but a direct answer was evaded. After referring to the matter +of the reward offered for the discovery of Marti, and the pledge of +immunity to the discoverer, the caller demanded and obtained a verbal +endorsement of the promise of immunity, under the Governor's word of honor, +whatever might be the circumstances of his revelation. He then announced +himself as the much-sought pirate and smuggler, Marti. Tacon was somewhat +astounded, but he kept his word. Marti was held overnight, but "on the +following day," the Ballou account proceeds, "one of the men-of-war that +lay idly beneath the guns of Morro Castle suddenly became the scene of the +utmost activity, and, before noon, had weighed her anchor, and was standing +out into the gulf stream. Marti the smuggler was on board as her pilot; +and faithfully did he guide the ship on the discharge of his treacherous +business, revealing every haunt of the rovers, exposing their most valuable +depots; and many a smuggling craft was taken and destroyed. The amount of +money and property thus secured was very great." The contemptible job +of betraying his former companions and followers being successfully +accomplished, Marti returned with the ships, and claimed his reward from +Tacon. The General, according to his word of honor, gave Marti a full +and unconditional pardon for all his past offences, and an order on the +treasury for the amount of the reward offered. The latter was declined but, +in lieu of the sum, Marti asked for and obtained a monopoly of the right +to sell fish in Havana. He offered to build, at his own expense, a public +market of stone, that should, after a specified term of years, revert to +the government, "with all right and the title to the fishery." This +struck Tacon as a good business proposition; he saved to his treasury +the important sum of the reward and, after a time, the city would own a +valuable fish-market. He agreed to the plan. Marti thereupon went into +the fish business, made huge profits, and became, so the story goes, the +richest man in the island. After a time, being burdened with wealth, he +looked about for means of increasing his income. So he asked for and +obtained a monopoly of the theatre business in Havana, promising to build +one of the largest and finest theatres in the world. The result of the +enterprise was the present Nacional theatre, for many years regarded as +second only to the Grand theatre in Milan. But it was named the Tacon. Its +special attraction was internal; its exterior was far from imposing. It has +recently been considerably glorified. Having thus halted for the story of +the theatre, we may return to the Prado on which it fronts. Here, Havana +society used to gather every afternoon to drive, walk, and talk. The +afternoon _paseo_ was and still is the great event of the day, the great +social function of the city. At the time of my first visit, in 1899, there +was no Malecon drive along the shore to the westward. That enterprise +was begun during the First Intervention, and continued by succeeding +administrations. In the earlier days, the route for driving was down the +east side of the Prado, between the Parque Central and the _Carcel_, and +up the west side, around and around, up and down, with bows and smiles to +acquaintances met or passed, and, probably, gossip about the strangers. +Many horsemen appeared in the procession, and the central promenade was +thronged with those who walked, either because they preferred to or because +they could not afford to ride around and around. In the Parque Central were +other walkers, chatting groups, and lookers-on. Some days the band played. +Then the Prado was extended to the water-front; the _glorieta_ was erected; +and that became another centre for chatterers and watchers. The building of +the Malecon extended the range of the driveway. This afternoon function is +an old established institution and a good one. It may not compare favorably +with the drive in some of our parks in this country, but it is the best +substitute possible in Havana. Indulgence in ices, cooling drinks, +chocolate, or other refections, during this daily ceremony, is fairly +common but by no means a general practice. The afternoon tea habit has not +yet seized upon Havana. The ices are almost invariably excellent. Some of +them are prepared from native fruit flavors that are quite unknown here. +The _guanabana_ ice is particularly to be recommended. All such matters are +quite individual, but a decoction called _chocolate Espanol_ is also to be +recommended. It is served hot, too thick to drink, and is to be taken with +a spoon, to the accompaniment of cake. It is highly nourishing as well as +palatable. There is a wide variety of "soft drinks," made with oranges, +limes, or other fruits, and the _orchata_, made from almonds, and the +products of American soda fountains, but there is little use of the +high-ball or the cocktail except by Americans. + +[Illustration: STREET AND CHURCH OF THE ANGELS _Havana_] + +The Cubans are an exceedingly temperate people. Wine is used by all +classes, and _aguadiente_, the native rum, is consumed in considerable +quantity, but the Cuban rarely drinks to excess. I recall an experience +during the earlier years. I was asked to write a series of articles on the +use of intoxicants in the island, for a temperance publication in this +country. My first article so offended the publishers that they declined +to print it, and cancelled the order for the rest of the series. It was +perhaps somewhat improper, but in that article I summed up the situation +by stating that "the temperance question in Cuba is only a question of how +soon we succeed in converting them into a nation of drunkards." Beer is +used, both imported and of local manufacture. Gin, brandy, and anisette, +cordials and liqueurs are all used to some but moderate extent, but +intoxication is quite rare. One fluid extract I particularly recommend, +that is the milk of the cocoanut, the green nut. Much, however, depends +upon the cocoanut. Properly ripened, the "milk" is delicious, cooling and +wholesome, more so perhaps on a country journey than in the city. The nut +not fully ripened gives the milk, or what is locally called the "water," an +unpleasant, woody taste. I have experimented with it in different parts of +the world, in the Philippines, Ceylon, and elsewhere, and have found it +wholesome and refreshing in all places. + +The houses in the new Havana are, on the whole, vastly more cheerful +than are the dwellings in the old city. They are of the same general +architectural type, but because of the wider streets, more air and sunshine +gets into them. Some of the best and most costly are along the Prado. +A Cuban house interior generally impresses an American as lacking in +home-like quality. Some of the best are richly adorned, but there is a +certain bareness and an absence of color. As is usual with customs unlike +our own, and which we are therefore prone to regard as inferior to ours, +there are excellent reasons for Cuban interior decoration, or rather the +lack of it. A little experience, or even a little reflection, shows clearly +the impossibility of anything resembling American house decoration in +such a climate as that of Cuba. Our warm colors, hangings, upholstered +furniture, rugs, and much else that we regard as essential in northern +latitudes, would be utterly unendurable in Cuba. There, the marble or tiled +floors, the cool tones of wall and ceiling, and the furniture of wood and +cane, are not only altogether fitting but as well altogether necessary. Our +glass windows would only serve to increase heat and shut out air. As some +barrier is necessary to keep passers, even Americans, from intrusive +entrance by the windows whose bottoms are at floor level, the system of +iron bars or elaborate grille work is adopted. Few Americans see much, if +anything, of Cuban home life except as they see it through these barriers +as they pass. It is not the custom of the country to invite promiscuous or +casual acquaintances to call. It is even less the custom there than it is +with us. A book about Cuba, published a few years ago, gives a somewhat +extended account of what is called "home life," but it is the home life of +workmen and people who do laundry work to eke out a meagre living. It is +not even the life of fairly paid artisans, or of people of modest but +comfortable income. It is no more a proper description of the domestic life +of the island than would be a presentation of the life in the palaces of +the wealthy. Such attempts at description are almost invariably a mistake, +conveying, whether from purpose or from indifference to truth, a false +impression. Domestic economy and household management vary in Cuba as +they vary in the United States, in France, England, Japan, or Mexico. The +selection of an individual home, or of several, as a basis for description, +in Cuba or anywhere else, can only result in a picture badly out of drawing +and quite misleading. + +There are Cuban homes, as there are American homes, that are slatternly and +badly managed, and there are Cuban homes that are as spick and span and as +orderly in their administration as any home in this country. Their customs, +as are ours, are the result of environment and tradition. To some of us, a +rectangle of six or eight rocking-chairs, placed in the centre of a room, +in which family and visitors sit and rock while they talk, may seem +curious, but it is a custom that we may not criticize either with fairness +or common decency. The same may be said of the not uncommon custom of using +a part of the street floor of the house as a stable. It is an old custom, +brought from Spain. But I have wandered from description to incident. I +have no intention to attempt a description of Cuban home life, beyond +saying that I have been a guest in costly homes in the city and in the +little palm-leaf "shacks" of peasants, and have invariably found in both, +and in the homes of intermediate classes, only cordial hospitality and +gracious courtesy. Those who have found anything different have carried it +with them in their own attitude toward their hosts. Many of us, probably +most of us, in the United States, make a sort of fetich of the privacy of +what we call our home life. We are encased in walls of wood or masonry, +with blinds, curtains, or shades at our windows. It might be supposed that +we wanted to hide, that there was something of which to be ashamed. It +might at least be so interpreted by one unfamiliar with our ways. It is +only, like the open domestic life in Cuba, a custom, a habit of long +standing. Certainly, much of the domestic life of Cuba is open. The +mistress of the house chides a servant, rebukes or comforts a child, sits +with her embroidery, chaffers with an itinerant merchant or with the +clerk from a store, all in plain sight and hearing of the passer-by. What +everyone does, no one notices. The customs of any country are curious only +to those from other countries where customs are different. Our ways of life +are quite as curious to others as are their ways to us. We are quite +blind to that fact chiefly because of an absurd conviction of the +immense superiority of our ways. We do not stop to consider reasons for +differences. A cup of coffee on an American breakfast table usually +consists of about four parts coffee and one part milk or cream. Most Cubans +usually reverse these percentages. There is a good reason for it. In +our climate, we do not need the large open doors and windows, the high +ceilings, and the full and free ventilation that make life endurable +in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Their system here would be as +impossible as would be our system there. Houses in Cuba like those of an +American city or town would make life a miserable burden. The publicity, or +semi-publicity, of Cuban home life is a necessary result of conditions. +It is, naturally, more in evidence in the city proper, where the houses, +abutting immediately on the street, as do most of our city houses, are +built, as ours are, in solid rows. We avoid a good deal of publicity by +piling our homes on top of each other, and by elevators and stair-climbing. + +The location of a residence in Havana gives no special idea of the wealth +or the social standing of those who occupy it. Not a few well-to-do people +still live in the old city, where the streets are narrow and where business +is trying to crowd out everything except itself. The home in that quarter +may be in a block in which a number of buildings are residences, or it +may stand with a warehouse on one side and a workshop on the other. A few +people, of unquestionable social position still live in buildings in which +the street floor is a store or an office. There is nothing curious about +this. In many American cities, old families have clung to old homes, and +not a few new families have, from one reason or another, occupied similar +quarters. Such a residence may not conform to modern social ideas and +standards, but there are Americans in this country, as well as Cubans and +Spaniards in Havana, who can afford to ignore those standards. The same is +true of many who live in the newer city, outside the old walls. There as +here, business encroaches on many streets formerly strictly residential. +This holds in the newer part of the city as well as in the old part. A +number of streets there are, for a part of their length, quite given over +to business. Even the Prado itself is the victim of commercial invasion. +What was once one of the finest residences in the city, the old Aldama +place fronting on the Campo de Marte, is now a cigar factory. A little +beyond it is the Tacon market, occupying an entire block. Stores and shops +surround it. The old avenue leading to the once fashionable Cerro, and +to the only less fashionable Jesus del Monte, is now a business street. +Another business street leads out of the Parque Central, alongside the +former Tacon theatre. The broad Calzada de Galiano, once a fashionable +residence street, is now largely commercial. While less picturesque than +some parts of the old city within the walls, the most attractive part of +Havana is undoubtedly the section of El Vedado, the westward extension +along the shore. Here are broad streets, trees, gardens, and many beautiful +and costly dwellings. This is really the modern Havana. A part of it is +only a little above sea-level, and behind that strip is a hill. A few years +ago, only a small number of houses were on the hillside or the hilltop. +Now, it is well built over with modern houses. The architectural type is +generally retained, and it is rather a pity that there should be even +what variation there is. El Vedado is the region of the wealthy and the +well-to-do, with a large percentage of foreigners. It has its social ways, +very much as other places have, in this country, in France, Hong Kong, or +Honolulu. They are not quite our ways, but they are a result of conditions, +just as ours are. + +On the hill, a little back of El Vedado, are two "points of interest" for +visitors; the old fortress, el Castillo del Principe, and the cemetery. +In the latter are some notable monuments. One is known as the Firemen's +Monument. For many years, Havana has had, supplementary to its municipal +organization, a volunteer firemen's corps. In various ways the latter +resembles a number of military organizations in the United States. It is at +once a somewhat exclusive social club and a practical force. Membership +is a social distinction. If you are in Havana and see men in admirably +tailored, uniforms and fire helmets, rushing in a particular direction in +cabs, carriages or automobiles, you may know that they are members of the +_Bomberos del Comercio_ on their way to a conflagration. Most excellent +real work they have done again and again in time of fire and flood. On +parade, they look exceedingly dapper with their helmets, uniforms, boots +and equipment, somewhat too dandified even to suggest any smoke other than +that of cigars or cigarettes. But they are the "real thing in smoke-eaters" +when they get to work. They have a long list of heroic deeds on their +records. The monument in Colon Cemetery commemorates one of those deeds. +In an extensive and dangerous fire, in May, 1890, thirty of these men +lost their lives. A few years later, this beautiful and costly shaft was +erected, by private subscription, as a tribute to their valor and devotion. +Another shaft, perhaps no less notable, commemorates a deplorable and +unpardonable event. A number of medical students, mere boys, in the +University of Havana, were charged with defacing the tomb of a Spanish +officer who had been killed by a Cuban in a political quarrel. At +its worst, it was a boyish prank, demanding rebuke or even some mild +punishment. Later evidence indicates that while there was a demonstration +there was no defacement of the vault. Forty-two students were arrested as +participants, tried by court-martial, and sentenced to be shot. Eight of +them were shot at La Punta, at the foot of the Prado near the sea-front, +and the remainder sentenced to imprisonment for life. All of these, I +believe, were afterward released. The Students' Monument expresses the +feeling of the Cubans in the matter, a noble memorial. There are numerous +other shafts and memorials that are notable and interesting. A number of +Cuba's leaders, Maximo Gomez, Calixto Garcia, and others, are buried in +this cemetery. + +[Illustration: A RESIDENCE IN EL VEDADO] + +Further on, to the southeast, are other sections of the new Havana, the +districts of Cerro and Jesus del Monte. El Vedado has largely supplanted +these neighborhoods as the "court end" of the city. Many of the fine old +residences of forty or fifty years ago still remain, but most of them are +now closely surrounded by the more modest homes of a less aristocratic +group. A few gardens remain to suggest what they were in the earlier days. +Still further out, in the west-and-south quarter-circle, are little towns, +villages, and hamlets, typically Cuban, with here and there the more +imposing estate of planter or proprietor. But, far the greater number of +visitors, perhaps with greater reason, find more of charm and interest +in the city itself than in the suburbs or the surrounding country. The +enjoyment of unfamiliar places is altogether personal. There are many who +really see nothing; they come away from a brief visit with only a confusion +of vague recollections of sights and sounds, of brief inspection of +buildings about which they knew nothing, of the big, yellow Palace, of this +church and that, of the Morro and the harbor, of sunny days, and of late +afternoons along the Prado and the Malecon. To me, Havana is losing its +greatest charm through an excess of Americanization, slowly but steadily +taking from the place much of the individuality that made it most +attractive. It will be a long time before that is entirely lost, but +five-story office buildings, automobiles in the afternoon parade, steaks +or ham and eggs at an eight or nine o'clock breakfast, and all kinds of +indescribable hats in place of dainty and graceful _mantillas_, seem to +me a detraction, like bay-windows and porticos added to an old colonial +mansion. + + + + +VI + +_AROUND THE ISLAND_ + + +A hundred years ago, the Cubans travelled from place to place about the +island, just as our ancestors did in this country, by water and over rough +trails few of which could, with any approach to correctness, be described +as roads. It was not until about a hundred years ago that we, in this +country, began to build anything even remotely resembling a modern highway. +Our towns and cities were on the seaboard or on the banks of rivers +navigable for vessels of size sufficient for their purposes. Commodities +carried to or brought from places not so located were dragged in stoutly +built wagons over routes the best of which was worse than the worst to be +found anywhere today. Because real road-making in Cuba is quite a modern +institution, an enterprise to which, in their phrase, the Spanish +Government did not "dedicate" itself, the Cuban wagons and carts of today +are chiefly those of the older time. They are heavy, cumbrous affairs with +large wheels, a diameter necessitated by the deep ruts through which a +passage was made. A smaller wheel would soon have been "hub-deep" and +hopelessly stuck. So, too, with the carriages of the nabobs. The poorer +people, when they travelled at all, went on foot or on horseback, as our +ancestors did. The nabobs had their _volantes_, still occasionally, but +with increasing rarity, seen in some parts of the island. Forty years ago, +such vehicles, only a little changed from the original type, were common +enough in Havana itself. About that time, or a few years earlier, the +four-wheeler began to supplant them for city use. + +There is a technical difference between the original type of _volante_ and +its successor which, though still called a _volante_ was properly called a +_quitrin_. The only real difference was that the top of the _quitrin_ was +collapsible, and could be lowered when desirable, while the top of +the _volante_ was not. I have ridden in these affairs, I cannot say +comfortably, over roads that would have been quite impossible for any other +wheeled vehicle. At the back, and somewhat behind the body were two wheels, +six feet in diameter. From, the axle, two shafts projected for a distance, +if memory serves me, of some twelve or fifteen feet. A little forward of +the axle, the body, not unlike the old-fashioned American chaise, was +suspended on stout leather straps serving as springs. Away off in front, at +the end of the shafts, was a horse on which the driver rode in a heavy and +clumsy saddle. For long-distance travel, or for particularly rough roads, +a second horse was added, alongside the shaft horse, and sometimes a third +animal. The motion was pleasant enough over the occasional smooth places, +but the usual motion was much like that of a cork in a whirlpool, or of a +small boat in a choppy sea. Little attention was paid to rocks or ruts; it +was almost impossible to capsize the thing. One wheel might be two feet or +more higher than the other, whereupon the rider on the upper side would be +piled on top of the rider or riders on the lower side, but there was always +a fair distribution of this favor. The rocks and ruts were not always on +the same side of the road. The safety from overturn was in the long shafts +which allowed free play. In the older days, say sixty or seventy years +ago, the _volante_ or the _quitrin_ was an outward and visible sign of a +well-lined pocket-book. It indicated the possessor as a man of wealth, +probably a rich planter who needed such a vehicle to carry him and his +family from their mansion in the city to their perhaps quite as costly home +on the plantation. The _calisero_, or driver, was dressed in a costume +truly gorgeous, the horses were of the best, and the vehicle itself +may have cost two thousand dollars or more. The operation of such a +contrivance, extending, from the rear of the wheels to the horse's nose, +for twenty feet or more, in the narrow streets of the old city, was a +scientific problem, particularly in turning corners. + +Cuba was early in the field with a railway. In 1830, the United States +had only thirty-two miles of line, the beginning of its present enormous +system. Cuba's first railway was opened to traffic in November, 1837. It +was a forty-five mile line connecting Havana with the town of Guines, +southeast of the city. While official permission was, of course, necessary +before the work could be undertaken, it was in fact a Cuban enterprise, due +to the activity of the _Junta de Fomento_, or Society for Improvement. It +was built with capital obtained in London, the construction being in charge +of Mr. Alfred Cruger, an American engineer. Ten years later there were +nearly three hundred miles of line. At the beginning of the American +occupation, in 1899, there were about nine-hundred and fifty miles. There +are now more than 2,000 miles of public service line in operation, and in +addition there are many hundreds of miles of private lines on the sugar +estates. Several cities have trolley lines. For some years after the +American occupation, as before that experience, there was only a +water-and-rail connection, or an all-water route, between the eastern and +western sections of the island. The usual route from Havana to Santiago +was by rail to Batabano or to Cienfuegos, and thence by steamer. The +alternative was an all-water route, consuming several days, by steamer +along the north coast, with halts at different ports, and around the +eastern end of the island to the destination. It is now an all-rail run of +twenty-four hours. The project for a "spinal railway" from one end of +the island to the other had been under consideration for many years. The +configuration lent itself excellently to such a system, and not at all +well to any other. A railway map of such a system shows a line, generally, +through the middle of the island along its length, with numerous branch +lines running north and south to the various cities and ports on the coast. +The plan, broadly, is being carried out. A combination of existing lines +afforded a route to the city of Santa Clara. From these eastward, the Cuba +Company, commonly known as the Van Home road, completed a through line in +1902. In its beginning, it was a highly ambitious scheme, involving the +building of many towns along the way, the erection of many sugar mills, and +the creation of a commercial city, at Nipe Bay, that would leave Havana in +the back-number class. All that called for a sum of money not then and not +now available. But the "spinal railroad" was built, and from it a number of +radiating lines have been built, to Sancti Spiritus, Manzanillo, Nipe +Bay, and to Guantanamo. About the only places on the island, really worth +seeing, with the exception of Trinidad and Baracoa, can now be reached by a +fairly comfortable railway journey. + +[Illustration: THE VOLANTE _Now quite rare_] + +In most of the larger cities of the island, a half dozen or so of them, the +traveller is made fairly comfortable and is almost invariably well fed. But +any question of physical comfort in hotels, more particularly in country +hotels, raises a question of standards. As Touchstone remarked, when in the +forest of Arden, "Travellers must be content." Those who are not ready to +make themselves so, no matter what the surroundings, should stay at home, +which, Touchstone also remarked, "is a better place." If the standard is +the ostentatious structure of the larger cities of this country, with its +elaborate menu and its systematized service, there will doubtless be cause +for complaint. So will there be if the standard is the quiet, cleanly inn +of many towns in this country and in parts of Europe. The larger towns and +villages of the island have a _posada_ in which food and lodging may be +obtained; the smaller places may or may not have "a place to stay." Cuba +is not a land in which commercial travellers swarm everywhere, demanding +comfort and willing to pay a reasonable price for it. However, few +travellers and fewer tourists have any inclination to depart from known +and beaten paths, or any reason for doing so. Nor does a fairly thorough +inspection of the island necessitate any halting in out-of-the-way places +where there is not even an imitation of an inn. All that one needs to see, +and all that most care to see, can be seen in little tours, for a day, from +the larger cities. Yet if one wants to wander a little in the by-paths, it +is easy enough to do so. + +What one sees or does in Cuba will depend mainly upon the purpose of the +visit, and upon the violence of the individual mania for seeing as many +places as possible. If the object is merely an excursion or an escape from +the rigors of a northern winter, there is no occasion for wandering out of +sight of the capital city. There is more to see and more to do in Havana +than there is in all the rest of the island. Nor is there much to be seen +elsewhere that cannot be seen in the immediate vicinity of that city. This, +of course, does not cover the matter of scenery. There are no mountains, +no forest jungles in that neighborhood, but forests in Cuba are not +particularly interesting, and even the mountains of Oriente are no more +beautiful or majestic than are our own summits, our own White Hills of New +Hampshire, the Adirondacks, the Blue Ridge, the Alleghenies, the Rockies, +and the Sierras. The charm of Cuba, and it is extremely charming, is not +its special "points of interest." It is rather a general impression, a +combination of soft and genial climate with varying lights and shades and +colors. Even after much experience there, I am not yet quite ready either +to admit or to deny that the island, taken as a whole, is either beautiful +or picturesque, and yet there is much of both. Attention is rarely +challenged by the sublime or the majestic, but is often arrested by +some play of light and shade. Cuban villages, with few exceptions, are +unattractive, although there is not infrequently some particular building, +usually a church, that calls for a second look or a careful examination. +Most of these little communities consist of a row of low and ungraceful +structures bordering the highway. They are usually extended by building on +at the ends. If the town street gets undesirably long, a second street or a +third will be made, on one or both sides of the main street, and thus the +town acquires breadth as well as length. The houses are built immediately +upon the roadside, and sidewalks are quite unusual. Nor, until the place +becomes a large town or a small city, is there, in most cases, any attempt +at decoration by means of shade trees. A tree may be left if there happened +to be one when the village was born, but rarely do the inhabitants turn +their streets into tree-shaded avenues. There would be an excellent +opportunity for the activities of Village Improvement Societies in Cuba, if +it were not for the fact that such tree-planting would involve pushing all +the houses ten or fifteen feet back from the roadside. + +I have never studied the system of town building in the island, yet it is +presumable that there was some such system. In the larger places, there is +usually a central park around which are arranged the church, the public +buildings, and the stores. Whether these were so constructed from an +original plan, or whether they are an evolution, along a general plan, from +the long, single street, I do not know. I am inclined to believe that the +former was the case, and that it followed the location of a church. The +custom is, of course, of Spanish origin, and is common throughout the +greater part of Latin America. It finds a fair parallel in our own country +custom, by no means infrequent, of an open "green" or common in front +of the village church and the town hall. Tree-setting along the Cuban +highways, more particularly in the neighborhood of the cities, is not at +all unusual, and some of these shaded roads are exceedingly charming. Some +are entirely over-arched by laurel trees and the gorgeous _flamboyan_, +making long tunnels of shade "through whose broken roof the sky looks in." +Evidently the Spanish authorities were too much interested in making money +and enjoying themselves in the cities to care very much for what happened +to the Cubans in the villages, as long as they paid the money that filled +the official pocket and paid for the official entertainment, and the Cubans +were too busy getting that money to have much time for village improvement. +The Spaniards, following their home custom, might decorate a military +highway to some extent, but the rough trail over which the peasant carried +his little crop did not concern them. That was quite the business of the +peasant who had neither the time nor money to do anything about it. + +The question of good roads in Cuba is very much what it is in this country. +Cuba needs more good roads than its people can afford to build; so does the +United States. At the time of the American occupation, in 1899, there were +only 160 miles of improved highway in the entire island. Of this, 85 miles +were in Havana Province, and 75 miles in Pinar del Rio. The remainder of +the island had none. Some work was done during the First Intervention +and more was done under the Palma government. At the time of the Second +Intervention, there were about 380 miles. That is, the United States and +the Cuban Republic built, in six years, nearly 40 per cent, more highway +than the Spanish authorities built in four hundred years. During the Palma +regime, plans were drawn for an extensive road system, to be carried out +as rapidly as the financial resources permitted. Not unlike similar +proceedings in this country, in river and harbor work and public +buildings, politics came into the matter and, like our own under similar +circumstances, each Congressman insisted that some of such work as could +immediately be undertaken, some of the money that could be immediately +spent, should benefit his particular district. The result was that what was +done by the Cubans was somewhat scattered, short stretches built here and +there, new bridges built when there might or might not be a usable road to +them. The Cuban plan involved, for its completion, a period of years and +a large appropriation. It called for comparatively small yearly +appropriations for many roads, for more than four hundred different +projects. Then came the Second Intervention, in 1906, with what has seemed +to many of us an utterly unwise and unwarranted expenditure for the +completion of certain selected projects included in the Cuban plan. It may +be granted that the roads were needed, some of them very much needed, but +there are thousands of miles of unconstructed but much needed roads in +the United States. Yet, in this country, Federal, State, county, and town +treasuries are not drained to their last dollar, and their credit strained, +to build those roads. From the drain on its financial resources, the island +will recover, but the misfortune appears in the setting of a standard for +Federal expenditure, in its total for all purposes amounting to about +$40,000,000 a year, far beyond the reasonable or proper bearing power of +the island. But the work was done, the money spent, and the Cubans were +committed to more work and to further expenditure. I find no data showing +with exactness the mileage completed by the Magoon government, which came +to an end in January, 1909, but a Cuban official report made at the end of +1910 shows that the combined activities of the respective administrations, +Spanish, American, and Cuban, had given the island, at that time, +practically a thousand miles of improved highway, distributed throughout +the island. + +To see the real Cuba, one must get into the country. Havana is the +principal city, and for many it is the most interesting place on the +island, but it is no more Cuba than Paris is France or than New York is the +United States. The real Cuba is rural; the real Cuban is a countryman, a +man of the soil. If he is rich, he desires to measure his possessions in +_caballerias_ of 33-1/3 acres; if poor, in _hectareas_ of 2-1/2 acres. I do +not recall any Cuban cartoon representing the Cuban people that was not a +picture of the peasant, the _guajiro_. Cuba, as a political organism, is +shown as a quite charming _senorita_, but _el pueblo Cubano_, the Cuban +people, are shown as the man of the fields. With the present equipment +of railroads, trolley lines, automobile busses, and highways, little +excursions are easily made in a day. The railways, trolleys, and automobile +busses are unsatisfactory means of locomotion for sight-seeing. The +passenger is rushed past the very sights that would be of the greatest +interest. To most of us, a private hired automobile is open to the very +serious objection of its expensiveness, an item that may sometimes be +reduced by division. It has been my good fortune in more recent years to be +whirled around in cars belonging to friends but my favorite trip in earlier +days is, I presume, still open to those who may care to make it. I have +recommended it to many, and have taken a number with me over the route. + +It is an easy one-day excursion of about sixty miles, by rail to Guanajay, +by carriage to Marianao, and return to Havana by rail. Morning trains +run to Guanajay, through a region generally attractive and certainly +interesting to the novice, by way of Rincon and San Antonio de los Banos, a +somewhat roundabout route, but giving a very good idea of the country, its +plantations, villages, and peasant homes. At Guanajay, an early lunch, or a +late breakfast, may be obtained at the hotel, before or after an inspection +of the town itself, a typical place with its little central park, its old +church, and typical residences. Inquiry regarding the transportation to +Marianao by carriage should not be too direct. It should be treated as a +mere possibility depending upon a reasonable charge. I have sometimes spent +a very pleasant hour in intermittent bargaining with the competitors for +the job, although knowing very well what I would pay and what they would +finally accept. Amiably conducted, as such discussions should be in +Cuba, the chaffering becomes a matter of mutual entertainment. A bargain +concluded, a start may be made about noon for a drive over a good road, +through a series of typical villages, to Marianao, in time for a late +afternoon train to Havana, reaching there in ample time for dinner. Along +the road from Guanajay to Marianao, Maceo swept with ruthless hand in +1896, destroying Spanish property. Here the Spaniards, no less ruthless, +destroyed the property of Cubans. It is now a region of peaceful industry, +and little or nothing remains to indicate its condition when I first saw +it. The little villages along the way were in ruins, the fields were +uncultivated, and there were no cattle. At intervals there stood the walls +of what had been beautiful country estates. Only one of many was left +standing. At intervals, also, stood the Spanish blockhouses. All along that +route, in 1906, were the insurrectos of the unfortunate experience of that +year. In the village of Caimito, a short distance from Guanajay, along that +road, I visited Pino Guerra at his then headquarters when he and his +forces so menaced Havana that Secretary Taft, in his capacity of Peace +Commissioner, ordered their withdrawal to a greater distance. The trip by +rail and road, exhibits most of Cuba's special characteristics. There are +fields of sugar cane and fields of tobacco, country villages and peasant +homes, fruits and vegetables, ceiba trees, royal palms, cocoanut palms, and +mango trees. There is no other trip, as easily made, where so much can be +seen. But there are other excursions in the vicinity, for many reasons best +made by carriage or by private hired automobile. Within fifteen miles or so +of the city, are places like Calvario, Bejucal, and Managua, all reached +by good highways through interesting and typical country, and all well +illustrating the real life of the real Cubans. It was in the vicinity of +those places that Maximo Gomez operated in 1895 and 1896, terrorizing +Havana by menacing it from the south and the east while Maceo threatened it +from the west. Another short and pleasant trip can be made around the head +of the harbor to Guanabacoa, and thence to Cojimar. Another interesting and +easily reached point is Guines, a good example of places of its size and +class. + +Of Cuba's larger cities, there are a score that would demand attention in a +guide-book. Just as there is a certain similarity in most American cities, +in that they are collections of business and residence buildings of +generally similar architecture, so is there a certain sameness in most of +Cuba's cities. To see two or three of them is to get a general idea of all, +although each has its particular features, some particular building, or +some special charm of surroundings. The most difficult of access are +Baracoa, the oldest city of the island, and Trinidad, founded only a few +years later. Glancing at some of these places, in their order from west +to east, the first is Pinar del Rio, a comparatively modern city, dating +really from the second half of the 18th Century. It owes its past and its +present importance to its location as a centre of the tobacco region of the +_Vuelta Abajo_. From comfortable headquarters here, excursions can be made, +by rail or road, through what is perhaps the most attractive, and not +the least interesting section of the island. To the north are the Organ +Mountains and the picturesque town of Vinales, one of the most charming +spots, in point of scenery, in Cuba. To the west, by rail, is Guane, the +oldest settlement in western Cuba, and all around are beautiful hills and +cultivated valleys. Eastward from Havana, the first city of importance is +Matanzas. Here is much to interest and much to charm, the city itself, its +harbor, its two rivers, the famous valley of the Yumuri, and the caves of +Bellamar. The city, founded in 1693, lies along the shore of the bay and +rises to the higher ground of the hills behind it. It lies about sixty +miles from Havana, and is easily reached by rail or by automobile. The +next city in order, also on the north coast, is Cardenas, a modern place, +settled in 1828, and owing its importance to its convenience as a shipping +port for the numerous sugar estates in its vicinity, an importance now +somewhat modified by the facilities for rail shipment to other harbors. +Seventy-five miles or so further eastward is Sagua la Grande, another point +of former convenience as a shipping point for sugar. The city itself is +located on a river, or estuary, some ten or twelve miles from its mouth. +Forty miles or so further on are Remedies and Caibarien, a few miles apart, +the latter on the coast and the former a few miles inland. Caibarien, like +Cardenas and Sagua, is chiefly notable as a sugar port, while Remedios is +the centre of one of the great tobacco districts, producing a leaf of good +quality but generally inferior to the _Partidos_ of Havana Province, and +quite inferior to the famous _Vuelta Abajo_. Southward of this region, and +about midway the width of the island, somewhat more than two hundred miles +eastward of Havana, is the city of Santa Clara, better known in the island +as Villa Clara. The city dates its existence from 1689. It lies surrounded +by rolling hills and expansive valleys, but in the absence of extensive +plantations in its immediate environs, one is led to wonder just why so +pleasant a place should be there, and why it should have reached its +present proportions. For the tourist who wants to "see it all," it is an +excellent and most comfortable central headquarters. + +[Illustration: A VILLAGE STREET _Calvario, Havana Province_] + +From Villa Clara it is only a short run to Cienfuegos, the "city of a +hundred fires," a modern place, only about a hundred years old. There is +every probability that Columbus entered the harbor in 1494, and perhaps +no less probability that Ocampo entered in 1508, on his voyage around the +island. The harbor extends inland for several miles, with an irregular +shore line, behind which rises a border line of hills. The city itself +is some four or five miles from the entrance to the harbor. It came into +existence, and still exists, chiefly by reason of the sugar business. It +is an important outlet for that industry, and many estates are in its near +vicinity. The old city of Trinidad is reached, by boat, from Cienfuegos, or +rather its port city, Casilda, is so reached. Presumably, it was the port +city that Velasquez founded in 1514, a location a few miles inland +being chosen later, as being less exposed to attacks by the pirates and +freebooters who infested the Caribbean Sea for many years. It is said that +Cortes landed here and recruited his forces on his way to Mexico, in 1518. +The city itself stands on the lower slopes of the hills that form its +highly effective background. Its streets are narrow and tortuous. Like most +of the cities of the island, and most of the cities of the world, it has +its humble homes of the poor, and its mansions of the rich. Immediately +behind it stands a hill with an elevation of about nine hundred feet above +sea-level. Its name indicates the reason for its application, _La Vigia_, +the "lookout," or the "watch-tower." From its summit, we may assume that +the people of earlier times scanned the horizon for any sign of approaching +pirates by whom they might be attacked. It serves a more satisfactory +purpose nowadays in that it affords one of the loveliest panoramic views to +be found anywhere in Cuba. Not far away, and accessible from the city, is +the Pico de Potrerillo, about 3,000 feet elevation, the highest point in +Central Cuba. Northeast of Trinidad, and reached by rail from Villa Clara, +is Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad's rival in antiquity, both having been +founded, by Velasquez, in the same year. Here also are narrow, crooked +streets in a city of no mean attractions, although it lacks the picturesque +charm of its rival in age. It is an inland city, about twenty-five miles +from the coast, but even that did not protect it from attack by the +pirates. It was several times the victim of their depredations. + + + + +VII + +_AROUND THE ISLAND: Continued_ + + +The next city, eastward, is Camaguey, in many ways doubtless the best +worth a visit, next to Havana, of any city on the island. It is a place +of interesting history and, for me personally, a place of somewhat mixed +recollections. The history may wait until I have told my story. I think +it must have been on my third visit to the island, early in 1902. On my +arrival in Havana, I met my friend Charles M. Pepper, a fellow laborer in +the newspaper field. He at once informed me that he and I were to start the +next morning for a three or four weeks' journey around the island. It was +news to me, and the fact that my baggage, excepting the suitcase that I +carried, had failed to come on the boat that brought me, led me to demur. +My objections were overruled on the ground that we could carry little +baggage anyway, and all that was needed could be bought before starting, or +along the way. The next morning saw us on the early train for Matanzas. We +spent a week or ten days in that city, in Cardenas, Sagua, Santa Clara, and +Cienfuegos, renewing former acquaintance and noting the changes effected by +the restoration from the war period. That was before the completion of the +Cuba Railway. To get to Camaguey, then known as Puerto Principe, we took +the steamer at Cienfuegos and journeyed along the coast to Jucaro. There, +because of shallow water, we were dropped into a shore boat some four or +five miles from the coast, and there our troubles began. Fortunately, it +was early morning. We got something to eat and some coffee, which is almost +invariably good in Cuba, but when we meet nowadays we have a laugh over +that breakfast at Jucaro. I don't know, and really don't care, what the +place is now. After some hours of waiting, we secured passage in an +antiquated little car attached to a freight train carrying supplies and +structural material to Ciego de Avila, for use by the railway then being +built in both directions, eastward and westward from that point. The line +that there crosses the island from north to south was built in the time +of the Ten Years' War (1868-1878) as a barrier against the revolutionists +operating in eastern Cuba. It was restored for use in the revolution of +1895, but its blockhouses at every kilometre, and its barbed wire tangles, +were entirely ineffective against Gomez and Maceo and other leaders, all of +whom crossed it at their own sweet will, although not without an occasional +vicious little contest. We reached Ciego de Avila soon after noon, and had +to wait there over night for a further advance. The place is now a thriving +little city, but it was then a somewhat sprawling village with a building +that was called a hotel. But we got food and drink and beds, all that is +really necessary for experienced campaigners. For the next two days, Old +Man Trouble made himself our personal companion and did not lose sight of +us for a single minute. + +Through personal acquaintance with the railway officials, we obtained +permission to travel over the line, on any and all trains, as far as it was +then built, some forty miles or so toward Camaguey. Through them, also, we +arranged for saddle horses to meet us at railhead for the remainder of the +journey. There were no trains except construction trains carrying rails, +ties, lumber, and other materials. We boarded the first one out in the +morning. We had our choice of riding on any of those commodities that we +might select. There was not even a caboose. We chose a car of lumber as the +most promising. For four or five hours we crawled through that country, +roasting and broiling on that pile of planks, but the ties and the rails +were even hotter. The only way we could keep a place cool enough to sit on +was by sitting on it. I once occupied a stateroom next to the steamer's +funnel. I have seen, day after day, the pitch bubble between the planks of +a steamer's deck in the Indian Ocean. I have been in other places that I +thought plenty hot enough, but never have I been so thoroughly cooked as +were my companion and I perched on the lumber pile. On top of that, or +rather on top of us, there poured a constant rain of cinders from the +locomotive puffing away a few cars ahead of us. The road-bed was rough, and +at times we had to hang on for our very lives. We can laugh about it now, +but, at the time, it was no joke. At last we reached the end of the line, +somewhere in a hot Cuban forest, but there were no horses. We watched the +operation of railway building, and took turns in anathematizing, in every +language of which we had any knowledge, the abandoned ruffian who failed to +appear with those horses. Before night, we were almost ready to wish that +he had died on the way. At last he came. Our baggage was loaded on a +pack-horse; we mounted and rode gallantly on our way. We had about thirty +miles to cover by that or some other means of locomotion. Before we had +gone a mile, we developed a clear understanding of the reasons for the sale +of those horses by the Government of the United States, but why the United +States Army ever bought them for cavalry mounts we could not even imagine. +There was no road. Most of the way we followed the partly constructed +road-bed for the new railway, making frequent detours, through field or +jungle, to get around gaps or places of impossible roughness. Before we had +covered two miles, we began to wish that the man who sent those horses, a +Spaniard, by the way, might be doomed to ride them through all eternity +under the saddles with which they were equipped. We were sorry enough for +the poor brutes, but sorrier still for ourselves. For several days, I +limped in misery from a long row of savage blisters raised on my leg +by rawhide knots with which my saddle had been repaired. An hour after +starting, we were overtaken by a heavy thunder-shower. At nightfall, after +having covered about fifteen wretched miles, we reached a construction camp +where an American nobleman, disguised as a section-boss, gave us food and +lodging in the little palm-leaf shack that served as his temporary home. It +was barely big enough for one, but he made it do for three. + +[Illustration: STREET AND CHURCH _Camaguey_] + +Early in the morning, we resumed our journey, plodding along as best we +could over a half-graded "right-of-way." A couple of hours brought us to +a larger construction camp where we halted for such relief as we could +secure. We then were some twelve or fourteen miles from our destination. We +discussed the wisdom of making the rest of the way on foot, as preferable +to that particular kind of saddle-work, leaving our baggage to come along +with the horses when it might. But fortune smiled, or it may have been just +a grimace. Word came that a team, two horses and a wagon, would go to the +city that afternoon, and there would be room for us. We told our pilot, +the man with the horses, just what we thought of him and all his miserable +ancestors, gave him a couple of _pesos_, and rejoiced over our prospects of +better fortune. But it proved to be only an escape from the fire into +the frying-pan. I have driven over many miles of South African _veldt_, +straight "across lots," in all comfort, but while the general topography of +Camaguey puts it somewhat into the _veldt_ class, its immediate surface +did not in the least remind me of the South African plateau. The trip was +little short of wonderful for its bumpiness. We got to Camaguey sore and +bruised but, as far as we could discover, physically intact, and, having +arrived, may now return to its history and description. May no "gentle +reader" who scans these pages repeat our experience in getting there. It +is supposed that here, or immediately here-about, was the place of "fifty +houses and a thousand people" encountered by the messengers of Columbus, +when he sent them inland to deliver official letters of introduction to the +gorgeous ruler of the country in which he thought he was. Different writers +tell different stories about the settlement of the place, but there is no +doubt that it was among the earliest to be settled. Columbus gave to a +harbor in that vicinity, in all probability the Bay of Nuevitas, the name +Puerto del Principe, or Port of the Prince. He called the islands of the +neighborhood the Gardens of the King. On that bay, about 1514, Diego +Velasquez founded a city, probably the present Nuevitas, which he is said +to have called Santa Maria. Somewhere from two to ten years later, an +inland settlement was made. This developed into the city that was afterward +given the name of Santa Maria del Puerto del Principe, now very properly +changed to the old Indian name of Camaguey. + +If the idea of an inland location was, as it is said to have been, +protection against pirates and buccaneers, it was not altogether a +success. The distinguished pirate, Mr. Henry Morgan, raided the place very +effectively in 1668, securing much loot. In his book, published in 1871, +Mr. Hazard says: "Puerto Principe (the present Camaguey) is, probably, the +oldest, quaintest town on the island,--in fact, it may be said to be a +finished town, as the world has gone on so fast that the place seems a +million years old, and from its style of dress, a visitor might think he +was put back almost to the days of Columbus." There have been changes +since that time, but the old charm is still there, the narrow and crooked +streets, forming almost a labyrinth, the old buildings, and much else that +I earnestly hope may never be changed. There is now an up-to-date hotel, +connected with the railway company, but if I were to go there again and the +old hotel was habitable, I know I should go where I first stayed, and where +we occupied a huge barrack-like room charged on our bill as "_habitaciones +preferentes_," the state chamber. It had a dirty tiled floor, and was the +home of many fleas, but there was something about it that I liked. I do not +mean to say that all of Camaguey, "the city of the plain," is lovely, or +picturesque or even interesting. No more is all of Paris, or Budapest, +or Amsterdam, or Washington. They are only so in some of their component +parts, but it is those parts that remain in the memory. The country around +the city is a vast plain, for many years, and still, a grazing country, a +land of horses and cattle. The charm is in the city itself. If I could see +only one place outside of Havana, I would see Camaguey. A little less than +fifty miles to the north is Nuevitas, reached by one of the first railways +built in Cuba, now if ever little more than the port city for its larger +neighbor. Columbus became somewhat ecstatic over the region. Perhaps it was +then more charming, or the season more favorable, than when I saw it. I +do not recall any feeling of special enthusiasm about its scenic charms. +Perhaps I should have discovered them had I stayed longer. Perhaps I should +have been more impressed had it not been for the impressions of Camaguey. I +saw Nuevitas only briefly on my way eastward on that memorable excursion by +construction train and saddle. The only route then available was by boat +along the north shore, and it was there that we caught the steamer for +Santiago. + +That sail along the coast would have afforded greater pleasure had it +lacked the noisy presence of an itinerant opera company whose members +persisted, day and night, in exercising their lungs to the accompaniment of +an alleged piano in the cabin. I have a far more pleasant recollection, or +rather a memory because it stays with me, of music in those waters. The +transport on which I went to Porto Rico, in the summer of 1898, carried, +among other troops, a battery of light artillery. It had an unusually good +bugler, and his sounding of "taps" on those soft, starlit nights remains +with me as one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. The shrieks, +squalls, and roars of those opera people were in a wholly different class. +About seventy-five miles east of Nuevitas is Gibara, merely a shipping port +for the inland city of Holguin. The former is only one of a number of such +places found along the coast. Most of them are attractive in point of +surrounding scenery, but little or not at all attractive in themselves, +being mere groups of uninteresting structures of the conventional type. +Holguin is perhaps two hundred years old, quite pleasantly situated, but +affording no special points of interest for the tourist. The city is now +easily reached by a branch of the Cuba Railway. It is worth the visit of +those who "want to see it all." Beyond Gibara is Nipe Bay, not improbably +the first Cuban harbor entered by Columbus. Nipe Bay and its near neighbor, +Banes Bay, are the centres of what is now the greatest industrial activity +of any part of the island. Here, recent American investment is measured in +scores of millions of dollars. Here, in the immediate neighborhood, are +some of the largest sugar plantations and mills on the island, the Boston +and the Preston. A little to the west of Gibara are two others, Chaparra +and Delicias. Hitherto, the western half of the island has been, the great +producing district, but present indications point to a not distant time +when the eastern district will rival and, it may be, outstrip the section +of older development. The foundation is already laid for an extensive +enterprise. Nature has afforded one of the finest land-locked harbors in +the world at Nipe, and another, though smaller, a few miles away, at Banes. +The region now has railroad connection with practically all parts of the +island. Around those bays are sugar lands, tobacco lands, fruit lands, and +a few miles inland are the vast iron ore beds that, as they are developed, +will afford employment for an army of workmen. Nipe Bay is the natural +commercial outlet for a vast area of richly productive soil. At present, +the region affords nothing of special interest except its industrial +activities, its miles and miles of sugar cane, its huge mills, and the +villages built to house its thousands of workmen. + +Seventy-five miles or so eastward of Nipe, lies one of the most charming +and interesting spots on the island. This is old Baracoa, the oldest +settlement on the island, now to be reached only by water or by the +roughest of journeys over mountain trails. The town itself does not amount +to much, but the bay is a gem, a little, circular basin, forest-shaded to +its border, its waters clear as crystal. Behind it rise the forest-clad +hills, step on step, culminating in _el Yunque_, "the anvil," with an +elevation of about eighteen hundred feet. Baracoa is supposed to be the +place about which Columbus wrote one of his most glowing and extravagant +eulogies. Whether it is really worth the time and the discomfort of a +special trip to see it, is perhaps somewhat doubtful. It is a place of +scenery and sentiment, and little else. There is an old fort on a hilltop, +not particularly picturesque, and an old church in which is a cross quite +doubtfully reported as having been furnished by Columbus. Sometime, years +hence, there will be easier communication, and the fertile hillsides and +still more fertile valleys will supply various produces for consumption in +the United States. About twenty-five miles east of Baracoa is the end of +the island, Cape Maisi. Swinging around that, the coasting steamers turn +due west along the shore to Santiago, passing the harbor of Guantanamo, +with its United States naval station. That place is reached by rail from +Santiago, a highly picturesque route through the Guantanamo valley. Besides +the naval station, the place is a shipping port, affording nothing of +special interest to the traveller who has seen other and more easily +accessible cities of its type. It always seems to me that Santiago, or more +properly Santiago de Cuba, would be more engaging if we could forget the +more recent history of this city, known to most Cubans as Cuba (pronounced +Cooba). No doubt, it is a much better place in which to live than it was +twenty years ago, and much of its old charm remains. Its setting cannot +be changed. It is itself a hillside town, surrounded by hills, with real +mountains on its horizon. The old cathedral, a dominant structure, has +been quite a little patched up in recent years, and shows the patches. The +houses, big and little, are still painted in nearly all the shades of the +spectrum. But there is a seeming change, doubtless psychological rather +than physical. One sees, in imagination, Cervera's squadron "bottled up" in +the beautiful harbor, while Sampson's ships lie outside waiting for it to +come out. It is difficult to forget San Juan Hill and El Caney, a few +miles behind the city, and remember only its older stories. A good deal of +history has been made here in the last four hundred years. Its pages +show such names as Velasquez, Grijalva, Hernan Cortes, and Narvaez, and +centuries later, Cespedes, Marti, and Palma. Here was enacted the grim +tragedy of the _Virginius_, and here was the conflict that terminated +Spain's once vast dominion in the western world. My own impression is +that most of its history has already been written, that it will have no +important future. As a port of shipment, I think it must yield to the new +port, Nipe Bay, on the north coast. It is merely a bit of commercial logic, +the question of a sixty-mile rail-haul as compared with a voyage around the +end of the island. Santiago will not be wiped from the map, but I doubt its +long continuance as the leading commercial centre of eastern Cuba. It is +also a fairly safe prediction that the same laws of commercial logic will +some day operate to drain northward the products of the fertile valley of +the Cauto, and the region behind old Manzanillo and around the still older +Bayamo. + +[Illustration: COBRE _Oriente Province_] + +Except the places earlier mentioned, Jucaro, Trinidad and Cienfuegos, there +are no southern ports to the west until Batabano is reached, immediately +south of, and only a few miles from, the city of Havana. It is a shallow +harbor, of no commercial importance. It serves mainly as the centre of a +sponge-fishing industry, and as a point of departure for the Isle of Pines, +and for ports on the south coast. The Isle of Pines is of interest for a +number of reasons, among which are its history, its mineral springs, its +delightful climate, and an American colony that has made much trouble +in Washington. Columbus landed there in 1494, and gave it the name _La +Evangelista_. It lies about sixty miles off the coast, almost due south +from Havana. Between the island and the mainland lies a labyrinth of islets +and keys, many of them verdure-clad. Its area is officially given as 1,180 +square miles. There seems no doubt that, at some earlier time, it formed a +part of the main island, with which it compares in geologic structure and +configuration. It is now, in effect, two islands connected by a marsh; the +northern part being broken and hilly, and the southern part low, flat, and +sandy, probably a comparatively recently reclaimed coralline plain. The +island has been, at various times, the headquarters of bands of pirates, a +military hospital, a penal institution, and a source of political trouble. +It is now a Cuban island the larger part of which is owned by Americans. It +is a part of the province of Havana, and will probably so remain as long as +Cuba is Cuba. My personal investigations of the disputed question of the +political ownership of the island began early in 1899. I then reached a +conclusion from which I have not since seen any reason to depart. The +island was then, had always been, and is now, as much a part of Cuba as +Long Island and Key West have been and are parts of the United States. + +Just who it was that first raised the question of ownership, none of us who +investigated the matter at the time of its particular acuteness, was +able to determine satisfactorily, although some of us had a well-defined +suspicion. The man is now dead, and I shall not give his name. Article I, +of the Treaty of Paris, of December 10, 1898, presumably disposes of the +Cuban area; Article II refers to Porto Rico; and Article III refers to the +Philippines. The issue regarding the Isle of Pines was raised under +Article II, presumably referring only to Porto Rico. A slight but possibly +important difference appears in the Spanish and the English versions. The +English text reads that "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and other +islands now under Spanish sovereignty" etc. The Spanish text, literally +translated runs: "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and the others +that are now under its sovereignty." The obvious reference of the article +is to Mona, Viequez, and Culebra, all small islands in Porto Rican waters. +But the question was raised and was vigorously discussed. An official map +was issued showing the island as American territory. Americans jumped +in, bought up large tracts, and started a lively real estate boom. They +advertised it widely as American territory, and many put their little +collections of dollars into it. The claim of Spanish cession was afterward +denied in the very document that served to keep the issue alive for a +number of years. Article VI of the Platt Amendment, which the Cubans +accepted with marked reluctance, declared that the island was omitted from +the boundaries of Cuba, and that the title and ownership should be left to +future adjustment by treaty. But no alternative appears between cession and +no cession. Had the island become definitely American territory by cession, +its alienation, by such a step, would not have been possible. When we left +Cuba, in 1902, the official instructions from Washington were that the Isle +of Pines would remain under a _de facto_ American government. President +Palma, accepting the transfer, expressed his understanding that it would +"continue _de facto_ under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Cuba." In +some way, the departing American authority failed to leave any agent or +representative of the _de facto_ government of the United States, and the +Cubans included the island in their new administration, very properly. When +the treaty proposed by the Platt Amendment came before the United States +Senate, it hung fire, and finally found lodgment in one of the many +pigeon-holes generously provided for the use of that august body. There it +may probably be found today, a record and nothing more. Why? For the very +simple reason that some of the resident claimants for American ownership +sent up a consignment of cigars made on the island from tobacco grown on +the island, and refused to pay duty on them. The ground of refusal was that +they were a domestic product, sent from one port in the United States to +another port in the same country, and therefore not dutiable. The case of +Pearcy _vs_ Stranahan, the former representing the shippers, and the latter +being the Collector of the Port of New York, came before the Supreme Court +of the United States, and that final authority decided and declared that +the Isle of Pines was Cuban territory and a part of Cuba. The question is +settled, and the Isle of Pines can become territory of the United States +only by purchase, conquest, or some other form of territorial transfer. + +While the American settlers in the Isle of Pines, and the several +real-estate companies who seek purchasers for their holdings, own a large +part of the territory, they still constitute a minority of the population. +Many of the settlers, probably most of them, are industrious and persistent +in their various productive activities. Their specialty is citrus fruits, +but their products are not limited to that line. More than a few have tried +their little experiment in pioneering, and have returned to their home land +more or less disgusted with their experience. Those who have remained, +and have worked faithfully and intelligently, have probably done a little +better than they would have done at home. The great wealth for which all, +doubtless, earnestly hoped, and in which many, doubtless, really believed, +has not come. This settlement is only one of many speculative exploitations +in Cuba. Some of these have been fairly honest, but many of them have been +little better than rank swindles. Many have been entirely abandoned, the +buyers losing the hard-earned dollars they had invested. Others, better +located, have been developed, by patience, persistence, and thrift, into +fairly prosperous colonies. I do not know how many victims have been +caught by unscrupulous and ignorant promoters in the last fifteen years, +principally in the United States and in Canada, but they are certainly +many, so many that the speculative industry has declined in recent years. +Many of the settlers who have remained have learned the game, have +discovered that prosperity in Cuba is purchased by hard work just as it is +elsewhere. In different parts of the island, east, west, and centre, there +are now thrifty and contented colonists who have fought their battle, and +have learned the rules that nature has formulated as the condition of +success in such countries. Whether these people have really done any better +than they would have done had they stayed at home and followed the rules +there laid down, is perhaps another question. At all events, there are +hundreds of very comfortable and happy American homes in Cuba, even in the +Isle of Pines, where they persist in growling because it is Cuba and not +the United States. + +In a review of a country including forty-four thousand square miles of +territory, condensed into two chapters, it is quite impossible to include +all that is worth telling. Moreover, there is much in the island of which +no adequate description can be given. There is much that must be seen if it +if to be fairly understood and appreciated. + + + + +VIII + +_THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA_ + + +IN his message to Congress, on December 5, 1898, President McKinley +declared that "the new Cuba yet to arise from the ashes of the past must +needs be bound to us by ties of singular intimacy and strength if its +enduring welfare is to be assured." + +Probably to many of the people of the United States, the story of our +relations with Cuba had its beginning with the Spanish-American war. +That is quite like a notion that the history of an apple begins with its +separation from the tree on which it grew. The general history of the +island is reviewed in other chapters in this volume. The story of our +active relations with Cuba and its affairs runs back for more than a +hundred years, at least to the days of President Thomas Jefferson who, +in 1808, wrote thus to Albert Gallatin: "I shall sincerely lament Cuba's +falling into any other hands but those of its present owners." Several +other references to the island appear at about that time. Two great +movements were then going on. Europe was in the throes of the Napoleonic +disturbance, and for more than twenty-five years both France and England +schemed, sometimes openly and sometimes secretly, for the possession of +Cuba. The other movement was the revolution in Spain's colonies in the +Western Hemisphere, a movement that cost Spain all of its possessions in +that area, with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico. The influence of the +revolutionary activities naturally extended to Cuba, but it was not until +after 1820 that matters became dangerously critical. From that time until +the present, the question of Cuba's political fate, and the question of our +relations with the island, form an interesting and highly important chapter +in the history of the United States as well as in the history of Cuba. + +In his book on the war with Spain, Henry Cabot Lodge makes a statement that +may seem curious to some and amazing to others. It is, however, the opinion +of a competent and thoroughly trained student of history. He writes thus: + +"The expulsion of Spain from the Antilles is merely the last and final step +of the inexorable movement in which the United States has been engaged for +nearly a century. By influence and by example, or more directly, by arms +and by the pressure of ever-advancing settlements, the United States drove +Spain from all her continental possessions in the Western Hemisphere, until +nothing was left to the successors of Charles and Philip but Cuba and Porto +Rico. How did it happen that this great movement stopped when it came to +the ocean's edge? The movement against Spain was at once national +and organic, while the pause on the sea-coast was artificial and in +contravention of the laws of political evolution in the Americas. The +conditions in Cuba and Porto Rico did not differ from those which had gone +down in ruin wherever the flag of Spain waved on the mainland. The Cubans +desired freedom, and Bolivar would fain have gone to their aid. Mexico and +Colombia, in 1825, planned to invade the island, and at that time invasion +was sure to be successful. What power stayed the oncoming tide which had +swept over a continent? Not Cuban loyalty, for the expression 'Faithful +Cuba' was a lie from the beginning. The power which prevented the +liberation of Cuba was the United States, and more than seventy years later +this republic has had to fight a war because at the appointed time she set +herself against her own teachings, and brought to a halt the movement she +had herself started to free the New World from the oppression of the Old. +The United States held back Mexico and Colombia and Bolivar, used +her influence at home and abroad to that end, and, in the opinion of +contemporary mankind, succeeded, according to her desires, in keeping Cuba +under the dominion of Spain." + +For a number of years, Cuba's destiny was a subject of the gravest concern +in Washington. Four solutions presented themselves; first, the acquisition +of Cuba by the United States; second, its retention by Spain; third, +its transfer to some power other than Spain; fourth, its political +independence. That the issue was decided by the United States is shown by +all the history of the time. While other factors had their influence in the +determination, it is entirely clear that the issue turned on the question +of slavery. In his book on _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan +summarizes his review of the official proceedings by saying that "the South +did not want to see Cuba independent _without_ slavery, while the North did +not want to annex it _with_ slavery." In his work on the _Rise and Fall of +the Slave Power in America_, Mr. Henry Wilson declares that "thus clearly +and unequivocally did this Republic step forth the champion of slavery, and +boldly insist that these islands should remain under the hateful despotism +of Spain, rather than gain their independence by means that should inure to +the detriment of its cherished system. Indeed, it (the United States) would +fight to fasten more securely the double bondage on Cuba and the slave." + +From this point of view, unquestionably correct, it is altogether evident +that the United States assumed responsibility for Cuba's welfare, not by +the intervention of 1898, but by its acts more than seventy years earlier. +The diplomatic records of those years are filled with communications +regarding the island, and it was again and again the subject of legislation +or proposed legislation. President after President dealt with it in +messages to Congress. The acquisition of the island, by purchase or +otherwise, was again and again discussed. Popular interest was again and +again excited; the Spanish colonial policy was denounced; and the burdens +and sufferings of the Cubans were depicted in many harrowing tales. For the +policy that led to the imposition of a restraining hand on proposals to +free Cuba, in those early days, the people of the United States today must +blush. The independence movement in the States of Spanish-America may be +said to have had its definite beginning in 1806, when Francisco Miranda, +a Venezuelan, sailed from New York with three ships manned by American +filibusters, although the first land battle was fought in Bolivia, in 1809, +and the last was fought in the same country, in 1825. But the great wave +swept from the northern border of Mexico to the southernmost point of +Spanish possession. When these States declared their independence, they +wrote into their Constitutions that all men should be free, that human +slavery should be abolished forever from their soil. The attitude of the +United States in the matter of Cuba was determined by the objection to the +existence of an anti-slavery State so near our border. The experience of +Haiti and Santo Domingo was, of course, clearly in mind, but the objection +went deeper than that. Those who are interested may read with profit the +debates in the Congress of the United States, in 1826, on the subject of +the despatch of delegates to the so-called Panama Congress-of that year. On +the whole, it is not pleasant reading from any present point of view. + +Our cherished Monroe Doctrine was one of the fruits of this period, and in +the enunciation of that policy the affairs of Cuba were a prominent if not +the dominant force. The language of this doctrine is said to have been +written by Secretary Adams, but it is embodied in the message of President +Monroe, in December, 1823, and so bears his name. In April, of that year, +Secretary Adams sent a long communication to Mr. Nelson, then the American +Minister to Spain. For their bearing on the Cuban question, and for the +presentation of a view that runs through many years of American policy, +extracts from that letter may be included here. + + DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + WASHINGTON, April 28, 1823. + +"In the war between France and Spain, now commencing, other interests, +peculiarly ours, will, in all probability, be deeply involved. Whatever may +be the issue of this war, as between these two European powers, it may be +taken for granted that the dominion of Spain upon the American continent, +north and south, is irrecoverably gone. But the islands of Cuba and Porto +Rico still remain nominally, and so far really, dependent upon her, that +she possesses the power of transferring her own dominion over them, +together with the possession of them, to others. These islands, from their +local position are natural appendages to the North American continent, +and one of them, Cuba, almost in sight of our shores, from a multitude of +considerations, has become an object of transcendant importance to the +commercial and political interests of our Union. Its commanding position, +with reference to the Gulf of Mexico and the West India seas; the character +of its population; its situation midway between our southern coast and +the island of St. Domingo; its safe and capacious harbor of the Havana, +fronting a long line of our shores destitute of the same advantage; the +nature of its productions and of its wants, furnishing the supplies and +needing the returns of a commerce immensely profitable and mutually +beneficial,--give it an importance in the sum of our national interests +with which that of no other foreign territory can be compared, and little +inferior to that which binds the different members of this Union together. +Such, indeed, are the interests of that island and of this country, the +geographical, commercial, moral, and political relations, that, in looking +forward to the probable course of events, for the short period of half +a century, it is scarcely possible to resist the conviction that the +annexation of Cuba to our federal republic will be indispensable to the +continuance and integrity of the Union itself." + +The communication proceeds to relate the knowledge of the Department that +both Great Britain and France were desirous of securing possession and +control of the island, and to disclaim, on the part of the United States, +all disposition to obtain possession of either Cuba or Porto Rico. +The complications of the situation became increasingly serious, more +particularly with regard to Cuba, and on December 2, of that year (1823), +President Monroe issued his message carrying the "doctrine," which may be +given thus: + +"In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we +have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do so. +It is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent +injuries or make preparations for our defense. With the movements in this +hemisphere we are of necessity more immediately connected. We owe it, +therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the +United States and those powers (of Europe) to declare that we should +consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion +of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing +colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and +shall not interfere. But with the Governments that have declared their +independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have recognized, +we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or +controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power in any +other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward +the United States." + +From this time onward, Cuba appears as an almost continuous object of +special interest to both the people and the officials of the United States. +Notwithstanding this disclaimer of President Monroe's message, the idea +of the acquisition of the island, by the United States, soon arose. It +persisted through all the years down to the time of the Teller amendment, +in 1898, and there are many who even now regard annexation as inevitable at +some future time, more or less distant. The plan appears as a suggestion +in a communication, under date of November 30, 1825, from Alexander +H. Everett, then Minister to Madrid, to President Adams. It crops up +repeatedly in various quarters in later years. It would be a difficult and +tedious undertaking to chase through all the diplomatic records of seventy +years the references to Cuba and its affairs. + +From that period until the present time, the affairs of the island have +been a matter of constant interest and frequent anxiety in Washington. Fear +of British acquisition of the island appears to have subsided about 1860, +but there were in the island two groups, both relatively small, one of +them working for independence, and the other for annexation to the +United States. The great majority, however, desired some fair measure of +self-government, and relief from economic and financial burdens, under the +Spanish flag. The purchase of the island by the United States was proposed +by President Polk, in 1848; by President Pierce, in 1854; and by President +Buchanan, in his time. Crises appeared from time to time. Among them was +the incident of the _Black Warrior_, in 1854. Mr. Rhodes thus describes the +affair, in his _History of the United States_: + +"_The Black Warrior_ was an American merchant steamer, plying between +Mobile and New York, stopping at Havana for passengers and mail. She had +made thirty-six such voyages, almost always having a cargo for the American +port, and never being permitted to bring freight into Havana. The custom +of her agent was to clear her 'in ballast' the day before her arrival. The +practice, while contrary to the regulations of Cuban ports, had always +been winked at by the authorities. It was well understood that the _Black +Warrior_ generally had a cargo aboard, but a detailed manifest of her load +had never been required. She had always been permitted to sail unmolested +until, when bound from Mobile to New York, she was stopped on the 28th of +February, 1854, by order of the royal exchequer, for having violated +the regulations of the port. The agent, finding that the cause of this +proceeding was the failure to manifest the cargo 'in transit,' offered to +amend the manifest, which under the rules he had a right to do; but this +the collector, on a flimsy pretext, refused to permit. The agent was at the +same time informed that the cargo was confiscated and the captain fined, in +pursuance of the custom-house regulations. The cargo was cotton, valued +at one hundred thousand dollars; and the captain was fined six thousand +dollars. The United States consul applied to the captain-general for +redress, but no satisfaction was obtained. A gang of men with lighters were +sent to the ship under the charge of the _commandante_, who ordered the +captain of the _Black Warrior_ to discharge her cargo. This he refused to +do. The _commandante_ then had the hatches opened, and his men began +to take out the bales of cotton. The captain hauled down his flag and +abandoned the vessel to the Spanish authorities." + +The news of the incident created great excitement in Washington. President +Pierce sent a message to Congress, stating that demand had been made on +Spain for indemnity, and suggesting provisional legislation that would +enable him, if negotiations failed, "to insure the observance of our just +rights, to obtain redress for injuries received, and to vindicate the honor +of our flag." + +Mr. Soule, then the American Minister to Madrid, was the official through +whom the negotiations were conducted. He was a man of somewhat impetuous +temperament, and an ardent advocate of Cuba's annexation. He quite +overstepped both the bounds of propriety and of his authority in his +submission, under instructions, of a demand for three hundred thousand +dollars indemnity. This, and Spanish diplomatic methods, led to delay, and +the excitement died out. In the meantime, Spain released the vessel and its +cargo, disavowed and disapproved the conduct of the local officials, paid +the indemnity claimed by the owners of the vessel, and the ship resumed its +regular trips, being treated with every courtesy when visiting Havana. But +the incident gave rise to active discussion, and for a time threatened +serious results. It followed on the heels of another experience, the Lopez +expeditions, to which reference is made in another chapter, and came at a +time when Cuba and Cuban affairs were topics of a lively public interest. +The subject of acquisition was under general public discussion and occupied +a large share of public attention. Some wanted war with Spain, and others +proposed the purchase of the island from Spain. But the immediate cause +of complaint having been removed by the release of the ship, Soule was +instructed to take no further steps in the matter, and the excitement +gradually passed away. + +Immediately following this experience, and growing out of it, came the +incident of the "Ostend Manifesto." At that time, James Buchanan was +Minister to England. John Y. Mason was Minister to France, and Pierre Soule +was Minister to Spain. Secretary of State Marcy suggested a conference +between these three officials. They met at Ostend, but afterward +transferred their deliberations to Aix la Chapelle. The meeting attracted +general attention in Europe. The result of what they reported as "a full +and unreserved interchange of views and sentiments," was a recommendation +that an earnest effort be made immediately to purchase Cuba. They were of +opinion that the sum of one hundred and twenty million dollars be offered. +The report proceeded thus: "After we shall have offered Spain a price for +Cuba far beyond its present value, and this shall have been refused, it +will then be time to consider the question, does Cuba in the possession +of Spain seriously endanger our internal peace and the existence of our +cherished Union? Should this question be answered in the affirmative, then, +by every law, human and divine, we shall be justified in wresting it from +Spain if we possess the power; and this upon the very same principle that +would justify an individual in tearing down the burning house of his +neighbor if there were no other means of preventing the flame from +destroying his own home." It is evident that Soule dominated the meeting, +and only less evident that he, in some way, cajoled his associates +into signing the report. No action was taken on the matter by the +Administration, and the incident has passed into history somewhat, perhaps, +as one of the curiosities of diplomacy. At all events, all historians note +it, and some give it considerable attention. + +The next serious complication arose out of the Ten Years' War, in Cuba, +in 1868, to which reference is made in a chapter on Cuba's revolutions. +Spain's leaders seemed quite incapable of grasping the Cuban situation, of +seeing it in its proper light. It is more than probable that, even then, +the Cubans would have remained loyal if the Spanish authorities had paid +attention to their just and reasonable demands. As stated by Mr. Pepper, +in his _Tomorrow in Cuba_, "The machete and the torch then gained what +peaceful agitation had not been able to achieve." The demands of the +Cubans are thus stated by Señor Cabrera, in his _Cuba and the Cubans_: "A +constitutional system in place of the autocracy of the Captain-General, +freedom of the press, the right of petition, cessation of the exclusion of +Cubans from public office, unrestricted industrial liberty, abolition of +restrictions on the transfer of landed property, the right of assembly and +of association, representation in the Cortes, and local self-government," +all reasonable and just demands from every point of view of modern +civilization. Spain refused all, and on October 10, 1868, an actual +revolution began, the first in the history of the island to be properly +classed as a revolution. The United States soon became concerned and +involved. In his message to Congress on December 6, 1869, President Grant +said: "For more than a year, a valuable province of Spain, and a near +neighbor of ours, in whom all our people cannot but feel a deep interest, +has been struggling for independence and freedom. The people and the +Government of the United States entertain the same warm feelings and +sympathies for the people of Cuba in their pending struggle that they have +manifested throughout the previous struggles between Spain and her former +colonies (Mexico, Central America and South America) in behalf of the +latter. But the contest has at no time assumed the conditions which amount +to a war in the sense of international law, or which would show the +existence of a _de facto_ political organization of the insurgents +sufficient to justify a recognition of belligerency." On June 13, 1870, +President Grant sent a special message to Congress, in which he reviewed +the Cuban situation. Another reference appears in his message of December +5, 1870. In his message of December 4, 1871, he stated that "it is to be +regretted that the disturbed condition of the island of Cuba continues +to be a source of annoyance and anxiety. The existence of a protracted +struggle in such close proximity to our own territory, without apparent +prospect of an early termination, cannot be other than an object of concern +to a people who, while abstaining from interference in the affairs of other +powers, naturally desire to see every other country in the undisturbed +enjoyment of peace, liberty, and the blessings of free institutions." In +the message of December 2, 1872, he said: "It is with regret that I have +again to announce a continuance of the disturbed condition in the island of +Cuba. The contest has now lasted for more than four years. Were its scene +at a distance from our neighborhood, we might be indifferent to its result, +although humanity could not be unmoved by many of its incidents wherever +they might occur. It is, however, at out door." Reference was made to it in +all following annual messages, until President Hayes, in 1878, announced +its termination, ten years after its beginning. The contest had become +practically a deadlock, and a compromise was arranged by General Maximo +Gomez, for the Cubans, and General Martinez Campos, for Spain. + +[Illustration: HOISTING THE CUBAN FLAG OVER THE PALACE, MAY 20, 1902 +_Senate building on the right_] + +The entanglements that grew out of the experiences of this period are too +long and too complicated for detailed review here. This country had no +desire for war with Spain, but approval of the Spanish policy in Cuba was +impossible. The sympathies of the American people were with the Cubans, as +they had been for fifty years, and as they continued to be until the end of +Spanish occupation in the West Indies. Rumors of all kinds were afloat, and +again and again the situation seemed to have reached a crisis that could be +ended only by war. A particularly aggravating incident appeared in what is +known as the _Virginius_ case. This was described as follows, in President +Grant's message to Congress on December 1, 1873. + +"The steamer _Virginius_ was on the 26th day of September, 1870, duly +registered at the port of New York as a part of the commercial marine +of the United States. On the 4th of October, 1870, having received the +certificate of her register in the usual legal form, she sailed from +the port of New York, and has not since been within the territorial +jurisdiction of the United States. On the 31st day of October last (1873), +while sailing under the flag of the United States on the high seas, she was +forcibly seized by the Spanish gunboat _Tornado_, and was carried into the +port of Santiago de Cuba, where fifty-three of her passengers and crew were +inhumanly, and, so far at least as related to those who were citizens of +the United States, without due process of law, put to death." + +Only for the timely arrival of the British man-of-war _Niobe_, and the +prompt and decisive action of her commander, there is no doubt that +ninety-three others would have shared the fate of their companions. Some +were Americans and some were British. The excitement in this country was +intense, and war with Spain was widely demanded. Further investigation +revealed the fact that the American registry was dishonest, that the ship +really belonged to or was chartered by Cubans, that it was engaged in +carrying supplies and munitions of war to the insurgents, and that its +right to fly the American flag was more than doubtful. The ship was seized +by the American authorities under a charge of violation of the maritime +laws of the United States, and was ordered to New York, for a trial of the +case. American naval officers were placed in command, but she was in bad +condition, and foundered in a gale near Cape Fear. As far as the vessel +was concerned, the incident was closed. There remained the question of +indemnity for what Caleb Cushing, then the American Minister to Spain, in +his communication to the Spanish authorities, denounced as "a dreadful, +a savage act, the inhuman slaughter in cold blood, of fifty-three human +beings, a large number of them citizens of the United States, shot without +lawful trial, without any valid pretension of authority, and to the horror +of the whole civilized world." England also filed its claim for the loss +of British subjects, and payment was soon after made "for the purpose of +relief of the families or persons of the ship's company and passengers." In +his _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan says: "The catalogue +of irritating affairs in relation to Cuba, of which the _Virginius_ was +only the culmination, might have been urged as sufficient to justify a +policy of intervention to stop the stubborn war of extermination which had +been tolerated by peaceful neighbors for five years. Some would have been +ready to advocate intervention as a duty. The relations of Cuba to the +United States, the Spanish commercial restrictions which placed Cuba at +the mercy of Spanish monopolists, and the character of the Spanish rule, +pointed to the conclusion that if Spain should not voluntarily grant +reforms and guarantee pacification of the island, the United States might +be compelled, especially for future security, temporarily to occupy it and +assist in the organization of a liberal government based upon modern views. +Such action might have led to annexation, but not necessarily; it might +have led to a restoration of Spanish possession under restrictions as to +the character of Spanish rule, and as to the size of the Spanish army and +naval force in the vicinity; more likely it would have resulted in the +independence of Cuba under American protection." + +These are only some of the more prominent features in fifty years of +American interest in Cuba. Throughout the entire period, the sympathies +of the American people were strongly pro-Cuban. Money and supplies were +contributed from time to time to assist the Cubans in their efforts to +effect a change in their conditions, either through modification of Spanish +laws, or by the road of independence. Only a minority of the Cubans sought +to follow that road at that time. The movement for independence was not +national until it was made so in 1895. What would have happened had we, +at the time of the Ten Years' War, granted to the Cubans the rights of +belligerents, is altogether a matter of speculation. Such a course was then +deemed politically inexpedient. + + + + +IX + +_CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS_ + + +Only by magnifying protests into revolts, and riots into revolutions, is it +possible to show Cuba as the "land of revolutions" that many have declared +it to be. The truth is that from the settlement of the island in 1512 until +the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1898, there were only two experiences +that can, by any proper use of the term, be called revolutions. This +statement, of course, disputes a widely accepted notion, but many notions +become widely accepted because of assertions that are not contradicted. +That a strong undercurrent of discontent runs through all Cuba's history +from 1820 to 1895, is true. That there were numerous manifestations of that +discontent, and occasional attempts at revolution, is also true. But none +of these experiences, prior to 1868, reached a stage that would properly +warrant its description as a revolution. The term is very loosely applied +to a wide range of experiences. It is customary to class as revolution all +disorders from riots to rebellions. This is particularly the case where +the disorder occurs in some country other than our own. The _Standard +Dictionary_ defines the essential idea of revolution as "a change in the +form of government, or the constitution, or rulers, otherwise than +as provided by the laws of succession, election, etc." The _Century +Dictionary_ defines such proceedings as "a radical change in social or +governmental conditions; the overthrow of an established political system." +Many exceedingly interesting parallels may be drawn between the experience +of the American colonies prior to their revolution, in 1775, and the +experience of Cuba during the 19th Century. In fact, it may perhaps be +said that there is no experience in Cuba's history that cannot be fairly +paralleled in our own. In his _History of the United States_, Mr. Edward +Channing says: "The governing classes of the old country wished to exploit +the American colonists for their own use and behoof." Change the word +"American" to "Spanish," and the Cuban situation is exactly defined. The +situation in America in the 18th Century was almost identical with the +situation in Cuba in the 19th Century. Both, in those respective periods, +suffered from oppressive and restrictive trade laws and from burdensome +taxation, from subordination of their interests to the interests of the +people of a mother-country three thousand miles away. Unfortunately for the +Cubans, Spain was better able to enforce its exactions than England +was. Cuba's area was limited, its available harbors few in number, its +population small. + +Not until the years immediately preceding the revolutions by which the +United States and Cuba secured their independence, was there any general +demand for definite separation from the mother-country. The desire in both +was a fuller measure of economic and commercial opportunity. One striking +parallel may be noted. The Tories, or "loyalists," in this country have +their counterpart in the Cuban _Autonomistas_. Referring to conditions in +1763, Mr. Channing states that "never had the colonists felt a greater +pride in their connection with the British empire." Among the great figures +of the pre-revolutionary period in this country, none stands out more +clearly than James Otis, of Boston, and Patrick Henry, of Virginia. In an +impassioned address, in 1763, Otis declared that "every British subject in +America is of common right, by acts of Parliament, and by the laws of God +and nature, entitled to all the essential privileges of Britons. What God +in his Providence has united let no man dare attempt to pull asunder." +Thirteen years later, the sundering blow was struck. Patrick Henry's +resolutions submitted to the Virginia House of Burgesses, in 1765, set +that colony afire, but at that time neither he nor his associates desired +separation and independence if their natural rights were recognized. It was +not until the revolution of 1895 that the independence of Cuba became a +national demand, a movement based on realization of the hopelessness of +further dependence upon Spain for the desired economic and fiscal relief. +As in the American colonies there appeared, from time to time, individuals +or isolated groups who demanded drastic action on the part of the +colonists, so were there Cubans who, from time to time, appeared with +similar demands. Nathaniel Bacon headed a formidable revolution in Virginia +in 1676. Massachusetts rebelled against Andros and Dudley in 1689. From the +passage of the Navigation Acts, in the middle of the 17th Century, until +the culmination in 1775, there was an undercurrent of friction and a +succession of protests. The Cuban condition was quite the same excepting +the fact of burdens more grievous and more frequent open outbreaks. + +The records of many of the disorders are fragmentary. Spain had no desire +to give them publicity, and the Cubans had few means for doing so. The +_Report on the Census of Cuba_, prepared by the War Department of the +United States, in 1899, contains a summary of the various disorders in +the island. The first is the rioting in 1717, when Captain-General Roja +enforced the decree establishing a government monopoly in tobacco. The +disturbances in Haiti and Santo Domingo (1791-1800) resulting in the +establishment of independence in Haiti, under Toussaint, excited +unimportant uprisings on the part of negroes in Cuba, but they were quickly +suppressed. The first movement worthy of note came in 1823. It was +a consequence of the general movement that extended throughout +Spanish-America and resulted in the independence of all Spain's former +colonies, excepting Cuba and Porto Rico. That the influence of so vast a +movement should have been felt in Cuba was almost inevitable. As disorder +continued throughout much of the time, the period 1820-1830 is best +considered collectively. The same influences were active, and the same +forces were operative for the greater part of the term. The accounts of +it all are greatly confused, and several nations were involved, including +Spain, the United States, France, England, Mexico, and Colombia. The +slavery question was involved, as was the question of the transfer of the +island to some Power other than Spain. Independence was the aim of some, +though probably no very great number. Practically all of Cuba's later +experiences have their roots in this period. During these ten years, the +issue between Cubans who sought a larger national and economic life, +and the Spanish element that insisted upon the continuance of Spanish +absolutism, had its definite beginning, to remain a cause of almost +constant friction for three-quarters of a century. The Spanish Constitution +of 1812, abrogated in 1814, was again proclaimed in 1820, and again +abrogated in 1823. The effort of Captain-General Vives, acting under +orders from Ferdinand VII, to restore absolutism encountered both vigorous +opposition and strong support. Secret societies were organized, whose exact +purposes do not appear to be well known. Some have asserted that it was a +Masonic movement, while others have held that the organizations were +more in the nature of the _Carbonari_. One of them, called the _Soles de +Bolivar_, in some way gave its name to the immediate activities. It was +charged with having planned a rebellion against the government, but the +plans were discovered and the leaders were arrested. The movement appears +to have been widespread, with its headquarters in Matanzas. An uprising was +planned to take place on August 16, 1823, but on that day Jose Francisco +Lemus, the leader, and a number of his associates were arrested and +imprisoned. Among them was José Maria Heredia, the Cuban poet, who was, +for this offence, condemned, in 1824, to perpetual exile for the crime of +treason. + +Others engaged in the conspiracy fled the country. Some were officially +deported. But the punishments imposed on these people served to excite +the animosity of many more, and a period of agitation followed, marked by +occasional outbreaks and rioting. To meet the situation, an army intended +to be employed in reconquering some of the colonies that had already +declared and established their independence, was retained on the island. +In 1825, a royal decree conferred on the Spanish Governor in Cuba a power +practically absolute. This excited still further the anger of the Cuban +element and led to other manifestations of discontent. There was a +combination of political agitation with revolutionary demonstrations. +In 1826, there was a local uprising in Puerto Principe, directed more +particularly against the Spanish garrison, whose conduct was regarded as +highly offensive. A year or two later, Cuban exiles in Mexico and Colombia, +with support from the people of those countries, organized a secret society +known as the "Black Eagle," having for its purpose a Cuban revolution. Its +headquarters were in Mexico, and its activities were fruitless. Many +were arrested and tried and sentenced to death or deportation. But Vives +realized the folly of adding more fuel to the flames, and the sentences +were in all cases either mitigated or revoked. This seems to have brought +that particular series of conspiracies to an end. It was a time of active +political agitation and conspiracy, with occasional local riots that were +quickly suppressed. While much of it was revolutionary in its aims and +purposes, none of it may with any fitness be called a revolution, unless +a prevalence of a lively spirit of opposition and rebellion is to be so +classed. The agitation settled down for a number of years, but broke out in +local spasms occasionally. There were riots and disorders, but that is not +revolution. It is to be remembered that the cause of all this disturbance +was, in the main, an entirely creditable sentiment, quite as creditable +as that which led the American colonists to resist the Stamp taxes and to +destroy tea. It was a natural and righteous protest against oppression, a +movement lasting for seventy-five years, for which Americans, particularly, +should award praise rather than blame or carping criticism. Having done, in +our own way, very much what the Cubans have done, in their way, we are not +free to condemn them. The only real difference is that their methods were, +on the whole, a little more strenuous than ours. Cuban blood was stirred +by the successful revolutions in Mexico and in Spanish South America, and +conditions in the island were contrasted with those in the then somewhat +new United States. Something of the part played by this country in the +experiences of the time is presented in another chapter, on the relations +of the two countries. + +The next movement worthy of note came in 1849, if we omit the quarrel, in +1837, between General Tacon and his subordinate, General Lorenzo, and the +alleged proposal of the slaves in the neighborhood of Matanzas to rise +and slaughter all the whites. Neither of these quite belongs in the +revolutionary class. In 1847, a conspiracy was organized in the vicinity +of Cienfuegos. Its leader was General Narciso Lopez. The movement was +discovered, and some of the participants were imprisoned. Lopez escaped to +the United States where he associated himself with a group of Cuban exiles, +and opened correspondence with sympathizers in the island. They were joined +by a considerable number of adventurous Americans, inspired by a variety +of motives. The declared purpose of the enterprise was independence as the +alternative of reform in Spanish laws. An expedition was organized, but +the plans became known and President Taylor, on August 11, 1849, issued +a proclamation in which he declared that "an enterprise to invade the +territories of a friendly nation, set on foot and prosecuted within the +limits of the United States, is in the highest degree criminal." He +therefore warned all citizens of the United States who might participate in +such an enterprise that they would be subject to heavy penalties, and would +forfeit the protection of their country. He also called on "every officer +of this Government, civil or military, to use all efforts in his power to +arrest for trial and punishment every such offender against the laws." The +party was captured as it was leaving New York. The best evidence of the +time is to the effect that there was in Cuba neither demand for nor support +of such a movement, but Lopez and his associates, many of them Americans, +persisted. A second expedition was arranged, and a party of more than six +hundred men, many of them American citizens, assembled on the island of +Contoy, off the Yucatan coast, and on May 19, 1850, landed at Cardenas. But +there was no uprising on the part of the people. The Spanish authorities, +informed of the expedition, sent ships by sea and troops by land. After +a sharp skirmish, the invaders fled for their lives. Lopez and those who +escaped with him succeeded in reaching Key West. He went to Savannah, where +he was arrested but promptly liberated in response to public clamor. But +even this did not satisfy the enthusiastic liberator of a people who did +not want to be liberated in that way. He tried again in the following +year. On August 3, 1851, he sailed from near New Orleans, on the steamer +_Pampero_, in command of a force of about four hundred, largely composed +of young Americans who had been lured into the enterprise by assurance of +thrilling adventure and large pay. They landed near Bahia Honda, about +fifty miles west of Havana. Here, again, the Cubans refused to rise and +join the invaders. Here, again, they encountered the Spanish forces by whom +they were beaten and routed. Many were killed, some were captured, and +others escaped into the surrounding country and were captured afterward. +Lopez was among the captured. He was taken to Havana, and died by _garrote_ +in the little fortress La Punta. His first officer, Colonel Crittenden, and +some fifty Americans were captured and taken to Atares, the fortress at the +head of Havana harbor, where they were shot. For that somewhat brutal act, +the United States could ask no indemnity. In violation of the laws of the +United States, they had invaded the territory of a nation with which the +country was at peace. In the initial issue of the _New York Times_, on +October 18, 1851, there appeared a review of the incident, presenting a +contemporaneous opinion of the experience. It was, in part, as follows: + +"Nothing can be clearer than the fact that, for the present, at least, +the inhabitants of Cuba do not desire their freedom. The opinion has very +widely prevailed that the Cubans were grievously oppressed by their Spanish +rulers, and that the severity of their oppression alone prevented them from +making some effort to throw it off. The presence of an armed force in their +midst, however small, it was supposed would summon them by thousands to the +standard of revolt, and convert the colony into a free republic. Men high +in office, men who had lived in Cuba and were supposed to be familiar with +the sentiments of its people, have uniformly represented that they were +ripe for revolt, and desired only the presence of a small military band to +serve as a nucleus for their force. Believing that the Cuban population +would aid them, American adventurers enlisted and were ruined. They found +no aid. Not a Cuban joined them. They were treated as pirates and robbers +from the first moment of their landing. Nor could they expect any other +treatment in case of failure. They ceased to be American citizens the +moment they set out, as invaders, for the shores of Cuba." + +[Illustration: A SPANISH BLOCK HOUSE] + +The excitement of the Lopez incident was passing when it was revived, +in 1854, by the _Black Warrior_ experience, to which reference is made +elsewhere. Another invasion was projected by exuberant and adventurous +Americans. It was to sail from New Orleans under command of General +Quitman, a former Governor of the State of Mississippi. No secret was +made of the expedition, and Quitman openly boasted of his purposes, in +Washington. The reports having reached the White House, President Pierce +issued a proclamation warning "all persons, citizens of the United States +and others residing therein" that the General Government would not fail to +prosecute with due energy all those who presumed to disregard the laws of +the land and our treaty obligations. He charged all officers of the United +States to exert all their lawful power to maintain the authority and +preserve the peace of the country. Quitman was arrested, and put under +bonds to respect the neutrality laws. There was a limited uprising in +Puerto Principe, in 1851, and a conspiracy was revealed, in Pinar del Rio, +in 1852. A few years later the Liberal Club in Havana and the Cuban Junta +in New York were reported as raising money and organizing expeditions. Some +sailed, but they accomplished little, except as the activities appear as a +manifestation of the persistent opposition on the part of what was probably +only a small minority of the Cuban people. For several years, the unrest +and the agitation continued. Spain's blindness to the situation is +puzzling. In his _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan says: +"Spain, after squandering a continent, had still clung tenaciously to Cuba; +and the changing governments which had been born (in Spain) only to be +strangled, held her with a taxing hand. While England had allowed her +colonies to rule themselves, Spain had persisted in keeping Cuba in the +same state of tutelage that existed when she was the greatest power in +the world, and when the idea of colonial rights had not developed." In +_Tomorrow in Cuba_, Mr. Pepper notes that "though the conception of +colonial home rule for Cuba was non-existent among the Spanish statesmen of +that day, the perception of it was clear on the part of the thinking +people of the island. The educated and wealthy Cubans who in 1865 formed +themselves into a national party and urged administrative and economic +changes upon Madrid felt the lack of understanding among Spanish statesmen. +The concessions asked were not a broad application of civil liberties. When +their programme was rejected in its entirety they ceased to ask favors. +They inaugurated the Ten Years' War." Regarding this action by the Cubans, +Dr. Enrique José Varona, a distinguished Cuban and a former deputy to the +Cortes, has stated that "before the insurrection of 1868, the reform party +which included the most enlightened, wealthy, and influential Cubans, +exhausted all the resources within their reach to induce Spain to initiate +a healthy change in her Cuban policy. The party started the publication of +periodicals in Madrid and in the island, addressed petitions, maintained a +great agitation throughout the country, and having succeeded in leading the +Spanish Government to make an inquiry into the economic, political, and +social conditions in Cuba, they presented a complete plan of government +which satisfied public requirements as well as the aspirations of the +people. The Spanish Government disdainfully cast aside the proposition as +useless, increased taxation, and proceeded to its exaction with extreme +severity." Here not seek its independence; the object was reform in +oppressive laws and in burdensome taxation, a measure of self-government, +under Spain, and a greater industrial and commercial freedom. It is most +difficult to understand the short-sightedness of the Spanish authorities. +The war soon followed the refusal of these entirely reasonable demands, and +the course of the Cubans is entirely to their credit. An acceptance of the +situation and a further submission would have shown them as contemptible. + +The details of a conflict that lasted for ten years are quite impossible +of presentation in a few pages. Nor are they of value or interest to any +except special students who can find them elaborately set forth in many +volumes, some in Spanish and a few in English. Having tried once before to +cover this period as briefly and as adequately as possible, I can do no +better here than to repeat the story as told in an earlier work (_Cuba, and +the Intervention_). On the 10th of October, 1868, Carlos Manuel Cespedes +and his associates raised the cry of Cuban independence at Yara, in the +Province of Puerto Principe (now Camaguey). On the 10th of April, 1869, +there was proclaimed the Constitution of the Cuban Republic. During the +intervening months, there was considerable fighting, though it was largely +in the nature of guerrilla skirmishing. The Spanish Minister of State +asserted in a memorandum issued to Spain's representatives in other +countries, under date of February 3, 1876, that at the outbreak of the +insurrection Spain had 7,500 troops, all told, in Cuba. According to +General Sickels, at that time the American Minister to Spain, this number +was increased by reinforcements of 34,500 within the first year of the war. +The accuracy of this information, however, has been questioned. Prior +to the establishment of the so-called Republic, the affairs of the +insurrection were in the hands of an Assembly of Representatives. On +February 26, this body issued a decree proclaiming the abolition of slavery +throughout the island, and calling upon those who thus received their +freedom to "contribute their efforts to the independence of Cuba." During +the opening days of April, 1869, the Assembly met at Guiamaro. On the tenth +of that month a government was organized, with a president, vice-president, +general-in-chief of the army, secretaries of departments, and a parliament +or congress. Carlos Manuel Cespedes was chosen as President, and Manuel +de Quesada as General-in-Chief. A Constitution was adopted. Señor Morales +Lemus was appointed as minister to the United States, to represent the new +Republic, and to ask official recognition by the American Government. The +government which the United States was asked to recognize was a somewhat +vague institution. The insurrection, or revolution, if it may be so +called, at this time consisted of a nominal central government, chiefly +self-organized and self-elected, and various roving bands, probably +numbering some thousands in their aggregate, of men rudely and +incompetently armed, and showing little or nothing of military organization +or method. + +Like all Cuban-Spanish wars and warfare, the destruction of property was a +common procedure. Some of the methods employed for the suppression of the +insurrection were not unlike those adopted by General Weyler in the later +war. At Bayamo, on April 4, 1869, Count Valmaseda, the Spanish Commandant +of that district, issued the following proclamation: + +1. Every man, from the age of fifteen years upward, found away from his +place of habitation, who does not prove a justified reason therefor, will +be shot. + +2. Every unoccupied habitation will be burned by the troops. + +3. Every habitation from which no white flag floats, as a signal that its +occupants desire peace, will be reduced to ashes. + +In the summer of 1869, the United States essayed a reconciliation and +an adjustment of the differences between the contestants. To this Spain +replied that the mediation of any nation in a purely domestic question was +wholly incompatible with the honor of Spain, and that the independence of +Cuba was inadmissible as a basis of negotiation. Heavy reinforcements were +sent from Spain, and the strife continued. The commerce of the island +was not greatly disturbed, for the reason that the great producing and +commercial centres lay to the westward, and the military activities were +confined, almost exclusively, to the eastern and central areas. In April, +1874, Mr. Fish, then Secretary of State, reported that "it is now more than +five years since the uprising (in Cuba) and it has been announced with +apparent authority, that Spain has lost upward of 80,000 men, and has +expended upward of $100,000,000, in efforts to suppress it; yet the +insurrection seems today as active and as powerful as it has ever been." +Spain's losses among her troops were not due so much to the casualties of +war as they were to the ravages of disease, especially yellow fever. The +process, in which both parties would appear to be about equally culpable, +of destroying property and taking life when occasion offered, proceedings +which are hardly to be dignified by the name of war, continued until the +beginning of 1878. Throughout the entire period of the war, the American +officials labored diligently for its termination on a basis that would give +fair promise of an enduring peace. Many questions arose concerning the +arrest of American citizens and the destruction of property of American +ownership. Proposals to grant the Cubans the rights of belligerents were +dismissed as not properly warranted by the conditions, and questions +arose regarding the supply of arms and ammunition, from this country, by +filibustering expeditions. References to Cuban affairs appear in many +presidential messages, and the matter was a subject of much discussion and +numerous measures in Congress. Diplomatic communication was constantly +active. In his message of December 7, 1875, President Grant said: "The past +year has furnished no evidence of an approaching termination of the ruinous +conflict which has been raging for seven years in the neighboring island +of Cuba. While conscious that the insurrection has shown a strength and +endurance which make it at least doubtful whether it be in the power of +Spain to subdue it, it seems unquestionable that no such civil organization +exists which may be recognized as an independent government capable of +performing its international obligations and entitled to be treated as one +of the powers of the earth." Nor did he then deem the grant of belligerent +rights to the Cubans as either expedient or properly warranted by the +circumstances. + +In 1878, Martinez Campos was Governor-General of Cuba, and Maximo Gomez +was Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban forces. Both parties were weary of +the prolonged hostilities, and neither was able to compel the other to +surrender. Spain, however, professed a willingness to yield an important +part of the demands of her rebellious subjects. Martinez Campos and Gomez +met at Zanjon and, on February 10, 1878, mutually agreed to what has been +variously called a peace pact, a treaty, and a capitulation. The agreement +was based on provisions for a redress of Cuban grievances through greater +civil, political, and administrative privileges for the Cubans, with +forgetfulness of the past and amnesty for all then under sentence for +political offences. Delay in carrying these provisions into effect gave +rise to an attempt to renew the struggle two years later, but the effort +was a failure. + +Matters then quieted down for a number of years. The Cubans waited to see +what would be done. The Spanish Governor-General still remained the supreme +power and, aside from the abolition of slavery, the application of the +Spanish Constitution and Spanish laws to Cuba, and Cuban representation +in the Cortes, much of which was rather form than fact, the island gained +little by the new conditions. Discontent and protest continued and, at +last, broke again into open rebellion in 1895. + +The story of that experience is told in another chapter. In 1906, there +came one of the most deplorable experiences in the history of the island, +the first and only discreditable revolution. The causes of the experience +are not open to our criticism. Our own records show too much of precisely +the same kind of work, illegal registration, ballot box stuffing, threats +and bribery. The first election in the new Republic was carried with only +a limited and somewhat perfunctory opposition to the candidacy of Estrada +Palma. Before the second election came, in 1905, he allied himself +definitely with an organization then known as the Moderate party. The +opposition was known as the Liberal party. Responsibility for the +disgraceful campaign that followed rests on both, almost equally. The +particular difference lies in the fact that, the principal offices having +been given to adherents of the Moderates, they were able to control both +registration and election proceedings. But the methods employed by the +opposition were no less censurable. Realizing defeat, the Liberals withdrew +from the field, by concerted action, on the day of the election, and the +Moderates elected every one of their candidates. Naturally, a feeling of +bitter resentment was created, and there came, in the spring of 1906, +rumors of armed revolt. In August, an actual insurrection was begun. +Disgruntled political leaders gathered formidable bands in Pinar del Rio +and in Santa Clara provinces. President Palma became seriously alarmed, +even actually frightened. Through the United States Consul-General in +Havana, he sent urgent appeals to Washington for naval and military aid. +Mr. Taft, then Secretary of War, and Mr. Bacon, the Assistant Secretary of +State, were sent to Havana to investigate and report on the situation. They +arrived in Havana on September 19. After ten days of careful and thorough +study, and earnest effort to effect an adjustment, a proclamation was +issued declaring the creation of a provisional government. This was +accepted by both parties and the insurgent bands dispersed. Charles E. +Magoon was sent down as Provisional Governor. Americans who are disposed to +censure the Cubans for this experience in their history, may perhaps turn +with profit to some little experiences in the history of their own country +in its political infancy, in 1786 and 1794. Those incidents do not relieve +the Cubans of the censure to which they are open, but they make it a +little difficult for us to condemn them with proper grace and dignity. The +provisional government continued until January 28, 1909, when control was +turned over to the duly elected officials, they being the same who withdrew +from the polls, acknowledging defeat, in the election of 1905. + + + + +X + +_INDEPENDENCE_ + + +Cuba's final movement for independence began on February 24, 1895. Under +the treaty of Zanjon, executed in 1878, Spain agreed to grant to the Cubans +such reforms as would remove their grounds of complaint, long continued. +The Cubans denied that the terms of the agreement had been kept. Those +terms are indicated in a statement submitted by Tomas Estrada y Palma to +Richard Olney, then Secretary of State of the United States. It bore the +date of December 7, 1895. The communication sets forth, from the Cuban +point of view, of course, the causes of the revolution of 1895. It says: + +"These causes are substantially the same as those of the former revolution, +lasting from 1868 to 1878, and terminating only on the representation of +the Spanish Government that Cuba would be granted such reforms as +would remove the grounds of complaint on the part of the Cuban people. +Unfortunately the hopes thus held out have never been realized. The +representation which was to be given the Cubans has proved to be absolutely +without character; taxes have been levied anew on everything conceivable; +the offices in the island have increased, but the officers are all +Spaniards; the native Cubans have been left with no public duties +whatsoever to perform, except the payment of taxes to the Government and +blackmail to the officials, without privilege even to move from place to +place in the island except on the permission of government authority. + +"Spain has framed laws so that the natives have substantially been deprived +of the right of suffrage. The taxes levied have been almost entirely +devoted to support the army and navy in Cuba, to pay interest on the debt +that Spain has saddled on the island, and to pay the salaries of the vast +number of Spanish office holders, devoting only $746,000 for internal +improvements out of the $26,000,000 collected by tax. No public schools are +in reach of the masses for their education. All the principal industries +of the island are hampered by excessive imposts. Her commerce with every +country but Spain has been crippled in every possible manner, as can +readily be seen by the frequent protests of shipowners and merchants. + +"The Cubans have no security of person or property. The judiciary are +instruments of the military authorities. Trial by military tribunals can be +ordered at any time at the will of the Captain-General. There is, besides, +no freedom of speech, press, or religion. In point of fact, the causes of +the Revolution of 1775 in this country were not nearly as grave as those +that have driven the Cuban people to the various insurrections which +culminated in the present revolution." + +Spain, of course, denied these charges, and asserted that the agreement had +been kept in good faith. The Spanish Government may have been technically +correct in its claim that all laws necessary to the fulfillment of its +promises had been enacted. But it seems entirely certain that they had not +been made effective. The conditions of the Cubans were in no way improved +and, some time before the outbreak, they began preparations for armed +resistance. In _Cuba and the Intervention_ (published in 1905) I have +already written an outline review of the experience of the revolution, and +I shall here make use of extracts from that volume. The notable leader +and instigator of the movement was José Marti, a patriot, a poet, and a +dreamer, but a man of action. He visited General Maximo Gomez at his home +in Santo Domingo, where that doughty old warrior had betaken himself after +the conclusion of the Ten Years' War. Gomez accepted the command of the +proposed army of Cuban liberation. Antonio Maceo also accepted a command. +He was a mulatto, an able and daring fighter, whose motives were perhaps a +compound of patriotism, hatred of Spain, and a love for the excitement of +warfare. Others whose names are written large in Cuba's history soon joined +the movement. A _junta_, or committee, was organized with headquarters in +New York. After the death of Marti, this was placed in charge of Tomas +Estrada y Palma, who afterward became the first President of the new +Republic. Its work was to raise funds, obtain and forward supplies and +ammunition, and to advance the cause in all possible ways. There were legal +battles to be fought by and through this organization, and Mr. Horatio S. +Rubens, a New York lawyer, was placed in charge of that department. The +twenty-fourth of February was set for the beginning of activities, but arms +were lacking, and while the movement was actually begun on that day, the +operations of the first six weeks or so were limited to numerous local +uprisings of little moment. But the local authorities became alarmed, and +martial law was proclaimed in Santa Clara and Matanzas provinces on the +27th. Spain became alarmed also, and immediately despatched General +Martinez Campos as Governor-General of the island, to succeed General +Calleja. He assumed command on April 16. Maceo and his associates, among +them his brother José, also a fighter of note, landed from Costa Rica +on April 1. Marti, Gomez, and others, reached the island on the 11th. +Meanwhile, Bartolomé Maso, an influential planter in Oriente, had been in +command of the forces in his vicinity. Many joined, and others stood ready +to join as soon as they could be equipped. Engagements with the Spanish +troops soon became a matter of daily occurrence, and Martinez Campos +realized that a formidable movement was on. Spain hurried thousands of +soldiers to the island. + +For the first five months, the insurgents kept their opponents busy with an +almost uninterrupted series of little engagements, a guerrilla warfare. In +one of these, on May 19, José Marti was killed. His death was a severe blow +to the patriots, but it served rather to inspire a greater activity than +to check the movement. His death came in the effort of a small band of +insurgents to pass the Spanish cordon designed to confine activities to +Oriente Province. Immediately after the death of Marti, Maximo Gomez +crossed that barrier and organized an army in Camaguey. The first +engagement properly to be regarded as a battle occurred at Peralejo, near +Bayamo, in Oriente, about the middle of July. The respective leaders were +Antonio Maceo and General Martinez Campos, in person. The victory fell to +Maceo, and Martinez Campos barely eluded capture. The engagements of the +Ten Years' War were confined to the then sparsely settled eastern half of +the island. Those of the revolution of 1895 covered the greater part of the +island, sweeping gradually but steadily from east to west. During my first +visit to Cuba, I was frequently puzzled by references to "the invasion." +"What invasion?" I asked, "Who invaded the country?" I found that it meant +the westward sweep of the liberating army under Gomez and Maceo. It +covered a period of more than two years of frequent fighting and general +destruction of property. Early in the operations Gomez issued the following +proclamation: + + +GENERAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION + +Najasa, Camaguey, July 1, 1895. + +To THE PLANTERS AND OWNERS OF CATTLE RANCHES: + +_In accord with the great interests of the revolution for the independence +of the country, and for which we are in arms_: + +WHEREAS, _all exploitations of any product whatsoever are aids and +resources to the Government that we are fighting, it is resolved by the +general-in-chief to issue this general order throughout the island, that +the introduction of articles of commerce, as well as beef and cattle, +into the towns occupied by the enemy, is absolutely prohibited. The sugar +plantations will stop their labors, and those who shall attempt to grind +the crop notwithstanding this order, will have their cane burned and their +buildings demolished. The person who, disobeying this order, shall try to +profit from the present situation of affairs, will show by his conduct +little respect for the rights of the revolution of redemption, and +therefore shall be considered as an enemy, treated as a traitor, and tried +as such in case of his capture_. + + (_Signed_) MAXIMO GOMEZ, + The General-in-Chief. + +This proved only partially effective, and it was followed by a circular to +commanding officers, a few months later, reading thus: + + +HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION + +Territory of Sancti Spiritus, November 6, 1895. + +_Animated by the spirit of unchangeable resolution in defence of the rights +of the revolution of redemption of this country of colonists, humiliated +and despised by Spain, and in harmony with what has been decreed concerning +the subject in the circular dated the 1st of July, I have ordered the +following_: + +ARTICLE I. _That all plantations shall be totally destroyed, their cane and +outbuildings burned, and railroad connections destroyed_. + +ARTICLE II. _All laborers who shall aid the sugar factories--these sources +of supplies that we must deprive the enemy of--shall be considered as +traitors to their country_. + +ARTICLE III. _All who are caught in the act, or whose violation of Article +II shall be proven, shall be shot. Let all chiefs of operations of the army +of liberty comply with this order, determined to furl triumphantly, even +over ruin and ashes, the flag of the Republic of Cuba_. + +_In regard to the manner of waging the war, follow the private instructions +that I have already given_. + +_For the sake of the honor of our arms and your well-known courage and +patriotism, it is expected that you will strictly comply with the above +orders_. + + _(Signed)_ MAXIMO GOMEZ, + General-in-Chief. + +To peace-loving souls, all this sounds very brutal, but all war is brutal +and barbarous. In our strife in the Philippines, from 1899 to 1902, many of +us were proud to be told that we were conducting a "humane war." There is +no such thing. The very terms are contradictory. Gomez had declared that +if Spain would not give up Cuba to the Cubans, the Cubans would themselves +render the island so worthless and desolate a possession that Spain could +not afford to hold it. Short of further submission to a rule that was, very +rightly, regarded as no longer endurable, no other course was open to them. +Another proclamation appeared a few days later. + + + HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF + LIBERATION + + Sancti Spiritus, November 11 1895. + +To HONEST MEN, VICTIMS OF THE TORCH: + +_The painful measure made necessary by the revolution of redemption +drenched in innocent blood from Hatuey to our own times by cruel and +merciless Spain will plunge you in misery. As general-in-chief of the army +of liberation, it is my duty to lead it to victory, without permitting +myself to be restrained or terrified, by any means necessary to place Cuba +in the shortest time in possession of her dearest ideal. I therefore place +the responsibility for so great a ruin on those who look on impassively and +force us to those extreme measures which they then condemn like dolts and +hypocrites as they are. After so many years of supplication, humiliation, +contumely, banishment, and death, when this people, of its own will, has +arisen in arms, there remains no solution but to triumph, it matters not +what means are employed to accomplish it_. + +_This people cannot hesitate between the wealth of Spain and the liberty +of Cuba. Its greatest crime would be to stain the land with blood without +effecting its purposes because of puerile scruples and fears which do not +concur with the character of the men who are in the field, challenging the +fury of an army which is one of the bravest in the world, but which in this +war is without enthusiasm or faith, ill-fed and unpaid. The war did not +begin February 24; it is about to begin now_. + +_The war had to be organized; it was necessary to calm and lead into +the proper channels the revolutionary spirit always exaggerated in the +beginning by wild enthusiasm. The struggle ought to begin in obedience to a +plan and method more or less studied, as the result of the peculiarities of +this war. This has already been done. Let Spain now send her soldiers to +rivet the chains on her slaves; the children of this land are in the field, +armed with the weapons of liberty. The struggle will be terrible, but +success will crown the revolution and the efforts of the oppressed_. + +(_Signed_) MAXIMO GOMEZ, +General-in-Chief. + +Such an address doubtless savors of bombast to many Americans, but in the +history of political and military oratory in their own land they can find +an endless number of speeches that, in that particular quality, rival if +they do not surpass it. The Cuban situation was desperate, and the Cuban +attitude was one of fixed determination. Productive industry was generally +suppressed, and much property was destroyed, by both Cubans and Spaniards. +This necessarily threw many out of employment, and drove them into the +insurgent ranks. The Cubans are a peaceful people. All desired relief from +oppressive conditions, but many did not want war. While many entered the +army from patriotic motives, many others were brought into it only as a +consequence of conditions created by the conflict. The measures adopted +were severe, but decision of the contest by pitched battles was quite +impossible. The quoted figures are somewhat unreliable, but the Spanish +forces outnumbered the Cubans by at least five to one, and they could +obtain freely the supplies and ammunition that the Cubans could obtain only +by filibustering expeditions. The Cubans, therefore, adopted a policy, the +only policy that afforded promise of success. Spain poured in fresh troops +until, by the close of 1895, its army is reported as numbering 200,000 men. + +The Cubans carried the contest westward from Oriente and Camaguey, through +Santa Clara, and into the provinces of Matanzas, Havana, and Pinar del Rio. + +[Illustration: ALONG THE HARBOR WALL _Havana_] + +The _trocha_ across the island, from Jucaro on the south to Moron on the +north, originally constructed during the Ten Years' War, was a line of +blockhouses, connected by barbed wire tangles, along a railway. This +obstructed but did not stop the Cuban advance. The authorities declared +martial law in the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Rio on January 2, +1896. Gomez advanced to Marianao, at Havana's very door, and that city was +terrified. Maceo was operating immediately beyond him in Pinar del Rio, +through the most important part of which he swept with torch and machete. +The Spaniards built a _trocha_ there from Mariel southward. Maceo crossed +it and continued his work of destruction, in which large numbers of the +people of the region joined. He burned and destroyed Spanish property; +the Spaniards, in retaliation, burned and destroyed property belonging to +Cubans. Along the highway from Marianao to Guanajay, out of many stately +country residences, only one was left standing. Villages were destroyed and +hamlets were wrecked. On one of his expeditions in December, 1896, Maceo +was killed near Punta Brava, within fifteen miles of Havana. Gomez planned +this westward sweep, from Oriente, six hundred miles away, but to Antonio +Maceo belongs a large part of the credit for its execution. The weakness of +the Ten Years' War was that it did not extend beyond the thinly populated +region of the east; Gomez and Maceo carried their war to the very gates of +the Spanish strongholds. There were occasional conflicts that might well be +called battles, but much of it was carried on by the Cubans by sudden and +unexpected dashes into Spanish camps or moving columns, brief but sometimes +bloody encounters from which the attacking force melted away after +inflicting such damage as it could. Guerrilla warfare is not perhaps a +respectable method of fighting. It involves much of what is commonly +regarded as outlawry, of pillage and of plunder, of destruction and +devastation. These results become respectable only when attained through +conventional processes, and are in some way supposed to be ennobled by +those processes. But they sometimes become the only means by which the weak +can meet the strong. Such they seemed to be in the Cuban revolt against +the Spaniards, when Maximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo made guerrilla warfare +almost a military science. Gomez formulated his plan of campaign, but, with +the means at his disposal, its successful execution was possible only by +the methods adopted. At all events, it succeeded. The Cubans were not +strong enough to drive Spain out of the island by force of arms, but they +showed themselves unconquerable by the Spanish troops. They had once +carried on a war for ten years in a limited area; by the methods adopted, +they could repeat that experience practically throughout the island. They +could at least keep insurrection alive until Spain should yield to their +terms, or until the United States should be compelled to intervene. No +great movements, but constant irritation, and the suspension of all +industry, was the policy adopted and pursued for the year 1897. + +But there was another side to it all, a different line of activity. +Immediately after his arrival on the island, on April 11, 1895, Marti +had issued a call for the selection of representatives to form a civil +government. He was killed before this was effected. An assembly met, at +Jimaguayu, in Camaguey, on September 13, 1895. It consisted of twenty +members, representing nearly all parts of the island. Its purpose was the +organization of a Cuban Republic. On the 16th, it adopted a Constitution +and, on the 18th, elected, as President, Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, and +as Vice-President, Bartolomé Maso. Secretaries and sub-secretaries were +duly chosen, and all were formally installed. Maximo Gomez was officially +appointed as General-in-Chief of the army, with Antonio Maceo as Lieutenant +General. Tomas Estrada y Palma was chosen as delegate plenipotentiary +and general agent abroad, with headquarters in New York. Both civil and +military organizations were, for a time, crude and somewhat incoherent. It +could not be otherwise. They were engaged in a movement that could only +succeed by success. Arms and money were lacking. The civil government was +desirable in a field that the military arm could not cover. Action lay with +the military and with the Cuban Junta in the United States. The latter +organization immediately became active. Calls were made for financial +assistance and liberal responses were made, chiefly by Cubans. In 1896 +and 1897, bonds were issued and sold, or were exchanged for supplies and +munitions of war. For a number of years scandalous stories were afloat +declaring that these bonds were printed by the acre, and issued, purely for +speculative purposes, to the extent of millions upon millions of dollars. +The truth is that every bond printed, whether issued or unissued, has been +fully accounted for, the actual issue being about $2,200,000. Provision was +made in Cuba's Constitution for the recognition of this indebtedness, and +it has since been discharged, while the plates and the unused bonds have +been destroyed. There may have been speculation in the bonds, as there was +in the bonds issued by the United States during the Civil War, but Cuba's +conduct in the whole matter has been honest and most honorable. In that +matter certainly, its detractors have been confounded. The principal +difficulty encountered by the _junta_ was the despatch to Cuba of the men +and the munitions so greatly needed by those in the field. That, however, +is a story that I shall endeavor to tell, in part, in another chapter. It +cannot now, if ever, be told in full. + +Meanwhile, a complicated political situation developed. The story is too +long and too complicated for review in detail. It may be given in general +outline. The Peace of 1878 was followed by the organization of political +parties, the Liberal and the Union Constitutional. At first, there was +comparatively little difference in the essence of their respective +platforms, but the lines diverged as the situation developed. The Liberal +party became, and remained, the Cuban party, and the Union Constitutional +became the Spanish party. Later on, the Liberals became the Autonomists. +Their object, for twenty years, was reform in conditions under the rule of +Spain. There was no independence party. That was organized, in 1895, by +Marti, Gomez, Maceo, Maso, and their associates. It had only one plank in +its platform--_Cuba Libre y Independiente_--whatever the cost to the island +and its people. "The Autonomist group," says Mr. Pepper, in his _Tomorrow +in Cuba_, "became as much a political party as it could become under +Spanish institutions." It grew in strength and influence, and continued its +agitation persistently and stubbornly. The Spanish Cortes busied itself +with discussion of Cuban affairs, but reached no conclusions, produced no +results. In 1893, there came the definite organization of the Reformist +party, with aims not differing greatly from those of the _Autonomistas_. +But Spain delayed until Marti and his followers struck their blow. Official +efforts to placate them failed utterly, as did efforts to intimidate them +or to conquer them. The Autonomists declared their support of the existing +Government, and rebuked the insurgents in a _manifesto_ issued on April 4, +1895, six weeks after the outbreak. They only succeeded in antagonizing +both sides, the Spanish authorities and the revolutionists. Spain, greatly +alarmed, recalled Martinez Campos and sent out Weyler to succeed him. +Had Spain followed the advice of Martinez Campos, the failure of the +insurrection would have been little short of certain. It sent out Weyler, +on whom the Cubans, twenty years earlier, had conferred the title of +"Butcher." This step threw to the side of the insurgents the great mass +of the middle class Cubans who had previously wavered in uncertainty, +questioning the success of revolution while adhering to its general +object. Weyler instituted the brutal policy that came to be known as +reconcentration. It may be said, in a way, that the Cuban forces themselves +instituted this policy. To clear the country in which they were operating, +they had ordered all Spaniards and Spanish sympathizers to betake +themselves to the cities and towns occupied by Spanish garrisons. This was +inconvenient for its victims, but its purpose was humane. Gomez also sought +to concentrate the Cubans, particularly the women and children, in the +recesses of the hills where they would be less exposed to danger than they +would be in their homes. This also was a humane purpose. + +Weyler's application of this policy was utterly brutal. The people of the +country were herded in prison camps, in settlements surrounded by stockades +or trenches beyond which they might not pass. No provision was made for +their food or maintenance. The victims were non-combatants, women, and +children. In his message of December, 1897, President McKinley said of +this system, as applied by Weyler, "It was not civilized warfare; it was +extermination. The only peace it could beget was that of the wilderness +and the grave." In my experience as a campaign correspondent in several +conflicts, I have necessarily seen more or less of gruesome sights, +the result of disease and wounds, but I have seen nothing in any way +comparable, in horror and pitifulness, to the victims of this abominable +system. To describe their condition in detail would be little short of +offensive, those groups of hopeless, helpless sufferers who lingered only +until death came and kindly put them out of their misery and pain. But by +this time, two forces had come into active operation, dire alarm in Spain +and wrath and indignation in the United States. Weyler had failed as +Martinez Campos, when leaving the island, predicted. He was recalled, and +was succeeded, on October 31, 1897, by General Blanco. The new incumbent +tried conciliation, but it failed. The work had gone too far. The party in +the field had become the dominant party, not to be suppressed either by +force of arms or by promises of political and economic reform. At last, +Spain yielded. Outside pressure on Madrid, chiefly from the United States, +prevailed. A scheme for Cuban autonomy was devised and, on January 1, +1898, was put into effect. But it came too late. It was welcomed by many +non-participants in the war, and a form of government was organized under +it. But the party then dominant, the army in the field, distrusted the +arrangement and would have none of it. All overtures were rejected and +the struggle continued. On February 15, 1898, came the disaster to the +battleship _Maine_, in the harbor of Havana. On April 11th, President +McKinley's historic message went to Congress, declaring that "the only hope +of relief and repose from a condition which can no longer be endured is the +enforced pacification of Cuba," and asking for power and authority to use +the military and naval forces of the United States to effect a termination +of the strife in Cuba. Such, in the briefest possible outline, is the +record of this eventful period, eventful alike for Cuba and for the United +States. + +During this struggle, the people of the United States became deeply +interested in the affairs of the island, and the Administration in +Washington became gravely concerned by them. A preceding chapter, on the +United States and Cuba, dropped the matter of the relations of this country +to the island at the end of the Ten Years' War, but the relations were by +no means dropped, nor were they even suspended. The affairs of the island +appear again and again in diplomatic correspondence and in presidential +messages. The platform of the Republican party, adopted at the national +convention in St. Louis, on June 18, 1896, contained the following: "From +the hour of achieving their own independence, the people of the United +States have regarded with sympathy the struggles of other American peoples +to free themselves from European domination. We watch with deep and abiding +interest the heroic battle of the Cuban patriots against cruelty and +oppression, and our best hopes go out for the full success of their +determined contest for liberty. The Government of Spain having lost control +of Cuba and being unable to protect the property or lives of resident +American citizens, or to comply with its treaty obligations, we believe +that the Government of the United States should actively use its influence +and good offices to restore peace and give independence to the island." +The Democratic party platform of the same year stated that "we extend our +sympathy to the people of Cuba in their heroic struggle for liberty and +independence." The platform of the People's party likewise expressed +sympathy, and declared the belief that the time had come when "the United +States should recognize that Cuba is and of right ought to be a free and +independent State." This may be regarded as the almost unanimous opinion of +the people of this country at that time. In 1896 and 1897 many resolutions +were introduced in the Congress urging action for the recognition of Cuban +independence. There was frequent and prolonged debate on the question, but +no final action was taken. In his message of December, 1897, President +McKinley said: "Of the untried measures (regarding Cuba) there remain +only: Recognition of the insurgents as belligerents; recognition of the +independence of Cuba; neutral intervention to end the war by imposing a +rational compromise between the contestants; and intervention in favor of +one or the other party. I speak not of forcible annexation, for that +cannot be thought of. That, by our code of morality, would be criminal +aggression." + +[Illustration: COUNTRY ROAD _Havana Province_] + +Recognition of the Cubans as belligerents would have effected a radical +change in the situation. It would have given the Cubans the right to buy in +the American market the arms and supplies that they could then only obtain +surreptitiously, that they could only ship by "filibustering expeditions," +by blockade-runners. In law, the propriety of granting belligerent rights +depends upon the establishment of certain facts, upon the proof of the +existence of certain conditions. Those conditions did then exist in Cuba. +An unanswerable argument was submitted by Horatio S. Rubens, Esq., the +able counsel of the Cuban _junta_ in New York. The Cubans never asked for +intervention by the United States; they did, with full justification, ask +for recognition as belligerents. The consent of this country was deemed +inexpedient on political rather than on moral grounds. Had it suited the +purposes of this country to grant that right, very much the same arguments +would have been made in support of the course as those that were used to +support the denial of Cuba's requests. Recognition of Cuban independence, +or intervention in favor of the Cubans, would have been the equivalent of +the grant of belligerent rights. But the policy adopted, and the course +pursued, did not serve to avert war with Spain. The story of that war has +been written by many, and is not for inclusion here. The treaty of peace +was signed, in Paris, on December 10, 1898, duly ratified by both parties +in the following months, and was finally proclaimed on April 11, 1899. The +war was over, but its definite termination was officially declared on the +anniversary of the issuance of President McKinley's war message. On January +1, 1899, the American flag was hoisted throughout the island, as a signal +of full authority, but subject to the provisions of the Teller Amendment to +the Joint Resolution of Congress, of April 20, 1898, thus: + +"That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to +exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said Island except +for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is +accomplished, to leave the government and control of the Island to its +people." + +At twelve o'clock, noon, on the 20th of May, 1902, there was gathered +in the State Apartment of the Palace occupied by many Spanish +Governors-General, the officials of the United States, the elected +officials of the new Cuban Republic, and a limited number of guests. In +that same apartment, General Castellanos signed the abdication of Spanish +authority. In its turn, pursuant to its pledges, the United States +transferred authority to the President of the Cuban Republic. Four +centuries of subjection, and a century of protest and struggle, were there +and then ended, and Cuba joined the sisterhood of independent nations. + + + + +XI + +_FILIBUSTERING_ + + +The term "filibuster" affords an interesting example of the way in which +words and their uses become twisted into something altogether different +from their original meaning. It comes from a Dutch word, several centuries +old, _vrijbuiter_, or free vessel or boat. It got somehow into English as +"freebooter," and into Spanish as _filibustero_. The original referred +to piracy. Two or three centuries later, it meant an engagement in +unauthorized and illegal warfare against foreign States, in effect, +piratical invasions. In time, it came into use to describe the supply +of military material to revolutionists, and finally to obstruction in +legislative proceedings. In his message of June 13, 1870, President Grant +said that "the duty of opposition to filibustering has been admitted by +every President. Washington encountered the efforts of Genet and the French +revolutionists; John Adams, the projects of Miranda; Jefferson, the schemes +of Aaron Burr. Madison and subsequent Presidents had to deal with the +question of foreign enlistment and equipment in the United States, and +since the days of John Quincy Adams it has been one of the constant cares +of the Government in the United States to prevent piratical expeditions +against the feeble Spanish American Republics from leaving our shores." + +In 1806, Francisco Miranda, a Venezuelan patriot whose revolutionary +activities preceded those of Simon Bolivar, sailed from New York on what +would have been called, some years later, a filibustering expedition. His +three vessels were manned chiefly by Americans. There are always those +whose love of excitement and adventure, sometimes mixed with an active +sympathy for an under dog, leads them to engage in such an enterprise. This +one was productive of no important results. There were plenty of American +pirates and privateers in earlier days, but I have found no record of any +earlier actual expedition whose purpose was the creation of a new republic. +But during the next hundred years, including the considerable number +of Americans who have engaged in the present disorder in Mexico, such +enterprises have been numerous. Among the most notable are the several +Lopez expeditions to Cuba, about 1850, and the Walker expeditions to +Lower California, Nicaragua, and Honduras, a few years later. The steamer +_Virginius_, to which reference is made in another chapter, was engaged +in filibustering when she was captured, in 1873, and many of her crew and +passengers unlawfully executed, by Spanish authority, in Santiago. But that +was only one of many similar enterprises during the Ten Years' War in Cuba. +It is very doubtful if the war could have continued as it did without them. +During our own Civil War, we called such industries "blockade-running," but +it was all quite the same sort of thing. The Confederate army needed arms, +ammunition, medicine, and supplies of many kinds. On April 19, 1861, +President Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of the ports of the seceded States, +with a supplementary proclamation on the 27th that completed the line, and +thus tied the South hand and foot. In his _History of the United States_, +Elson notes that raw cotton could be bought in Southern ports for four +cents a pound while it was worth $2.50 a pound in Liverpool, and that a ton +of salt worth seven or eight dollars in Nassau, a few miles off the coast, +was worth $1700 in gold in Richmond before the close of the war, all +because of the blockade. + +There is, naturally, a lack of detail regarding the many expeditions, large +and small, of the Ten Years' War, but they began soon after the opening of +hostilities. In his _Diary_, Gideon Welles notes, under date of April 7, +1869, the prevalence of "rumors of illegal expeditions fitting out in our +country to aid the Cuban insurgents," and states that "our countrymen are +in sympathy with them." In December, of that year, President Grant reported +that a number of illegal expeditions had been broken up, but did not +refer to those that had succeeded. In October, 1870, he issued a general +proclamation, without specific reference to Cuba, warning all persons +against engagement in such expeditions. During the years of the war, +Spanish warships, at different times, seized American vessels, a proceeding +which led to some active diplomatic negotiation, and which, on several +occasions, threatened to involve this country in war with Spain. The +problem of the industry variously known as filibustering, blockade-running, +gun-running, and the shipment of contraband, has two ends. There is, first, +the task of getting the shipment out of one country, and, second, the task +of getting it into another country. While it is generally classed as an +unlawful enterprise, there frequently arises a difficulty in proving +violation of law, even when goods are seized and the participants arrested. +There is, perhaps, a moral question involved also. Such shipments may be a +violation of the law. They are generally so regarded. But they may be, +as in the case of the struggling Cubans, struggling against actual +and generally admitted wrongs, the only means of serving a worthy and +commendable end. There is no doubt that, in Cuba's revolution of 1895, +Americans who knew about the work were prone to regard a successful +expedition to the island with satisfaction if not with glee. They were +inclined to regard those engaged as worthy patriots rather than as +law-breakers. + +Under date of February 23, 1898, the House of Representatives requested +the Secretary of the Treasury to inform that body "at the earliest date +practicable, if not incompatible with the public service, what has been +done by the United States to prevent the conveyance to the Cubans +of articles produced in the United States, and what to prevent +'filibustering,' and with what results, giving particulars, and at what +expense to the United States." A reply was sent on the 28th. It makes a +very good showing for the activities of the officials responsible for the +prevention of such expeditions, but from all I can learn about the matter, +it is quite incomplete. There were a number of excursions not set down in +the official records. Sailing dates and time and place of arrival were not +advertised in the daily papers. + +The official statement shows that sixty reports of alleged filibustering +expeditions were brought to the attention of the Treasury Department; that +twenty-eight of them were frustrated through efforts of the Department; +that five were frustrated by the United States Navy; four by Spain; two +wrecked; one driven back by storm; one failed through a combination of +causes; and seventeen that may be regarded as successful expeditions. The +records of the Cuban _junta_ very materially increase the number in the +latter class. The despatch of these expeditions was a three-cornered battle +of wits. The groups engaged were the officials of the United States, the +representatives of Spain, and the agents of the revolution. The United +States employed the revenue service and the navy, aided on land by the +Customs Service, the Secret Service, and other Federal officers. The +official representatives of Spain employed scores of detectives and Spanish +spies. The Cuban group sought to outwit them all, and succeeded remarkably +well in doing so. A part of the story has been told, with general +correctness, in a little volume entitled _A Captain Unafraid_, described +as _The Strange Adventures of Dynamite Johnny O'Brien_. This man, really a +remarkable man in his special line, was born in New York, in 1837, and, at +the time this is written, is still living. He was born and grew to boyhood +in the shadow of the numerous shipyards then in active operation along the +East River. The yards were his playground. At thirteen years of age, he ran +away and went to see as cook on a fishing sloop. He admits that he could +not then "cook a pot of water without burning it," but claims that he +could catch cod-fish where no one else could find them. From fisherman, +sailing-master on private yachts, schooner captain, and officer in the +United States Navy in the Civil War, he became a licensed East River pilot +in New York. He became what might be called a professional filibuster +at the time of the revolution in Colombia, in 1885, following that with +similar experience in a revolt in Honduras two years later. The Cubans +landed a few expeditions in 1895, but a greater number were blocked. +In March, 1896, they applied to O'Brien and engaged him to command the +_Bermuda_, then lying in New York and ready to sail. Captain O'Brien +reports that her cargo included "2,500 rifles, a 12-pounder Hotchkiss +field-gun, 1,500 revolvers, 200 short carbines, 1000 pounds of dynamite, +1,200 _machetes_, and an abundance of ammunition." All was packed in boxes +marked "codfish," and "medicines." + +The _Bermuda_ sailed the next morning, March 15, with O'Brien in command, +cleared for Vera Cruz. The Cubans, including General Calixto Garcia, who +were to go on the expedition, were sent to Atlantic City, there to engage a +fishing sloop to take them off-shore where they would be picked up by the +_Bermuda_ on her way. The ship was under suspicion, and was followed down +the bay by tugboats carrying United States marshals, customs officers, and +newspaper reporters. O'Brien says: "They hung on to us down through the +lower bay and out past Sandy Hook, without getting enough to pay for a +pound of the coal they were furiously burning to keep up with us. I don't +know how far they might have followed us, but when we were well clear of +the Hook, a kind fortune sent along a blinding snow-storm, which soon +chased them back home." General Garcia and his companions were picked up as +planned, and that part of the enterprise was completed. The vessel was +on its way. A somewhat roundabout route was taken in order to avoid any +possible overhauling by naval or revenue ships. The point selected for the +landing was a little harbor on the north coast about thirty miles from the +eastern end of the island. The party included two Cuban pilots, supposed to +know the coast where they were to land. One of them proved to be a traitor +and the other, O'Brien says, "was at best an ignoramus." The traitor, who, +after the landing, paid for his offence with his life, tried to take them +into the harbor of Baracoa, where lay five Spanish warships. But O'Brien +knew the difference, as shown by his official charts, between the Cape +Maisi light, visible for eighteen miles, and the Baracoa light, visible +for only eight miles, and kicked the pilot off the bridge. The landing was +begun at half-past ten at night, and completed about three o'clock in the +morning, with five Spanish warships barely more than five miles away. The +United States Treasury Department reported this expedition as "successful." +The vessel then proceeded to Honduras, where it took on a cargo of bananas, +and returned, under orders, to Philadelphia, the home city of its owner, +Mr. John D. Hart. Arrests were made soon after the arrival, including Hart, +the owner of the vessel, O'Brien, and his mate, and General Emilio Nuñez +who accompanied the expedition as the representative of the _junta_. The +case was transferred from the courts in Philadelphia to New York, and there +duly heard. The alleged offenders were defended by Horatio Rubens, Esq., of +New York, the official counsel of the _junta_. One of the grounds of the +defence was that the defendants might be guilty of smuggling arms into +Cuba, but with that offence the courts of the United States had nothing to +do. The jury disagreed. The indictments were held over the heads of the +members of the group, but no further action was taken, and two or three +years later the case was dismissed by order of the Attorney General of the +United States. + +This expedition fairly illustrates the science of filibustering in its +elementary form, a clearance with some attendant risk; a voyage with +possibility of interference at any time; and a landing made with still +greater risk and danger of capture. The trip had been made so successfully +and with such full satisfaction to the promoters that the _junta_ urged +O'Brien to remain with them as long as there should be need for his +services, and he agreed to do so. A department of expeditions was organized +under the general control of Emilio Nuñez, with O'Brien as navigator. +Credit for the numerous successful expeditions that followed lies in +differing degrees with Nuñez, Palma, Rubens, O'Brien, Hart, Cartaya, and +others less well known in connection with the enterprises. But for the work +they did, the risks they ran, Cuba's revolution must have failed. All of +them risked jail sentences, and some of them risked their lives in ways +perhaps even more dangerous than fighting in the field. The success of the +_Bermuda_ expedition, carried out by what may be called direct evasion, +quite seriously disturbed the authorities in this country, and excited them +to greater precautions and wider activity. Whatever may have been their +personal feelings in the matter, it was their duty to see that the laws of +the country were enforced as far as they could be. The players of the game +for the Cubans met the new activities with complicated moves, many of +which puzzled the watching officials, and landed a number of expeditions. +Meanwhile, minor expeditions continued. The official report notes that on +March 12, 1896, the _Commodore_, a 100-ton steamer, sailed from Charleston +with men, arms, and ammunition, and landed them in Cuba. The _Laurada_, a +900-ton steamer, was reported by the Spanish Legation as having sailed on +May 9, meeting three tugs and two lighters, off the coast, from which were +transferred men and arms. The report states that "some of the men landed in +Cuba, but the larger part of the arms and ammunition was thrown into the +sea," which may or may not have been the case. On May 23, the tug _Three +Friends_ left Jacksonville, took on men and arms from two small vessels +waiting outside, and landed all in Cuba. A month later, and again two +months later, the _Three Friends_ repeated the trip from Florida ports. On +June 17, the _Commodore_ made another successful trip from Charleston. + +While these and other minor expeditions were going on, the department of +expeditions in New York was busy with a more extensive enterprise. An order +was placed for 3000 rifles, 3,000,000 rounds of ammunition, 3 12-pound +Hotchkiss field-guns and 600 shells, _machetes_, and several tons of +dynamite. The steamer _Laurada_ was chartered, and the ocean-going tug +_Dauntless_ was bought in Brunswick, Georgia. A part of the purchased +munitions was ordered to New York, and the remainder, two car loads, +shipped to Jacksonville by express. Ostensibly, the _Laurada_ was to sail +from Philadelphia to Jamaica for a cargo of fruit, a business in which +she had at times engaged. Her actual instructions were to proceed to the +vicinity of Barnegat, about forty miles from New York, and there, at sea, +await orders. The arms and ammunition came down from Bridgeport on the +regular boat from that city, and were left on board until night. There was +no particular secrecy about the shipment, and detectives followed it. But +when, at dark, the big gates of the dock were closed and locked and all +seemed over for the day, the watchers assumed that nothing would be done +until the next day, and went away. But, immediately after their departure, +a big lighter slipped quietly into the dock across the wharf from the +Bridgeport boat, a swarm of men appeared and, behind the closed gates, in +the semi-darkness of the wharf, rushed boxes from steamer to lighter. The +work was finished at midnight; a tug slipped up and attached a hawser to +the lighter; and the cargo was on its way to Cuba. Johnny O'Brien was on +the tug. The _Laurada_ was met off Barnegat, as arranged, and the cargo and +about fifty Cubans put on board of her. She was ordered to proceed slowly +to Navassa Island where the _Dauntless_ would meet her. General Nuñez and +O'Brien returned to New York on the tug, and while the detectives suspected +that something had been done, they had no clue whatever to guide them. +Nuñez and O'Brien started immediately for Charleston, with detectives at +their heels. The _Commodore_, a tug then owned by the Cubans, lay in the +harbor of that city, with a revenue cutter standing guard over her. She was +ordered to get up steam and to go through all the motions of an immediate +departure. But this was a ruse to draw attention away from the actual +operations. Rubens, meanwhile, had gone to Jacksonville where he busied +himself in convincing the authorities that the tug _Three Friends_ was +about to get away with an expedition. With one revenue cutter watching the +_Commodore_ in Charleston, the other cutter in the neighborhood was engaged +in watching the _Three Friends_ in Jacksonville, thus leaving a clear coast +between those cities. In Charleston were about seventy-five Cubans waiting +a chance to get to the island. O'Brien states that about twenty-five +detectives were following their party. Late in the afternoon of August +13, while the smoke was pouring from the funnels of the _Commodore_, the +regular south-bound train pulled out of the city. Its rear car was a +reserved coach carrying the Cuban party, numbering a hundred or so. +Detectives tried to enter, but were told that it was a private car, which +it was. They went along in the forward cars. At ten o'clock that night, the +train reached Callahan, where the Coast Line crossed the Seaboard Air Line. +While the train was halted for the crossing, that rear car was quietly +uncoupled. The train went on, detectives and all. The railroad arrangements +were effected through the invaluable assistance of Mr. Alphonso Fritot, a +local railway man whose authority enabled him to do with trains and train +movement whatever he saw fit. He was himself of Cuban birth, though of +French-American parentage, with ample reason, both personal and patriotic, +for serving his Cuban friends, and his services were beyond measure. By his +orders, when that train with its band of detectives had pulled away for +Jacksonville, an engine picked up the detached car and ran it over to the +Coast Line. A few miles away, it collected from a blind siding the two cars +of arms and ammunition shipped some days before, from Bridgeport. A little +further on, the line crossed the Satilla River. There lay the _Dauntless_, +purchased by Rubens. Steam was up, and a quick job was made of transferring +cargo and men from train to boat. Another tug brought a supply of coal, and +soon after sunrise another expedition was on its way to Cuba. All this may +be very immoral, but some who were on the expedition have told me that it +was at least tremendously exciting. + +On August 17, the passengers and cargo were landed on the Cuban coast near +Nuevitas. The tug then proceeded to Navassa Island to meet the _Laurada_. +Half of the men and half of the cargo of the steamer were transferred to +the tug, and all were safely landed in a little cove a few miles west of +Santiago. The landing was made in broad daylight. There were a number of +Spanish naval vessels in Santiago harbor, and the city itself was filled +with Spanish troops. The tug then returned for the remainder of the +_Laurada's_ passengers and cargo, all of which were landed a few days later +at the place of the earlier landing. The _Laurada_ went on to Jamaica and +loaded with bananas, with which she sailed for Charleston. Arrests were +made as a result of the expedition, and the owner of the ship, Mr. John D. +Hart, was convicted and sentenced to sixteen months in the penitentiary. +After serving four months of his term, a pardon was secured. He is said to +be the only one, out of all those engaged in the many expeditions, who was +actually convicted, and his only offence was the chartering of his ships +to the Cuban revolutionists. The _Dauntless_ was seized on her return to +Jacksonville, but was soon released. An effort was made to indict O'Brien, +but there was too much sympathy for the Cubans in Florida, where the effort +was made. A number of minor expeditions were carried out in the next few +months, by the _Dauntless_, the _Three Friends_, and the _Commodore_, the +latter being wrecked in the last week in December. + +In February, 1897, another complicated manoeuvre was successfully executed. +This involved the use of the _Bermuda_, the _Laurada_, and no less than +seven smaller auxilliary vessels, tugs, lighters, and schooners. Rut the +_Laurada_ landed the cargo on the north-eastern coast of the island. +As O'Brien tells the story, this successful expedition so angered +Captain-General Weyler, then the ruler of the island, that he sent a +message to the daring filibuster, through an American newspaper man, +somewhat as follows: "Tell O'Brien that we will get him, sooner or later, +and when we do, instead of having him shot along with his Cuban companions, +I am going to have him ignominiously hanged from the flag-pole at Cabaña, +in full view of the city." Cabaña is the old fortress across the bay, +visible from nearly all parts of Havana. To this, O'Brien sent reply +saying: "To show my contempt for you and all who take orders from you, I +will make a landing within plain sight of Havana on my next trip to Cuba. +I may even land an expedition inside of the harbor and take you away a +prisoner. If we should capture you, which is much more likely than that you +will ever capture me, I will have you chopped up into small pieces and fed +to the fires of the _Dauntless_." A few months later, this little Irishman, +whom Weyler denounced as a "bloodthirsty, dare-devil," and who may have +been a dare-devil but was not bloodthirsty, actually carried out a part of +this seemingly reckless threat. He landed a cargo within a mile and a half +of Morro Castle. + +By this time, vessels of the United States navy were employed, +supplementing the work of the Revenue Service. This, of course, added both +difficulty and danger to the work. In March and April, several expeditions +were interrupted. For the Spanish blockade of the Cuban coast, there was +only contempt. Captain O'Brien told a naval officer that if the navy and +the revenue cutters would let him alone he would "advertise the time and +place of departure, carry excursions on every trip, and guarantee that +every expedition would be landed on time." In May, 1897, two carloads of +arms and ammunition were shipped from New York to Jacksonville, but, by +the authority of Mr. Fritot, they were quietly dropped from the train at +a junction point, and sent to Wilmington, N.C. Their contents were +transferred to the tug _Alexander Jones_, and that boat proceeded +nonchalantly down the river. Soon afterward, an old schooner, the _John +D. Long_, loaded with coal, followed the tug. Two revenue cutters were on +hand, but there was nothing in the movements of these vessels to excite +their interest. Off shore, the tug attached a towline to the schooner that +was carrying its coal supply, its own bunkers being crammed with guns and +cartridges. Off Palm Beach, General Nuñez and some sixty Cubans were taken +from a fishing boat, according to a prearranged plan. Two days later, at an +agreed upon place, they were joined by the _Dauntless_ which had slipped +out of Jacksonville. The excursion was then complete. About half the cargo +of the _Jones_ was transferred to the _Dauntless_ and was landed, May 21, a +few miles east of Nuevitas. A second trip took the remainder of the cargo +of the _Jones_ and most of the Cuban passengers, and landed the lot under +the very guns, such as they were, of Morro Castle, and within about three +miles of the Palace of Captain-General Weyler. All that time, a force of +insurgents under Rodriguez and Aurenguren was operating in that immediate +vicinity, and was in great need of the supplies thus obtained. Some of the +dynamite then landed was used the next day to blow up a train on which +Weyler was supposed to be travelling, but in their haste the Cubans got one +train ahead of that carrying the official party. The row that Weyler made +about this landing will probably never be forgotten by the subordinates who +were the immediate victims of his rage. + +These are only a few of the many expeditions, successful and unsuccessful, +made during those three eventful years. The Treasury Department report of +February 28, 1898, gives seventeen successful operations. As a matter of +fact, more than forty landings were made, although in a few cases a single +expedition accounted for two, and in one or two instances for three +landings. The experiences run through the entire gamut of human emotions, +from absurdity to tragedy. The former is illustrated by the case of the +_Dauntless_ when she was held up by a vessel of the United States navy, and +boarded by one of the officers of the ship. He examined the tug from stem +to stern, sat on boxes of ammunition which seemed to him to be boxes of +sardines, stumbled over packages of rifles from which butts and muzzles +protruded; and failed utterly to find anything that could be regarded as +contraband. The mere fact that a vessel is engaged in transporting arms and +ammunition does not, of necessity, bring it within reach of the law. But +that particular vessel was a good deal more than under suspicion; it was +under the closest surveillance and open to the sharpest scrutiny. The +temporary myopia of that particular lieutenant of the United States navy +was no more than an outward and visible sign of a well-developed sense of +humor, and an indication of at least a personal sympathy for the Cubans +in their struggle. Tragedy is illustrated by the disaster to the steamer +_Tillie_. One day, late in January, 1898, this vessel, lying off the end +of Long Island, took on one of the largest cargoes ever started on a +filibustering expedition to Cuba. The cause is not known, but soon after +starting a leak developed, beyond the capacity of the pumps. A heavy +sea was running, and disaster was soon inevitable. The cargo was thrown +overboard to lighten the ship and the vessel was headed for the shore on +the chance that it might float until it could be beached. The water in the +ship increased rapidly, and extinguished the fires under the boilers; the +wind, blowing a high gale, swung into the northwest, thus driving the now +helpless hulk out to sea. Huge combing waves swept the decks from end to +end. O'Brien tells the story: "We looked in vain for another craft of any +kind, and by the middle of the afternoon it seemed as though it was all up +with us, for there was not much daylight left, and with her deck almost +awash it was impossible that the _Tillie_ should keep afloat all night. The +gale had swept us rapidly out to sea. The wind, which was filled with icy +needles, had kicked up a wild cross-sea, and it was more comfortable to go +down with the ship than even to think of trying to escape in the boats." At +last, when there seemed no longer any hope of rescue, the big five-masted +schooner _Governor Ames_ came plunging through the heaving seas, and, +by masterly seamanship and good fortune, backed by the heroism of her +commander and crew, succeeded in taking off all except four, who went down +with the ship. But the work went on. There is not space here to tell of the +several vessels whose names, through the engagement of the craft in these +enterprises, became as familiar to newspaper readers as are the names of +ocean liners today. A few months later, the United States Government +sent its ships and its men to help those who, for three hard years, had +struggled for national independence. + + + + +XII + +_THE STORY OF SUGAR_ + + +Chemically, sugar is a compound belonging to the group of carbohydrates, or +organic compounds of carbon with oxygen and hydrogen. The group includes +sugars, starches, gums, and celluloses. Sugar is a product of the vegetable +kingdom, of plants, trees, root crops, etc. It is found in and is +producible from many growths. As a laboratory process, it is obtainable +from many sources, but, commercially, it is derived from only two, the +sugar cane and the beet root. This statement, however, has a certain +limitation in that it omits such products as maple sugar, malt sugar, milk +sugar, and others having commercial or chemical uses on a limited scale. +But it is only with the crystallized sucrose, the familiar sugar of the +market and the household, that we are dealing here. The output of the other +sugars is measurable in hundreds or even thousands of pounds, but the +output of the sugar of commerce is measured in millions of tons. Long +experience proves that the desired substance is most readily, most +abundantly, and most cheaply, obtained from the juices of the plant +commonly known as sugar cane, and from the vegetable known as the sugar +beet. + +The mechanical processes employed in producing sugar from cane and from +beets, are practically the same. They are, broadly, the extraction or +expression of the juices, their clarification and evaporation, and +crystallization. These processes produce what is called "raw sugar," of +varying percentages of sucrose content. Following them, there comes, +for American uses, the process of refining, of removing the so-called +impurities and foreign substances, and the final production of sugar in +the shape of white crystals of different size, of sugar as powdered, cube, +loaf, or other form. In the case of cane sugar, this is usually a secondary +operation not conducted in the original mill. In the case of beet sugar, +production is not infrequently a continuous operation in the same mill, +from the beet root to the bagged or barrelled sugar ready for the market. +The final product from both cane and beet is practically the same. Pure +sugar is pure sugar, whatever its source. In the commercial production, on +large scale, there remains a small fraction of molasses or other harmless +substances, indistinguishable by sight, taste, or smell. With that fraction +removed and an absolute 100 per cent. secured, there would be no way +by which the particular origin could be determined. For all practical +purposes, the sugar of commerce, whether from cane or beet, is pure sugar. +It is doubtful if an adulterated sugar can be found in the United States, +notwithstanding the tales of the grocer who "sands" his sugar, and of the +producer who adds _terra alba_ or some other adulterant. In some countries +of Europe and elsewhere, there are sugars of inferior grades, of 85 or 90 +or more degrees of sugar purity, but they are known as such and are sold at +prices adjusted to their quality. Sugars of that class are obtainable +in this country, but they are wanted almost exclusively for particular +industrial purposes, for their glucose rather than their sucrose content. +The American household, whether the home of the rich or of the poor, +demands the well-known white sugar of established purity. + +There is still obtainable, in this country, but in limited quantity, a +sugar very pleasantly remembered by many who have reached or passed middle +age. It was variously known as "Muscovado" sugar, or as "plantation sugar," +sometimes as "coffee" or "coffee crushed." It was a sugar somewhat +sweeter to the taste than the white sugar, by reason of the presence of +a percentage of molasses. It was a superior sugar for certain kitchen +products, for pies, certain kinds of cake, etc. It has many times been +urged in Congress that the employment of what is known as the Dutch +Standard, now abolished, excluded this sugar from our market. This is not +at all the fact. The disappearance of the commodity is due solely to change +in the mechanical methods of sugar production. It would be quite impossible +to supply the world's sugar demand by the old "open kettle" process by +which that sugar was made. The quality of sugar is easily tested by any one +who has a spoonful of sugar and a glass of water. If the sugar dissolves +entirely, and dissolves without discoloring the water, it may be accepted +as a pure sugar. + +In his book on _The World's Cane Sugar Industry--Past and Present_, Mr. +H.C. Prinsen Geerligs, a recognized expert authority on the subject, gives +an elaborate history of the origin and development of the industry. His +chapters on those branches are much too long for inclusion in full, but the +following extracts tell the story in general outline. He states that the +probability that sugar cane originally came from India is very strong, "as +only the ancient literature of that country mentions sugar cane, while we +know for certain that it was conveyed (from there) to other countries by +travellers and sailors." The plant appears in Hindu mythology. A certain +prince expressed a desire to be translated to heaven during his lifetime, +but Indra, the monarch of the celestial regions, refused to admit him. A +famous Hindu hermit, Vishva Mitra, prepared a temporary paradise for the +prince, and for his use created the sugar cane as a heavenly food during +his occupation of the place. The abode was afterward demolished, but the +delectable plant, and a few other luxuries, were "spread all over the land +of mortals as a permanent memorial of Vishva Mitra's miraculous deeds." In +the time of Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) there appear tales of "a +reed growing in India which produced honey without the aid of bees." + +The early references are to sugar cane and not to cane sugar. While there +may have been earlier experiences, the history of sugar, as such, seems to +begin in the 7th century (A.D.). There is a story that the Chinese Emperor, +Tai Tsung (627-650 A.D.) sent people to Behar, in India, to learn the art +of sugar manufacture. The Arabs and the Egyptians soon learned how to +purify sugar by re-crystallization, and to manufacture sweetmeats from the +purified sugar. Marco Polo, who visited China during the last quarter of +the 13th Century, refers to "a great many sugar factories in South China, +where sugar could be freely bought at low prices." The Mohammedan records +of that period also show the manufacture, in India, of crystallized sugar +and candy. The area of production at that time covered, generally, the +entire Mediterranean coast. The crusaders found extensive plantations in +Tripoli, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Syria, and elsewhere. The plant is said to +have been introduced in Spain as early as the year 755. Its cultivation is +said to have been a flourishing industry there in the year 1150. Through +China, it was early extended to Japan, Formosa, and the Philippines. The +records of the 14th Century show the production and distribution of sugar +as an important commercial enterprise in the Mediterranean region. The +Portuguese discoveries of the 15th Century carried the plant to the Azores, +the Cape Verde islands, and to possessions in the Gulf of Guinea. The +Spaniards took it to the Western Hemisphere in the early years of the 16th +Century. The Portuguese took it to Brazil at about the same time. While a +Chinese traveller, visiting Java in 424, reports the cultivation of sugar +cane, it was not until more than twelve hundred years later that the +island, now an important source of sugar supply, began the production of +sugar as a commercial enterprise. By the end of the 18th Century there +was what might be called a sugar belt, girdling the globe and extending, +roughly, from thirty-five degrees north of the equator to thirty-five +degrees south of that line. It was then a product of many of the countries +within those limits. The supply of that time was obtained entirely from +cane. + +The early years of the 19th Century brought a new experience in the sugar +business. That was the production of sugar, in commercial quantities, +from beets. From that time until now, the commodity has been a political +shuttlecock, the object of government bounties and the subject of taxation. +In 1747, Herr Marggraf, of the Academy of Sciences, in Berlin, discovered +the existence of crystallizable sugar in the juice of the beet and other +roots. No practical use was made of the discovery until 1801 when a factory +was established near Breslau, in Silesia. The European beet-sugar industry, +that has since attained enormous proportions, had its actual beginning in +the early years of the 19th Century. It was a result of the Napoleonic wars +of that period. When the wars were ended, and the blockades raised, the +industry was continued in France by the aid of premiums, differentials, and +practically prohibitory tariffs. The activities in other European countries +under similar conditions of governmental aid, came a little later. The +total world supply of sugar, including cane and beet, less than 1,500,000 +tons, even as recently as 1850, seems small in comparison with the world's +requirement of about twelve times that quantity at the present time. The +output of beet sugar was then only about 200,000 tons, as compared with a +present production of approximately 8,000,000 tons. But sugar was then a +costly luxury while it is today a cheaply supplied household necessity. As +recently as 1870, the wholesale price of granulated sugar in New York +was thirteen and a half cents a pound, or about three times the present +average. + +Cane sugar is produced in large or small quantities in some fifty +different countries and islands. In many, the output is only for domestic +consumption, or in quantity too small to warrant inclusion in the list of +sources of commercial supply. Sixteen countries are included in the list of +beet-sugar producers. Of these, all are in Europe with the exception of the +United States and Canada. Only two countries, the United States and +Spain, produce sugar from both beet and cane. British India leads in the +production of cane sugar, with Cuba a close second on the list, and Java +the third. In their total, these three countries supply about two-thirds +of the world's total output of cane sugar. Hawaii and Porto Rico, in that +order, stand next on the list of producers. Under normal conditions, +Germany leads in beet-sugar production, with Russia second, Austria-Hungary +third, France fourth, and the United States fifth, with Belgium, the +Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark following. The island of Cuba is +the most important source of commercial cane sugar. Immediately before +the revolution of 1895, its output a little exceeded a million tons. The +derangement caused by that experience covered several years, and it was not +until 1903 that so large a crop was again made. Since that time, the output +has more than doubled. The increase is attributable to the large increase +in demand in the United States, and to the advantage given Cuban sugar in +this market by the reciprocity treaty of 1903. Practically all of Cuba's +export product is in the class commonly known as 96 degree centrifugals, +that is, raw sugar of 96 per cent, or thereabout, of sugar content. Under +normal conditions, nearly all of Cuba's shipments are to the United States. +The sugar industry was introduced in Cuba very soon after the permanent +settlement of the island, by Spaniards, in the early years of the 16th +Century, but it was not until two hundred and fifty years later that +Spain's restrictive and oppressive colonial policy made even its fair +extension possible. In 1760, two and a half centuries after the first +settlement, the sugar exports of the island were a little less than 4,400 +tons. In 1790, they were a little more than 14,000 tons. Some relaxation of +the laws regulating production and exportation, made possible an increase +to 41,000 tons in 1802, and further relaxation made possible, in 1850, an +output somewhat unreliably reported as 223,000 tons. It reached 632,000 +tons in 1890, and the stimulus of the "free sugar" schedule of the United +States brought it, in the next few years, to more than a million tons. +Production in recent years has averaged about 2,500,000 tons. + +In forty years, only a little more than a single generation, the world's +supply of sugar has been multiplied by five, from a little more than three +million tons a year to nearly eighteen million tons. The total world output +in 1875 would not today supply the demand of the United States alone. +This increase in production has been made possible by improvements in the +methods and the machinery of manufacture. Until quite recently, primitive +methods were employed, much like those used in the production of maple +sugar on the farm, although on larger scale. More attention has been paid +to varieties of the plant and some, though no very great, change has been +made in field processes. In Cuba, the cane is planted in vast areas, in +thousands of acres. Some of the estates plant and cultivate their +own fields, and grind the cane in their own mills. Others, known as +"_colonos_," are planters only, the crop being sold to the mills commonly +called "_centrales_." In its general appearance, a field of sugar-cane +looks quite like a field of corn, but the method of cultivation is somewhat +different. The slow oxen are still commonly used for plowing and for +carts. This is not because of any lack of progressive spirit, but because +experience has shown that, under all conditions of the industry, the ox +makes the most satisfactory and economical motive power, notwithstanding +his lack of pace. + +The Encyclopædia describes sugar-cane as "a member of the grass family, +known botanically as _Saccbarum officinarum_. It is a tall, perennial +grass-like plant, giving off numerous erect stems 6 to 12 feet or more in +height, from a thick solid jointed root-stalk." The ground is plowed +in rows in which, not seed, but a stalk of cane is lightly buried. The +rootlets and the new cane spring from the joints of the planted stalk which +is laid flat and lengthwise of the row. It takes from a year to a year +and a half for the stalk to mature sufficiently for cutting and grinding. +Several cuttings, and sometimes many, are made from a single planting. +There are tales of fields on which cane has grown for forty years without +re-planting. A few years ago, ten or fifteen years was not an unusual +period. The present tendency is toward more frequent planting, but not +annual, as offering a better chance for stronger cane with a larger sugar +content. The whole process of cultivation and field treatment is hard, +heavy work, most of it very hard work. Probably the hardest and heaviest is +the cutting. This is done with a long, heavy-bladed knife, the _machete_. +The stalk, from an inch to two inches in thickness, is chopped down near +the root, the heavy knife swung with cut after cut, under a burning sun. +Only the strongest can stand it, a wearying, back-breaking task. After +cutting, the stalk is trimmed and loaded on carts to be hauled, according +to distance, either directly to the mill or to the railway running thereto. +The large estates have their own railway systems running to all the fields +of the plantation. These are private lines operated only for economy +in cane transportation. Most of the crushing mills measure their daily +consumption of cane in thousands of tons. While every precaution is taken, +there are occasional fires. In planting, wide "fire lanes," or uncultivated +strips are left to prevent the spread of fire if it occurs. + +Mill installations vary on the different plantations, but the general +principle of operation is the same on all. The first process is the +extraction of the juice that carries the sugar. It is probable that this +was originally done in hand mortars. Next came the passing of the cane +between wooden rollers turned by ox power, the rollers standing upright and +connected with a projecting shaft or beam to the outer end of which the +animal was attached, to plod around and around while the cane was fed +between the rollers. The present system is merely an expansion of that old +principle. At the mill, the stalks are dumped, by carload or by cartload, +into a channel through which they are mechanically conveyed to huge +rollers, placed horizontally, arranged in pairs or in sets of three, and +slowly turned by powerful engines. The larger mills have a series of these +rollers, two, three, or even four sets, the stalks passing from one to +another for the expression of every possible drop of the juice, up to the +point where the cost of juice extraction exceeds the value of the juice +obtained. The expressed juices are collected in troughs through which they +are run to the next operation. The crushed stalks, then known as _bagasse_, +are conveyed to the huge boilers where they are used as fuel for the +generation of the steam required in the various operations, from the +feeding and the turning of the rollers, to the device from which the final +product, the crystallized sugar, is poured into bags ready for shipment. +All this is a seasonal enterprise. The cane grows throughout the year, but +it begins to ripen in December. Then the mills start up and run until the +rains of the next May or June suspend further operations. It then becomes +impossible to haul the cane over the heavily mired roads from the muddy +fields. Usually, only a few mills begin their work in December, and early +June usually sees most of them shut down. The beginning of the rainy season +is not uniform, and there are mills in eastern Cuba that sometimes run into +July and even into August. But the general grinding season may be given as +of about five months duration, and busy months they are. The work goes on +night and day. + +The next step is the treatment of the juices expressed by the rollers and +collected in the troughs that carry it onward. The operations are highly +technical, and different methods are employed in different mills. The first +operation is one of purification. The juice, as it comes from the rollers, +carries such materials as glucose, salts, organic acids, and other +impurities, that must be removed. For this, lime is the principal agent. +The details of it all would be as tedious here as they are complicated +in the mill. The percentages of the different impurities vary with the +variation of the soils in which the cane is grown. The next step, following +clarification, is evaporation, the boiling out of a large percentage of +the water carried in the juice. For this purpose, a vacuum system is used, +making possible a more rapid evaporation with a smaller expenditure of +fuel. These two operations, clarification and evaporation by the use of the +vacuum, are merely improved methods for doing, on a large scale, what was +formerly done by boiling in pans or kettles, on a small scale. That method +is still used in many parts of the world, and even in the United States, in +a small way. For special reasons, it is still used on some of the Louisiana +plantations; it is common in the farm production of sorghum molasses in the +South; and in the manufacture of maple sugar in the North. In those places, +the juices are boiled in open pans or kettles, the impurities skimmed off +as they rise, and the boiling, for evaporation, is continued until a +proper consistency is reached, for molasses in the case of sorghum and for +crystallization in the case of plantation and maple sugars. There is an old +story of an erratic New England trader, in Newburyport, who called himself +Lord Timothy Dexter. In one of his shipments to the West Indies, a hundred +and fifty years ago, this picturesque individual included a consignment of +"warming pans," shallow metal basins with a cover and a long wooden handle, +used for warming beds on cold winter nights. The basin was filled with +coals from the fireplace, and then moved about between the sheets to take +off the chill. He was not a little ridiculed by his acquaintances for +sending such merchandise where it could not possibly be needed, but it is +said that he made considerable money out of his enterprise. With the covers +removed, the long-handled, shallow basins proved admirably adapted for use +in skimming the sugar in the boiling-pans. But the old-fashioned method +would be impossible today. + +The different operations are too complicated and too technical for more +than a reference to the purpose of the successive processes. Clarification +and evaporation having been completed, the next step is crystallization, +also a complicated operation. When this is done, there remains a dark brown +mass consisting of sugar crystals and molasses, and the next step is +the removal of all except a small percentage of the molasses. This +is accomplished by what are called the centrifugals, deep bowls with +perforated walls, whirled at two or three thousand revolutions a minute. +This expels the greater part of the molasses, and leaves a mass of +yellow-brown crystals, the coloring being due to the molasses remaining. +This is the raw sugar of commerce. Most of Cuba's raw product is classed +as "96 degree centrifugals," that is, the raw sugar, as it comes from the +centrifugal machines and is bagged for shipment, is of 96 degrees of sugar +purity. This is shipped to market, usually in full cargo lots. There it +goes to the refineries, where it is melted, clarified, evaporated, and +crystallized. This second clarification removes practically everything +except the pure crystallized sugar of the market and the table. It is then +an article of daily use in every household, and a subject of everlasting +debate in Congress. + + + + +XIII + +_VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES_ + + +The Encyclopædia Britannica states that "although the fact has been +controverted, there cannot be a doubt that the knowledge of tobacco and +its uses came to the rest of the world from America. As the continent was +opened up and explored, it became evident that the consumption of tobacco, +especially by smoking, was a universal and immemorial usage, in many cases +bound up with the most significant and solemn tribal ceremonials." The name +"tobacco" was originally the name of the appliance in which it was smoked +and not of the plant itself, just as the term "chowder" comes from the +vessel (_chaudière_) in which the compound was prepared. The tobacco plant +was first taken to Europe in 1558, by Francisco Fernandez, a physician who +had been sent to Mexico by Philip II to investigate the products of that +country. The English, however, appear to have been the first Europeans +to adopt the smoking habit, and Sir Walter Raleigh was notable for his +indulgence in the weed. He is said to have called for a solacing pipe just +before his execution. Very soon after their arrival, in 1607, the Virginia +settlers engaged in the cultivation of tobacco, and it soon became the most +important commercial product of the colony. Smoking, as practiced in this +country, appears to have been largely, and perhaps only, by means of pipes +generally similar to those now in use. The contents of ancient Indian +mounds, or tumuli, opened in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, show the +use of pipes by the aborigines probably centuries before the discoveries +by Columbus. Many were elaborately carved in porphyry or some other hard +stone, while others were made of baked clay. Others, many of them also +elaborately carved and ornamented, have been found in Mexico. Roman +antiquities show many pipes, but they do not show the use of tobacco. It +is assumed that they were used for burning incense, or for smoking some +aromatic herb or hemp. + +The first knowledge of the use of the plant in Cuba was in November, 1492, +when Columbus, on landing near Nuevitas, sent his messengers inland to +greet the supposed ruler of a supposed great Asiatic empire. Washington +Irving thus reports the story as it was told by Navarete, the Spanish +historian. Referring to those messengers, he says: "They beheld several of +the natives going about with firebrands in their hands, and certain dried +herbs which they rolled up in a leaf, and lighting one end, put the other +in their mouths, and continued exhaling and puffing out the smoke. A roll +of this kind they called a tobacco, a name since transferred to the plant +of which the rolls were made. The Spaniards, although prepared to meet with +wonders, were struck with astonishment at this singular and apparently +nauseous indulgence." A few years later, a different method was reported, +by Columbus, as employed in Hispaniola. This consisted of inhaling the +fumes of the leaf through a Y-shaped device applied to the nostrils. This +operation is said to have produced intoxication and stupefaction, which +appears to have been the desired result. The old name still continues +in Cuba, and if a smoker wants a cigar, he will get it by calling for a +"tobacco." The production of the plant is, next to sugar, Cuba's most +important commercial industry. Its early history is only imperfectly known. +There was probably very little commercial production during the 16th +Century, for the reason that there was then no demand for it. The demand +came in the first half of the 17th Century, and by the middle of that +period tobacco was known and used in practically all civilized countries. +The demand for it spread very rapidly, in spite of papal fulminations and +penal enactments. For a time, in Russia, the noses of smokers were cut off. +The early part of the 18th Century saw Cuba actively engaged in production +and shipment. In 1717, Cuba's tobacco was made a monopoly of the Spanish +Government. Under that system, production was regulated and prices were +fixed by the agents of the government, in utter disregard of the welfare +of the producers. As a result, several serious riots occurred. In 1723, +a large number of planters refused to accept the terms offered by the +officials, and destroyed the crops of those who did accept, a condition +repeated in the State of Kentucky a few years ago, the only difference +being that in the Cuban experience the monopolist was the Government, and +in Kentucky it was a corporation. A few years later, in 1734, the Cuban +monopoly was sold to Don José Tallapiedra who contracted to ship to Spain, +annually, three million pounds of tobacco. The contract was afterward given +to another, but control was resumed by the Crown, in 1760. Finally, in +1817, cultivation and trade were declared to be free, subject only to +taxation. + +[Illustration: STREET IN CAMAGUEY] + +In time, it became known that the choicest tobacco in the market came from +the western end of Cuba, from the Province of Pinar del Rio. It was given a +distinct name, _Vuelta Abajo_, a term variously translated but referring +to the downward bend of the section of the island in which that grade is +produced. Here is grown a tobacco that, thus far, has been impossible of +production elsewhere. Many experiments have been tried, in Cuba and in +other countries. Soils have been analyzed by chemists; seeds from the +_Vuelta Abajo_ have been planted; and localities have been sought where +climatic conditions corresponded. No success has been attained. Nor is the +crop of that region produced on an extensive scale, that is, the choicer +leaf. Not all of the tobacco is of the finest grade, although most of it is +of high quality. There are what may be called "patches" of ground, known +to the experts, on which the best is produced, for reasons not yet clearly +determined. The fact is well known, but the causes are somewhat mysterious. +Nor does the plant of this region appear to be susceptible of improvement +through any modern, scientific systems of cultivation. The quality +deteriorates rather than improves as a result of artificial fertilizers. +The people of the region, cultivating this special product through +generation after generation, seem to have developed a peculiar instinct for +its treatment. It is not impossible that a time may come when scientific +soil selection, seed selection, special cultivation, irrigation, and other +systems, singly or in combination, will make possible the production of a +standardized high-grade leaf in much greater quantity than heretofore, but +it seems little probable that anything so produced will excel or even equal +the best produced by these expert _vegueros_ by their indefinable but +thorough knowledge of the minutest peculiarities of this peculiar plant. +Thus far, it has not even been possible to produce it elsewhere in the +island. It has been tried outside of the fairly defined area of its +production, tried by men who knew it thoroughly within that area, tried +from the same seed, from soils that seem quite the same. But all failed. +Science may some day definitely locate the reasons, just as it may find the +reason for deterioration in the quality of Cuban tobacco eastward from that +area. The tobacco of Havana Province is excellent, but inferior to that of +Pinar del Rio. The growth of Santa Clara Province is of good quality, but +inferior to that of Havana Province, while the tobacco of eastern Cuba is +little short of an offence to a discriminating taste. + +Tobacco is grown from seeds, planted in specially prepared seed beds. +Seeding is begun in the early autumn. When the young plant has attained a +proper height, about eight or ten inches, it is removed to, and planted +in, the field of its final growth. This preliminary process demands skill, +knowledge, and careful attention equal, perhaps, to the requirements of the +later stages. Experiments have been made with mechanical appliances, but +most of the work is still done by hand, particularly in the area producing +the better qualities of leaf. From the time of transplanting, it is watched +with the greatest care. A constant battle is waged with weeds and insect +life, and water must be brought if the season is too dry. If rains are +excessive, as they sometimes are, the crop may be partly or wholly +destroyed, as it was in the autumn of 1914. The plant matures in January, +after four months of constant watchfulness and labor, in cultivation, +pruning, and protection from worms and insects. When the leaves are +properly ripened, the stalks are cut in sections, two leaves to a section. +These are hung on poles and taken to the drying sheds where they are +suspended for three or more weeks. The time of this process, and its +results, depend upon moisture, temperature, and treatment. All this is +again an operation demanding expert knowledge and constant care. When +properly cured, the leaves are packed in bales of about 110 pounds each, +and are then ready for the market. Because of the varying conditions under +which the leaf is produced, from year to year, it is somewhat difficult +to determine with any accuracy the increase in the industry. Broadly, the +output appears to have been practically doubled in the last twenty years, +a growth attributed to the new economic conditions, to the extension of +transportation facilities that have made possible the opening of new areas +to cultivation, and to the investment of capital, largely American capital. +The exports show, generally, a material increase in sales of leaf tobacco +and some decline in sales of cigars. The principal market for the leaf, for +about 85 per cent of it, is in the United States where it is made, with +more or less honesty, into "all-Havana" cigars. This country, however, +takes only about a third of Cuba's cigar output. The United Kingdom takes +about as much of that product as we do, and Germany, in normal times, takes +about half as much. The remainder is widely scattered, and genuine imported +Havana cigars are obtainable in all countries throughout the world. +The total value of Cuba's yearly tobacco crop is from $40,000,000 to +$50,000,000, including domestic consumption and foreign trade. + +The story that all Cubans, men and women alike, are habitual and constant +smokers, is not and never was true. Whatever it may have been in the past, +I am inclined to think that smoking by women is more common in this country +than it is in Cuba, particularly among the middle and upper social classes. +I have seen many American and English women smoke in public, but never a +Cuban woman. Nor is smoking by men without its exceptions. I doubt if the +percentage of non-smokers in this country is any greater than it is in +the island. There are many Cubans who do smoke, just as there are many +Americans, Englishmen, Germans, and Russians. Those who watch on the +street for a respectable Cuban woman with a cigar in her mouth, or even a +cigarette, will be disappointed. Cuba's tobacco is known by the name of the +region in which it is produced; the _Vuelta Abajo_ of Pinar del Rio; the +_Partidos_ of Havana Province; the _Manicaragua_ and the _Remedios_ of +Santa Clara; and the _Mayari_ of Oriente. Until quite recently, when +American organized capital secured control of many of the leading factories +in Cuba, it was possible to identify a cigar, in size and shape, by some +commonly employed name, such as _perfectos, conchas, panetelas, imperiales, +londres_, etc. The old names still appear, but to them there has been added +an almost interminable list in which the old distinction is almost +lost. Lost, too, or submerged, are many of the old well-known names of +manufacturers, names that were a guarantee of quality. There were also +names for different qualities, almost invariably reliable, and for color +that was supposed to mark the strength of the cigar. An accomplished smoker +may still follow the old system and call for a cigar to his liking, by the +use of the old terms and names made familiar by years of experience, but +the general run of smokers can only select, from a hundred or more boxes +bearing names and words that are unfamiliar or unknown, a cigar that +he thinks looks like one that he wants. It may be a "_superba_" an +"_imperial_" a "Wilson's Cabinet," or a "Havana Kid." + +There is a wide difference in the dates given as the time of the +introduction of the coffee plant in Cuba. One writer gives the year 1720, +another gives 1748, and still another gives 1769. Others give various years +near the end of the century. It was doubtless a minor industry for fifty +years or more before that time, but it was given an impetus and began to +assume commercial proportions during the closing years of the 18th Century. +During that century, the industry was somewhat extensively carried on in +the neighboring island of Santo Domingo. In 1790, a revolution broke out +in that island, including Haiti, and lasted, with more or less violent +activity, for nearly ten years. One result was the emigration to Cuba of +a considerable number of refugees, many of them French. They settled in +eastern Cuba, where conditions for coffee-growing are highly favorable. +Knowing that industry from their experience with it in the adjacent island, +these people naturally took it up in their new home. The cultivation of +coffee in Cuba, prior to that time, was largely in the neighborhood of +Havana, the region then of the greater settlement and development. For +the next forty years or so, the industry developed and coffee assumed a +considerable importance as an export commodity, in addition to the domestic +supply. In 1840, there were more than two thousand coffee plantations, +large and small, producing more than seventy million pounds of coffee, the +greater part of which was exported. From about the middle of the century, +the industry declined, in part because of lower prices due to increase in +the world-supply through increased production in other countries, and in +part, because of the larger chance of profit in the growing of sugar, an +industry then showing an increased importance. Coffee culture has never +been entirely suspended in the island, and efforts are made from time to +time to revive it, but for many years Cuba has imported most of its coffee +supply, the larger share being purchased from Porto Rico. It would be +easily possible for Cuba to produce its entire requirement. There are few +more beautiful sights in all the world than a field of coffee trees in +blossom. One writer has likened it to "millions of snow drops scattered +over a sea of green." They blossom, in Cuba, about the end of February or +early in March, the fruit season and picking coming in the autumn. Coffee +culture is an industry requiring great care and some knowledge, and the +preparation of the berry for the market involves no less of care and +knowledge. The quality of the Cuban berry is of the best. It is the +misfortune of the people of the United States that very few of them really +know anything about coffee and its qualities, notwithstanding the fact that +they consume about a billion pounds a year, all except a small percentage +of it being coffee of really inferior quality. But coffee, like cigars, +pickles, or music, is largely a matter of individual preference. + +Cuba produces a variety of vegetables, chiefly for domestic consumption, +and many fruits, some of which are exported. There is also a limited +production of grains. Among the tubers produced are sweet potatoes, white +potatoes, yams, the arum and the yucca. From the latter is made starch and +the cassava bread. The legumes are represented by varieties of beans and +peas. The most extensively used food of the island people is rice, only a +little of which is locally grown. The imports are valued at five or six +million dollars yearly. Corn is grown in some quantity, but nearly two +million dollars worth is imported yearly from the United States. There are +fruits of many kinds. The banana is the most important of the group, and is +grown throughout the island. It appears on the table of all, rich and +poor, sometimes _au naturel_ but more frequently cooked. There are many +varieties, some of which are exported while others are practically unknown +here. The Cuban mango is not of the best, but they are locally consumed by +the million. Only a few of the best are produced and those command a fancy +price even when they are obtainable. The aguacate, or alligator pear, is +produced in abundance. Cocoanuts are a product largely of the eastern end +of the island, although produced in fair supply elsewhere. The trees are +victims of a disastrous bud disease that has attacked them in recent years +causing heavy loss to growers. + +[Illustration: PALM-THATCHED ROOFS A PEASANT'S HOME] + +Since the American occupation, considerable attention has been given, +mainly by Americans, to the production of oranges, grape-fruit, and +pineapples, in which a considerable industry has been developed. There are +several varieties. The guava of Cuba makes a jelly that is superior to that +produced from the fruit in any other land of my experience. If there is a +better guava jelly produced anywhere, I should be pleased to sample it, +more pleased to obtain a supply. But there is a difference in the product +even there, just as there is a difference in currant or grape jelly +produced here. It depends a good deal on the maker. Some of the best of my +experience is made in the neighborhood of Santa Clara, but I have tried no +Cuban _jalea de guayaba_ that was not better than any I have had in the +Far East or elsewhere. The _guanabana_ is eaten in its natural state, but +serves its best purpose as a flavor for ices or cooling drinks. There are +a number of others, like the _anon_, the _zapote_, the _granadilla_, the +_mamey_, etc., with which visitors may experiment or not as they see fit. +Some like some of them and others like none of them. An excellent grade of +cacao, the basis of chocolate and cocoa, is produced in somewhat limited +quantity. The industry could easily be extended. In fact, there are many +soil products not now grown in the island but which might be grown there, +and many others now produced on small scale that could be produced in +important quantities. That they are not now so produced is due to lack of +both labor and capital. The industries of Cuba are, and always have been, +specialized. Sugar, tobacco, and at a time coffee, have absorbed the +capital and have afforded occupation for the greater number of the island +people. The lack of transportation facilities in earlier years, and +the system of land tenure, have made difficult if not impossible the +establishment of any large number of independent small farmers. The day +laborers in the tobacco fields and on sugar plantations have been unable to +save enough money to buy a little farm and equip it even if the land could +be purchased at all. Yet only a very small percentage of the area is +actually under cultivation. Cuba now imports nearly $40,000,000 worth of +alimentary substances, altogether too much for a country of its productive +possibilities. It is true that a part of this, such as wheat flour for +instance, cannot be produced on the island successfully, and that other +commodities, such as rice, hog products, and some other articles, can be +imported more cheaply than they can be produced locally. But the imports of +foodstuffs are undoubtedly excessive, although there are good reasons for +the present situation. It is a matter that will find adjustment in time. + +The island has mineral resources of considerable value, although the number +of products is limited. The Spanish discoverers did not find the precious +metals for which they were seeking, and while gold has since been found, +it has never appeared in quantity sufficient to warrant its exploitation. +Silver discoveries have been reported, but not in quantity to pay for its +extraction. Nothing is ever certain in those industries, but it is quite +safe to assume that Cuba is not a land of precious metals. Copper was +discovered in eastern Cuba as early as about the year 1530, and the mines +near Santiago were operated as a Government monopoly for some two hundred +years, when they were abandoned. They were idle for about a hundred years +when, in 1830, an English company with a capital of $2,400,000 reopened +them. It is officially reported that in the next forty years copper of a +value of more than $50,000,000 was extracted and shipped. During that +time, the mines were among the most notable in the world. In the meantime, +ownership was transferred to a Spanish corporation organized in Havana. +This concern became involved in litigation with the railway concerning +freight charges, and this experience was followed by the Ten Years' War, in +the early course of which the plant was destroyed and the mines flooded. In +1902, an American company was organized. It acquired practically all the +copper property in the Cobre field and began operations on an extensive and +expensive scale. A huge sum was spent in pumping thousands of tons of +water from a depth of hundreds of feet, in new equipment for the mining +operations, and in the construction of a smelter. The best that can be done +is to hope that the investors will some day get their money back. Without +any doubt, there is a large amount of copper there, and more in other parts +of Oriente. So is there copper in Camaguey, Santa Clara, and Matanzas +provinces. There are holes in the ground near the city of Camaguey that +indicate profitable operations in earlier years. The metal is spread over +a wide area in Pinar del Rio, and venturous spirits have spent many good +Spanish pesos and still better American dollars in efforts to locate +deposits big enough to pay for its excavation. Some of that class are at it +even now, and one concern is reported as doing a profitable business. + +The bitumens are represented in the island by asphalt, a low-grade coal, +and seepages of petroleum. At least, several writers tell of coal in the +vicinity of Havana, but the substance is probably only a particularly hard +asphaltum. The only real coal property of which I have any knowledge is a +quite recent discovery. The story was told me by the man whose money was +sought to develop it. It was, by the way, an anthracite property. In +response to an urgent invitation from a presumably reliable acquaintance, +my friend took his car and journeyed westward into Pinar del Rio, through a +charming country that he and I have many times enjoyed together. He picked +up his coal-discovering friend in the city of Pinar del Rio, and proceeded +into the country to inspect the coal-vein. At a number of points +immediately alongside the highway, his companion alighted to scrape away +a little of the surface of the earth and to return with a little lump of +really high-grade anthracite. Such a substance had no proper business +there, did not belong there geologically or otherwise. The explanation +soon dawned upon my friend. They were following the line of an abandoned +narrow-gauge railway, abandoned twenty years ago, along which had been +dumped, at intervals, little piles of perfectly good anthracite, imported +from Pennsylvania, for use by the portable engine used in the construction +of the road. My friend declares that he is entirely ready at any time to +swear that there are deposits of anthracite in Cuba. A very good quality +of asphalt is obtained in different parts of the island, and considerable +quantities have been shipped to the United States. Signs of petroleum +deposits have been strong enough to induce investigation and expenditure. +An American company is now at work drilling in Matanzas Province. The most +extensive and promising mineral industry is iron, especially in eastern +Cuba. Millions of tons of ore have been taken from the mountains along +the shore between Santiago and Guantanamo, and the supply appears to be +inexhaustible. The product is shipped to the United States, to a value of +several millions of dollars yearly. A few years ago, other and apparently +more extensive deposits were discovered in the northern section of Oriente, +The field bought by the Pennsylvania Steel Company is estimated to contain +600,000,000 tons of ore. The Bethlehem Steel Company is the owner of +another vast tract. The quality of these ores is excellent. In Oriente +Province also are deposits of manganese of which considerable shipments +have been made. + +It is not possible in so brief a survey of Cuba's resources and industries +to include all its present activities, to say nothing of its future +possibilities. At the present time, the island is practically an extensive +but only partly cultivated farm, producing mainly sugar and tobacco, with +fruits and vegetables as a side line. The metal deposits supplement this, +with promise of becoming increasingly valuable. The forest resources, +commercially, are not great, although there are, and will continue to be, +sales of mahogany and other fine hardwoods. Local manufacturing is on a +comparatively limited scale. All cities and many towns have their artisans, +the bakers, tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, and others. Cigar making +is, of course, classed as a manufacturing enterprise, and so, for census +purposes, is the conversion of the juice of the sugar-cane into sugar. +A number of cities have breweries, ice factories, match factories, soap +works, and other establishments large or small. All these, however, are +incidental to the great industries of the soil, and the greater part of +Cuba's requirements in the line of mill and factory products is imported. +While little is done in the shipment of cattle or beef, Cuba is a natural +cattle country. Water and nutritious grasses are abundant, and there are +vast areas, now idle, that might well be utilized for stock-raising. There +are, of course, just as there are elsewhere, various difficulties to be +met, but they are met and overcome. There are insects and diseases, but +these are controlled by properly applied scientific methods. There is open +feeding throughout the entire year, so there is no need of barns or hay. +The local cattle industry makes possible the shipment of some $2,500,000 +worth of hides and skins annually. Other lines of industry worthy of +mention, but not possible of detailed description here, include sponges, +tortoise shell, honey, wax, molasses, and henequen or sisal. All these +represent their individual thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, +and their employment of scores or hundreds of wage-earners. Those who start +for Cuba with a notion that the Cubans are an idle and lazy people, will +do well to revise that notion. There is not the hustle that may be seen +further north, but the results of Cuban activity, measured in dollars or in +tons, fairly dispute the notion of any national indolence. When two and a +half million people produce what is produced in Cuba, somebody has to work. + + + + +XIV + +_POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE_ + + +The British colonists in America were in large measure self-governing. This +is notably true in their local affairs. The Spanish colonists were +governed almost absolutely by the mother-country. A United States official +publication reports that "all government control centred in the Council of +the Indies and the King, and local self government, which was developed at +an early stage in the English colonies, became practically impossible in +the Spanish colonies, no matter to what extent it may have existed in +theory. Special regulations, decrees, etc., modifying the application of +the laws to the colonies or promulgating new laws were frequent, and their +compilation in 1680 was published as Law of the Indies. This and the _Siete +Partidas_, on which they were largely based, comprised the code under which +the Spanish-American colonies were governed." There was a paper provision, +during the greater part of the time, for a municipal electorate, the +franchise being limited to a few of the largest tax-payers. In its +practical operation, the system was nullified by the power vested in the +appointed ruler. It was a highly effective centralized organization in +which no man held office, high or low, who was not a mere instrument in the +hands of the Governor-General. Under such an institution the Cubans had, of +course, absolutely no experience in self-government. The rulers made laws +and the people obeyed them; they imposed taxes and spent the money as they +saw fit; many of them enriched themselves and their personally appointed +official household throughout the island, at the expense of the tax-payers. + +A competent observer has noted that such terms as "meeting," +"mass-meeting," "self-government," and "home-rule," had no equivalent in +the Spanish language. The first of these terms, distorted into "_mitin_," +is now in common use, and its origin is obvious. Of theories, ideals, and +intellectual conceptions, there was an abundance, but government based +on beautiful dreams does not succeed in this practical world. Denied +opportunity for free discussion of practical methods, the Cubans discussed +theories in lyceums. Under the military government of the United States, +from January 1, 1899, to May 20, 1902, there was freedom of speech and +freedom of organization. The Cubans began to hold "_mitins_," but visions +and beautiful theories characterized the addresses. Prior to the Ten Years' +War (1868-1878), there were organizations more or less political in their +nature, but the authorities were alert in preventing discussions of too +practical a character. In 1865, a number of influential Cubans organized +what has been somewhat inappropriately termed a "national party." It was +not at all a party in our use of that term. Its purpose was to suggest and +urge administrative and economic changes from the Cuban point of view. The +suggestions were ignored and, a few years later, revolution was adopted as +a means of emphasizing their importance. The result of the Ten Years' War +was an assortment of pledges of greater political and economic freedom. +Much was promised but little if anything was really granted. There was, +however, a relaxation of the earlier absolutism, and under that there +appeared a semblance of party organization, in the form of a Liberal party +and a Union Constitutional party. There was no special difference in what +might be called their platforms. Both focussed, in a somewhat general way, +the political aspirations and the economic desires of the Cuban people, +much the same aspirations and desires that had been manifested by +complaint, protest, and occasional outbreak, for fifty years. National +independence had no place in either. That came later, when an army in the +field declared that if Spain would not grant independence, the island would +be made so worthless a possession that Spain could not afford to hold it. +A few years after their organization, the Liberals became the Cuban party, +and so remained, and the Union Constitutionals became the Spanish party, +the party of the immediate administration. Later on, the Liberal party +became the Autonomist party, but Spain's concession of the demands of that +group came too late, forced, not by the Autonomists but by the party of the +Revolution that swept the island with fire and sword from Oriente to +Pinar del Rio. The Autonomists sought what their name indicates; the +Revolutionists demanded and secured national independence. + +Shortly before the final dispersion of the Army of the Revolution, +there was organized a body with the imposing title of _La Asamblea de +Representantes del Ejercito Cubano_, or the Assembly of Representatives +of the Cuban Army. It was composed of leaders of the different military +divisions of that army, and included, as I recall it, thirty-one members. +This group made no little trouble in the early days of the American +occupation. It gathered in Havana, held meetings, declared itself the +duly chosen and representative agent of the Cuban people, and demanded +recognition as such by the American authorities. Some of its members even +asserted that it constituted a _de facto_ government, and held that the +Americans should turn the whole affair over to them and promptly sail away. +But their recognition was flatly refused by the authorities. At the time, I +supported the authorities in this refusal, but afterward I felt less sure +of the wisdom of the course. As a recognized body, it might have been +useful; rejected, it made no little trouble. Transfer of control to its +hands was quite out of the question, but recognition and co-operation +might have proved helpful. That the body had a considerable representative +quality, there is no doubt. Later, I found many of its members as members +of the Constitutional Convention, and, still later, many of them have +served in high official positions, as governors of provinces, members of +Congress, in cabinet and in diplomatic positions. I am inclined to regard +the group broadly, as the origin of the present much divided Liberal party +that has, from the beginning of definite party organization, included a +considerable numerical majority of the Cuban voters. In the first national +election, held December 31, 1901, this group, the military group, appeared +as the National party, supporting Tomas Estrada y Palma as its candidate. +Its opponent was called the Republican party. Realizing its overwhelming +defeat, the latter withdrew on the day of the election, alleging all manner +of fraud and unfairness on the part of the Nationals. It is useless to +follow in detail the history of Cuba's political parties since that time. +In the election of 1905, the former National party appeared as the Liberal +party, supporting José Miguel Gomez, while its opponents appeared as the +Moderate party, supporting Estrada Palma who, first elected on what he +declared to be a non-partisan basis, had definitely affiliated himself with +the so-called Moderates. The election was a game of political crookedness +on both sides, and the Liberals withdrew on election day. The result +was the revolution of 1906. The Liberals split into factions, not yet +harmonized, and the Moderate party became the Conservative party. By the +fusion of some of the Liberal groups, that party carried the election of +1908, held under American auspices. A renewal of internal disorders, a +quarrel among leaders, and much discontent with their administrative +methods, resulted in the defeat of the Liberals in the campaign of 1912 +and in the election of General Mario Menocal, the head of the Conservative +ticket, and the present incumbent. + +A fair presentation of political conditions in Cuba is exceedingly +difficult, or rather it is difficult so to present them that they will be +fairly understood. I have always regarded the establishment of the Cuban +Republic in 1902 as premature, though probably unavoidable. A few years of +experience with an autonomous government under American auspices, civil and +not military, as a prologue to full independence, might have been the wiser +course, but such a plan seemed impossible. The Cubans in the field had +forced from Spain concessions that were satisfactory to many. Whether they +could have forced more than that, without the physical assistance given +by the United States, is perhaps doubtful. The matter might have been +determined by the grant of the belligerent rights for which they repeatedly +appealed to the United States. At no time in the entire experience did they +ask for intervention. That came as the result of a combination of American +wrath and American sympathy, and more in the interest of the United States +than because of concern for the Cubans. But, their victory won and Spain +expelled, the triumphant Cubans naturally desired immediate enjoyment of +the fruits of victory. They desired to exercise the independence for which +they had fought. Many protests and not a few threats of trouble attended +even the brief period of American occupation. There was, moreover, an acute +political issue in the United States. The peace and order declared as the +purpose of American intervention had been established. The amendment to +the Joint Resolution of April 20, 1898, disclaimed "any disposition or +intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said +Island except for the pacification thereof," etc. The island was pacified. +The amendment asserted, further, the determination of the United States, +pacification having been accomplished, "to leave the government and control +of the island to its people." There was no pledge of any prolonged course +of education in principles and methods of self-government. Nor did such +education play any appreciable part in the experience of the American +military government. The work of the interventors had been done in +accordance with the specifications, and the Cubans were increasingly +restless under a control that many of them, with no little reason, declared +to be as autocratic as any ever exercised by Spain. Transfer and departure +seemed to be the politic if not the only course, and we transferred and +departed. + +That these people, entirely without experience or training in +self-government, should make mistakes was quite as inevitable as it is that +a child in learning to walk will tumble down and bump its little nose. In +addition to the inevitable mistakes, there have been occasional instances +of deplorable misconduct on the part of individuals and of political +parties. For neither mistakes nor misconduct can we criticize or condemn +them without a similar criticism or condemnation of various experiences in +our own history. We should, at least, regard them with charity. There are, +moreover, incidents in the two experiences of American control of the +island that, at least, border on the unwise and the discreditable. The only +issue yet developed in Cuba is between good government and bad politics. +The first President started admirably along the line of the former, and +ended in a wretched tangle of the latter, though not at all by his own +choice or direction. Official pre-eminence and a "government job" make +quite the same appeal to the Cubans that they do to many thousands +of Americans. So do raids on the national treasury, and profitable +concessions. We see these motes in Cuban eyes somewhat more clearly than +we see the beams in our own eyes. A necessarily slow process of political +education is going on among the people, but in the meantime the +situation has afforded opportunity for exploitation by an assortment +of self-constituted political leaders who have adopted politics as a +profession and a means of livelihood. Cuba's gravest danger lies in the +political domination of men in this class. The present President, General +Mario Menocal, is not in that group. The office sought him; he did not seek +the office. Some of these self-constituted leaders have displayed a notable +aptitude for political organization, and it is largely by means of the +many little local organizations that the Cuban political game is played. +Although, I believe, somewhat less now than formerly, the little groups +follow and support individual leaders rather than parties or principles. +Parties and their minor divisions are known by the names of their leaders. +Thus, while both men are nominally of the same party, the Liberal, the +adherents of José Miguel Gomez, are known as Miguelistas, and the adherents +of Alfredo Zayas are known as Zayistas. Were either to announce himself +as a Conservative, or to start a new party and call it Reformist or +Progressive or any other title, he could count on being followed by most +of those who supported him as a Liberal. This is a condition that will, in +time, correct itself. What the Cuban really wants is what all people want, +an orderly, honest, and economical government, under which he may live in +peace and quiet, enjoying the fruits of his labor without paying an undue +share of the fruits to maintain his government. For that the Cuban people +took up arms against Spain. For a time they may be blinded by the idea of +mere political independence, but to that same issue they will yet return +by the route of the ballot-box. The game of politics for individual +preferment, or for personal profit, cannot long be successfully played +in Cuba, if I have rightly interpreted Cuban character and Cuban +characteristics. + +"We, the delegates of the people of Cuba, having met in constitutional +convention for the purpose of preparing and adopting the fundamental law of +their organization as an independent and sovereign people, establishing a +government capable of fulfilling its international obligations, maintaining +public peace, ensuring liberty, justice, and promoting the general welfare, +do hereby agree upon and adopt the following constitution, invoking the +protection of the Almighty. Article I. The people of Cuba are hereby +constituted a sovereign and independent State and adopt a republican form +of government." Thus opens the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba. + +I recall an intensely dramatic moment connected with the closing phrase of +the preamble. I have used a translation published by a distinguished Cuban. +That phrase, in the original, is "_invocando el favor de Dios_," perhaps +more exactly translated as "invoking the favor (or blessing) of God." When +the Constitution had been drafted and broadly approved, it was submitted +to the convention for suggestion of minor changes in verbiage. One of the +oldest and most distinguished members of the body proposed that this phrase +be left out. Another member, distinguished for his power as an orator and +for his cynicism, in a speech of considerable length set forth his opinion +that it made little difference whether it was included or excluded. There +was no benefit in its inclusion, and no advantage in excluding it. It would +hurt none and might please some to have it left in. Immediately across +the semi-circle of desks, and facing these two speakers, sat Señor Pedro +Llorente, a man of small stature, long, snow-white hair and beard, and a +nervous and alert manner. At times, his nervous energy made him almost +grotesque. At times, his absorbed earnestness made him, despite his +stature, a figure of commanding dignity. Through the preceding addresses he +waited with evident impatience. Obtaining recognition from the chairman, +he rose and stood with upraised hand his voice tremulous with emotion, to +protest against the proposed measure, declaring "as one not far from the +close of life, that the body there assembled did not represent an atheistic +people." The motion to strike out was lost, and the invocation remains. + +The result of the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention is a +highly creditable instrument. It contains a well-devised Bill of Rights, +and makes all necessary provision for governmental organization and +conduct. One feature, however, seems open to criticism. In their desire to +avoid that form of centralized control, of which they had somewhat too much +under Spanish power, the new institution provides, perhaps, for too much +local government, for a too extensive provincial and municipal system. It +has already fallen down in some respects, and it has become necessary to +centralize certain functions, quite as it has become desirable in several +of our own matters. Cuba has, perhaps, an undue overload of officialdom, +somewhat too many public officers, and quite too many people on its +pay-rolls. The feature of Cuba's Constitution that is of greatest interest +and importance to the United States is what is known as the Platt +Amendment. The provision for a Constitutional Convention in Cuba was made +in what was known as Civil Order No. 301, issued by the Military Governor, +on July 25, 1900. It provided for an election of delegates to meet in +Havana on the first Monday in November, following. The convention was to +frame and adopt a Constitution and "as a part thereof, to provide for and +agree with the Government of the United States upon the relations to exist +between that Government and the Government of Cuba," etc. Against this, the +Cubans protested vigorously. The United States had declared that "Cuba +is and of right ought to be free and independent." The Cubans held, very +properly, that definition of international relations had no fitting place +in a Constitution "as a part thereof." Their point was recognized and, +under date of November 5, Civil Order No. 310 was modified by Civil Order +No. 455. That was issued to the delegates at the time of their assembly. +It declared as follows: "It will be your duty, first, to frame and adopt a +Constitution for Cuba, and, when that has been done, to formulate what, +in your opinion, ought to be the relations between Cuba and the United +States." Taking this as their programme, the delegates proceeded to draft +a Constitution, leaving the matter of "relations" in abeyance for +consideration at the proper time. Yet, before its work was done, the +Convention was savagely criticized in the United States for its failure +to include in the Constitution what it had been authorized, and virtually +instructed, to leave out. The Constitution was completed on February 11, +1901, and was duly signed by the delegates, on February 21. A committee +was appointed, on February 11, to prepare and submit plans and proposals +regarding the matter of "relations." Prior to that, however, the matter had +been frequently but informally discussed by the delegates. Suggestions had +been made in the local press, and individual members of the Convention had +expressed their views with considerable freedom. Had the United States kept +its hands off at that time, a serious and critical situation, as well as +a sense of injustice that has not yet entirely died out, would have been +averted. + +Before the Cubans had time to put their "opinion of what ought to be +the relations" between the two countries into definite form, there was +presented to them, in a manner as needless as it was tactless, a statement +of what the American authorities thought those relations should be. The +Cubans, who were faithfully observing their earlier instructions, were +deeply offended by this interference, and by the way in which the +interference came. The measures known as the Platt Amendment was submitted +to the United States Senate, as an amendment to the Army Appropriation +bill, on February 25, 1901 The Senate passed the bill, and the House +concurred A storm of indignant protest swept over the island The Cubans +believed, and not without reason, that the instrument abridged the +independence of which they had been assured by those who now sought to +limit that independence. Public opinion in the United States was divided. +Some approved and some denounced the proceeding in bitter terms. The +division was not at all on party lines. The situation in Cuba was entirely +changed. Instead of formulating an opinion in accordance with their earlier +instructions, the members of the Convention were confronted by a choice of +what they then regarded as evils, acceptance of unacceptable terms or an +indefinite continuance of a military government then no less unacceptable. +A commission was sent to Washington to urge changes and modifications. It +was given dinners, lunches, and receptions, but nothing more. At last the +Cubans shrugged their shoulders. The desire for an immediate withdrawal of +American authority, and for Cuban assumption of the reins of government, +outweighed the objection to the terms imposed. A Cuban leader said: "There +is no use in objecting to the inevitable. It is either annexation or a +Republic with the Amendment. I prefer the latter." After four months of +stubborn opposition, the Cubans yielded, by a vote of sixteen to eleven, +with four absentees. + +In many ways, the Cuban Government is like our own. The President and +Vice-President are elected, through an electoral college, for a term of +four years. A "third term" is specifically prohibited by the Constitution. +Senators, four from each Province, are chosen, for a term of eight years, +by an electoral board. Elections for one half of the body occur every four +years. The House is chosen, by direct vote, for terms of four years, one +half being elected every two years. The Cabinet, selected and appointed by +the President, consists of eight Secretaries of Departments as follows: +Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor; State; Government; Treasury (_Hacienda_); +Public Instruction; Justice; Public Works; and Health and Charities. There +is a Supreme Court, and there are the usual minor courts. The Constitution +also makes provision for the organization and the powers of the Provincial +and Municipal Governments. To the Constitution, the Platt Amendment is +attached as an appendix, by treaty arrangement. As far as governmental +system is concerned, Cuba is fairly well equipped; a possible source of +danger is its over-equipment. Its laws permit, rather than require, an +overburden of officials, high and low. But Cuba's governmental problem +is essentially one of administration. Its particular obstacle in that +department is professional politics. + +The whole situation in Cuba is somewhat peculiar. The business of the +island, that is, the commercial business, the purchase and sale of +merchandise wholesale and retail, is almost entirely in the hands of +Spaniards. The Cuban youths seldom become clerks in stores. Most of the +so-called "_dependientes_" come out as boys from Spain. It is an old +established system. These lads, almost invariably hard workers, usually eat +and sleep in the place of their employment. The wage is small but board and +lodging, such as the latter is, are furnished. They are well fed, and the +whole system is quite paternal. For their recreation, education, and care +in case of illness, there are organizations, half club and half mutual +protective association, to which practically all belong. The fee is small +and the benefits many. Some of these are based on a regional plan, that is, +the _Centro de Asturianos_ is composed of those who come from the Spanish +province of Asturia, and those from other regions have their societies. +There is also a general society of "_dependientes_." Some of these groups +are rich, with large membership including not only the clerks of today but +those of the last thirty or forty years, men who by diligence and thrift +have risen to the top in Cuba's commercial life. Most of Cuba's business +men continue their membership in these organizations, and many contribute +liberally toward their maintenance. + +This system more or less effectively bars Cuban youths from commercial +life. Nor does commercial life seem attractive to more than a very limited +number. This leaves to them, practically, only three lines of possible +activity, the ownership and operation of a plantation, a profession, or +manual labor. The greater number there, as elsewhere, are laborers, either +on some little bit of ground they call their own or rent from its owner, +or they are employed by the proprietors of the larger estates. Such +proprietorship is, of course, open to only a few. The problem, which is +both social and political, appears in a class that cannot or will not +engage in manual labor, the well-educated or fairly-educated sons of men +of fair income and a social position. Many of these take some professional +course. But there is not room for so many in so small a country, and the +professions are greatly overcrowded. The surplus either loafs and lives by +its wits or at the expense of the family, or turns to the Government for +a "job." It constitutes a considerable element on which the aspiring +professional politician can draw for support. Having such "jobs," it +constitutes a heavy burden on the tax-payers; deprived of its places on the +Government pay-roll, it becomes a social and political menace. If a Liberal +administration throws them out of their comfortable posts, they become +noisy and perhaps violent Conservatives; if discharged by an economical +Conservative administration, they become no less noisy and no less +potentially violent Liberals. But we may not criticize. The American +control that followed the insurrection of 1906 set no example in +administrative economy for the Cubans to follow. + +The productive industries of the island have already been reviewed in other +chapters. The development of Cuba's commerce since the withdrawal of Spain, +and the substitution of a modern fiscal policy for an antiquated and +indefensible system, has been notable. It is, however, a mistake to +contrast the present condition with the condition existing at the time +of the American occupation, in 1899. The exact accuracy of the record is +questionable, but the returns for the year 1894, the year preceding the +revolution, show the total imports of the island as $77,000,000, and the +total exports as $99,000,000. The probability is that a proper valuation +would show a considerable advance in the value of the imports. The +statement of export values may be accepted. It may be assumed that had +there been no disorder, the trade of the island, by natural growth, would +have reached $90,000,000 for imports and $120,000,000, for exports, in +1900. That may be regarded as a fair normal. As it was, the imports of that +year were $72,000,000, and the exports, by reason of the general wreck of +the sugar business, were only $45,000,000. With peace and order fairly +assured, recovery came quickly. The exports of 1905, at $99,000,000, +equalled those of 1894, while the imports materially exceeded those of the +earlier year. In 1913, the exports reached $165,207,000, and the imports +$132,290,000. This growth of Cuba's commerce and industry is due mainly to +the economic requirements of the American people. We need Cuba's sugar and +we want its tobacco. These two commodities represent about 90 per cent, +of the total exports of the island. We buy nearly all of its sugar, under +normal conditions, and about 60 per cent, of its tobacco and cigars. On the +basis of the total commerce of the island, the records of recent years show +this country as the source of supply for about 53 per cent, of Cuba's +total imports, and as the market for about 83 per cent, of its exports. A +comparison of the years 1903 and 1913 shows a gain of about $87,000,000 in +Cuba's total exports. Of this, about $75,000,000 is represented by sugar. +The crop of 1894 a little exceeded a million tons. Such a quantity was +not again produced until 1903. With yearly variations, due to weather +conditions, later years show an enormous and unprecedented increase. The +crops of 1913 and 1914 were, approximately, 2,500,000 tons each. The +tobacco industry shows only a modest gain. The average value of the exports +of that commodity has risen, in ten years, from about $25,000,000 to about +$30,000,000. The increase in the industry appears largely in the shipment +of leaf tobacco. The cigar business shows practically no change, in that +time, as far as values are concerned. This résumé affords a fair idea of +Cuba's trade expansion under the conditions established through the change +in government. That event opened new and larger doors of opportunity, and +the Cubans and others have been prompt in taking advantage of them. Toward +the great increase shown, two forces have operated effectively. One is the +treaty by which the provisions of the so-called Platt Amendment to the +Cuban Constitution are made permanently effective. The other is the +reciprocity treaty of 1903. + +By the operation of the former of these instruments the United States +virtually underwrites the political stability and the financial +responsibility of the Cuban Government. That Government cannot borrow any +important sums without the consent of the United States, and it has agreed +that this country "may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation +of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the +protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for discharging +the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of Paris on the +United States." This assumption of responsibility by the United States +inspired confidence on the part of capital, and large sums have been +invested in Cuban bonds, and in numerous public and private enterprises. +Railways and trolley lines have been built and many other works of public +utility have been undertaken. The activities of old sugar plantations have +been extended under improved conditions, and many new estates with costly +modern equipment have been created. The cultivation of large areas, +previously lying waste and idle, afforded both directly and indirectly +employment for an increased population, as did the numerous public works. +The other force, perhaps no less effective, appears in the reciprocity +treaty of 1903. This gave to Cuba's most important crop a large though by +no means absolute control of the constantly increasing sugar market of +the United States, as far as competition from other foreign countries +was concerned. The sugar industry of the island may be said to have been +restored to its normal proportions in 1903. Our imports for the five-year +period 1904-1908 averaged 1,200,000 tons a year. For the five-year period +1910-1914 they averaged 1,720,000 tons. In 1914, they were 2,200,000 tons +as compared with 1,260,000 tons in 1904. It is doubtful if the treaty had +any appreciable influence on the exports of Cuban tobacco to this country. +We buy Cuba's special tobacco irrespective of a custom-house advantage +that affects the box price only a little, and the price of a single cigar +probably not at all. On the other side of the account, that of our sales +to Cuba, there also appears a large increase since the application of the +reciprocity treaty. Using the figures showing exports from the United +States to Cuba, instead of Cuba's records showing imports from this +country, it appears that our sales to the island in the fiscal year 1903, +immediately preceding the operation of the treaty, amounted to $21,761,638. +In the fiscal year 1913 they were $70,581,000, and in 1914 were +$68,884,000. + +Not all of this quite remarkable gain may properly be credited to the +influence of the reciprocity treaty. The purchases of the island are +determined, broadly, by its sales. As the latter increase, so do the +former. Almost invariably, a year of large export sales is followed by a +year of heavy import purchases. The fact that our imports from Cuba are +double our sales to Cuba, in the total of a period of years, has given rise +to some foolish criticism of the Cubans on the ground that, we buying so +heavily from them, they should purchase from us a much larger percentage of +their import requirements. No such obligation is held to exist in regard +to our trade with other lands, and it should have no place in any +consideration of our trade with Cuba. There are many markets, like Brazil, +British India, Japan, China, Mexico, and Egypt, in which our purchases +exceed our sales. There are more, like the United Kingdom, France, Germany, +Italy, Canada, Central America, and numerous others, in which our sales +considerably or greatly exceed our purchases. We do not buy from them +simply because they buy from us. We buy what we need or want in that market +in which we can buy to the greatest advantage. The Cuban merchants, who are +nearly all Spaniards, do the same. The notion held by some that, because +of our service to Cuba in the time of her struggle for national life, the +Cubans should buy from us is both foolish and altogether unworthy. Any +notion of Cuba's obligation to pay us for what we may have done for her +should be promptly dismissed and forgotten. There are commodities, such as +lumber, pork products, coal, wheat flour, and mineral oil produces, +that Cuba can buy in our markets on terms better than those obtainable +elsewhere. Other commodities, such as textiles, leather goods, sugar mill +equipment, railway equipment, drugs, chemicals, and much else, must be +sold by American dealers in sharp competition with the merchants of other +countries, with such assistance as may be afforded by the reciprocity +treaty. That instrument gives us a custom-house advantage of 20, 25, 30, +and 40 per cent, in the tariff rates. It is enough in some cases to give +us a fair equality with European sellers, and in a few cases to give us a +narrow margin of advantage over them. It does not give us enough to compel +Cuban buyers to trade with us because of lower delivered prices. + +Cuba's economic future can be safely predicted on the basis of its past. +The pace of its development will depend mainly upon a further influx of +capital and an increase in its working population. Its political future +is less certain. There is ample ground for both hope and belief that the +little clouds that hang on the political horizon will be dissipated, that +there will come, year by year, a sane adjustment to the new institutions. +But full assurance of peace and order will come only when the people of the +island, whether planters or peasants, see clearly the difference between a +government conducted in their interest and a government conducted by Cubans +along Spanish lines. + + + + +INDEX + + +A + +Adams, President John, 127 +Angulo, Governor de, 59 +Animals, wild, 50 +Asphalt, 232, 233 +Autonomy, 143, 178 + + +B + +Babeque, 6, 7 +Bacon, Hon. Robert, 160 +Bacon's Rebellion, 144 +Ballou, M.M., 31, 32, 71 +Banes, 113 +Baracoa, 12, 91, 100, 114 +Batabano, 12, 116 +Baths, 52 +Bellamar, Caves of, 42,110 +Belligerent rights, 136, 140, 157, 158, 181 +_Bermuda_, 189, 197 +Bertram, Luis, 14 +Betancourt, Salvador Cisneros, 174 +Black Eagle conspiracy, 147 +_Black Warrior_, 131 +Blanco, General Ramon, 178 +Bolivia, 126 +Bolivar, Simon, 124, 185 +Bonds, Cuban, 175 +Boston sugar plantation, 113 +Buchanan, President, 130 + + +C + +Cabaña, 57, 60 +Cabinet, Cuban, 250 +Cabrera, Raimundo, 135 +Cadiz, 20 +Caibarien, 102 +Callahan, James M., 125, 139, 152 +Camaguey, city, 105, 110, 111 +Camaguey, province, 40, 109 +Cardenas, 101 +Casa de Beneficencia, 24 +Castillo del Principe, 57, 60, 71, 83 +Cathay, 3 +Cathedral, Havana, 63 +Cattle, 17, 235 +Cauto river, 43 +Caves, 42 +Cemetery, Colon, 83 +Census Reports, United States, 27, 35, 44, 144, 236 +Cespedes, Carlos Manuel,154, 155 +Channing, Edward, 142, 143 +Chaparra sugar plantation, 113 +Ciego de Avila, 106 +Cienaga de Zapata, 43, 51 +Cienfuegos, 102 +Cigars, 224, 225, 254 +Cipango, 2, 5 +Clerks' Associations, 251 +Climate, 45 et seq. +Coal, 232 +Coffee, 23, 36, 226, et seq. +Colonies, American in Cuba, 12, 120 +Colonies, British, 19, 236 +Colonies, Spanish, 19, 21, 123, 126 +Columbia, 124, 145 +Columbus, Christopher + Death and remains, 63 + Describes Cuba, 3, 4, 7 + Discovers Cuba, 2 + Extract from journal, 2 + Letter to Sanchez, 3 + Memorial to, 64 + Mistaken belief, 2, 3, 5, 8 + Report to Spanish sovereigns, 7 + Second expedition, 7 +Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257 +_Commodore_, 193, 195, 197 +Constitutional Convention, 247 +Constitution, Cuban, 154, 245, 246 +Constitution, Spanish, 29, 145, 159 +Copper, 231, 232 +Cordoba, de, 12 +Cortes, Hernan, 13, 58 +Cortes, Spanish, 29, 176 +Crittenden, Col., 150 +Cuba: + Aborigines, 14, 15. + Advice to visitors, 55. + American attitude toward, 135, 137, 140. + Annexation proposed, 125 et seq. + Animals, wild, 49. + Area, 37. + Climate and temperature, 45 et seq. + Colonized, 12. + Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257. + Conquest by Velasquez, II. + Described by Columbus, 3, 4, 7. + Description, general, 37 et seq. + Discovered, 2. + Expeditions from, 13, 14. + Flora, 48. + Forests, 49. + Future of, 258. + Insects, 51. + Intervention by United States, 25, 160, 182, 242. + Mineral springs, 52. + Monopolies in, 20, 144, 220, 231. + Monroe Doctrine, 127. + Nineteenth Century, 142. + Population, 17, 23, 34. + Railways, 89, 91. + Relations with United States, 122 et seq., 247, 248. + Republic of, 182. + Revolutions, 141 et seq. + Roads, 87, 95, 96. + Self-government, 243. + Slavery in, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155. + Spanish Governors, 24, 32. + Spanish policy in, 17, 19 et seq. 24, 31. + Trade restrictions, 20, 21, 24, 25, 30. + Taxation, Spanish, 24, 27, 28, 30. + Villages, 85, 93, 94, 100 +_Cuba and the Intervention_, 154, 164 +Cushing, Caleb, 138 +Custom house, 62 + + +D + +_Dauntless_, 193, 194, 197, 199, 200 +Delicias sugar plantation, 113 +Dexter, Lord Timothy, 216 +Domestic life, 80 + + +E + +EARTHQUAKES, 53 +Elections, 240, 250 +Elson, Henry William, 186 +England, 19, 128, 130, 139, 145 +Everett, Alexander H., 130 + + +F + +FILIBUSTERING expeditions, 148 et seq., 184 et seq. +Firemen, 83 +Fish, Secretary, 157 +Flora, 48 +Florida, 13 +Forests, 48, 49 +Fortifications, 59, 60 +France, 128, 145 +Fritot, Alphonso, 196, 199 +Fruits, 5, 229 +Fuerza, la, 17, 58, 59 + + +G + +Garcia, General Calixto, 84, 190 +Geerligs, H.C. Prinsen, 206 +Gibara, 112 +Gold, 2, 6, 231 +Gomez, General Maximo, 84, 158, 164, 172, 174. Proclamations, 167 et seq. +Government, 250 +Grant, President, 135 et seq. +Guane, 101 +Guantanamo, 91, 115 +Guines, 90 + + +H + +Haiti, 9, 10, 144 +Harbors, 44 +Hart, John D., 191, 197 +Hatuey, 8 et seq. +Havana: + Bells, church, 65. + British occupation, 20. + Capital, 20, 59. + Cathedral, 63. + Changes in, 66, 67, 82, 85. + Commerce limited to, 20. + Destroyed, 17, 58, 59. + Discovered, 12, 57. + Early conditions, 61. + Excursions from, 97 et seq. + Firemen, 83. + Fortifications, 59, 60. + Homes in, 77 et seq. + Las Casas as governor, 24. + Market, fish, 74. + Name, origin of, 58. + New City, 70 et seq. + Old city, 54 et seq. + Parks, 70, 71. + _Paseo_, 75. + Public buildings, 62 et seq. + Sanitation of, 63. + Settled 12, 58. + Shopping in, 68. + Streets 61, 71. + Suburbs, 85. + Sunrise in harbor, 54. + Theatre, Nacional, 71 et seq. +Havana, province, 38, 41 +Hayes, President, 136 +Hazard, Samuel, 33, 65, 111 +Henry, Patrick, 143 +Heredia, José Maria, 146 +Hill, Robert T., 39, 48 +Holguin, 113 +Hotels, 91, 111 +Homes, 77 et seq. +Humboldt, Baron Alexander, 8, 14, 15, 16, 35, 53 +Hurricanes, 53 + + +I + +Imports and Exports, 253, 256 +Independence, 162 et seq. +Insect life, 51 +Intervention, First, 25, 182, 242 +Intervention, Second, 160 +Iron ore, 233, 234 +Irving, Washington, 4, 5, 6 +Isle of Pines, 8, 116, 117 et seq. + + +J + +Jefferson, Thomas, 122 +Joint Resolution of 1898, 242 +Jolo, 54 +Juana, 2, 4 +Jucaro, 106 +Junta, 164, 174, 188 + + +K + +Kimball, R.B. 32 + + +L + +Las Casas, Bartolomé, 9, 14 +Las Casas, Governor Luis de, 24 +_Laurada_, 193 et seq. +Lemus, José Francisco, 146 +Llorente, Pedro, 246 +Lodge, Henry Cabot, 123 +Lopez, Narciso, 148 et seq. +Ludlow, General William, 63 + + +M + +Maceo, General Antonio, 99, 164, 172, 174 +McKinley, President, 122, 178, 179 +Magoon, Charles E., 160 +_Maine_, battleship, 179 +Maisi, Cape, 7, 8, 38, 115 +Malecon, 75 +Manufactures, 234 +Marti, José, 164, 166 +Marti, the smuggler, 72 et seq. +Martinez Campos, General, 158, 165, 166, 177. +Maso, Bartolomé, 165, 174 +Massachusetts rebellion, 144 +Matanzas, city, 41, 101 +Matanzas, province, 41 +Menocal, General Mario, 241, 244 +Mexico, 13, 58, 124, 145 +Minerals, 231 et seq. +Mineral springs, 52 +Miranda, Francisco, 126, 185 +Monopolies, 20, 144, 220, 231. +Monroe Doctrine, 127 +Monroe, President, 129 +Monuments: + Firemen's, 83, 84 + Students', 84 +Moret law, 16 +Morgan, Henry, no +Morro Castle, 17, 57, 59, 60 +Mountains, 5, 41, 93 +Murielo, 13 + + +N + +NARVAEZ, 13 +Navigation acts, British, 19, 144 +Nelson, Hugh, 127 +Nipe Bay, 2, 91, 113, 114 +Nuevitas, 2, 3, 110, 111, 112 +Nuñez, General Emilio, 191, 192, 199 + + +O + +O'BRIEN, "Dynamite Johnny," 189, et seq. +Ocampo, Sebastian de, 8, 12, 57 +Oriente, province, 40, 41 +Ostend Manifesto, 133 +Otis, James, 143 + + +P + +PALACE, Governor's, 64 +Palma, Tomas Estrada y, 162, 174, 192 +Palms, 5, 7, 48, 49 +Panama Congress (1826), 126 +Parks, Havana, 70, 71 +Parties, Political, 159, 176, 237, 238, 240, 244 +Pearcy _v_. Stranahan, 120 +Pepper, Charles M., 105, 134, 152, 176 +Petroleum, 233 +Pierce, President, 130, 132, 151 +Pinar del Rio, city, 101 +Pinar del Rio, province, 41 +Platt Amendment, 118, 247 et seq., 255 +Politics, 252 +Polk, President, 130 +Ponce de Leon, 13 +Population, 14, 17, 23, 34 +Porto Rico, 118 +Prado, 71, 75 +Preston sugar plantation, 113 +Puerto de Carenas, 12, 57 +Puerto Principe, see Camaguey +Punta, la, 17 + + +Q + +QUITMAN expedition, 151 + + +R + +RAILWAYS, 89, 91 +Rainfall, 46 +Real estate speculation, 120 +Reciprocity treaty, 255, 258 +Reconcentration, 177 +"Relations," question of, 247, 248 +Remedios, 102 +Revolutions, 19, 141 et seq. + of 1868, 153 et seq. + of 1895, 162 et seq. + of 1906, 159, 160 +Rhodes, James Ford, 131 +Rivers, 43 44 +Roads, 87, 95, 96 +Rubens, Horatio, S., 165, 181, 191, 192, 195 +Ruskin, John, 56 + + +S + +Saco, Antonio, 31 +Sagua la Grande, 101 +Sanchez, Rafael, 3 +Sancti Spiritus, 12, 91, 104 +Santa Clara, city, 102 +Santa Clara, province, 40 +Santangel, Luis de, 4 +Santiago de Cuba, 12, 13, 20, 115, 116 +Santo Domingo, 7 +Seville, 20 +Slavery, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155 +Smuggling, 21, 26 +Snakes, 50 +Sociedad Economica, 24 +Sociedad Patriotica, 24 +Soles de Bolivar, 146 +Soto, Hernando de, 13, 14, 17, 58 +Soule, Pierre, 132, 133 +Spain, 17, 19, 24, 29, 123 et seq., 145, 236 +Spanish-American independence, 126 +Sugar, 113, 203 et seq. + Beet sugar, 208 + Countries producing, 209 + History, 207 + In Cuba, 210 + Manufacture of, 204, 213 + Muscovado, 205 + Origin of, 206 + Planting and cutting, 213 et seq. + Production of, 209, 254, 256 +Supreme Court, United States, 120 + + +T + +Tacon, Governor Miguel, 32, 33, 70, 71 et seq. +Taft, Hon. William H., 99, 160 +Tariff, Spanish, 21, 25 +Taxes, 24, 27, 30, 163 +Taylor, President, 148 +Teller Amendment, 182 +Temperance question, 76 +Temperature, 45 et seq. +Templete, el, 64 +Ten Years' War, 16, 134, 135 et seq., 153 et seq. +Thrasher, J.S., 15, 29 +_Three Friends_, 193 et seq. +_Tillie_, wreck of the, 210 +Times, New York, 150 +Tobacco, 36, 102, 221, 222 + Cultivation in Cuba, 223 + History, 219 et seq. + Origin, 218 + Use in Cuba, 225 +Trade restricted, 20, 24, 25, 30 +Transportation, 90 +Treaty of Paris, 118, 182 +Trinidad, 12, 91, 100, 103 +Turnbull, David, 25 + + +U + +UNITED STATES: + Diplomatic correspondence, 125 et seq. + Mediation offered, 156 + Presidential messages, 125, 135, 136, 137, 158, 178, 179, 180, 184 + Relations with Cuba, 122 et seq., 179 + + +V + +Valmaseda proclamation, 156 +Varona, Enrique José, 153 +Vedado, el, 82 +Vegetable products, 228 et seq. +Velasquez, 8, 58 +Villages, 85, 93 +_Virginius_ affair, 116, 137, 185 +Volantes, 88 + + +W + +Welles, Gideon, 186 +Weyler, General Valeriano, 177, 198 +Wilson, Henry, 125 + + +Y + +Yumuri valley, 41 + + +Z + +Zanjon, treaty of, 158 + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Cuba, Old and New, by Albert Gardner Robinson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CUBA, OLD AND NEW *** + +***** This file should be named 11464-8.txt or 11464-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/4/6/11464/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Leonard D Johnson and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Cuba, Old and New + +Author: Albert Gardner Robinson + +Release Date: March 5, 2004 [EBook #11464] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CUBA, OLD AND NEW *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Leonard D Johnson and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + + <div class="figure"> + <a id="fig01"></a><a href="images/image01.jpg"><img width="40%" + src="images/image01.jpg" alt="TOWER OF LA FUERZA" /></a> + <h3>TOWER OF LA FUERZA<br /> + <i>Havana</i></h3> + </div> + <h1>CUBA</h1> + <h1>OLD AND NEW</h1> + <h4>BY</h4> + <h3>ALBERT G. ROBINSON</h3> + <h4>1915</h4> + <h2>CONTENTS</h2> + <div class="toc"> + <p>CHAPTER</p> + <a href="#I">I. OLD CUBA</a><br /> + <a href="#II">II. NEW CUBA</a><br /> + <a href="#III">III. THE COUNTRY</a><br /> + <a href="#IV">IV. THE OLD HAVANA</a><br /> + <a href="#V">V. THE NEW HAVANA</a><br /> + <a href="#VI">VI. AROUND THE ISLAND</a><br /> + <a href="#VII">VII. AROUND THE ISLAND (<i>Continued</i>)</a><br /> + <a href="#VIII">VIII. THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA</a><br /> + <a href="#IX">IX. CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS</a><br /> + <a href="#X">X. INDEPENDENCE</a><br /> + <a href="#XI">XI. FILIBUSTERING</a><br /> + <a href="#XII">XII. THE STORY OF SUGAR</a><br /> + <a href="#XIII">XIII. VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES</a><br /> + <a href="#XIV">XIV. POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE</a><br /> + </div> + <h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + <div class="ill"> + <a href="#fig01">Tower of La Fuerza, Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig02">The Morro, Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig03">A Planter's Home, Havana Province</a><br /> + <a href="#fig04">Iron Grille Gateway, El Vedado, suburb of Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig05">Watering Herd of Cattle, Luyano River, near Havaria</a><br /> + <a href="#fig06">Royal Palms</a><br /> + <a href="#fig07">Custom House, Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig08">Balconies, Old Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig08">Street in Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig09">Street and Church of the Angels, Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig10">A Residence in El Vedado</a><br /> + <a href="#fig11">The Volante (now quite rare)</a><br /> + <a href="#fig12">A Village Street, Calvario, Havana Province</a><br /> + <a href="#fig13">Street and Church, Camaguey</a><br /> + <a href="#fig14">Cobre, Oriente Province</a><br /> + <a href="#fig15">Hoisting the Cuban Flag over the Palace, May 20,1902</a><br /> + <a href="#fig16">A Spanish Block House</a><br /> + <a href="#fig17">Along the Harbor Wall, Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig18">Country Road, Havana Province</a><br /> + <a href="#fig19">Street in Camaguey</a><br /> + <a href="#fig20">Palm-Thatched Roofs</a><br /> + <a href="#fig20">A Peasant's Home</a><br /> + </div> + <h1>CUBA</h1> + <h1>OLD AND NEW</h1> + <h2><a id="I">I</a><br /> + <i>OLD CUBA</i></h2> + <p>Christopher Columbus was a man of lively imagination. Had he been an ordinary, + prosaic and plodding individual, he would have stayed at home combing wool as did his + prosaic and plodding ancestors for several generations. At the age of fourteen he + went to sea and soon developed an active curiosity about regions then unknown but + believed to exist. There was even then some knowledge of western Asia, and even of + China as approached from the west. Two and two being properly put together, the + result was a reasonable argument that China and India could be reached from the other + direction, that is, by going westward instead of eastward.</p> + <p>In the early autumn of the year 1492, Columbus was busy discovering islands in the + Caribbean Sea region, and, incidentally, seeking for the richest of the group. From + dwellers on other islands, he heard of one, called Cubanacan, larger and richer than + any that he had then discovered. A mixture of those tales with his own vivid + imagination produced a belief in a country of wide extent, vastly rich in gold and + gems, and already a centre of an extensive commerce. Cruising in search of what he + believed to be the eastern coast of Asia, he sighted the shore of Cuba on the morning + of October 28, 1492. His journal, under date of October 24, states: "At midnight I + tripped my anchors off this <i>Cabo del Isleo de Isabella</i>, where I was pitched to + go to the island of Cuba, which I learn from these people is very large and + magnificent, and there are gold and spices in it, and large ships and merchants. And + so I think it must be the island of Cipango (Japan), of which they tell such + wonders." The record, under date of Sunday, 28th of October, states: "Continued for + the nearest land of Cuba, and entered a beautiful estuary, clear of rocks and other + dangers. The mouth of the estuary had twelve fathoms depth, and it was wide enough + for a ship to work into." Students have disagreed regarding the first Cuban port + entered by Columbus. There is general acceptance of October 28 as the date of + arrival. Some contend that on that day he entered Nipe Bay, while others, and + apparently the greater number, locate the spot somewhat to the west of Nuevitas. + Wherever he first landed on it, there is agreement that he called the island Juana, + in honor of Prince Juan, taking possession "in the name of Christ, Our Lady, and the + reigning Sovereigns of Spain."</p> + <p>His record of the landing place is obscure. It is known that he sailed some + leagues beyond it, to the westward. While on board his caravel, on his homeward + voyage, he wrote a letter to his friend, Don Rafael Sanchez, "Treasurer of their most + Serene Highnesses," in which the experience is described. The original letter is + lost, but it was translated into Latin and published in Barcelona in the following + year, 1493. While the Latin form is variously translated into English, the general + tenor of all is the same. He wrote: "When I arrived at Juana (Cuba), I sailed along + the coast to the west, discovering so great an extent of land that I could not + imagine it to be an island, but the continent of Cathay. I did not, however, discover + upon the coast any large cities, all we saw being a few villages and farms, with the + inhabitants of which we could not obtain any communication, they flying at our + approach. I continued my course, still expecting to meet with some town or city, but + after having gone a great distance and not meeting with any, and finding myself + proceeding toward the north, which I was desirous, to avoid on account of the cold, + and, moreover, meeting with a contrary wind, I determined to return to the south, and + therefore put about and sailed back to a harbor which I had before observed." That + the actual landing was at or near the present port of Nuevitas seems to be generally + accepted.</p> + <p>Columbus appears to have been greatly impressed by the beauty of the island. In + his <i>Life of Columbus</i>, Washington Irving says: "From his continual remarks on + the beauty of scenery, and from his evident delight in rural sounds and objects, he + appears to have been extremely open to those happy influences, exercised over some + spirits, by the graces and wonders of nature. He gives utterance to these feelings + with characteristic enthusiasm, and at the same time with the artlessness and + simplicity of diction of a child. When speaking of some lovely scene among the + groves, or along the flowery shores of these favored islands, he says, "One could + live there forever." Cuba broke upon him like an elysium. "It is the most beautiful + island," he says, "that ever eyes beheld, full of excellent ports and profound + rivers." A little discount must be made on such a statement. Granting all that is to + be said of Cuba's scenic charms, some allowance is to be made for two influences. One + is Don Cristobal's exuberance, and the other is the fact that when one has been + knocking about, as he had been, for nearly three months on the open sea and among + low-lying and sandy islands and keys, any land, verdure clad and hilly, is a picture + of Paradise. Many people need only two or three days at sea to reach a similar + conclusion. In his letter to Luis de Santangel, Columbus says: "All these countries + are of surpassing excellence, and in particular Juana (Cuba,), which contains + abundance of fine harbors, excelling any in Christendom, as also many large and + beautiful rivers. The land is high, and exhibits chains of tall mountains which seem + to reach to the skies and surpass beyond comparison the isle of Cetrefrey (Sicily). + These display themselves in all manner of beautiful shapes. They are accessible in + every part, and covered with a vast variety of lofty trees which it appears to me + never lose their foliage. Some were covered with blossoms, some with fruit, and + others in different stages according to their nature. There are palm trees of six or + eight sorts. Beautiful forests of pines are likewise found, and fields of vast + extent. Here are also honey and fruits of thousand sorts, and birds of every + variety."</p> + <p>Having landed at this indefinitely located point, Columbus, believing that he had + reached the region he was seeking, despatched messengers to the interior to open + communication with some high official of Cathay, in which country he supposed himself + to be, the idea of Cipango apparently having been abandoned. "Many at the present + day," says Washington Irving, "will smile at this embassy to a naked savage chieftain + in the interior of Cuba, in mistake for an Asiatic monarch; but such was the singular + nature of this voyage, a continual series of golden dreams, and all interpreted by + the deluding volume of Marco Polo." But the messengers went on their journey, and + proceeded inland some thirty or forty miles. There they came upon a village of about + fifty huts and a population of about a thousand. They were able to communicate only + by signs, and it is quite certain that the replies of the natives were as little + understood by the messengers as the questions were by the natives. The messengers + sought something about which the natives knew little or nothing. The communications + were interpreted through the medium of imagination and desire. Nothing accomplished, + the commission returned and made its disappointing report. Washington Irving thus + describes the further proceedings: "The report of the envoys put an end to the many + splendid fancies of Columbus, about the barbaric prince and his capital. He was + cruising, however, in a region of enchantment, in which pleasing chimeras started up + at every step, exercising by turns a power over his imagination. During the absence + of the emissaries, the Indians had informed him, by signs, of a place to the + eastward, where the people collected gold along the river banks by torchlight and + afterward wrought it into bars with hammers. In speaking of this place they again + used the words Babeque and Bohio, which he, as usual, supposed to be the proper names + of islands or countries. His great object was to arrive at some opulent and civilized + country of the East, with which he might establish commercial relations, and whence + he might carry home a quantity of oriental merchandise as a rich trophy of his + discovery. The season was advancing; the cool nights gave hints of approaching + winter; he resolved, therefore, not to proceed farther to the north, nor to linger + about uncivilized places which, at present, he had not the means of colonizing, but + to return to the east-south-east, in quest of Babeque, which he trusted might prove + some rich and civilized island on the coast of Asia." And so he sailed away for + Hispaniola (Santo Domingo) which appears to have become, a little later, his favorite + West Indian resort.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig02"></a><a href="images/image02.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image02.jpg" alt="THE MORRO" /></a> + <h3>THE MORRO<br /> + <i>Havana</i></h3> + </div> + <p>He began his eastward journey on November 12th. As he did not reach Cape Maisi, + the eastern point of the island, until December 5th, he must have made frequent stops + to examine the shore. Referring to one of the ports that he entered he wrote to the + Spanish Sovereigns thus: "The amenity of this river, and the clearness of the water, + through which the sand at the bottom may be seen; the multitude of palm trees of + various forms, the highest and most beautiful that I have met with, and an infinity + of other great and green trees; the birds in rich plumage and the verdure of the + fields, render this country of such marvellous beauty that it surpasses all others in + charms and graces, as the day doth the night in lustre. For which reason I often say + to my people that, much as I endeavor to give a complete account of it to your + majesties, my tongue cannot express the whole truth, nor my pen describe it; and I + have been so overwhelmed at the sight of so much beauty that I have not known how to + relate it."</p> + <p>Columbus made no settlement in Cuba; his part extends only to the discovery. On + his second expedition, in the spring of 1494, he visited and explored the south coast + as far west as the Isle of Pines, to which he gave the name <i>La Evangelista</i>. He + touched the south coast again on his fourth voyage, in 1503. On his way eastward from + his voyage of discovery on the coast of Central America, he missed his direct course + to Hispaniola, and came upon the Cuban shore near Cape Cruz. He was detained there + for some days by heavy weather and adverse winds, and sailed thence to his unhappy + experience in Jamaica. The work of colonizing remained for others. Columbus died in + the belief that he had discovered a part of the continent of Asia. That Cuba was only + an island was determined by Sebastian de Ocampo who sailed around it in 1508. Baron + Humboldt, who visited Cuba in 1801 and again in 1825, and wrote learnedly about it, + states that "the first settlement of the whites occurred in 1511, when Velasquez, + under orders from Don Diego Columbus, landed at Puerto de las Palmas, near Cape + Maisi, and subjugated the Cacique Hatuey who had fled from Haiti to the eastern end + of Cuba, where he became the chief of a confederation of several smaller native + princes." This was, in fact, a military expedition composed of three hundred + soldiers, with four vessels.</p> + <p>Hatuey deserves attention. His name is not infrequently seen in Cuba today, but it + is probable that few visitors know whether it refers to a man, a bird, or a + vegetable. He was the first Cuban hero of whom we have record, although the entire + reliability of the record is somewhat doubtful. The notable historian of this period + is Bartolome Las Casas, Bishop of Chiapa. He appears to have been a man of great + worth, a very tender heart, and an imagination fully as vivid as that of Columbus. + His sympathies were aroused by the tales of the exceeding brutality of many of the + early Spanish voyagers in their relations with the natives. He went out to see for + himself, and wrote voluminously of his experiences. He also wrote with exceeding + frankness, and often with great indignation. He writes about Hatuey. The inference is + that this Cacique, or chieftain, fled from Haiti to escape Spanish brutality, and + even in fear of his life. There are other translations of Las Casas, but for this + purpose choice has been made of one published in London about the year 1699. It is + given thus:</p> + <p>"There happened divers things in this island (Cuba) that deserve to be remarked. A + rich and potent Cacique named Hatuey was retired into the Isle of Cuba to avoid that + Slavery and Death with which the Spaniards menaced him; and being informed that his + persecutors were upon the point of landing in this Island, he assembled all his + Subjects and Domestics together, and made a Speech unto them after this manner. "You + know, (said he) the Report is spread abroad that the Spaniards are ready to invade + this Island, and you are not ignorant of the ill usage our Friends and Countrymen + have met with at their hands, and the cruelties they have committed at Haiti (so + Hispaniola is called in their Language). They are now coming hither with a design to + exercise the same Outrages and Persecutions upon us. Are you ignorant (says he) of + the ill Intentions of the People of whom I am speaking? We know not (say they all + with one voice) upon what account they come hither, but we know they are a very + wicked and cruel People. I'll tell you then (replied the Cacique) that these + Europeans worship a very covetous sort of God, so that it is difficult to satisfy + him; to perform the Worship they render to this Idol, they will exact immense + Treasures of us, and will use their utmost endeavors to reduce us to a miserable + state of Slavery, or else put us to death." The historian leaves to the imagination + and credulity of his readers the task of determining just where and how he got the + full details of this speech and of the subsequent proceedings. The report of the + latter may well be generally correct inasmuch as there were Spanish witnesses + present, but the account of this oration, delivered prior to the arrival of the + Spanish invaders, is clearly open to a suspicion that it may be more or less + imaginary. But the historian continues: "Upon this he took a Box full of Gold and + valuable Jewels which he had with him, and exposing it to their view: Here is (said + he) the God of the Spaniards, whom we must honor with our Sports and Dances, to see + if we can appease him and render him propitious to us; that so he may command the + Spaniards not to offer us any injury. They all applauded this Speech, and fell a + leaping and dancing around the Box, till they had quite tired and spent themselves. + After which the Cacique Hatuey resuming his Discourse, continued to speak to them in + these terms: If we keep this God (says he) till he's taken away from us, he'll + certainly cause our lives to be taken away from us; and therefore I am of opinion it + will be the best way to cast him into the river. They all approved of this Advice, + and went all together with one accord to throw this pretended God into the + River."</p> + <p>But the Spaniards came and encountered the resistance of Hatuey and his followers. + The invaders were victorious, and Hatuey was captured and burned alive. Las Casas + relates that while the poor wretch was in the midst of the flames, tied to a stake, + "a certain Franciscan Friar of great Piety and Virtue, took upon him to speak to him + of God and our Religion, and to explain to him some Articles of Catholic Faith, of + which he had never heard a word before, promising him Eternal Life if he would + believe and threatening him with Eternal Torment if he continued obstinate in his + Infidelity. Hatuey reflecting on the matter, as much as the Place and Condition in + which he was would permit, asked the Friar that instructed him, whether the Gate of + Heaven was open to Spaniards; and being answered that such of them as were good men + might hope for entrance there: the Cacique, without any farther deliberation, told + him that he had no mind to go to heaven for fear of meeting with such cruel and + wicked Company as they were; but he would much rather choose to go to Hell where he + might be delivered from the troublesome sight of such kind of People." And so died + the Cacique Hatuey. Four hundred years later, the Cuban Government named a gunboat + <i>Hatuey</i>, in his honor.</p> + <p>The Velasquez expedition, in the following year, founded Baracoa, now a small city + on the northern coast near the eastern extremity of the island. It is a spot of + exceeding scenic charm. It was established as the capital city, but it held that + honor for a few years only. In 1514 and 1515, settlements were established at what is + now Santiago, at Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad, and Batabano. The latter was originally + called San Cristobal de la Habana, the name being transferred to the present city, on + the north coast, in 1519. It displaced the name Puerto de Carenas given to the + present Havana by Ocampo, who careened his vessels there in 1508. Baracoa was made + the seat of a bishopric, and a cathedral was begun, in 1518. In 1522, both the + capital and the bishopric were transferred to Santiago, a location more readily + accessible from the new settlements on the south coast, and also from Jamaica which + was then included in the diocese. Cuba, at about this period, was the point of + departure for an important expedition. In 1517, de Cordoba, with three vessels and + 110 soldiers, was sent on an expedition to the west for further and more northerly + exploration of the land discovered by Columbus in 1503. The coast from Panama to + Honduras had been occupied. The object of this expedition was to learn what lay to + the northward. The result was the discovery of Yucatan. Cordoba returned to die of + wounds received in a battle. A second and stronger expedition was immediately + despatched. This rounded the peninsula and followed the coast as far as the present + city of Vera Cruz. In 1518, Hernan Cortez was <i>alcalde</i>, or mayor, of Santiago + de Cuba. On November 18, of that year, he sailed from that port in command of an + expedition for the conquest of Mexico, finally effected in 1521, after one of the + most romantic campaigns in the history of warfare. All that, however, is a story in + which Cuba has no place except that of the starting point and base of the expedition. + There is another story of the same kind, a few years later. The first discovery of + Florida is somewhat uncertain. It appears on an old Spanish map dated 1502. Following + the expedition of Ponce de Leon, in 1513, and of Murielo, in 1516, Narvaez headed an + expedition from Cuba in 1528 with some three hundred freebooters. They landed in + Florida, where almost the entire band was, very properly, destroyed by the Indians. + In 1539, de Soto sailed from Havana, with five hundred and seventy men and two + hundred and twenty-three horses, for an extended exploration. They wandered for three + years throughout what is now the southern part of the United States from Georgia and + South Carolina westward to Arkansas and Missouri. After a series of almost incredible + experiences, de Soto died in 1542, on the banks of the Mississippi River at a point + probably not far from the Red River. These and other expeditions, from Cuba and from + Mexico, to what is now territory of the United States, produced no permanent results. + No gold was found.</p> + <p>Of the inhabitants of Cuba, as found by the Spaniards, comparatively little is + recorded. They seem to have been a somewhat negative people, generally described as + docile, gentle, generous, and indolent. Their garments were quite limited, and their + customs altogether primitive. They disappear from Cuba's story in its earliest + chapters. Very little is known of their numbers. Some historians state that, in the + days of Columbus, the island had a million inhabitants, but this is obviously little + if anything more than a rough guess. Humboldt makes the following comment: "No means + now exist to arrive at a knowledge of the population of Cuba in the time of Columbus; + but how can we admit what some otherwise judicious historians state, that when the + island of Cuba was conquered in 1511, it contained a million inhabitants of whom only + 14,000 remained in 1517. The statistical information which we find in the writings of + Las Casas is filled with contradictions." Forty years or so later the Dominican + friar, Luis Bertram, on his return to Spain, predicted that "the 200,000 Indians now + in the island of Cuba, will perish, victims to the cruelty of the Europeans." Yet + Gomara stated that there was not an Indian in Cuba after 1553. Whatever the exact + truth regarding numbers, it is evident that they disappeared rapidly, worked to death + by severe task-masters. The institution of African slavery, to take the place of the + inefficient and fast disappearing native labor, had its beginning in 1521. Baron + Humboldt states that from that time until 1790, the total number of African negroes + imported as slaves was 90,875. In the next thirty years, the business increased + rapidly, and Humboldt estimates the total arrivals, openly entered and smuggled in, + from 1521 to 1820, as 372,449. Mr. J.S. Thrasher, in a translation of Humboldt's + work, issued in 1856, added a footnote showing the arrivals up to 1854 as 644,000. A + British official authority, at the same period, gives the total as a little less than + 500,000. The exact number is not important. The institution on a large scale, in its + relation to the total number of whites, was a fact.</p> + <p>It is, of course, quite impossible even today to argue the question of slavery. To + many, the offence lies in the mere fact; to others, it lies in the operation of the + system. At all events, the institution is no longer tolerated in any civilized + country. While some to whom the system itself was a bitter offence have found much to + criticize in its operation in Cuba, the general opinion of observers appears to be + that it was there notably free from the brutality usually supposed to attend it. The + Census Report of 1899, prepared under the auspices of the American authorities, + states that "while it was fraught with all the horrors of this nefarious business + elsewhere, the laws for the protection of slaves were unusually humane. Almost from + the beginning, slaves had a right to purchase their freedom or change their masters, + and long before slavery was abolished they could own property and contract marriage. + As a result, the proportion of free colored to slaves has always been large." + Humboldt, who studied the institution while it was most extensive, states that "the + position of the free negroes in Cuba is much better than it is elsewhere, even among + those nations which have for ages flattered themselves as being most advanced in + civilization." The movement for the abolition of slavery had its beginning in 1815, + with the treaty of Vienna, to which Spain was a party. Various acts in the same + direction appear in the next fifty years. The Moret law, enacted in 1870 by the + Spanish Cortes, provided for gradual abolition in Spain's dominions, and a law of + 1880, one of the results of the Ten Years' War, definitely abolished the system. + Traces of it remained, however, until about 1887, when it may be regarded as having + become extinct forever in Cuba.</p> + <p>For the first two hundred and fifty years of Cuba's history, the city of Havana + appears as the special centre of interest. There was growth in other sections, but it + was slow, for reasons that will be explained elsewhere. In 1538, Havana was attacked + and totally destroyed by a French privateer. Hernando de Soto, then Governor of the + island, at once began the construction of defences that are now one of the special + points of interest in the city. The first was the Castillo de la Fuerza. In 1552, + Havana became the capital city. In 1555, it was again attacked, and practically + destroyed, including the new fortress, by French buccaneers. Restoration was effected + as rapidly as possible. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged, and the construction of the + Morro and of La Punta, the fortress at the foot of the Prado, was begun. The old city + wall, of which portions still remain, was of a later period. Despite these + precautions, the city was repeatedly attacked by pirates and privateers. Some + reference to these experiences will be made in a special chapter on the city. The + slow progress of the island is shown by the fact that an accepted official report + gives the total population in 1775 as 171,620, of whom less than 100,000 were white. + The absence of precious metals is doubtless the main reason for the lack of Spanish + interest in the development of the country. For a long time after the occupation, the + principal industry was cattle raising. Agriculture, the production of sugar, tobacco, + coffee, and other crops, on anything properly to be regarded as a commercial scale, + was an experience of later years. The reason for this will be found in the mistaken + colonial policy of Spain, a policy the application of which, in a far milder manner, + cost England its richest colony in the Western Hemisphere, and which, in the first + quarter of the 19th Century, cost Spain all of its possessions in this half of the + world, with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico.</p> + <h2><a id="II">II</a><br /> + <i>NEW CUBA</i></h2> + <p>While there is no point in Cuba's history that may be said to mark a definite + division between the Old Cuba and the New Cuba, the beginning of the 19th Century may + be taken for that purpose. Cuba's development dragged for two hundred and fifty + years. The population increased slowly and industry lagged. For this, Spain's + colonial policy was responsible. But it was the policy of the time, carried out more + or less effectively by all nations having colonies. England wrote it particularly + into her Navigation Acts of 1651, 1660, and 1663, and supported it by later Acts. + While not rigorously enforced, and frequently evaded by the American colonists, the + system at last proved so offensive that the colonists revolted in 1775. Most of + Spain's colonies in the Western Hemisphere, for the same reason, declared and + maintained their independence in the first quarter of the 19th Century. At the bottom + of Cuba's several little uprisings, and at the bottom of its final revolt in 1895, + lay the same cause of offence. In those earlier years, it was held that colonies + existed solely for the benefit of the mother-country. In 1497, almost at the very + beginning of Spain's colonial enterprises in the New World, a royal decree was issued + under which the exclusive privilege to carry on trade with the colonies was granted + to the port of Seville. This monopoly was transferred to the port of Cadiz in 1717, + but it continued, in somewhat modified form in later years, until Spain had no + colonies left.</p> + <p>While Santiago was the capital of the island, from 1522 to 1552, trade between + Spain and the island could be carried on only through that port. When Havana became + the capital, in 1552, the exclusive privilege of trade was transferred to that city. + With the exception of the years 1762 and 1763, when the British occupied Havana and + declared it open to all trade, the commerce of the island could only be done through + Havana with Seville, until 1717, and afterward with Cadiz. Baracoa, or Santiago, or + Trinidad, or any other Cuban city, could not send goods to Santander, or Malaga, or + Barcelona, or any other Spanish market, or receive goods directly from them. The law + prohibited trade between Cuba and all other countries, and limited all trade between + the island and the mother-country to the port of Havana, at one end, and to Seville + or Cadiz, according to the time of the control of those ports, at the other end. Even + intercolonial commerce was prohibited. At times, and for brief periods, the system + was modified to the extent of special trade licences, and, occasionally, by + international treaties. But the general system of trade restriction was maintained + throughout all of Spain's colonial experience. Between 1778 and 1803, most of Cuba's + ports were opened to trade with Spain. The European wars of the early years of the + 19th Century led to modification of the trade laws, but in 1809 foreign commerce with + Spanish American ports was again prohibited. A few years later, Spain had lost nearly + all its American colonies. A new plan was adopted in 1818. Under that, Spain sought + to hold the trade of Cuba and Porto Rico by tariffs so highly favorable to + merchandise from the mother-country as to be effectively prohibitive with regard to + many products from other countries. This, in general outline, is the cause of Cuba's + slow progress until the 19th Century, and the explanation of its failure to make more + rapid progress during that century.</p> + <p>Naturally, under such conditions, bribery of officials and smuggling became active + and lucrative enterprises. It may be said, in strict confidence between writer and + reader, that Americans were frequently the parties of the other part in these + transactions. In search through a considerable number of American histories, I have + been unable to find definite references to trade with Cuba, yet there seems to be + abundant reason for belief that such trade was carried on. There are many references + to trade with the West Indies as far back as 1640 and even a year or two earlier, but + allusions to trade with Cuba do not appear, doubtless for the reason that it was + contraband, a violation of both Spanish and British laws. There was evidently some + relaxation toward the close of the 18th Century. There are no records of the commerce + of the American colonies, and only fragmentary records between 1776 and 1789. The + more elaborate records of 1789 and following years show shipments of fish, whale oil, + spermaceti candles, lumber, staves and heading, and other articles to the "Spanish + West Indies," in which group Cuba was presumably included. The records of the time + are somewhat unreliable. It was a custom for the small vessels engaged in that trade + to take out clearance papers for the West Indies. The cargo might be distributed in a + number of ports, and the return cargo might be similarly collected. For the year + 1795, the records of the United States show total imports from the Spanish West + Indies as valued at $1,740,000, and exports to that area as valued at $1,390,000. In + 1800, the imports were $10,588,000, and the exports $8,270,000. Just how much of this + was trade with Cuba, does not appear. Because of the trade increase at that time, and + because of other events that, soon afterward, brought Cuba into more prominent + notice, this period has been chosen as the line of division between the Old and the + New Cuba.</p> + <p>Compared with the wonderful fertility of Cuba, New England is a sterile area. Yet + in 1790, a hundred and seventy years after its settlement, the latter had a + population a little exceeding a million, while the former, in 1792, or two hundred + and eighty years after its occupation, is officially credited with a population of + 272,300. Of these, 153,559 were white and 118,741 were colored. Several forces came + into operation at this time, and population increased rapidly, to 572,363 in 1817, + and to 704,465 in 1827. In 1841, it was a little more than a million. But the + increase in colored population, by the importation of African slaves, outstripped the + increase by the whites. In 1841, the population was divided into 418,291 whites and + 589,333 colored. The importation of slaves having declined, the year 1861 shows a + white preponderance, since continued and substantially increased. Among the forces + contributing to Cuba's rapid growth during this period were a somewhat greater + freedom of trade; the revolution in the neighboring island of Haiti and Santo + Domingo, that had its beginning in 1791 and culminated, some ten years later, in the + rule of Toussaint L'Ouverture; and an increased demand for sugar. One result of the + Haitian disorder was the arrival, in eastern Cuba, of a large number of exiles and + emigrants who established extensive coffee plantations. During the first hundred and + fifty years of Cuba's history, the principal industry of the island was cattle + raising, aside from the domestic industry of food supply. The proprietors lived, + usually, in the cities and maintained their vast estates in the neighborhood. To + this, later on, were added the production of honey and wax and the cultivation of + tobacco. With the period now under consideration, there came the expansion of the + coffee and sugar industries. The older activities do not appear to have been + appreciably lessened; the others were added on.</p> + <p>Europe and the Western Hemisphere were at that time in a state of general upheaval + and rearrangement. Following the American Revolution, there came the French + Revolution; the Napoleonic Wars; the war of 1812 between the United States and + England; and the general revolt of the Spanish colonies. The world was learning new + lessons, adopting new policies, in which the Spanish colonial system was a blunder + the folly of which Spain did not even then fully realize. Yet from it all, by one + means and another, Cuba benefited. Spain was fortunate in its selection of + Governors-General sent out at this time. Luis de Las Casas, who arrived in 1790, is + credited with much useful work. He improved roads and built bridges; established + schools and the <i>Casa de Beneficencia</i>, still among the leading institutions in + Havana; paved the streets of Havana; improved as far as he could the commercial + conditions; and established the <i>Sociedad Patriotica</i>, sometimes called the + <i>Sociedad Economica</i>, an organization that has since contributed immeasurably to + Cuba's welfare and progress. He was followed by others whose rule was creditable. But + the principal evils, restricted commerce and burdensome taxation, were not removed, + although world conditions practically compelled some modification of the commercial + regulations. In 1801 the ports of the island were thrown open to the trade of + friendly and neutral nations. Eight years later, foreign commerce was again + prohibited. In 1818, a new system was established, that of a tariff so highly + favorable to merchandise from Spain that it was by no means unusual for goods to be + shipped to that country, even from the United States, and from there reshipped to + Cuba. Changes in the rates were made from time to time, but the system of heavy + discrimination in favor of Spanish goods in Spanish ships continued until the + equalization of conditions under the order of the Government of Intervention, in + 1899.</p> + <p>In his book published in 1840, Mr. Turnbull states that "the mercantile interests + of the island have been greatly promoted by the relaxation of those restrictive + regulations which under the old peninsular system bound down all foreign commerce + with the colonies of Spain, and laid it prostrate at the feet of the mother-country. + It cannot be said that the sound principles of free trade, in any large or extended + sense of the term, have been recognized or acted upon even at the single port of + Havana. The discriminating duties imposed by the supreme government of Madrid on the + natural productions, manufactures, and shipping of foreign countries, in + contradistinction to those of Spain, are so stringent and so onerous as altogether to + exclude the idea of anything approaching to commercial freedom. There is no longer, + it is true, any absolute prohibition, but in many cases the distinguishing duties are + so heavy as to defeat their own object, and, in place of promoting the interests of + the mother-country, have had little other effect than the establishment of an + extensive and ruinous contraband." Under such conditions as those existing in Cuba, + from its beginning practically until the establishment of its political independence, + industrial development and commercial expansion are more than difficult.</p> + <p>One of the natural results of such a system appeared in the activities of + smugglers. The extent to which that industry was carried on cannot, of course, be + even guessed. Some have estimated that the merchandise imported in violation of the + laws equalled in value the merchandise entered at the custom houses. An official + publication (American) states that "from smuggling on a large scale and privateering + to buccaneering and piracy is not a long step, and under the name of privateers + French, Dutch, English, and American smugglers and buccaneers swarmed the Caribbean + Sea and the Gulf of Mexico for more than two centuries, plundering Spanish + <i>flotas</i> and attacking colonial settlements. Among the latter, Cuba was the + chief sufferer." Had Cuba's coasts been made to order for the purpose, they could + hardly have been better adapted to the uses of smugglers. Off shore, for more than + half its coast line, both north and south, are small islands and keys with narrow and + shallow passages between them, thus making an excellent dodging area for small boats + if pursued by revenue vessels. Thoroughly familiar with these entrances and hiding + places, smugglers could land their goods almost at will with little danger of + detection or capture.</p> + <p>Another heavy handicap on the economic progress of the island appears in the + system of taxation. Regarding this system, the Census of 1899 reports as follows:</p> + <p>"Apart from imports and exports, taxes were levied on real and personal property + and on industries and commerce of all kinds. Every profession, art, or manual + occupation contributed its quota, while, as far back as 1638, seal and stamp taxes + were established on all judicial business and on all kinds of petitions and claims + made to official corporations, and subsequently on all bills and accounts. These + taxes were in the form of stamps on official paper and at the date of American + occupation the paper cost from 35 cents to $3 a sheet. On deeds, wills, and other + similar documents the paper cost from 35 cents to $37.50 per sheet, according to the + value of the property concerned. Failure to use even the lowest-priced paper involved + a fine of $50.</p> + <p>"There was also a municipal tax on the slaughter of cattle for the market. This + privilege was sold by the municipal council to the highest bidder, with the result + that taxes were assessed on all animals slaughtered, whether for the market or for + private consumption, with a corresponding increase in the price of meat.</p> + <p>"Another tax established in 1528, called the <i>derecho</i> <i>de averia</i>, + required the payment of 20 ducats ($16) by every person, bond or free, arriving in + the island. In 1665 this tax was increased to $22, and continued in force to 1765, + thus retarding immigration, and, to that extent, the increase of population, + especially of the laboring class.</p> + <p>"An examination of these taxes will show their excessive, arbitrary, and + unscientific character, and how they operated to discourage Cubans from owning + property or engaging in many industrial pursuits tending to benefit them and to + promote the material improvement of the island.</p> + <p>"Taxes on real estate were estimated by the tax inspector on the basis of its + rental or productive capacity, and varied from 4 to 12 per cent. Similarly, a nominal + municipal tax of 25 per cent was levied on the estimated profits of all industries + and commerce, and on the income derived from all professions, manual occupations, or + agencies, the collector receiving 6 per cent of all taxes assessed. Much unjust + discrimination was made against Cubans in determining assessable values and in + collecting the taxes, and it is said that bribery in some form was the only effective + defense against the most flagrant impositions."</p> + <p>Some of the experiences of this period will be considered in special chapters on + Cuba's alleged revolutions and on the relations of the United States to Cuba and its + affairs. One point may be noted here. The wave of republicanism that swept over a + considerable part of Europe and over the Western Hemisphere, from 1775 to 1825 had + its direct influence in Spain, and an influence only less direct in Cuba. In 1812, + Spain became a constitutional monarchy. It is true that the institution had only a + brief life, but the sentiment that lay beneath it persisted and had been repeatedly a + cause of disturbance on the Peninsula. Something of the same sentiment pervaded Cuba + and excited ambitions, not for national independence, but for some participation in + government. A royal decree, in 1810, gave Cuba representation in the Cortes, and two + deputies from the island took part in framing the Constitution of 1812. This + recognition of Cuba lasted for only two years, the Constitution being abrogated in + 1814, but it was restored in 1820, only to cease again three years later. + Representatives were again admitted to the Cortes in 1834, and again excluded in + 1837. The effect of all this was, perhaps, psychological rather than practical, but + it gave rise to a new mental attitude and to some change in conduct. The effect + appears in the numerous recurrences of open protest and passive resistance in the + place of the earlier submission. Writing in 1855, Mr. J.S. Thrasher stated that "the + essential political elements of the island are antagonistic to those of the + mother-country. While the Cortes and the crown have frequently declared that Cuba + does not form an integral part of the Spanish monarchy, but must be governed by + special laws not applicable to Spain, and persist in ruling her under the erroneous + and unjust European colonial system, the growing wealth and increasing intelligence + of the Cubans lead them to aspire to some share in the elimination of the political + principles under which their own affairs shall be administered. A like antagonism + exists in the economic relations of the two countries. While the people of Cuba are + not averse to the raising of such revenue as may be required for the proper wants of + the State, in the administration of which they may participate, they complain, with a + feeling of national pride, that fiscal burdens of the most onerous kind are laid upon + them for the expressed purpose of advancing interests which are in every sense + opposed to their own. Thus, Spain imposes taxes to support a large army and navy, the + principal object of which is to prevent any expression of the public will on the part + of the people of Cuba. Another class of impositions have for their object the + diversion of the trade of Cuba to channels which shall increase the profits of the + agriculturists and mariners of Spain without regard to the interests of the people of + the island."</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig03"></a><a href="images/image03.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image03.jpg" alt="A PLANTER'S HOME" /></a> + <h3>A PLANTER'S HOME<br /> + <i>Havana Province</i></h3> + </div> + <p>Yet in spite of these severe restrictions and heavy burdens, Cuba shows a + considerable progress during the first half of the century. It is far from easy to + reach fair conclusions from contemporaneous writings. Naturally, Spanish officials + and Spanish writers strove to make the best possible case for Spain, its policies and + its conduct. The press of the island was either under official control or stood in + fear of official reprisals. The Cuban side, naturally partisan, appears to have been + presented chiefly by fugitive pamphlets, more or less surreptitiously printed and + distributed, usually the product of political extremists. Among these was a man of + marked ability and of rare skill in the use of language. He was Don Antonio Saco, + known in Cuba as the "Immortal Saco." In a letter written to a friend, in 1846, he + says, "The tyranny of our mother-country, today most acute, will have this + result—that within a period of time not very remote the Cubans will be compelled to + take up arms to banish her." That British observers and most American observers + should take the side of the Cubans is altogether natural. Writing in 1854, Mr. M.M. + Ballou, in his <i>History of Cuba</i>, says: "The Cubans owe all the blessings they + enjoy to Providence alone (so to speak), while the evils which they suffer are + directly referable to the oppression of the home government. Nothing short of a + military despotism could maintain the connection of such an island with a + mother-country more than three thousand miles distant; and accordingly we find the + captain-general of Cuba invested with unlimited power. He is, in fact, a viceroy + appointed by the crown of Spain, and accountable only to the reigning sovereign for + his administration of the colony. His rule is absolute; he has the power of life and + death and liberty in his hands. He can, by his arbitrary will, send into exile any + person whatever, be his name or rank what it may, whose residence in the island he + considers prejudicial to the royal interest, even if he has committed no overt act. + He can suspend the operation of the laws and ordinances, if he sees fit to do so; can + destroy or confiscate property; and, in short, the island may be said to be + perpetually in a state of siege."</p> + <p>The student or the reader may take his choice. On one side are Spanish statements, + official and semi-official, and on the other side, Cuban statements no less partisan. + The facts appear to support the Cuban argument. In spite of the severe restrictions + and the heavy burdens, Cuba shows a notable progress during the 19th Century. + Governors came and went, some very good and others very bad. There were a hundred of + them from 1512 to 1866, and thirty-six more from 1866 to 1899, the average term of + service for the entire number being a little less than three years. On the whole, the + most notable of the group of 19th Century incumbents was Don Miguel Tacon, who ruled + from June 1, 1834, until April 16, 1838. His record would seem to place him quite + decidedly in the "reactionary" class, but he was a man of action who left behind him + monuments that remain to his credit even now. One historian, Mr. Kimball, who wrote + in 1850, describes him as one in whom short-sightedness, narrow views, and jealous + and weak mind, were joined to an uncommon stubbornness of character. Another, Mr. + M.M. Ballou, says that "probably of all the governors-general that have filled the + post in Cuba none is better known abroad, or has left more monuments to his + enterprise, than Tacon. His reputation at Havana (this was written 1854) is of a + somewhat doubtful character; for, though he followed out with energy various + improvements, yet his modes of procedure were so violent that he was an object of + terror to the people generally, rather than of gratitude. He vastly improved the + appearance of the capital and its vicinity, built the new prison, rebuilt the + governor's palace, constructed a military road to the neighboring forts, erected a + spacious theatre and market house, arranged a new public walk, and opened a vast + parade ground without the city walls, thus laying the foundation of the new city + which has now sprung up in this formerly desolate suburb. He suppressed the gaming + houses and rendered the streets, formerly infested with robbers, as secure as those + of Boston or New York." Another writer, Mr. Samuel Hazard, in 1870, says: "Of all the + governors who have been in command of the island Governor Tacon seems to have been + the best, doing the most to improve the island, and particularly Havana; making laws, + punishing offences, and establishing some degree of safety for its inhabitants. It is + reported of him that he is said, like the great King Alfred, to have promised the + Cubans that they should be able to leave their purses of money on the public highway + without fear of having them stolen. At all events, his name is cherished by every + Cuban for the good he has done, and <i>paseos</i>, theatres, and monuments bear his + great name in Havana." The Tacon theatre is now the Nacional, and the Paseo Tacon is + now Carlos III. The "new prison" is the <i>Carcel</i>, or jail, at the northern end + of the Prado, near the fortress of La Punta. Don Miguel may have been disliked for + his methods and his manners, but he certainly did much to make his rule + memorable.</p> + <p>There is no reliable information that shows the progress of the island during the + 19th Century. Even the census figures are questioned. A reported 432,000 total + population in 1804 is evidently no more than an estimate, yet it is very likely not + far from the actual. Concerning their distribution throughout the island, and the + number engaged in different occupations, there are no records. There are no + acceptable figures regarding the respective numbers of whites and blacks. Nor is + there any record of the population in 1895, the year of the war for independence. + From the definite tabulation, under American auspices, in 1899, showing 1,576,797, it + has been estimated that the number in 1895, was a little less than 1,800,000, the + difference being represented by the disasters of the war, by the result of + reconcentration, and by departures during the disturbance. The general result seems + to be that the population was practically quadrupled. A somewhat rough approximation + would show the blacks as multiplied by three, to an 1899 total of 505,000, with the + whites multiplied by four, to a total of 1,067,000. Nor are there figures of trade + that afford any proper clue to the growth of industry and commerce. There are records + of imports and exports from about 1850 onward, but before that time the matter of + contraband trade introduces an element of uncertainty. An American official pamphlet + on Cuban trade carries the statement, "the ascertainment of full and exact details of + the commerce of Cuba prior to the close of Spanish dominion in the island is an + impossibility. The Spanish authorities, as a rule, published no complete returns of + Cuban trade, either foreign or domestic. Except with regard to Spain and the United + States, most of the existing commercial statistics of Cuba, prior to 1899, are + fragmentary and merely approximative. Spain and the United States have always kept a + separate and distinct trade account with Cuba; but the United Kingdom, France, + Germany, and other European countries excepting Spain, formerly merged their + statistics of trade with Cuba in one general item embracing Cuba and Porto Rico, + under the heading of "Spanish West Indies." Since 1899, however, all the Powers have + kept separate accounts with Cuba, and the statistics of the Cuban Republic have been + reasonably full and accurate."</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig04"></a><a href="images/image04.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image04.jpg" alt="IRON GRILLE GATEWAY" /></a> + <h3>IRON GRILLE GATEWAY<br /> + <i>El Vedado, Suburb of Havana</i></h3> + </div> + <p>Cuba's recorded imports in 1894 show a total value of $90,800,000, and exports + show a value of $102,000,000. Writing about the year 1825, Humboldt says: "It is more + than probable that the imports of the whole island, licit and contraband, estimated + at the actual value of the goods and the slaves, amount, at the present time, to + fifteen or sixteen millions of dollars, of which barely three or four millions are + re-exported." The same authority gives the probable exports of that time as about + $12,500,000. The trade at the beginning of the century must have been far below this. + The official figures for 1851 show total imports amounting to $34,000,000, and + exports to $33,000,000, but the accuracy of the figures is open to question. The more + important fact is that of a very large gain in population and in production. The + coffee industry, that assumed important proportions during a part of the first half + of the century, gradually declined for the reason that sugar became a much more + profitable crop. Now, Cuba imports most of its coffee from Porto Rico. Because of its + convenience as a contraband article, there are no reliable figures of the tobacco + output. Prior to 1817, the commodity was, for much of the time, a crown monopoly and, + for the remainder of the time, a monopoly concession to private companies. In that + year, cultivation and trade became free, subject to a tax on each planter of + one-twentieth of his production.</p> + <p>As we shall see, in another chapter, Cuba at last wearied of Spanish exactions and + revolted as did the United States, weary of British rule and British exactions and + restrictions, more than a hundred years earlier.</p> + <h2><a id="III">III</a><br /> + <i>THE COUNTRY</i></h2> + <p>Description of the physical features of a country seldom makes highly entertaining + reading, but it seems a necessary part of a book of this kind. Some readers may find + interest if not entertainment in such a review. The total area of the island, + including a thousand or more adjacent islands, islets, and keys, is given as 44,164 + square miles, a little less than the area of Pennsylvania and a little more than that + of Ohio or Tennessee. Illustration of its shape by some familiar object is difficult, + although various comparisons have been attempted. Some old Spanish geographers gave + the island the name of <i>La Lengua de Pajaro</i>, "the bird's tongue." Mr. M.M. + Ballou likened it to "the blade of a Turkish scimitar slightly curved back, or + approaching the form of a long, narrow, crescent." Mr. Robert T. Hill holds that it + "resembles a great hammer-headed shark, the head of which forms the straight, south + coast of the east end of the island, from which the sinuous body extends westward. + This analogy is made still more striking by two long, finlike strings of keys, or + islets, which extend backward along the opposite coasts, parallel to the main body of + the island." But all such comparisons call for a lively imagination. It might be + likened to the curving handles of a plow attached to a share, or to any one of a + dozen things that it does not at all clearly resemble. Regarding the Oriente coast, + from Cape Cruz to Cape Maisi, as a base, from that springs a long and comparatively + slender arm that runs northwesterly for five hundred miles to the vicinity of Havana. + There, the arm, somewhat narrowed, turns downward in a generally southwestern + direction for about two hundred miles. The total length of the island, from Cape + Maisi on the east to Cape San Antonio on the west, is about seven hundred and thirty + miles. Its width varies from a maximum, in Oriente Province, of about one hundred and + sixty miles, to a minimum, in Havana Province, of about twenty-two miles. It has a + general coast line of about twenty-two hundred miles, or, following all its + sinuosities, of about seven thousand miles. Its north coast is, for much of its + length, steep and rocky. Throughout the greater part of the middle provinces, there + is a border of coral reefs and small islands. At the western end, the north coast is + low, rising gradually to the eastward. At the eastern end, the northern coast is + abrupt and rugged, rising in a series of hills to the elevations in the interior. + Westward from Cape Maisi to Cape Cruz, on the south coast, and immediately along the + shore line, runs a mountain range. From here westward, broken by an occasional hill + or bluff, the coast is low and marshy.</p> + <p>Probably the best description of the topography and the orography of the island + yet presented is that given by Mr. Robert T. Hill, of the United States Geological + Survey. In his book on Cuba and other islands of the West Indies, Mr. Hill says:</p> + <p>"As regards diversity of relief, Cuba's eastern end is mountainous, with summits + standing high above the adjacent sea; its middle portion is wide, consisting of + gently sloping plains, well-drained, high above the sea, and broken 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. Over the whole is a mantle of tender vegetation, rich in every hue that + a flora of more than three thousand species can give, and kept green by mists and + gentle 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.</p> + <p>"But, at the outset the reader should dispossess his mind of any preconceived idea + that the island of Cuba is in any sense a physical unit. On the contrary, it presents + a diversity of topographic, climatic, and cultural features, which, as distributed, + divide the island into at least three distinct natural provinces, for convenience + termed the eastern, central, and western regions. The distinct types of relief + include regions of high mountains, low hills, dissected plateaus, intermontane + 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 + presents a rugged aspect when viewed from the sea. About one-fourth of the total area + is mountainous, three-fifths are rolling plain, valleys, and gentle arable slopes, + and the remainder is swampy.</p> + <p>"The island border on the north presents a low cliff topography, with a horizontal + sky-line from Matanzas 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 on both the north and south sides a series of remarkable terraces, + rising in stair-like arrangement to six hundred feet or more, representing successive + pauses or stages in the elevation of the island above the sea, and constituting most + striking scenic features. About one-half the Cuban coast is bordered by keys, which + are largely old reef rock, the creations of the same coral-builders that may now be + seen through the transparent waters still at work on the modern shallows, decking the + rocks and sands with their graceful and many colored tufts of animal foliage."</p> + <p>Mr. Hill summarizes the general appearance of the island, thus: "Santiago de Cuba + (now called Oriente) is predominantly a mountainous region of high relief, especially + along the coasts, with many interior valleys. Puerto Principe (now Camaguey) and + Santa 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 notable elevations of the island are the Cordilleras de los Organos, or + Organ Mountains, in Pinar del Rio, of which an eastward extension appears in the + Tetas de Managua, the Arcas de Canasi, the Escalera de Jaruco, the Pan de Matanzas, + and other minor elevations in Havana and Matanzas Provinces. In Santa Clara and + Camaguey, the range is represented by crest lines and plateaus along the north shore, + and finally runs into the hill and mountain maze of Oriente. In the south-central + section of the island, a somewhat isolated group of elevations appears, culminating + in El Potrerillo at a height of nearly 3,000 feet. In Oriente, immediately along the + south coast line, is the precipitous Sierra Maestra, reaching its greatest altitude + in the Pico del Turquino, with an elevation of approximately 8,500 feet. Another + elevation, near Santiago, known as La Gran Piedra, is estimated at 5,200 feet. All + these heights are densely wooded. From the tops of some of them, east, west, and + central, the views are marvellously beautiful, but the summits of most are reached + only with considerable difficulty. One of the most notable of these view points, and + one of the most easily reached, is the height immediately behind the city of + Matanzas, overlooking the famous Yumuri valley. The valley is a broad, shallow bowl, + some five or six miles in diameter, enclosed by steeply sloping walls of five to six + hundred feet in height. Through it winds the Yumuri River. It is best seen in the + early forenoon, or the late afternoon, when there come the shadows and the lights + that are largely killed by the more vertical rays of a midday sun. At those hours, it + is a scene of entrancing loveliness. There are views, elsewhere, covering wider + expanses, but none, I think, of equal beauty.</p> + <p>The vicinity of Matanzas affords a spectacle of almost enchantment for the + sight-seer, and of deep interest for the geologist. Somewhat more than fifty years + ago, an accident revealed the beautiful caves of Bellamar, two or three miles from + the city, and easily reached by carriage. Caves ought to be cool. These are not, but + they are well worth all the perspiration it costs to see them. They are a show place, + and guides are always available. In size, the caverns are not comparable with the + caves of Kentucky and Virginia, but they far excel in beauty. They are about three + miles in extent, and their lower levels are said to be about five hundred feet from + the surface. The rock is white limestone, in which are chambers and passage-ways, + stalactites and stalagmites innumerable. These have their somewhat fantastic but not + unfitting names, such as the Gothic Temple, the Altar, the Guardian Spirit, the + Fountain of Snow, and Columbus' Mantle. The place has been called "a dream of + fairyland," a fairly appropriate description. The colors are snow-white, pink, and + shades of yellow, and many of the forms are wonderfully beautiful. There are many + other caves in the island, like Cotilla, in the Guines region not far from Havana, + others in the Cubitas Mountains in Camaguey Province, and still others in Oriente, + but in comparison with Bellamar they are little else than holes in the ground. The + trip through these remarkable aisles and chambers occupies some three or four + hours.</p> + <p>Cuba is not big enough for rivers of size. There are innumerable streams, for the + island generally is well-watered. The only river of real importance is the Cauto, in + Oriente Province. This is the longest and the largest river in the island. It rises + in the hills north of Santiago, and winds a devious way westward for about a hundred + and fifty miles, emptying at last into the Gulf of Buena Esperanza, north of the city + of Manzanillo. It is navigable for small boats, according to the stage of the water, + from seventy-five to a hundred miles from its mouth. Numerous smaller streams flow to + the coast on both north and south. Some, that are really estuaries, are called + rivers. Very few of them serve any commercial purposes. There are a few water areas + called lakes, but they are really little other than ponds. On the south coast, + directly opposite Matanzas, lies a vast swamp known as the Cienega de Zapata. It + occupies an area of about seventy-five miles in length and about thirty miles in + width, almost a dead flat, and practically at sea-level. Here and there are open + spaces of water or clusters of trees, but most of it is bog and quagmire and dense + mangrove thickets. Along the coast are numerous harbors, large and small, that are + or, by dredging, could be made available for commercial purposes. Among these, on the + north coast, from west to east, are Bahia Honda, Mariel, Havana, Matanzas, Nuevitas, + Nipe Bay, and Baracoa. On the south, from east to west, are Guantanamo, Santiago, + Manzanillo, Cienfuegos, and Batabano. At all of these, there are now cities or towns + with trade either by steamers or small sailing vessels. Among the interesting + physical curiosities of the island are the numerous "disappearing rivers." Doubtless + the action of water on limestone has left, in many places, underground chambers and + tunnels into which the streams have found an opening and in which they disappear, + perhaps to emerge again and perhaps to find their way to the sea without + reappearance. This seems to explain numerous fresh-water springs among the keys and + off-shore. The Rio San Antonio quite disappears near San Antonio de los Banos. Near + Guantanamo, a cascade drops three hundred feet into a cavern and reappears a short + distance away. Such disappearing rivers are not unknown elsewhere but Cuba has + several of them.</p> + <hr /> + <p>The Census Report of 1907, prepared under American auspices, states that "the + climate of Cuba is tropical and insular. There are no extremes of heat, and there is + no cold weather." This is quite true if the records of a thermometer are the + standard; quite untrue if measured by the sensations of the human body. It is true + that, in Havana, for instance, the thermometer seldom exceeds 90° in the hottest + months, and rarely if ever goes below 50° in the coldest. But a day with the + thermometer anywhere in the 80s may seem to a northern body very hot, and a day with + the thermometer in the 50s is cold for anyone, whether a native or a visitor. There + is doubtless a physical reason for the fact that a hot day in the north seems hotter + than the same temperature in the south, while a day that seems, in the north, only + pleasantly cool, seems bitterly cold in the tropics. When the thermometer drops below + 60° in Havana, the coachmen blanket their horses, the people put on all the clothes + they have, and all visitors who are at all sensitive to low temperature go about + shivering. Steam heat and furnaces are unknown, and fireplaces are a rarity. Yet, in + general, the variations are not wide, either from day to day or when measured by + seasons. The extremes are the infrequent exceptions. Nor is there wide difference + between day and night. Taking the island as a whole, the average mean temperature for + July, the hottest month, is about 82°, and for January, the coolest month, about + 71°. + The mean for the year is about 77°, as compared with 52° for New York, + 48° for Chicago, 62° for Los Angeles, and 68° for New Orleans. + There are places that, by reason of exposure to prevailing winds, or distance from + the coast, are hotter or + cooler than other places. Havana is one of the cool spots, that is, relatively cool. + But no one goes there in search of cold. The yearly range in Havana, from maximum to + minimum, rarely if ever exceeds fifty degrees, and is usually somewhat below that, + while the range in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis is usually from one hundred to + one hundred and twenty-five degrees. The particular cause of discomfort for those + unused to it, is the humidity that prevails throughout the greater part of the year. + The worst season for this, however, is the mid-year months when few people visit the + island. The winter months, locally known as the "<i>invierno</i>," a term to be + associated with our word "vernal" and not with "infernal," are almost invariably + delightful, bringing to northern systems a pleasurable physical laziness that is + attended by a mental indifference to, or satisfaction with, the sensation.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig05"></a><a href="images/image05.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image05.jpg" alt="WATERING HERD OF CATTLE" /></a> + <h3>WATERING HERD OF CATTLE<br /> + <i>Luyano River near Havana</i></h3> + </div> + <p>The rainfall varies so widely in different parts of the island, and from year to + year, that exact information is difficult. Taken as a whole, it is little if at all + greater than it is in most places in the United States. We have our arid spots, like + El Paso, Fresno, Boise, Phoenix, and Winnemucca, where only a few inches fall in a + year, just as Cuba has a few places where the fall may reach sixty-five or seventy + inches in a year. But the average fall in Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and Santiago, + is little if any greater than in Boston, New York, or Washington. A difference + appears in the fact that about three-quarters of Cuba's precipitation comes between + the first of May and the first of October. But the term "wet season" does not mean + that it rains all the time, or every day, any more than the term "dry season" means + that during those months it does not rain at all. At times during the winter, or dry + season, there come storms that are due to unusual cold in the United States. These + are known in Cuba, as they are in Texas, as "northers." High winds sweep furiously + across the Gulf of Mexico, piling up huge seas on the Cuban coast, and bringing what, + in the island, is the substitute for cold weather, usually attended by rain and + sometimes by a torrent of it. The prevailing wind in Cuba is the northeast + trade-wind. In summer when the sun is directly overhead this wind is nearly east, + while in winter it is northeast. The proper way to avoid such discomfort as attends + humidity accompanying a thermometer in the 80s, is to avoid haste in movement, to + saunter instead of hurrying, to ride instead of walking, to eat and drink in + moderation, and where-ever possible, to keep in the shade. Many of those who eat + heartily and hurry always, will, after a few days, be quite sure that they have + yellow fever or some other tropical disorder, but will be entirely mistaken about it. + Modern sanitation in Cuba has made yellow fever a remote possibility, and the + drinking water in Havana is as pure as any in the world.</p> + <p>Most of the official descriptions of the flora of Cuba appear to be copied from + Robert T. Hill's book, published in 1898. As nothing better is available, it may be + used here. He says: "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 addition to those introduced from abroad, over 3,350 native plants + have been catalogued. The flora includes nearly all characteristic forms of the other + West Indies, the southern part of Florida, and the Central American seaboard. Nearly + all the large trees of the Mexican <i>Tierra Caliente</i>, so remarkable for their + size, foliage, and fragrance, reappear in western Cuba. Numerous species of palm, + including the famous royal palm, occur, while the pine trees, elsewhere + characteristic of the temperate zone and the high altitudes of the tropics, are found + associated with palms and mahoganies in the province of Pinar del Rio and the Isle of + Pines, both of which take their name from this tree. Among other woods are the + lignum-vitae, granadilla, the coco-wood, and the <i>Cedrela Odorata</i> (fragrant + cedar) which is used for cigar boxes and the lining of cabinet work."</p> + <p>In quoting the number of native plants, Mr. Hill uses a report somewhat + antiquated. Later estimates place the number as between five and six thousand. + Flowers are abundant, flowers on vines, plants, shrubs, and trees, tall stalks with + massive heads, and dainty little blossoms by the wayside. Brilliant flowering trees + are planted to line the roadsides. Among all the tree-growths, the royal palm is + notable. Scoffers have likened it to "a feather duster stood on end," but it is the + prominent feature in most of Cuba's landscape, and it serves many purposes other than + that of mere decoration. From its stem the Cuban peasant builds his little cottage + which he roofs with its leaves. Medicinal qualities are claimed for its roots. From + different parts of the tree, a wide variety of useful articles is made, plates, + buckets, basins, and even a kettle in which water may be boiled. The huge clusters of + seeds are excellent food for animals, and I have heard it said, though without proper + confirmation, that "a royal palm will keep a hog." Almost invariably, its presence + indicates a rich soil, as it rarely grows in areas of poor land. The forest area of + the island is not known with exactness, and is variously estimated at from about six + thousand square miles to about sixteen thousand. The difference probably represents + the opinion of individual investigators as to what is forest. About one-third of the + total is reported as in Oriente, another third in Camaguey, and the remainder + scattered through the four remaining provinces. A part of it is "public land," that + is, owned by the central government, but a greater part is of private ownership under + old Spanish grants. Much of it is dense jungle through which a way can be made only + by hacking, almost foot by foot. A good deal of it has already been cut over for its + most valuable timber. Most of the woods bear names entirely unfamiliar to us. Some + are used as cabinet woods, and some for tanning, for oils, dyes, gums, or fibres.</p> + <p>Cuba has few four-footed native wild animals. There are rabbits, but their + nativity is not quite certain. There are deer, but it is known that their ancestors + were brought from some other country. There are wild dogs, wild cats, and wild pigs, + but all are only domestic animals run wild.</p> + <p>Perhaps the only animal of the kind known to be native is the <i>jutia</i>, + sometimes spelled, as pronounced, <i>hutia</i>. Some observers have referred to it as + a rat, but it climbs trees and grows to the size of a woodchuck, or groundhog. It is + sometimes eaten and is said to be quite palatable. Reptiles are fairly common, but + none of them is dangerous. The best known is the <i>maja</i>, a snake that grows to a + length, sometimes, of twelve or fifteen feet. The country people not infrequently + make of it a kind of house pet. When that is done, the reptile often makes its home + in the cottage thatch, living on birds and mice. They are dull and sluggish in + motion. While visiting a sugar plantation a few years ago one of the hands asked if I + should be interested by their <i>maja</i>. He dipped his hand into a nearby + water-barrel in the bottom of which two of them were closely coiled. He dragged out + one of perhaps ten or twelve feet in length and four or five inches in diameter, + handling it as he would the same length of hawser. He hung it over the limb of a tree + so that I could have a good chance for a picture of it. The thing squirmed slowly to + the ground and crawled sluggishly away to the place from which it had been taken. Of + bird-life there is a large representation, both native and migratory. Among them are + some fifty species of "waders." In some parts of the island, the very unpleasant + land-crab, about the size of a soup-plate, seems to exist in millions, although + thousands is probably nearer the actual. The American soldiers made their + acquaintance in large numbers at the time of the Santiago campaign. They are not a + proper article of food. They have a salt-water relative that is most excellent + eating, as is also the lobster <i>(langosta)</i> of Cuban waters. In the swamp known + as the Cienega de Zapata are both alligators and crocodiles, some of them of quite + imposing dimensions.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig06"></a><a href="images/image06.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image06.jpg" alt="ROYAL PALMS" /></a> + <h3>ROYAL PALMS</h3> + </div> + <p>The insect life of the island is extensive. From personal experience, particularly + behind the search-light of an automobile that drew them in swarms, I, should say that + the island would be a rich field for the entomologist. There are mosquitos, gnats, + beetles, moths, butterflies, spiders, and scorpions. The bites of some of the spiders + and the stings of the scorpions are, of course, uncomfortable, but they are neither + fatal nor dangerous. With the exception of an occasional mosquito, and a perhaps more + than occasional flea, the visitor to cities only is likely to encounter few of the + members of these branches of Cuban zoology. There is one of the beetle family, + however, that is extremely interesting. That is the <i>cucullo</i>, which Mr. Hazard, + in his book on Cuba, calls a "bright peripatetic candle-bearer, by whose brilliant + light one can not only walk, but even read." They are really a kind of glorified + firefly, much larger than ours, and with a much more brilliant light. I do not know + their candle-power, but Mr. Hazard exaggerates little if at all in the matter of + their brilliancy.</p> + <p>While those referred to in the foregoing are the most notable features in this + particular part of the Cuban field, there are others, though of perhaps less + importance, to which reference might be made. Among them would be the sponge + fisheries of the coast in the neighborhood of Batabano, and the numerous mineral + springs, some of them really having, and others supposed to have, remarkable curative + qualities. A half century or so ago, a number of places not far from Havana were + resorts to which rich and poor went to drink or to bathe in springs hot or cold or + sulphurous or otherwise, for their healing. Among these were the baths at San Diego, + near the Organ Mountains in Pinar del Rio; Santa Rita, near Guanabacoa in Havana + Province; others near Marianao, on the outskirts of the city; and San Antonio, also + in Havana Province. Most of these places now appear to have lost their popularity if + not their medicinal virtues. Some, like those at Madruga, not far from Havana, still + have a considerable patronage. Something may also be said of earthquakes and + hurricanes. The former occur, on a small scale, more or less frequently in Oriente, + and much less frequently and of less severity in Havana. The latter come from time to + time to work disaster to Cuban industries and, sometimes but not frequently, to cause + loss of life and the destruction of buildings. They rarely occur except in the late + summer and the autumn.</p> + <p>Nearly a hundred years ago, Alexander Humboldt, a traveller and a scientist, wrote + thus of the island of Cuba: "Notwithstanding the absence of deep rivers and the + unequal fertility of the soil, the island of Cuba presents on every hand a most + varied and agreeable country from its undulating character, its ever-springing + verdure, and the variety of its vegetable formations."</p> + <h2><a id="IV">IV</a><br /> + <i>THE OLD HAVANA</i></h2> + <p>Among the many pictures, stored away in the album of my memory, there are two that + stand out more vividly than any others. The subjects are separated by half the + world's circumference. One is the sunsets at Jolo, in the southern Philippines. There + the sun sank into the western sea in a blaze of cloud-glory, between the low-lying + islands on either hand with the rich green of their foliage turned to purple shadows. + The other is the sunrise at Havana, seen from the deck of a steamer in the harbor. + The long, soft shadows and the mellow light fell on the blue and gray and green of + the buildings of the city, and on the red-tiled roofs, with the hills for a + background in one-half of the picture, and the gleaming water of the gulf in the + background of the other half. I had seen the long stretch of the southern coast of + the island, from Cape Antonio to Cape Maisi, while on an excursion with a part of the + army of occupation sent to Porto Rico in the summer of 1898, and had set foot on + Cuban soil at Daiquiri, but Havana in the morning light, on January 2, 1899, was my + first real Cuban experience. It remains an ineffaceable memory. Of my surroundings + and experiences aside from that, I have no distinct recollection. All was submerged + by that one picture, and quickly buried by the activities into which I was + immediately plunged. I do not recall the length of time we were held on board for + medical inspection, nor whether the customs inspection was on board or ashore. I + recall the trip from the ship to the wharf, in one of the little sailboats then used + for the purpose, rather because of later experiences than because of the first one. I + have no purpose here to write a history of those busy days, filled as they were with + absorbing interest, with much that was pathetic and not a little that was amusing. I + have seen that morning picture many times since, but never less beautiful, never less + impressive. Nowadays, it is lost to most travellers because the crossing from Key + West is made in the daytime, the boat reaching Havana in the late-afternoon. + Sometimes there is a partial compensation in the sunset picture, but I have never + seen that when it really rivalled the picture at the beginning of the day.</p> + <p>The visitor to Cuba, unfamiliar with the island, should take it leisurely. It is + not a place through which the tourist may rush, guide book in hand, making snapshots + with a camera, and checking off places of interest as they are visited. + Picturesqueness and quaintness are not at all lacking, but there are no noble + cathedrals, no vast museums of art and antiquity, no snow-clad mountains. There is a + charm of light and shade and color that is to be absorbed slowly rather than + swallowed at a single gulp. It is emphatically a place in which to dawdle. Let those + who are obliged to do so, work and hurry; the visitor and the traveller should take + it without haste. It is far better to see Havana and its vicinity slowly and + enjoyably, and look at pictures of the rest of the country, than it is to rush + through the island merely for the sake of doing so. In his essay on <i>The Moral of + Landscape</i>, Mr. Ruskin said that "all travelling becomes dull in exact proportion + to its rapidity." Nowhere is that more true than it is in Cuba. There is very little + in all the island that cannot be seen in Havana and its immediate vicinity. It is + well to see the other places if one has ample time, but they should not be seen at + the expense of a proper enjoyment of Havana and its neighborhood. In Havana are + buildings as old and buildings as beautiful as any in the island. In its vicinity are + sugar plantations, tobacco fields, pineapples, cocoanuts, mangoes, royal palms, + ceibas, peasants' homes, typical towns and villages, all the life of the people in + the city and country. The common American desire to "see it all" in a few days, is + fatal to the greatest enjoyment, and productive mainly of physical fatigue and mental + confusion. It is the misfortune of most travellers that they carry with them only the + vaguest of ideas of what they want to see. They have heard of Cuba, of Havana, the + Morro, the Prado, of a sunny island in the midst of a sapphire sea. While it is true + that almost everything in Cuba is worth seeing, it is best to acquire, before going, + some idea of the exhibition. That saves time and many steps. The old city wall, La + Fuerza, and La Punta, are mere piles of masonry, more or less dull and uninteresting + unless one knows something of their history. The manners and customs of any country + become increasingly interesting if one knows something about them, the reason for + them.</p> + <p>It is only a short trip to the Castillo del Principe, the fortress that crowns the + hill to the west of the city. From that height, the city and the harbor are seen + below, to the eastward. Across the bay, on the heights at the entrance, are the + frowning walls of Morro Castle surmounted by the towering light-house, and the no + less grim walls of La Cabaña. The bay itself is a sprawling, shapeless body of water + with a narrow neck connecting it with the Florida Straits. Into the western side of + the bay the city thrusts itself in a shape that, on a large map, suggests more than + anything else the head and neck of an over-fed bulldog. Into this bay, in 1508, came + Sebastian Ocampo, said to be the first white man to visit the spot. He entered for + the purpose of careening his little vessels in order to remove the barnacles and + accumulated weed-growth. It is possible that the spot was discovered earlier, but + there is no record of the discovery if such was made. Ocampo gave it the name of + Puerto de Carenas. The next record is of its occupation, in 1519. Four years earlier, + Diego Velasquez had left a little colony near what is now called Batabano, on the + south coast. He gave the place the name of San Cristobal de la Habana, in memory of + the illustrious navigator and discoverer. Habana, or Havana, is a term of aboriginal + origin. It proved to be an uncomfortable place of residence, and in 1519 the people + moved across the island to the Puerto de Carenas, taking with them the name given to + the earlier settlement, and substituting it for the name given by Ocampo. After a + time, all was dropped except the present title, Habana, or more commonly by + English-speaking people, Havana. It was not much of a place for a number of years, + but in 1538 it was sacked and burned by a French pirate, one of the many, of + different nations, who carried on a very lively buccaneering business in those and in + later years in West Indian waters. Hernando de Soto was then governor of the island, + with headquarters at the then capital city, Santiago de Cuba. He proceeded at once to + the scene of destruction. On his arrival, he ordered the erection of a fortress. Some + of the work then done still remains in the old structure near the Palace, at the foot + of Calle O'Reilly, known as La Fuerza. A few years before this time, Hernan Cortes + had conquered Mexico, then called New Spain, and a business between Old Spain and New + Spain soon developed. The harbor of Havana made a convenient halting-place on the + voyages between the two, and the settlement assumed a steadily increasing importance. + A new governor, Gonzales Perez de Angulo, who arrived in 1549, decided to make it his + place of residence. The year 1552 is generally given as the time of the creation of + Havana as the capital city. It was at that time made the residence city of the + Governors, by their own choice, but it was not officially established as the capital + until 1589. The fortress erected by order of de Soto proved somewhat ineffective. In + 1554, another French marauder attacked and destroyed the town. The principal industry + of those early days was cattle-raising, a considerable market being developed for + export to Mexico, and for the supply of vessels that entered the harbor for food and + water.</p> + <p>The continuance of incursions by pirates made necessary some further provision for + the defence of the city. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged and strengthened, and the + construction of Morro Castle was begun. To this work was added La Punta, the little + fortress on the western shore of the entrance, at the point of the angle now formed + by the Prado and the Malecon. These ancient structures, of practically no value + whatever in modern warfare, are now among the most picturesque points of interest in + the neighborhood. Another, in the same class, of which only a little now remains, is + of a later time. This is the old city wall, the construction of which was begun in + 1671. Following the simile of the bull-dog's head, a tract of land, formerly known as + the Arsenal yard, and now the central railway station, lies tucked away immediately + under the animal's jaw. From there to a point on the north shore, near La Punta, in a + slightly curving line, a high wall was erected for the purpose of defence on the + western or landward side. The old city lay entirely in the area defined by this + western wall and the shore of the harbor. At intervals, gates afforded exit to the + country beyond, heavy gates that could be closed to exclude any possible attacking + party. The fortifications erected from time to time were supposed to afford a system + of effective defence for the city. They are now little else than picturesque features + in the landscape, points of interest for visitors. Taking the chain in its order, El + Morro stands on the point on the eastern side of the entrance to the harbor. Just + beyond it is La Cabaña. About a half a mile to the east of this was the stone fort on + the hill of San Diego. Three miles east of the Morro, on the shore at Cojimar, is a + small and somewhat ancient fortification. This group constituted the defence system + on the east. At the head of the bay, on an elevation a little to the south of the + city, stands El Castillo de Atares, begun in 1763, immediately after the capture and + occupation of the city by the British. This is supposed to protect the city on the + south, as Castillo del Principe is supposed to defend it on the west. This stands on + a hill on the western outskirts, a somewhat extensive structure, begun in 1774 and + completed about twenty years later. A little further to the west, at the mouth of the + Almendares river, stands a little fort, or tower, called Chorrera, serving as a + western outpost as Cojimar serves as an eastern outpost. Both were erected about the + year 1650. On the shore generally north of Principe was the Santa Clara battery, and + between that and La Punta, at the foot of the Calzada de Belascoain, stood the + Queen's battery. From any modern point of view, the system is little more than + military junk, better fitted for its present use as barracks, asylums, and prisons + than for military defence. But it is all highly picturesque.</p> + <p>In the beginning, most of the buildings of the city were doubtless of wood, with + palm-thatched roofs. In time, these gave place to rows of abutting stone buildings + with tiled roofs. Most of them were of one story, some were of two stories, and a few + "palaces" had three. The city within the wall is today very much as it was a century + and more ago. Its streets run, generally but not accurately, at right angles, one set + almost due east and west, from the harbor front to the line of the old wall, and the + other set runs southward from the shore of the entrance channel to the shore of the + inner harbor. Several of these streets are practically continuous from north to south + or from east to west. But most of them are rather passage-ways than streets. The + houses come to their very edges, except for a narrow strip hardly to be classed as a + sidewalk, originally left, presumably, only for the purpose of preventing the + scraping of the front of the building by the wheels of passing carts and carriages. + It is a somewhat inconvenient system nowadays, but one gets quite used to it after a + little, threads the narrow walk a part of his way, takes to the street the rest of + the way, and steps aside to avoid passing vehicles quite as did the carriageless in + the old days. One excellent way to avoid the trouble is to take a carriage and let + the other fellow step aside. Riding in the <i>coche</i> is still one of the cheapest + forms of convenience and entertainment in the city, excepting the afternoon drive + around the Prado and the Malecon. That is not cheap. We used to pay a dollar an hour. + My last experience cost me three times that.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:50%;"> + <a id="fig07"></a><a href="images/image07.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image07.jpg" alt="CUSTOM HOUSE, HAVANA" /></a> + <h3>CUSTOM HOUSE, HAVANA<br /> + <i>Formerly Franciscan Convent<br /> + Begun</i> 1574, <i>finished</i> 1591</h3> + </div> + <p>Much of the old city is now devoted to business purposes, wholesale, retail, and + professional. But there are also residences, old churches, and old public buildings. + On the immediate water-front, and for many years used as the custom house, stands the + old Franciscan convent, erected during the last quarter of the 16th Century. It is a + somewhat imposing pile, dominated by a high tower. I have not visited it for a number + of years and do not know if its interior is available for visitors without some + special introduction, but there is much worth seeing inside its walls, the flying + buttresses of the super-structure, some old and interesting frescoes, and a system of + dome construction that is quite remarkable. To the latter, my attention was first + called by General Ludlow, a distinguished engineer officer of the United States Army, + then acting as governor of the city. To him belongs, although it is very rarely + given, the credit for the cleansing of Havana during the First Intervention. He + frequently visited the old convent just to see and study that interior dome + construction. Immediately behind the Palace is the old convent of the Dominicans, + less imposing but of about the same period as the Franciscan structure. It is now + used as a high-school building. The Cathedral, a block to the northward of the + Dominican convent building, is of a much later date, having been begun as recently as + 1742. It was originally the convent of the Jesuits, but became the Cathedral in 1789. + Many have believed, on what seems to be acceptable evidence, that here for more than + a hundred years rested the bones of Christopher Columbus. He died in Valladolid in + 1506, and was buried there. His remains were removed to the Carthusian Monastery, in + Seville, in 1513. From there they are said to have been taken, in 1536, to the city + of Santo Domingo, where they remained until 1796, when they were brought to Havana + and placed in a niche in the walls of the old Cathedral, there to remain until they + were taken back to Spain in 1898. There is still an active dispute as to whether the + bones removed from Santo Domingo to Havana were or were not those of Columbus. At all + events, the urn supposed to contain them was in this building for a hundred years, + below a marble slab showing a carving of the voyager holding a globe, with a finger + pointing to the Caribbean. Beneath this was a legend that has been thus + translated:</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>OH! REST THOU, IMAGE OF THE GREAT COLON,<br /> + THOUSAND CENTURIES REMAIN, GUARDED IN THE URN,<br /> + AND IN THE REMEMBRANCE OF OUR NATION.</p> + </div> + </div> + <p>In this neighborhood, to the east of the Plaza de Armas, on which the Palace + fronts, is a structure known as <i>El Templete</i>. It has the appearance of the + portico of an unfinished building, but it is a finished memorial, erected in 1828. + The tradition is that on this spot there stood, in 1519, an old ceiba tree under + which the newly arrived settlers celebrated their first mass. The yellow Palace, for + many years the official headquarters and the residence of successive + Governors-General, stands opposite, and speaks for itself. In this building, somewhat + devoid of architectural merit, much of Cuba's history, for the last three-quarters of + a century, has been written. The best time to see all this and much more that is to + be seen, is the early morning, before the wheels begin to go around. The lights and + shadows are then the best, and the streets are quieter and less crowded. The + different points of interest are easily located by the various guide books + obtainable, and the distances are not great. A cup of <i>cafe con leche</i> should + precede the excursion. If one feels lazy, as one is quite apt to feel in the tropics + and the sub-tropics, fairly comfortable open carriages are at all times available. + With them, of course, a greater area can be covered and more places seen, though + perhaps seen less satisfactorily. There is much to be seen in the early morning that + is best seen in those hours, and much that is not seen later in the day. In all + cities there is an early morning life and Havana is no exception. I confess to only a + limited personal knowledge of it, but I have seen enough of it, and heard enough + about it, to know that the waking-up of cities, including Havana, is an interesting + process. I have, at least, had enough personal experience to be sure that the early + morning air is delicious, the best of the day. I am not speaking of the unholy hours + preceding daybreak, but of six to eight o'clock, which for those of us who are + inclined to long evenings is also the best time to be in bed. The early morning + church bells are a disturbance to which visitors do not readily adjust their morning + naps. Mr. Samuel Hazard, who visited Cuba about the year 1870, and wrote quite + entertainingly about it, left the following description of his experience in + Havana:</p> + <p>"Hardly has the day begun to break when the newly arrived traveller is startled + from his delightful morning doze by the alarming sound of bells ringing from every + part of the town. Without any particular concert of action, and with very different + sounds, they ring out on the still morning air, as though for a general + conflagration, and the unfortunate traveller rushes frantically from his bed to + inquire if there is any hope of safety from the flames which he imagines, from the + noise made, must threaten the whole town. Imagine, O reader! in thy native town, + every square with its church, every church with its tower, or maybe two or three of + them, and in each particular tower a half-dozen large bells, no two of which sound + alike; place the bell-ropes in the hands of some frantic man who pulls away, first + with one hand and then the other, and you will get a very faint idea of your first + awakening in Havana. Without apparent rhyme or reason, ding, dong, ding they go, + every bell-ringer at each different church striving to see how much noise he can + make, under the plea of bringing the faithful to their prayers at the early morning + mass."</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig08"></a><a href="images/image08.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image08.jpg" alt="BALCONIES IN OLD HAVANA STREET IN HAVANA" /></a> + <h3>BALCONIES IN OLD HAVANA<br /> + STREET IN HAVANA</h3> + </div> + <p>The only conceivable advantage of these early bells is the fact that they turn out + many a traveller at the hour when Havana is really at its best. Yet, as I read the + descriptive tales left by those who wrote forty, fifty, and sixty years ago, I am + struck by the fact, that, after all, the old Havana has changed but little. There are + trolley lines, electric lights, and a few other so-called modern improvements, but + there is still much of the old custom, the old atmosphere. The old wall, with its + soldier-guarded gates, is gone, and there are a few modern buildings, but only a few, + for which fact I always feel thankful, but the old city is much what it was when Mr. + Ballou, and Mr. Dana, and Mr. Kimball, and numerous others wrote about it soon after + 1850, and when Mr. Hazard wrote about it in 1870. The automobile is there now in + large numbers, in place of the old volante, and there are asphalted streets in place + of cobble-stones. The band plays in the evening in the Parque Central or at the + Glorieta, instead of in the Plaza de Armas, but the band plays. The restaurants are + still a prominent feature in Havana life, as they were then. The ladies wear hats + instead of <i>mantillas</i>, but they buy hats on Calle Obispo just as and where + their mothers and grandmothers bought <i>mantillas</i>. Bull-fighting is gone, + presumably forever, but crowds flock to the baseball grounds. The midday suspension + of business continues, generally, and the afternoon parade, on foot and in carriages, + remains one of the important functions of the day. There are many who know Havana, + and love it, who pray diligently that it may be many years before the city is + Americanized as, for instance, New Orleans has been.</p> + <p>Most of the life of the city, as it is seen by most visitors, is outside the old + city, and probably few know that any distinction is made, yet the line is drawn with + fair clearness. There is a different appearance in both streets and buildings. While + there are shops on San Rafael and Galiano and elsewhere, the principal shopping + district is in the old city, with Calle Obispo as its centre. They have tried + officially, to change the name of the street, but the old familiar name sticks and + seems likely to stick for a long time yet. Far be it from a mere man to attempt + analysis or description of such a place. He might tell another mere man where to buy + a hat, a pair of shoes, or eyeglasses, or a necktie, or where to find a lawyer, but + the finer points of shopping, there or elsewhere, are not properly for any masculine + description. The ladies may be trusted to learn for themselves, and very quickly, all + that they need or want to know about that phase of Havana's commerce. I am leaving + much to the guide books that can afford space for all necessary information about + churches, statues, and other objects of interest for visitors. Havana's retail + merchants have their own way of trading, much as they do in many foreign countries, + and in not a few stores in our own country. Prices are usually a question of the + customer's ability to match the commercial shrewdness of the dealer. Much of the + trade of visitors is now confined to the purchase of such articles as may be + immediately needed and to a few souvenirs. One of the charms of the place is the + cheap transportation. If you are tired, or in a hurry, there is always a coach near + at hand that will take you where you wish to go, for a peseta, or a quarter, if + within certain officially prescribed bounds. If you desire to go beyond those bounds, + make a bargain with your driver or be prepared for trouble. Down in the old city are + to be found several restaurants that are well worth visiting, for those who want good + food. I shall not advertise the particular places, but they are well known. As the + early morning is the best time to see the old city, the forenoon is the best time for + shopping. Such an expedition may well be followed by the <i>almuerzo</i>, the midday + breakfast or lunch, whichever one sees fit to call it, at one of these restaurants. + After that, it is well to enjoy a midday <i>siesta</i>, in preparation for the + afternoon function on the Prado and the Malecon.</p> + <h2><a id="V">V</a><br /> + THE NEW HAVANA</h2> + <p>The new Havana, the city outside the old wall, is about as old as Chicago but not + nearly as tall. There is no reason why it should be. Here are wide streets and broad + avenues, and real sidewalks, some of them about as wide as the entire street in the + old city. About 1830, the region beyond the wall was held largely by Spaniards to + whom grants of land had been made for one reason or another. These tracts were + plantations, pastures, or unimproved lands, according to the fancy of the proprietor + who usually lived in the city and enjoyed himself after the manner of his kind. Here + and there, a straggling village of palm-leaf huts sprang up. The roads were rough + tracks. To Governor-General Tacon seems due much of the credit for the improvement + beyond the walls. During his somewhat iron-handed rule several notable buildings were + erected, some of them by his authority. The most notable feature of the district is + the renowned Prado, a broad boulevard with a park between two drive-ways, running + from the water-front, at the entrance to the harbor, southward for about a mile. A + few years ago, rows of trees shaded the central parkway, but they were almost + entirely wrecked by the hurricanes in 1906 and 1910.</p> + <p>A half mile or so from its northern end, the Prado runs along the west side of the + Parque Central, the most notable of the numerous little squares of walks and trees + and flowers. A block or two further on is a little park with an excellent statue, + known as La India. Opposite that is another really beautiful park, from the western + side of which runs a broad street that leads to the Paseo de Carlos Tercero, formerly + the Paseo de Tacon, one of the monuments left to his own memory by one of Cuba's most + noted Spanish rulers. The Paseo runs westward to El Castillo del Principe, originally + a fortress but now a penitentiary. The Prado stops just beyond the companion parks, + La India and Colon. These originally formed the Campo de Marte, laid out by General + Tacon and, in his time, used as a military parade ground. In a way, the Parque + Central is the centre of the city. It is almost that, geographically, and perhaps + quite that, socially. In its immediate vicinity are some of the leading hotels and + the principal theatres. One of the latter, facing the park on its western side, + across the Prado, is now known as the Nacional. Formerly it was the Tacon, a monument + to that notable man. There is quite a story about that structure. It is somewhat too + long for inclusion here, but it seems worth telling. The following is an abridgment + of the tale as it is told in Mr. Ballou's <i>History of Cuba</i>, published in 1854. + Tacon was the Governor of the island from 1834 to 1838. At that time, a certain man + named Marti was eminent in the smuggling and piracy business, an industry in which + many others were engaged. But Marti seems to have stood at the top of his profession, + a man of skill and daring and evidently well supplied with brains. Tacon's efforts to + capture him, or to break up his business, were entirely unsuccessful, and a large + reward was offered for his body, alive or dead. Mr. Ballou tells the story in + somewhat dramatic manner:</p> + <p>"It was a dark, cloudy night in Havana, a few months after the announcement of the + reward, when two sentinels were pacing backward and forward before the main entrance + to the Governor's palace. A little before midnight, a man was watching them from + behind a statue in the park, and after observing that the sentinels paced their brief + walk so as to meet each other, and then turned their backs as they separated, leaving + a brief moment in the interval when the eyes of both were turned away from the + entrance, seemed to calculate upon passing them unobserved. It was an exceedingly + delicate manoeuvre, and required great care and dexterity to effect it; but, at last, + it was adroitly done, and the stranger sprang lightly through the entrance, secreting + himself behind one of the pillars of the inner court. The sentinels paced on + undisturbed. The figure which had thus stealthily effected an entrance, now sought + the broad stairs that led to the Governor's suite, with a confidence that evinced a + perfect knowledge of the place. A second guard-post was to be passed at the head of + the stairs; but, assuming an air of authority, the stranger offered a cold military + salute and passed forward, as though there was not the most distant question of his + right to do so; and thus avoiding all suspicion in the guard's mind, he boldly + entered the Governor's reception room unchallenged, and closed the door behind + him."</p> + <p>In his office, alone, the stranger found Tacon, who was naturally surprised at the + appearance of an unannounced caller. He demanded to know who the visitor was, but a + direct answer was evaded. After referring to the matter of the reward offered for the + discovery of Marti, and the pledge of immunity to the discoverer, the caller demanded + and obtained a verbal endorsement of the promise of immunity, under the Governor's + word of honor, whatever might be the circumstances of his revelation. He then + announced himself as the much-sought pirate and smuggler, Marti. Tacon was somewhat + astounded, but he kept his word. Marti was held overnight, but "on the following + day," the Ballou account proceeds, "one of the men-of-war that lay idly beneath the + guns of Morro Castle suddenly became the scene of the utmost activity, and, before + noon, had weighed her anchor, and was standing out into the gulf stream. Marti the + smuggler was on board as her pilot; and faithfully did he guide the ship on the + discharge of his treacherous business, revealing every haunt of the rovers, exposing + their most valuable depots; and many a smuggling craft was taken and destroyed. The + amount of money and property thus secured was very great." The contemptible job of + betraying his former companions and followers being successfully accomplished, Marti + returned with the ships, and claimed his reward from Tacon. The General, according to + his word of honor, gave Marti a full and unconditional pardon for all his past + offences, and an order on the treasury for the amount of the reward offered. The + latter was declined but, in lieu of the sum, Marti asked for and obtained a monopoly + of the right to sell fish in Havana. He offered to build, at his own expense, a + public market of stone, that should, after a specified term of years, revert to the + government, "with all right and the title to the fishery." This struck Tacon as a + good business proposition; he saved to his treasury the important sum of the reward + and, after a time, the city would own a valuable fish-market. He agreed to the plan. + Marti thereupon went into the fish business, made huge profits, and became, so the + story goes, the richest man in the island. After a time, being burdened with wealth, + he looked about for means of increasing his income. So he asked for and obtained a + monopoly of the theatre business in Havana, promising to build one of the largest and + finest theatres in the world. The result of the enterprise was the present Nacional + theatre, for many years regarded as second only to the Grand theatre in Milan. But it + was named the Tacon. Its special attraction was internal; its exterior was far from + imposing. It has recently been considerably glorified. Having thus halted for the + story of the theatre, we may return to the Prado on which it fronts. Here, Havana + society used to gather every afternoon to drive, walk, and talk. The afternoon + <i>paseo</i> was and still is the great event of the day, the great social function + of the city. At the time of my first visit, in 1899, there was no Malecon drive along + the shore to the westward. That enterprise was begun during the First Intervention, + and continued by succeeding administrations. In the earlier days, the route for + driving was down the east side of the Prado, between the Parque Central and the + <i>Carcel</i>, and up the west side, around and around, up and down, with bows and + smiles to acquaintances met or passed, and, probably, gossip about the strangers. + Many horsemen appeared in the procession, and the central promenade was thronged with + those who walked, either because they preferred to or because they could not afford + to ride around and around. In the Parque Central were other walkers, chatting groups, + and lookers-on. Some days the band played. Then the Prado was extended to the + water-front; the <i>glorieta</i> was erected; and that became another centre for + chatterers and watchers. The building of the Malecon extended the range of the + driveway. This afternoon function is an old established institution and a good one. + It may not compare favorably with the drive in some of our parks in this country, but + it is the best substitute possible in Havana. Indulgence in ices, cooling drinks, + chocolate, or other refections, during this daily ceremony, is fairly common but by + no means a general practice. The afternoon tea habit has not yet seized upon Havana. + The ices are almost invariably excellent. Some of them are prepared from native fruit + flavors that are quite unknown here. The <i>guanabana</i> ice is particularly to be + recommended. All such matters are quite individual, but a decoction called + <i>chocolate Espanol</i> is also to be recommended. It is served hot, too thick to + drink, and is to be taken with a spoon, to the accompaniment of cake. It is highly + nourishing as well as palatable. There is a wide variety of "soft drinks," made with + oranges, limes, or other fruits, and the <i>orchata</i>, made from almonds, and the + products of American soda fountains, but there is little use of the high-ball or the + cocktail except by Americans.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig09"></a><a href="images/image09.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image09.jpg" alt="STREET AND CHURCH OF THE ANGELS" /></a> + <h3>STREET AND CHURCH OF THE ANGELS<br /> + <i>Havana</i></h3> + </div> + <p>The Cubans are an exceedingly temperate people. Wine is used by all classes, and + <i>aguadiente</i>, the native rum, is consumed in considerable quantity, but the + Cuban rarely drinks to excess. I recall an experience during the earlier years. I was + asked to write a series of articles on the use of intoxicants in the island, for a + temperance publication in this country. My first article so offended the publishers + that they declined to print it, and cancelled the order for the rest of the series. + It was perhaps somewhat improper, but in that article I summed up the situation by + stating that "the temperance question in Cuba is only a question of how soon we + succeed in converting them into a nation of drunkards." Beer is used, both imported + and of local manufacture. Gin, brandy, and anisette, cordials and liqueurs are all + used to some but moderate extent, but intoxication is quite rare. One fluid extract I + particularly recommend, that is the milk of the cocoanut, the green nut. Much, + however, depends upon the cocoanut. Properly ripened, the "milk" is delicious, + cooling and wholesome, more so perhaps on a country journey than in the city. The nut + not fully ripened gives the milk, or what is locally called the "water," an + unpleasant, woody taste. I have experimented with it in different parts of the world, + in the Philippines, Ceylon, and elsewhere, and have found it wholesome and refreshing + in all places.</p> + <p>The houses in the new Havana are, on the whole, vastly more cheerful than are the + dwellings in the old city. They are of the same general architectural type, but + because of the wider streets, more air and sunshine gets into them. Some of the best + and most costly are along the Prado. A Cuban house interior generally impresses an + American as lacking in home-like quality. Some of the best are richly adorned, but + there is a certain bareness and an absence of color. As is usual with customs unlike + our own, and which we are therefore prone to regard as inferior to ours, there are + excellent reasons for Cuban interior decoration, or rather the lack of it. A little + experience, or even a little reflection, shows clearly the impossibility of anything + resembling American house decoration in such a climate as that of Cuba. Our warm + colors, hangings, upholstered furniture, rugs, and much else that we regard as + essential in northern latitudes, would be utterly unendurable in Cuba. There, the + marble or tiled floors, the cool tones of wall and ceiling, and the furniture of wood + and cane, are not only altogether fitting but as well altogether necessary. Our glass + windows would only serve to increase heat and shut out air. As some barrier is + necessary to keep passers, even Americans, from intrusive entrance by the windows + whose bottoms are at floor level, the system of iron bars or elaborate grille work is + adopted. Few Americans see much, if anything, of Cuban home life except as they see + it through these barriers as they pass. It is not the custom of the country to invite + promiscuous or casual acquaintances to call. It is even less the custom there than it + is with us. A book about Cuba, published a few years ago, gives a somewhat extended + account of what is called "home life," but it is the home life of workmen and people + who do laundry work to eke out a meagre living. It is not even the life of fairly + paid artisans, or of people of modest but comfortable income. It is no more a proper + description of the domestic life of the island than would be a presentation of the + life in the palaces of the wealthy. Such attempts at description are almost + invariably a mistake, conveying, whether from purpose or from indifference to truth, + a false impression. Domestic economy and household management vary in Cuba as they + vary in the United States, in France, England, Japan, or Mexico. The selection of an + individual home, or of several, as a basis for description, in Cuba or anywhere else, + can only result in a picture badly out of drawing and quite misleading.</p> + <p>There are Cuban homes, as there are American homes, that are slatternly and badly + managed, and there are Cuban homes that are as spick and span and as orderly in their + administration as any home in this country. Their customs, as are ours, are the + result of environment and tradition. To some of us, a rectangle of six or eight + rocking-chairs, placed in the centre of a room, in which family and visitors sit and + rock while they talk, may seem curious, but it is a custom that we may not criticize + either with fairness or common decency. The same may be said of the not uncommon + custom of using a part of the street floor of the house as a stable. It is an old + custom, brought from Spain. But I have wandered from description to incident. I have + no intention to attempt a description of Cuban home life, beyond saying that I have + been a guest in costly homes in the city and in the little palm-leaf "shacks" of + peasants, and have invariably found in both, and in the homes of intermediate + classes, only cordial hospitality and gracious courtesy. Those who have found + anything different have carried it with them in their own attitude toward their + hosts. Many of us, probably most of us, in the United States, make a sort of fetich + of the privacy of what we call our home life. We are encased in walls of wood or + masonry, with blinds, curtains, or shades at our windows. It might be supposed that + we wanted to hide, that there was something of which to be ashamed. It might at least + be so interpreted by one unfamiliar with our ways. It is only, like the open domestic + life in Cuba, a custom, a habit of long standing. Certainly, much of the domestic + life of Cuba is open. The mistress of the house chides a servant, rebukes or comforts + a child, sits with her embroidery, chaffers with an itinerant merchant or with the + clerk from a store, all in plain sight and hearing of the passer-by. What everyone + does, no one notices. The customs of any country are curious only to those from other + countries where customs are different. Our ways of life are quite as curious to + others as are their ways to us. We are quite blind to that fact chiefly because of an + absurd conviction of the immense superiority of our ways. We do not stop to consider + reasons for differences. A cup of coffee on an American breakfast table usually + consists of about four parts coffee and one part milk or cream. Most Cubans usually + reverse these percentages. There is a good reason for it. In our climate, we do not + need the large open doors and windows, the high ceilings, and the full and free + ventilation that make life endurable in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Their + system here would be as impossible as would be our system there. Houses in Cuba like + those of an American city or town would make life a miserable burden. The publicity, + or semi-publicity, of Cuban home life is a necessary result of conditions. It is, + naturally, more in evidence in the city proper, where the houses, abutting + immediately on the street, as do most of our city houses, are built, as ours are, in + solid rows. We avoid a good deal of publicity by piling our homes on top of each + other, and by elevators and stair-climbing.</p> + <p>The location of a residence in Havana gives no special idea of the wealth or the + social standing of those who occupy it. Not a few well-to-do people still live in the + old city, where the streets are narrow and where business is trying to crowd out + everything except itself. The home in that quarter may be in a block in which a + number of buildings are residences, or it may stand with a warehouse on one side and + a workshop on the other. A few people, of unquestionable social position still live + in buildings in which the street floor is a store or an office. There is nothing + curious about this. In many American cities, old families have clung to old homes, + and not a few new families have, from one reason or another, occupied similar + quarters. Such a residence may not conform to modern social ideas and standards, but + there are Americans in this country, as well as Cubans and Spaniards in Havana, who + can afford to ignore those standards. The same is true of many who live in the newer + city, outside the old walls. There as here, business encroaches on many streets + formerly strictly residential. This holds in the newer part of the city as well as in + the old part. A number of streets there are, for a part of their length, quite given + over to business. Even the Prado itself is the victim of commercial invasion. What + was once one of the finest residences in the city, the old Aldama place fronting on + the Campo de Marte, is now a cigar factory. A little beyond it is the Tacon market, + occupying an entire block. Stores and shops surround it. The old avenue leading to + the once fashionable Cerro, and to the only less fashionable Jesus del Monte, is now + a business street. Another business street leads out of the Parque Central, alongside + the former Tacon theatre. The broad Calzada de Galiano, once a fashionable residence + street, is now largely commercial. While less picturesque than some parts of the old + city within the walls, the most attractive part of Havana is undoubtedly the section + of El Vedado, the westward extension along the shore. Here are broad streets, trees, + gardens, and many beautiful and costly dwellings. This is really the modern Havana. A + part of it is only a little above sea-level, and behind that strip is a hill. A few + years ago, only a small number of houses were on the hillside or the hilltop. Now, it + is well built over with modern houses. The architectural type is generally retained, + and it is rather a pity that there should be even what variation there is. El Vedado + is the region of the wealthy and the well-to-do, with a large percentage of + foreigners. It has its social ways, very much as other places have, in this country, + in France, Hong Kong, or Honolulu. They are not quite our ways, but they are a result + of conditions, just as ours are.</p> + <p>On the hill, a little back of El Vedado, are two "points of interest" for + visitors; the old fortress, el Castillo del Principe, and the cemetery. In the latter + are some notable monuments. One is known as the Firemen's Monument. For many years, + Havana has had, supplementary to its municipal organization, a volunteer firemen's + corps. In various ways the latter resembles a number of military organizations in the + United States. It is at once a somewhat exclusive social club and a practical force. + Membership is a social distinction. If you are in Havana and see men in admirably + tailored, uniforms and fire helmets, rushing in a particular direction in cabs, + carriages or automobiles, you may know that they are members of the <i>Bomberos del + Comercio</i> on their way to a conflagration. Most excellent real work they have done + again and again in time of fire and flood. On parade, they look exceedingly dapper + with their helmets, uniforms, boots and equipment, somewhat too dandified even to + suggest any smoke other than that of cigars or cigarettes. But they are the "real + thing in smoke-eaters" when they get to work. They have a long list of heroic deeds + on their records. The monument in Colon Cemetery commemorates one of those deeds. In + an extensive and dangerous fire, in May, 1890, thirty of these men lost their lives. + A few years later, this beautiful and costly shaft was erected, by private + subscription, as a tribute to their valor and devotion. Another shaft, perhaps no + less notable, commemorates a deplorable and unpardonable event. A number of medical + students, mere boys, in the University of Havana, were charged with defacing the tomb + of a Spanish officer who had been killed by a Cuban in a political quarrel. At its + worst, it was a boyish prank, demanding rebuke or even some mild punishment. Later + evidence indicates that while there was a demonstration there was no defacement of + the vault. Forty-two students were arrested as participants, tried by court-martial, + and sentenced to be shot. Eight of them were shot at La Punta, at the foot of the + Prado near the sea-front, and the remainder sentenced to imprisonment for life. All + of these, I believe, were afterward released. The Students' Monument expresses the + feeling of the Cubans in the matter, a noble memorial. There are numerous other + shafts and memorials that are notable and interesting. A number of Cuba's leaders, + Maximo Gomez, Calixto Garcia, and others, are buried in this cemetery.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig10"></a><a href="images/image10.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image10.jpg" alt="A RESIDENCE IN EL VEDADO" /></a> + <h3>A RESIDENCE IN EL VEDADO</h3> + </div> + <p>Further on, to the southeast, are other sections of the new Havana, the districts + of Cerro and Jesus del Monte. El Vedado has largely supplanted these neighborhoods as + the "court end" of the city. Many of the fine old residences of forty or fifty years + ago still remain, but most of them are now closely surrounded by the more modest + homes of a less aristocratic group. A few gardens remain to suggest what they were in + the earlier days. Still further out, in the west-and-south quarter-circle, are little + towns, villages, and hamlets, typically Cuban, with here and there the more imposing + estate of planter or proprietor. But, far the greater number of visitors, perhaps + with greater reason, find more of charm and interest in the city itself than in the + suburbs or the surrounding country. The enjoyment of unfamiliar places is altogether + personal. There are many who really see nothing; they come away from a brief visit + with only a confusion of vague recollections of sights and sounds, of brief + inspection of buildings about which they knew nothing, of the big, yellow Palace, of + this church and that, of the Morro and the harbor, of sunny days, and of late + afternoons along the Prado and the Malecon. To me, Havana is losing its greatest + charm through an excess of Americanization, slowly but steadily taking from the place + much of the individuality that made it most attractive. It will be a long time before + that is entirely lost, but five-story office buildings, automobiles in the afternoon + parade, steaks or ham and eggs at an eight or nine o'clock breakfast, and all kinds + of indescribable hats in place of dainty and graceful <i>mantillas</i>, seem to me a + detraction, like bay-windows and porticos added to an old colonial mansion.</p> + <h2><a id="VI">VI</a><br /> + <i>AROUND THE ISLAND</i></h2> + <p>A hundred years ago, the Cubans travelled from place to place about the island, + just as our ancestors did in this country, by water and over rough trails few of + which could, with any approach to correctness, be described as roads. It was not + until about a hundred years ago that we, in this country, began to build anything + even remotely resembling a modern highway. Our towns and cities were on the seaboard + or on the banks of rivers navigable for vessels of size sufficient for their + purposes. Commodities carried to or brought from places not so located were dragged + in stoutly built wagons over routes the best of which was worse than the worst to be + found anywhere today. Because real road-making in Cuba is quite a modern institution, + an enterprise to which, in their phrase, the Spanish Government did not "dedicate" + itself, the Cuban wagons and carts of today are chiefly those of the older time. They + are heavy, cumbrous affairs with large wheels, a diameter necessitated by the deep + ruts through which a passage was made. A smaller wheel would soon have been + "hub-deep" and hopelessly stuck. So, too, with the carriages of the nabobs. The + poorer people, when they travelled at all, went on foot or on horseback, as our + ancestors did. The nabobs had their <i>volantes</i>, still occasionally, but with + increasing rarity, seen in some parts of the island. Forty years ago, such vehicles, + only a little changed from the original type, were common enough in Havana itself. + About that time, or a few years earlier, the four-wheeler began to supplant them for + city use.</p> + <p>There is a technical difference between the original type of <i>volante</i> and + its successor which, though still called a <i>volante</i> was properly called a + <i>quitrin</i>. The only real difference was that the top of the <i>quitrin</i> was + collapsible, and could be lowered when desirable, while the top of the <i>volante</i> + was not. I have ridden in these affairs, I cannot say comfortably, over roads that + would have been quite impossible for any other wheeled vehicle. At the back, and + somewhat behind the body were two wheels, six feet in diameter. From, the axle, two + shafts projected for a distance, if memory serves me, of some twelve or fifteen feet. + A little forward of the axle, the body, not unlike the old-fashioned American chaise, + was suspended on stout leather straps serving as springs. Away off in front, at the + end of the shafts, was a horse on which the driver rode in a heavy and clumsy saddle. + For long-distance travel, or for particularly rough roads, a second horse was added, + alongside the shaft horse, and sometimes a third animal. The motion was pleasant + enough over the occasional smooth places, but the usual motion was much like that of + a cork in a whirlpool, or of a small boat in a choppy sea. Little attention was paid + to rocks or ruts; it was almost impossible to capsize the thing. One wheel might be + two feet or more higher than the other, whereupon the rider on the upper side would + be piled on top of the rider or riders on the lower side, but there was always a fair + distribution of this favor. The rocks and ruts were not always on the same side of + the road. The safety from overturn was in the long shafts which allowed free play. In + the older days, say sixty or seventy years ago, the <i>volante</i> or the + <i>quitrin</i> was an outward and visible sign of a well-lined pocket-book. It + indicated the possessor as a man of wealth, probably a rich planter who needed such a + vehicle to carry him and his family from their mansion in the city to their perhaps + quite as costly home on the plantation. The <i>calisero</i>, or driver, was dressed + in a costume truly gorgeous, the horses were of the best, and the vehicle itself may + have cost two thousand dollars or more. The operation of such a contrivance, + extending, from the rear of the wheels to the horse's nose, for twenty feet or more, + in the narrow streets of the old city, was a scientific problem, particularly in + turning corners.</p> + <p>Cuba was early in the field with a railway. In 1830, the United States had only + thirty-two miles of line, the beginning of its present enormous system. Cuba's first + railway was opened to traffic in November, 1837. It was a forty-five mile line + connecting Havana with the town of Guines, southeast of the city. While official + permission was, of course, necessary before the work could be undertaken, it was in + fact a Cuban enterprise, due to the activity of the <i>Junta de Fomento</i>, or + Society for Improvement. It was built with capital obtained in London, the + construction being in charge of Mr. Alfred Cruger, an American engineer. Ten years + later there were nearly three hundred miles of line. At the beginning of the American + occupation, in 1899, there were about nine-hundred and fifty miles. There are now + more than 2,000 miles of public service line in operation, and in addition there are + many hundreds of miles of private lines on the sugar estates. Several cities have + trolley lines. For some years after the American occupation, as before that + experience, there was only a water-and-rail connection, or an all-water route, + between the eastern and western sections of the island. The usual route from Havana + to Santiago was by rail to Batabano or to Cienfuegos, and thence by steamer. The + alternative was an all-water route, consuming several days, by steamer along the + north coast, with halts at different ports, and around the eastern end of the island + to the destination. It is now an all-rail run of twenty-four hours. The project for a + "spinal railway" from one end of the island to the other had been under consideration + for many years. The configuration lent itself excellently to such a system, and not + at all well to any other. A railway map of such a system shows a line, generally, + through the middle of the island along its length, with numerous branch lines running + north and south to the various cities and ports on the coast. The plan, broadly, is + being carried out. A combination of existing lines afforded a route to the city of + Santa Clara. From these eastward, the Cuba Company, commonly known as the Van Home + road, completed a through line in 1902. In its beginning, it was a highly ambitious + scheme, involving the building of many towns along the way, the erection of many + sugar mills, and the creation of a commercial city, at Nipe Bay, that would leave + Havana in the back-number class. All that called for a sum of money not then and not + now available. But the "spinal railroad" was built, and from it a number of radiating + lines have been built, to Sancti Spiritus, Manzanillo, Nipe Bay, and to Guantanamo. + About the only places on the island, really worth seeing, with the exception of + Trinidad and Baracoa, can now be reached by a fairly comfortable railway journey.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig11"></a><a href="images/image11.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image11.jpg" alt="THE VOLANTE" /></a> + <h3>THE VOLANTE<br /> + <i>Now quite rare</i></h3> + </div> + <p>In most of the larger cities of the island, a half dozen or so of them, the + traveller is made fairly comfortable and is almost invariably well fed. But any + question of physical comfort in hotels, more particularly in country hotels, raises a + question of standards. As Touchstone remarked, when in the forest of Arden, + "Travellers must be content." Those who are not ready to make themselves so, no + matter what the surroundings, should stay at home, which, Touchstone also remarked, + "is a better place." If the standard is the ostentatious structure of the larger + cities of this country, with its elaborate menu and its systematized service, there + will doubtless be cause for complaint. So will there be if the standard is the quiet, + cleanly inn of many towns in this country and in parts of Europe. The larger towns + and villages of the island have a <i>posada</i> in which food and lodging may be + obtained; the smaller places may or may not have "a place to stay." Cuba is not a + land in which commercial travellers swarm everywhere, demanding comfort and willing + to pay a reasonable price for it. However, few travellers and fewer tourists have any + inclination to depart from known and beaten paths, or any reason for doing so. Nor + does a fairly thorough inspection of the island necessitate any halting in + out-of-the-way places where there is not even an imitation of an inn. All that one + needs to see, and all that most care to see, can be seen in little tours, for a day, + from the larger cities. Yet if one wants to wander a little in the by-paths, it is + easy enough to do so.</p> + <p>What one sees or does in Cuba will depend mainly upon the purpose of the visit, + and upon the violence of the individual mania for seeing as many places as possible. + If the object is merely an excursion or an escape from the rigors of a northern + winter, there is no occasion for wandering out of sight of the capital city. There is + more to see and more to do in Havana than there is in all the rest of the island. Nor + is there much to be seen elsewhere that cannot be seen in the immediate vicinity of + that city. This, of course, does not cover the matter of scenery. There are no + mountains, no forest jungles in that neighborhood, but forests in Cuba are not + particularly interesting, and even the mountains of Oriente are no more beautiful or + majestic than are our own summits, our own White Hills of New Hampshire, the + Adirondacks, the Blue Ridge, the Alleghenies, the Rockies, and the Sierras. The charm + of Cuba, and it is extremely charming, is not its special "points of interest." It is + rather a general impression, a combination of soft and genial climate with varying + lights and shades and colors. Even after much experience there, I am not yet quite + ready either to admit or to deny that the island, taken as a whole, is either + beautiful or picturesque, and yet there is much of both. Attention is rarely + challenged by the sublime or the majestic, but is often arrested by some play of + light and shade. Cuban villages, with few exceptions, are unattractive, although + there is not infrequently some particular building, usually a church, that calls for + a second look or a careful examination. Most of these little communities consist of a + row of low and ungraceful structures bordering the highway. They are usually extended + by building on at the ends. If the town street gets undesirably long, a second street + or a third will be made, on one or both sides of the main street, and thus the town + acquires breadth as well as length. The houses are built immediately upon the + roadside, and sidewalks are quite unusual. Nor, until the place becomes a large town + or a small city, is there, in most cases, any attempt at decoration by means of shade + trees. A tree may be left if there happened to be one when the village was born, but + rarely do the inhabitants turn their streets into tree-shaded avenues. There would be + an excellent opportunity for the activities of Village Improvement Societies in Cuba, + if it were not for the fact that such tree-planting would involve pushing all the + houses ten or fifteen feet back from the roadside.</p> + <p>I have never studied the system of town building in the island, yet it is + presumable that there was some such system. In the larger places, there is usually a + central park around which are arranged the church, the public buildings, and the + stores. Whether these were so constructed from an original plan, or whether they are + an evolution, along a general plan, from the long, single street, I do not know. I am + inclined to believe that the former was the case, and that it followed the location + of a church. The custom is, of course, of Spanish origin, and is common throughout + the greater part of Latin America. It finds a fair parallel in our own country + custom, by no means infrequent, of an open "green" or common in front of the village + church and the town hall. Tree-setting along the Cuban highways, more particularly in + the neighborhood of the cities, is not at all unusual, and some of these shaded roads + are exceedingly charming. Some are entirely over-arched by laurel trees and the + gorgeous <i>flamboyan</i>, making long tunnels of shade "through whose broken roof + the sky looks in." Evidently the Spanish authorities were too much interested in + making money and enjoying themselves in the cities to care very much for what + happened to the Cubans in the villages, as long as they paid the money that filled + the official pocket and paid for the official entertainment, and the Cubans were too + busy getting that money to have much time for village improvement. The Spaniards, + following their home custom, might decorate a military highway to some extent, but + the rough trail over which the peasant carried his little crop did not concern them. + That was quite the business of the peasant who had neither the time nor money to do + anything about it.</p> + <p>The question of good roads in Cuba is very much what it is in this country. Cuba + needs more good roads than its people can afford to build; so does the United States. + At the time of the American occupation, in 1899, there were only 160 miles of + improved highway in the entire island. Of this, 85 miles were in Havana Province, and + 75 miles in Pinar del Rio. The remainder of the island had none. Some work was done + during the First Intervention and more was done under the Palma government. At the + time of the Second Intervention, there were about 380 miles. That is, the United + States and the Cuban Republic built, in six years, nearly 40 per cent, more highway + than the Spanish authorities built in four hundred years. During the Palma regime, + plans were drawn for an extensive road system, to be carried out as rapidly as the + financial resources permitted. Not unlike similar proceedings in this country, in + river and harbor work and public buildings, politics came into the matter and, like + our own under similar circumstances, each Congressman insisted that some of such work + as could immediately be undertaken, some of the money that could be immediately + spent, should benefit his particular district. The result was that what was done by + the Cubans was somewhat scattered, short stretches built here and there, new bridges + built when there might or might not be a usable road to them. The Cuban plan + involved, for its completion, a period of years and a large appropriation. It called + for comparatively small yearly appropriations for many roads, for more than four + hundred different projects. Then came the Second Intervention, in 1906, with what has + seemed to many of us an utterly unwise and unwarranted expenditure for the completion + of certain selected projects included in the Cuban plan. It may be granted that the + roads were needed, some of them very much needed, but there are thousands of miles of + unconstructed but much needed roads in the United States. Yet, in this country, + Federal, State, county, and town treasuries are not drained to their last dollar, and + their credit strained, to build those roads. From the drain on its financial + resources, the island will recover, but the misfortune appears in the setting of a + standard for Federal expenditure, in its total for all purposes amounting to about + $40,000,000 a year, far beyond the reasonable or proper bearing power of the island. + But the work was done, the money spent, and the Cubans were committed to more work + and to further expenditure. I find no data showing with exactness the mileage + completed by the Magoon government, which came to an end in January, 1909, but a + Cuban official report made at the end of 1910 shows that the combined activities of + the respective administrations, Spanish, American, and Cuban, had given the island, + at that time, practically a thousand miles of improved highway, distributed + throughout the island.</p> + <p>To see the real Cuba, one must get into the country. Havana is the principal city, + and for many it is the most interesting place on the island, but it is no more Cuba + than Paris is France or than New York is the United States. The real Cuba is rural; + the real Cuban is a countryman, a man of the soil. If he is rich, he desires to + measure his possessions in <i>caballerias</i> of 33-1/3 acres; if poor, in + <i>hectareas</i> of 2-1/2 acres. I do not recall any Cuban cartoon representing the + Cuban people that was not a picture of the peasant, the <i>guajiro</i>. Cuba, as a + political organism, is shown as a quite charming <i>senorita</i>, but <i>el pueblo + Cubano</i>, the Cuban people, are shown as the man of the fields. With the present + equipment of railroads, trolley lines, automobile busses, and highways, little + excursions are easily made in a day. The railways, trolleys, and automobile busses + are unsatisfactory means of locomotion for sight-seeing. The passenger is rushed past + the very sights that would be of the greatest interest. To most of us, a private + hired automobile is open to the very serious objection of its expensiveness, an item + that may sometimes be reduced by division. It has been my good fortune in more recent + years to be whirled around in cars belonging to friends but my favorite trip in + earlier days is, I presume, still open to those who may care to make it. I have + recommended it to many, and have taken a number with me over the route.</p> + <p>It is an easy one-day excursion of about sixty miles, by rail to Guanajay, by + carriage to Marianao, and return to Havana by rail. Morning trains run to Guanajay, + through a region generally attractive and certainly interesting to the novice, by way + of Rincon and San Antonio de los Banos, a somewhat roundabout route, but giving a + very good idea of the country, its plantations, villages, and peasant homes. At + Guanajay, an early lunch, or a late breakfast, may be obtained at the hotel, before + or after an inspection of the town itself, a typical place with its little central + park, its old church, and typical residences. Inquiry regarding the transportation to + Marianao by carriage should not be too direct. It should be treated as a mere + possibility depending upon a reasonable charge. I have sometimes spent a very + pleasant hour in intermittent bargaining with the competitors for the job, although + knowing very well what I would pay and what they would finally accept. Amiably + conducted, as such discussions should be in Cuba, the chaffering becomes a matter of + mutual entertainment. A bargain concluded, a start may be made about noon for a drive + over a good road, through a series of typical villages, to Marianao, in time for a + late afternoon train to Havana, reaching there in ample time for dinner. Along the + road from Guanajay to Marianao, Maceo swept with ruthless hand in 1896, destroying + Spanish property. Here the Spaniards, no less ruthless, destroyed the property of + Cubans. It is now a region of peaceful industry, and little or nothing remains to + indicate its condition when I first saw it. The little villages along the way were in + ruins, the fields were uncultivated, and there were no cattle. At intervals there + stood the walls of what had been beautiful country estates. Only one of many was left + standing. At intervals, also, stood the Spanish blockhouses. All along that route, in + 1906, were the insurrectos of the unfortunate experience of that year. In the village + of Caimito, a short distance from Guanajay, along that road, I visited Pino Guerra at + his then headquarters when he and his forces so menaced Havana that Secretary Taft, + in his capacity of Peace Commissioner, ordered their withdrawal to a greater + distance. The trip by rail and road, exhibits most of Cuba's special characteristics. + There are fields of sugar cane and fields of tobacco, country villages and peasant + homes, fruits and vegetables, ceiba trees, royal palms, cocoanut palms, and mango + trees. There is no other trip, as easily made, where so much can be seen. But there + are other excursions in the vicinity, for many reasons best made by carriage or by + private hired automobile. Within fifteen miles or so of the city, are places like + Calvario, Bejucal, and Managua, all reached by good highways through interesting and + typical country, and all well illustrating the real life of the real Cubans. It was + in the vicinity of those places that Maximo Gomez operated in 1895 and 1896, + terrorizing Havana by menacing it from the south and the east while Maceo threatened + it from the west. Another short and pleasant trip can be made around the head of the + harbor to Guanabacoa, and thence to Cojimar. Another interesting and easily reached + point is Guines, a good example of places of its size and class.</p> + <p>Of Cuba's larger cities, there are a score that would demand attention in a + guide-book. Just as there is a certain similarity in most American cities, in that + they are collections of business and residence buildings of generally similar + architecture, so is there a certain sameness in most of Cuba's cities. To see two or + three of them is to get a general idea of all, although each has its particular + features, some particular building, or some special charm of surroundings. The most + difficult of access are Baracoa, the oldest city of the island, and Trinidad, founded + only a few years later. Glancing at some of these places, in their order from west to + east, the first is Pinar del Rio, a comparatively modern city, dating really from the + second half of the 18th Century. It owes its past and its present importance to its + location as a centre of the tobacco region of the <i>Vuelta Abajo</i>. From + comfortable headquarters here, excursions can be made, by rail or road, through what + is perhaps the most attractive, and not the least interesting section of the island. + To the north are the Organ Mountains and the picturesque town of Vinales, one of the + most charming spots, in point of scenery, in Cuba. To the west, by rail, is Guane, + the oldest settlement in western Cuba, and all around are beautiful hills and + cultivated valleys. Eastward from Havana, the first city of importance is Matanzas. + Here is much to interest and much to charm, the city itself, its harbor, its two + rivers, the famous valley of the Yumuri, and the caves of Bellamar. The city, founded + in 1693, lies along the shore of the bay and rises to the higher ground of the hills + behind it. It lies about sixty miles from Havana, and is easily reached by rail or by + automobile. The next city in order, also on the north coast, is Cardenas, a modern + place, settled in 1828, and owing its importance to its convenience as a shipping + port for the numerous sugar estates in its vicinity, an importance now somewhat + modified by the facilities for rail shipment to other harbors. Seventy-five miles or + so further eastward is Sagua la Grande, another point of former convenience as a + shipping point for sugar. The city itself is located on a river, or estuary, some ten + or twelve miles from its mouth. Forty miles or so further on are Remedies and + Caibarien, a few miles apart, the latter on the coast and the former a few miles + inland. Caibarien, like Cardenas and Sagua, is chiefly notable as a sugar port, while + Remedios is the centre of one of the great tobacco districts, producing a leaf of + good quality but generally inferior to the <i>Partidos</i> of Havana Province, and + quite inferior to the famous <i>Vuelta Abajo</i>. Southward of this region, and about + midway the width of the island, somewhat more than two hundred miles eastward of + Havana, is the city of Santa Clara, better known in the island as Villa Clara. The + city dates its existence from 1689. It lies surrounded by rolling hills and expansive + valleys, but in the absence of extensive plantations in its immediate environs, one + is led to wonder just why so pleasant a place should be there, and why it should have + reached its present proportions. For the tourist who wants to "see it all," it is an + excellent and most comfortable central headquarters.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig12"></a><a href="images/image12.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image12.jpg" alt="A VILLAGE STREET" /></a> + <h3>A VILLAGE STREET<br /> + <i>Calvario, Havana Province</i></h3> + </div> + <p>From Villa Clara it is only a short run to Cienfuegos, the "city of a hundred + fires," a modern place, only about a hundred years old. There is every probability + that Columbus entered the harbor in 1494, and perhaps no less probability that Ocampo + entered in 1508, on his voyage around the island. The harbor extends inland for + several miles, with an irregular shore line, behind which rises a border line of + hills. The city itself is some four or five miles from the entrance to the harbor. It + came into existence, and still exists, chiefly by reason of the sugar business. It is + an important outlet for that industry, and many estates are in its near vicinity. The + old city of Trinidad is reached, by boat, from Cienfuegos, or rather its port city, + Casilda, is so reached. Presumably, it was the port city that Velasquez founded in + 1514, a location a few miles inland being chosen later, as being less exposed to + attacks by the pirates and freebooters who infested the Caribbean Sea for many years. + It is said that Cortes landed here and recruited his forces on his way to Mexico, in + 1518. The city itself stands on the lower slopes of the hills that form its highly + effective background. Its streets are narrow and tortuous. Like most of the cities of + the island, and most of the cities of the world, it has its humble homes of the poor, + and its mansions of the rich. Immediately behind it stands a hill with an elevation + of about nine hundred feet above sea-level. Its name indicates the reason for its + application, <i>La Vigia</i>, the "lookout," or the "watch-tower." From its summit, + we may assume that the people of earlier times scanned the horizon for any sign of + approaching pirates by whom they might be attacked. It serves a more satisfactory + purpose nowadays in that it affords one of the loveliest panoramic views to be found + anywhere in Cuba. Not far away, and accessible from the city, is the Pico de + Potrerillo, about 3,000 feet elevation, the highest point in Central Cuba. Northeast + of Trinidad, and reached by rail from Villa Clara, is Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad's + rival in antiquity, both having been founded, by Velasquez, in the same year. Here + also are narrow, crooked streets in a city of no mean attractions, although it lacks + the picturesque charm of its rival in age. It is an inland city, about twenty-five + miles from the coast, but even that did not protect it from attack by the pirates. It + was several times the victim of their depredations.</p> + <h2><a id="VII">VII</a><br /> + <i>AROUND THE ISLAND: Continued</i></h2> + <p>The next city, eastward, is Camaguey, in many ways doubtless the best worth a + visit, next to Havana, of any city on the island. It is a place of interesting + history and, for me personally, a place of somewhat mixed recollections. The history + may wait until I have told my story. I think it must have been on my third visit to + the island, early in 1902. On my arrival in Havana, I met my friend Charles M. + Pepper, a fellow laborer in the newspaper field. He at once informed me that he and I + were to start the next morning for a three or four weeks' journey around the island. + It was news to me, and the fact that my baggage, excepting the suitcase that I + carried, had failed to come on the boat that brought me, led me to demur. My + objections were overruled on the ground that we could carry little baggage anyway, + and all that was needed could be bought before starting, or along the way. The next + morning saw us on the early train for Matanzas. We spent a week or ten days in that + city, in Cardenas, Sagua, Santa Clara, and Cienfuegos, renewing former acquaintance + and noting the changes effected by the restoration from the war period. That was + before the completion of the Cuba Railway. To get to Camaguey, then known as Puerto + Principe, we took the steamer at Cienfuegos and journeyed along the coast to Jucaro. + There, because of shallow water, we were dropped into a shore boat some four or five + miles from the coast, and there our troubles began. Fortunately, it was early + morning. We got something to eat and some coffee, which is almost invariably good in + Cuba, but when we meet nowadays we have a laugh over that breakfast at Jucaro. I + don't know, and really don't care, what the place is now. After some hours of + waiting, we secured passage in an antiquated little car attached to a freight train + carrying supplies and structural material to Ciego de Avila, for use by the railway + then being built in both directions, eastward and westward from that point. The line + that there crosses the island from north to south was built in the time of the Ten + Years' War (1868-1878) as a barrier against the revolutionists operating in eastern + Cuba. It was restored for use in the revolution of 1895, but its blockhouses at every + kilometre, and its barbed wire tangles, were entirely ineffective against Gomez and + Maceo and other leaders, all of whom crossed it at their own sweet will, although not + without an occasional vicious little contest. We reached Ciego de Avila soon after + noon, and had to wait there over night for a further advance. The place is now a + thriving little city, but it was then a somewhat sprawling village with a building + that was called a hotel. But we got food and drink and beds, all that is really + necessary for experienced campaigners. For the next two days, Old Man Trouble made + himself our personal companion and did not lose sight of us for a single minute.</p> + <p>Through personal acquaintance with the railway officials, we obtained permission + to travel over the line, on any and all trains, as far as it was then built, some + forty miles or so toward Camaguey. Through them, also, we arranged for saddle horses + to meet us at railhead for the remainder of the journey. There were no trains except + construction trains carrying rails, ties, lumber, and other materials. We boarded the + first one out in the morning. We had our choice of riding on any of those commodities + that we might select. There was not even a caboose. We chose a car of lumber as the + most promising. For four or five hours we crawled through that country, roasting and + broiling on that pile of planks, but the ties and the rails were even hotter. The + only way we could keep a place cool enough to sit on was by sitting on it. I once + occupied a stateroom next to the steamer's funnel. I have seen, day after day, the + pitch bubble between the planks of a steamer's deck in the Indian Ocean. I have been + in other places that I thought plenty hot enough, but never have I been so thoroughly + cooked as were my companion and I perched on the lumber pile. On top of that, or + rather on top of us, there poured a constant rain of cinders from the locomotive + puffing away a few cars ahead of us. The road-bed was rough, and at times we had to + hang on for our very lives. We can laugh about it now, but, at the time, it was no + joke. At last we reached the end of the line, somewhere in a hot Cuban forest, but + there were no horses. We watched the operation of railway building, and took turns in + anathematizing, in every language of which we had any knowledge, the abandoned + ruffian who failed to appear with those horses. Before night, we were almost ready to + wish that he had died on the way. At last he came. Our baggage was loaded on a + pack-horse; we mounted and rode gallantly on our way. We had about thirty miles to + cover by that or some other means of locomotion. Before we had gone a mile, we + developed a clear understanding of the reasons for the sale of those horses by the + Government of the United States, but why the United States Army ever bought them for + cavalry mounts we could not even imagine. There was no road. Most of the way we + followed the partly constructed road-bed for the new railway, making frequent + detours, through field or jungle, to get around gaps or places of impossible + roughness. Before we had covered two miles, we began to wish that the man who sent + those horses, a Spaniard, by the way, might be doomed to ride them through all + eternity under the saddles with which they were equipped. We were sorry enough for + the poor brutes, but sorrier still for ourselves. For several days, I limped in + misery from a long row of savage blisters raised on my leg by rawhide knots with + which my saddle had been repaired. An hour after starting, we were overtaken by a + heavy thunder-shower. At nightfall, after having covered about fifteen wretched + miles, we reached a construction camp where an American nobleman, disguised as a + section-boss, gave us food and lodging in the little palm-leaf shack that served as + his temporary home. It was barely big enough for one, but he made it do for + three.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig13"></a><a href="images/image13.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image13.jpg" alt="STREET AND CHURCH" /></a> + <h3>STREET AND CHURCH<br /> + <i>Camaguey</i></h3> + </div> + <p>Early in the morning, we resumed our journey, plodding along as best we could over + a half-graded "right-of-way." A couple of hours brought us to a larger construction + camp where we halted for such relief as we could secure. We then were some twelve or + fourteen miles from our destination. We discussed the wisdom of making the rest of + the way on foot, as preferable to that particular kind of saddle-work, leaving our + baggage to come along with the horses when it might. But fortune smiled, or it may + have been just a grimace. Word came that a team, two horses and a wagon, would go to + the city that afternoon, and there would be room for us. We told our pilot, the man + with the horses, just what we thought of him and all his miserable ancestors, gave + him a couple of <i>pesos</i>, and rejoiced over our prospects of better fortune. But + it proved to be only an escape from the fire into the frying-pan. I have driven over + many miles of South African <i>veldt</i>, straight "across lots," in all comfort, but + while the general topography of Camaguey puts it somewhat into the <i>veldt</i> + class, its immediate surface did not in the least remind me of the South African + plateau. The trip was little short of wonderful for its bumpiness. We got to Camaguey + sore and bruised but, as far as we could discover, physically intact, and, having + arrived, may now return to its history and description. May no "gentle reader" who + scans these pages repeat our experience in getting there. It is supposed that here, + or immediately here-about, was the place of "fifty houses and a thousand people" + encountered by the messengers of Columbus, when he sent them inland to deliver + official letters of introduction to the gorgeous ruler of the country in which he + thought he was. Different writers tell different stories about the settlement of the + place, but there is no doubt that it was among the earliest to be settled. Columbus + gave to a harbor in that vicinity, in all probability the Bay of Nuevitas, the name + Puerto del Principe, or Port of the Prince. He called the islands of the neighborhood + the Gardens of the King. On that bay, about 1514, Diego Velasquez founded a city, + probably the present Nuevitas, which he is said to have called Santa Maria. Somewhere + from two to ten years later, an inland settlement was made. This developed into the + city that was afterward given the name of Santa Maria del Puerto del Principe, now + very properly changed to the old Indian name of Camaguey.</p> + <p>If the idea of an inland location was, as it is said to have been, protection + against pirates and buccaneers, it was not altogether a success. The distinguished + pirate, Mr. Henry Morgan, raided the place very effectively in 1668, securing much + loot. In his book, published in 1871, Mr. Hazard says: "Puerto Principe (the present + Camaguey) is, probably, the oldest, quaintest town on the island,—in fact, it may be + said to be a finished town, as the world has gone on so fast that the place seems a + million years old, and from its style of dress, a visitor might think he was put back + almost to the days of Columbus." There have been changes since that time, but the old + charm is still there, the narrow and crooked streets, forming almost a labyrinth, the + old buildings, and much else that I earnestly hope may never be changed. There is now + an up-to-date hotel, connected with the railway company, but if I were to go there + again and the old hotel was habitable, I know I should go where I first stayed, and + where we occupied a huge barrack-like room charged on our bill as "<i>habitaciones + preferentes</i>," the state chamber. It had a dirty tiled floor, and was the home of + many fleas, but there was something about it that I liked. I do not mean to say that + all of Camaguey, "the city of the plain," is lovely, or picturesque or even + interesting. No more is all of Paris, or Budapest, or Amsterdam, or Washington. They + are only so in some of their component parts, but it is those parts that remain in + the memory. The country around the city is a vast plain, for many years, and still, a + grazing country, a land of horses and cattle. The charm is in the city itself. If I + could see only one place outside of Havana, I would see Camaguey. A little less than + fifty miles to the north is Nuevitas, reached by one of the first railways built in + Cuba, now if ever little more than the port city for its larger neighbor. Columbus + became somewhat ecstatic over the region. Perhaps it was then more charming, or the + season more favorable, than when I saw it. I do not recall any feeling of special + enthusiasm about its scenic charms. Perhaps I should have discovered them had I + stayed longer. Perhaps I should have been more impressed had it not been for the + impressions of Camaguey. I saw Nuevitas only briefly on my way eastward on that + memorable excursion by construction train and saddle. The only route then available + was by boat along the north shore, and it was there that we caught the steamer for + Santiago.</p> + <p>That sail along the coast would have afforded greater pleasure had it lacked the + noisy presence of an itinerant opera company whose members persisted, day and night, + in exercising their lungs to the accompaniment of an alleged piano in the cabin. I + have a far more pleasant recollection, or rather a memory because it stays with me, + of music in those waters. The transport on which I went to Porto Rico, in the summer + of 1898, carried, among other troops, a battery of light artillery. It had an + unusually good bugler, and his sounding of "taps" on those soft, starlit nights + remains with me as one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. The shrieks, + squalls, and roars of those opera people were in a wholly different class. About + seventy-five miles east of Nuevitas is Gibara, merely a shipping port for the inland + city of Holguin. The former is only one of a number of such places found along the + coast. Most of them are attractive in point of surrounding scenery, but little or not + at all attractive in themselves, being mere groups of uninteresting structures of the + conventional type. Holguin is perhaps two hundred years old, quite pleasantly + situated, but affording no special points of interest for the tourist. The city is + now easily reached by a branch of the Cuba Railway. It is worth the visit of those + who "want to see it all." Beyond Gibara is Nipe Bay, not improbably the first Cuban + harbor entered by Columbus. Nipe Bay and its near neighbor, Banes Bay, are the + centres of what is now the greatest industrial activity of any part of the island. + Here, recent American investment is measured in scores of millions of dollars. Here, + in the immediate neighborhood, are some of the largest sugar plantations and mills on + the island, the Boston and the Preston. A little to the west of Gibara are two + others, Chaparra and Delicias. Hitherto, the western half of the island has been, the + great producing district, but present indications point to a not distant time when + the eastern district will rival and, it may be, outstrip the section of older + development. The foundation is already laid for an extensive enterprise. Nature has + afforded one of the finest land-locked harbors in the world at Nipe, and another, + though smaller, a few miles away, at Banes. The region now has railroad connection + with practically all parts of the island. Around those bays are sugar lands, tobacco + lands, fruit lands, and a few miles inland are the vast iron ore beds that, as they + are developed, will afford employment for an army of workmen. Nipe Bay is the natural + commercial outlet for a vast area of richly productive soil. At present, the region + affords nothing of special interest except its industrial activities, its miles and + miles of sugar cane, its huge mills, and the villages built to house its thousands of + workmen.</p> + <p>Seventy-five miles or so eastward of Nipe, lies one of the most charming and + interesting spots on the island. This is old Baracoa, the oldest settlement on the + island, now to be reached only by water or by the roughest of journeys over mountain + trails. The town itself does not amount to much, but the bay is a gem, a little, + circular basin, forest-shaded to its border, its waters clear as crystal. Behind it + rise the forest-clad hills, step on step, culminating in <i>el Yunque</i>, "the + anvil," with an elevation of about eighteen hundred feet. Baracoa is supposed to be + the place about which Columbus wrote one of his most glowing and extravagant + eulogies. Whether it is really worth the time and the discomfort of a special trip to + see it, is perhaps somewhat doubtful. It is a place of scenery and sentiment, and + little else. There is an old fort on a hilltop, not particularly picturesque, and an + old church in which is a cross quite doubtfully reported as having been furnished by + Columbus. Sometime, years hence, there will be easier communication, and the fertile + hillsides and still more fertile valleys will supply various produces for consumption + in the United States. About twenty-five miles east of Baracoa is the end of the + island, Cape Maisi. Swinging around that, the coasting steamers turn due west along + the shore to Santiago, passing the harbor of Guantanamo, with its United States naval + station. That place is reached by rail from Santiago, a highly picturesque route + through the Guantanamo valley. Besides the naval station, the place is a shipping + port, affording nothing of special interest to the traveller who has seen other and + more easily accessible cities of its type. It always seems to me that Santiago, or + more properly Santiago de Cuba, would be more engaging if we could forget the more + recent history of this city, known to most Cubans as Cuba (pronounced Cooba). No + doubt, it is a much better place in which to live than it was twenty years ago, and + much of its old charm remains. Its setting cannot be changed. It is itself a hillside + town, surrounded by hills, with real mountains on its horizon. The old cathedral, a + dominant structure, has been quite a little patched up in recent years, and shows the + patches. The houses, big and little, are still painted in nearly all the shades of + the spectrum. But there is a seeming change, doubtless psychological rather than + physical. One sees, in imagination, Cervera's squadron "bottled up" in the beautiful + harbor, while Sampson's ships lie outside waiting for it to come out. It is difficult + to forget San Juan Hill and El Caney, a few miles behind the city, and remember only + its older stories. A good deal of history has been made here in the last four hundred + years. Its pages show such names as Velasquez, Grijalva, Hernan Cortes, and Narvaez, + and centuries later, Cespedes, Marti, and Palma. Here was enacted the grim tragedy of + the <i>Virginius</i>, and here was the conflict that terminated Spain's once vast + dominion in the western world. My own impression is that most of its history has + already been written, that it will have no important future. As a port of shipment, I + think it must yield to the new port, Nipe Bay, on the north coast. It is merely a bit + of commercial logic, the question of a sixty-mile rail-haul as compared with a voyage + around the end of the island. Santiago will not be wiped from the map, but I doubt + its long continuance as the leading commercial centre of eastern Cuba. It is also a + fairly safe prediction that the same laws of commercial logic will some day operate + to drain northward the products of the fertile valley of the Cauto, and the region + behind old Manzanillo and around the still older Bayamo.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig14"></a><a href="images/image14.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image14.jpg" alt="COBRE" /></a> + <h3>COBRE<br /> + <i>Oriente Province</i></h3> + </div> + <p>Except the places earlier mentioned, Jucaro, Trinidad and Cienfuegos, there are no + southern ports to the west until Batabano is reached, immediately south of, and only + a few miles from, the city of Havana. It is a shallow harbor, of no commercial + importance. It serves mainly as the centre of a sponge-fishing industry, and as a + point of departure for the Isle of Pines, and for ports on the south coast. The Isle + of Pines is of interest for a number of reasons, among which are its history, its + mineral springs, its delightful climate, and an American colony that has made much + trouble in Washington. Columbus landed there in 1494, and gave it the name <i>La + Evangelista</i>. It lies about sixty miles off the coast, almost due south from + Havana. Between the island and the mainland lies a labyrinth of islets and keys, many + of them verdure-clad. Its area is officially given as 1,180 square miles. There seems + no doubt that, at some earlier time, it formed a part of the main island, with which + it compares in geologic structure and configuration. It is now, in effect, two + islands connected by a marsh; the northern part being broken and hilly, and the + southern part low, flat, and sandy, probably a comparatively recently reclaimed + coralline plain. The island has been, at various times, the headquarters of bands of + pirates, a military hospital, a penal institution, and a source of political trouble. + It is now a Cuban island the larger part of which is owned by Americans. It is a part + of the province of Havana, and will probably so remain as long as Cuba is Cuba. My + personal investigations of the disputed question of the political ownership of the + island began early in 1899. I then reached a conclusion from which I have not since + seen any reason to depart. The island was then, had always been, and is now, as much + a part of Cuba as Long Island and Key West have been and are parts of the United + States.</p> + <p>Just who it was that first raised the question of ownership, none of us who + investigated the matter at the time of its particular acuteness, was able to + determine satisfactorily, although some of us had a well-defined suspicion. The man + is now dead, and I shall not give his name. Article I, of the Treaty of Paris, of + December 10, 1898, presumably disposes of the Cuban area; Article II refers to Porto + Rico; and Article III refers to the Philippines. The issue regarding the Isle of + Pines was raised under Article II, presumably referring only to Porto Rico. A slight + but possibly important difference appears in the Spanish and the English versions. + The English text reads that "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and other + islands now under Spanish sovereignty" etc. The Spanish text, literally translated + runs: "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and the others that are now under its + sovereignty." The obvious reference of the article is to Mona, Viequez, and Culebra, + all small islands in Porto Rican waters. But the question was raised and was + vigorously discussed. An official map was issued showing the island as American + territory. Americans jumped in, bought up large tracts, and started a lively real + estate boom. They advertised it widely as American territory, and many put their + little collections of dollars into it. The claim of Spanish cession was afterward + denied in the very document that served to keep the issue alive for a number of + years. Article VI of the Platt Amendment, which the Cubans accepted with marked + reluctance, declared that the island was omitted from the boundaries of Cuba, and + that the title and ownership should be left to future adjustment by treaty. But no + alternative appears between cession and no cession. Had the island become definitely + American territory by cession, its alienation, by such a step, would not have been + possible. When we left Cuba, in 1902, the official instructions from Washington were + that the Isle of Pines would remain under a <i>de facto</i> American government. + President Palma, accepting the transfer, expressed his understanding that it would + "continue <i>de facto</i> under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Cuba." In some + way, the departing American authority failed to leave any agent or representative of + the <i>de facto</i> government of the United States, and the Cubans included the + island in their new administration, very properly. When the treaty proposed by the + Platt Amendment came before the United States Senate, it hung fire, and finally found + lodgment in one of the many pigeon-holes generously provided for the use of that + august body. There it may probably be found today, a record and nothing more. Why? + For the very simple reason that some of the resident claimants for American ownership + sent up a consignment of cigars made on the island from tobacco grown on the island, + and refused to pay duty on them. The ground of refusal was that they were a domestic + product, sent from one port in the United States to another port in the same country, + and therefore not dutiable. The case of Pearcy <i>vs</i> Stranahan, the former + representing the shippers, and the latter being the Collector of the Port of New + York, came before the Supreme Court of the United States, and that final authority + decided and declared that the Isle of Pines was Cuban territory and a part of Cuba. + The question is settled, and the Isle of Pines can become territory of the United + States only by purchase, conquest, or some other form of territorial transfer.</p> + <p>While the American settlers in the Isle of Pines, and the several real-estate + companies who seek purchasers for their holdings, own a large part of the territory, + they still constitute a minority of the population. Many of the settlers, probably + most of them, are industrious and persistent in their various productive activities. + Their specialty is citrus fruits, but their products are not limited to that line. + More than a few have tried their little experiment in pioneering, and have returned + to their home land more or less disgusted with their experience. Those who have + remained, and have worked faithfully and intelligently, have probably done a little + better than they would have done at home. The great wealth for which all, doubtless, + earnestly hoped, and in which many, doubtless, really believed, has not come. This + settlement is only one of many speculative exploitations in Cuba. Some of these have + been fairly honest, but many of them have been little better than rank swindles. Many + have been entirely abandoned, the buyers losing the hard-earned dollars they had + invested. Others, better located, have been developed, by patience, persistence, and + thrift, into fairly prosperous colonies. I do not know how many victims have been + caught by unscrupulous and ignorant promoters in the last fifteen years, principally + in the United States and in Canada, but they are certainly many, so many that the + speculative industry has declined in recent years. Many of the settlers who have + remained have learned the game, have discovered that prosperity in Cuba is purchased + by hard work just as it is elsewhere. In different parts of the island, east, west, + and centre, there are now thrifty and contented colonists who have fought their + battle, and have learned the rules that nature has formulated as the condition of + success in such countries. Whether these people have really done any better than they + would have done had they stayed at home and followed the rules there laid down, is + perhaps another question. At all events, there are hundreds of very comfortable and + happy American homes in Cuba, even in the Isle of Pines, where they persist in + growling because it is Cuba and not the United States.</p> + <p>In a review of a country including forty-four thousand square miles of territory, + condensed into two chapters, it is quite impossible to include all that is worth + telling. Moreover, there is much in the island of which no adequate description can + be given. There is much that must be seen if it if to be fairly understood and + appreciated.</p> + <h2><a id="VIII">VIII</a><br /> + <i>THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA</i></h2> + <p>IN his message to Congress, on December 5, 1898, President McKinley declared that + "the new Cuba yet to arise from the ashes of the past must needs be bound to us by + ties of singular intimacy and strength if its enduring welfare is to be assured."</p> + <p>Probably to many of the people of the United States, the story of our relations + with Cuba had its beginning with the Spanish-American war. That is quite like a + notion that the history of an apple begins with its separation from the tree on which + it grew. The general history of the island is reviewed in other chapters in this + volume. The story of our active relations with Cuba and its affairs runs back for + more than a hundred years, at least to the days of President Thomas Jefferson who, in + 1808, wrote thus to Albert Gallatin: "I shall sincerely lament Cuba's falling into + any other hands but those of its present owners." Several other references to the + island appear at about that time. Two great movements were then going on. Europe was + in the throes of the Napoleonic disturbance, and for more than twenty-five years both + France and England schemed, sometimes openly and sometimes secretly, for the + possession of Cuba. The other movement was the revolution in Spain's colonies in the + Western Hemisphere, a movement that cost Spain all of its possessions in that area, + with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico. The influence of the revolutionary + activities naturally extended to Cuba, but it was not until after 1820 that matters + became dangerously critical. From that time until the present, the question of Cuba's + political fate, and the question of our relations with the island, form an + interesting and highly important chapter in the history of the United States as well + as in the history of Cuba.</p> + <p>In his book on the war with Spain, Henry Cabot Lodge makes a statement that may + seem curious to some and amazing to others. It is, however, the opinion of a + competent and thoroughly trained student of history. He writes thus:</p> + <p>"The expulsion of Spain from the Antilles is merely the last and final step of the + inexorable movement in which the United States has been engaged for nearly a century. + By influence and by example, or more directly, by arms and by the pressure of + ever-advancing settlements, the United States drove Spain from all her continental + possessions in the Western Hemisphere, until nothing was left to the successors of + Charles and Philip but Cuba and Porto Rico. How did it happen that this great + movement stopped when it came to the ocean's edge? The movement against Spain was at + once national and organic, while the pause on the sea-coast was artificial and in + contravention of the laws of political evolution in the Americas. The conditions in + Cuba and Porto Rico did not differ from those which had gone down in ruin wherever + the flag of Spain waved on the mainland. The Cubans desired freedom, and Bolivar + would fain have gone to their aid. Mexico and Colombia, in 1825, planned to invade + the island, and at that time invasion was sure to be successful. What power stayed + the oncoming tide which had swept over a continent? Not Cuban loyalty, for the + expression 'Faithful Cuba' was a lie from the beginning. The power which prevented + the liberation of Cuba was the United States, and more than seventy years later this + republic has had to fight a war because at the appointed time she set herself against + her own teachings, and brought to a halt the movement she had herself started to free + the New World from the oppression of the Old. The United States held back Mexico and + Colombia and Bolivar, used her influence at home and abroad to that end, and, in the + opinion of contemporary mankind, succeeded, according to her desires, in keeping Cuba + under the dominion of Spain."</p> + <p>For a number of years, Cuba's destiny was a subject of the gravest concern in + Washington. Four solutions presented themselves; first, the acquisition of Cuba by + the United States; second, its retention by Spain; third, its transfer to some power + other than Spain; fourth, its political independence. That the issue was decided by + the United States is shown by all the history of the time. While other factors had + their influence in the determination, it is entirely clear that the issue turned on + the question of slavery. In his book on <i>Cuba and International Relations</i>, Mr. + Callahan summarizes his review of the official proceedings by saying that "the South + did not want to see Cuba independent <i>without</i> slavery, while the North did not + want to annex it <i>with</i> slavery." In his work on the <i>Rise and Fall of the + Slave Power in America</i>, Mr. Henry Wilson declares that "thus clearly and + unequivocally did this Republic step forth the champion of slavery, and boldly insist + that these islands should remain under the hateful despotism of Spain, rather than + gain their independence by means that should inure to the detriment of its cherished + system. Indeed, it (the United States) would fight to fasten more securely the double + bondage on Cuba and the slave."</p> + <p>From this point of view, unquestionably correct, it is altogether evident that the + United States assumed responsibility for Cuba's welfare, not by the intervention of + 1898, but by its acts more than seventy years earlier. The diplomatic records of + those years are filled with communications regarding the island, and it was again and + again the subject of legislation or proposed legislation. President after President + dealt with it in messages to Congress. The acquisition of the island, by purchase or + otherwise, was again and again discussed. Popular interest was again and again + excited; the Spanish colonial policy was denounced; and the burdens and sufferings of + the Cubans were depicted in many harrowing tales. For the policy that led to the + imposition of a restraining hand on proposals to free Cuba, in those early days, the + people of the United States today must blush. The independence movement in the States + of Spanish-America may be said to have had its definite beginning in 1806, when + Francisco Miranda, a Venezuelan, sailed from New York with three ships manned by + American filibusters, although the first land battle was fought in Bolivia, in 1809, + and the last was fought in the same country, in 1825. But the great wave swept from + the northern border of Mexico to the southernmost point of Spanish possession. When + these States declared their independence, they wrote into their Constitutions that + all men should be free, that human slavery should be abolished forever from their + soil. The attitude of the United States in the matter of Cuba was determined by the + objection to the existence of an anti-slavery State so near our border. The + experience of Haiti and Santo Domingo was, of course, clearly in mind, but the + objection went deeper than that. Those who are interested may read with profit the + debates in the Congress of the United States, in 1826, on the subject of the despatch + of delegates to the so-called Panama Congress-of that year. On the whole, it is not + pleasant reading from any present point of view.</p> + <p>Our cherished Monroe Doctrine was one of the fruits of this period, and in the + enunciation of that policy the affairs of Cuba were a prominent if not the dominant + force. The language of this doctrine is said to have been written by Secretary Adams, + but it is embodied in the message of President Monroe, in December, 1823, and so + bears his name. In April, of that year, Secretary Adams sent a long communication to + Mr. Nelson, then the American Minister to Spain. For their bearing on the Cuban + question, and for the presentation of a view that runs through many years of American + policy, extracts from that letter may be included here.</p> +<pre> +DEPARTMENT OF STATE, +WASHINGTON, April 28, 1823. +</pre> + <p>"In the war between France and Spain, now commencing, other interests, peculiarly + ours, will, in all probability, be deeply involved. Whatever may be the issue of this + war, as between these two European powers, it may be taken for granted that the + dominion of Spain upon the American continent, north and south, is irrecoverably + gone. But the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico still remain nominally, and so far + really, dependent upon her, that she possesses the power of transferring her own + dominion over them, together with the possession of them, to others. These islands, + from their local position are natural appendages to the North American continent, and + one of them, Cuba, almost in sight of our shores, from a multitude of considerations, + has become an object of transcendant importance to the commercial and political + interests of our Union. Its commanding position, with reference to the Gulf of Mexico + and the West India seas; the character of its population; its situation midway + between our southern coast and the island of St. Domingo; its safe and capacious + harbor of the Havana, fronting a long line of our shores destitute of the same + advantage; the nature of its productions and of its wants, furnishing the supplies + and needing the returns of a commerce immensely profitable and mutually + beneficial,—give it an importance in the sum of our national interests with which + that of no other foreign territory can be compared, and little inferior to that which + binds the different members of this Union together. Such, indeed, are the interests + of that island and of this country, the geographical, commercial, moral, and + political relations, that, in looking forward to the probable course of events, for + the short period of half a century, it is scarcely possible to resist the conviction + that the annexation of Cuba to our federal republic will be indispensable to the + continuance and integrity of the Union itself."</p> + <p>The communication proceeds to relate the knowledge of the Department that both + Great Britain and France were desirous of securing possession and control of the + island, and to disclaim, on the part of the United States, all disposition to obtain + possession of either Cuba or Porto Rico. The complications of the situation became + increasingly serious, more particularly with regard to Cuba, and on December 2, of + that year (1823), President Monroe issued his message carrying the "doctrine," which + may be given thus:</p> + <p>"In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we have + never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do so. It is only when + our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent injuries or make + preparations for our defense. With the movements in this hemisphere we are of + necessity more immediately connected. We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the + amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers (of Europe) to + declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to + any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the + existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and + shall not interfere. But with the Governments that have declared their independence + and maintained it, and whose independence we have recognized, we could not view any + interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner + their destiny, by any European power in any other light than as the manifestation of + an unfriendly disposition toward the United States."</p> + <p>From this time onward, Cuba appears as an almost continuous object of special + interest to both the people and the officials of the United States. Notwithstanding + this disclaimer of President Monroe's message, the idea of the acquisition of the + island, by the United States, soon arose. It persisted through all the years down to + the time of the Teller amendment, in 1898, and there are many who even now regard + annexation as inevitable at some future time, more or less distant. The plan appears + as a suggestion in a communication, under date of November 30, 1825, from Alexander + H. Everett, then Minister to Madrid, to President Adams. It crops up repeatedly in + various quarters in later years. It would be a difficult and tedious undertaking to + chase through all the diplomatic records of seventy years the references to Cuba and + its affairs.</p> + <p>From that period until the present time, the affairs of the island have been a + matter of constant interest and frequent anxiety in Washington. Fear of British + acquisition of the island appears to have subsided about 1860, but there were in the + island two groups, both relatively small, one of them working for independence, and + the other for annexation to the United States. The great majority, however, desired + some fair measure of self-government, and relief from economic and financial burdens, + under the Spanish flag. The purchase of the island by the United States was proposed + by President Polk, in 1848; by President Pierce, in 1854; and by President Buchanan, + in his time. Crises appeared from time to time. Among them was the incident of the + <i>Black Warrior</i>, in 1854. Mr. Rhodes thus describes the affair, in his + <i>History of the United States</i>:</p> + <p>"<i>The Black Warrior</i> was an American merchant steamer, plying between Mobile + and New York, stopping at Havana for passengers and mail. She had made thirty-six + such voyages, almost always having a cargo for the American port, and never being + permitted to bring freight into Havana. The custom of her agent was to clear her 'in + ballast' the day before her arrival. The practice, while contrary to the regulations + of Cuban ports, had always been winked at by the authorities. It was well understood + that the <i>Black Warrior</i> generally had a cargo aboard, but a detailed manifest + of her load had never been required. She had always been permitted to sail unmolested + until, when bound from Mobile to New York, she was stopped on the 28th of February, + 1854, by order of the royal exchequer, for having violated the regulations of the + port. The agent, finding that the cause of this proceeding was the failure to + manifest the cargo 'in transit,' offered to amend the manifest, which under the rules + he had a right to do; but this the collector, on a flimsy pretext, refused to permit. + The agent was at the same time informed that the cargo was confiscated and the + captain fined, in pursuance of the custom-house regulations. The cargo was cotton, + valued at one hundred thousand dollars; and the captain was fined six thousand + dollars. The United States consul applied to the captain-general for redress, but no + satisfaction was obtained. A gang of men with lighters were sent to the ship under + the charge of the <i>commandante</i>, who ordered the captain of the <i>Black + Warrior</i> to discharge her cargo. This he refused to do. The <i>commandante</i> + then had the hatches opened, and his men began to take out the bales of cotton. The + captain hauled down his flag and abandoned the vessel to the Spanish + authorities."</p> + <p>The news of the incident created great excitement in Washington. President Pierce + sent a message to Congress, stating that demand had been made on Spain for indemnity, + and suggesting provisional legislation that would enable him, if negotiations failed, + "to insure the observance of our just rights, to obtain redress for injuries + received, and to vindicate the honor of our flag."</p> + <p>Mr. Soule, then the American Minister to Madrid, was the official through whom the + negotiations were conducted. He was a man of somewhat impetuous temperament, and an + ardent advocate of Cuba's annexation. He quite overstepped both the bounds of + propriety and of his authority in his submission, under instructions, of a demand for + three hundred thousand dollars indemnity. This, and Spanish diplomatic methods, led + to delay, and the excitement died out. In the meantime, Spain released the vessel and + its cargo, disavowed and disapproved the conduct of the local officials, paid the + indemnity claimed by the owners of the vessel, and the ship resumed its regular + trips, being treated with every courtesy when visiting Havana. But the incident gave + rise to active discussion, and for a time threatened serious results. It followed on + the heels of another experience, the Lopez expeditions, to which reference is made in + another chapter, and came at a time when Cuba and Cuban affairs were topics of a + lively public interest. The subject of acquisition was under general public + discussion and occupied a large share of public attention. Some wanted war with + Spain, and others proposed the purchase of the island from Spain. But the immediate + cause of complaint having been removed by the release of the ship, Soule was + instructed to take no further steps in the matter, and the excitement gradually + passed away.</p> + <p>Immediately following this experience, and growing out of it, came the incident of + the "Ostend Manifesto." At that time, James Buchanan was Minister to England. John Y. + Mason was Minister to France, and Pierre Soule was Minister to Spain. Secretary of + State Marcy suggested a conference between these three officials. They met at Ostend, + but afterward transferred their deliberations to Aix la Chapelle. The meeting + attracted general attention in Europe. The result of what they reported as "a full + and unreserved interchange of views and sentiments," was a recommendation that an + earnest effort be made immediately to purchase Cuba. They were of opinion that the + sum of one hundred and twenty million dollars be offered. The report proceeded thus: + "After we shall have offered Spain a price for Cuba far beyond its present value, and + this shall have been refused, it will then be time to consider the question, does + Cuba in the possession of Spain seriously endanger our internal peace and the + existence of our cherished Union? Should this question be answered in the + affirmative, then, by every law, human and divine, we shall be justified in wresting + it from Spain if we possess the power; and this upon the very same principle that + would justify an individual in tearing down the burning house of his neighbor if + there were no other means of preventing the flame from destroying his own home." It + is evident that Soule dominated the meeting, and only less evident that he, in some + way, cajoled his associates into signing the report. No action was taken on the + matter by the Administration, and the incident has passed into history somewhat, + perhaps, as one of the curiosities of diplomacy. At all events, all historians note + it, and some give it considerable attention.</p> + <p>The next serious complication arose out of the Ten Years' War, in Cuba, in 1868, + to which reference is made in a chapter on Cuba's revolutions. Spain's leaders seemed + quite incapable of grasping the Cuban situation, of seeing it in its proper light. It + is more than probable that, even then, the Cubans would have remained loyal if the + Spanish authorities had paid attention to their just and reasonable demands. As + stated by Mr. Pepper, in his <i>Tomorrow in Cuba</i>, "The machete and the torch then + gained what peaceful agitation had not been able to achieve." The demands of the + Cubans are thus stated by Señor Cabrera, in his <i>Cuba and the Cubans</i>: "A + constitutional system in place of the autocracy of the Captain-General, freedom of + the press, the right of petition, cessation of the exclusion of Cubans from public + office, unrestricted industrial liberty, abolition of restrictions on the transfer of + landed property, the right of assembly and of association, representation in the + Cortes, and local self-government," all reasonable and just demands from every point + of view of modern civilization. Spain refused all, and on October 10, 1868, an actual + revolution began, the first in the history of the island to be properly classed as a + revolution. The United States soon became concerned and involved. In his message to + Congress on December 6, 1869, President Grant said: "For more than a year, a valuable + province of Spain, and a near neighbor of ours, in whom all our people cannot but + feel a deep interest, has been struggling for independence and freedom. The people + and the Government of the United States entertain the same warm feelings and + sympathies for the people of Cuba in their pending struggle that they have manifested + throughout the previous struggles between Spain and her former colonies (Mexico, + Central America and South America) in behalf of the latter. But the contest has at no + time assumed the conditions which amount to a war in the sense of international law, + or which would show the existence of a <i>de facto</i> political organization of the + insurgents sufficient to justify a recognition of belligerency." On June 13, 1870, + President Grant sent a special message to Congress, in which he reviewed the Cuban + situation. Another reference appears in his message of December 5, 1870. In his + message of December 4, 1871, he stated that "it is to be regretted that the disturbed + condition of the island of Cuba continues to be a source of annoyance and anxiety. + The existence of a protracted struggle in such close proximity to our own territory, + without apparent prospect of an early termination, cannot be other than an object of + concern to a people who, while abstaining from interference in the affairs of other + powers, naturally desire to see every other country in the undisturbed enjoyment of + peace, liberty, and the blessings of free institutions." In the message of December + 2, 1872, he said: "It is with regret that I have again to announce a continuance of + the disturbed condition in the island of Cuba. The contest has now lasted for more + than four years. Were its scene at a distance from our neighborhood, we might be + indifferent to its result, although humanity could not be unmoved by many of its + incidents wherever they might occur. It is, however, at out door." Reference was made + to it in all following annual messages, until President Hayes, in 1878, announced its + termination, ten years after its beginning. The contest had become practically a + deadlock, and a compromise was arranged by General Maximo Gomez, for the Cubans, and + General Martinez Campos, for Spain.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig15"></a><a href="images/image15.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image15.jpg" alt="" /></a> + <h3>HOISTING THE CUBAN FLAG OVER THE PALACE, MAY 20, 1902<br /> + <i>Senate building on the right</i></h3> + </div> + <p>The entanglements that grew out of the experiences of this period are too long and + too complicated for detailed review here. This country had no desire for war with + Spain, but approval of the Spanish policy in Cuba was impossible. The sympathies of + the American people were with the Cubans, as they had been for fifty years, and as + they continued to be until the end of Spanish occupation in the West Indies. Rumors + of all kinds were afloat, and again and again the situation seemed to have reached a + crisis that could be ended only by war. A particularly aggravating incident appeared + in what is known as the <i>Virginius</i> case. This was described as follows, in + President Grant's message to Congress on December 1, 1873.</p> + <p>"The steamer <i>Virginius</i> was on the 26th day of September, 1870, duly + registered at the port of New York as a part of the commercial marine of the United + States. On the 4th of October, 1870, having received the certificate of her register + in the usual legal form, she sailed from the port of New York, and has not since been + within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. On the 31st day of October + last (1873), while sailing under the flag of the United States on the high seas, she + was forcibly seized by the Spanish gunboat <i>Tornado</i>, and was carried into the + port of Santiago de Cuba, where fifty-three of her passengers and crew were + inhumanly, and, so far at least as related to those who were citizens of the United + States, without due process of law, put to death."</p> + <p>Only for the timely arrival of the British man-of-war <i>Niobe</i>, and the prompt + and decisive action of her commander, there is no doubt that ninety-three others + would have shared the fate of their companions. Some were Americans and some were + British. The excitement in this country was intense, and war with Spain was widely + demanded. Further investigation revealed the fact that the American registry was + dishonest, that the ship really belonged to or was chartered by Cubans, that it was + engaged in carrying supplies and munitions of war to the insurgents, and that its + right to fly the American flag was more than doubtful. The ship was seized by the + American authorities under a charge of violation of the maritime laws of the United + States, and was ordered to New York, for a trial of the case. American naval officers + were placed in command, but she was in bad condition, and foundered in a gale near + Cape Fear. As far as the vessel was concerned, the incident was closed. There + remained the question of indemnity for what Caleb Cushing, then the American Minister + to Spain, in his communication to the Spanish authorities, denounced as "a dreadful, + a savage act, the inhuman slaughter in cold blood, of fifty-three human beings, a + large number of them citizens of the United States, shot without lawful trial, + without any valid pretension of authority, and to the horror of the whole civilized + world." England also filed its claim for the loss of British subjects, and payment + was soon after made "for the purpose of relief of the families or persons of the + ship's company and passengers." In his <i>Cuba and International Relations</i>, Mr. + Callahan says: "The catalogue of irritating affairs in relation to Cuba, of which the + <i>Virginius</i> was only the culmination, might have been urged as sufficient to + justify a policy of intervention to stop the stubborn war of extermination which had + been tolerated by peaceful neighbors for five years. Some would have been ready to + advocate intervention as a duty. The relations of Cuba to the United States, the + Spanish commercial restrictions which placed Cuba at the mercy of Spanish + monopolists, and the character of the Spanish rule, pointed to the conclusion that if + Spain should not voluntarily grant reforms and guarantee pacification of the island, + the United States might be compelled, especially for future security, temporarily to + occupy it and assist in the organization of a liberal government based upon modern + views. Such action might have led to annexation, but not necessarily; it might have + led to a restoration of Spanish possession under restrictions as to the character of + Spanish rule, and as to the size of the Spanish army and naval force in the vicinity; + more likely it would have resulted in the independence of Cuba under American + protection."</p> + <p>These are only some of the more prominent features in fifty years of American + interest in Cuba. Throughout the entire period, the sympathies of the American people + were strongly pro-Cuban. Money and supplies were contributed from time to time to + assist the Cubans in their efforts to effect a change in their conditions, either + through modification of Spanish laws, or by the road of independence. Only a minority + of the Cubans sought to follow that road at that time. The movement for independence + was not national until it was made so in 1895. What would have happened had we, at + the time of the Ten Years' War, granted to the Cubans the rights of belligerents, is + altogether a matter of speculation. Such a course was then deemed politically + inexpedient.</p> + <h2><a id="IX">IX</a><br /> + <i>CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS</i></h2> + <p>Only by magnifying protests into revolts, and riots into revolutions, is it + possible to show Cuba as the "land of revolutions" that many have declared it to be. + The truth is that from the settlement of the island in 1512 until the signing of the + Treaty of Paris in 1898, there were only two experiences that can, by any proper use + of the term, be called revolutions. This statement, of course, disputes a widely + accepted notion, but many notions become widely accepted because of assertions that + are not contradicted. That a strong undercurrent of discontent runs through all + Cuba's history from 1820 to 1895, is true. That there were numerous manifestations of + that discontent, and occasional attempts at revolution, is also true. But none of + these experiences, prior to 1868, reached a stage that would properly warrant its + description as a revolution. The term is very loosely applied to a wide range of + experiences. It is customary to class as revolution all disorders from riots to + rebellions. This is particularly the case where the disorder occurs in some country + other than our own. The <i>Standard Dictionary</i> defines the essential idea of + revolution as "a change in the form of government, or the constitution, or rulers, + otherwise than as provided by the laws of succession, election, etc." The <i>Century + Dictionary</i> defines such proceedings as "a radical change in social or + governmental conditions; the overthrow of an established political system." Many + exceedingly interesting parallels may be drawn between the experience of the American + colonies prior to their revolution, in 1775, and the experience of Cuba during the + 19th Century. In fact, it may perhaps be said that there is no experience in Cuba's + history that cannot be fairly paralleled in our own. In his <i>History of the United + States</i>, Mr. Edward Channing says: "The governing classes of the old country + wished to exploit the American colonists for their own use and behoof." Change the + word "American" to "Spanish," and the Cuban situation is exactly defined. The + situation in America in the 18th Century was almost identical with the situation in + Cuba in the 19th Century. Both, in those respective periods, suffered from oppressive + and restrictive trade laws and from burdensome taxation, from subordination of their + interests to the interests of the people of a mother-country three thousand miles + away. Unfortunately for the Cubans, Spain was better able to enforce its exactions + than England was. Cuba's area was limited, its available harbors few in number, its + population small.</p> + <p>Not until the years immediately preceding the revolutions by which the United + States and Cuba secured their independence, was there any general demand for definite + separation from the mother-country. The desire in both was a fuller measure of + economic and commercial opportunity. One striking parallel may be noted. The Tories, + or "loyalists," in this country have their counterpart in the Cuban + <i>Autonomistas</i>. Referring to conditions in 1763, Mr. Channing states that "never + had the colonists felt a greater pride in their connection with the British empire." + Among the great figures of the pre-revolutionary period in this country, none stands + out more clearly than James Otis, of Boston, and Patrick Henry, of Virginia. In an + impassioned address, in 1763, Otis declared that "every British subject in America is + of common right, by acts of Parliament, and by the laws of God and nature, entitled + to all the essential privileges of Britons. What God in his Providence has united let + no man dare attempt to pull asunder." Thirteen years later, the sundering blow was + struck. Patrick Henry's resolutions submitted to the Virginia House of Burgesses, in + 1765, set that colony afire, but at that time neither he nor his associates desired + separation and independence if their natural rights were recognized. It was not until + the revolution of 1895 that the independence of Cuba became a national demand, a + movement based on realization of the hopelessness of further dependence upon Spain + for the desired economic and fiscal relief. As in the American colonies there + appeared, from time to time, individuals or isolated groups who demanded drastic + action on the part of the colonists, so were there Cubans who, from time to time, + appeared with similar demands. Nathaniel Bacon headed a formidable revolution in + Virginia in 1676. Massachusetts rebelled against Andros and Dudley in 1689. From the + passage of the Navigation Acts, in the middle of the 17th Century, until the + culmination in 1775, there was an undercurrent of friction and a succession of + protests. The Cuban condition was quite the same excepting the fact of burdens more + grievous and more frequent open outbreaks.</p> + <p>The records of many of the disorders are fragmentary. Spain had no desire to give + them publicity, and the Cubans had few means for doing so. The <i>Report on the + Census of Cuba</i>, prepared by the War Department of the United States, in 1899, + contains a summary of the various disorders in the island. The first is the rioting + in 1717, when Captain-General Roja enforced the decree establishing a government + monopoly in tobacco. The disturbances in Haiti and Santo Domingo (1791-1800) + resulting in the establishment of independence in Haiti, under Toussaint, excited + unimportant uprisings on the part of negroes in Cuba, but they were quickly + suppressed. The first movement worthy of note came in 1823. It was a consequence of + the general movement that extended throughout Spanish-America and resulted in the + independence of all Spain's former colonies, excepting Cuba and Porto Rico. That the + influence of so vast a movement should have been felt in Cuba was almost inevitable. + As disorder continued throughout much of the time, the period 1820-1830 is best + considered collectively. The same influences were active, and the same forces were + operative for the greater part of the term. The accounts of it all are greatly + confused, and several nations were involved, including Spain, the United States, + France, England, Mexico, and Colombia. The slavery question was involved, as was the + question of the transfer of the island to some Power other than Spain. Independence + was the aim of some, though probably no very great number. Practically all of Cuba's + later experiences have their roots in this period. During these ten years, the issue + between Cubans who sought a larger national and economic life, and the Spanish + element that insisted upon the continuance of Spanish absolutism, had its definite + beginning, to remain a cause of almost constant friction for three-quarters of a + century. The Spanish Constitution of 1812, abrogated in 1814, was again proclaimed in + 1820, and again abrogated in 1823. The effort of Captain-General Vives, acting under + orders from Ferdinand VII, to restore absolutism encountered both vigorous opposition + and strong support. Secret societies were organized, whose exact purposes do not + appear to be well known. Some have asserted that it was a Masonic movement, while + others have held that the organizations were more in the nature of the + <i>Carbonari</i>. One of them, called the <i>Soles de Bolivar</i>, in some way gave + its name to the immediate activities. It was charged with having planned a rebellion + against the government, but the plans were discovered and the leaders were arrested. + The movement appears to have been widespread, with its headquarters in Matanzas. An + uprising was planned to take place on August 16, 1823, but on that day José Francisco + Lemus, the leader, and a number of his associates were arrested and imprisoned. Among + them was José Maria Heredia, the Cuban poet, who was, for this offence, condemned, in + 1824, to perpetual exile for the crime of treason.</p> + <p>Others engaged in the conspiracy fled the country. Some were officially deported. + But the punishments imposed on these people served to excite the animosity of many + more, and a period of agitation followed, marked by occasional outbreaks and rioting. + To meet the situation, an army intended to be employed in reconquering some of the + colonies that had already declared and established their independence, was retained + on the island. In 1825, a royal decree conferred on the Spanish Governor in Cuba a + power practically absolute. This excited still further the anger of the Cuban element + and led to other manifestations of discontent. There was a combination of political + agitation with revolutionary demonstrations. In 1826, there was a local uprising in + Puerto Principe, directed more particularly against the Spanish garrison, whose + conduct was regarded as highly offensive. A year or two later, Cuban exiles in Mexico + and Colombia, with support from the people of those countries, organized a secret + society known as the "Black Eagle," having for its purpose a Cuban revolution. Its + headquarters were in Mexico, and its activities were fruitless. Many were arrested + and tried and sentenced to death or deportation. But Vives realized the folly of + adding more fuel to the flames, and the sentences were in all cases either mitigated + or revoked. This seems to have brought that particular series of conspiracies to an + end. It was a time of active political agitation and conspiracy, with occasional + local riots that were quickly suppressed. While much of it was revolutionary in its + aims and purposes, none of it may with any fitness be called a revolution, unless a + prevalence of a lively spirit of opposition and rebellion is to be so classed. The + agitation settled down for a number of years, but broke out in local spasms + occasionally. There were riots and disorders, but that is not revolution. It is to be + remembered that the cause of all this disturbance was, in the main, an entirely + creditable sentiment, quite as creditable as that which led the American colonists to + resist the Stamp taxes and to destroy tea. It was a natural and righteous protest + against oppression, a movement lasting for seventy-five years, for which Americans, + particularly, should award praise rather than blame or carping criticism. Having + done, in our own way, very much what the Cubans have done, in their way, we are not + free to condemn them. The only real difference is that their methods were, on the + whole, a little more strenuous than ours. Cuban blood was stirred by the successful + revolutions in Mexico and in Spanish South America, and conditions in the island were + contrasted with those in the then somewhat new United States. Something of the part + played by this country in the experiences of the time is presented in another + chapter, on the relations of the two countries.</p> + <p>The next movement worthy of note came in 1849, if we omit the quarrel, in 1837, + between General Tacon and his subordinate, General Lorenzo, and the alleged proposal + of the slaves in the neighborhood of Matanzas to rise and slaughter all the whites. + Neither of these quite belongs in the revolutionary class. In 1847, a conspiracy was + organized in the vicinity of Cienfuegos. Its leader was General Narciso Lopez. The + movement was discovered, and some of the participants were imprisoned. Lopez escaped + to the United States where he associated himself with a group of Cuban exiles, and + opened correspondence with sympathizers in the island. They were joined by a + considerable number of adventurous Americans, inspired by a variety of motives. The + declared purpose of the enterprise was independence as the alternative of reform in + Spanish laws. An expedition was organized, but the plans became known and President + Taylor, on August 11, 1849, issued a proclamation in which he declared that "an + enterprise to invade the territories of a friendly nation, set on foot and prosecuted + within the limits of the United States, is in the highest degree criminal." He + therefore warned all citizens of the United States who might participate in such an + enterprise that they would be subject to heavy penalties, and would forfeit the + protection of their country. He also called on "every officer of this Government, + civil or military, to use all efforts in his power to arrest for trial and punishment + every such offender against the laws." The party was captured as it was leaving New + York. The best evidence of the time is to the effect that there was in Cuba neither + demand for nor support of such a movement, but Lopez and his associates, many of them + Americans, persisted. A second expedition was arranged, and a party of more than six + hundred men, many of them American citizens, assembled on the island of Contoy, off + the Yucatan coast, and on May 19, 1850, landed at Cardenas. But there was no uprising + on the part of the people. The Spanish authorities, informed of the expedition, sent + ships by sea and troops by land. After a sharp skirmish, the invaders fled for their + lives. Lopez and those who escaped with him succeeded in reaching Key West. He went + to Savannah, where he was arrested but promptly liberated in response to public + clamor. But even this did not satisfy the enthusiastic liberator of a people who did + not want to be liberated in that way. He tried again in the following year. On August + 3, 1851, he sailed from near New Orleans, on the steamer <i>Pampero</i>, in command + of a force of about four hundred, largely composed of young Americans who had been + lured into the enterprise by assurance of thrilling adventure and large pay. They + landed near Bahia Honda, about fifty miles west of Havana. Here, again, the Cubans + refused to rise and join the invaders. Here, again, they encountered the Spanish + forces by whom they were beaten and routed. Many were killed, some were captured, and + others escaped into the surrounding country and were captured afterward. Lopez was + among the captured. He was taken to Havana, and died by <i>garrote</i> in the little + fortress La Punta. His first officer, Colonel Crittenden, and some fifty Americans + were captured and taken to Atares, the fortress at the head of Havana harbor, where + they were shot. For that somewhat brutal act, the United States could ask no + indemnity. In violation of the laws of the United States, they had invaded the + territory of a nation with which the country was at peace. In the initial issue of + the <i>New York Times</i>, on October 18, 1851, there appeared a review of the + incident, presenting a contemporaneous opinion of the experience. It was, in part, as + follows:</p> + <p>"Nothing can be clearer than the fact that, for the present, at least, the + inhabitants of Cuba do not desire their freedom. The opinion has very widely + prevailed that the Cubans were grievously oppressed by their Spanish rulers, and that + the severity of their oppression alone prevented them from making some effort to + throw it off. The presence of an armed force in their midst, however small, it was + supposed would summon them by thousands to the standard of revolt, and convert the + colony into a free republic. Men high in office, men who had lived in Cuba and were + supposed to be familiar with the sentiments of its people, have uniformly represented + that they were ripe for revolt, and desired only the presence of a small military + band to serve as a nucleus for their force. Believing that the Cuban population would + aid them, American adventurers enlisted and were ruined. They found no aid. Not a + Cuban joined them. They were treated as pirates and robbers from the first moment of + their landing. Nor could they expect any other treatment in case of failure. They + ceased to be American citizens the moment they set out, as invaders, for the shores + of Cuba."</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig16"></a><a href="images/image16.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image16.jpg" alt="SPANISH BLOCK HOUSE" /></a> + <h3>A SPANISH BLOCK HOUSE</h3> + </div> + <p>The excitement of the Lopez incident was passing when it was revived, in 1854, by + the <i>Black Warrior</i> experience, to which reference is made elsewhere. Another + invasion was projected by exuberant and adventurous Americans. It was to sail from + New Orleans under command of General Quitman, a former Governor of the State of + Mississippi. No secret was made of the expedition, and Quitman openly boasted of his + purposes, in Washington. The reports having reached the White House, President Pierce + issued a proclamation warning "all persons, citizens of the United States and others + residing therein" that the General Government would not fail to prosecute with due + energy all those who presumed to disregard the laws of the land and our treaty + obligations. He charged all officers of the United States to exert all their lawful + power to maintain the authority and preserve the peace of the country. Quitman was + arrested, and put under bonds to respect the neutrality laws. There was a limited + uprising in Puerto Principe, in 1851, and a conspiracy was revealed, in Pinar del + Rio, in 1852. A few years later the Liberal Club in Havana and the Cuban Junta in New + York were reported as raising money and organizing expeditions. Some sailed, but they + accomplished little, except as the activities appear as a manifestation of the + persistent opposition on the part of what was probably only a small minority of the + Cuban people. For several years, the unrest and the agitation continued. Spain's + blindness to the situation is puzzling. In his <i>Cuba and International + Relations</i>, Mr. Callahan says: "Spain, after squandering a continent, had still + clung tenaciously to Cuba; and the changing governments which had been born (in + Spain) only to be strangled, held her with a taxing hand. While England had allowed + her colonies to rule themselves, Spain had persisted in keeping Cuba in the same + state of tutelage that existed when she was the greatest power in the world, and when + the idea of colonial rights had not developed." In <i>Tomorrow in Cuba</i>, Mr. + Pepper notes that "though the conception of colonial home rule for Cuba was + non-existent among the Spanish statesmen of that day, the perception of it was clear + on the part of the thinking people of the island. The educated and wealthy Cubans who + in 1865 formed themselves into a national party and urged administrative and economic + changes upon Madrid felt the lack of understanding among Spanish statesmen. The + concessions asked were not a broad application of civil liberties. When their + programme was rejected in its entirety they ceased to ask favors. They inaugurated + the Ten Years' War." Regarding this action by the Cubans, Dr. Enrique José Varona, a + distinguished Cuban and a former deputy to the Cortes, has stated that "before the + insurrection of 1868, the reform party which included the most enlightened, wealthy, + and influential Cubans, exhausted all the resources within their reach to induce + Spain to initiate a healthy change in her Cuban policy. The party started the + publication of periodicals in Madrid and in the island, addressed petitions, + maintained a great agitation throughout the country, and having succeeded in leading + the Spanish Government to make an inquiry into the economic, political, and social + conditions in Cuba, they presented a complete plan of government which satisfied + public requirements as well as the aspirations of the people. The Spanish Government + disdainfully cast aside the proposition as useless, increased taxation, and proceeded + to its exaction with extreme severity." Here not seek its independence; the object + was reform in oppressive laws and in burdensome taxation, a measure of + self-government, under Spain, and a greater industrial and commercial freedom. It is + most difficult to understand the short-sightedness of the Spanish authorities. The + war soon followed the refusal of these entirely reasonable demands, and the course of + the Cubans is entirely to their credit. An acceptance of the situation and a further + submission would have shown them as contemptible.</p> + <p>The details of a conflict that lasted for ten years are quite impossible of + presentation in a few pages. Nor are they of value or interest to any except special + students who can find them elaborately set forth in many volumes, some in Spanish and + a few in English. Having tried once before to cover this period as briefly and as + adequately as possible, I can do no better here than to repeat the story as told in + an earlier work (<i>Cuba, and the Intervention</i>). On the 10th of October, 1868, + Carlos Manuel Cespedes and his associates raised the cry of Cuban independence at + Yara, in the Province of Puerto Principe (now Camaguey). On the 10th of April, 1869, + there was proclaimed the Constitution of the Cuban Republic. During the intervening + months, there was considerable fighting, though it was largely in the nature of + guerrilla skirmishing. The Spanish Minister of State asserted in a memorandum issued + to Spain's representatives in other countries, under date of February 3, 1876, that + at the outbreak of the insurrection Spain had 7,500 troops, all told, in Cuba. + According to General Sickels, at that time the American Minister to Spain, this + number was increased by reinforcements of 34,500 within the first year of the war. + The accuracy of this information, however, has been questioned. Prior to the + establishment of the so-called Republic, the affairs of the insurrection were in the + hands of an Assembly of Representatives. On February 26, this body issued a decree + proclaiming the abolition of slavery throughout the island, and calling upon those + who thus received their freedom to "contribute their efforts to the independence of + Cuba." During the opening days of April, 1869, the Assembly met at Guiamaro. On the + tenth of that month a government was organized, with a president, vice-president, + general-in-chief of the army, secretaries of departments, and a parliament or + congress. Carlos Manuel Cespedes was chosen as President, and Manuel de Quesada as + General-in-Chief. A Constitution was adopted. Señor Morales Lemus was appointed as + minister to the United States, to represent the new Republic, and to ask official + recognition by the American Government. The government which the United States was + asked to recognize was a somewhat vague institution. The insurrection, or revolution, + if it may be so called, at this time consisted of a nominal central government, + chiefly self-organized and self-elected, and various roving bands, probably numbering + some thousands in their aggregate, of men rudely and incompetently armed, and showing + little or nothing of military organization or method.</p> + <p>Like all Cuban-Spanish wars and warfare, the destruction of property was a common + procedure. Some of the methods employed for the suppression of the insurrection were + not unlike those adopted by General Weyler in the later war. At Bayamo, on April 4, + 1869, Count Valmaseda, the Spanish Commandant of that district, issued the following + proclamation:</p> + <p>1. Every man, from the age of fifteen years upward, found away from his place of + habitation, who does not prove a justified reason therefor, will be shot.</p> + <p>2. Every unoccupied habitation will be burned by the troops.</p> + <p>3. Every habitation from which no white flag floats, as a signal that its + occupants desire peace, will be reduced to ashes.</p> + <p>In the summer of 1869, the United States essayed a reconciliation and an + adjustment of the differences between the contestants. To this Spain replied that the + mediation of any nation in a purely domestic question was wholly incompatible with + the honor of Spain, and that the independence of Cuba was inadmissible as a basis of + negotiation. Heavy reinforcements were sent from Spain, and the strife continued. The + commerce of the island was not greatly disturbed, for the reason that the great + producing and commercial centres lay to the westward, and the military activities + were confined, almost exclusively, to the eastern and central areas. In April, 1874, + Mr. Fish, then Secretary of State, reported that "it is now more than five years + since the uprising (in Cuba) and it has been announced with apparent authority, that + Spain has lost upward of 80,000 men, and has expended upward of $100,000,000, in + efforts to suppress it; yet the insurrection seems today as active and as powerful as + it has ever been." Spain's losses among her troops were not due so much to the + casualties of war as they were to the ravages of disease, especially yellow fever. + The process, in which both parties would appear to be about equally culpable, of + destroying property and taking life when occasion offered, proceedings which are + hardly to be dignified by the name of war, continued until the beginning of 1878. + Throughout the entire period of the war, the American officials labored diligently + for its termination on a basis that would give fair promise of an enduring peace. + Many questions arose concerning the arrest of American citizens and the destruction + of property of American ownership. Proposals to grant the Cubans the rights of + belligerents were dismissed as not properly warranted by the conditions, and + questions arose regarding the supply of arms and ammunition, from this country, by + filibustering expeditions. References to Cuban affairs appear in many presidential + messages, and the matter was a subject of much discussion and numerous measures in + Congress. Diplomatic communication was constantly active. In his message of December + 7, 1875, President Grant said: "The past year has furnished no evidence of an + approaching termination of the ruinous conflict which has been raging for seven years + in the neighboring island of Cuba. While conscious that the insurrection has shown a + strength and endurance which make it at least doubtful whether it be in the power of + Spain to subdue it, it seems unquestionable that no such civil organization exists + which may be recognized as an independent government capable of performing its + international obligations and entitled to be treated as one of the powers of the + earth." Nor did he then deem the grant of belligerent rights to the Cubans as either + expedient or properly warranted by the circumstances.</p> + <p>In 1878, Martinez Campos was Governor-General of Cuba, and Maximo Gomez was + Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban forces. Both parties were weary of the prolonged + hostilities, and neither was able to compel the other to surrender. Spain, however, + professed a willingness to yield an important part of the demands of her rebellious + subjects. Martinez Campos and Gomez met at Zanjon and, on February 10, 1878, mutually + agreed to what has been variously called a peace pact, a treaty, and a capitulation. + The agreement was based on provisions for a redress of Cuban grievances through + greater civil, political, and administrative privileges for the Cubans, with + forgetfulness of the past and amnesty for all then under sentence for political + offences. Delay in carrying these provisions into effect gave rise to an attempt to + renew the struggle two years later, but the effort was a failure.</p> + <p>Matters then quieted down for a number of years. The Cubans waited to see what + would be done. The Spanish Governor-General still remained the supreme power and, + aside from the abolition of slavery, the application of the Spanish Constitution and + Spanish laws to Cuba, and Cuban representation in the Cortes, much of which was + rather form than fact, the island gained little by the new conditions. Discontent and + protest continued and, at last, broke again into open rebellion in 1895.</p> + <p>The story of that experience is told in another chapter. In 1906, there came one + of the most deplorable experiences in the history of the island, the first and only + discreditable revolution. The causes of the experience are not open to our criticism. + Our own records show too much of precisely the same kind of work, illegal + registration, ballot box stuffing, threats and bribery. The first election in the new + Republic was carried with only a limited and somewhat perfunctory opposition to the + candidacy of Estrada Palma. Before the second election came, in 1905, he allied + himself definitely with an organization then known as the Moderate party. The + opposition was known as the Liberal party. Responsibility for the disgraceful + campaign that followed rests on both, almost equally. The particular difference lies + in the fact that, the principal offices having been given to adherents of the + Moderates, they were able to control both registration and election proceedings. But + the methods employed by the opposition were no less censurable. Realizing defeat, the + Liberals withdrew from the field, by concerted action, on the day of the election, + and the Moderates elected every one of their candidates. Naturally, a feeling of + bitter resentment was created, and there came, in the spring of 1906, rumors of armed + revolt. In August, an actual insurrection was begun. Disgruntled political leaders + gathered formidable bands in Pinar del Rio and in Santa Clara provinces. President + Palma became seriously alarmed, even actually frightened. Through the United States + Consul-General in Havana, he sent urgent appeals to Washington for naval and military + aid. Mr. Taft, then Secretary of War, and Mr. Bacon, the Assistant Secretary of + State, were sent to Havana to investigate and report on the situation. They arrived + in Havana on September 19. After ten days of careful and thorough study, and earnest + effort to effect an adjustment, a proclamation was issued declaring the creation of a + provisional government. This was accepted by both parties and the insurgent bands + dispersed. Charles E. Magoon was sent down as Provisional Governor. Americans who are + disposed to censure the Cubans for this experience in their history, may perhaps turn + with profit to some little experiences in the history of their own country in its + political infancy, in 1786 and 1794. Those incidents do not relieve the Cubans of the + censure to which they are open, but they make it a little difficult for us to condemn + them with proper grace and dignity. The provisional government continued until + January 28, 1909, when control was turned over to the duly elected officials, they + being the same who withdrew from the polls, acknowledging defeat, in the election of + 1905.</p> + <h2><a id="X">X</a><br /> + <i>INDEPENDENCE</i></h2> + <p>Cuba's final movement for independence began on February 24, 1895. Under the + treaty of Zanjon, executed in 1878, Spain agreed to grant to the Cubans such reforms + as would remove their grounds of complaint, long continued. The Cubans denied that + the terms of the agreement had been kept. Those terms are indicated in a statement + submitted by Tomas Estrada y Palma to Richard Olney, then Secretary of State of the + United States. It bore the date of December 7, 1895. The communication sets forth, + from the Cuban point of view, of course, the causes of the revolution of 1895. It + says:</p> + <p>"These causes are substantially the same as those of the former revolution, + lasting from 1868 to 1878, and terminating only on the representation of the Spanish + Government that Cuba would be granted such reforms as would remove the grounds of + complaint on the part of the Cuban people. Unfortunately the hopes thus held out have + never been realized. The representation which was to be given the Cubans has proved + to be absolutely without character; taxes have been levied anew on everything + conceivable; the offices in the island have increased, but the officers are all + Spaniards; the native Cubans have been left with no public duties whatsoever to + perform, except the payment of taxes to the Government and blackmail to the + officials, without privilege even to move from place to place in the island except on + the permission of government authority.</p> + <p>"Spain has framed laws so that the natives have substantially been deprived of the + right of suffrage. The taxes levied have been almost entirely devoted to support the + army and navy in Cuba, to pay interest on the debt that Spain has saddled on the + island, and to pay the salaries of the vast number of Spanish office holders, + devoting only $746,000 for internal improvements out of the $26,000,000 collected by + tax. No public schools are in reach of the masses for their education. All the + principal industries of the island are hampered by excessive imposts. Her commerce + with every country but Spain has been crippled in every possible manner, as can + readily be seen by the frequent protests of shipowners and merchants.</p> + <p>"The Cubans have no security of person or property. The judiciary are instruments + of the military authorities. Trial by military tribunals can be ordered at any time + at the will of the Captain-General. There is, besides, no freedom of speech, press, + or religion. In point of fact, the causes of the Revolution of 1775 in this country + were not nearly as grave as those that have driven the Cuban people to the various + insurrections which culminated in the present revolution."</p> + <p>Spain, of course, denied these charges, and asserted that the agreement had been + kept in good faith. The Spanish Government may have been technically correct in its + claim that all laws necessary to the fulfillment of its promises had been enacted. + But it seems entirely certain that they had not been made effective. The conditions + of the Cubans were in no way improved and, some time before the outbreak, they began + preparations for armed resistance. In <i>Cuba and the Intervention</i> (published in + 1905) I have already written an outline review of the experience of the revolution, + and I shall here make use of extracts from that volume. The notable leader and + instigator of the movement was José Marti, a patriot, a poet, and a dreamer, but a + man of action. He visited General Maximo Gomez at his home in Santo Domingo, where + that doughty old warrior had betaken himself after the conclusion of the Ten Years' + War. Gomez accepted the command of the proposed army of Cuban liberation. Antonio + Maceo also accepted a command. He was a mulatto, an able and daring fighter, whose + motives were perhaps a compound of patriotism, hatred of Spain, and a love for the + excitement of warfare. Others whose names are written large in Cuba's history soon + joined the movement. A <i>junta</i>, or committee, was organized with headquarters in + New York. After the death of Marti, this was placed in charge of Tomas Estrada y + Palma, who afterward became the first President of the new Republic. Its work was to + raise funds, obtain and forward supplies and ammunition, and to advance the cause in + all possible ways. There were legal battles to be fought by and through this + organization, and Mr. Horatio S. Rubens, a New York lawyer, was placed in charge of + that department. The twenty-fourth of February was set for the beginning of + activities, but arms were lacking, and while the movement was actually begun on that + day, the operations of the first six weeks or so were limited to numerous local + uprisings of little moment. But the local authorities became alarmed, and martial law + was proclaimed in Santa Clara and Matanzas provinces on the 27th. Spain became + alarmed also, and immediately despatched General Martinez Campos as Governor-General + of the island, to succeed General Calleja. He assumed command on April 16. Maceo and + his associates, among them his brother José, also a fighter of note, landed from + Costa Rica on April 1. Marti, Gomez, and others, reached the island on the 11th. + Meanwhile, Bartolomé Maso, an influential planter in Oriente, had been in command of + the forces in his vicinity. Many joined, and others stood ready to join as soon as + they could be equipped. Engagements with the Spanish troops soon became a matter of + daily occurrence, and Martinez Campos realized that a formidable movement was on. + Spain hurried thousands of soldiers to the island.</p> + <p>For the first five months, the insurgents kept their opponents busy with an almost + uninterrupted series of little engagements, a guerrilla warfare. In one of these, on + May 19, José Marti was killed. His death was a severe blow to the patriots, but it + served rather to inspire a greater activity than to check the movement. His death + came in the effort of a small band of insurgents to pass the Spanish cordon designed + to confine activities to Oriente Province. Immediately after the death of Marti, + Maximo Gomez crossed that barrier and organized an army in Camaguey. The first + engagement properly to be regarded as a battle occurred at Peralejo, near Bayamo, in + Oriente, about the middle of July. The respective leaders were Antonio Maceo and + General Martinez Campos, in person. The victory fell to Maceo, and Martinez Campos + barely eluded capture. The engagements of the Ten Years' War were confined to the + then sparsely settled eastern half of the island. Those of the revolution of 1895 + covered the greater part of the island, sweeping gradually but steadily from east to + west. During my first visit to Cuba, I was frequently puzzled by references to "the + invasion." "What invasion?" I asked, "Who invaded the country?" I found that it meant + the westward sweep of the liberating army under Gomez and Maceo. It covered a period + of more than two years of frequent fighting and general destruction of property. + Early in the operations Gomez issued the following proclamation:</p> + <p><b>GENERAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION</b></p> + <p>Najasa, Camaguey, July 1, 1895.</p> + <p>To THE PLANTERS AND OWNERS OF CATTLE RANCHES:</p> + <p><i>In accord with the great interests of the revolution for the independence of + the country, and for which we are in arms</i>:</p> + <p>WHEREAS, <i>all exploitations of any product whatsoever are aids and resources to + the Government that we are fighting, it is resolved by the general-in-chief to issue + this general order throughout the island, that the introduction of articles of + commerce, as well as beef and cattle, into the towns occupied by the enemy, is + absolutely prohibited. The sugar plantations will stop their labors, and those who + shall attempt to grind the crop notwithstanding this order, will have their cane + burned and their buildings demolished. The person who, disobeying this order, shall + try to profit from the present situation of affairs, will show by his conduct little + respect for the rights of the revolution of redemption, and therefore shall be + considered as an enemy, treated as a traitor, and tried as such in case of his + capture</i>.</p> +<pre> +(<i>Signed</i>) MAXIMO GOMEZ, +The General-in-Chief. +</pre> + <p>This proved only partially effective, and it was followed by a circular to + commanding officers, a few months later, reading thus:</p> + <p><b>HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION</b></p> + <p>Territory of Sancti Spiritus, November 6, 1895.</p> + <p><i>Animated by the spirit of unchangeable resolution in defence of the rights of + the revolution of redemption of this country of colonists, humiliated and despised by + Spain, and in harmony with what has been decreed concerning the subject in the + circular dated the 1st of July, I have ordered the following</i>:</p> + <p>ARTICLE I. <i>That all plantations shall be totally destroyed, their cane and + outbuildings burned, and railroad connections destroyed</i>.</p> + <p>ARTICLE II. <i>All laborers who shall aid the sugar factories—these sources of + supplies that we must deprive the enemy of—shall be considered as traitors to their + country</i>.</p> + <p>ARTICLE III. <i>All who are caught in the act, or whose violation of Article II + shall be proven, shall be shot. Let all chiefs of operations of the army of liberty + comply with this order, determined to furl triumphantly, even over ruin and ashes, + the flag of the Republic of Cuba</i>.</p> + <p><i>In regard to the manner of waging the war, follow the private instructions that + I have already given</i>.</p> + <p><i>For the sake of the honor of our arms and your well-known courage and + patriotism, it is expected that you will strictly comply with the above + orders</i>.</p> +<pre> +<i>(Signed)</i> MAXIMO GOMEZ, +General-in-Chief. +</pre> + <p>To peace-loving souls, all this sounds very brutal, but all war is brutal and + barbarous. In our strife in the Philippines, from 1899 to 1902, many of us were proud + to be told that we were conducting a "humane war." There is no such thing. The very + terms are contradictory. Gomez had declared that if Spain would not give up Cuba to + the Cubans, the Cubans would themselves render the island so worthless and desolate a + possession that Spain could not afford to hold it. Short of further submission to a + rule that was, very rightly, regarded as no longer endurable, no other course was + open to them. Another proclamation appeared a few days later.</p> + <p><b>HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION</b></p> + <p>Sancti Spiritus, November 11 1895.</p> + <p>To HONEST MEN, VICTIMS OF THE TORCH:</p> + <p><i>The painful measure made necessary by the revolution of redemption drenched in + innocent blood from Hatuey to our own times by cruel and merciless Spain will plunge + you in misery. As general-in-chief of the army of liberation, it is my duty to lead + it to victory, without permitting myself to be restrained or terrified, by any means + necessary to place Cuba in the shortest time in possession of her dearest ideal. I + therefore place the responsibility for so great a ruin on those who look on + impassively and force us to those extreme measures which they then condemn like dolts + and hypocrites as they are. After so many years of supplication, humiliation, + contumely, banishment, and death, when this people, of its own will, has arisen in + arms, there remains no solution but to triumph, it matters not what means are + employed to accomplish it</i>.</p> + <p><i>This people cannot hesitate between the wealth of Spain and the liberty of + Cuba. Its greatest crime would be to stain the land with blood without effecting its + purposes because of puerile scruples and fears which do not concur with the character + of the men who are in the field, challenging the fury of an army which is one of the + bravest in the world, but which in this war is without enthusiasm or faith, ill-fed + and unpaid. The war did not begin February 24; it is about to begin now</i>.</p> + <p><i>The war had to be organized; it was necessary to calm and lead into the proper + channels the revolutionary spirit always exaggerated in the beginning by wild + enthusiasm. The struggle ought to begin in obedience to a plan and method more or + less studied, as the result of the peculiarities of this war. This has already been + done. Let Spain now send her soldiers to rivet the chains on her slaves; the children + of this land are in the field, armed with the weapons of liberty. The struggle will + be terrible, but success will crown the revolution and the efforts of the + oppressed</i>.</p> +<pre> +(<i>Signed</i>) MAXIMO GOMEZ, +General-in-Chief. +</pre> + <p>Such an address doubtless savors of bombast to many Americans, but in the history + of political and military oratory in their own land they can find an endless number + of speeches that, in that particular quality, rival if they do not surpass it. The + Cuban situation was desperate, and the Cuban attitude was one of fixed determination. + Productive industry was generally suppressed, and much property was destroyed, by + both Cubans and Spaniards. This necessarily threw many out of employment, and drove + them into the insurgent ranks. The Cubans are a peaceful people. All desired relief + from oppressive conditions, but many did not want war. While many entered the army + from patriotic motives, many others were brought into it only as a consequence of + conditions created by the conflict. The measures adopted were severe, but decision of + the contest by pitched battles was quite impossible. The quoted figures are somewhat + unreliable, but the Spanish forces outnumbered the Cubans by at least five to one, + and they could obtain freely the supplies and ammunition that the Cubans could obtain + only by filibustering expeditions. The Cubans, therefore, adopted a policy, the only + policy that afforded promise of success. Spain poured in fresh troops until, by the + close of 1895, its army is reported as numbering 200,000 men.</p> + <p>The Cubans carried the contest westward from Oriente and Camaguey, through Santa + Clara, and into the provinces of Matanzas, Havana, and Pinar del Rio.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig17"></a><a href="images/image17.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image17.jpg" alt="ALONG THE HARBOR WALL" /></a> + <h3>ALONG THE HARBOR WALL<br /> + <i>Havana</i></h3> + </div> + <p>The <i>trocha</i> across the island, from Jucaro on the south to Moron on the + north, originally constructed during the Ten Years' War, was a line of blockhouses, + connected by barbed wire tangles, along a railway. This obstructed but did not stop + the Cuban advance. The authorities declared martial law in the provinces of Havana + and Pinar del Rio on January 2, 1896. Gomez advanced to Marianao, at Havana's very + door, and that city was terrified. Maceo was operating immediately beyond him in + Pinar del Rio, through the most important part of which he swept with torch and + machete. The Spaniards built a <i>trocha</i> there from Mariel southward. Maceo + crossed it and continued his work of destruction, in which large numbers of the + people of the region joined. He burned and destroyed Spanish property; the Spaniards, + in retaliation, burned and destroyed property belonging to Cubans. Along the highway + from Marianao to Guanajay, out of many stately country residences, only one was left + standing. Villages were destroyed and hamlets were wrecked. On one of his expeditions + in December, 1896, Maceo was killed near Punta Brava, within fifteen miles of Havana. + Gomez planned this westward sweep, from Oriente, six hundred miles away, but to + Antonio Maceo belongs a large part of the credit for its execution. The weakness of + the Ten Years' War was that it did not extend beyond the thinly populated region of + the east; Gomez and Maceo carried their war to the very gates of the Spanish + strongholds. There were occasional conflicts that might well be called battles, but + much of it was carried on by the Cubans by sudden and unexpected dashes into Spanish + camps or moving columns, brief but sometimes bloody encounters from which the + attacking force melted away after inflicting such damage as it could. Guerrilla + warfare is not perhaps a respectable method of fighting. It involves much of what is + commonly regarded as outlawry, of pillage and of plunder, of destruction and + devastation. These results become respectable only when attained through conventional + processes, and are in some way supposed to be ennobled by those processes. But they + sometimes become the only means by which the weak can meet the strong. Such they + seemed to be in the Cuban revolt against the Spaniards, when Maximo Gomez and Antonio + Maceo made guerrilla warfare almost a military science. Gomez formulated his plan of + campaign, but, with the means at his disposal, its successful execution was possible + only by the methods adopted. At all events, it succeeded. The Cubans were not strong + enough to drive Spain out of the island by force of arms, but they showed themselves + unconquerable by the Spanish troops. They had once carried on a war for ten years in + a limited area; by the methods adopted, they could repeat that experience practically + throughout the island. They could at least keep insurrection alive until Spain should + yield to their terms, or until the United States should be compelled to intervene. No + great movements, but constant irritation, and the suspension of all industry, was the + policy adopted and pursued for the year 1897.</p> + <p>But there was another side to it all, a different line of activity. Immediately + after his arrival on the island, on April 11, 1895, Marti had issued a call for the + selection of representatives to form a civil government. He was killed before this + was effected. An assembly met, at Jimaguayu, in Camaguey, on September 13, 1895. It + consisted of twenty members, representing nearly all parts of the island. Its purpose + was the organization of a Cuban Republic. On the 16th, it adopted a Constitution and, + on the 18th, elected, as President, Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, and as + Vice-President, Bartolomé Maso. Secretaries and sub-secretaries were duly chosen, and + all were formally installed. Maximo Gomez was officially appointed as + General-in-Chief of the army, with Antonio Maceo as Lieutenant General. Tomas Estrada + y Palma was chosen as delegate plenipotentiary and general agent abroad, with + headquarters in New York. Both civil and military organizations were, for a time, + crude and somewhat incoherent. It could not be otherwise. They were engaged in a + movement that could only succeed by success. Arms and money were lacking. The civil + government was desirable in a field that the military arm could not cover. Action lay + with the military and with the Cuban Junta in the United States. The latter + organization immediately became active. Calls were made for financial assistance and + liberal responses were made, chiefly by Cubans. In 1896 and 1897, bonds were issued + and sold, or were exchanged for supplies and munitions of war. For a number of years + scandalous stories were afloat declaring that these bonds were printed by the acre, + and issued, purely for speculative purposes, to the extent of millions upon millions + of dollars. The truth is that every bond printed, whether issued or unissued, has + been fully accounted for, the actual issue being about $2,200,000. Provision was made + in Cuba's Constitution for the recognition of this indebtedness, and it has since + been discharged, while the plates and the unused bonds have been destroyed. There may + have been speculation in the bonds, as there was in the bonds issued by the United + States during the Civil War, but Cuba's conduct in the whole matter has been honest + and most honorable. In that matter certainly, its detractors have been confounded. + The principal difficulty encountered by the <i>junta</i> was the despatch to Cuba of + the men and the munitions so greatly needed by those in the field. That, however, is + a story that I shall endeavor to tell, in part, in another chapter. It cannot now, if + ever, be told in full.</p> + <p>Meanwhile, a complicated political situation developed. The story is too long and + too complicated for review in detail. It may be given in general outline. The Peace + of 1878 was followed by the organization of political parties, the Liberal and the + Union Constitutional. At first, there was comparatively little difference in the + essence of their respective platforms, but the lines diverged as the situation + developed. The Liberal party became, and remained, the Cuban party, and the Union + Constitutional became the Spanish party. Later on, the Liberals became the + Autonomists. Their object, for twenty years, was reform in conditions under the rule + of Spain. There was no independence party. That was organized, in 1895, by Marti, + Gomez, Maceo, Maso, and their associates. It had only one plank in its + platform—<i>Cuba Libre y Independiente</i>—whatever the cost to the island and its + people. "The Autonomist group," says Mr. Pepper, in his <i>Tomorrow in Cuba</i>, + "became as much a political party as it could become under Spanish institutions." It + grew in strength and influence, and continued its agitation persistently and + stubbornly. The Spanish Cortes busied itself with discussion of Cuban affairs, but + reached no conclusions, produced no results. In 1893, there came the definite + organization of the Reformist party, with aims not differing greatly from those of + the <i>Autonomistas</i>. But Spain delayed until Marti and his followers struck their + blow. Official efforts to placate them failed utterly, as did efforts to intimidate + them or to conquer them. The Autonomists declared their support of the existing + Government, and rebuked the insurgents in a <i>manifesto</i> issued on April 4, 1895, + six weeks after the outbreak. They only succeeded in antagonizing both sides, the + Spanish authorities and the revolutionists. Spain, greatly alarmed, recalled Martinez + Campos and sent out Weyler to succeed him. Had Spain followed the advice of Martinez + Campos, the failure of the insurrection would have been little short of certain. It + sent out Weyler, on whom the Cubans, twenty years earlier, had conferred the title of + "Butcher." This step threw to the side of the insurgents the great mass of the middle + class Cubans who had previously wavered in uncertainty, questioning the success of + revolution while adhering to its general object. Weyler instituted the brutal policy + that came to be known as reconcentration. It may be said, in a way, that the Cuban + forces themselves instituted this policy. To clear the country in which they were + operating, they had ordered all Spaniards and Spanish sympathizers to betake + themselves to the cities and towns occupied by Spanish garrisons. This was + inconvenient for its victims, but its purpose was humane. Gomez also sought to + concentrate the Cubans, particularly the women and children, in the recesses of the + hills where they would be less exposed to danger than they would be in their homes. + This also was a humane purpose.</p> + <p>Weyler's application of this policy was utterly brutal. The people of the country + were herded in prison camps, in settlements surrounded by stockades or trenches + beyond which they might not pass. No provision was made for their food or + maintenance. The victims were non-combatants, women, and children. In his message of + December, 1897, President McKinley said of this system, as applied by Weyler, "It was + not civilized warfare; it was extermination. The only peace it could beget was that + of the wilderness and the grave." In my experience as a campaign correspondent in + several conflicts, I have necessarily seen more or less of gruesome sights, the + result of disease and wounds, but I have seen nothing in any way comparable, in + horror and pitifulness, to the victims of this abominable system. To describe their + condition in detail would be little short of offensive, those groups of hopeless, + helpless sufferers who lingered only until death came and kindly put them out of + their misery and pain. But by this time, two forces had come into active operation, + dire alarm in Spain and wrath and indignation in the United States. Weyler had failed + as Martinez Campos, when leaving the island, predicted. He was recalled, and was + succeeded, on October 31, 1897, by General Blanco. The new incumbent tried + conciliation, but it failed. The work had gone too far. The party in the field had + become the dominant party, not to be suppressed either by force of arms or by + promises of political and economic reform. At last, Spain yielded. Outside pressure + on Madrid, chiefly from the United States, prevailed. A scheme for Cuban autonomy was + devised and, on January 1, 1898, was put into effect. But it came too late. It was + welcomed by many non-participants in the war, and a form of government was organized + under it. But the party then dominant, the army in the field, distrusted the + arrangement and would have none of it. All overtures were rejected and the struggle + continued. On February 15, 1898, came the disaster to the battleship <i>Maine</i>, in + the harbor of Havana. On April 11th, President McKinley's historic message went to + Congress, declaring that "the only hope of relief and repose from a condition which + can no longer be endured is the enforced pacification of Cuba," and asking for power + and authority to use the military and naval forces of the United States to effect a + termination of the strife in Cuba. Such, in the briefest possible outline, is the + record of this eventful period, eventful alike for Cuba and for the United + States.</p> + <p>During this struggle, the people of the United States became deeply interested in + the affairs of the island, and the Administration in Washington became gravely + concerned by them. A preceding chapter, on the United States and Cuba, dropped the + matter of the relations of this country to the island at the end of the Ten Years' + War, but the relations were by no means dropped, nor were they even suspended. The + affairs of the island appear again and again in diplomatic correspondence and in + presidential messages. The platform of the Republican party, adopted at the national + convention in St. Louis, on June 18, 1896, contained the following: "From the hour of + achieving their own independence, the people of the United States have regarded with + sympathy the struggles of other American peoples to free themselves from European + domination. We watch with deep and abiding interest the heroic battle of the Cuban + patriots against cruelty and oppression, and our best hopes go out for the full + success of their determined contest for liberty. The Government of Spain having lost + control of Cuba and being unable to protect the property or lives of resident + American citizens, or to comply with its treaty obligations, we believe that the + Government of the United States should actively use its influence and good offices to + restore peace and give independence to the island." The Democratic party platform of + the same year stated that "we extend our sympathy to the people of Cuba in their + heroic struggle for liberty and independence." The platform of the People's party + likewise expressed sympathy, and declared the belief that the time had come when "the + United States should recognize that Cuba is and of right ought to be a free and + independent State." This may be regarded as the almost unanimous opinion of the + people of this country at that time. In 1896 and 1897 many resolutions were + introduced in the Congress urging action for the recognition of Cuban independence. + There was frequent and prolonged debate on the question, but no final action was + taken. In his message of December, 1897, President McKinley said: "Of the untried + measures (regarding Cuba) there remain only: Recognition of the insurgents as + belligerents; recognition of the independence of Cuba; neutral intervention to end + the war by imposing a rational compromise between the contestants; and intervention + in favor of one or the other party. I speak not of forcible annexation, for that + cannot be thought of. That, by our code of morality, would be criminal + aggression."</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig18"></a><a href="images/image18.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image18.jpg" alt="COUNTRY ROAD" /></a> + <h3>COUNTRY ROAD<br /> + <i>Havana Province</i></h3> + </div> + <p>Recognition of the Cubans as belligerents would have effected a radical change in + the situation. It would have given the Cubans the right to buy in the American market + the arms and supplies that they could then only obtain surreptitiously, that they + could only ship by "filibustering expeditions," by blockade-runners. In law, the + propriety of granting belligerent rights depends upon the establishment of certain + facts, upon the proof of the existence of certain conditions. Those conditions did + then exist in Cuba. An unanswerable argument was submitted by Horatio S. Rubens, + Esq., the able counsel of the Cuban <i>junta</i> in New York. The Cubans never asked + for intervention by the United States; they did, with full justification, ask for + recognition as belligerents. The consent of this country was deemed inexpedient on + political rather than on moral grounds. Had it suited the purposes of this country to + grant that right, very much the same arguments would have been made in support of the + course as those that were used to support the denial of Cuba's requests. Recognition + of Cuban independence, or intervention in favor of the Cubans, would have been the + equivalent of the grant of belligerent rights. But the policy adopted, and the course + pursued, did not serve to avert war with Spain. The story of that war has been + written by many, and is not for inclusion here. The treaty of peace was signed, in + Paris, on December 10, 1898, duly ratified by both parties in the following months, + and was finally proclaimed on April 11, 1899. The war was over, but its definite + termination was officially declared on the anniversary of the issuance of President + McKinley's war message. On January 1, 1899, the American flag was hoisted throughout + the island, as a signal of full authority, but subject to the provisions of the + Teller Amendment to the Joint Resolution of Congress, of April 20, 1898, thus:</p> + <p>"That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to exercise + sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said Island except for the pacification + thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the + government and control of the Island to its people."</p> + <p>At twelve o'clock, noon, on the 20th of May, 1902, there was gathered in the State + Apartment of the Palace occupied by many Spanish Governors-General, the officials of + the United States, the elected officials of the new Cuban Republic, and a limited + number of guests. In that same apartment, General Castellanos signed the abdication + of Spanish authority. In its turn, pursuant to its pledges, the United States + transferred authority to the President of the Cuban Republic. Four centuries of + subjection, and a century of protest and struggle, were there and then ended, and + Cuba joined the sisterhood of independent nations.</p> + <h2><a id="XI">XI</a><br /> + <i>FILIBUSTERING</i></h2> + <p>The term "filibuster" affords an interesting example of the way in which words and + their uses become twisted into something altogether different from their original + meaning. It comes from a Dutch word, several centuries old, <i>vrijbuiter</i>, or + free vessel or boat. It got somehow into English as "freebooter," and into Spanish as + <i>filibustero</i>. The original referred to piracy. Two or three centuries later, it + meant an engagement in unauthorized and illegal warfare against foreign States, in + effect, piratical invasions. In time, it came into use to describe the supply of + military material to revolutionists, and finally to obstruction in legislative + proceedings. In his message of June 13, 1870, President Grant said that "the duty of + opposition to filibustering has been admitted by every President. Washington + encountered the efforts of Genet and the French revolutionists; John Adams, the + projects of Miranda; Jefferson, the schemes of Aaron Burr. Madison and subsequent + Presidents had to deal with the question of foreign enlistment and equipment in the + United States, and since the days of John Quincy Adams it has been one of the + constant cares of the Government in the United States to prevent piratical + expeditions against the feeble Spanish American Republics from leaving our + shores."</p> + <p>In 1806, Francisco Miranda, a Venezuelan patriot whose revolutionary activities + preceded those of Simon Bolivar, sailed from New York on what would have been called, + some years later, a filibustering expedition. His three vessels were manned chiefly + by Americans. There are always those whose love of excitement and adventure, + sometimes mixed with an active sympathy for an under dog, leads them to engage in + such an enterprise. This one was productive of no important results. There were + plenty of American pirates and privateers in earlier days, but I have found no record + of any earlier actual expedition whose purpose was the creation of a new republic. + But during the next hundred years, including the considerable number of Americans who + have engaged in the present disorder in Mexico, such enterprises have been numerous. + Among the most notable are the several Lopez expeditions to Cuba, about 1850, and the + Walker expeditions to Lower California, Nicaragua, and Honduras, a few years later. + The steamer <i>Virginius</i>, to which reference is made in another chapter, was + engaged in filibustering when she was captured, in 1873, and many of her crew and + passengers unlawfully executed, by Spanish authority, in Santiago. But that was only + one of many similar enterprises during the Ten Years' War in Cuba. It is very + doubtful if the war could have continued as it did without them. During our own Civil + War, we called such industries "blockade-running," but it was all quite the same sort + of thing. The Confederate army needed arms, ammunition, medicine, and supplies of + many kinds. On April 19, 1861, President Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of the ports + of the seceded States, with a supplementary proclamation on the 27th that completed + the line, and thus tied the South hand and foot. In his <i>History of the United + States</i>, Elson notes that raw cotton could be bought in Southern ports for four + cents a pound while it was worth $2.50 a pound in Liverpool, and that a ton of salt + worth seven or eight dollars in Nassau, a few miles off the coast, was worth $1700 in + gold in Richmond before the close of the war, all because of the blockade.</p> + <p>There is, naturally, a lack of detail regarding the many expeditions, large and + small, of the Ten Years' War, but they began soon after the opening of hostilities. + In his <i>Diary</i>, Gideon Welles notes, under date of April 7, 1869, the prevalence + of "rumors of illegal expeditions fitting out in our country to aid the Cuban + insurgents," and states that "our countrymen are in sympathy with them." In December, + of that year, President Grant reported that a number of illegal expeditions had been + broken up, but did not refer to those that had succeeded. In October, 1870, he issued + a general proclamation, without specific reference to Cuba, warning all persons + against engagement in such expeditions. During the years of the war, Spanish + warships, at different times, seized American vessels, a proceeding which led to some + active diplomatic negotiation, and which, on several occasions, threatened to involve + this country in war with Spain. The problem of the industry variously known as + filibustering, blockade-running, gun-running, and the shipment of contraband, has two + ends. There is, first, the task of getting the shipment out of one country, and, + second, the task of getting it into another country. While it is generally classed as + an unlawful enterprise, there frequently arises a difficulty in proving violation of + law, even when goods are seized and the participants arrested. There is, perhaps, a + moral question involved also. Such shipments may be a violation of the law. They are + generally so regarded. But they may be, as in the case of the struggling Cubans, + struggling against actual and generally admitted wrongs, the only means of serving a + worthy and commendable end. There is no doubt that, in Cuba's revolution of 1895, + Americans who knew about the work were prone to regard a successful expedition to the + island with satisfaction if not with glee. They were inclined to regard those engaged + as worthy patriots rather than as law-breakers.</p> + <p>Under date of February 23, 1898, the House of Representatives requested the + Secretary of the Treasury to inform that body "at the earliest date practicable, if + not incompatible with the public service, what has been done by the United States to + prevent the conveyance to the Cubans of articles produced in the United States, and + what to prevent 'filibustering,' and with what results, giving particulars, and at + what expense to the United States." A reply was sent on the 28th. It makes a very + good showing for the activities of the officials responsible for the prevention of + such expeditions, but from all I can learn about the matter, it is quite incomplete. + There were a number of excursions not set down in the official records. Sailing dates + and time and place of arrival were not advertised in the daily papers.</p> + <p>The official statement shows that sixty reports of alleged filibustering + expeditions were brought to the attention of the Treasury Department; that + twenty-eight of them were frustrated through efforts of the Department; that five + were frustrated by the United States Navy; four by Spain; two wrecked; one driven + back by storm; one failed through a combination of causes; and seventeen that may be + regarded as successful expeditions. The records of the Cuban <i>junta</i> very + materially increase the number in the latter class. The despatch of these expeditions + was a three-cornered battle of wits. The groups engaged were the officials of the + United States, the representatives of Spain, and the agents of the revolution. The + United States employed the revenue service and the navy, aided on land by the Customs + Service, the Secret Service, and other Federal officers. The official representatives + of Spain employed scores of detectives and Spanish spies. The Cuban group sought to + outwit them all, and succeeded remarkably well in doing so. A part of the story has + been told, with general correctness, in a little volume entitled <i>A Captain + Unafraid</i>, described as <i>The Strange Adventures of Dynamite Johnny O'Brien</i>. + This man, really a remarkable man in his special line, was born in New York, in 1837, + and, at the time this is written, is still living. He was born and grew to boyhood in + the shadow of the numerous shipyards then in active operation along the East River. + The yards were his playground. At thirteen years of age, he ran away and went to see + as cook on a fishing sloop. He admits that he could not then "cook a pot of water + without burning it," but claims that he could catch cod-fish where no one else could + find them. From fisherman, sailing-master on private yachts, schooner captain, and + officer in the United States Navy in the Civil War, he became a licensed East River + pilot in New York. He became what might be called a professional filibuster at the + time of the revolution in Colombia, in 1885, following that with similar experience + in a revolt in Honduras two years later. The Cubans landed a few expeditions in 1895, + but a greater number were blocked. In March, 1896, they applied to O'Brien and + engaged him to command the <i>Bermuda</i>, then lying in New York and ready to sail. + Captain O'Brien reports that her cargo included "2,500 rifles, a 12-pounder Hotchkiss + field-gun, 1,500 revolvers, 200 short carbines, 1000 pounds of dynamite, 1,200 + <i>machetes</i>, and an abundance of ammunition." All was packed in boxes marked + "codfish," and "medicines."</p> + <p>The <i>Bermuda</i> sailed the next morning, March 15, with O'Brien in command, + cleared for Vera Cruz. The Cubans, including General Calixto Garcia, who were to go + on the expedition, were sent to Atlantic City, there to engage a fishing sloop to + take them off-shore where they would be picked up by the <i>Bermuda</i> on her way. + The ship was under suspicion, and was followed down the bay by tugboats carrying + United States marshals, customs officers, and newspaper reporters. O'Brien says: + "They hung on to us down through the lower bay and out past Sandy Hook, without + getting enough to pay for a pound of the coal they were furiously burning to keep up + with us. I don't know how far they might have followed us, but when we were well + clear of the Hook, a kind fortune sent along a blinding snow-storm, which soon chased + them back home." General Garcia and his companions were picked up as planned, and + that part of the enterprise was completed. The vessel was on its way. A somewhat + roundabout route was taken in order to avoid any possible overhauling by naval or + revenue ships. The point selected for the landing was a little harbor on the north + coast about thirty miles from the eastern end of the island. The party included two + Cuban pilots, supposed to know the coast where they were to land. One of them proved + to be a traitor and the other, O'Brien says, "was at best an ignoramus." The traitor, + who, after the landing, paid for his offence with his life, tried to take them into + the harbor of Baracoa, where lay five Spanish warships. But O'Brien knew the + difference, as shown by his official charts, between the Cape Maisi light, visible + for eighteen miles, and the Baracoa light, visible for only eight miles, and kicked + the pilot off the bridge. The landing was begun at half-past ten at night, and + completed about three o'clock in the morning, with five Spanish warships barely more + than five miles away. The United States Treasury Department reported this expedition + as "successful." The vessel then proceeded to Honduras, where it took on a cargo of + bananas, and returned, under orders, to Philadelphia, the home city of its owner, Mr. + John D. Hart. Arrests were made soon after the arrival, including Hart, the owner of + the vessel, O'Brien, and his mate, and General Emilio Nuñez who accompanied the + expedition as the representative of the <i>junta</i>. The case was transferred from + the courts in Philadelphia to New York, and there duly heard. The alleged offenders + were defended by Horatio Rubens, Esq., of New York, the official counsel of the + <i>junta</i>. One of the grounds of the defence was that the defendants might be + guilty of smuggling arms into Cuba, but with that offence the courts of the United + States had nothing to do. The jury disagreed. The indictments were held over the + heads of the members of the group, but no further action was taken, and two or three + years later the case was dismissed by order of the Attorney General of the United + States.</p> + <p>This expedition fairly illustrates the science of filibustering in its elementary + form, a clearance with some attendant risk; a voyage with possibility of interference + at any time; and a landing made with still greater risk and danger of capture. The + trip had been made so successfully and with such full satisfaction to the promoters + that the <i>junta</i> urged O'Brien to remain with them as long as there should be + need for his services, and he agreed to do so. A department of expeditions was + organized under the general control of Emilio Nuñez, with O'Brien as navigator. + Credit for the numerous successful expeditions that followed lies in differing + degrees with Nuñez, Palma, Rubens, O'Brien, Hart, Cartaya, and others less well known + in connection with the enterprises. But for the work they did, the risks they ran, + Cuba's revolution must have failed. All of them risked jail sentences, and some of + them risked their lives in ways perhaps even more dangerous than fighting in the + field. The success of the <i>Bermuda</i> expedition, carried out by what may be + called direct evasion, quite seriously disturbed the authorities in this country, and + excited them to greater precautions and wider activity. Whatever may have been their + personal feelings in the matter, it was their duty to see that the laws of the + country were enforced as far as they could be. The players of the game for the Cubans + met the new activities with complicated moves, many of which puzzled the watching + officials, and landed a number of expeditions. Meanwhile, minor expeditions + continued. The official report notes that on March 12, 1896, the <i>Commodore</i>, a + 100-ton steamer, sailed from Charleston with men, arms, and ammunition, and landed + them in Cuba. The <i>Laurada</i>, a 900-ton steamer, was reported by the Spanish + Legation as having sailed on May 9, meeting three tugs and two lighters, off the + coast, from which were transferred men and arms. The report states that "some of the + men landed in Cuba, but the larger part of the arms and ammunition was thrown into + the sea," which may or may not have been the case. On May 23, the tug <i>Three + Friends</i> left Jacksonville, took on men and arms from two small vessels waiting + outside, and landed all in Cuba. A month later, and again two months later, the + <i>Three Friends</i> repeated the trip from Florida ports. On June 17, the + <i>Commodore</i> made another successful trip from Charleston.</p> + <p>While these and other minor expeditions were going on, the department of + expeditions in New York was busy with a more extensive enterprise. An order was + placed for 3000 rifles, 3,000,000 rounds of ammunition, 3 12-pound Hotchkiss + field-guns and 600 shells, <i>machetes</i>, and several tons of dynamite. The steamer + <i>Laurada</i> was chartered, and the ocean-going tug <i>Dauntless</i> was bought in + Brunswick, Georgia. A part of the purchased munitions was ordered to New York, and + the remainder, two car loads, shipped to Jacksonville by express. Ostensibly, the + <i>Laurada</i> was to sail from Philadelphia to Jamaica for a cargo of fruit, a + business in which she had at times engaged. Her actual instructions were to proceed + to the vicinity of Barnegat, about forty miles from New York, and there, at sea, + await orders. The arms and ammunition came down from Bridgeport on the regular boat + from that city, and were left on board until night. There was no particular secrecy + about the shipment, and detectives followed it. But when, at dark, the big gates of + the dock were closed and locked and all seemed over for the day, the watchers assumed + that nothing would be done until the next day, and went away. But, immediately after + their departure, a big lighter slipped quietly into the dock across the wharf from + the Bridgeport boat, a swarm of men appeared and, behind the closed gates, in the + semi-darkness of the wharf, rushed boxes from steamer to lighter. The work was + finished at midnight; a tug slipped up and attached a hawser to the lighter; and the + cargo was on its way to Cuba. Johnny O'Brien was on the tug. The <i>Laurada</i> was + met off Barnegat, as arranged, and the cargo and about fifty Cubans put on board of + her. She was ordered to proceed slowly to Navassa Island where the <i>Dauntless</i> + would meet her. General Nuñez and O'Brien returned to New York on the tug, and while + the detectives suspected that something had been done, they had no clue whatever to + guide them. Nuñez and O'Brien started immediately for Charleston, with detectives at + their heels. The <i>Commodore</i>, a tug then owned by the Cubans, lay in the harbor + of that city, with a revenue cutter standing guard over her. She was ordered to get + up steam and to go through all the motions of an immediate departure. But this was a + ruse to draw attention away from the actual operations. Rubens, meanwhile, had gone + to Jacksonville where he busied himself in convincing the authorities that the tug + <i>Three Friends</i> was about to get away with an expedition. With one revenue + cutter watching the <i>Commodore</i> in Charleston, the other cutter in the + neighborhood was engaged in watching the <i>Three Friends</i> in Jacksonville, thus + leaving a clear coast between those cities. In Charleston were about seventy-five + Cubans waiting a chance to get to the island. O'Brien states that about twenty-five + detectives were following their party. Late in the afternoon of August 13, while the + smoke was pouring from the funnels of the <i>Commodore</i>, the regular south-bound + train pulled out of the city. Its rear car was a reserved coach carrying the Cuban + party, numbering a hundred or so. Detectives tried to enter, but were told that it + was a private car, which it was. They went along in the forward cars. At ten o'clock + that night, the train reached Callahan, where the Coast Line crossed the Seaboard Air + Line. While the train was halted for the crossing, that rear car was quietly + uncoupled. The train went on, detectives and all. The railroad arrangements were + effected through the invaluable assistance of Mr. Alphonso Fritot, a local railway + man whose authority enabled him to do with trains and train movement whatever he saw + fit. He was himself of Cuban birth, though of French-American parentage, with ample + reason, both personal and patriotic, for serving his Cuban friends, and his services + were beyond measure. By his orders, when that train with its band of detectives had + pulled away for Jacksonville, an engine picked up the detached car and ran it over to + the Coast Line. A few miles away, it collected from a blind siding the two cars of + arms and ammunition shipped some days before, from Bridgeport. A little further on, + the line crossed the Satilla River. There lay the <i>Dauntless</i>, purchased by + Rubens. Steam was up, and a quick job was made of transferring cargo and men from + train to boat. Another tug brought a supply of coal, and soon after sunrise another + expedition was on its way to Cuba. All this may be very immoral, but some who were on + the expedition have told me that it was at least tremendously exciting.</p> + <p>On August 17, the passengers and cargo were landed on the Cuban coast near + Nuevitas. The tug then proceeded to Navassa Island to meet the <i>Laurada</i>. Half + of the men and half of the cargo of the steamer were transferred to the tug, and all + were safely landed in a little cove a few miles west of Santiago. The landing was + made in broad daylight. There were a number of Spanish naval vessels in Santiago + harbor, and the city itself was filled with Spanish troops. The tug then returned for + the remainder of the <i>Laurada's</i> passengers and cargo, all of which were landed + a few days later at the place of the earlier landing. The <i>Laurada</i> went on to + Jamaica and loaded with bananas, with which she sailed for Charleston. Arrests were + made as a result of the expedition, and the owner of the ship, Mr. John D. Hart, was + convicted and sentenced to sixteen months in the penitentiary. After serving four + months of his term, a pardon was secured. He is said to be the only one, out of all + those engaged in the many expeditions, who was actually convicted, and his only + offence was the chartering of his ships to the Cuban revolutionists. The + <i>Dauntless</i> was seized on her return to Jacksonville, but was soon released. An + effort was made to indict O'Brien, but there was too much sympathy for the Cubans in + Florida, where the effort was made. A number of minor expeditions were carried out in + the next few months, by the <i>Dauntless</i>, the <i>Three Friends</i>, and the + <i>Commodore</i>, the latter being wrecked in the last week in December.</p> + <p>In February, 1897, another complicated manoeuvre was successfully executed. This + involved the use of the <i>Bermuda</i>, the <i>Laurada</i>, and no less than seven + smaller auxilliary vessels, tugs, lighters, and schooners. Rut the <i>Laurada</i> + landed the cargo on the north-eastern coast of the island. As O'Brien tells the + story, this successful expedition so angered Captain-General Weyler, then the ruler + of the island, that he sent a message to the daring filibuster, through an American + newspaper man, somewhat as follows: "Tell O'Brien that we will get him, sooner or + later, and when we do, instead of having him shot along with his Cuban companions, I + am going to have him ignominiously hanged from the flag-pole at Cabaña, in full view + of the city." Cabaña is the old fortress across the bay, visible from nearly all + parts of Havana. To this, O'Brien sent reply saying: "To show my contempt for you and + all who take orders from you, I will make a landing within plain sight of Havana on + my next trip to Cuba. I may even land an expedition inside of the harbor and take you + away a prisoner. If we should capture you, which is much more likely than that you + will ever capture me, I will have you chopped up into small pieces and fed to the + fires of the <i>Dauntless</i>." A few months later, this little Irishman, whom Weyler + denounced as a "bloodthirsty, dare-devil," and who may have been a dare-devil but was + not bloodthirsty, actually carried out a part of this seemingly reckless threat. He + landed a cargo within a mile and a half of Morro Castle.</p> + <p>By this time, vessels of the United States navy were employed, supplementing the + work of the Revenue Service. This, of course, added both difficulty and danger to the + work. In March and April, several expeditions were interrupted. For the Spanish + blockade of the Cuban coast, there was only contempt. Captain O'Brien told a naval + officer that if the navy and the revenue cutters would let him alone he would + "advertise the time and place of departure, carry excursions on every trip, and + guarantee that every expedition would be landed on time." In May, 1897, two carloads + of arms and ammunition were shipped from New York to Jacksonville, but, by the + authority of Mr. Fritot, they were quietly dropped from the train at a junction + point, and sent to Wilmington, N.C. Their contents were transferred to the tug + <i>Alexander Jones</i>, and that boat proceeded nonchalantly down the river. Soon + afterward, an old schooner, the <i>John D. Long</i>, loaded with coal, followed the + tug. Two revenue cutters were on hand, but there was nothing in the movements of + these vessels to excite their interest. Off shore, the tug attached a towline to the + schooner that was carrying its coal supply, its own bunkers being crammed with guns + and cartridges. Off Palm Beach, General Nuñez and some sixty Cubans were taken from a + fishing boat, according to a prearranged plan. Two days later, at an agreed upon + place, they were joined by the <i>Dauntless</i> which had slipped out of + Jacksonville. The excursion was then complete. About half the cargo of the + <i>Jones</i> was transferred to the <i>Dauntless</i> and was landed, May 21, a few + miles east of Nuevitas. A second trip took the remainder of the cargo of the + <i>Jones</i> and most of the Cuban passengers, and landed the lot under the very + guns, such as they were, of Morro Castle, and within about three miles of the Palace + of Captain-General Weyler. All that time, a force of insurgents under Rodriguez and + Aurenguren was operating in that immediate vicinity, and was in great need of the + supplies thus obtained. Some of the dynamite then landed was used the next day to + blow up a train on which Weyler was supposed to be travelling, but in their haste the + Cubans got one train ahead of that carrying the official party. The row that Weyler + made about this landing will probably never be forgotten by the subordinates who were + the immediate victims of his rage.</p> + <p>These are only a few of the many expeditions, successful and unsuccessful, made + during those three eventful years. The Treasury Department report of February 28, + 1898, gives seventeen successful operations. As a matter of fact, more than forty + landings were made, although in a few cases a single expedition accounted for two, + and in one or two instances for three landings. The experiences run through the + entire gamut of human emotions, from absurdity to tragedy. The former is illustrated + by the case of the <i>Dauntless</i> when she was held up by a vessel of the United + States navy, and boarded by one of the officers of the ship. He examined the tug from + stem to stern, sat on boxes of ammunition which seemed to him to be boxes of + sardines, stumbled over packages of rifles from which butts and muzzles protruded; + and failed utterly to find anything that could be regarded as contraband. The mere + fact that a vessel is engaged in transporting arms and ammunition does not, of + necessity, bring it within reach of the law. But that particular vessel was a good + deal more than under suspicion; it was under the closest surveillance and open to the + sharpest scrutiny. The temporary myopia of that particular lieutenant of the United + States navy was no more than an outward and visible sign of a well-developed sense of + humor, and an indication of at least a personal sympathy for the Cubans in their + struggle. Tragedy is illustrated by the disaster to the steamer <i>Tillie</i>. One + day, late in January, 1898, this vessel, lying off the end of Long Island, took on + one of the largest cargoes ever started on a filibustering expedition to Cuba. The + cause is not known, but soon after starting a leak developed, beyond the capacity of + the pumps. A heavy sea was running, and disaster was soon inevitable. The cargo was + thrown overboard to lighten the ship and the vessel was headed for the shore on the + chance that it might float until it could be beached. The water in the ship increased + rapidly, and extinguished the fires under the boilers; the wind, blowing a high gale, + swung into the northwest, thus driving the now helpless hulk out to sea. Huge combing + waves swept the decks from end to end. O'Brien tells the story: "We looked in vain + for another craft of any kind, and by the middle of the afternoon it seemed as though + it was all up with us, for there was not much daylight left, and with her deck almost + awash it was impossible that the <i>Tillie</i> should keep afloat all night. The gale + had swept us rapidly out to sea. The wind, which was filled with icy needles, had + kicked up a wild cross-sea, and it was more comfortable to go down with the ship than + even to think of trying to escape in the boats." At last, when there seemed no longer + any hope of rescue, the big five-masted schooner <i>Governor Ames</i> came plunging + through the heaving seas, and, by masterly seamanship and good fortune, backed by the + heroism of her commander and crew, succeeded in taking off all except four, who went + down with the ship. But the work went on. There is not space here to tell of the + several vessels whose names, through the engagement of the craft in these + enterprises, became as familiar to newspaper readers as are the names of ocean liners + today. A few months later, the United States Government sent its ships and its men to + help those who, for three hard years, had struggled for national independence.</p> + <h2><a id="XII">XII</a><br /> + <i>THE STORY OF SUGAR</i></h2> + <p>Chemically, sugar is a compound belonging to the group of carbohydrates, or + organic compounds of carbon with oxygen and hydrogen. The group includes sugars, + starches, gums, and celluloses. Sugar is a product of the vegetable kingdom, of + plants, trees, root crops, etc. It is found in and is producible from many growths. + As a laboratory process, it is obtainable from many sources, but, commercially, it is + derived from only two, the sugar cane and the beet root. This statement, however, has + a certain limitation in that it omits such products as maple sugar, malt sugar, milk + sugar, and others having commercial or chemical uses on a limited scale. But it is + only with the crystallized sucrose, the familiar sugar of the market and the + household, that we are dealing here. The output of the other sugars is measurable in + hundreds or even thousands of pounds, but the output of the sugar of commerce is + measured in millions of tons. Long experience proves that the desired substance is + most readily, most abundantly, and most cheaply, obtained from the juices of the + plant commonly known as sugar cane, and from the vegetable known as the sugar + beet.</p> + <p>The mechanical processes employed in producing sugar from cane and from beets, are + practically the same. They are, broadly, the extraction or expression of the juices, + their clarification and evaporation, and crystallization. These processes produce + what is called "raw sugar," of varying percentages of sucrose content. Following + them, there comes, for American uses, the process of refining, of removing the + so-called impurities and foreign substances, and the final production of sugar in the + shape of white crystals of different size, of sugar as powdered, cube, loaf, or other + form. In the case of cane sugar, this is usually a secondary operation not conducted + in the original mill. In the case of beet sugar, production is not infrequently a + continuous operation in the same mill, from the beet root to the bagged or barrelled + sugar ready for the market. The final product from both cane and beet is practically + the same. Pure sugar is pure sugar, whatever its source. In the commercial + production, on large scale, there remains a small fraction of molasses or other + harmless substances, indistinguishable by sight, taste, or smell. With that fraction + removed and an absolute 100 per cent. secured, there would be no way by which the + particular origin could be determined. For all practical purposes, the sugar of + commerce, whether from cane or beet, is pure sugar. It is doubtful if an adulterated + sugar can be found in the United States, notwithstanding the tales of the grocer who + "sands" his sugar, and of the producer who adds <i>terra alba</i> or some other + adulterant. In some countries of Europe and elsewhere, there are sugars of inferior + grades, of 85 or 90 or more degrees of sugar purity, but they are known as such and + are sold at prices adjusted to their quality. Sugars of that class are obtainable in + this country, but they are wanted almost exclusively for particular industrial + purposes, for their glucose rather than their sucrose content. The American + household, whether the home of the rich or of the poor, demands the well-known white + sugar of established purity.</p> + <p>There is still obtainable, in this country, but in limited quantity, a sugar very + pleasantly remembered by many who have reached or passed middle age. It was variously + known as "Muscovado" sugar, or as "plantation sugar," sometimes as "coffee" or + "coffee crushed." It was a sugar somewhat sweeter to the taste than the white sugar, + by reason of the presence of a percentage of molasses. It was a superior sugar for + certain kitchen products, for pies, certain kinds of cake, etc. It has many times + been urged in Congress that the employment of what is known as the Dutch Standard, + now abolished, excluded this sugar from our market. This is not at all the fact. The + disappearance of the commodity is due solely to change in the mechanical methods of + sugar production. It would be quite impossible to supply the world's sugar demand by + the old "open kettle" process by which that sugar was made. The quality of sugar is + easily tested by any one who has a spoonful of sugar and a glass of water. If the + sugar dissolves entirely, and dissolves without discoloring the water, it may be + accepted as a pure sugar.</p> + <p>In his book on <i>The World's Cane Sugar Industry—Past and Present</i>, Mr. H.C. + Prinsen Geerligs, a recognized expert authority on the subject, gives an elaborate + history of the origin and development of the industry. His chapters on those branches + are much too long for inclusion in full, but the following extracts tell the story in + general outline. He states that the probability that sugar cane originally came from + India is very strong, "as only the ancient literature of that country mentions sugar + cane, while we know for certain that it was conveyed (from there) to other countries + by travellers and sailors." The plant appears in Hindu mythology. A certain prince + expressed a desire to be translated to heaven during his lifetime, but Indra, the + monarch of the celestial regions, refused to admit him. A famous Hindu hermit, Vishva + Mitra, prepared a temporary paradise for the prince, and for his use created the + sugar cane as a heavenly food during his occupation of the place. The abode was + afterward demolished, but the delectable plant, and a few other luxuries, were + "spread all over the land of mortals as a permanent memorial of Vishva Mitra's + miraculous deeds." In the time of Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) there appear + tales of "a reed growing in India which produced honey without the aid of bees."</p> + <p>The early references are to sugar cane and not to cane sugar. While there may have + been earlier experiences, the history of sugar, as such, seems to begin in the 7th + century (A.D.). There is a story that the Chinese Emperor, Tai Tsung (627-650 A.D.) + sent people to Behar, in India, to learn the art of sugar manufacture. The Arabs and + the Egyptians soon learned how to purify sugar by re-crystallization, and to + manufacture sweetmeats from the purified sugar. Marco Polo, who visited China during + the last quarter of the 13th Century, refers to "a great many sugar factories in + South China, where sugar could be freely bought at low prices." The Mohammedan + records of that period also show the manufacture, in India, of crystallized sugar and + candy. The area of production at that time covered, generally, the entire + Mediterranean coast. The crusaders found extensive plantations in Tripoli, + Mesopotamia, Palestine, Syria, and elsewhere. The plant is said to have been + introduced in Spain as early as the year 755. Its cultivation is said to have been a + flourishing industry there in the year 1150. Through China, it was early extended to + Japan, Formosa, and the Philippines. The records of the 14th Century show the + production and distribution of sugar as an important commercial enterprise in the + Mediterranean region. The Portuguese discoveries of the 15th Century carried the + plant to the Azores, the Cape Verde islands, and to possessions in the Gulf of + Guinea. The Spaniards took it to the Western Hemisphere in the early years of the + 16th Century. The Portuguese took it to Brazil at about the same time. While a + Chinese traveller, visiting Java in 424, reports the cultivation of sugar cane, it + was not until more than twelve hundred years later that the island, now an important + source of sugar supply, began the production of sugar as a commercial enterprise. By + the end of the 18th Century there was what might be called a sugar belt, girdling the + globe and extending, roughly, from thirty-five degrees north of the equator to + thirty-five degrees south of that line. It was then a product of many of the + countries within those limits. The supply of that time was obtained entirely from + cane.</p> + <p>The early years of the 19th Century brought a new experience in the sugar + business. That was the production of sugar, in commercial quantities, from beets. + From that time until now, the commodity has been a political shuttlecock, the object + of government bounties and the subject of taxation. In 1747, Herr Marggraf, of the + Academy of Sciences, in Berlin, discovered the existence of crystallizable sugar in + the juice of the beet and other roots. No practical use was made of the discovery + until 1801 when a factory was established near Breslau, in Silesia. The European + beet-sugar industry, that has since attained enormous proportions, had its actual + beginning in the early years of the 19th Century. It was a result of the Napoleonic + wars of that period. When the wars were ended, and the blockades raised, the industry + was continued in France by the aid of premiums, differentials, and practically + prohibitory tariffs. The activities in other European countries under similar + conditions of governmental aid, came a little later. The total world supply of sugar, + including cane and beet, less than 1,500,000 tons, even as recently as 1850, seems + small in comparison with the world's requirement of about twelve times that quantity + at the present time. The output of beet sugar was then only about 200,000 tons, as + compared with a present production of approximately 8,000,000 tons. But sugar was + then a costly luxury while it is today a cheaply supplied household necessity. As + recently as 1870, the wholesale price of granulated sugar in New York was thirteen + and a half cents a pound, or about three times the present average.</p> + <p>Cane sugar is produced in large or small quantities in some fifty different + countries and islands. In many, the output is only for domestic consumption, or in + quantity too small to warrant inclusion in the list of sources of commercial supply. + Sixteen countries are included in the list of beet-sugar producers. Of these, all are + in Europe with the exception of the United States and Canada. Only two countries, the + United States and Spain, produce sugar from both beet and cane. British India leads + in the production of cane sugar, with Cuba a close second on the list, and Java the + third. In their total, these three countries supply about two-thirds of the world's + total output of cane sugar. Hawaii and Porto Rico, in that order, stand next on the + list of producers. Under normal conditions, Germany leads in beet-sugar production, + with Russia second, Austria-Hungary third, France fourth, and the United States + fifth, with Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark following. The + island of Cuba is the most important source of commercial cane sugar. Immediately + before the revolution of 1895, its output a little exceeded a million tons. The + derangement caused by that experience covered several years, and it was not until + 1903 that so large a crop was again made. Since that time, the output has more than + doubled. The increase is attributable to the large increase in demand in the United + States, and to the advantage given Cuban sugar in this market by the reciprocity + treaty of 1903. Practically all of Cuba's export product is in the class commonly + known as 96 degree centrifugals, that is, raw sugar of 96 per cent, or thereabout, of + sugar content. Under normal conditions, nearly all of Cuba's shipments are to the + United States. The sugar industry was introduced in Cuba very soon after the + permanent settlement of the island, by Spaniards, in the early years of the 16th + Century, but it was not until two hundred and fifty years later that Spain's + restrictive and oppressive colonial policy made even its fair extension possible. In + 1760, two and a half centuries after the first settlement, the sugar exports of the + island were a little less than 4,400 tons. In 1790, they were a little more than + 14,000 tons. Some relaxation of the laws regulating production and exportation, made + possible an increase to 41,000 tons in 1802, and further relaxation made possible, in + 1850, an output somewhat unreliably reported as 223,000 tons. It reached 632,000 tons + in 1890, and the stimulus of the "free sugar" schedule of the United States brought + it, in the next few years, to more than a million tons. Production in recent years + has averaged about 2,500,000 tons.</p> + <p>In forty years, only a little more than a single generation, the world's supply of + sugar has been multiplied by five, from a little more than three million tons a year + to nearly eighteen million tons. The total world output in 1875 would not today + supply the demand of the United States alone. This increase in production has been + made possible by improvements in the methods and the machinery of manufacture. Until + quite recently, primitive methods were employed, much like those used in the + production of maple sugar on the farm, although on larger scale. More attention has + been paid to varieties of the plant and some, though no very great, change has been + made in field processes. In Cuba, the cane is planted in vast areas, in thousands of + acres. Some of the estates plant and cultivate their own fields, and grind the cane + in their own mills. Others, known as "<i>colonos</i>," are planters only, the crop + being sold to the mills commonly called "<i>centrales</i>." In its general + appearance, a field of sugar-cane looks quite like a field of corn, but the method of + cultivation is somewhat different. The slow oxen are still commonly used for plowing + and for carts. This is not because of any lack of progressive spirit, but because + experience has shown that, under all conditions of the industry, the ox makes the + most satisfactory and economical motive power, notwithstanding his lack of pace.</p> + <p>The Encyclopædia describes sugar-cane as "a member of the grass family, known + botanically as <i>Saccbarum officinarum</i>. It is a tall, perennial grass-like + plant, giving off numerous erect stems 6 to 12 feet or more in height, from a thick + solid jointed root-stalk." The ground is plowed in rows in which, not seed, but a + stalk of cane is lightly buried. The rootlets and the new cane spring from the joints + of the planted stalk which is laid flat and lengthwise of the row. It takes from a + year to a year and a half for the stalk to mature sufficiently for cutting and + grinding. Several cuttings, and sometimes many, are made from a single planting. + There are tales of fields on which cane has grown for forty years without + re-planting. A few years ago, ten or fifteen years was not an unusual period. The + present tendency is toward more frequent planting, but not annual, as offering a + better chance for stronger cane with a larger sugar content. The whole process of + cultivation and field treatment is hard, heavy work, most of it very hard work. + Probably the hardest and heaviest is the cutting. This is done with a long, + heavy-bladed knife, the <i>machete</i>. The stalk, from an inch to two inches in + thickness, is chopped down near the root, the heavy knife swung with cut after cut, + under a burning sun. Only the strongest can stand it, a wearying, back-breaking task. + After cutting, the stalk is trimmed and loaded on carts to be hauled, according to + distance, either directly to the mill or to the railway running thereto. The large + estates have their own railway systems running to all the fields of the plantation. + These are private lines operated only for economy in cane transportation. Most of the + crushing mills measure their daily consumption of cane in thousands of tons. While + every precaution is taken, there are occasional fires. In planting, wide "fire + lanes," or uncultivated strips are left to prevent the spread of fire if it + occurs.</p> + <p>Mill installations vary on the different plantations, but the general principle of + operation is the same on all. The first process is the extraction of the juice that + carries the sugar. It is probable that this was originally done in hand mortars. Next + came the passing of the cane between wooden rollers turned by ox power, the rollers + standing upright and connected with a projecting shaft or beam to the outer end of + which the animal was attached, to plod around and around while the cane was fed + between the rollers. The present system is merely an expansion of that old principle. + At the mill, the stalks are dumped, by carload or by cartload, into a channel through + which they are mechanically conveyed to huge rollers, placed horizontally, arranged + in pairs or in sets of three, and slowly turned by powerful engines. The larger mills + have a series of these rollers, two, three, or even four sets, the stalks passing + from one to another for the expression of every possible drop of the juice, up to the + point where the cost of juice extraction exceeds the value of the juice obtained. The + expressed juices are collected in troughs through which they are run to the next + operation. The crushed stalks, then known as <i>bagasse</i>, are conveyed to the huge + boilers where they are used as fuel for the generation of the steam required in the + various operations, from the feeding and the turning of the rollers, to the device + from which the final product, the crystallized sugar, is poured into bags ready for + shipment. All this is a seasonal enterprise. The cane grows throughout the year, but + it begins to ripen in December. Then the mills start up and run until the rains of + the next May or June suspend further operations. It then becomes impossible to haul + the cane over the heavily mired roads from the muddy fields. Usually, only a few + mills begin their work in December, and early June usually sees most of them shut + down. The beginning of the rainy season is not uniform, and there are mills in + eastern Cuba that sometimes run into July and even into August. But the general + grinding season may be given as of about five months duration, and busy months they + are. The work goes on night and day.</p> + <p>The next step is the treatment of the juices expressed by the rollers and + collected in the troughs that carry it onward. The operations are highly technical, + and different methods are employed in different mills. The first operation is one of + purification. The juice, as it comes from the rollers, carries such materials as + glucose, salts, organic acids, and other impurities, that must be removed. For this, + lime is the principal agent. The details of it all would be as tedious here as they + are complicated in the mill. The percentages of the different impurities vary with + the variation of the soils in which the cane is grown. The next step, following + clarification, is evaporation, the boiling out of a large percentage of the water + carried in the juice. For this purpose, a vacuum system is used, making possible a + more rapid evaporation with a smaller expenditure of fuel. These two operations, + clarification and evaporation by the use of the vacuum, are merely improved methods + for doing, on a large scale, what was formerly done by boiling in pans or kettles, on + a small scale. That method is still used in many parts of the world, and even in the + United States, in a small way. For special reasons, it is still used on some of the + Louisiana plantations; it is common in the farm production of sorghum molasses in the + South; and in the manufacture of maple sugar in the North. In those places, the + juices are boiled in open pans or kettles, the impurities skimmed off as they rise, + and the boiling, for evaporation, is continued until a proper consistency is reached, + for molasses in the case of sorghum and for crystallization in the case of plantation + and maple sugars. There is an old story of an erratic New England trader, in + Newburyport, who called himself Lord Timothy Dexter. In one of his shipments to the + West Indies, a hundred and fifty years ago, this picturesque individual included a + consignment of "warming pans," shallow metal basins with a cover and a long wooden + handle, used for warming beds on cold winter nights. The basin was filled with coals + from the fireplace, and then moved about between the sheets to take off the chill. He + was not a little ridiculed by his acquaintances for sending such merchandise where it + could not possibly be needed, but it is said that he made considerable money out of + his enterprise. With the covers removed, the long-handled, shallow basins proved + admirably adapted for use in skimming the sugar in the boiling-pans. But the + old-fashioned method would be impossible today.</p> + <p>The different operations are too complicated and too technical for more than a + reference to the purpose of the successive processes. Clarification and evaporation + having been completed, the next step is crystallization, also a complicated + operation. When this is done, there remains a dark brown mass consisting of sugar + crystals and molasses, and the next step is the removal of all except a small + percentage of the molasses. This is accomplished by what are called the centrifugals, + deep bowls with perforated walls, whirled at two or three thousand revolutions a + minute. This expels the greater part of the molasses, and leaves a mass of + yellow-brown crystals, the coloring being due to the molasses remaining. This is the + raw sugar of commerce. Most of Cuba's raw product is classed as "96 degree + centrifugals," that is, the raw sugar, as it comes from the centrifugal machines and + is bagged for shipment, is of 96 degrees of sugar purity. This is shipped to market, + usually in full cargo lots. There it goes to the refineries, where it is melted, + clarified, evaporated, and crystallized. This second clarification removes + practically everything except the pure crystallized sugar of the market and the + table. It is then an article of daily use in every household, and a subject of + everlasting debate in Congress.</p> + <h2><a id="XIII">XIII</a><br /> + <i>VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES</i></h2> + <p>The Encyclopædia Britannica states that "although the fact has been controverted, + there cannot be a doubt that the knowledge of tobacco and its uses came to the rest + of the world from America. As the continent was opened up and explored, it became + evident that the consumption of tobacco, especially by smoking, was a universal and + immemorial usage, in many cases bound up with the most significant and solemn tribal + ceremonials." The name "tobacco" was originally the name of the appliance in which it + was smoked and not of the plant itself, just as the term "chowder" comes from the + vessel (<i>chaudière</i>) in which the compound was prepared. The tobacco plant was + first taken to Europe in 1558, by Francisco Fernandez, a physician who had been sent + to Mexico by Philip II to investigate the products of that country. The English, + however, appear to have been the first Europeans to adopt the smoking habit, and Sir + Walter Raleigh was notable for his indulgence in the weed. He is said to have called + for a solacing pipe just before his execution. Very soon after their arrival, in + 1607, the Virginia settlers engaged in the cultivation of tobacco, and it soon became + the most important commercial product of the colony. Smoking, as practiced in this + country, appears to have been largely, and perhaps only, by means of pipes generally + similar to those now in use. The contents of ancient Indian mounds, or tumuli, opened + in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, show the use of pipes by the aborigines + probably centuries before the discoveries by Columbus. Many were elaborately carved + in porphyry or some other hard stone, while others were made of baked clay. Others, + many of them also elaborately carved and ornamented, have been found in Mexico. Roman + antiquities show many pipes, but they do not show the use of tobacco. It is assumed + that they were used for burning incense, or for smoking some aromatic herb or + hemp.</p> + <p>The first knowledge of the use of the plant in Cuba was in November, 1492, when + Columbus, on landing near Nuevitas, sent his messengers inland to greet the supposed + ruler of a supposed great Asiatic empire. Washington Irving thus reports the story as + it was told by Navarete, the Spanish historian. Referring to those messengers, he + says: "They beheld several of the natives going about with firebrands in their hands, + and certain dried herbs which they rolled up in a leaf, and lighting one end, put the + other in their mouths, and continued exhaling and puffing out the smoke. A roll of + this kind they called a tobacco, a name since transferred to the plant of which the + rolls were made. The Spaniards, although prepared to meet with wonders, were struck + with astonishment at this singular and apparently nauseous indulgence." A few years + later, a different method was reported, by Columbus, as employed in Hispaniola. This + consisted of inhaling the fumes of the leaf through a Y-shaped device applied to the + nostrils. This operation is said to have produced intoxication and stupefaction, + which appears to have been the desired result. The old name still continues in Cuba, + and if a smoker wants a cigar, he will get it by calling for a "tobacco." The + production of the plant is, next to sugar, Cuba's most important commercial industry. + Its early history is only imperfectly known. There was probably very little + commercial production during the 16th Century, for the reason that there was then no + demand for it. The demand came in the first half of the 17th Century, and by the + middle of that period tobacco was known and used in practically all civilized + countries. The demand for it spread very rapidly, in spite of papal fulminations and + penal enactments. For a time, in Russia, the noses of smokers were cut off. The early + part of the 18th Century saw Cuba actively engaged in production and shipment. In + 1717, Cuba's tobacco was made a monopoly of the Spanish Government. Under that + system, production was regulated and prices were fixed by the agents of the + government, in utter disregard of the welfare of the producers. As a result, several + serious riots occurred. In 1723, a large number of planters refused to accept the + terms offered by the officials, and destroyed the crops of those who did accept, a + condition repeated in the State of Kentucky a few years ago, the only difference + being that in the Cuban experience the monopolist was the Government, and in Kentucky + it was a corporation. A few years later, in 1734, the Cuban monopoly was sold to Don + José Tallapiedra who contracted to ship to Spain, annually, three million pounds of + tobacco. The contract was afterward given to another, but control was resumed by the + Crown, in 1760. Finally, in 1817, cultivation and trade were declared to be free, + subject only to taxation.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig19"></a><a href="images/image19.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image19.jpg" alt="STREET IN CAMAGUEY" /></a> + <h3>STREET IN CAMAGUEY</h3> + </div> + <p>In time, it became known that the choicest tobacco in the market came from the + western end of Cuba, from the Province of Pinar del Rio. It was given a distinct + name, <i>Vuelta Abajo</i>, a term variously translated but referring to the downward + bend of the section of the island in which that grade is produced. Here is grown a + tobacco that, thus far, has been impossible of production elsewhere. Many experiments + have been tried, in Cuba and in other countries. Soils have been analyzed by + chemists; seeds from the <i>Vuelta Abajo</i> have been planted; and localities have + been sought where climatic conditions corresponded. No success has been attained. Nor + is the crop of that region produced on an extensive scale, that is, the choicer leaf. + Not all of the tobacco is of the finest grade, although most of it is of high + quality. There are what may be called "patches" of ground, known to the experts, on + which the best is produced, for reasons not yet clearly determined. The fact is well + known, but the causes are somewhat mysterious. Nor does the plant of this region + appear to be susceptible of improvement through any modern, scientific systems of + cultivation. The quality deteriorates rather than improves as a result of artificial + fertilizers. The people of the region, cultivating this special product through + generation after generation, seem to have developed a peculiar instinct for its + treatment. It is not impossible that a time may come when scientific soil selection, + seed selection, special cultivation, irrigation, and other systems, singly or in + combination, will make possible the production of a standardized high-grade leaf in + much greater quantity than heretofore, but it seems little probable that anything so + produced will excel or even equal the best produced by these expert <i>vegueros</i> + by their indefinable but thorough knowledge of the minutest peculiarities of this + peculiar plant. Thus far, it has not even been possible to produce it elsewhere in + the island. It has been tried outside of the fairly defined area of its production, + tried by men who knew it thoroughly within that area, tried from the same seed, from + soils that seem quite the same. But all failed. Science may some day definitely + locate the reasons, just as it may find the reason for deterioration in the quality + of Cuban tobacco eastward from that area. The tobacco of Havana Province is + excellent, but inferior to that of Pinar del Rio. The growth of Santa Clara Province + is of good quality, but inferior to that of Havana Province, while the tobacco of + eastern Cuba is little short of an offence to a discriminating taste.</p> + <p>Tobacco is grown from seeds, planted in specially prepared seed beds. Seeding is + begun in the early autumn. When the young plant has attained a proper height, about + eight or ten inches, it is removed to, and planted in, the field of its final growth. + This preliminary process demands skill, knowledge, and careful attention equal, + perhaps, to the requirements of the later stages. Experiments have been made with + mechanical appliances, but most of the work is still done by hand, particularly in + the area producing the better qualities of leaf. From the time of transplanting, it + is watched with the greatest care. A constant battle is waged with weeds and insect + life, and water must be brought if the season is too dry. If rains are excessive, as + they sometimes are, the crop may be partly or wholly destroyed, as it was in the + autumn of 1914. The plant matures in January, after four months of constant + watchfulness and labor, in cultivation, pruning, and protection from worms and + insects. When the leaves are properly ripened, the stalks are cut in sections, two + leaves to a section. These are hung on poles and taken to the drying sheds where they + are suspended for three or more weeks. The time of this process, and its results, + depend upon moisture, temperature, and treatment. All this is again an operation + demanding expert knowledge and constant care. When properly cured, the leaves are + packed in bales of about 110 pounds each, and are then ready for the market. Because + of the varying conditions under which the leaf is produced, from year to year, it is + somewhat difficult to determine with any accuracy the increase in the industry. + Broadly, the output appears to have been practically doubled in the last twenty + years, a growth attributed to the new economic conditions, to the extension of + transportation facilities that have made possible the opening of new areas to + cultivation, and to the investment of capital, largely American capital. The exports + show, generally, a material increase in sales of leaf tobacco and some decline in + sales of cigars. The principal market for the leaf, for about 85 per cent of it, is + in the United States where it is made, with more or less honesty, into "all-Havana" + cigars. This country, however, takes only about a third of Cuba's cigar output. The + United Kingdom takes about as much of that product as we do, and Germany, in normal + times, takes about half as much. The remainder is widely scattered, and genuine + imported Havana cigars are obtainable in all countries throughout the world. The + total value of Cuba's yearly tobacco crop is from $40,000,000 to $50,000,000, + including domestic consumption and foreign trade.</p> + <p>The story that all Cubans, men and women alike, are habitual and constant smokers, + is not and never was true. Whatever it may have been in the past, I am inclined to + think that smoking by women is more common in this country than it is in Cuba, + particularly among the middle and upper social classes. I have seen many American and + English women smoke in public, but never a Cuban woman. Nor is smoking by men without + its exceptions. I doubt if the percentage of non-smokers in this country is any + greater than it is in the island. There are many Cubans who do smoke, just as there + are many Americans, Englishmen, Germans, and Russians. Those who watch on the street + for a respectable Cuban woman with a cigar in her mouth, or even a cigarette, will be + disappointed. Cuba's tobacco is known by the name of the region in which it is + produced; the <i>Vuelta Abajo</i> of Pinar del Rio; the <i>Partidos</i> of Havana + Province; the <i>Manicaragua</i> and the <i>Remedios</i> of Santa Clara; and the + <i>Mayari</i> of Oriente. Until quite recently, when American organized capital + secured control of many of the leading factories in Cuba, it was possible to identify + a cigar, in size and shape, by some commonly employed name, such as <i>perfectos, + conchas, panetelas, imperiales, londres</i>, etc. The old names still appear, but to + them there has been added an almost interminable list in which the old distinction is + almost lost. Lost, too, or submerged, are many of the old well-known names of + manufacturers, names that were a guarantee of quality. There were also names for + different qualities, almost invariably reliable, and for color that was supposed to + mark the strength of the cigar. An accomplished smoker may still follow the old + system and call for a cigar to his liking, by the use of the old terms and names made + familiar by years of experience, but the general run of smokers can only select, from + a hundred or more boxes bearing names and words that are unfamiliar or unknown, a + cigar that he thinks looks like one that he wants. It may be a "<i>superba</i>" an + "<i>imperial</i>" a "Wilson's Cabinet," or a "Havana Kid."</p> + <p>There is a wide difference in the dates given as the time of the introduction of + the coffee plant in Cuba. One writer gives the year 1720, another gives 1748, and + still another gives 1769. Others give various years near the end of the century. It + was doubtless a minor industry for fifty years or more before that time, but it was + given an impetus and began to assume commercial proportions during the closing years + of the 18th Century. During that century, the industry was somewhat extensively + carried on in the neighboring island of Santo Domingo. In 1790, a revolution broke + out in that island, including Haiti, and lasted, with more or less violent activity, + for nearly ten years. One result was the emigration to Cuba of a considerable number + of refugees, many of them French. They settled in eastern Cuba, where conditions for + coffee-growing are highly favorable. Knowing that industry from their experience with + it in the adjacent island, these people naturally took it up in their new home. The + cultivation of coffee in Cuba, prior to that time, was largely in the neighborhood of + Havana, the region then of the greater settlement and development. For the next forty + years or so, the industry developed and coffee assumed a considerable importance as + an export commodity, in addition to the domestic supply. In 1840, there were more + than two thousand coffee plantations, large and small, producing more than seventy + million pounds of coffee, the greater part of which was exported. From about the + middle of the century, the industry declined, in part because of lower prices due to + increase in the world-supply through increased production in other countries, and in + part, because of the larger chance of profit in the growing of sugar, an industry + then showing an increased importance. Coffee culture has never been entirely + suspended in the island, and efforts are made from time to time to revive it, but for + many years Cuba has imported most of its coffee supply, the larger share being + purchased from Porto Rico. It would be easily possible for Cuba to produce its entire + requirement. There are few more beautiful sights in all the world than a field of + coffee trees in blossom. One writer has likened it to "millions of snow drops + scattered over a sea of green." They blossom, in Cuba, about the end of February or + early in March, the fruit season and picking coming in the autumn. Coffee culture is + an industry requiring great care and some knowledge, and the preparation of the berry + for the market involves no less of care and knowledge. The quality of the Cuban berry + is of the best. It is the misfortune of the people of the United States that very few + of them really know anything about coffee and its qualities, notwithstanding the fact + that they consume about a billion pounds a year, all except a small percentage of it + being coffee of really inferior quality. But coffee, like cigars, pickles, or music, + is largely a matter of individual preference.</p> + <p>Cuba produces a variety of vegetables, chiefly for domestic consumption, and many + fruits, some of which are exported. There is also a limited production of grains. + Among the tubers produced are sweet potatoes, white potatoes, yams, the arum and the + yucca. From the latter is made starch and the cassava bread. The legumes are + represented by varieties of beans and peas. The most extensively used food of the + island people is rice, only a little of which is locally grown. The imports are + valued at five or six million dollars yearly. Corn is grown in some quantity, but + nearly two million dollars worth is imported yearly from the United States. There are + fruits of many kinds. The banana is the most important of the group, and is grown + throughout the island. It appears on the table of all, rich and poor, sometimes <i>au + naturel</i> but more frequently cooked. There are many varieties, some of which are + exported while others are practically unknown here. The Cuban mango is not of the + best, but they are locally consumed by the million. Only a few of the best are + produced and those command a fancy price even when they are obtainable. The aguacate, + or alligator pear, is produced in abundance. Cocoanuts are a product largely of the + eastern end of the island, although produced in fair supply elsewhere. The trees are + victims of a disastrous bud disease that has attacked them in recent years causing + heavy loss to growers.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig20"></a><a href="images/image20.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image20.jpg" alt="PALM-THATCHED ROOFS" /></a> + <h3>PALM-THATCHED ROOFS<br /> + A PEASANT'S HOME</h3> + </div> + <p>Since the American occupation, considerable attention has been given, mainly by + Americans, to the production of oranges, grape-fruit, and pineapples, in which a + considerable industry has been developed. There are several varieties. The guava of + Cuba makes a jelly that is superior to that produced from the fruit in any other land + of my experience. If there is a better guava jelly produced anywhere, I should be + pleased to sample it, more pleased to obtain a supply. But there is a difference in + the product even there, just as there is a difference in currant or grape jelly + produced here. It depends a good deal on the maker. Some of the best of my experience + is made in the neighborhood of Santa Clara, but I have tried no Cuban <i>jalea de + guayaba</i> that was not better than any I have had in the Far East or elsewhere. The + <i>guanabana</i> is eaten in its natural state, but serves its best purpose as a + flavor for ices or cooling drinks. There are a number of others, like the + <i>anon</i>, the <i>zapote</i>, the <i>granadilla</i>, the <i>mamey</i>, etc., with + which visitors may experiment or not as they see fit. Some like some of them and + others like none of them. An excellent grade of cacao, the basis of chocolate and + cocoa, is produced in somewhat limited quantity. The industry could easily be + extended. In fact, there are many soil products not now grown in the island but which + might be grown there, and many others now produced on small scale that could be + produced in important quantities. That they are not now so produced is due to lack of + both labor and capital. The industries of Cuba are, and always have been, + specialized. Sugar, tobacco, and at a time coffee, have absorbed the capital and have + afforded occupation for the greater number of the island people. The lack of + transportation facilities in earlier years, and the system of land tenure, have made + difficult if not impossible the establishment of any large number of independent + small farmers. The day laborers in the tobacco fields and on sugar plantations have + been unable to save enough money to buy a little farm and equip it even if the land + could be purchased at all. Yet only a very small percentage of the area is actually + under cultivation. Cuba now imports nearly $40,000,000 worth of alimentary + substances, altogether too much for a country of its productive possibilities. It is + true that a part of this, such as wheat flour for instance, cannot be produced on the + island successfully, and that other commodities, such as rice, hog products, and some + other articles, can be imported more cheaply than they can be produced locally. But + the imports of foodstuffs are undoubtedly excessive, although there are good reasons + for the present situation. It is a matter that will find adjustment in time.</p> + <p>The island has mineral resources of considerable value, although the number of + products is limited. The Spanish discoverers did not find the precious metals for + which they were seeking, and while gold has since been found, it has never appeared + in quantity sufficient to warrant its exploitation. Silver discoveries have been + reported, but not in quantity to pay for its extraction. Nothing is ever certain in + those industries, but it is quite safe to assume that Cuba is not a land of precious + metals. Copper was discovered in eastern Cuba as early as about the year 1530, and + the mines near Santiago were operated as a Government monopoly for some two hundred + years, when they were abandoned. They were idle for about a hundred years when, in + 1830, an English company with a capital of $2,400,000 reopened them. It is officially + reported that in the next forty years copper of a value of more than $50,000,000 was + extracted and shipped. During that time, the mines were among the most notable in the + world. In the meantime, ownership was transferred to a Spanish corporation organized + in Havana. This concern became involved in litigation with the railway concerning + freight charges, and this experience was followed by the Ten Years' War, in the early + course of which the plant was destroyed and the mines flooded. In 1902, an American + company was organized. It acquired practically all the copper property in the Cobre + field and began operations on an extensive and expensive scale. A huge sum was spent + in pumping thousands of tons of water from a depth of hundreds of feet, in new + equipment for the mining operations, and in the construction of a smelter. The best + that can be done is to hope that the investors will some day get their money back. + Without any doubt, there is a large amount of copper there, and more in other parts + of Oriente. So is there copper in Camaguey, Santa Clara, and Matanzas provinces. + There are holes in the ground near the city of Camaguey that indicate profitable + operations in earlier years. The metal is spread over a wide area in Pinar del Rio, + and venturous spirits have spent many good Spanish pesos and still better American + dollars in efforts to locate deposits big enough to pay for its excavation. Some of + that class are at it even now, and one concern is reported as doing a profitable + business.</p> + <p>The bitumens are represented in the island by asphalt, a low-grade coal, and + seepages of petroleum. At least, several writers tell of coal in the vicinity of + Havana, but the substance is probably only a particularly hard asphaltum. The only + real coal property of which I have any knowledge is a quite recent discovery. The + story was told me by the man whose money was sought to develop it. It was, by the + way, an anthracite property. In response to an urgent invitation from a presumably + reliable acquaintance, my friend took his car and journeyed westward into Pinar del + Rio, through a charming country that he and I have many times enjoyed together. He + picked up his coal-discovering friend in the city of Pinar del Rio, and proceeded + into the country to inspect the coal-vein. At a number of points immediately + alongside the highway, his companion alighted to scrape away a little of the surface + of the earth and to return with a little lump of really high-grade anthracite. Such a + substance had no proper business there, did not belong there geologically or + otherwise. The explanation soon dawned upon my friend. They were following the line + of an abandoned narrow-gauge railway, abandoned twenty years ago, along which had + been dumped, at intervals, little piles of perfectly good anthracite, imported from + Pennsylvania, for use by the portable engine used in the construction of the road. My + friend declares that he is entirely ready at any time to swear that there are + deposits of anthracite in Cuba. A very good quality of asphalt is obtained in + different parts of the island, and considerable quantities have been shipped to the + United States. Signs of petroleum deposits have been strong enough to induce + investigation and expenditure. An American company is now at work drilling in + Matanzas Province. The most extensive and promising mineral industry is iron, + especially in eastern Cuba. Millions of tons of ore have been taken from the + mountains along the shore between Santiago and Guantanamo, and the supply appears to + be inexhaustible. The product is shipped to the United States, to a value of several + millions of dollars yearly. A few years ago, other and apparently more extensive + deposits were discovered in the northern section of Oriente, The field bought by the + Pennsylvania Steel Company is estimated to contain 600,000,000 tons of ore. The + Bethlehem Steel Company is the owner of another vast tract. The quality of these ores + is excellent. In Oriente Province also are deposits of manganese of which + considerable shipments have been made.</p> + <p>It is not possible in so brief a survey of Cuba's resources and industries to + include all its present activities, to say nothing of its future possibilities. At + the present time, the island is practically an extensive but only partly cultivated + farm, producing mainly sugar and tobacco, with fruits and vegetables as a side line. + The metal deposits supplement this, with promise of becoming increasingly valuable. + The forest resources, commercially, are not great, although there are, and will + continue to be, sales of mahogany and other fine hardwoods. Local manufacturing is on + a comparatively limited scale. All cities and many towns have their artisans, the + bakers, tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, and others. Cigar making is, of course, + classed as a manufacturing enterprise, and so, for census purposes, is the conversion + of the juice of the sugar-cane into sugar. A number of cities have breweries, ice + factories, match factories, soap works, and other establishments large or small. All + these, however, are incidental to the great industries of the soil, and the greater + part of Cuba's requirements in the line of mill and factory products is imported. + While little is done in the shipment of cattle or beef, Cuba is a natural cattle + country. Water and nutritious grasses are abundant, and there are vast areas, now + idle, that might well be utilized for stock-raising. There are, of course, just as + there are elsewhere, various difficulties to be met, but they are met and overcome. + There are insects and diseases, but these are controlled by properly applied + scientific methods. There is open feeding throughout the entire year, so there is no + need of barns or hay. The local cattle industry makes possible the shipment of some + $2,500,000 worth of hides and skins annually. Other lines of industry worthy of + mention, but not possible of detailed description here, include sponges, tortoise + shell, honey, wax, molasses, and henequen or sisal. All these represent their + individual thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and their employment of + scores or hundreds of wage-earners. Those who start for Cuba with a notion that the + Cubans are an idle and lazy people, will do well to revise that notion. There is not + the hustle that may be seen further north, but the results of Cuban activity, + measured in dollars or in tons, fairly dispute the notion of any national indolence. + When two and a half million people produce what is produced in Cuba, somebody has to + work.</p> + <h2><a id="XIV">XIV</a><br /> + <i>POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE</i></h2> + <p>The British colonists in America were in large measure self-governing. This is + notably true in their local affairs. The Spanish colonists were governed almost + absolutely by the mother-country. A United States official publication reports that + "all government control centred in the Council of the Indies and the King, and local + self government, which was developed at an early stage in the English colonies, + became practically impossible in the Spanish colonies, no matter to what extent it + may have existed in theory. Special regulations, decrees, etc., modifying the + application of the laws to the colonies or promulgating new laws were frequent, and + their compilation in 1680 was published as Law of the Indies. This and the <i>Siete + Partidas</i>, on which they were largely based, comprised the code under which the + Spanish-American colonies were governed." There was a paper provision, during the + greater part of the time, for a municipal electorate, the franchise being limited to + a few of the largest tax-payers. In its practical operation, the system was nullified + by the power vested in the appointed ruler. It was a highly effective centralized + organization in which no man held office, high or low, who was not a mere instrument + in the hands of the Governor-General. Under such an institution the Cubans had, of + course, absolutely no experience in self-government. The rulers made laws and the + people obeyed them; they imposed taxes and spent the money as they saw fit; many of + them enriched themselves and their personally appointed official household throughout + the island, at the expense of the tax-payers.</p> + <p>A competent observer has noted that such terms as "meeting," "mass-meeting," + "self-government," and "home-rule," had no equivalent in the Spanish language. The + first of these terms, distorted into "<i>mitin</i>," is now in common use, and its + origin is obvious. Of theories, ideals, and intellectual conceptions, there was an + abundance, but government based on beautiful dreams does not succeed in this + practical world. Denied opportunity for free discussion of practical methods, the + Cubans discussed theories in lyceums. Under the military government of the United + States, from January 1, 1899, to May 20, 1902, there was freedom of speech and + freedom of organization. The Cubans began to hold "<i>mitins</i>," but visions and + beautiful theories characterized the addresses. Prior to the Ten Years' War + (1868-1878), there were organizations more or less political in their nature, but the + authorities were alert in preventing discussions of too practical a character. In + 1865, a number of influential Cubans organized what has been somewhat inappropriately + termed a "national party." It was not at all a party in our use of that term. Its + purpose was to suggest and urge administrative and economic changes from the Cuban + point of view. The suggestions were ignored and, a few years later, revolution was + adopted as a means of emphasizing their importance. The result of the Ten Years' War + was an assortment of pledges of greater political and economic freedom. Much was + promised but little if anything was really granted. There was, however, a relaxation + of the earlier absolutism, and under that there appeared a semblance of party + organization, in the form of a Liberal party and a Union Constitutional party. There + was no special difference in what might be called their platforms. Both focussed, in + a somewhat general way, the political aspirations and the economic desires of the + Cuban people, much the same aspirations and desires that had been manifested by + complaint, protest, and occasional outbreak, for fifty years. National independence + had no place in either. That came later, when an army in the field declared that if + Spain would not grant independence, the island would be made so worthless a + possession that Spain could not afford to hold it. A few years after their + organization, the Liberals became the Cuban party, and so remained, and the Union + Constitutionals became the Spanish party, the party of the immediate administration. + Later on, the Liberal party became the Autonomist party, but Spain's concession of + the demands of that group came too late, forced, not by the Autonomists but by the + party of the Revolution that swept the island with fire and sword from Oriente to + Pinar del Rio. The Autonomists sought what their name indicates; the Revolutionists + demanded and secured national independence.</p> + <p>Shortly before the final dispersion of the Army of the Revolution, there was + organized a body with the imposing title of <i>La Asamblea de Representantes del + Ejercito Cubano</i>, or the Assembly of Representatives of the Cuban Army. It was + composed of leaders of the different military divisions of that army, and included, + as I recall it, thirty-one members. This group made no little trouble in the early + days of the American occupation. It gathered in Havana, held meetings, declared + itself the duly chosen and representative agent of the Cuban people, and demanded + recognition as such by the American authorities. Some of its members even asserted + that it constituted a <i>de facto</i> government, and held that the Americans should + turn the whole affair over to them and promptly sail away. But their recognition was + flatly refused by the authorities. At the time, I supported the authorities in this + refusal, but afterward I felt less sure of the wisdom of the course. As a recognized + body, it might have been useful; rejected, it made no little trouble. Transfer of + control to its hands was quite out of the question, but recognition and co-operation + might have proved helpful. That the body had a considerable representative quality, + there is no doubt. Later, I found many of its members as members of the + Constitutional Convention, and, still later, many of them have served in high + official positions, as governors of provinces, members of Congress, in cabinet and in + diplomatic positions. I am inclined to regard the group broadly, as the origin of the + present much divided Liberal party that has, from the beginning of definite party + organization, included a considerable numerical majority of the Cuban voters. In the + first national election, held December 31, 1901, this group, the military group, + appeared as the National party, supporting Tomas Estrada y Palma as its candidate. + Its opponent was called the Republican party. Realizing its overwhelming defeat, the + latter withdrew on the day of the election, alleging all manner of fraud and + unfairness on the part of the Nationals. It is useless to follow in detail the + history of Cuba's political parties since that time. In the election of 1905, the + former National party appeared as the Liberal party, supporting José Miguel Gomez, + while its opponents appeared as the Moderate party, supporting Estrada Palma who, + first elected on what he declared to be a non-partisan basis, had definitely + affiliated himself with the so-called Moderates. The election was a game of political + crookedness on both sides, and the Liberals withdrew on election day. The result was + the revolution of 1906. The Liberals split into factions, not yet harmonized, and the + Moderate party became the Conservative party. By the fusion of some of the Liberal + groups, that party carried the election of 1908, held under American auspices. A + renewal of internal disorders, a quarrel among leaders, and much discontent with + their administrative methods, resulted in the defeat of the Liberals in the campaign + of 1912 and in the election of General Mario Menocal, the head of the Conservative + ticket, and the present incumbent.</p> + <p>A fair presentation of political conditions in Cuba is exceedingly difficult, or + rather it is difficult so to present them that they will be fairly understood. I have + always regarded the establishment of the Cuban Republic in 1902 as premature, though + probably unavoidable. A few years of experience with an autonomous government under + American auspices, civil and not military, as a prologue to full independence, might + have been the wiser course, but such a plan seemed impossible. The Cubans in the + field had forced from Spain concessions that were satisfactory to many. Whether they + could have forced more than that, without the physical assistance given by the United + States, is perhaps doubtful. The matter might have been determined by the grant of + the belligerent rights for which they repeatedly appealed to the United States. At no + time in the entire experience did they ask for intervention. That came as the result + of a combination of American wrath and American sympathy, and more in the interest of + the United States than because of concern for the Cubans. But, their victory won and + Spain expelled, the triumphant Cubans naturally desired immediate enjoyment of the + fruits of victory. They desired to exercise the independence for which they had + fought. Many protests and not a few threats of trouble attended even the brief period + of American occupation. There was, moreover, an acute political issue in the United + States. The peace and order declared as the purpose of American intervention had been + established. The amendment to the Joint Resolution of April 20, 1898, disclaimed "any + disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said + Island except for the pacification thereof," etc. The island was pacified. The + amendment asserted, further, the determination of the United States, pacification + having been accomplished, "to leave the government and control of the island to its + people." There was no pledge of any prolonged course of education in principles and + methods of self-government. Nor did such education play any appreciable part in the + experience of the American military government. The work of the interventors had been + done in accordance with the specifications, and the Cubans were increasingly restless + under a control that many of them, with no little reason, declared to be as + autocratic as any ever exercised by Spain. Transfer and departure seemed to be the + politic if not the only course, and we transferred and departed.</p> + <p>That these people, entirely without experience or training in self-government, + should make mistakes was quite as inevitable as it is that a child in learning to + walk will tumble down and bump its little nose. In addition to the inevitable + mistakes, there have been occasional instances of deplorable misconduct on the part + of individuals and of political parties. For neither mistakes nor misconduct can we + criticize or condemn them without a similar criticism or condemnation of various + experiences in our own history. We should, at least, regard them with charity. There + are, moreover, incidents in the two experiences of American control of the island + that, at least, border on the unwise and the discreditable. The only issue yet + developed in Cuba is between good government and bad politics. The first President + started admirably along the line of the former, and ended in a wretched tangle of the + latter, though not at all by his own choice or direction. Official pre-eminence and a + "government job" make quite the same appeal to the Cubans that they do to many + thousands of Americans. So do raids on the national treasury, and profitable + concessions. We see these motes in Cuban eyes somewhat more clearly than we see the + beams in our own eyes. A necessarily slow process of political education is going on + among the people, but in the meantime the situation has afforded opportunity for + exploitation by an assortment of self-constituted political leaders who have adopted + politics as a profession and a means of livelihood. Cuba's gravest danger lies in the + political domination of men in this class. The present President, General Mario + Menocal, is not in that group. The office sought him; he did not seek the office. + Some of these self-constituted leaders have displayed a notable aptitude for + political organization, and it is largely by means of the many little local + organizations that the Cuban political game is played. Although, I believe, somewhat + less now than formerly, the little groups follow and support individual leaders + rather than parties or principles. Parties and their minor divisions are known by the + names of their leaders. Thus, while both men are nominally of the same party, the + Liberal, the adherents of José Miguel Gomez, are known as Miguelistas, and the + adherents of Alfredo Zayas are known as Zayistas. Were either to announce himself as + a Conservative, or to start a new party and call it Reformist or Progressive or any + other title, he could count on being followed by most of those who supported him as a + Liberal. This is a condition that will, in time, correct itself. What the Cuban + really wants is what all people want, an orderly, honest, and economical government, + under which he may live in peace and quiet, enjoying the fruits of his labor without + paying an undue share of the fruits to maintain his government. For that the Cuban + people took up arms against Spain. For a time they may be blinded by the idea of mere + political independence, but to that same issue they will yet return by the route of + the ballot-box. The game of politics for individual preferment, or for personal + profit, cannot long be successfully played in Cuba, if I have rightly interpreted + Cuban character and Cuban characteristics.</p> + <p>"We, the delegates of the people of Cuba, having met in constitutional convention + for the purpose of preparing and adopting the fundamental law of their organization + as an independent and sovereign people, establishing a government capable of + fulfilling its international obligations, maintaining public peace, ensuring liberty, + justice, and promoting the general welfare, do hereby agree upon and adopt the + following constitution, invoking the protection of the Almighty. Article I. The + people of Cuba are hereby constituted a sovereign and independent State and adopt a + republican form of government." Thus opens the Constitution of the Republic of + Cuba.</p> + <p>I recall an intensely dramatic moment connected with the closing phrase of the + preamble. I have used a translation published by a distinguished Cuban. That phrase, + in the original, is "<i>invocando el favor de Dios</i>," perhaps more exactly + translated as "invoking the favor (or blessing) of God." When the Constitution had + been drafted and broadly approved, it was submitted to the convention for suggestion + of minor changes in verbiage. One of the oldest and most distinguished members of the + body proposed that this phrase be left out. Another member, distinguished for his + power as an orator and for his cynicism, in a speech of considerable length set forth + his opinion that it made little difference whether it was included or excluded. There + was no benefit in its inclusion, and no advantage in excluding it. It would hurt none + and might please some to have it left in. Immediately across the semi-circle of + desks, and facing these two speakers, sat Señor Pedro Llorente, a man of small + stature, long, snow-white hair and beard, and a nervous and alert manner. At times, + his nervous energy made him almost grotesque. At times, his absorbed earnestness made + him, despite his stature, a figure of commanding dignity. Through the preceding + addresses he waited with evident impatience. Obtaining recognition from the chairman, + he rose and stood with upraised hand his voice tremulous with emotion, to protest + against the proposed measure, declaring "as one not far from the close of life, that + the body there assembled did not represent an atheistic people." The motion to strike + out was lost, and the invocation remains.</p> + <p>The result of the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention is a highly + creditable instrument. It contains a well-devised Bill of Rights, and makes all + necessary provision for governmental organization and conduct. One feature, however, + seems open to criticism. In their desire to avoid that form of centralized control, + of which they had somewhat too much under Spanish power, the new institution + provides, perhaps, for too much local government, for a too extensive provincial and + municipal system. It has already fallen down in some respects, and it has become + necessary to centralize certain functions, quite as it has become desirable in + several of our own matters. Cuba has, perhaps, an undue overload of officialdom, + somewhat too many public officers, and quite too many people on its pay-rolls. The + feature of Cuba's Constitution that is of greatest interest and importance to the + United States is what is known as the Platt Amendment. The provision for a + Constitutional Convention in Cuba was made in what was known as Civil Order No. 301, + issued by the Military Governor, on July 25, 1900. It provided for an election of + delegates to meet in Havana on the first Monday in November, following. The + convention was to frame and adopt a Constitution and "as a part thereof, to provide + for and agree with the Government of the United States upon the relations to exist + between that Government and the Government of Cuba," etc. Against this, the Cubans + protested vigorously. The United States had declared that "Cuba is and of right ought + to be free and independent." The Cubans held, very properly, that definition of + international relations had no fitting place in a Constitution "as a part thereof." + Their point was recognized and, under date of November 5, Civil Order No. 310 was + modified by Civil Order No. 455. That was issued to the delegates at the time of + their assembly. It declared as follows: "It will be your duty, first, to frame and + adopt a Constitution for Cuba, and, when that has been done, to formulate what, in + your opinion, ought to be the relations between Cuba and the United States." Taking + this as their programme, the delegates proceeded to draft a Constitution, leaving the + matter of "relations" in abeyance for consideration at the proper time. Yet, before + its work was done, the Convention was savagely criticized in the United States for + its failure to include in the Constitution what it had been authorized, and virtually + instructed, to leave out. The Constitution was completed on February 11, 1901, and + was duly signed by the delegates, on February 21. A committee was appointed, on + February 11, to prepare and submit plans and proposals regarding the matter of + "relations." Prior to that, however, the matter had been frequently but informally + discussed by the delegates. Suggestions had been made in the local press, and + individual members of the Convention had expressed their views with considerable + freedom. Had the United States kept its hands off at that time, a serious and + critical situation, as well as a sense of injustice that has not yet entirely died + out, would have been averted.</p> + <p>Before the Cubans had time to put their "opinion of what ought to be the + relations" between the two countries into definite form, there was presented to them, + in a manner as needless as it was tactless, a statement of what the American + authorities thought those relations should be. The Cubans, who were faithfully + observing their earlier instructions, were deeply offended by this interference, and + by the way in which the interference came. The measures known as the Platt Amendment + was submitted to the United States Senate, as an amendment to the Army Appropriation + bill, on February 25, 1901 The Senate passed the bill, and the House concurred A + storm of indignant protest swept over the island The Cubans believed, and not without + reason, that the instrument abridged the independence of which they had been assured + by those who now sought to limit that independence. Public opinion in the United + States was divided. Some approved and some denounced the proceeding in bitter terms. + The division was not at all on party lines. The situation in Cuba was entirely + changed. Instead of formulating an opinion in accordance with their earlier + instructions, the members of the Convention were confronted by a choice of what they + then regarded as evils, acceptance of unacceptable terms or an indefinite continuance + of a military government then no less unacceptable. A commission was sent to + Washington to urge changes and modifications. It was given dinners, lunches, and + receptions, but nothing more. At last the Cubans shrugged their shoulders. The desire + for an immediate withdrawal of American authority, and for Cuban assumption of the + reins of government, outweighed the objection to the terms imposed. A Cuban leader + said: "There is no use in objecting to the inevitable. It is either annexation or a + Republic with the Amendment. I prefer the latter." After four months of stubborn + opposition, the Cubans yielded, by a vote of sixteen to eleven, with four + absentees.</p> + <p>In many ways, the Cuban Government is like our own. The President and + Vice-President are elected, through an electoral college, for a term of four years. A + "third term" is specifically prohibited by the Constitution. Senators, four from each + Province, are chosen, for a term of eight years, by an electoral board. Elections for + one half of the body occur every four years. The House is chosen, by direct vote, for + terms of four years, one half being elected every two years. The Cabinet, selected + and appointed by the President, consists of eight Secretaries of Departments as + follows: Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor; State; Government; Treasury + (<i>Hacienda</i>); Public Instruction; Justice; Public Works; and Health and + Charities. There is a Supreme Court, and there are the usual minor courts. The + Constitution also makes provision for the organization and the powers of the + Provincial and Municipal Governments. To the Constitution, the Platt Amendment is + attached as an appendix, by treaty arrangement. As far as governmental system is + concerned, Cuba is fairly well equipped; a possible source of danger is its + over-equipment. Its laws permit, rather than require, an overburden of officials, + high and low. But Cuba's governmental problem is essentially one of administration. + Its particular obstacle in that department is professional politics.</p> + <p>The whole situation in Cuba is somewhat peculiar. The business of the island, that + is, the commercial business, the purchase and sale of merchandise wholesale and + retail, is almost entirely in the hands of Spaniards. The Cuban youths seldom become + clerks in stores. Most of the so-called "<i>dependientes</i>" come out as boys from + Spain. It is an old established system. These lads, almost invariably hard workers, + usually eat and sleep in the place of their employment. The wage is small but board + and lodging, such as the latter is, are furnished. They are well fed, and the whole + system is quite paternal. For their recreation, education, and care in case of + illness, there are organizations, half club and half mutual protective association, + to which practically all belong. The fee is small and the benefits many. Some of + these are based on a regional plan, that is, the <i>Centro de Asturianos</i> is + composed of those who come from the Spanish province of Asturia, and those from other + regions have their societies. There is also a general society of + "<i>dependientes</i>." Some of these groups are rich, with large membership including + not only the clerks of today but those of the last thirty or forty years, men who by + diligence and thrift have risen to the top in Cuba's commercial life. Most of Cuba's + business men continue their membership in these organizations, and many contribute + liberally toward their maintenance.</p> + <p>This system more or less effectively bars Cuban youths from commercial life. Nor + does commercial life seem attractive to more than a very limited number. This leaves + to them, practically, only three lines of possible activity, the ownership and + operation of a plantation, a profession, or manual labor. The greater number there, + as elsewhere, are laborers, either on some little bit of ground they call their own + or rent from its owner, or they are employed by the proprietors of the larger + estates. Such proprietorship is, of course, open to only a few. The problem, which is + both social and political, appears in a class that cannot or will not engage in + manual labor, the well-educated or fairly-educated sons of men of fair income and a + social position. Many of these take some professional course. But there is not room + for so many in so small a country, and the professions are greatly overcrowded. The + surplus either loafs and lives by its wits or at the expense of the family, or turns + to the Government for a "job." It constitutes a considerable element on which the + aspiring professional politician can draw for support. Having such "jobs," it + constitutes a heavy burden on the tax-payers; deprived of its places on the + Government pay-roll, it becomes a social and political menace. If a Liberal + administration throws them out of their comfortable posts, they become noisy and + perhaps violent Conservatives; if discharged by an economical Conservative + administration, they become no less noisy and no less potentially violent Liberals. + But we may not criticize. The American control that followed the insurrection of 1906 + set no example in administrative economy for the Cubans to follow.</p> + <p>The productive industries of the island have already been reviewed in other + chapters. The development of Cuba's commerce since the withdrawal of Spain, and the + substitution of a modern fiscal policy for an antiquated and indefensible system, has + been notable. It is, however, a mistake to contrast the present condition with the + condition existing at the time of the American occupation, in 1899. The exact + accuracy of the record is questionable, but the returns for the year 1894, the year + preceding the revolution, show the total imports of the island as $77,000,000, and + the total exports as $99,000,000. The probability is that a proper valuation would + show a considerable advance in the value of the imports. The statement of export + values may be accepted. It may be assumed that had there been no disorder, the trade + of the island, by natural growth, would have reached $90,000,000 for imports and + $120,000,000, for exports, in 1900. That may be regarded as a fair normal. As it was, + the imports of that year were $72,000,000, and the exports, by reason of the general + wreck of the sugar business, were only $45,000,000. With peace and order fairly + assured, recovery came quickly. The exports of 1905, at $99,000,000, equalled those + of 1894, while the imports materially exceeded those of the earlier year. In 1913, + the exports reached $165,207,000, and the imports $132,290,000. This growth of Cuba's + commerce and industry is due mainly to the economic requirements of the American + people. We need Cuba's sugar and we want its tobacco. These two commodities represent + about 90 per cent, of the total exports of the island. We buy nearly all of its + sugar, under normal conditions, and about 60 per cent, of its tobacco and cigars. On + the basis of the total commerce of the island, the records of recent years show this + country as the source of supply for about 53 per cent, of Cuba's total imports, and + as the market for about 83 per cent, of its exports. A comparison of the years 1903 + and 1913 shows a gain of about $87,000,000 in Cuba's total exports. Of this, about + $75,000,000 is represented by sugar. The crop of 1894 a little exceeded a million + tons. Such a quantity was not again produced until 1903. With yearly variations, due + to weather conditions, later years show an enormous and unprecedented increase. The + crops of 1913 and 1914 were, approximately, 2,500,000 tons each. The tobacco industry + shows only a modest gain. The average value of the exports of that commodity has + risen, in ten years, from about $25,000,000 to about $30,000,000. The increase in the + industry appears largely in the shipment of leaf tobacco. The cigar business shows + practically no change, in that time, as far as values are concerned. This résumé + affords a fair idea of Cuba's trade expansion under the conditions established + through the change in government. That event opened new and larger doors of + opportunity, and the Cubans and others have been prompt in taking advantage of them. + Toward the great increase shown, two forces have operated effectively. One is the + treaty by which the provisions of the so-called Platt Amendment to the Cuban + Constitution are made permanently effective. The other is the reciprocity treaty of + 1903.</p> + <p>By the operation of the former of these instruments the United States virtually + underwrites the political stability and the financial responsibility of the Cuban + Government. That Government cannot borrow any important sums without the consent of + the United States, and it has agreed that this country "may exercise the right to + intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government + adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for + discharging the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of Paris on + the United States." This assumption of responsibility by the United States inspired + confidence on the part of capital, and large sums have been invested in Cuban bonds, + and in numerous public and private enterprises. Railways and trolley lines have been + built and many other works of public utility have been undertaken. The activities of + old sugar plantations have been extended under improved conditions, and many new + estates with costly modern equipment have been created. The cultivation of large + areas, previously lying waste and idle, afforded both directly and indirectly + employment for an increased population, as did the numerous public works. The other + force, perhaps no less effective, appears in the reciprocity treaty of 1903. This + gave to Cuba's most important crop a large though by no means absolute control of the + constantly increasing sugar market of the United States, as far as competition from + other foreign countries was concerned. The sugar industry of the island may be said + to have been restored to its normal proportions in 1903. Our imports for the + five-year period 1904-1908 averaged 1,200,000 tons a year. For the five-year period + 1910-1914 they averaged 1,720,000 tons. In 1914, they were 2,200,000 tons as compared + with 1,260,000 tons in 1904. It is doubtful if the treaty had any appreciable + influence on the exports of Cuban tobacco to this country. We buy Cuba's special + tobacco irrespective of a custom-house advantage that affects the box price only a + little, and the price of a single cigar probably not at all. On the other side of the + account, that of our sales to Cuba, there also appears a large increase since the + application of the reciprocity treaty. Using the figures showing exports from the + United States to Cuba, instead of Cuba's records showing imports from this country, + it appears that our sales to the island in the fiscal year 1903, immediately + preceding the operation of the treaty, amounted to $21,761,638. In the fiscal year + 1913 they were $70,581,000, and in 1914 were $68,884,000.</p> + <p>Not all of this quite remarkable gain may properly be credited to the influence of + the reciprocity treaty. The purchases of the island are determined, broadly, by its + sales. As the latter increase, so do the former. Almost invariably, a year of large + export sales is followed by a year of heavy import purchases. The fact that our + imports from Cuba are double our sales to Cuba, in the total of a period of years, + has given rise to some foolish criticism of the Cubans on the ground that, we buying + so heavily from them, they should purchase from us a much larger percentage of their + import requirements. No such obligation is held to exist in regard to our trade with + other lands, and it should have no place in any consideration of our trade with Cuba. + There are many markets, like Brazil, British India, Japan, China, Mexico, and Egypt, + in which our purchases exceed our sales. There are more, like the United Kingdom, + France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Central America, and numerous others, in which our + sales considerably or greatly exceed our purchases. We do not buy from them simply + because they buy from us. We buy what we need or want in that market in which we can + buy to the greatest advantage. The Cuban merchants, who are nearly all Spaniards, do + the same. The notion held by some that, because of our service to Cuba in the time of + her struggle for national life, the Cubans should buy from us is both foolish and + altogether unworthy. Any notion of Cuba's obligation to pay us for what we may have + done for her should be promptly dismissed and forgotten. There are commodities, such + as lumber, pork products, coal, wheat flour, and mineral oil produces, that Cuba can + buy in our markets on terms better than those obtainable elsewhere. Other + commodities, such as textiles, leather goods, sugar mill equipment, railway + equipment, drugs, chemicals, and much else, must be sold by American dealers in sharp + competition with the merchants of other countries, with such assistance as may be + afforded by the reciprocity treaty. That instrument gives us a custom-house advantage + of 20, 25, 30, and 40 per cent, in the tariff rates. It is enough in some cases to + give us a fair equality with European sellers, and in a few cases to give us a narrow + margin of advantage over them. It does not give us enough to compel Cuban buyers to + trade with us because of lower delivered prices.</p> + <p>Cuba's economic future can be safely predicted on the basis of its past. The pace + of its development will depend mainly upon a further influx of capital and an + increase in its working population. Its political future is less certain. There is + ample ground for both hope and belief that the little clouds that hang on the + political horizon will be dissipated, that there will come, year by year, a sane + adjustment to the new institutions. But full assurance of peace and order will come + only when the people of the island, whether planters or peasants, see clearly the + difference between a government conducted in their interest and a government + conducted by Cubans along Spanish lines.</p> + <h2>INDEX</h2> +<pre> +A +Adams, President John, 127 +Angulo, Governor de, 59 +Animals, wild, 50 +Asphalt, 232, 233 +Autonomy, 143, 178 +B +Babeque, 6, 7 +Bacon, Hon. Robert, 160 +Bacon's Rebellion, 144 +Ballou, M.M., 31, 32, 71 +Banes, 113 +Baracoa, 12, 91, 100, 114 +Batabano, 12, 116 +Baths, 52 +Bellamar, Caves of, 42,110 +Belligerent rights, 136, 140, 157, 158, 181 +<i>Bermuda</i>, 189, 197 +Bertram, Luis, 14 +Betancourt, Salvador Cisneros, 174 +Black Eagle conspiracy, 147 +<i>Black Warrior</i>, 131 +Blanco, General Ramon, 178 +Bolivia, 126 +Bolivar, Simon, 124, 185 +Bonds, Cuban, 175 +Boston sugar plantation, 113 +Buchanan, President, 130 +C +Cabaña, 57, 60 +Cabinet, Cuban, 250 +Cabrera, Raimundo, 135 +Cadiz, 20 +Caibarien, 102 +Callahan, James M., 125, 139, 152 +Camaguey, city, 105, 110, 111 +Camaguey, province, 40, 109 +Cardenas, 101 +Casa de Beneficencia, 24 +Castillo del Principe, 57, 60, 71, 83 +Cathay, 3 +Cathedral, Havana, 63 +Cattle, 17, 235 +Cauto river, 43 +Caves, 42 +Cemetery, Colon, 83 +Census Reports, United States, 27, 35, 44, 144, 236 +Cespedes, Carlos Manuel,154, 155 +Channing, Edward, 142, 143 +Chaparra sugar plantation, 113 +Ciego de Avila, 106 +Cienaga de Zapata, 43, 51 +Cienfuegos, 102 +Cigars, 224, 225, 254 +Cipango, 2, 5 +Clerks' Associations, 251 +Climate, 45 et seq. +Coal, 232 +Coffee, 23, 36, 226, et seq. +Colonies, American in Cuba, 12, 120 +Colonies, British, 19, 236 +Colonies, Spanish, 19, 21, 123, 126 +Columbia, 124, 145 +Columbus, Christopher + Death and remains, 63 + Describes Cuba, 3, 4, 7 + Discovers Cuba, 2 + Extract from journal, 2 + Letter to Sanchez, 3 + Memorial to, 64 + Mistaken belief, 2, 3, 5, 8 + Report to Spanish sovereigns, 7 + Second expedition, 7 +Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257 +<i>Commodore</i>, 193, 195, 197 +Constitutional Convention, 247 +Constitution, Cuban, 154, 245, 246 +Constitution, Spanish, 29, 145, 159 +Copper, 231, 232 +Cordoba, de, 12 +Cortes, Hernan, 13, 58 +Cortes, Spanish, 29, 176 +Crittenden, Col., 150 +Cuba: + Aborigines, 14, 15. + Advice to visitors, 55. + American attitude toward, 135, 137, 140. + Annexation proposed, 125 et seq. + Animals, wild, 49. + Area, 37. + Climate and temperature, 45 et seq. + Colonized, 12. + Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257. + Conquest by Velasquez, II. + Described by Columbus, 3, 4, 7. + Description, general, 37 et seq. + Discovered, 2. + Expeditions from, 13, 14. + Flora, 48. + Forests, 49. + Future of, 258. + Insects, 51. + Intervention by United States, 25, 160, 182, 242. + Mineral springs, 52. + Monopolies in, 20, 144, 220, 231. + Monroe Doctrine, 127. + Nineteenth Century, 142. + Population, 17, 23, 34. + Railways, 89, 91. + Relations with United States, 122 et seq., 247, 248. + Republic of, 182. + Revolutions, 141 et seq. + Roads, 87, 95, 96. + Self-government, 243. + Slavery in, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155. + Spanish Governors, 24, 32. + Spanish policy in, 17, 19 et seq. 24, 31. + Trade restrictions, 20, 21, 24, 25, 30. + Taxation, Spanish, 24, 27, 28, 30. + Villages, 85, 93, 94, 100 +<i>Cuba and the Intervention</i>, 154, 164 +Cushing, Caleb, 138 +Custom house, 62 +D +<i>Dauntless</i>, 193, 194, 197, 199, 200 +Delicias sugar plantation, 113 +Dexter, Lord Timothy, 216 +Domestic life, 80 +E +EARTHQUAKES, 53 +Elections, 240, 250 +Elson, Henry William, 186 +England, 19, 128, 130, 139, 145 +Everett, Alexander H., 130 +F +FILIBUSTERING expeditions, 148 et seq., 184 et seq. +Firemen, 83 +Fish, Secretary, 157 +Flora, 48 +Florida, 13 +Forests, 48, 49 +Fortifications, 59, 60 +France, 128, 145 +Fritot, Alphonso, 196, 199 +Fruits, 5, 229 +Fuerza, la, 17, 58, 59 +G +Garcia, General Calixto, 84, 190 +Geerligs, H.C. Prinsen, 206 +Gibara, 112 +Gold, 2, 6, 231 +Gomez, General Maximo, 84, 158, 164, 172, 174. + Proclamations, 167 et seq. +Government, 250 +Grant, President, 135 et seq. +Guane, 101 +Guantanamo, 91, 115 +Guines, 90 +H +Haiti, 9, 10, 144 +Harbors, 44 +Hart, John D., 191, 197 +Hatuey, 8 et seq. +Havana: + Bells, church, 65. + British occupation, 20. + Capital, 20, 59. + Cathedral, 63. + Changes in, 66, 67, 82, 85. + Commerce limited to, 20. + Destroyed, 17, 58, 59. + Discovered, 12, 57. + Early conditions, 61. + Excursions from, 97 et seq. + Firemen, 83. + Fortifications, 59, 60. + Homes in, 77 et seq. + Las Casas as governor, 24. + Market, fish, 74. + Name, origin of, 58. + New City, 70 et seq. + Old city, 54 et seq. + Parks, 70, 71. + <i>Paseo</i>, 75. + Public buildings, 62 et seq. + Sanitation of, 63. + Settled 12, 58. + Shopping in, 68. + Streets 61, 71. + Suburbs, 85. + Sunrise in harbor, 54. + Theatre, Nacional, 71 et seq. +Havana, province, 38, 41 +Hayes, President, 136 +Hazard, Samuel, 33, 65, 111 +Henry, Patrick, 143 +Heredia, José Maria, 146 +Hill, Robert T., 39, 48 +Holguin, 113 +Hotels, 91, 111 +Homes, 77 et seq. +Humboldt, Baron Alexander, 8, 14, 15, 16, 35, 53 +Hurricanes, 53 +I +Imports and Exports, 253, 256 +Independence, 162 et seq. +Insect life, 51 +Intervention, First, 25, 182, 242 +Intervention, Second, 160 +Iron ore, 233, 234 +Irving, Washington, 4, 5, 6 +Isle of Pines, 8, 116, 117 et seq. +J +Jefferson, Thomas, 122 +Joint Resolution of 1898, 242 +Jolo, 54 +Juana, 2, 4 +Jucaro, 106 +Junta, 164, 174, 188 +K +Kimball, R.B. 32 +L +Las Casas, Bartolomé, 9, 14 +Las Casas, Governor Luis de, 24 +<i>Laurada</i>, 193 et seq. +Lemus, José Francisco, 146 +Llorente, Pedro, 246 +Lodge, Henry Cabot, 123 +Lopez, Narciso, 148 et seq. +Ludlow, General William, 63 +M +Maceo, General Antonio, 99, 164, 172, 174 +McKinley, President, 122, 178, 179 +Magoon, Charles E., 160 +<i>Maine</i>, battleship, 179 +Maisi, Cape, 7, 8, 38, 115 +Malecon, 75 +Manufactures, 234 +Marti, José, 164, 166 +Marti, the smuggler, 72 et seq. +Martinez Campos, General, 158, 165, 166, 177. +Maso, Bartolomé, 165, 174 +Massachusetts rebellion, 144 +Matanzas, city, 41, 101 +Matanzas, province, 41 +Menocal, General Mario, 241, 244 +Mexico, 13, 58, 124, 145 +Minerals, 231 et seq. +Mineral springs, 52 +Miranda, Francisco, 126, 185 +Monopolies, 20, 144, 220, 231. +Monroe Doctrine, 127 +Monroe, President, 129 +Monuments: + Firemen's, 83, 84 + Students', 84 +Moret law, 16 +Morgan, Henry, no +Morro Castle, 17, 57, 59, 60 +Mountains, 5, 41, 93 +Murielo, 13 +N +NARVAEZ, 13 +Navigation acts, British, 19, 144 +Nelson, Hugh, 127 +Nipe Bay, 2, 91, 113, 114 +Nuevitas, 2, 3, 110, 111, 112 +Nuñez, General Emilio, 191, 192, 199 +O +O'BRIEN, "Dynamite Johnny," 189, et seq. +Ocampo, Sebastian de, 8, 12, 57 +Oriente, province, 40, 41 +Ostend Manifesto, 133 +Otis, James, 143 +P +PALACE, Governor's, 64 +Palma, Tomas Estrada y, 162, 174, 192 +Palms, 5, 7, 48, 49 +Panama Congress (1826), 126 +Parks, Havana, 70, 71 +Parties, Political, 159, 176, 237, 238, 240, 244 +Pearcy <i>v</i>. Stranahan, 120 +Pepper, Charles M., 105, 134, 152, 176 +Petroleum, 233 +Pierce, President, 130, 132, 151 +Pinar del Rio, city, 101 +Pinar del Rio, province, 41 +Platt Amendment, 118, 247 et seq., 255 +Politics, 252 +Polk, President, 130 +Ponce de Leon, 13 +Population, 14, 17, 23, 34 +Porto Rico, 118 +Prado, 71, 75 +Preston sugar plantation, 113 +Puerto de Carenas, 12, 57 +Puerto Principe, see Camaguey +Punta, la, 17 +Q +QUITMAN expedition, 151 +R +RAILWAYS, 89, 91 +Rainfall, 46 +Real estate speculation, 120 +Reciprocity treaty, 255, 258 +Reconcentration, 177 +"Relations," question of, 247, 248 +Remedios, 102 +Revolutions, 19, 141 et seq. + of 1868, 153 et seq. + of 1895, 162 et seq. + of 1906, 159, 160 +Rhodes, James Ford, 131 +Rivers, 43 44 +Roads, 87, 95, 96 +Rubens, Horatio, S., 165, 181, 191, 192, 195 +Ruskin, John, 56 +S +Saco, Antonio, 31 +Sagua la Grande, 101 +Sanchez, Rafael, 3 +Sancti Spiritus, 12, 91, 104 +Santa Clara, city, 102 +Santa Clara, province, 40 +Santangel, Luis de, 4 +Santiago de Cuba, 12, 13, 20, 115, 116 +Santo Domingo, 7 +Seville, 20 +Slavery, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155 +Smuggling, 21, 26 +Snakes, 50 +Sociedad Economica, 24 +Sociedad Patriotica, 24 +Soles de Bolivar, 146 +Soto, Hernando de, 13, 14, 17, 58 +Soule, Pierre, 132, 133 +Spain, 17, 19, 24, 29, 123 et seq., 145, 236 +Spanish-American independence, 126 +Sugar, 113, 203 et seq. + Beet sugar, 208 + Countries producing, 209 + History, 207 + In Cuba, 210 + Manufacture of, 204, 213 + Muscovado, 205 + Origin of, 206 + Planting and cutting, 213 et seq. + Production of, 209, 254, 256 +Supreme Court, United States, 120 +T +Tacon, Governor Miguel, 32, 33, 70, 71 et seq. +Taft, Hon. William H., 99, 160 +Tariff, Spanish, 21, 25 +Taxes, 24, 27, 30, 163 +Taylor, President, 148 +Teller Amendment, 182 +Temperance question, 76 +Temperature, 45 et seq. +Templete, el, 64 +Ten Years' War, 16, 134, 135 et seq., 153 et seq. +Thrasher, J.S., 15, 29 +<i>Three Friends</i>, 193 et seq. +<i>Tillie</i>, wreck of the, 210 +Times, New York, 150 +Tobacco, 36, 102, 221, 222 + Cultivation in Cuba, 223 + History, 219 et seq. + Origin, 218 + Use in Cuba, 225 +Trade restricted, 20, 24, 25, 30 +Transportation, 90 +Treaty of Paris, 118, 182 +Trinidad, 12, 91, 100, 103 +Turnbull, David, 25 +U +UNITED STATES: + Diplomatic correspondence, 125 et seq. + Mediation offered, 156 + Presidential messages, 125, 135, 136, 137, 158, 178, 179, 180, 184 + Relations with Cuba, 122 et seq., 179 +V +Valmaseda proclamation, 156 +Varona, Enrique José, 153 +Vedado, el, 82 +Vegetable products, 228 et seq. +Velasquez, 8, 58 +Villages, 85, 93 +<i>Virginius</i> affair, 116, 137, 185 +Volantes, 88 +W +Welles, Gideon, 186 +Weyler, General Valeriano, 177, 198 +Wilson, Henry, 125 +Y +Yumuri valley, 41 +Z +Zanjon, treaty of, 158 +</pre> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Cuba, Old and New, by Albert Gardner Robinson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CUBA, OLD AND NEW *** + +***** This file should be named 11464-h.htm or 11464-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/4/6/11464/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Leonard D Johnson and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Cuba, Old and New + +Author: Albert Gardner Robinson + +Release Date: March 5, 2004 [EBook #11464] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CUBA, OLD AND NEW *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Leonard D Johnson and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + +[Illustration: TOWER OF LA FUERZA + +_Havana_] + +CUBA + +OLD AND NEW + +BY + +ALBERT G. ROBINSON + +1915. + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + +I. OLD CUBA + +II. NEW CUBA + +III. THE COUNTRY + +IV. THE OLD HAVANA + +V. THE NEW HAVANA + +VI. AROUND THE ISLAND + +VII. AROUND THE ISLAND (_Continued_) + +VIII. THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA + +IX. CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS + +X. INDEPENDENCE + +XI. FILIBUSTERING + +XII. THE STORY OF SUGAR + +XIII. VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES + +XIV. POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +Tower of La Fuerza, Havana +The Morro, Havana +A Planter's Home, Havana Province +Iron Grille Gateway, El Vedado, suburb of Havana +Watering Herd of Cattle, Luyano River, near Havaria +Royal Palms +Custom House, Havana +Balconies, Old Havana +Street in Havana +Street and Church of the Angels, Havana +A Residence in El Vedado +The Volante (now quite rare) +A Village Street, Calvario, Havana Province +Street and Church, Camaguey +Cobre, Oriente Province +Hoisting the Cuban Flag over the Palace, May 20,1902 +A Spanish Block House +Along the Harbor Wall, Havana +Country Road, Havana Province +Street in Camaguey +Palm-Thatched Roofs +A Peasant's Home + + + + +CUBA + +OLD AND NEW + + + + +I + +_OLD CUBA_ + + +Christopher Columbus was a man of lively imagination. Had he been an +ordinary, prosaic and plodding individual, he would have stayed at home +combing wool as did his prosaic and plodding ancestors for several +generations. At the age of fourteen he went to sea and soon developed an +active curiosity about regions then unknown but believed to exist. There +was even then some knowledge of western Asia, and even of China as +approached from the west. Two and two being properly put together, the +result was a reasonable argument that China and India could be reached from +the other direction, that is, by going westward instead of eastward. + +In the early autumn of the year 1492, Columbus was busy discovering islands +in the Caribbean Sea region, and, incidentally, seeking for the richest +of the group. From dwellers on other islands, he heard of one, called +Cubanacan, larger and richer than any that he had then discovered. A +mixture of those tales with his own vivid imagination produced a belief +in a country of wide extent, vastly rich in gold and gems, and already a +centre of an extensive commerce. Cruising in search of what he believed to +be the eastern coast of Asia, he sighted the shore of Cuba on the morning +of October 28, 1492. His journal, under date of October 24, states: "At +midnight I tripped my anchors off this _Cabo del Isleo de Isabella_, where +I was pitched to go to the island of Cuba, which I learn from these people +is very large and magnificent, and there are gold and spices in it, and +large ships and merchants. And so I think it must be the island of Cipango +(Japan), of which they tell such wonders." The record, under date of +Sunday, 28th of October, states: "Continued for the nearest land of Cuba, +and entered a beautiful estuary, clear of rocks and other dangers. The +mouth of the estuary had twelve fathoms depth, and it was wide enough for a +ship to work into." Students have disagreed regarding the first Cuban port +entered by Columbus. There is general acceptance of October 28 as the +date of arrival. Some contend that on that day he entered Nipe Bay, while +others, and apparently the greater number, locate the spot somewhat to the +west of Nuevitas. Wherever he first landed on it, there is agreement that +he called the island Juana, in honor of Prince Juan, taking possession "in +the name of Christ, Our Lady, and the reigning Sovereigns of Spain." + +His record of the landing place is obscure. It is known that he sailed some +leagues beyond it, to the westward. While on board his caravel, on his +homeward voyage, he wrote a letter to his friend, Don Rafael Sanchez, +"Treasurer of their most Serene Highnesses," in which the experience is +described. The original letter is lost, but it was translated into Latin +and published in Barcelona in the following year, 1493. While the Latin +form is variously translated into English, the general tenor of all is the +same. He wrote: "When I arrived at Juana (Cuba), I sailed along the coast +to the west, discovering so great an extent of land that I could not +imagine it to be an island, but the continent of Cathay. I did not, +however, discover upon the coast any large cities, all we saw being a few +villages and farms, with the inhabitants of which we could not obtain any +communication, they flying at our approach. I continued my course, still +expecting to meet with some town or city, but after having gone a great +distance and not meeting with any, and finding myself proceeding toward +the north, which I was desirous, to avoid on account of the cold, and, +moreover, meeting with a contrary wind, I determined to return to the +south, and therefore put about and sailed back to a harbor which I had +before observed." That the actual landing was at or near the present port +of Nuevitas seems to be generally accepted. + +Columbus appears to have been greatly impressed by the beauty of the +island. In his _Life of Columbus_, Washington Irving says: "From his +continual remarks on the beauty of scenery, and from his evident delight in +rural sounds and objects, he appears to have been extremely open to those +happy influences, exercised over some spirits, by the graces and wonders +of nature. He gives utterance to these feelings with characteristic +enthusiasm, and at the same time with the artlessness and simplicity of +diction of a child. When speaking of some lovely scene among the groves, or +along the flowery shores of these favored islands, he says, "One could +live there forever." Cuba broke upon him like an elysium. "It is the most +beautiful island," he says, "that ever eyes beheld, full of excellent ports +and profound rivers." A little discount must be made on such a statement. +Granting all that is to be said of Cuba's scenic charms, some allowance is +to be made for two influences. One is Don Cristobal's exuberance, and the +other is the fact that when one has been knocking about, as he had been, +for nearly three months on the open sea and among low-lying and sandy +islands and keys, any land, verdure clad and hilly, is a picture of +Paradise. Many people need only two or three days at sea to reach a similar +conclusion. In his letter to Luis de Santangel, Columbus says: "All these +countries are of surpassing excellence, and in particular Juana (Cuba,), +which contains abundance of fine harbors, excelling any in Christendom, as +also many large and beautiful rivers. The land is high, and exhibits chains +of tall mountains which seem to reach to the skies and surpass beyond +comparison the isle of Cetrefrey (Sicily). These display themselves in all +manner of beautiful shapes. They are accessible in every part, and covered +with a vast variety of lofty trees which it appears to me never lose their +foliage. Some were covered with blossoms, some with fruit, and others in +different stages according to their nature. There are palm trees of six or +eight sorts. Beautiful forests of pines are likewise found, and fields of +vast extent. Here are also honey and fruits of thousand sorts, and birds of +every variety." + +Having landed at this indefinitely located point, Columbus, believing that +he had reached the region he was seeking, despatched messengers to the +interior to open communication with some high official of Cathay, in which +country he supposed himself to be, the idea of Cipango apparently having +been abandoned. "Many at the present day," says Washington Irving, "will +smile at this embassy to a naked savage chieftain in the interior of Cuba, +in mistake for an Asiatic monarch; but such was the singular nature of this +voyage, a continual series of golden dreams, and all interpreted by the +deluding volume of Marco Polo." But the messengers went on their journey, +and proceeded inland some thirty or forty miles. There they came upon a +village of about fifty huts and a population of about a thousand. They were +able to communicate only by signs, and it is quite certain that the replies +of the natives were as little understood by the messengers as the questions +were by the natives. The messengers sought something about which the +natives knew little or nothing. The communications were interpreted through +the medium of imagination and desire. Nothing accomplished, the commission +returned and made its disappointing report. Washington Irving thus +describes the further proceedings: "The report of the envoys put an end to +the many splendid fancies of Columbus, about the barbaric prince and his +capital. He was cruising, however, in a region of enchantment, in which +pleasing chimeras started up at every step, exercising by turns a power +over his imagination. During the absence of the emissaries, the Indians +had informed him, by signs, of a place to the eastward, where the people +collected gold along the river banks by torchlight and afterward wrought it +into bars with hammers. In speaking of this place they again used the words +Babeque and Bohio, which he, as usual, supposed to be the proper names of +islands or countries. His great object was to arrive at some opulent and +civilized country of the East, with which he might establish commercial +relations, and whence he might carry home a quantity of oriental +merchandise as a rich trophy of his discovery. The season was advancing; +the cool nights gave hints of approaching winter; he resolved, therefore, +not to proceed farther to the north, nor to linger about uncivilized places +which, at present, he had not the means of colonizing, but to return to the +east-south-east, in quest of Babeque, which he trusted might prove some +rich and civilized island on the coast of Asia." And so he sailed away for +Hispaniola (Santo Domingo) which appears to have become, a little later, +his favorite West Indian resort. + +[Illustration: THE MORRO _Havana_] + +He began his eastward journey on November 12th. As he did not reach Cape +Maisi, the eastern point of the island, until December 5th, he must have +made frequent stops to examine the shore. Referring to one of the ports +that he entered he wrote to the Spanish Sovereigns thus: "The amenity of +this river, and the clearness of the water, through which the sand at the +bottom may be seen; the multitude of palm trees of various forms, the +highest and most beautiful that I have met with, and an infinity of other +great and green trees; the birds in rich plumage and the verdure of the +fields, render this country of such marvellous beauty that it surpasses all +others in charms and graces, as the day doth the night in lustre. For which +reason I often say to my people that, much as I endeavor to give a complete +account of it to your majesties, my tongue cannot express the whole truth, +nor my pen describe it; and I have been so overwhelmed at the sight of so +much beauty that I have not known how to relate it." + +Columbus made no settlement in Cuba; his part extends only to the +discovery. On his second expedition, in the spring of 1494, he visited and +explored the south coast as far west as the Isle of Pines, to which he gave +the name _La Evangelista_. He touched the south coast again on his fourth +voyage, in 1503. On his way eastward from his voyage of discovery on the +coast of Central America, he missed his direct course to Hispaniola, and +came upon the Cuban shore near Cape Cruz. He was detained there for some +days by heavy weather and adverse winds, and sailed thence to his unhappy +experience in Jamaica. The work of colonizing remained for others. Columbus +died in the belief that he had discovered a part of the continent of Asia. +That Cuba was only an island was determined by Sebastian de Ocampo who +sailed around it in 1508. Baron Humboldt, who visited Cuba in 1801 and +again in 1825, and wrote learnedly about it, states that "the first +settlement of the whites occurred in 1511, when Velasquez, under orders +from Don Diego Columbus, landed at Puerto de las Palmas, near Cape Maisi, +and subjugated the Cacique Hatuey who had fled from Haiti to the eastern +end of Cuba, where he became the chief of a confederation of several +smaller native princes." This was, in fact, a military expedition composed +of three hundred soldiers, with four vessels. + +Hatuey deserves attention. His name is not infrequently seen in Cuba today, +but it is probable that few visitors know whether it refers to a man, a +bird, or a vegetable. He was the first Cuban hero of whom we have record, +although the entire reliability of the record is somewhat doubtful. The +notable historian of this period is Bartolome Las Casas, Bishop of Chiapa. +He appears to have been a man of great worth, a very tender heart, and an +imagination fully as vivid as that of Columbus. His sympathies were aroused +by the tales of the exceeding brutality of many of the early Spanish +voyagers in their relations with the natives. He went out to see for +himself, and wrote voluminously of his experiences. He also wrote with +exceeding frankness, and often with great indignation. He writes about +Hatuey. The inference is that this Cacique, or chieftain, fled from Haiti +to escape Spanish brutality, and even in fear of his life. There are other +translations of Las Casas, but for this purpose choice has been made of one +published in London about the year 1699. It is given thus: + +"There happened divers things in this island (Cuba) that deserve to be +remarked. A rich and potent Cacique named Hatuey was retired into the Isle +of Cuba to avoid that Slavery and Death with which the Spaniards menaced +him; and being informed that his persecutors were upon the point of landing +in this Island, he assembled all his Subjects and Domestics together, and +made a Speech unto them after this manner. "You know, (said he) the Report +is spread abroad that the Spaniards are ready to invade this Island, and +you are not ignorant of the ill usage our Friends and Countrymen have met +with at their hands, and the cruelties they have committed at Haiti (so +Hispaniola is called in their Language). They are now coming hither with +a design to exercise the same Outrages and Persecutions upon us. Are +you ignorant (says he) of the ill Intentions of the People of whom I am +speaking? We know not (say they all with one voice) upon what account they +come hither, but we know they are a very wicked and cruel People. I'll tell +you then (replied the Cacique) that these Europeans worship a very covetous +sort of God, so that it is difficult to satisfy him; to perform the Worship +they render to this Idol, they will exact immense Treasures of us, and will +use their utmost endeavors to reduce us to a miserable state of Slavery, +or else put us to death." The historian leaves to the imagination and +credulity of his readers the task of determining just where and how he got +the full details of this speech and of the subsequent proceedings. The +report of the latter may well be generally correct inasmuch as there were +Spanish witnesses present, but the account of this oration, delivered prior +to the arrival of the Spanish invaders, is clearly open to a suspicion that +it may be more or less imaginary. But the historian continues: "Upon this +he took a Box full of Gold and valuable Jewels which he had with him, and +exposing it to their view: Here is (said he) the God of the Spaniards, whom +we must honor with our Sports and Dances, to see if we can appease him and +render him propitious to us; that so he may command the Spaniards not to +offer us any injury. They all applauded this Speech, and fell a leaping and +dancing around the Box, till they had quite tired and spent themselves. +After which the Cacique Hatuey resuming his Discourse, continued to speak +to them in these terms: If we keep this God (says he) till he's taken away +from us, he'll certainly cause our lives to be taken away from us; and +therefore I am of opinion it will be the best way to cast him into the +river. They all approved of this Advice, and went all together with one +accord to throw this pretended God into the River." + +But the Spaniards came and encountered the resistance of Hatuey and his +followers. The invaders were victorious, and Hatuey was captured and burned +alive. Las Casas relates that while the poor wretch was in the midst of the +flames, tied to a stake, "a certain Franciscan Friar of great Piety and +Virtue, took upon him to speak to him of God and our Religion, and to +explain to him some Articles of Catholic Faith, of which he had never +heard a word before, promising him Eternal Life if he would believe and +threatening him with Eternal Torment if he continued obstinate in his +Infidelity. Hatuey reflecting on the matter, as much as the Place and +Condition in which he was would permit, asked the Friar that instructed +him, whether the Gate of Heaven was open to Spaniards; and being answered +that such of them as were good men might hope for entrance there: the +Cacique, without any farther deliberation, told him that he had no mind to +go to heaven for fear of meeting with such cruel and wicked Company as +they were; but he would much rather choose to go to Hell where he might be +delivered from the troublesome sight of such kind of People." And so died +the Cacique Hatuey. Four hundred years later, the Cuban Government named a +gunboat _Hatuey_, in his honor. + +The Velasquez expedition, in the following year, founded Baracoa, now a +small city on the northern coast near the eastern extremity of the island. +It is a spot of exceeding scenic charm. It was established as the capital +city, but it held that honor for a few years only. In 1514 and 1515, +settlements were established at what is now Santiago, at Sancti Spiritus, +Trinidad, and Batabano. The latter was originally called San Cristobal de +la Habana, the name being transferred to the present city, on the north +coast, in 1519. It displaced the name Puerto de Carenas given to the +present Havana by Ocampo, who careened his vessels there in 1508. Baracoa +was made the seat of a bishopric, and a cathedral was begun, in 1518. In +1522, both the capital and the bishopric were transferred to Santiago, a +location more readily accessible from the new settlements on the south +coast, and also from Jamaica which was then included in the diocese. +Cuba, at about this period, was the point of departure for an important +expedition. In 1517, de Cordoba, with three vessels and 110 soldiers, +was sent on an expedition to the west for further and more northerly +exploration of the land discovered by Columbus in 1503. The coast from +Panama to Honduras had been occupied. The object of this expedition was to +learn what lay to the northward. The result was the discovery of Yucatan. +Cordoba returned to die of wounds received in a battle. A second and +stronger expedition was immediately despatched. This rounded the peninsula +and followed the coast as far as the present city of Vera Cruz. In 1518, +Hernan Cortez was _alcalde_, or mayor, of Santiago de Cuba. On November 18, +of that year, he sailed from that port in command of an expedition for +the conquest of Mexico, finally effected in 1521, after one of the most +romantic campaigns in the history of warfare. All that, however, is a story +in which Cuba has no place except that of the starting point and base of +the expedition. There is another story of the same kind, a few years later. +The first discovery of Florida is somewhat uncertain. It appears on an old +Spanish map dated 1502. Following the expedition of Ponce de Leon, in 1513, +and of Murielo, in 1516, Narvaez headed an expedition from Cuba in 1528 +with some three hundred freebooters. They landed in Florida, where almost +the entire band was, very properly, destroyed by the Indians. In 1539, de +Soto sailed from Havana, with five hundred and seventy men and two hundred +and twenty-three horses, for an extended exploration. They wandered for +three years throughout what is now the southern part of the United States +from Georgia and South Carolina westward to Arkansas and Missouri. After a +series of almost incredible experiences, de Soto died in 1542, on the banks +of the Mississippi River at a point probably not far from the Red River. +These and other expeditions, from Cuba and from Mexico, to what is now +territory of the United States, produced no permanent results. No gold was +found. + +Of the inhabitants of Cuba, as found by the Spaniards, comparatively little +is recorded. They seem to have been a somewhat negative people, generally +described as docile, gentle, generous, and indolent. Their garments were +quite limited, and their customs altogether primitive. They disappear +from Cuba's story in its earliest chapters. Very little is known of their +numbers. Some historians state that, in the days of Columbus, the island +had a million inhabitants, but this is obviously little if anything more +than a rough guess. Humboldt makes the following comment: "No means now +exist to arrive at a knowledge of the population of Cuba in the time of +Columbus; but how can we admit what some otherwise judicious historians +state, that when the island of Cuba was conquered in 1511, it contained a +million inhabitants of whom only 14,000 remained in 1517. The statistical +information which we find in the writings of Las Casas is filled with +contradictions." Forty years or so later the Dominican friar, Luis Bertram, +on his return to Spain, predicted that "the 200,000 Indians now in the +island of Cuba, will perish, victims to the cruelty of the Europeans." Yet +Gomara stated that there was not an Indian in Cuba after 1553. Whatever the +exact truth regarding numbers, it is evident that they disappeared rapidly, +worked to death by severe task-masters. The institution of African slavery, +to take the place of the inefficient and fast disappearing native labor, +had its beginning in 1521. Baron Humboldt states that from that time until +1790, the total number of African negroes imported as slaves was 90,875. +In the next thirty years, the business increased rapidly, and Humboldt +estimates the total arrivals, openly entered and smuggled in, from 1521 to +1820, as 372,449. Mr. J.S. Thrasher, in a translation of Humboldt's work, +issued in 1856, added a footnote showing the arrivals up to 1854 as +644,000. A British official authority, at the same period, gives the total +as a little less than 500,000. The exact number is not important. The +institution on a large scale, in its relation to the total number of +whites, was a fact. + +It is, of course, quite impossible even today to argue the question of +slavery. To many, the offence lies in the mere fact; to others, it lies in +the operation of the system. At all events, the institution is no longer +tolerated in any civilized country. While some to whom the system itself +was a bitter offence have found much to criticize in its operation in Cuba, +the general opinion of observers appears to be that it was there notably +free from the brutality usually supposed to attend it. The Census Report of +1899, prepared under the auspices of the American authorities, states that +"while it was fraught with all the horrors of this nefarious business +elsewhere, the laws for the protection of slaves were unusually humane. +Almost from the beginning, slaves had a right to purchase their freedom or +change their masters, and long before slavery was abolished they could own +property and contract marriage. As a result, the proportion of free colored +to slaves has always been large." Humboldt, who studied the institution +while it was most extensive, states that "the position of the free negroes +in Cuba is much better than it is elsewhere, even among those nations which +have for ages flattered themselves as being most advanced in civilization." +The movement for the abolition of slavery had its beginning in 1815, with +the treaty of Vienna, to which Spain was a party. Various acts in the same +direction appear in the next fifty years. The Moret law, enacted in 1870 by +the Spanish Cortes, provided for gradual abolition in Spain's dominions, +and a law of 1880, one of the results of the Ten Years' War, definitely +abolished the system. Traces of it remained, however, until about 1887, +when it may be regarded as having become extinct forever in Cuba. + +For the first two hundred and fifty years of Cuba's history, the city of +Havana appears as the special centre of interest. There was growth in other +sections, but it was slow, for reasons that will be explained elsewhere. +In 1538, Havana was attacked and totally destroyed by a French privateer. +Hernando de Soto, then Governor of the island, at once began the +construction of defences that are now one of the special points of interest +in the city. The first was the Castillo de la Fuerza. In 1552, Havana +became the capital city. In 1555, it was again attacked, and practically +destroyed, including the new fortress, by French buccaneers. Restoration +was effected as rapidly as possible. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged, and +the construction of the Morro and of La Punta, the fortress at the foot of +the Prado, was begun. The old city wall, of which portions still remain, +was of a later period. Despite these precautions, the city was repeatedly +attacked by pirates and privateers. Some reference to these experiences +will be made in a special chapter on the city. The slow progress of the +island is shown by the fact that an accepted official report gives the +total population in 1775 as 171,620, of whom less than 100,000 were white. +The absence of precious metals is doubtless the main reason for the lack of +Spanish interest in the development of the country. For a long time after +the occupation, the principal industry was cattle raising. Agriculture, the +production of sugar, tobacco, coffee, and other crops, on anything properly +to be regarded as a commercial scale, was an experience of later years. The +reason for this will be found in the mistaken colonial policy of Spain, a +policy the application of which, in a far milder manner, cost England its +richest colony in the Western Hemisphere, and which, in the first quarter +of the 19th Century, cost Spain all of its possessions in this half of the +world, with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico. + + + + +II + +_NEW CUBA_ + + +While there is no point in Cuba's history that may be said to mark a +definite division between the Old Cuba and the New Cuba, the beginning of +the 19th Century may be taken for that purpose. Cuba's development dragged +for two hundred and fifty years. The population increased slowly and +industry lagged. For this, Spain's colonial policy was responsible. But it +was the policy of the time, carried out more or less effectively by all +nations having colonies. England wrote it particularly into her Navigation +Acts of 1651, 1660, and 1663, and supported it by later Acts. While not +rigorously enforced, and frequently evaded by the American colonists, the +system at last proved so offensive that the colonists revolted in 1775. +Most of Spain's colonies in the Western Hemisphere, for the same reason, +declared and maintained their independence in the first quarter of the +19th Century. At the bottom of Cuba's several little uprisings, and at the +bottom of its final revolt in 1895, lay the same cause of offence. In those +earlier years, it was held that colonies existed solely for the benefit +of the mother-country. In 1497, almost at the very beginning of Spain's +colonial enterprises in the New World, a royal decree was issued under +which the exclusive privilege to carry on trade with the colonies was +granted to the port of Seville. This monopoly was transferred to the port +of Cadiz in 1717, but it continued, in somewhat modified form in later +years, until Spain had no colonies left. + +While Santiago was the capital of the island, from 1522 to 1552, trade +between Spain and the island could be carried on only through that port. +When Havana became the capital, in 1552, the exclusive privilege of trade +was transferred to that city. With the exception of the years 1762 and +1763, when the British occupied Havana and declared it open to all trade, +the commerce of the island could only be done through Havana with Seville, +until 1717, and afterward with Cadiz. Baracoa, or Santiago, or Trinidad, +or any other Cuban city, could not send goods to Santander, or Malaga, or +Barcelona, or any other Spanish market, or receive goods directly from +them. The law prohibited trade between Cuba and all other countries, and +limited all trade between the island and the mother-country to the port of +Havana, at one end, and to Seville or Cadiz, according to the time of the +control of those ports, at the other end. Even intercolonial commerce was +prohibited. At times, and for brief periods, the system was modified to +the extent of special trade licences, and, occasionally, by international +treaties. But the general system of trade restriction was maintained +throughout all of Spain's colonial experience. Between 1778 and 1803, most +of Cuba's ports were opened to trade with Spain. The European wars of the +early years of the 19th Century led to modification of the trade laws, but +in 1809 foreign commerce with Spanish American ports was again prohibited. +A few years later, Spain had lost nearly all its American colonies. A new +plan was adopted in 1818. Under that, Spain sought to hold the trade of +Cuba and Porto Rico by tariffs so highly favorable to merchandise from +the mother-country as to be effectively prohibitive with regard to many +products from other countries. This, in general outline, is the cause of +Cuba's slow progress until the 19th Century, and the explanation of its +failure to make more rapid progress during that century. + +Naturally, under such conditions, bribery of officials and smuggling became +active and lucrative enterprises. It may be said, in strict confidence +between writer and reader, that Americans were frequently the parties of +the other part in these transactions. In search through a considerable +number of American histories, I have been unable to find definite +references to trade with Cuba, yet there seems to be abundant reason for +belief that such trade was carried on. There are many references to trade +with the West Indies as far back as 1640 and even a year or two earlier, +but allusions to trade with Cuba do not appear, doubtless for the reason +that it was contraband, a violation of both Spanish and British laws. There +was evidently some relaxation toward the close of the 18th Century. +There are no records of the commerce of the American colonies, and only +fragmentary records between 1776 and 1789. The more elaborate records of +1789 and following years show shipments of fish, whale oil, spermaceti +candles, lumber, staves and heading, and other articles to the "Spanish +West Indies," in which group Cuba was presumably included. The records of +the time are somewhat unreliable. It was a custom for the small vessels +engaged in that trade to take out clearance papers for the West Indies. The +cargo might be distributed in a number of ports, and the return cargo might +be similarly collected. For the year 1795, the records of the United States +show total imports from the Spanish West Indies as valued at $1,740,000, +and exports to that area as valued at $1,390,000. In 1800, the imports were +$10,588,000, and the exports $8,270,000. Just how much of this was trade +with Cuba, does not appear. Because of the trade increase at that time, +and because of other events that, soon afterward, brought Cuba into more +prominent notice, this period has been chosen as the line of division +between the Old and the New Cuba. + +Compared with the wonderful fertility of Cuba, New England is a sterile +area. Yet in 1790, a hundred and seventy years after its settlement, the +latter had a population a little exceeding a million, while the former, in +1792, or two hundred and eighty years after its occupation, is officially +credited with a population of 272,300. Of these, 153,559 were white and +118,741 were colored. Several forces came into operation at this time, and +population increased rapidly, to 572,363 in 1817, and to 704,465 in 1827. +In 1841, it was a little more than a million. But the increase in colored +population, by the importation of African slaves, outstripped the increase +by the whites. In 1841, the population was divided into 418,291 whites and +589,333 colored. The importation of slaves having declined, the year 1861 +shows a white preponderance, since continued and substantially increased. +Among the forces contributing to Cuba's rapid growth during this period +were a somewhat greater freedom of trade; the revolution in the neighboring +island of Haiti and Santo Domingo, that had its beginning in 1791 and +culminated, some ten years later, in the rule of Toussaint L'Ouverture; and +an increased demand for sugar. One result of the Haitian disorder was the +arrival, in eastern Cuba, of a large number of exiles and emigrants who +established extensive coffee plantations. During the first hundred and +fifty years of Cuba's history, the principal industry of the island was +cattle raising, aside from the domestic industry of food supply. The +proprietors lived, usually, in the cities and maintained their vast estates +in the neighborhood. To this, later on, were added the production of +honey and wax and the cultivation of tobacco. With the period now under +consideration, there came the expansion of the coffee and sugar industries. +The older activities do not appear to have been appreciably lessened; the +others were added on. + +Europe and the Western Hemisphere were at that time in a state of general +upheaval and rearrangement. Following the American Revolution, there came +the French Revolution; the Napoleonic Wars; the war of 1812 between the +United States and England; and the general revolt of the Spanish colonies. +The world was learning new lessons, adopting new policies, in which the +Spanish colonial system was a blunder the folly of which Spain did not +even then fully realize. Yet from it all, by one means and another, Cuba +benefited. Spain was fortunate in its selection of Governors-General sent +out at this time. Luis de Las Casas, who arrived in 1790, is credited with +much useful work. He improved roads and built bridges; established schools +and the _Casa de Beneficencia_, still among the leading institutions in +Havana; paved the streets of Havana; improved as far as he could the +commercial conditions; and established the _Sociedad Patriotica_, sometimes +called the _Sociedad Economica_, an organization that has since contributed +immeasurably to Cuba's welfare and progress. He was followed by others +whose rule was creditable. But the principal evils, restricted commerce +and burdensome taxation, were not removed, although world conditions +practically compelled some modification of the commercial regulations. In +1801 the ports of the island were thrown open to the trade of friendly and +neutral nations. Eight years later, foreign commerce was again prohibited. +In 1818, a new system was established, that of a tariff so highly favorable +to merchandise from Spain that it was by no means unusual for goods to +be shipped to that country, even from the United States, and from there +reshipped to Cuba. Changes in the rates were made from time to time, but +the system of heavy discrimination in favor of Spanish goods in Spanish +ships continued until the equalization of conditions under the order of the +Government of Intervention, in 1899. + +In his book published in 1840, Mr. Turnbull states that "the mercantile +interests of the island have been greatly promoted by the relaxation of +those restrictive regulations which under the old peninsular system bound +down all foreign commerce with the colonies of Spain, and laid it prostrate +at the feet of the mother-country. It cannot be said that the sound +principles of free trade, in any large or extended sense of the term, +have been recognized or acted upon even at the single port of Havana. The +discriminating duties imposed by the supreme government of Madrid on the +natural productions, manufactures, and shipping of foreign countries, in +contradistinction to those of Spain, are so stringent and so onerous as +altogether to exclude the idea of anything approaching to commercial +freedom. There is no longer, it is true, any absolute prohibition, but in +many cases the distinguishing duties are so heavy as to defeat their own +object, and, in place of promoting the interests of the mother-country, +have had little other effect than the establishment of an extensive and +ruinous contraband." Under such conditions as those existing in Cuba, +from its beginning practically until the establishment of its political +independence, industrial development and commercial expansion are more than +difficult. + +One of the natural results of such a system appeared in the activities of +smugglers. The extent to which that industry was carried on cannot, of +course, be even guessed. Some have estimated that the merchandise imported +in violation of the laws equalled in value the merchandise entered at +the custom houses. An official publication (American) states that "from +smuggling on a large scale and privateering to buccaneering and piracy is +not a long step, and under the name of privateers French, Dutch, English, +and American smugglers and buccaneers swarmed the Caribbean Sea and the +Gulf of Mexico for more than two centuries, plundering Spanish _flotas_ +and attacking colonial settlements. Among the latter, Cuba was the chief +sufferer." Had Cuba's coasts been made to order for the purpose, they could +hardly have been better adapted to the uses of smugglers. Off shore, for +more than half its coast line, both north and south, are small islands +and keys with narrow and shallow passages between them, thus making an +excellent dodging area for small boats if pursued by revenue vessels. +Thoroughly familiar with these entrances and hiding places, smugglers could +land their goods almost at will with little danger of detection or capture. + +Another heavy handicap on the economic progress of the island appears in +the system of taxation. Regarding this system, the Census of 1899 reports +as follows: + +"Apart from imports and exports, taxes were levied on real and personal +property and on industries and commerce of all kinds. Every profession, +art, or manual occupation contributed its quota, while, as far back as +1638, seal and stamp taxes were established on all judicial business and +on all kinds of petitions and claims made to official corporations, and +subsequently on all bills and accounts. These taxes were in the form of +stamps on official paper and at the date of American occupation the paper +cost from 35 cents to $3 a sheet. On deeds, wills, and other similar +documents the paper cost from 35 cents to $37.50 per sheet, according to +the value of the property concerned. Failure to use even the lowest-priced +paper involved a fine of $50. + +"There was also a municipal tax on the slaughter of cattle for the market. +This privilege was sold by the municipal council to the highest bidder, +with the result that taxes were assessed on all animals slaughtered, +whether for the market or for private consumption, with a corresponding +increase in the price of meat. + +"Another tax established in 1528, called the _derecho_ _de averia_, +required the payment of 20 ducats ($16) by every person, bond or free, +arriving in the island. In 1665 this tax was increased to $22, and +continued in force to 1765, thus retarding immigration, and, to that +extent, the increase of population, especially of the laboring class. + +"An examination of these taxes will show their excessive, arbitrary, and +unscientific character, and how they operated to discourage Cubans from +owning property or engaging in many industrial pursuits tending to benefit +them and to promote the material improvement of the island. + +"Taxes on real estate were estimated by the tax inspector on the basis +of its rental or productive capacity, and varied from 4 to 12 per cent. +Similarly, a nominal municipal tax of 25 per cent was levied on the +estimated profits of all industries and commerce, and on the income derived +from all professions, manual occupations, or agencies, the collector +receiving 6 per cent of all taxes assessed. Much unjust discrimination was +made against Cubans in determining assessable values and in collecting the +taxes, and it is said that bribery in some form was the only effective +defense against the most flagrant impositions." + +Some of the experiences of this period will be considered in special +chapters on Cuba's alleged revolutions and on the relations of the United +States to Cuba and its affairs. One point may be noted here. The wave of +republicanism that swept over a considerable part of Europe and over the +Western Hemisphere, from 1775 to 1825 had its direct influence in Spain, +and an influence only less direct in Cuba. In 1812, Spain became a +constitutional monarchy. It is true that the institution had only a +brief life, but the sentiment that lay beneath it persisted and had been +repeatedly a cause of disturbance on the Peninsula. Something of the +same sentiment pervaded Cuba and excited ambitions, not for national +independence, but for some participation in government. A royal decree, in +1810, gave Cuba representation in the Cortes, and two deputies from the +island took part in framing the Constitution of 1812. This recognition of +Cuba lasted for only two years, the Constitution being abrogated in 1814, +but it was restored in 1820, only to cease again three years later. +Representatives were again admitted to the Cortes in 1834, and again +excluded in 1837. The effect of all this was, perhaps, psychological rather +than practical, but it gave rise to a new mental attitude and to some +change in conduct. The effect appears in the numerous recurrences of open +protest and passive resistance in the place of the earlier submission. +Writing in 1855, Mr. J.S. Thrasher stated that "the essential political +elements of the island are antagonistic to those of the mother-country. +While the Cortes and the crown have frequently declared that Cuba does not +form an integral part of the Spanish monarchy, but must be governed by +special laws not applicable to Spain, and persist in ruling her under the +erroneous and unjust European colonial system, the growing wealth and +increasing intelligence of the Cubans lead them to aspire to some share in +the elimination of the political principles under which their own affairs +shall be administered. A like antagonism exists in the economic relations +of the two countries. While the people of Cuba are not averse to the +raising of such revenue as may be required for the proper wants of the +State, in the administration of which they may participate, they complain, +with a feeling of national pride, that fiscal burdens of the most onerous +kind are laid upon them for the expressed purpose of advancing interests +which are in every sense opposed to their own. Thus, Spain imposes taxes to +support a large army and navy, the principal object of which is to prevent +any expression of the public will on the part of the people of Cuba. +Another class of impositions have for their object the diversion of +the trade of Cuba to channels which shall increase the profits of the +agriculturists and mariners of Spain without regard to the interests of the +people of the island." + +[Illustration: A PLANTER'S HOME _Havana Province_] + +Yet in spite of these severe restrictions and heavy burdens, Cuba shows a +considerable progress during the first half of the century. It is far from +easy to reach fair conclusions from contemporaneous writings. Naturally, +Spanish officials and Spanish writers strove to make the best possible case +for Spain, its policies and its conduct. The press of the island was either +under official control or stood in fear of official reprisals. The Cuban +side, naturally partisan, appears to have been presented chiefly by +fugitive pamphlets, more or less surreptitiously printed and distributed, +usually the product of political extremists. Among these was a man of +marked ability and of rare skill in the use of language. He was Don Antonio +Saco, known in Cuba as the "Immortal Saco." In a letter written to a +friend, in 1846, he says, "The tyranny of our mother-country, today most +acute, will have this result--that within a period of time not very remote +the Cubans will be compelled to take up arms to banish her." That British +observers and most American observers should take the side of the Cubans is +altogether natural. Writing in 1854, Mr. M.M. Ballou, in his _History of +Cuba_, says: "The Cubans owe all the blessings they enjoy to Providence +alone (so to speak), while the evils which they suffer are directly +referable to the oppression of the home government. Nothing short of a +military despotism could maintain the connection of such an island with a +mother-country more than three thousand miles distant; and accordingly we +find the captain-general of Cuba invested with unlimited power. He is, in +fact, a viceroy appointed by the crown of Spain, and accountable only to +the reigning sovereign for his administration of the colony. His rule is +absolute; he has the power of life and death and liberty in his hands. He +can, by his arbitrary will, send into exile any person whatever, be his +name or rank what it may, whose residence in the island he considers +prejudicial to the royal interest, even if he has committed no overt act. +He can suspend the operation of the laws and ordinances, if he sees fit to +do so; can destroy or confiscate property; and, in short, the island may be +said to be perpetually in a state of siege." + +The student or the reader may take his choice. On one side are Spanish +statements, official and semi-official, and on the other side, Cuban +statements no less partisan. The facts appear to support the Cuban +argument. In spite of the severe restrictions and the heavy burdens, Cuba +shows a notable progress during the 19th Century. Governors came and went, +some very good and others very bad. There were a hundred of them from 1512 +to 1866, and thirty-six more from 1866 to 1899, the average term of service +for the entire number being a little less than three years. On the whole, +the most notable of the group of 19th Century incumbents was Don Miguel +Tacon, who ruled from June 1, 1834, until April 16, 1838. His record would +seem to place him quite decidedly in the "reactionary" class, but he was a +man of action who left behind him monuments that remain to his credit even +now. One historian, Mr. Kimball, who wrote in 1850, describes him as one +in whom short-sightedness, narrow views, and jealous and weak mind, were +joined to an uncommon stubbornness of character. Another, Mr. M.M. Ballou, +says that "probably of all the governors-general that have filled the post +in Cuba none is better known abroad, or has left more monuments to his +enterprise, than Tacon. His reputation at Havana (this was written 1854) is +of a somewhat doubtful character; for, though he followed out with energy +various improvements, yet his modes of procedure were so violent that he +was an object of terror to the people generally, rather than of gratitude. +He vastly improved the appearance of the capital and its vicinity, built +the new prison, rebuilt the governor's palace, constructed a military road +to the neighboring forts, erected a spacious theatre and market house, +arranged a new public walk, and opened a vast parade ground without the +city walls, thus laying the foundation of the new city which has now sprung +up in this formerly desolate suburb. He suppressed the gaming houses and +rendered the streets, formerly infested with robbers, as secure as those of +Boston or New York." Another writer, Mr. Samuel Hazard, in 1870, says: "Of +all the governors who have been in command of the island Governor Tacon +seems to have been the best, doing the most to improve the island, and +particularly Havana; making laws, punishing offences, and establishing some +degree of safety for its inhabitants. It is reported of him that he is +said, like the great King Alfred, to have promised the Cubans that they +should be able to leave their purses of money on the public highway without +fear of having them stolen. At all events, his name is cherished by every +Cuban for the good he has done, and _paseos_, theatres, and monuments bear +his great name in Havana." The Tacon theatre is now the Nacional, and the +Paseo Tacon is now Carlos III. The "new prison" is the _Carcel_, or jail, +at the northern end of the Prado, near the fortress of La Punta. Don Miguel +may have been disliked for his methods and his manners, but he certainly +did much to make his rule memorable. + +There is no reliable information that shows the progress of the island +during the 19th Century. Even the census figures are questioned. A reported +432,000 total population in 1804 is evidently no more than an estimate, yet +it is very likely not far from the actual. Concerning their distribution +throughout the island, and the number engaged in different occupations, +there are no records. There are no acceptable figures regarding the +respective numbers of whites and blacks. Nor is there any record of the +population in 1895, the year of the war for independence. From the definite +tabulation, under American auspices, in 1899, showing 1,576,797, it has +been estimated that the number in 1895, was a little less than 1,800,000, +the difference being represented by the disasters of the war, by the result +of reconcentration, and by departures during the disturbance. The general +result seems to be that the population was practically quadrupled. A +somewhat rough approximation would show the blacks as multiplied by three, +to an 1899 total of 505,000, with the whites multiplied by four, to a total +of 1,067,000. Nor are there figures of trade that afford any proper clue +to the growth of industry and commerce. There are records of imports +and exports from about 1850 onward, but before that time the matter of +contraband trade introduces an element of uncertainty. An American official +pamphlet on Cuban trade carries the statement, "the ascertainment of full +and exact details of the commerce of Cuba prior to the close of Spanish +dominion in the island is an impossibility. The Spanish authorities, as +a rule, published no complete returns of Cuban trade, either foreign or +domestic. Except with regard to Spain and the United States, most of the +existing commercial statistics of Cuba, prior to 1899, are fragmentary +and merely approximative. Spain and the United States have always kept a +separate and distinct trade account with Cuba; but the United Kingdom, +France, Germany, and other European countries excepting Spain, formerly +merged their statistics of trade with Cuba in one general item embracing +Cuba and Porto Rico, under the heading of "Spanish West Indies." Since +1899, however, all the Powers have kept separate accounts with Cuba, +and the statistics of the Cuban Republic have been reasonably full and +accurate." + +[Illustration: IRON GRILLE GATEWAY _El Vedado, Suburb of Havana_] + +Cuba's recorded imports in 1894 show a total value of $90,800,000, and +exports show a value of $102,000,000. Writing about the year 1825, Humboldt +says: "It is more than probable that the imports of the whole island, licit +and contraband, estimated at the actual value of the goods and the slaves, +amount, at the present time, to fifteen or sixteen millions of dollars, of +which barely three or four millions are re-exported." The same authority +gives the probable exports of that time as about $12,500,000. The trade at +the beginning of the century must have been far below this. The official +figures for 1851 show total imports amounting to $34,000,000, and exports +to $33,000,000, but the accuracy of the figures is open to question. The +more important fact is that of a very large gain in population and in +production. The coffee industry, that assumed important proportions during +a part of the first half of the century, gradually declined for the reason +that sugar became a much more profitable crop. Now, Cuba imports most of +its coffee from Porto Rico. Because of its convenience as a contraband +article, there are no reliable figures of the tobacco output. Prior to +1817, the commodity was, for much of the time, a crown monopoly and, for +the remainder of the time, a monopoly concession to private companies. In +that year, cultivation and trade became free, subject to a tax on each +planter of one-twentieth of his production. + +As we shall see, in another chapter, Cuba at last wearied of Spanish +exactions and revolted as did the United States, weary of British rule and +British exactions and restrictions, more than a hundred years earlier. + + + + +III + +_THE COUNTRY_ + + +Description of the physical features of a country seldom makes highly +entertaining reading, but it seems a necessary part of a book of this kind. +Some readers may find interest if not entertainment in such a review. The +total area of the island, including a thousand or more adjacent islands, +islets, and keys, is given as 44,164 square miles, a little less than the +area of Pennsylvania and a little more than that of Ohio or Tennessee. +Illustration of its shape by some familiar object is difficult, although +various comparisons have been attempted. Some old Spanish geographers gave +the island the name of _La Lengua de Pajaro_, "the bird's tongue." Mr. M.M. +Ballou likened it to "the blade of a Turkish scimitar slightly curved back, +or approaching the form of a long, narrow, crescent." Mr. Robert T. Hill +holds that it "resembles a great hammer-headed shark, the head of which +forms the straight, south coast of the east end of the island, from which +the sinuous body extends westward. This analogy is made still more striking +by two long, finlike strings of keys, or islets, which extend backward +along the opposite coasts, parallel to the main body of the island." But +all such comparisons call for a lively imagination. It might be likened to +the curving handles of a plow attached to a share, or to any one of a dozen +things that it does not at all clearly resemble. Regarding the Oriente +coast, from Cape Cruz to Cape Maisi, as a base, from that springs a long +and comparatively slender arm that runs northwesterly for five hundred +miles to the vicinity of Havana. There, the arm, somewhat narrowed, turns +downward in a generally southwestern direction for about two hundred miles. +The total length of the island, from Cape Maisi on the east to Cape San +Antonio on the west, is about seven hundred and thirty miles. Its width +varies from a maximum, in Oriente Province, of about one hundred and sixty +miles, to a minimum, in Havana Province, of about twenty-two miles. It has +a general coast line of about twenty-two hundred miles, or, following all +its sinuosities, of about seven thousand miles. Its north coast is, for +much of its length, steep and rocky. Throughout the greater part of the +middle provinces, there is a border of coral reefs and small islands. At +the western end, the north coast is low, rising gradually to the eastward. +At the eastern end, the northern coast is abrupt and rugged, rising in a +series of hills to the elevations in the interior. Westward from Cape Maisi +to Cape Cruz, on the south coast, and immediately along the shore line, +runs a mountain range. From here westward, broken by an occasional hill or +bluff, the coast is low and marshy. + +Probably the best description of the topography and the orography of the +island yet presented is that given by Mr. Robert T. Hill, of the United +States Geological Survey. In his book on Cuba and other islands of the West +Indies, Mr. Hill says: + +"As regards diversity of relief, Cuba's eastern end is mountainous, with +summits standing high above the adjacent sea; its middle portion is wide, +consisting of gently sloping plains, well-drained, high above the sea, and +broken 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. Over the +whole is a mantle of tender vegetation, rich in every hue that a flora of +more than three thousand species can give, and kept green by mists and +gentle 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. + +"But, at the outset the reader should dispossess his mind of any +preconceived idea that the island of Cuba is in any sense a physical unit. +On the contrary, it presents a diversity of topographic, climatic, and +cultural features, which, as distributed, divide the island into at least +three distinct natural provinces, for convenience termed the eastern, +central, and western regions. The distinct types of relief include regions +of high mountains, low hills, dissected plateaus, intermontane 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 presents a rugged aspect when viewed from the sea. About one-fourth of +the total area is mountainous, three-fifths are rolling plain, valleys, and +gentle arable slopes, and the remainder is swampy. + +"The island border on the north presents a low cliff topography, with a +horizontal sky-line from Matanzas 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 on both the north and south sides +a series of remarkable terraces, rising in stair-like arrangement to six +hundred feet or more, representing successive pauses or stages in the +elevation of the island above the sea, and constituting most striking +scenic features. About one-half the Cuban coast is bordered by keys, which +are largely old reef rock, the creations of the same coral-builders that +may now be seen through the transparent waters still at work on the modern +shallows, decking the rocks and sands with their graceful and many colored +tufts of animal foliage." + +Mr. Hill summarizes the general appearance of the island, thus: "Santiago +de Cuba (now called Oriente) is predominantly a mountainous region of high +relief, especially along the coasts, with many interior valleys. Puerto +Principe (now Camaguey) and Santa 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 +notable elevations of the island are the Cordilleras de los Organos, or +Organ Mountains, in Pinar del Rio, of which an eastward extension appears +in the Tetas de Managua, the Arcas de Canasi, the Escalera de Jaruco, +the Pan de Matanzas, and other minor elevations in Havana and Matanzas +Provinces. In Santa Clara and Camaguey, the range is represented by crest +lines and plateaus along the north shore, and finally runs into the hill +and mountain maze of Oriente. In the south-central section of the island, a +somewhat isolated group of elevations appears, culminating in El Potrerillo +at a height of nearly 3,000 feet. In Oriente, immediately along the south +coast line, is the precipitous Sierra Maestra, reaching its greatest +altitude in the Pico del Turquino, with an elevation of approximately +8,500 feet. Another elevation, near Santiago, known as La Gran Piedra, is +estimated at 5,200 feet. All these heights are densely wooded. From the +tops of some of them, east, west, and central, the views are marvellously +beautiful, but the summits of most are reached only with considerable +difficulty. One of the most notable of these view points, and one of the +most easily reached, is the height immediately behind the city of Matanzas, +overlooking the famous Yumuri valley. The valley is a broad, shallow bowl, +some five or six miles in diameter, enclosed by steeply sloping walls of +five to six hundred feet in height. Through it winds the Yumuri River. It +is best seen in the early forenoon, or the late afternoon, when there come +the shadows and the lights that are largely killed by the more vertical +rays of a midday sun. At those hours, it is a scene of entrancing +loveliness. There are views, elsewhere, covering wider expanses, but none, +I think, of equal beauty. + +The vicinity of Matanzas affords a spectacle of almost enchantment for the +sight-seer, and of deep interest for the geologist. Somewhat more than +fifty years ago, an accident revealed the beautiful caves of Bellamar, two +or three miles from the city, and easily reached by carriage. Caves ought +to be cool. These are not, but they are well worth all the perspiration it +costs to see them. They are a show place, and guides are always available. +In size, the caverns are not comparable with the caves of Kentucky and +Virginia, but they far excel in beauty. They are about three miles in +extent, and their lower levels are said to be about five hundred feet +from the surface. The rock is white limestone, in which are chambers and +passage-ways, stalactites and stalagmites innumerable. These have their +somewhat fantastic but not unfitting names, such as the Gothic Temple, the +Altar, the Guardian Spirit, the Fountain of Snow, and Columbus' Mantle. +The place has been called "a dream of fairyland," a fairly appropriate +description. The colors are snow-white, pink, and shades of yellow, and +many of the forms are wonderfully beautiful. There are many other caves in +the island, like Cotilla, in the Guines region not far from Havana, others +in the Cubitas Mountains in Camaguey Province, and still others in Oriente, +but in comparison with Bellamar they are little else than holes in the +ground. The trip through these remarkable aisles and chambers occupies some +three or four hours. + +Cuba is not big enough for rivers of size. There are innumerable streams, +for the island generally is well-watered. The only river of real importance +is the Cauto, in Oriente Province. This is the longest and the largest +river in the island. It rises in the hills north of Santiago, and winds a +devious way westward for about a hundred and fifty miles, emptying at last +into the Gulf of Buena Esperanza, north of the city of Manzanillo. It +is navigable for small boats, according to the stage of the water, from +seventy-five to a hundred miles from its mouth. Numerous smaller streams +flow to the coast on both north and south. Some, that are really estuaries, +are called rivers. Very few of them serve any commercial purposes. There +are a few water areas called lakes, but they are really little other than +ponds. On the south coast, directly opposite Matanzas, lies a vast swamp +known as the Cienega de Zapata. It occupies an area of about seventy-five +miles in length and about thirty miles in width, almost a dead flat, and +practically at sea-level. Here and there are open spaces of water or +clusters of trees, but most of it is bog and quagmire and dense mangrove +thickets. Along the coast are numerous harbors, large and small, that are +or, by dredging, could be made available for commercial purposes. Among +these, on the north coast, from west to east, are Bahia Honda, Mariel, +Havana, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Nipe Bay, and Baracoa. On the south, from east +to west, are Guantanamo, Santiago, Manzanillo, Cienfuegos, and Batabano. At +all of these, there are now cities or towns with trade either by steamers +or small sailing vessels. Among the interesting physical curiosities of +the island are the numerous "disappearing rivers." Doubtless the action +of water on limestone has left, in many places, underground chambers and +tunnels into which the streams have found an opening and in which they +disappear, perhaps to emerge again and perhaps to find their way to the sea +without reappearance. This seems to explain numerous fresh-water springs +among the keys and off-shore. The Rio San Antonio quite disappears near San +Antonio de los Banos. Near Guantanamo, a cascade drops three hundred feet +into a cavern and reappears a short distance away. Such disappearing rivers +are not unknown elsewhere but Cuba has several of them. + + * * * * * + +The Census Report of 1907, prepared under American auspices, states that +"the climate of Cuba is tropical and insular. There are no extremes of +heat, and there is no cold weather." This is quite true if the records of a +thermometer are the standard; quite untrue if measured by the sensations of +the human body. It is true that, in Havana, for instance, the thermometer +seldom exceeds 90 deg. in the hottest months, and rarely if ever goes below 50 deg. +in the coldest. But a day with the thermometer anywhere in the 80s may seem +to a northern body very hot, and a day with the thermometer in the 50s +is cold for anyone, whether a native or a visitor. There is doubtless a +physical reason for the fact that a hot day in the north seems hotter than +the same temperature in the south, while a day that seems, in the north, +only pleasantly cool, seems bitterly cold in the tropics. When the +thermometer drops below 60 deg. in Havana, the coachmen blanket their horses, +the people put on all the clothes they have, and all visitors who are +at all sensitive to low temperature go about shivering. Steam heat and +furnaces are unknown, and fireplaces are a rarity. Yet, in general, the +variations are not wide, either from day to day or when measured by +seasons. The extremes are the infrequent exceptions. Nor is there wide +difference between day and night. Taking the island as a whole, the average +mean temperature for July, the hottest month, is about 82 deg., and for +January, the coolest month, about 71 deg.. The mean for the year is about 77 deg., +as compared with 52 deg. for New York, 48 deg. for Chicago, 62 deg. for Los Angeles, +and 68 deg. for New Orleans. There are places that, by reason of exposure to +prevailing winds, or distance from the coast, are hotter or cooler than +other places. Havana is one of the cool spots, that is, relatively cool. +But no one goes there in search of cold. The yearly range in Havana, from +maximum to minimum, rarely if ever exceeds fifty degrees, and is usually +somewhat below that, while the range in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis +is usually from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five degrees. The +particular cause of discomfort for those unused to it, is the humidity that +prevails throughout the greater part of the year. The worst season for +this, however, is the mid-year months when few people visit the island. The +winter months, locally known as the "_invierno_," a term to be associated +with our word "vernal" and not with "infernal," are almost invariably +delightful, bringing to northern systems a pleasurable physical laziness +that is attended by a mental indifference to, or satisfaction with, the +sensation. + +[Illustration: WATERING HERD OF CATTLE _Luyano River near Havana_] + +The rainfall varies so widely in different parts of the island, and from +year to year, that exact information is difficult. Taken as a whole, it is +little if at all greater than it is in most places in the United States. We +have our arid spots, like El Paso, Fresno, Boise, Phoenix, and Winnemucca, +where only a few inches fall in a year, just as Cuba has a few places where +the fall may reach sixty-five or seventy inches in a year. But the average +fall in Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and Santiago, is little if any +greater than in Boston, New York, or Washington. A difference appears in +the fact that about three-quarters of Cuba's precipitation comes between +the first of May and the first of October. But the term "wet season" does +not mean that it rains all the time, or every day, any more than the term +"dry season" means that during those months it does not rain at all. At +times during the winter, or dry season, there come storms that are due to +unusual cold in the United States. These are known in Cuba, as they are in +Texas, as "northers." High winds sweep furiously across the Gulf of Mexico, +piling up huge seas on the Cuban coast, and bringing what, in the island, +is the substitute for cold weather, usually attended by rain and sometimes +by a torrent of it. The prevailing wind in Cuba is the northeast +trade-wind. In summer when the sun is directly overhead this wind is +nearly east, while in winter it is northeast. The proper way to avoid such +discomfort as attends humidity accompanying a thermometer in the 80s, is to +avoid haste in movement, to saunter instead of hurrying, to ride instead of +walking, to eat and drink in moderation, and where-ever possible, to keep +in the shade. Many of those who eat heartily and hurry always, will, +after a few days, be quite sure that they have yellow fever or some +other tropical disorder, but will be entirely mistaken about it. Modern +sanitation in Cuba has made yellow fever a remote possibility, and the +drinking water in Havana is as pure as any in the world. + +Most of the official descriptions of the flora of Cuba appear to be copied +from Robert T. Hill's book, published in 1898. As nothing better is +available, it may be used here. He says: "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 addition +to those introduced from abroad, over 3,350 native plants have been +catalogued. The flora includes nearly all characteristic forms of the +other West Indies, the southern part of Florida, and the Central American +seaboard. 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, occur, +while the pine trees, elsewhere characteristic of the temperate zone and +the high altitudes of the tropics, are found associated with palms and +mahoganies in the province of Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Pines, both +of which take their name from this tree. Among other woods are the +lignum-vitae, granadilla, the coco-wood, and the _Cedrela Odorata_ +(fragrant cedar) which is used for cigar boxes and the lining of cabinet +work." + +In quoting the number of native plants, Mr. Hill uses a report somewhat +antiquated. Later estimates place the number as between five and six +thousand. Flowers are abundant, flowers on vines, plants, shrubs, and +trees, tall stalks with massive heads, and dainty little blossoms by the +wayside. Brilliant flowering trees are planted to line the roadsides. Among +all the tree-growths, the royal palm is notable. Scoffers have likened it +to "a feather duster stood on end," but it is the prominent feature in most +of Cuba's landscape, and it serves many purposes other than that of mere +decoration. From its stem the Cuban peasant builds his little cottage which +he roofs with its leaves. Medicinal qualities are claimed for its roots. +From different parts of the tree, a wide variety of useful articles is +made, plates, buckets, basins, and even a kettle in which water may be +boiled. The huge clusters of seeds are excellent food for animals, and I +have heard it said, though without proper confirmation, that "a royal palm +will keep a hog." Almost invariably, its presence indicates a rich soil, as +it rarely grows in areas of poor land. The forest area of the island is not +known with exactness, and is variously estimated at from about six thousand +square miles to about sixteen thousand. The difference probably represents +the opinion of individual investigators as to what is forest. About +one-third of the total is reported as in Oriente, another third in +Camaguey, and the remainder scattered through the four remaining provinces. +A part of it is "public land," that is, owned by the central government, +but a greater part is of private ownership under old Spanish grants. Much +of it is dense jungle through which a way can be made only by hacking, +almost foot by foot. A good deal of it has already been cut over for its +most valuable timber. Most of the woods bear names entirely unfamiliar to +us. Some are used as cabinet woods, and some for tanning, for oils, dyes, +gums, or fibres. + +Cuba has few four-footed native wild animals. There are rabbits, but their +nativity is not quite certain. There are deer, but it is known that their +ancestors were brought from some other country. There are wild dogs, wild +cats, and wild pigs, but all are only domestic animals run wild. + +Perhaps the only animal of the kind known to be native is the _jutia_, +sometimes spelled, as pronounced, _hutia_. Some observers have referred to +it as a rat, but it climbs trees and grows to the size of a woodchuck, +or groundhog. It is sometimes eaten and is said to be quite palatable. +Reptiles are fairly common, but none of them is dangerous. The best known +is the _maja_, a snake that grows to a length, sometimes, of twelve or +fifteen feet. The country people not infrequently make of it a kind of +house pet. When that is done, the reptile often makes its home in the +cottage thatch, living on birds and mice. They are dull and sluggish in +motion. While visiting a sugar plantation a few years ago one of the hands +asked if I should be interested by their _maja_. He dipped his hand into a +nearby water-barrel in the bottom of which two of them were closely coiled. +He dragged out one of perhaps ten or twelve feet in length and four or five +inches in diameter, handling it as he would the same length of hawser. He +hung it over the limb of a tree so that I could have a good chance for +a picture of it. The thing squirmed slowly to the ground and crawled +sluggishly away to the place from which it had been taken. Of bird-life +there is a large representation, both native and migratory. Among them +are some fifty species of "waders." In some parts of the island, the very +unpleasant land-crab, about the size of a soup-plate, seems to exist in +millions, although thousands is probably nearer the actual. The American +soldiers made their acquaintance in large numbers at the time of the +Santiago campaign. They are not a proper article of food. They have a +salt-water relative that is most excellent eating, as is also the lobster +_(langosta)_ of Cuban waters. In the swamp known as the Cienega de Zapata +are both alligators and crocodiles, some of them of quite imposing +dimensions. + +[Illustration: ROYAL PALMS] + +The insect life of the island is extensive. From personal experience, +particularly behind the search-light of an automobile that drew them +in swarms, I, should say that the island would be a rich field for the +entomologist. There are mosquitos, gnats, beetles, moths, butterflies, +spiders, and scorpions. The bites of some of the spiders and the stings of +the scorpions are, of course, uncomfortable, but they are neither fatal nor +dangerous. With the exception of an occasional mosquito, and a perhaps more +than occasional flea, the visitor to cities only is likely to encounter +few of the members of these branches of Cuban zoology. There is one of +the beetle family, however, that is extremely interesting. That is +the _cucullo_, which Mr. Hazard, in his book on Cuba, calls a "bright +peripatetic candle-bearer, by whose brilliant light one can not only walk, +but even read." They are really a kind of glorified firefly, much larger +than ours, and with a much more brilliant light. I do not know their +candle-power, but Mr. Hazard exaggerates little if at all in the matter of +their brilliancy. + +While those referred to in the foregoing are the most notable features +in this particular part of the Cuban field, there are others, though of +perhaps less importance, to which reference might be made. Among them would +be the sponge fisheries of the coast in the neighborhood of Batabano, +and the numerous mineral springs, some of them really having, and others +supposed to have, remarkable curative qualities. A half century or so ago, +a number of places not far from Havana were resorts to which rich and +poor went to drink or to bathe in springs hot or cold or sulphurous or +otherwise, for their healing. Among these were the baths at San Diego, near +the Organ Mountains in Pinar del Rio; Santa Rita, near Guanabacoa in Havana +Province; others near Marianao, on the outskirts of the city; and San +Antonio, also in Havana Province. Most of these places now appear to have +lost their popularity if not their medicinal virtues. Some, like those +at Madruga, not far from Havana, still have a considerable patronage. +Something may also be said of earthquakes and hurricanes. The former +occur, on a small scale, more or less frequently in Oriente, and much less +frequently and of less severity in Havana. The latter come from time +to time to work disaster to Cuban industries and, sometimes but not +frequently, to cause loss of life and the destruction of buildings. They +rarely occur except in the late summer and the autumn. + +Nearly a hundred years ago, Alexander Humboldt, a traveller and a +scientist, wrote thus of the island of Cuba: "Notwithstanding the absence +of deep rivers and the unequal fertility of the soil, the island of Cuba +presents on every hand a most varied and agreeable country from its +undulating character, its ever-springing verdure, and the variety of its +vegetable formations." + + + + +IV + +_THE OLD HAVANA_ + + +Among the many pictures, stored away in the album of my memory, there are +two that stand out more vividly than any others. The subjects are separated +by half the world's circumference. One is the sunsets at Jolo, in the +southern Philippines. There the sun sank into the western sea in a blaze +of cloud-glory, between the low-lying islands on either hand with the rich +green of their foliage turned to purple shadows. The other is the sunrise +at Havana, seen from the deck of a steamer in the harbor. The long, soft +shadows and the mellow light fell on the blue and gray and green of the +buildings of the city, and on the red-tiled roofs, with the hills for a +background in one-half of the picture, and the gleaming water of the gulf +in the background of the other half. I had seen the long stretch of the +southern coast of the island, from Cape Antonio to Cape Maisi, while on an +excursion with a part of the army of occupation sent to Porto Rico in the +summer of 1898, and had set foot on Cuban soil at Daiquiri, but Havana in +the morning light, on January 2, 1899, was my first real Cuban experience. +It remains an ineffaceable memory. Of my surroundings and experiences aside +from that, I have no distinct recollection. All was submerged by that one +picture, and quickly buried by the activities into which I was immediately +plunged. I do not recall the length of time we were held on board for +medical inspection, nor whether the customs inspection was on board or +ashore. I recall the trip from the ship to the wharf, in one of the little +sailboats then used for the purpose, rather because of later experiences +than because of the first one. I have no purpose here to write a history +of those busy days, filled as they were with absorbing interest, with much +that was pathetic and not a little that was amusing. I have seen that +morning picture many times since, but never less beautiful, never less +impressive. Nowadays, it is lost to most travellers because the crossing +from Key West is made in the daytime, the boat reaching Havana in the +late-afternoon. Sometimes there is a partial compensation in the sunset +picture, but I have never seen that when it really rivalled the picture at +the beginning of the day. + +The visitor to Cuba, unfamiliar with the island, should take it leisurely. +It is not a place through which the tourist may rush, guide book in hand, +making snapshots with a camera, and checking off places of interest as they +are visited. Picturesqueness and quaintness are not at all lacking, but +there are no noble cathedrals, no vast museums of art and antiquity, no +snow-clad mountains. There is a charm of light and shade and color that +is to be absorbed slowly rather than swallowed at a single gulp. It is +emphatically a place in which to dawdle. Let those who are obliged to do +so, work and hurry; the visitor and the traveller should take it without +haste. It is far better to see Havana and its vicinity slowly and +enjoyably, and look at pictures of the rest of the country, than it is to +rush through the island merely for the sake of doing so. In his essay on +_The Moral of Landscape_, Mr. Ruskin said that "all travelling becomes dull +in exact proportion to its rapidity." Nowhere is that more true than it +is in Cuba. There is very little in all the island that cannot be seen in +Havana and its immediate vicinity. It is well to see the other places if +one has ample time, but they should not be seen at the expense of a proper +enjoyment of Havana and its neighborhood. In Havana are buildings as old +and buildings as beautiful as any in the island. In its vicinity are sugar +plantations, tobacco fields, pineapples, cocoanuts, mangoes, royal palms, +ceibas, peasants' homes, typical towns and villages, all the life of the +people in the city and country. The common American desire to "see it all" +in a few days, is fatal to the greatest enjoyment, and productive mainly +of physical fatigue and mental confusion. It is the misfortune of most +travellers that they carry with them only the vaguest of ideas of what they +want to see. They have heard of Cuba, of Havana, the Morro, the Prado, of a +sunny island in the midst of a sapphire sea. While it is true that almost +everything in Cuba is worth seeing, it is best to acquire, before going, +some idea of the exhibition. That saves time and many steps. The old city +wall, La Fuerza, and La Punta, are mere piles of masonry, more or less dull +and uninteresting unless one knows something of their history. The manners +and customs of any country become increasingly interesting if one knows +something about them, the reason for them. + +It is only a short trip to the Castillo del Principe, the fortress that +crowns the hill to the west of the city. From that height, the city and the +harbor are seen below, to the eastward. Across the bay, on the heights at +the entrance, are the frowning walls of Morro Castle surmounted by the +towering light-house, and the no less grim walls of La Cabana. The +bay itself is a sprawling, shapeless body of water with a narrow neck +connecting it with the Florida Straits. Into the western side of the bay +the city thrusts itself in a shape that, on a large map, suggests more than +anything else the head and neck of an over-fed bulldog. Into this bay, in +1508, came Sebastian Ocampo, said to be the first white man to visit the +spot. He entered for the purpose of careening his little vessels in order +to remove the barnacles and accumulated weed-growth. It is possible that +the spot was discovered earlier, but there is no record of the discovery +if such was made. Ocampo gave it the name of Puerto de Carenas. The next +record is of its occupation, in 1519. Four years earlier, Diego Velasquez +had left a little colony near what is now called Batabano, on the south +coast. He gave the place the name of San Cristobal de la Habana, in memory +of the illustrious navigator and discoverer. Habana, or Havana, is a term +of aboriginal origin. It proved to be an uncomfortable place of residence, +and in 1519 the people moved across the island to the Puerto de Carenas, +taking with them the name given to the earlier settlement, and substituting +it for the name given by Ocampo. After a time, all was dropped except the +present title, Habana, or more commonly by English-speaking people, Havana. +It was not much of a place for a number of years, but in 1538 it was sacked +and burned by a French pirate, one of the many, of different nations, who +carried on a very lively buccaneering business in those and in later years +in West Indian waters. Hernando de Soto was then governor of the island, +with headquarters at the then capital city, Santiago de Cuba. He proceeded +at once to the scene of destruction. On his arrival, he ordered the +erection of a fortress. Some of the work then done still remains in the +old structure near the Palace, at the foot of Calle O'Reilly, known as La +Fuerza. A few years before this time, Hernan Cortes had conquered Mexico, +then called New Spain, and a business between Old Spain and New Spain soon +developed. The harbor of Havana made a convenient halting-place on the +voyages between the two, and the settlement assumed a steadily increasing +importance. A new governor, Gonzales Perez de Angulo, who arrived in 1549, +decided to make it his place of residence. The year 1552 is generally given +as the time of the creation of Havana as the capital city. It was at that +time made the residence city of the Governors, by their own choice, but +it was not officially established as the capital until 1589. The fortress +erected by order of de Soto proved somewhat ineffective. In 1554, another +French marauder attacked and destroyed the town. The principal industry of +those early days was cattle-raising, a considerable market being developed +for export to Mexico, and for the supply of vessels that entered the harbor +for food and water. + +The continuance of incursions by pirates made necessary some further +provision for the defence of the city. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged and +strengthened, and the construction of Morro Castle was begun. To this +work was added La Punta, the little fortress on the western shore of +the entrance, at the point of the angle now formed by the Prado and the +Malecon. These ancient structures, of practically no value whatever in +modern warfare, are now among the most picturesque points of interest in +the neighborhood. Another, in the same class, of which only a little now +remains, is of a later time. This is the old city wall, the construction +of which was begun in 1671. Following the simile of the bull-dog's head, +a tract of land, formerly known as the Arsenal yard, and now the central +railway station, lies tucked away immediately under the animal's jaw. From +there to a point on the north shore, near La Punta, in a slightly curving +line, a high wall was erected for the purpose of defence on the western +or landward side. The old city lay entirely in the area defined by this +western wall and the shore of the harbor. At intervals, gates afforded exit +to the country beyond, heavy gates that could be closed to exclude any +possible attacking party. The fortifications erected from time to time were +supposed to afford a system of effective defence for the city. They are now +little else than picturesque features in the landscape, points of interest +for visitors. Taking the chain in its order, El Morro stands on the point +on the eastern side of the entrance to the harbor. Just beyond it is La +Cabana. About a half a mile to the east of this was the stone fort on the +hill of San Diego. Three miles east of the Morro, on the shore at Cojimar, +is a small and somewhat ancient fortification. This group constituted the +defence system on the east. At the head of the bay, on an elevation a +little to the south of the city, stands El Castillo de Atares, begun in +1763, immediately after the capture and occupation of the city by the +British. This is supposed to protect the city on the south, as Castillo del +Principe is supposed to defend it on the west. This stands on a hill on +the western outskirts, a somewhat extensive structure, begun in 1774 and +completed about twenty years later. A little further to the west, at the +mouth of the Almendares river, stands a little fort, or tower, called +Chorrera, serving as a western outpost as Cojimar serves as an eastern +outpost. Both were erected about the year 1650. On the shore generally +north of Principe was the Santa Clara battery, and between that and La +Punta, at the foot of the Calzada de Belascoain, stood the Queen's battery. +From any modern point of view, the system is little more than military +junk, better fitted for its present use as barracks, asylums, and prisons +than for military defence. But it is all highly picturesque. + +In the beginning, most of the buildings of the city were doubtless of wood, +with palm-thatched roofs. In time, these gave place to rows of abutting +stone buildings with tiled roofs. Most of them were of one story, some were +of two stories, and a few "palaces" had three. The city within the wall +is today very much as it was a century and more ago. Its streets run, +generally but not accurately, at right angles, one set almost due east and +west, from the harbor front to the line of the old wall, and the other set +runs southward from the shore of the entrance channel to the shore of the +inner harbor. Several of these streets are practically continuous +from north to south or from east to west. But most of them are rather +passage-ways than streets. The houses come to their very edges, except +for a narrow strip hardly to be classed as a sidewalk, originally left, +presumably, only for the purpose of preventing the scraping of the front of +the building by the wheels of passing carts and carriages. It is a somewhat +inconvenient system nowadays, but one gets quite used to it after a little, +threads the narrow walk a part of his way, takes to the street the rest +of the way, and steps aside to avoid passing vehicles quite as did the +carriageless in the old days. One excellent way to avoid the trouble is to +take a carriage and let the other fellow step aside. Riding in the _coche_ +is still one of the cheapest forms of convenience and entertainment in the +city, excepting the afternoon drive around the Prado and the Malecon. That +is not cheap. We used to pay a dollar an hour. My last experience cost me +three times that. + +[Illustration: CUSTOM HOUSE, HAVANA _Formerly Franciscan Convent Begun_ +1574, _finished_ 1591] + +Much of the old city is now devoted to business purposes, wholesale, +retail, and professional. But there are also residences, old churches, and +old public buildings. On the immediate water-front, and for many years used +as the custom house, stands the old Franciscan convent, erected during the +last quarter of the 16th Century. It is a somewhat imposing pile, dominated +by a high tower. I have not visited it for a number of years and do not +know if its interior is available for visitors without some special +introduction, but there is much worth seeing inside its walls, the flying +buttresses of the super-structure, some old and interesting frescoes, and +a system of dome construction that is quite remarkable. To the latter, my +attention was first called by General Ludlow, a distinguished engineer +officer of the United States Army, then acting as governor of the city. To +him belongs, although it is very rarely given, the credit for the cleansing +of Havana during the First Intervention. He frequently visited the old +convent just to see and study that interior dome construction. Immediately +behind the Palace is the old convent of the Dominicans, less imposing but +of about the same period as the Franciscan structure. It is now used as +a high-school building. The Cathedral, a block to the northward of the +Dominican convent building, is of a much later date, having been begun as +recently as 1742. It was originally the convent of the Jesuits, but became +the Cathedral in 1789. Many have believed, on what seems to be acceptable +evidence, that here for more than a hundred years rested the bones of +Christopher Columbus. He died in Valladolid in 1506, and was buried there. +His remains were removed to the Carthusian Monastery, in Seville, in 1513. +From there they are said to have been taken, in 1536, to the city of Santo +Domingo, where they remained until 1796, when they were brought to Havana +and placed in a niche in the walls of the old Cathedral, there to remain +until they were taken back to Spain in 1898. There is still an active +dispute as to whether the bones removed from Santo Domingo to Havana were +or were not those of Columbus. At all events, the urn supposed to contain +them was in this building for a hundred years, below a marble slab showing +a carving of the voyager holding a globe, with a finger pointing to the +Caribbean. Beneath this was a legend that has been thus translated: + + OH! REST THOU, IMAGE OF THE GREAT COLON, + THOUSAND CENTURIES REMAIN, GUARDED IN THE URN, + AND IN THE REMEMBRANCE OF OUR NATION. + +In this neighborhood, to the east of the Plaza de Armas, on which the +Palace fronts, is a structure known as _El Templete_. It has the appearance +of the portico of an unfinished building, but it is a finished memorial, +erected in 1828. The tradition is that on this spot there stood, in 1519, +an old ceiba tree under which the newly arrived settlers celebrated their +first mass. The yellow Palace, for many years the official headquarters and +the residence of successive Governors-General, stands opposite, and speaks +for itself. In this building, somewhat devoid of architectural merit, much +of Cuba's history, for the last three-quarters of a century, has been +written. The best time to see all this and much more that is to be seen, +is the early morning, before the wheels begin to go around. The lights and +shadows are then the best, and the streets are quieter and less crowded. +The different points of interest are easily located by the various guide +books obtainable, and the distances are not great. A cup of _cafe con +leche_ should precede the excursion. If one feels lazy, as one is quite +apt to feel in the tropics and the sub-tropics, fairly comfortable open +carriages are at all times available. With them, of course, a greater +area can be covered and more places seen, though perhaps seen less +satisfactorily. There is much to be seen in the early morning that is best +seen in those hours, and much that is not seen later in the day. In all +cities there is an early morning life and Havana is no exception. I confess +to only a limited personal knowledge of it, but I have seen enough of it, +and heard enough about it, to know that the waking-up of cities, including +Havana, is an interesting process. I have, at least, had enough personal +experience to be sure that the early morning air is delicious, the best of +the day. I am not speaking of the unholy hours preceding daybreak, but +of six to eight o'clock, which for those of us who are inclined to long +evenings is also the best time to be in bed. The early morning church bells +are a disturbance to which visitors do not readily adjust their morning +naps. Mr. Samuel Hazard, who visited Cuba about the year 1870, and wrote +quite entertainingly about it, left the following description of his +experience in Havana: + +"Hardly has the day begun to break when the newly arrived traveller is +startled from his delightful morning doze by the alarming sound of bells +ringing from every part of the town. Without any particular concert of +action, and with very different sounds, they ring out on the still morning +air, as though for a general conflagration, and the unfortunate traveller +rushes frantically from his bed to inquire if there is any hope of safety +from the flames which he imagines, from the noise made, must threaten the +whole town. Imagine, O reader! in thy native town, every square with its +church, every church with its tower, or maybe two or three of them, and +in each particular tower a half-dozen large bells, no two of which sound +alike; place the bell-ropes in the hands of some frantic man who pulls +away, first with one hand and then the other, and you will get a very faint +idea of your first awakening in Havana. Without apparent rhyme or reason, +ding, dong, ding they go, every bell-ringer at each different church +striving to see how much noise he can make, under the plea of bringing the +faithful to their prayers at the early morning mass." + +[Illustration: BALCONIES IN OLD HAVANA STREET IN HAVANA] + +The only conceivable advantage of these early bells is the fact that they +turn out many a traveller at the hour when Havana is really at its best. +Yet, as I read the descriptive tales left by those who wrote forty, fifty, +and sixty years ago, I am struck by the fact, that, after all, the old +Havana has changed but little. There are trolley lines, electric lights, +and a few other so-called modern improvements, but there is still much of +the old custom, the old atmosphere. The old wall, with its soldier-guarded +gates, is gone, and there are a few modern buildings, but only a few, for +which fact I always feel thankful, but the old city is much what it was +when Mr. Ballou, and Mr. Dana, and Mr. Kimball, and numerous others wrote +about it soon after 1850, and when Mr. Hazard wrote about it in 1870. The +automobile is there now in large numbers, in place of the old volante, and +there are asphalted streets in place of cobble-stones. The band plays in +the evening in the Parque Central or at the Glorieta, instead of in the +Plaza de Armas, but the band plays. The restaurants are still a prominent +feature in Havana life, as they were then. The ladies wear hats instead +of _mantillas_, but they buy hats on Calle Obispo just as and where their +mothers and grandmothers bought _mantillas_. Bull-fighting is gone, +presumably forever, but crowds flock to the baseball grounds. The midday +suspension of business continues, generally, and the afternoon parade, on +foot and in carriages, remains one of the important functions of the day. +There are many who know Havana, and love it, who pray diligently that it +may be many years before the city is Americanized as, for instance, New +Orleans has been. + +Most of the life of the city, as it is seen by most visitors, is outside +the old city, and probably few know that any distinction is made, yet the +line is drawn with fair clearness. There is a different appearance in both +streets and buildings. While there are shops on San Rafael and Galiano and +elsewhere, the principal shopping district is in the old city, with Calle +Obispo as its centre. They have tried officially, to change the name of the +street, but the old familiar name sticks and seems likely to stick for a +long time yet. Far be it from a mere man to attempt analysis or description +of such a place. He might tell another mere man where to buy a hat, a pair +of shoes, or eyeglasses, or a necktie, or where to find a lawyer, but the +finer points of shopping, there or elsewhere, are not properly for any +masculine description. The ladies may be trusted to learn for themselves, +and very quickly, all that they need or want to know about that phase of +Havana's commerce. I am leaving much to the guide books that can afford +space for all necessary information about churches, statues, and other +objects of interest for visitors. Havana's retail merchants have their own +way of trading, much as they do in many foreign countries, and in not a few +stores in our own country. Prices are usually a question of the customer's +ability to match the commercial shrewdness of the dealer. Much of the trade +of visitors is now confined to the purchase of such articles as may be +immediately needed and to a few souvenirs. One of the charms of the place +is the cheap transportation. If you are tired, or in a hurry, there is +always a coach near at hand that will take you where you wish to go, for a +peseta, or a quarter, if within certain officially prescribed bounds. If +you desire to go beyond those bounds, make a bargain with your driver or +be prepared for trouble. Down in the old city are to be found several +restaurants that are well worth visiting, for those who want good food. I +shall not advertise the particular places, but they are well known. As the +early morning is the best time to see the old city, the forenoon is the +best time for shopping. Such an expedition may well be followed by the +_almuerzo_, the midday breakfast or lunch, whichever one sees fit to call +it, at one of these restaurants. After that, it is well to enjoy a midday +_siesta_, in preparation for the afternoon function on the Prado and the +Malecon. + + + + +V + +THE NEW HAVANA + + +The new Havana, the city outside the old wall, is about as old as Chicago +but not nearly as tall. There is no reason why it should be. Here are wide +streets and broad avenues, and real sidewalks, some of them about as wide +as the entire street in the old city. About 1830, the region beyond the +wall was held largely by Spaniards to whom grants of land had been made +for one reason or another. These tracts were plantations, pastures, or +unimproved lands, according to the fancy of the proprietor who usually +lived in the city and enjoyed himself after the manner of his kind. Here +and there, a straggling village of palm-leaf huts sprang up. The roads were +rough tracks. To Governor-General Tacon seems due much of the credit for +the improvement beyond the walls. During his somewhat iron-handed rule +several notable buildings were erected, some of them by his authority. +The most notable feature of the district is the renowned Prado, a broad +boulevard with a park between two drive-ways, running from the water-front, +at the entrance to the harbor, southward for about a mile. A few years ago, +rows of trees shaded the central parkway, but they were almost entirely +wrecked by the hurricanes in 1906 and 1910. + +A half mile or so from its northern end, the Prado runs along the west side +of the Parque Central, the most notable of the numerous little squares of +walks and trees and flowers. A block or two further on is a little park +with an excellent statue, known as La India. Opposite that is another +really beautiful park, from the western side of which runs a broad street +that leads to the Paseo de Carlos Tercero, formerly the Paseo de Tacon, one +of the monuments left to his own memory by one of Cuba's most noted Spanish +rulers. The Paseo runs westward to El Castillo del Principe, originally a +fortress but now a penitentiary. The Prado stops just beyond the companion +parks, La India and Colon. These originally formed the Campo de Marte, laid +out by General Tacon and, in his time, used as a military parade ground. +In a way, the Parque Central is the centre of the city. It is almost that, +geographically, and perhaps quite that, socially. In its immediate vicinity +are some of the leading hotels and the principal theatres. One of the +latter, facing the park on its western side, across the Prado, is now known +as the Nacional. Formerly it was the Tacon, a monument to that notable man. +There is quite a story about that structure. It is somewhat too long for +inclusion here, but it seems worth telling. The following is an abridgment +of the tale as it is told in Mr. Ballou's _History of Cuba_, published in +1854. Tacon was the Governor of the island from 1834 to 1838. At that time, +a certain man named Marti was eminent in the smuggling and piracy business, +an industry in which many others were engaged. But Marti seems to have +stood at the top of his profession, a man of skill and daring and evidently +well supplied with brains. Tacon's efforts to capture him, or to break up +his business, were entirely unsuccessful, and a large reward was offered +for his body, alive or dead. Mr. Ballou tells the story in somewhat +dramatic manner: + +"It was a dark, cloudy night in Havana, a few months after the announcement +of the reward, when two sentinels were pacing backward and forward before +the main entrance to the Governor's palace. A little before midnight, a man +was watching them from behind a statue in the park, and after observing +that the sentinels paced their brief walk so as to meet each other, and +then turned their backs as they separated, leaving a brief moment in the +interval when the eyes of both were turned away from the entrance, seemed +to calculate upon passing them unobserved. It was an exceedingly delicate +manoeuvre, and required great care and dexterity to effect it; but, at +last, it was adroitly done, and the stranger sprang lightly through the +entrance, secreting himself behind one of the pillars of the inner court. +The sentinels paced on undisturbed. The figure which had thus stealthily +effected an entrance, now sought the broad stairs that led to the +Governor's suite, with a confidence that evinced a perfect knowledge of the +place. A second guard-post was to be passed at the head of the stairs; but, +assuming an air of authority, the stranger offered a cold military salute +and passed forward, as though there was not the most distant question of +his right to do so; and thus avoiding all suspicion in the guard's mind, he +boldly entered the Governor's reception room unchallenged, and closed the +door behind him." + +In his office, alone, the stranger found Tacon, who was naturally surprised +at the appearance of an unannounced caller. He demanded to know who the +visitor was, but a direct answer was evaded. After referring to the matter +of the reward offered for the discovery of Marti, and the pledge of +immunity to the discoverer, the caller demanded and obtained a verbal +endorsement of the promise of immunity, under the Governor's word of honor, +whatever might be the circumstances of his revelation. He then announced +himself as the much-sought pirate and smuggler, Marti. Tacon was somewhat +astounded, but he kept his word. Marti was held overnight, but "on the +following day," the Ballou account proceeds, "one of the men-of-war that +lay idly beneath the guns of Morro Castle suddenly became the scene of the +utmost activity, and, before noon, had weighed her anchor, and was standing +out into the gulf stream. Marti the smuggler was on board as her pilot; +and faithfully did he guide the ship on the discharge of his treacherous +business, revealing every haunt of the rovers, exposing their most valuable +depots; and many a smuggling craft was taken and destroyed. The amount of +money and property thus secured was very great." The contemptible job +of betraying his former companions and followers being successfully +accomplished, Marti returned with the ships, and claimed his reward from +Tacon. The General, according to his word of honor, gave Marti a full +and unconditional pardon for all his past offences, and an order on the +treasury for the amount of the reward offered. The latter was declined but, +in lieu of the sum, Marti asked for and obtained a monopoly of the right +to sell fish in Havana. He offered to build, at his own expense, a public +market of stone, that should, after a specified term of years, revert to +the government, "with all right and the title to the fishery." This +struck Tacon as a good business proposition; he saved to his treasury +the important sum of the reward and, after a time, the city would own a +valuable fish-market. He agreed to the plan. Marti thereupon went into +the fish business, made huge profits, and became, so the story goes, the +richest man in the island. After a time, being burdened with wealth, he +looked about for means of increasing his income. So he asked for and +obtained a monopoly of the theatre business in Havana, promising to build +one of the largest and finest theatres in the world. The result of the +enterprise was the present Nacional theatre, for many years regarded as +second only to the Grand theatre in Milan. But it was named the Tacon. Its +special attraction was internal; its exterior was far from imposing. It has +recently been considerably glorified. Having thus halted for the story of +the theatre, we may return to the Prado on which it fronts. Here, Havana +society used to gather every afternoon to drive, walk, and talk. The +afternoon _paseo_ was and still is the great event of the day, the great +social function of the city. At the time of my first visit, in 1899, there +was no Malecon drive along the shore to the westward. That enterprise +was begun during the First Intervention, and continued by succeeding +administrations. In the earlier days, the route for driving was down the +east side of the Prado, between the Parque Central and the _Carcel_, and +up the west side, around and around, up and down, with bows and smiles to +acquaintances met or passed, and, probably, gossip about the strangers. +Many horsemen appeared in the procession, and the central promenade was +thronged with those who walked, either because they preferred to or because +they could not afford to ride around and around. In the Parque Central were +other walkers, chatting groups, and lookers-on. Some days the band played. +Then the Prado was extended to the water-front; the _glorieta_ was erected; +and that became another centre for chatterers and watchers. The building of +the Malecon extended the range of the driveway. This afternoon function is +an old established institution and a good one. It may not compare favorably +with the drive in some of our parks in this country, but it is the best +substitute possible in Havana. Indulgence in ices, cooling drinks, +chocolate, or other refections, during this daily ceremony, is fairly +common but by no means a general practice. The afternoon tea habit has not +yet seized upon Havana. The ices are almost invariably excellent. Some of +them are prepared from native fruit flavors that are quite unknown here. +The _guanabana_ ice is particularly to be recommended. All such matters are +quite individual, but a decoction called _chocolate Espanol_ is also to be +recommended. It is served hot, too thick to drink, and is to be taken with +a spoon, to the accompaniment of cake. It is highly nourishing as well as +palatable. There is a wide variety of "soft drinks," made with oranges, +limes, or other fruits, and the _orchata_, made from almonds, and the +products of American soda fountains, but there is little use of the +high-ball or the cocktail except by Americans. + +[Illustration: STREET AND CHURCH OF THE ANGELS _Havana_] + +The Cubans are an exceedingly temperate people. Wine is used by all +classes, and _aguadiente_, the native rum, is consumed in considerable +quantity, but the Cuban rarely drinks to excess. I recall an experience +during the earlier years. I was asked to write a series of articles on the +use of intoxicants in the island, for a temperance publication in this +country. My first article so offended the publishers that they declined +to print it, and cancelled the order for the rest of the series. It was +perhaps somewhat improper, but in that article I summed up the situation +by stating that "the temperance question in Cuba is only a question of how +soon we succeed in converting them into a nation of drunkards." Beer is +used, both imported and of local manufacture. Gin, brandy, and anisette, +cordials and liqueurs are all used to some but moderate extent, but +intoxication is quite rare. One fluid extract I particularly recommend, +that is the milk of the cocoanut, the green nut. Much, however, depends +upon the cocoanut. Properly ripened, the "milk" is delicious, cooling and +wholesome, more so perhaps on a country journey than in the city. The nut +not fully ripened gives the milk, or what is locally called the "water," an +unpleasant, woody taste. I have experimented with it in different parts of +the world, in the Philippines, Ceylon, and elsewhere, and have found it +wholesome and refreshing in all places. + +The houses in the new Havana are, on the whole, vastly more cheerful +than are the dwellings in the old city. They are of the same general +architectural type, but because of the wider streets, more air and sunshine +gets into them. Some of the best and most costly are along the Prado. +A Cuban house interior generally impresses an American as lacking in +home-like quality. Some of the best are richly adorned, but there is a +certain bareness and an absence of color. As is usual with customs unlike +our own, and which we are therefore prone to regard as inferior to ours, +there are excellent reasons for Cuban interior decoration, or rather the +lack of it. A little experience, or even a little reflection, shows clearly +the impossibility of anything resembling American house decoration in +such a climate as that of Cuba. Our warm colors, hangings, upholstered +furniture, rugs, and much else that we regard as essential in northern +latitudes, would be utterly unendurable in Cuba. There, the marble or tiled +floors, the cool tones of wall and ceiling, and the furniture of wood and +cane, are not only altogether fitting but as well altogether necessary. Our +glass windows would only serve to increase heat and shut out air. As some +barrier is necessary to keep passers, even Americans, from intrusive +entrance by the windows whose bottoms are at floor level, the system of +iron bars or elaborate grille work is adopted. Few Americans see much, if +anything, of Cuban home life except as they see it through these barriers +as they pass. It is not the custom of the country to invite promiscuous or +casual acquaintances to call. It is even less the custom there than it is +with us. A book about Cuba, published a few years ago, gives a somewhat +extended account of what is called "home life," but it is the home life of +workmen and people who do laundry work to eke out a meagre living. It is +not even the life of fairly paid artisans, or of people of modest but +comfortable income. It is no more a proper description of the domestic life +of the island than would be a presentation of the life in the palaces of +the wealthy. Such attempts at description are almost invariably a mistake, +conveying, whether from purpose or from indifference to truth, a false +impression. Domestic economy and household management vary in Cuba as +they vary in the United States, in France, England, Japan, or Mexico. The +selection of an individual home, or of several, as a basis for description, +in Cuba or anywhere else, can only result in a picture badly out of drawing +and quite misleading. + +There are Cuban homes, as there are American homes, that are slatternly and +badly managed, and there are Cuban homes that are as spick and span and as +orderly in their administration as any home in this country. Their customs, +as are ours, are the result of environment and tradition. To some of us, a +rectangle of six or eight rocking-chairs, placed in the centre of a room, +in which family and visitors sit and rock while they talk, may seem +curious, but it is a custom that we may not criticize either with fairness +or common decency. The same may be said of the not uncommon custom of using +a part of the street floor of the house as a stable. It is an old custom, +brought from Spain. But I have wandered from description to incident. I +have no intention to attempt a description of Cuban home life, beyond +saying that I have been a guest in costly homes in the city and in the +little palm-leaf "shacks" of peasants, and have invariably found in both, +and in the homes of intermediate classes, only cordial hospitality and +gracious courtesy. Those who have found anything different have carried it +with them in their own attitude toward their hosts. Many of us, probably +most of us, in the United States, make a sort of fetich of the privacy of +what we call our home life. We are encased in walls of wood or masonry, +with blinds, curtains, or shades at our windows. It might be supposed that +we wanted to hide, that there was something of which to be ashamed. It +might at least be so interpreted by one unfamiliar with our ways. It is +only, like the open domestic life in Cuba, a custom, a habit of long +standing. Certainly, much of the domestic life of Cuba is open. The +mistress of the house chides a servant, rebukes or comforts a child, sits +with her embroidery, chaffers with an itinerant merchant or with the +clerk from a store, all in plain sight and hearing of the passer-by. What +everyone does, no one notices. The customs of any country are curious only +to those from other countries where customs are different. Our ways of life +are quite as curious to others as are their ways to us. We are quite +blind to that fact chiefly because of an absurd conviction of the +immense superiority of our ways. We do not stop to consider reasons for +differences. A cup of coffee on an American breakfast table usually +consists of about four parts coffee and one part milk or cream. Most Cubans +usually reverse these percentages. There is a good reason for it. In +our climate, we do not need the large open doors and windows, the high +ceilings, and the full and free ventilation that make life endurable +in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Their system here would be as +impossible as would be our system there. Houses in Cuba like those of an +American city or town would make life a miserable burden. The publicity, or +semi-publicity, of Cuban home life is a necessary result of conditions. +It is, naturally, more in evidence in the city proper, where the houses, +abutting immediately on the street, as do most of our city houses, are +built, as ours are, in solid rows. We avoid a good deal of publicity by +piling our homes on top of each other, and by elevators and stair-climbing. + +The location of a residence in Havana gives no special idea of the wealth +or the social standing of those who occupy it. Not a few well-to-do people +still live in the old city, where the streets are narrow and where business +is trying to crowd out everything except itself. The home in that quarter +may be in a block in which a number of buildings are residences, or it +may stand with a warehouse on one side and a workshop on the other. A few +people, of unquestionable social position still live in buildings in which +the street floor is a store or an office. There is nothing curious about +this. In many American cities, old families have clung to old homes, and +not a few new families have, from one reason or another, occupied similar +quarters. Such a residence may not conform to modern social ideas and +standards, but there are Americans in this country, as well as Cubans and +Spaniards in Havana, who can afford to ignore those standards. The same is +true of many who live in the newer city, outside the old walls. There as +here, business encroaches on many streets formerly strictly residential. +This holds in the newer part of the city as well as in the old part. A +number of streets there are, for a part of their length, quite given over +to business. Even the Prado itself is the victim of commercial invasion. +What was once one of the finest residences in the city, the old Aldama +place fronting on the Campo de Marte, is now a cigar factory. A little +beyond it is the Tacon market, occupying an entire block. Stores and shops +surround it. The old avenue leading to the once fashionable Cerro, and +to the only less fashionable Jesus del Monte, is now a business street. +Another business street leads out of the Parque Central, alongside the +former Tacon theatre. The broad Calzada de Galiano, once a fashionable +residence street, is now largely commercial. While less picturesque than +some parts of the old city within the walls, the most attractive part of +Havana is undoubtedly the section of El Vedado, the westward extension +along the shore. Here are broad streets, trees, gardens, and many beautiful +and costly dwellings. This is really the modern Havana. A part of it is +only a little above sea-level, and behind that strip is a hill. A few years +ago, only a small number of houses were on the hillside or the hilltop. +Now, it is well built over with modern houses. The architectural type is +generally retained, and it is rather a pity that there should be even +what variation there is. El Vedado is the region of the wealthy and the +well-to-do, with a large percentage of foreigners. It has its social ways, +very much as other places have, in this country, in France, Hong Kong, or +Honolulu. They are not quite our ways, but they are a result of conditions, +just as ours are. + +On the hill, a little back of El Vedado, are two "points of interest" for +visitors; the old fortress, el Castillo del Principe, and the cemetery. +In the latter are some notable monuments. One is known as the Firemen's +Monument. For many years, Havana has had, supplementary to its municipal +organization, a volunteer firemen's corps. In various ways the latter +resembles a number of military organizations in the United States. It is at +once a somewhat exclusive social club and a practical force. Membership +is a social distinction. If you are in Havana and see men in admirably +tailored, uniforms and fire helmets, rushing in a particular direction in +cabs, carriages or automobiles, you may know that they are members of the +_Bomberos del Comercio_ on their way to a conflagration. Most excellent +real work they have done again and again in time of fire and flood. On +parade, they look exceedingly dapper with their helmets, uniforms, boots +and equipment, somewhat too dandified even to suggest any smoke other than +that of cigars or cigarettes. But they are the "real thing in smoke-eaters" +when they get to work. They have a long list of heroic deeds on their +records. The monument in Colon Cemetery commemorates one of those deeds. +In an extensive and dangerous fire, in May, 1890, thirty of these men +lost their lives. A few years later, this beautiful and costly shaft was +erected, by private subscription, as a tribute to their valor and devotion. +Another shaft, perhaps no less notable, commemorates a deplorable and +unpardonable event. A number of medical students, mere boys, in the +University of Havana, were charged with defacing the tomb of a Spanish +officer who had been killed by a Cuban in a political quarrel. At +its worst, it was a boyish prank, demanding rebuke or even some mild +punishment. Later evidence indicates that while there was a demonstration +there was no defacement of the vault. Forty-two students were arrested as +participants, tried by court-martial, and sentenced to be shot. Eight of +them were shot at La Punta, at the foot of the Prado near the sea-front, +and the remainder sentenced to imprisonment for life. All of these, I +believe, were afterward released. The Students' Monument expresses the +feeling of the Cubans in the matter, a noble memorial. There are numerous +other shafts and memorials that are notable and interesting. A number of +Cuba's leaders, Maximo Gomez, Calixto Garcia, and others, are buried in +this cemetery. + +[Illustration: A RESIDENCE IN EL VEDADO] + +Further on, to the southeast, are other sections of the new Havana, the +districts of Cerro and Jesus del Monte. El Vedado has largely supplanted +these neighborhoods as the "court end" of the city. Many of the fine old +residences of forty or fifty years ago still remain, but most of them are +now closely surrounded by the more modest homes of a less aristocratic +group. A few gardens remain to suggest what they were in the earlier days. +Still further out, in the west-and-south quarter-circle, are little towns, +villages, and hamlets, typically Cuban, with here and there the more +imposing estate of planter or proprietor. But, far the greater number of +visitors, perhaps with greater reason, find more of charm and interest +in the city itself than in the suburbs or the surrounding country. The +enjoyment of unfamiliar places is altogether personal. There are many who +really see nothing; they come away from a brief visit with only a confusion +of vague recollections of sights and sounds, of brief inspection of +buildings about which they knew nothing, of the big, yellow Palace, of this +church and that, of the Morro and the harbor, of sunny days, and of late +afternoons along the Prado and the Malecon. To me, Havana is losing its +greatest charm through an excess of Americanization, slowly but steadily +taking from the place much of the individuality that made it most +attractive. It will be a long time before that is entirely lost, but +five-story office buildings, automobiles in the afternoon parade, steaks +or ham and eggs at an eight or nine o'clock breakfast, and all kinds of +indescribable hats in place of dainty and graceful _mantillas_, seem to +me a detraction, like bay-windows and porticos added to an old colonial +mansion. + + + + +VI + +_AROUND THE ISLAND_ + + +A hundred years ago, the Cubans travelled from place to place about the +island, just as our ancestors did in this country, by water and over rough +trails few of which could, with any approach to correctness, be described +as roads. It was not until about a hundred years ago that we, in this +country, began to build anything even remotely resembling a modern highway. +Our towns and cities were on the seaboard or on the banks of rivers +navigable for vessels of size sufficient for their purposes. Commodities +carried to or brought from places not so located were dragged in stoutly +built wagons over routes the best of which was worse than the worst to be +found anywhere today. Because real road-making in Cuba is quite a modern +institution, an enterprise to which, in their phrase, the Spanish +Government did not "dedicate" itself, the Cuban wagons and carts of today +are chiefly those of the older time. They are heavy, cumbrous affairs with +large wheels, a diameter necessitated by the deep ruts through which a +passage was made. A smaller wheel would soon have been "hub-deep" and +hopelessly stuck. So, too, with the carriages of the nabobs. The poorer +people, when they travelled at all, went on foot or on horseback, as our +ancestors did. The nabobs had their _volantes_, still occasionally, but +with increasing rarity, seen in some parts of the island. Forty years ago, +such vehicles, only a little changed from the original type, were common +enough in Havana itself. About that time, or a few years earlier, the +four-wheeler began to supplant them for city use. + +There is a technical difference between the original type of _volante_ and +its successor which, though still called a _volante_ was properly called a +_quitrin_. The only real difference was that the top of the _quitrin_ was +collapsible, and could be lowered when desirable, while the top of +the _volante_ was not. I have ridden in these affairs, I cannot say +comfortably, over roads that would have been quite impossible for any other +wheeled vehicle. At the back, and somewhat behind the body were two wheels, +six feet in diameter. From, the axle, two shafts projected for a distance, +if memory serves me, of some twelve or fifteen feet. A little forward of +the axle, the body, not unlike the old-fashioned American chaise, was +suspended on stout leather straps serving as springs. Away off in front, at +the end of the shafts, was a horse on which the driver rode in a heavy and +clumsy saddle. For long-distance travel, or for particularly rough roads, +a second horse was added, alongside the shaft horse, and sometimes a third +animal. The motion was pleasant enough over the occasional smooth places, +but the usual motion was much like that of a cork in a whirlpool, or of a +small boat in a choppy sea. Little attention was paid to rocks or ruts; it +was almost impossible to capsize the thing. One wheel might be two feet or +more higher than the other, whereupon the rider on the upper side would be +piled on top of the rider or riders on the lower side, but there was always +a fair distribution of this favor. The rocks and ruts were not always on +the same side of the road. The safety from overturn was in the long shafts +which allowed free play. In the older days, say sixty or seventy years +ago, the _volante_ or the _quitrin_ was an outward and visible sign of a +well-lined pocket-book. It indicated the possessor as a man of wealth, +probably a rich planter who needed such a vehicle to carry him and his +family from their mansion in the city to their perhaps quite as costly home +on the plantation. The _calisero_, or driver, was dressed in a costume +truly gorgeous, the horses were of the best, and the vehicle itself +may have cost two thousand dollars or more. The operation of such a +contrivance, extending, from the rear of the wheels to the horse's nose, +for twenty feet or more, in the narrow streets of the old city, was a +scientific problem, particularly in turning corners. + +Cuba was early in the field with a railway. In 1830, the United States +had only thirty-two miles of line, the beginning of its present enormous +system. Cuba's first railway was opened to traffic in November, 1837. It +was a forty-five mile line connecting Havana with the town of Guines, +southeast of the city. While official permission was, of course, necessary +before the work could be undertaken, it was in fact a Cuban enterprise, due +to the activity of the _Junta de Fomento_, or Society for Improvement. It +was built with capital obtained in London, the construction being in charge +of Mr. Alfred Cruger, an American engineer. Ten years later there were +nearly three hundred miles of line. At the beginning of the American +occupation, in 1899, there were about nine-hundred and fifty miles. There +are now more than 2,000 miles of public service line in operation, and in +addition there are many hundreds of miles of private lines on the sugar +estates. Several cities have trolley lines. For some years after the +American occupation, as before that experience, there was only a +water-and-rail connection, or an all-water route, between the eastern and +western sections of the island. The usual route from Havana to Santiago +was by rail to Batabano or to Cienfuegos, and thence by steamer. The +alternative was an all-water route, consuming several days, by steamer +along the north coast, with halts at different ports, and around the +eastern end of the island to the destination. It is now an all-rail run of +twenty-four hours. The project for a "spinal railway" from one end of +the island to the other had been under consideration for many years. The +configuration lent itself excellently to such a system, and not at all +well to any other. A railway map of such a system shows a line, generally, +through the middle of the island along its length, with numerous branch +lines running north and south to the various cities and ports on the coast. +The plan, broadly, is being carried out. A combination of existing lines +afforded a route to the city of Santa Clara. From these eastward, the Cuba +Company, commonly known as the Van Home road, completed a through line in +1902. In its beginning, it was a highly ambitious scheme, involving the +building of many towns along the way, the erection of many sugar mills, and +the creation of a commercial city, at Nipe Bay, that would leave Havana in +the back-number class. All that called for a sum of money not then and not +now available. But the "spinal railroad" was built, and from it a number of +radiating lines have been built, to Sancti Spiritus, Manzanillo, Nipe +Bay, and to Guantanamo. About the only places on the island, really worth +seeing, with the exception of Trinidad and Baracoa, can now be reached by a +fairly comfortable railway journey. + +[Illustration: THE VOLANTE _Now quite rare_] + +In most of the larger cities of the island, a half dozen or so of them, the +traveller is made fairly comfortable and is almost invariably well fed. But +any question of physical comfort in hotels, more particularly in country +hotels, raises a question of standards. As Touchstone remarked, when in the +forest of Arden, "Travellers must be content." Those who are not ready to +make themselves so, no matter what the surroundings, should stay at home, +which, Touchstone also remarked, "is a better place." If the standard is +the ostentatious structure of the larger cities of this country, with its +elaborate menu and its systematized service, there will doubtless be cause +for complaint. So will there be if the standard is the quiet, cleanly inn +of many towns in this country and in parts of Europe. The larger towns and +villages of the island have a _posada_ in which food and lodging may be +obtained; the smaller places may or may not have "a place to stay." Cuba +is not a land in which commercial travellers swarm everywhere, demanding +comfort and willing to pay a reasonable price for it. However, few +travellers and fewer tourists have any inclination to depart from known +and beaten paths, or any reason for doing so. Nor does a fairly thorough +inspection of the island necessitate any halting in out-of-the-way places +where there is not even an imitation of an inn. All that one needs to see, +and all that most care to see, can be seen in little tours, for a day, from +the larger cities. Yet if one wants to wander a little in the by-paths, it +is easy enough to do so. + +What one sees or does in Cuba will depend mainly upon the purpose of the +visit, and upon the violence of the individual mania for seeing as many +places as possible. If the object is merely an excursion or an escape from +the rigors of a northern winter, there is no occasion for wandering out of +sight of the capital city. There is more to see and more to do in Havana +than there is in all the rest of the island. Nor is there much to be seen +elsewhere that cannot be seen in the immediate vicinity of that city. This, +of course, does not cover the matter of scenery. There are no mountains, +no forest jungles in that neighborhood, but forests in Cuba are not +particularly interesting, and even the mountains of Oriente are no more +beautiful or majestic than are our own summits, our own White Hills of New +Hampshire, the Adirondacks, the Blue Ridge, the Alleghenies, the Rockies, +and the Sierras. The charm of Cuba, and it is extremely charming, is not +its special "points of interest." It is rather a general impression, a +combination of soft and genial climate with varying lights and shades and +colors. Even after much experience there, I am not yet quite ready either +to admit or to deny that the island, taken as a whole, is either beautiful +or picturesque, and yet there is much of both. Attention is rarely +challenged by the sublime or the majestic, but is often arrested by +some play of light and shade. Cuban villages, with few exceptions, are +unattractive, although there is not infrequently some particular building, +usually a church, that calls for a second look or a careful examination. +Most of these little communities consist of a row of low and ungraceful +structures bordering the highway. They are usually extended by building on +at the ends. If the town street gets undesirably long, a second street or a +third will be made, on one or both sides of the main street, and thus the +town acquires breadth as well as length. The houses are built immediately +upon the roadside, and sidewalks are quite unusual. Nor, until the place +becomes a large town or a small city, is there, in most cases, any attempt +at decoration by means of shade trees. A tree may be left if there happened +to be one when the village was born, but rarely do the inhabitants turn +their streets into tree-shaded avenues. There would be an excellent +opportunity for the activities of Village Improvement Societies in Cuba, if +it were not for the fact that such tree-planting would involve pushing all +the houses ten or fifteen feet back from the roadside. + +I have never studied the system of town building in the island, yet it is +presumable that there was some such system. In the larger places, there is +usually a central park around which are arranged the church, the public +buildings, and the stores. Whether these were so constructed from an +original plan, or whether they are an evolution, along a general plan, from +the long, single street, I do not know. I am inclined to believe that the +former was the case, and that it followed the location of a church. The +custom is, of course, of Spanish origin, and is common throughout the +greater part of Latin America. It finds a fair parallel in our own country +custom, by no means infrequent, of an open "green" or common in front +of the village church and the town hall. Tree-setting along the Cuban +highways, more particularly in the neighborhood of the cities, is not at +all unusual, and some of these shaded roads are exceedingly charming. Some +are entirely over-arched by laurel trees and the gorgeous _flamboyan_, +making long tunnels of shade "through whose broken roof the sky looks in." +Evidently the Spanish authorities were too much interested in making money +and enjoying themselves in the cities to care very much for what happened +to the Cubans in the villages, as long as they paid the money that filled +the official pocket and paid for the official entertainment, and the Cubans +were too busy getting that money to have much time for village improvement. +The Spaniards, following their home custom, might decorate a military +highway to some extent, but the rough trail over which the peasant carried +his little crop did not concern them. That was quite the business of the +peasant who had neither the time nor money to do anything about it. + +The question of good roads in Cuba is very much what it is in this country. +Cuba needs more good roads than its people can afford to build; so does the +United States. At the time of the American occupation, in 1899, there were +only 160 miles of improved highway in the entire island. Of this, 85 miles +were in Havana Province, and 75 miles in Pinar del Rio. The remainder of +the island had none. Some work was done during the First Intervention +and more was done under the Palma government. At the time of the Second +Intervention, there were about 380 miles. That is, the United States and +the Cuban Republic built, in six years, nearly 40 per cent, more highway +than the Spanish authorities built in four hundred years. During the Palma +regime, plans were drawn for an extensive road system, to be carried out +as rapidly as the financial resources permitted. Not unlike similar +proceedings in this country, in river and harbor work and public +buildings, politics came into the matter and, like our own under similar +circumstances, each Congressman insisted that some of such work as could +immediately be undertaken, some of the money that could be immediately +spent, should benefit his particular district. The result was that what was +done by the Cubans was somewhat scattered, short stretches built here and +there, new bridges built when there might or might not be a usable road to +them. The Cuban plan involved, for its completion, a period of years and +a large appropriation. It called for comparatively small yearly +appropriations for many roads, for more than four hundred different +projects. Then came the Second Intervention, in 1906, with what has seemed +to many of us an utterly unwise and unwarranted expenditure for the +completion of certain selected projects included in the Cuban plan. It may +be granted that the roads were needed, some of them very much needed, but +there are thousands of miles of unconstructed but much needed roads in +the United States. Yet, in this country, Federal, State, county, and town +treasuries are not drained to their last dollar, and their credit strained, +to build those roads. From the drain on its financial resources, the island +will recover, but the misfortune appears in the setting of a standard for +Federal expenditure, in its total for all purposes amounting to about +$40,000,000 a year, far beyond the reasonable or proper bearing power of +the island. But the work was done, the money spent, and the Cubans were +committed to more work and to further expenditure. I find no data showing +with exactness the mileage completed by the Magoon government, which came +to an end in January, 1909, but a Cuban official report made at the end of +1910 shows that the combined activities of the respective administrations, +Spanish, American, and Cuban, had given the island, at that time, +practically a thousand miles of improved highway, distributed throughout +the island. + +To see the real Cuba, one must get into the country. Havana is the +principal city, and for many it is the most interesting place on the +island, but it is no more Cuba than Paris is France or than New York is the +United States. The real Cuba is rural; the real Cuban is a countryman, a +man of the soil. If he is rich, he desires to measure his possessions in +_caballerias_ of 33-1/3 acres; if poor, in _hectareas_ of 2-1/2 acres. I do +not recall any Cuban cartoon representing the Cuban people that was not a +picture of the peasant, the _guajiro_. Cuba, as a political organism, is +shown as a quite charming _senorita_, but _el pueblo Cubano_, the Cuban +people, are shown as the man of the fields. With the present equipment +of railroads, trolley lines, automobile busses, and highways, little +excursions are easily made in a day. The railways, trolleys, and automobile +busses are unsatisfactory means of locomotion for sight-seeing. The +passenger is rushed past the very sights that would be of the greatest +interest. To most of us, a private hired automobile is open to the very +serious objection of its expensiveness, an item that may sometimes be +reduced by division. It has been my good fortune in more recent years to be +whirled around in cars belonging to friends but my favorite trip in earlier +days is, I presume, still open to those who may care to make it. I have +recommended it to many, and have taken a number with me over the route. + +It is an easy one-day excursion of about sixty miles, by rail to Guanajay, +by carriage to Marianao, and return to Havana by rail. Morning trains +run to Guanajay, through a region generally attractive and certainly +interesting to the novice, by way of Rincon and San Antonio de los Banos, a +somewhat roundabout route, but giving a very good idea of the country, its +plantations, villages, and peasant homes. At Guanajay, an early lunch, or a +late breakfast, may be obtained at the hotel, before or after an inspection +of the town itself, a typical place with its little central park, its old +church, and typical residences. Inquiry regarding the transportation to +Marianao by carriage should not be too direct. It should be treated as a +mere possibility depending upon a reasonable charge. I have sometimes spent +a very pleasant hour in intermittent bargaining with the competitors for +the job, although knowing very well what I would pay and what they would +finally accept. Amiably conducted, as such discussions should be in +Cuba, the chaffering becomes a matter of mutual entertainment. A bargain +concluded, a start may be made about noon for a drive over a good road, +through a series of typical villages, to Marianao, in time for a late +afternoon train to Havana, reaching there in ample time for dinner. Along +the road from Guanajay to Marianao, Maceo swept with ruthless hand in +1896, destroying Spanish property. Here the Spaniards, no less ruthless, +destroyed the property of Cubans. It is now a region of peaceful industry, +and little or nothing remains to indicate its condition when I first saw +it. The little villages along the way were in ruins, the fields were +uncultivated, and there were no cattle. At intervals there stood the walls +of what had been beautiful country estates. Only one of many was left +standing. At intervals, also, stood the Spanish blockhouses. All along that +route, in 1906, were the insurrectos of the unfortunate experience of that +year. In the village of Caimito, a short distance from Guanajay, along that +road, I visited Pino Guerra at his then headquarters when he and his +forces so menaced Havana that Secretary Taft, in his capacity of Peace +Commissioner, ordered their withdrawal to a greater distance. The trip by +rail and road, exhibits most of Cuba's special characteristics. There are +fields of sugar cane and fields of tobacco, country villages and peasant +homes, fruits and vegetables, ceiba trees, royal palms, cocoanut palms, and +mango trees. There is no other trip, as easily made, where so much can be +seen. But there are other excursions in the vicinity, for many reasons best +made by carriage or by private hired automobile. Within fifteen miles or so +of the city, are places like Calvario, Bejucal, and Managua, all reached +by good highways through interesting and typical country, and all well +illustrating the real life of the real Cubans. It was in the vicinity of +those places that Maximo Gomez operated in 1895 and 1896, terrorizing +Havana by menacing it from the south and the east while Maceo threatened it +from the west. Another short and pleasant trip can be made around the head +of the harbor to Guanabacoa, and thence to Cojimar. Another interesting and +easily reached point is Guines, a good example of places of its size and +class. + +Of Cuba's larger cities, there are a score that would demand attention in a +guide-book. Just as there is a certain similarity in most American cities, +in that they are collections of business and residence buildings of +generally similar architecture, so is there a certain sameness in most of +Cuba's cities. To see two or three of them is to get a general idea of all, +although each has its particular features, some particular building, or +some special charm of surroundings. The most difficult of access are +Baracoa, the oldest city of the island, and Trinidad, founded only a few +years later. Glancing at some of these places, in their order from west +to east, the first is Pinar del Rio, a comparatively modern city, dating +really from the second half of the 18th Century. It owes its past and its +present importance to its location as a centre of the tobacco region of the +_Vuelta Abajo_. From comfortable headquarters here, excursions can be made, +by rail or road, through what is perhaps the most attractive, and not +the least interesting section of the island. To the north are the Organ +Mountains and the picturesque town of Vinales, one of the most charming +spots, in point of scenery, in Cuba. To the west, by rail, is Guane, the +oldest settlement in western Cuba, and all around are beautiful hills and +cultivated valleys. Eastward from Havana, the first city of importance is +Matanzas. Here is much to interest and much to charm, the city itself, its +harbor, its two rivers, the famous valley of the Yumuri, and the caves of +Bellamar. The city, founded in 1693, lies along the shore of the bay and +rises to the higher ground of the hills behind it. It lies about sixty +miles from Havana, and is easily reached by rail or by automobile. The +next city in order, also on the north coast, is Cardenas, a modern place, +settled in 1828, and owing its importance to its convenience as a shipping +port for the numerous sugar estates in its vicinity, an importance now +somewhat modified by the facilities for rail shipment to other harbors. +Seventy-five miles or so further eastward is Sagua la Grande, another point +of former convenience as a shipping point for sugar. The city itself is +located on a river, or estuary, some ten or twelve miles from its mouth. +Forty miles or so further on are Remedies and Caibarien, a few miles apart, +the latter on the coast and the former a few miles inland. Caibarien, like +Cardenas and Sagua, is chiefly notable as a sugar port, while Remedios is +the centre of one of the great tobacco districts, producing a leaf of good +quality but generally inferior to the _Partidos_ of Havana Province, and +quite inferior to the famous _Vuelta Abajo_. Southward of this region, and +about midway the width of the island, somewhat more than two hundred miles +eastward of Havana, is the city of Santa Clara, better known in the island +as Villa Clara. The city dates its existence from 1689. It lies surrounded +by rolling hills and expansive valleys, but in the absence of extensive +plantations in its immediate environs, one is led to wonder just why so +pleasant a place should be there, and why it should have reached its +present proportions. For the tourist who wants to "see it all," it is an +excellent and most comfortable central headquarters. + +[Illustration: A VILLAGE STREET _Calvario, Havana Province_] + +From Villa Clara it is only a short run to Cienfuegos, the "city of a +hundred fires," a modern place, only about a hundred years old. There is +every probability that Columbus entered the harbor in 1494, and perhaps +no less probability that Ocampo entered in 1508, on his voyage around the +island. The harbor extends inland for several miles, with an irregular +shore line, behind which rises a border line of hills. The city itself +is some four or five miles from the entrance to the harbor. It came into +existence, and still exists, chiefly by reason of the sugar business. It +is an important outlet for that industry, and many estates are in its near +vicinity. The old city of Trinidad is reached, by boat, from Cienfuegos, or +rather its port city, Casilda, is so reached. Presumably, it was the port +city that Velasquez founded in 1514, a location a few miles inland +being chosen later, as being less exposed to attacks by the pirates and +freebooters who infested the Caribbean Sea for many years. It is said that +Cortes landed here and recruited his forces on his way to Mexico, in 1518. +The city itself stands on the lower slopes of the hills that form its +highly effective background. Its streets are narrow and tortuous. Like most +of the cities of the island, and most of the cities of the world, it has +its humble homes of the poor, and its mansions of the rich. Immediately +behind it stands a hill with an elevation of about nine hundred feet above +sea-level. Its name indicates the reason for its application, _La Vigia_, +the "lookout," or the "watch-tower." From its summit, we may assume that +the people of earlier times scanned the horizon for any sign of approaching +pirates by whom they might be attacked. It serves a more satisfactory +purpose nowadays in that it affords one of the loveliest panoramic views to +be found anywhere in Cuba. Not far away, and accessible from the city, is +the Pico de Potrerillo, about 3,000 feet elevation, the highest point in +Central Cuba. Northeast of Trinidad, and reached by rail from Villa Clara, +is Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad's rival in antiquity, both having been +founded, by Velasquez, in the same year. Here also are narrow, crooked +streets in a city of no mean attractions, although it lacks the picturesque +charm of its rival in age. It is an inland city, about twenty-five miles +from the coast, but even that did not protect it from attack by the +pirates. It was several times the victim of their depredations. + + + + +VII + +_AROUND THE ISLAND: Continued_ + + +The next city, eastward, is Camaguey, in many ways doubtless the best +worth a visit, next to Havana, of any city on the island. It is a place +of interesting history and, for me personally, a place of somewhat mixed +recollections. The history may wait until I have told my story. I think +it must have been on my third visit to the island, early in 1902. On my +arrival in Havana, I met my friend Charles M. Pepper, a fellow laborer in +the newspaper field. He at once informed me that he and I were to start the +next morning for a three or four weeks' journey around the island. It was +news to me, and the fact that my baggage, excepting the suitcase that I +carried, had failed to come on the boat that brought me, led me to demur. +My objections were overruled on the ground that we could carry little +baggage anyway, and all that was needed could be bought before starting, or +along the way. The next morning saw us on the early train for Matanzas. We +spent a week or ten days in that city, in Cardenas, Sagua, Santa Clara, and +Cienfuegos, renewing former acquaintance and noting the changes effected by +the restoration from the war period. That was before the completion of the +Cuba Railway. To get to Camaguey, then known as Puerto Principe, we took +the steamer at Cienfuegos and journeyed along the coast to Jucaro. There, +because of shallow water, we were dropped into a shore boat some four or +five miles from the coast, and there our troubles began. Fortunately, it +was early morning. We got something to eat and some coffee, which is almost +invariably good in Cuba, but when we meet nowadays we have a laugh over +that breakfast at Jucaro. I don't know, and really don't care, what the +place is now. After some hours of waiting, we secured passage in an +antiquated little car attached to a freight train carrying supplies and +structural material to Ciego de Avila, for use by the railway then being +built in both directions, eastward and westward from that point. The line +that there crosses the island from north to south was built in the time +of the Ten Years' War (1868-1878) as a barrier against the revolutionists +operating in eastern Cuba. It was restored for use in the revolution of +1895, but its blockhouses at every kilometre, and its barbed wire tangles, +were entirely ineffective against Gomez and Maceo and other leaders, all of +whom crossed it at their own sweet will, although not without an occasional +vicious little contest. We reached Ciego de Avila soon after noon, and had +to wait there over night for a further advance. The place is now a thriving +little city, but it was then a somewhat sprawling village with a building +that was called a hotel. But we got food and drink and beds, all that is +really necessary for experienced campaigners. For the next two days, Old +Man Trouble made himself our personal companion and did not lose sight of +us for a single minute. + +Through personal acquaintance with the railway officials, we obtained +permission to travel over the line, on any and all trains, as far as it was +then built, some forty miles or so toward Camaguey. Through them, also, we +arranged for saddle horses to meet us at railhead for the remainder of the +journey. There were no trains except construction trains carrying rails, +ties, lumber, and other materials. We boarded the first one out in the +morning. We had our choice of riding on any of those commodities that we +might select. There was not even a caboose. We chose a car of lumber as the +most promising. For four or five hours we crawled through that country, +roasting and broiling on that pile of planks, but the ties and the rails +were even hotter. The only way we could keep a place cool enough to sit on +was by sitting on it. I once occupied a stateroom next to the steamer's +funnel. I have seen, day after day, the pitch bubble between the planks of +a steamer's deck in the Indian Ocean. I have been in other places that I +thought plenty hot enough, but never have I been so thoroughly cooked as +were my companion and I perched on the lumber pile. On top of that, or +rather on top of us, there poured a constant rain of cinders from the +locomotive puffing away a few cars ahead of us. The road-bed was rough, and +at times we had to hang on for our very lives. We can laugh about it now, +but, at the time, it was no joke. At last we reached the end of the line, +somewhere in a hot Cuban forest, but there were no horses. We watched the +operation of railway building, and took turns in anathematizing, in every +language of which we had any knowledge, the abandoned ruffian who failed to +appear with those horses. Before night, we were almost ready to wish that +he had died on the way. At last he came. Our baggage was loaded on a +pack-horse; we mounted and rode gallantly on our way. We had about thirty +miles to cover by that or some other means of locomotion. Before we had +gone a mile, we developed a clear understanding of the reasons for the sale +of those horses by the Government of the United States, but why the United +States Army ever bought them for cavalry mounts we could not even imagine. +There was no road. Most of the way we followed the partly constructed +road-bed for the new railway, making frequent detours, through field or +jungle, to get around gaps or places of impossible roughness. Before we had +covered two miles, we began to wish that the man who sent those horses, a +Spaniard, by the way, might be doomed to ride them through all eternity +under the saddles with which they were equipped. We were sorry enough for +the poor brutes, but sorrier still for ourselves. For several days, I +limped in misery from a long row of savage blisters raised on my leg +by rawhide knots with which my saddle had been repaired. An hour after +starting, we were overtaken by a heavy thunder-shower. At nightfall, after +having covered about fifteen wretched miles, we reached a construction camp +where an American nobleman, disguised as a section-boss, gave us food and +lodging in the little palm-leaf shack that served as his temporary home. It +was barely big enough for one, but he made it do for three. + +[Illustration: STREET AND CHURCH _Camaguey_] + +Early in the morning, we resumed our journey, plodding along as best we +could over a half-graded "right-of-way." A couple of hours brought us to +a larger construction camp where we halted for such relief as we could +secure. We then were some twelve or fourteen miles from our destination. We +discussed the wisdom of making the rest of the way on foot, as preferable +to that particular kind of saddle-work, leaving our baggage to come along +with the horses when it might. But fortune smiled, or it may have been just +a grimace. Word came that a team, two horses and a wagon, would go to the +city that afternoon, and there would be room for us. We told our pilot, +the man with the horses, just what we thought of him and all his miserable +ancestors, gave him a couple of _pesos_, and rejoiced over our prospects of +better fortune. But it proved to be only an escape from the fire into +the frying-pan. I have driven over many miles of South African _veldt_, +straight "across lots," in all comfort, but while the general topography of +Camaguey puts it somewhat into the _veldt_ class, its immediate surface +did not in the least remind me of the South African plateau. The trip was +little short of wonderful for its bumpiness. We got to Camaguey sore and +bruised but, as far as we could discover, physically intact, and, having +arrived, may now return to its history and description. May no "gentle +reader" who scans these pages repeat our experience in getting there. It +is supposed that here, or immediately here-about, was the place of "fifty +houses and a thousand people" encountered by the messengers of Columbus, +when he sent them inland to deliver official letters of introduction to the +gorgeous ruler of the country in which he thought he was. Different writers +tell different stories about the settlement of the place, but there is no +doubt that it was among the earliest to be settled. Columbus gave to a +harbor in that vicinity, in all probability the Bay of Nuevitas, the name +Puerto del Principe, or Port of the Prince. He called the islands of the +neighborhood the Gardens of the King. On that bay, about 1514, Diego +Velasquez founded a city, probably the present Nuevitas, which he is said +to have called Santa Maria. Somewhere from two to ten years later, an +inland settlement was made. This developed into the city that was afterward +given the name of Santa Maria del Puerto del Principe, now very properly +changed to the old Indian name of Camaguey. + +If the idea of an inland location was, as it is said to have been, +protection against pirates and buccaneers, it was not altogether a +success. The distinguished pirate, Mr. Henry Morgan, raided the place very +effectively in 1668, securing much loot. In his book, published in 1871, +Mr. Hazard says: "Puerto Principe (the present Camaguey) is, probably, the +oldest, quaintest town on the island,--in fact, it may be said to be a +finished town, as the world has gone on so fast that the place seems a +million years old, and from its style of dress, a visitor might think he +was put back almost to the days of Columbus." There have been changes +since that time, but the old charm is still there, the narrow and crooked +streets, forming almost a labyrinth, the old buildings, and much else that +I earnestly hope may never be changed. There is now an up-to-date hotel, +connected with the railway company, but if I were to go there again and the +old hotel was habitable, I know I should go where I first stayed, and where +we occupied a huge barrack-like room charged on our bill as "_habitaciones +preferentes_," the state chamber. It had a dirty tiled floor, and was the +home of many fleas, but there was something about it that I liked. I do not +mean to say that all of Camaguey, "the city of the plain," is lovely, or +picturesque or even interesting. No more is all of Paris, or Budapest, +or Amsterdam, or Washington. They are only so in some of their component +parts, but it is those parts that remain in the memory. The country around +the city is a vast plain, for many years, and still, a grazing country, a +land of horses and cattle. The charm is in the city itself. If I could see +only one place outside of Havana, I would see Camaguey. A little less than +fifty miles to the north is Nuevitas, reached by one of the first railways +built in Cuba, now if ever little more than the port city for its larger +neighbor. Columbus became somewhat ecstatic over the region. Perhaps it was +then more charming, or the season more favorable, than when I saw it. I +do not recall any feeling of special enthusiasm about its scenic charms. +Perhaps I should have discovered them had I stayed longer. Perhaps I should +have been more impressed had it not been for the impressions of Camaguey. I +saw Nuevitas only briefly on my way eastward on that memorable excursion by +construction train and saddle. The only route then available was by boat +along the north shore, and it was there that we caught the steamer for +Santiago. + +That sail along the coast would have afforded greater pleasure had it +lacked the noisy presence of an itinerant opera company whose members +persisted, day and night, in exercising their lungs to the accompaniment of +an alleged piano in the cabin. I have a far more pleasant recollection, or +rather a memory because it stays with me, of music in those waters. The +transport on which I went to Porto Rico, in the summer of 1898, carried, +among other troops, a battery of light artillery. It had an unusually good +bugler, and his sounding of "taps" on those soft, starlit nights remains +with me as one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. The shrieks, +squalls, and roars of those opera people were in a wholly different class. +About seventy-five miles east of Nuevitas is Gibara, merely a shipping port +for the inland city of Holguin. The former is only one of a number of such +places found along the coast. Most of them are attractive in point of +surrounding scenery, but little or not at all attractive in themselves, +being mere groups of uninteresting structures of the conventional type. +Holguin is perhaps two hundred years old, quite pleasantly situated, but +affording no special points of interest for the tourist. The city is now +easily reached by a branch of the Cuba Railway. It is worth the visit of +those who "want to see it all." Beyond Gibara is Nipe Bay, not improbably +the first Cuban harbor entered by Columbus. Nipe Bay and its near neighbor, +Banes Bay, are the centres of what is now the greatest industrial activity +of any part of the island. Here, recent American investment is measured in +scores of millions of dollars. Here, in the immediate neighborhood, are +some of the largest sugar plantations and mills on the island, the Boston +and the Preston. A little to the west of Gibara are two others, Chaparra +and Delicias. Hitherto, the western half of the island has been, the great +producing district, but present indications point to a not distant time +when the eastern district will rival and, it may be, outstrip the section +of older development. The foundation is already laid for an extensive +enterprise. Nature has afforded one of the finest land-locked harbors in +the world at Nipe, and another, though smaller, a few miles away, at Banes. +The region now has railroad connection with practically all parts of the +island. Around those bays are sugar lands, tobacco lands, fruit lands, and +a few miles inland are the vast iron ore beds that, as they are developed, +will afford employment for an army of workmen. Nipe Bay is the natural +commercial outlet for a vast area of richly productive soil. At present, +the region affords nothing of special interest except its industrial +activities, its miles and miles of sugar cane, its huge mills, and the +villages built to house its thousands of workmen. + +Seventy-five miles or so eastward of Nipe, lies one of the most charming +and interesting spots on the island. This is old Baracoa, the oldest +settlement on the island, now to be reached only by water or by the +roughest of journeys over mountain trails. The town itself does not amount +to much, but the bay is a gem, a little, circular basin, forest-shaded to +its border, its waters clear as crystal. Behind it rise the forest-clad +hills, step on step, culminating in _el Yunque_, "the anvil," with an +elevation of about eighteen hundred feet. Baracoa is supposed to be the +place about which Columbus wrote one of his most glowing and extravagant +eulogies. Whether it is really worth the time and the discomfort of a +special trip to see it, is perhaps somewhat doubtful. It is a place of +scenery and sentiment, and little else. There is an old fort on a hilltop, +not particularly picturesque, and an old church in which is a cross quite +doubtfully reported as having been furnished by Columbus. Sometime, years +hence, there will be easier communication, and the fertile hillsides and +still more fertile valleys will supply various produces for consumption in +the United States. About twenty-five miles east of Baracoa is the end of +the island, Cape Maisi. Swinging around that, the coasting steamers turn +due west along the shore to Santiago, passing the harbor of Guantanamo, +with its United States naval station. That place is reached by rail from +Santiago, a highly picturesque route through the Guantanamo valley. Besides +the naval station, the place is a shipping port, affording nothing of +special interest to the traveller who has seen other and more easily +accessible cities of its type. It always seems to me that Santiago, or more +properly Santiago de Cuba, would be more engaging if we could forget the +more recent history of this city, known to most Cubans as Cuba (pronounced +Cooba). No doubt, it is a much better place in which to live than it was +twenty years ago, and much of its old charm remains. Its setting cannot +be changed. It is itself a hillside town, surrounded by hills, with real +mountains on its horizon. The old cathedral, a dominant structure, has +been quite a little patched up in recent years, and shows the patches. The +houses, big and little, are still painted in nearly all the shades of the +spectrum. But there is a seeming change, doubtless psychological rather +than physical. One sees, in imagination, Cervera's squadron "bottled up" in +the beautiful harbor, while Sampson's ships lie outside waiting for it to +come out. It is difficult to forget San Juan Hill and El Caney, a few +miles behind the city, and remember only its older stories. A good deal of +history has been made here in the last four hundred years. Its pages +show such names as Velasquez, Grijalva, Hernan Cortes, and Narvaez, and +centuries later, Cespedes, Marti, and Palma. Here was enacted the grim +tragedy of the _Virginius_, and here was the conflict that terminated +Spain's once vast dominion in the western world. My own impression is +that most of its history has already been written, that it will have no +important future. As a port of shipment, I think it must yield to the new +port, Nipe Bay, on the north coast. It is merely a bit of commercial logic, +the question of a sixty-mile rail-haul as compared with a voyage around the +end of the island. Santiago will not be wiped from the map, but I doubt its +long continuance as the leading commercial centre of eastern Cuba. It is +also a fairly safe prediction that the same laws of commercial logic will +some day operate to drain northward the products of the fertile valley of +the Cauto, and the region behind old Manzanillo and around the still older +Bayamo. + +[Illustration: COBRE _Oriente Province_] + +Except the places earlier mentioned, Jucaro, Trinidad and Cienfuegos, there +are no southern ports to the west until Batabano is reached, immediately +south of, and only a few miles from, the city of Havana. It is a shallow +harbor, of no commercial importance. It serves mainly as the centre of a +sponge-fishing industry, and as a point of departure for the Isle of Pines, +and for ports on the south coast. The Isle of Pines is of interest for a +number of reasons, among which are its history, its mineral springs, its +delightful climate, and an American colony that has made much trouble +in Washington. Columbus landed there in 1494, and gave it the name _La +Evangelista_. It lies about sixty miles off the coast, almost due south +from Havana. Between the island and the mainland lies a labyrinth of islets +and keys, many of them verdure-clad. Its area is officially given as 1,180 +square miles. There seems no doubt that, at some earlier time, it formed a +part of the main island, with which it compares in geologic structure and +configuration. It is now, in effect, two islands connected by a marsh; the +northern part being broken and hilly, and the southern part low, flat, and +sandy, probably a comparatively recently reclaimed coralline plain. The +island has been, at various times, the headquarters of bands of pirates, a +military hospital, a penal institution, and a source of political trouble. +It is now a Cuban island the larger part of which is owned by Americans. It +is a part of the province of Havana, and will probably so remain as long as +Cuba is Cuba. My personal investigations of the disputed question of the +political ownership of the island began early in 1899. I then reached a +conclusion from which I have not since seen any reason to depart. The +island was then, had always been, and is now, as much a part of Cuba as +Long Island and Key West have been and are parts of the United States. + +Just who it was that first raised the question of ownership, none of us who +investigated the matter at the time of its particular acuteness, was +able to determine satisfactorily, although some of us had a well-defined +suspicion. The man is now dead, and I shall not give his name. Article I, +of the Treaty of Paris, of December 10, 1898, presumably disposes of the +Cuban area; Article II refers to Porto Rico; and Article III refers to the +Philippines. The issue regarding the Isle of Pines was raised under +Article II, presumably referring only to Porto Rico. A slight but possibly +important difference appears in the Spanish and the English versions. The +English text reads that "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and other +islands now under Spanish sovereignty" etc. The Spanish text, literally +translated runs: "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and the others +that are now under its sovereignty." The obvious reference of the article +is to Mona, Viequez, and Culebra, all small islands in Porto Rican waters. +But the question was raised and was vigorously discussed. An official map +was issued showing the island as American territory. Americans jumped +in, bought up large tracts, and started a lively real estate boom. They +advertised it widely as American territory, and many put their little +collections of dollars into it. The claim of Spanish cession was afterward +denied in the very document that served to keep the issue alive for a +number of years. Article VI of the Platt Amendment, which the Cubans +accepted with marked reluctance, declared that the island was omitted from +the boundaries of Cuba, and that the title and ownership should be left to +future adjustment by treaty. But no alternative appears between cession and +no cession. Had the island become definitely American territory by cession, +its alienation, by such a step, would not have been possible. When we left +Cuba, in 1902, the official instructions from Washington were that the Isle +of Pines would remain under a _de facto_ American government. President +Palma, accepting the transfer, expressed his understanding that it would +"continue _de facto_ under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Cuba." In +some way, the departing American authority failed to leave any agent or +representative of the _de facto_ government of the United States, and the +Cubans included the island in their new administration, very properly. When +the treaty proposed by the Platt Amendment came before the United States +Senate, it hung fire, and finally found lodgment in one of the many +pigeon-holes generously provided for the use of that august body. There it +may probably be found today, a record and nothing more. Why? For the very +simple reason that some of the resident claimants for American ownership +sent up a consignment of cigars made on the island from tobacco grown on +the island, and refused to pay duty on them. The ground of refusal was that +they were a domestic product, sent from one port in the United States to +another port in the same country, and therefore not dutiable. The case of +Pearcy _vs_ Stranahan, the former representing the shippers, and the latter +being the Collector of the Port of New York, came before the Supreme Court +of the United States, and that final authority decided and declared that +the Isle of Pines was Cuban territory and a part of Cuba. The question is +settled, and the Isle of Pines can become territory of the United States +only by purchase, conquest, or some other form of territorial transfer. + +While the American settlers in the Isle of Pines, and the several +real-estate companies who seek purchasers for their holdings, own a large +part of the territory, they still constitute a minority of the population. +Many of the settlers, probably most of them, are industrious and persistent +in their various productive activities. Their specialty is citrus fruits, +but their products are not limited to that line. More than a few have tried +their little experiment in pioneering, and have returned to their home land +more or less disgusted with their experience. Those who have remained, +and have worked faithfully and intelligently, have probably done a little +better than they would have done at home. The great wealth for which all, +doubtless, earnestly hoped, and in which many, doubtless, really believed, +has not come. This settlement is only one of many speculative exploitations +in Cuba. Some of these have been fairly honest, but many of them have been +little better than rank swindles. Many have been entirely abandoned, the +buyers losing the hard-earned dollars they had invested. Others, better +located, have been developed, by patience, persistence, and thrift, into +fairly prosperous colonies. I do not know how many victims have been +caught by unscrupulous and ignorant promoters in the last fifteen years, +principally in the United States and in Canada, but they are certainly +many, so many that the speculative industry has declined in recent years. +Many of the settlers who have remained have learned the game, have +discovered that prosperity in Cuba is purchased by hard work just as it is +elsewhere. In different parts of the island, east, west, and centre, there +are now thrifty and contented colonists who have fought their battle, and +have learned the rules that nature has formulated as the condition of +success in such countries. Whether these people have really done any better +than they would have done had they stayed at home and followed the rules +there laid down, is perhaps another question. At all events, there are +hundreds of very comfortable and happy American homes in Cuba, even in the +Isle of Pines, where they persist in growling because it is Cuba and not +the United States. + +In a review of a country including forty-four thousand square miles of +territory, condensed into two chapters, it is quite impossible to include +all that is worth telling. Moreover, there is much in the island of which +no adequate description can be given. There is much that must be seen if it +if to be fairly understood and appreciated. + + + + +VIII + +_THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA_ + + +IN his message to Congress, on December 5, 1898, President McKinley +declared that "the new Cuba yet to arise from the ashes of the past must +needs be bound to us by ties of singular intimacy and strength if its +enduring welfare is to be assured." + +Probably to many of the people of the United States, the story of our +relations with Cuba had its beginning with the Spanish-American war. +That is quite like a notion that the history of an apple begins with its +separation from the tree on which it grew. The general history of the +island is reviewed in other chapters in this volume. The story of our +active relations with Cuba and its affairs runs back for more than a +hundred years, at least to the days of President Thomas Jefferson who, +in 1808, wrote thus to Albert Gallatin: "I shall sincerely lament Cuba's +falling into any other hands but those of its present owners." Several +other references to the island appear at about that time. Two great +movements were then going on. Europe was in the throes of the Napoleonic +disturbance, and for more than twenty-five years both France and England +schemed, sometimes openly and sometimes secretly, for the possession of +Cuba. The other movement was the revolution in Spain's colonies in the +Western Hemisphere, a movement that cost Spain all of its possessions in +that area, with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico. The influence of the +revolutionary activities naturally extended to Cuba, but it was not until +after 1820 that matters became dangerously critical. From that time until +the present, the question of Cuba's political fate, and the question of our +relations with the island, form an interesting and highly important chapter +in the history of the United States as well as in the history of Cuba. + +In his book on the war with Spain, Henry Cabot Lodge makes a statement that +may seem curious to some and amazing to others. It is, however, the opinion +of a competent and thoroughly trained student of history. He writes thus: + +"The expulsion of Spain from the Antilles is merely the last and final step +of the inexorable movement in which the United States has been engaged for +nearly a century. By influence and by example, or more directly, by arms +and by the pressure of ever-advancing settlements, the United States drove +Spain from all her continental possessions in the Western Hemisphere, until +nothing was left to the successors of Charles and Philip but Cuba and Porto +Rico. How did it happen that this great movement stopped when it came to +the ocean's edge? The movement against Spain was at once national +and organic, while the pause on the sea-coast was artificial and in +contravention of the laws of political evolution in the Americas. The +conditions in Cuba and Porto Rico did not differ from those which had gone +down in ruin wherever the flag of Spain waved on the mainland. The Cubans +desired freedom, and Bolivar would fain have gone to their aid. Mexico and +Colombia, in 1825, planned to invade the island, and at that time invasion +was sure to be successful. What power stayed the oncoming tide which had +swept over a continent? Not Cuban loyalty, for the expression 'Faithful +Cuba' was a lie from the beginning. The power which prevented the +liberation of Cuba was the United States, and more than seventy years later +this republic has had to fight a war because at the appointed time she set +herself against her own teachings, and brought to a halt the movement she +had herself started to free the New World from the oppression of the Old. +The United States held back Mexico and Colombia and Bolivar, used +her influence at home and abroad to that end, and, in the opinion of +contemporary mankind, succeeded, according to her desires, in keeping Cuba +under the dominion of Spain." + +For a number of years, Cuba's destiny was a subject of the gravest concern +in Washington. Four solutions presented themselves; first, the acquisition +of Cuba by the United States; second, its retention by Spain; third, +its transfer to some power other than Spain; fourth, its political +independence. That the issue was decided by the United States is shown by +all the history of the time. While other factors had their influence in the +determination, it is entirely clear that the issue turned on the question +of slavery. In his book on _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan +summarizes his review of the official proceedings by saying that "the South +did not want to see Cuba independent _without_ slavery, while the North did +not want to annex it _with_ slavery." In his work on the _Rise and Fall of +the Slave Power in America_, Mr. Henry Wilson declares that "thus clearly +and unequivocally did this Republic step forth the champion of slavery, and +boldly insist that these islands should remain under the hateful despotism +of Spain, rather than gain their independence by means that should inure to +the detriment of its cherished system. Indeed, it (the United States) would +fight to fasten more securely the double bondage on Cuba and the slave." + +From this point of view, unquestionably correct, it is altogether evident +that the United States assumed responsibility for Cuba's welfare, not by +the intervention of 1898, but by its acts more than seventy years earlier. +The diplomatic records of those years are filled with communications +regarding the island, and it was again and again the subject of legislation +or proposed legislation. President after President dealt with it in +messages to Congress. The acquisition of the island, by purchase or +otherwise, was again and again discussed. Popular interest was again and +again excited; the Spanish colonial policy was denounced; and the burdens +and sufferings of the Cubans were depicted in many harrowing tales. For the +policy that led to the imposition of a restraining hand on proposals to +free Cuba, in those early days, the people of the United States today must +blush. The independence movement in the States of Spanish-America may be +said to have had its definite beginning in 1806, when Francisco Miranda, +a Venezuelan, sailed from New York with three ships manned by American +filibusters, although the first land battle was fought in Bolivia, in 1809, +and the last was fought in the same country, in 1825. But the great wave +swept from the northern border of Mexico to the southernmost point of +Spanish possession. When these States declared their independence, they +wrote into their Constitutions that all men should be free, that human +slavery should be abolished forever from their soil. The attitude of the +United States in the matter of Cuba was determined by the objection to the +existence of an anti-slavery State so near our border. The experience of +Haiti and Santo Domingo was, of course, clearly in mind, but the objection +went deeper than that. Those who are interested may read with profit the +debates in the Congress of the United States, in 1826, on the subject of +the despatch of delegates to the so-called Panama Congress-of that year. On +the whole, it is not pleasant reading from any present point of view. + +Our cherished Monroe Doctrine was one of the fruits of this period, and in +the enunciation of that policy the affairs of Cuba were a prominent if not +the dominant force. The language of this doctrine is said to have been +written by Secretary Adams, but it is embodied in the message of President +Monroe, in December, 1823, and so bears his name. In April, of that year, +Secretary Adams sent a long communication to Mr. Nelson, then the American +Minister to Spain. For their bearing on the Cuban question, and for the +presentation of a view that runs through many years of American policy, +extracts from that letter may be included here. + + DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + WASHINGTON, April 28, 1823. + +"In the war between France and Spain, now commencing, other interests, +peculiarly ours, will, in all probability, be deeply involved. Whatever may +be the issue of this war, as between these two European powers, it may be +taken for granted that the dominion of Spain upon the American continent, +north and south, is irrecoverably gone. But the islands of Cuba and Porto +Rico still remain nominally, and so far really, dependent upon her, that +she possesses the power of transferring her own dominion over them, +together with the possession of them, to others. These islands, from their +local position are natural appendages to the North American continent, +and one of them, Cuba, almost in sight of our shores, from a multitude of +considerations, has become an object of transcendant importance to the +commercial and political interests of our Union. Its commanding position, +with reference to the Gulf of Mexico and the West India seas; the character +of its population; its situation midway between our southern coast and +the island of St. Domingo; its safe and capacious harbor of the Havana, +fronting a long line of our shores destitute of the same advantage; the +nature of its productions and of its wants, furnishing the supplies and +needing the returns of a commerce immensely profitable and mutually +beneficial,--give it an importance in the sum of our national interests +with which that of no other foreign territory can be compared, and little +inferior to that which binds the different members of this Union together. +Such, indeed, are the interests of that island and of this country, the +geographical, commercial, moral, and political relations, that, in looking +forward to the probable course of events, for the short period of half +a century, it is scarcely possible to resist the conviction that the +annexation of Cuba to our federal republic will be indispensable to the +continuance and integrity of the Union itself." + +The communication proceeds to relate the knowledge of the Department that +both Great Britain and France were desirous of securing possession and +control of the island, and to disclaim, on the part of the United States, +all disposition to obtain possession of either Cuba or Porto Rico. +The complications of the situation became increasingly serious, more +particularly with regard to Cuba, and on December 2, of that year (1823), +President Monroe issued his message carrying the "doctrine," which may be +given thus: + +"In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we +have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do so. +It is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent +injuries or make preparations for our defense. With the movements in this +hemisphere we are of necessity more immediately connected. We owe it, +therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the +United States and those powers (of Europe) to declare that we should +consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion +of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing +colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and +shall not interfere. But with the Governments that have declared their +independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have recognized, +we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or +controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power in any +other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward +the United States." + +From this time onward, Cuba appears as an almost continuous object of +special interest to both the people and the officials of the United States. +Notwithstanding this disclaimer of President Monroe's message, the idea +of the acquisition of the island, by the United States, soon arose. It +persisted through all the years down to the time of the Teller amendment, +in 1898, and there are many who even now regard annexation as inevitable at +some future time, more or less distant. The plan appears as a suggestion +in a communication, under date of November 30, 1825, from Alexander +H. Everett, then Minister to Madrid, to President Adams. It crops up +repeatedly in various quarters in later years. It would be a difficult and +tedious undertaking to chase through all the diplomatic records of seventy +years the references to Cuba and its affairs. + +From that period until the present time, the affairs of the island have +been a matter of constant interest and frequent anxiety in Washington. Fear +of British acquisition of the island appears to have subsided about 1860, +but there were in the island two groups, both relatively small, one of +them working for independence, and the other for annexation to the +United States. The great majority, however, desired some fair measure of +self-government, and relief from economic and financial burdens, under the +Spanish flag. The purchase of the island by the United States was proposed +by President Polk, in 1848; by President Pierce, in 1854; and by President +Buchanan, in his time. Crises appeared from time to time. Among them was +the incident of the _Black Warrior_, in 1854. Mr. Rhodes thus describes the +affair, in his _History of the United States_: + +"_The Black Warrior_ was an American merchant steamer, plying between +Mobile and New York, stopping at Havana for passengers and mail. She had +made thirty-six such voyages, almost always having a cargo for the American +port, and never being permitted to bring freight into Havana. The custom +of her agent was to clear her 'in ballast' the day before her arrival. The +practice, while contrary to the regulations of Cuban ports, had always +been winked at by the authorities. It was well understood that the _Black +Warrior_ generally had a cargo aboard, but a detailed manifest of her load +had never been required. She had always been permitted to sail unmolested +until, when bound from Mobile to New York, she was stopped on the 28th of +February, 1854, by order of the royal exchequer, for having violated +the regulations of the port. The agent, finding that the cause of this +proceeding was the failure to manifest the cargo 'in transit,' offered to +amend the manifest, which under the rules he had a right to do; but this +the collector, on a flimsy pretext, refused to permit. The agent was at the +same time informed that the cargo was confiscated and the captain fined, in +pursuance of the custom-house regulations. The cargo was cotton, valued +at one hundred thousand dollars; and the captain was fined six thousand +dollars. The United States consul applied to the captain-general for +redress, but no satisfaction was obtained. A gang of men with lighters were +sent to the ship under the charge of the _commandante_, who ordered the +captain of the _Black Warrior_ to discharge her cargo. This he refused to +do. The _commandante_ then had the hatches opened, and his men began +to take out the bales of cotton. The captain hauled down his flag and +abandoned the vessel to the Spanish authorities." + +The news of the incident created great excitement in Washington. President +Pierce sent a message to Congress, stating that demand had been made on +Spain for indemnity, and suggesting provisional legislation that would +enable him, if negotiations failed, "to insure the observance of our just +rights, to obtain redress for injuries received, and to vindicate the honor +of our flag." + +Mr. Soule, then the American Minister to Madrid, was the official through +whom the negotiations were conducted. He was a man of somewhat impetuous +temperament, and an ardent advocate of Cuba's annexation. He quite +overstepped both the bounds of propriety and of his authority in his +submission, under instructions, of a demand for three hundred thousand +dollars indemnity. This, and Spanish diplomatic methods, led to delay, and +the excitement died out. In the meantime, Spain released the vessel and its +cargo, disavowed and disapproved the conduct of the local officials, paid +the indemnity claimed by the owners of the vessel, and the ship resumed its +regular trips, being treated with every courtesy when visiting Havana. But +the incident gave rise to active discussion, and for a time threatened +serious results. It followed on the heels of another experience, the Lopez +expeditions, to which reference is made in another chapter, and came at a +time when Cuba and Cuban affairs were topics of a lively public interest. +The subject of acquisition was under general public discussion and occupied +a large share of public attention. Some wanted war with Spain, and others +proposed the purchase of the island from Spain. But the immediate cause +of complaint having been removed by the release of the ship, Soule was +instructed to take no further steps in the matter, and the excitement +gradually passed away. + +Immediately following this experience, and growing out of it, came the +incident of the "Ostend Manifesto." At that time, James Buchanan was +Minister to England. John Y. Mason was Minister to France, and Pierre Soule +was Minister to Spain. Secretary of State Marcy suggested a conference +between these three officials. They met at Ostend, but afterward +transferred their deliberations to Aix la Chapelle. The meeting attracted +general attention in Europe. The result of what they reported as "a full +and unreserved interchange of views and sentiments," was a recommendation +that an earnest effort be made immediately to purchase Cuba. They were of +opinion that the sum of one hundred and twenty million dollars be offered. +The report proceeded thus: "After we shall have offered Spain a price for +Cuba far beyond its present value, and this shall have been refused, it +will then be time to consider the question, does Cuba in the possession +of Spain seriously endanger our internal peace and the existence of our +cherished Union? Should this question be answered in the affirmative, then, +by every law, human and divine, we shall be justified in wresting it from +Spain if we possess the power; and this upon the very same principle that +would justify an individual in tearing down the burning house of his +neighbor if there were no other means of preventing the flame from +destroying his own home." It is evident that Soule dominated the meeting, +and only less evident that he, in some way, cajoled his associates +into signing the report. No action was taken on the matter by the +Administration, and the incident has passed into history somewhat, perhaps, +as one of the curiosities of diplomacy. At all events, all historians note +it, and some give it considerable attention. + +The next serious complication arose out of the Ten Years' War, in Cuba, +in 1868, to which reference is made in a chapter on Cuba's revolutions. +Spain's leaders seemed quite incapable of grasping the Cuban situation, of +seeing it in its proper light. It is more than probable that, even then, +the Cubans would have remained loyal if the Spanish authorities had paid +attention to their just and reasonable demands. As stated by Mr. Pepper, +in his _Tomorrow in Cuba_, "The machete and the torch then gained what +peaceful agitation had not been able to achieve." The demands of the +Cubans are thus stated by Senor Cabrera, in his _Cuba and the Cubans_: "A +constitutional system in place of the autocracy of the Captain-General, +freedom of the press, the right of petition, cessation of the exclusion of +Cubans from public office, unrestricted industrial liberty, abolition of +restrictions on the transfer of landed property, the right of assembly and +of association, representation in the Cortes, and local self-government," +all reasonable and just demands from every point of view of modern +civilization. Spain refused all, and on October 10, 1868, an actual +revolution began, the first in the history of the island to be properly +classed as a revolution. The United States soon became concerned and +involved. In his message to Congress on December 6, 1869, President Grant +said: "For more than a year, a valuable province of Spain, and a near +neighbor of ours, in whom all our people cannot but feel a deep interest, +has been struggling for independence and freedom. The people and the +Government of the United States entertain the same warm feelings and +sympathies for the people of Cuba in their pending struggle that they have +manifested throughout the previous struggles between Spain and her former +colonies (Mexico, Central America and South America) in behalf of the +latter. But the contest has at no time assumed the conditions which amount +to a war in the sense of international law, or which would show the +existence of a _de facto_ political organization of the insurgents +sufficient to justify a recognition of belligerency." On June 13, 1870, +President Grant sent a special message to Congress, in which he reviewed +the Cuban situation. Another reference appears in his message of December +5, 1870. In his message of December 4, 1871, he stated that "it is to be +regretted that the disturbed condition of the island of Cuba continues +to be a source of annoyance and anxiety. The existence of a protracted +struggle in such close proximity to our own territory, without apparent +prospect of an early termination, cannot be other than an object of concern +to a people who, while abstaining from interference in the affairs of other +powers, naturally desire to see every other country in the undisturbed +enjoyment of peace, liberty, and the blessings of free institutions." In +the message of December 2, 1872, he said: "It is with regret that I have +again to announce a continuance of the disturbed condition in the island of +Cuba. The contest has now lasted for more than four years. Were its scene +at a distance from our neighborhood, we might be indifferent to its result, +although humanity could not be unmoved by many of its incidents wherever +they might occur. It is, however, at out door." Reference was made to it in +all following annual messages, until President Hayes, in 1878, announced +its termination, ten years after its beginning. The contest had become +practically a deadlock, and a compromise was arranged by General Maximo +Gomez, for the Cubans, and General Martinez Campos, for Spain. + +[Illustration: HOISTING THE CUBAN FLAG OVER THE PALACE, MAY 20, 1902 +_Senate building on the right_] + +The entanglements that grew out of the experiences of this period are too +long and too complicated for detailed review here. This country had no +desire for war with Spain, but approval of the Spanish policy in Cuba was +impossible. The sympathies of the American people were with the Cubans, as +they had been for fifty years, and as they continued to be until the end of +Spanish occupation in the West Indies. Rumors of all kinds were afloat, and +again and again the situation seemed to have reached a crisis that could be +ended only by war. A particularly aggravating incident appeared in what is +known as the _Virginius_ case. This was described as follows, in President +Grant's message to Congress on December 1, 1873. + +"The steamer _Virginius_ was on the 26th day of September, 1870, duly +registered at the port of New York as a part of the commercial marine +of the United States. On the 4th of October, 1870, having received the +certificate of her register in the usual legal form, she sailed from +the port of New York, and has not since been within the territorial +jurisdiction of the United States. On the 31st day of October last (1873), +while sailing under the flag of the United States on the high seas, she was +forcibly seized by the Spanish gunboat _Tornado_, and was carried into the +port of Santiago de Cuba, where fifty-three of her passengers and crew were +inhumanly, and, so far at least as related to those who were citizens of +the United States, without due process of law, put to death." + +Only for the timely arrival of the British man-of-war _Niobe_, and the +prompt and decisive action of her commander, there is no doubt that +ninety-three others would have shared the fate of their companions. Some +were Americans and some were British. The excitement in this country was +intense, and war with Spain was widely demanded. Further investigation +revealed the fact that the American registry was dishonest, that the ship +really belonged to or was chartered by Cubans, that it was engaged in +carrying supplies and munitions of war to the insurgents, and that its +right to fly the American flag was more than doubtful. The ship was seized +by the American authorities under a charge of violation of the maritime +laws of the United States, and was ordered to New York, for a trial of the +case. American naval officers were placed in command, but she was in bad +condition, and foundered in a gale near Cape Fear. As far as the vessel +was concerned, the incident was closed. There remained the question of +indemnity for what Caleb Cushing, then the American Minister to Spain, in +his communication to the Spanish authorities, denounced as "a dreadful, +a savage act, the inhuman slaughter in cold blood, of fifty-three human +beings, a large number of them citizens of the United States, shot without +lawful trial, without any valid pretension of authority, and to the horror +of the whole civilized world." England also filed its claim for the loss +of British subjects, and payment was soon after made "for the purpose of +relief of the families or persons of the ship's company and passengers." In +his _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan says: "The catalogue +of irritating affairs in relation to Cuba, of which the _Virginius_ was +only the culmination, might have been urged as sufficient to justify a +policy of intervention to stop the stubborn war of extermination which had +been tolerated by peaceful neighbors for five years. Some would have been +ready to advocate intervention as a duty. The relations of Cuba to the +United States, the Spanish commercial restrictions which placed Cuba at +the mercy of Spanish monopolists, and the character of the Spanish rule, +pointed to the conclusion that if Spain should not voluntarily grant +reforms and guarantee pacification of the island, the United States might +be compelled, especially for future security, temporarily to occupy it and +assist in the organization of a liberal government based upon modern views. +Such action might have led to annexation, but not necessarily; it might +have led to a restoration of Spanish possession under restrictions as to +the character of Spanish rule, and as to the size of the Spanish army and +naval force in the vicinity; more likely it would have resulted in the +independence of Cuba under American protection." + +These are only some of the more prominent features in fifty years of +American interest in Cuba. Throughout the entire period, the sympathies +of the American people were strongly pro-Cuban. Money and supplies were +contributed from time to time to assist the Cubans in their efforts to +effect a change in their conditions, either through modification of Spanish +laws, or by the road of independence. Only a minority of the Cubans sought +to follow that road at that time. The movement for independence was not +national until it was made so in 1895. What would have happened had we, +at the time of the Ten Years' War, granted to the Cubans the rights of +belligerents, is altogether a matter of speculation. Such a course was then +deemed politically inexpedient. + + + + +IX + +_CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS_ + + +Only by magnifying protests into revolts, and riots into revolutions, is it +possible to show Cuba as the "land of revolutions" that many have declared +it to be. The truth is that from the settlement of the island in 1512 until +the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1898, there were only two experiences +that can, by any proper use of the term, be called revolutions. This +statement, of course, disputes a widely accepted notion, but many notions +become widely accepted because of assertions that are not contradicted. +That a strong undercurrent of discontent runs through all Cuba's history +from 1820 to 1895, is true. That there were numerous manifestations of that +discontent, and occasional attempts at revolution, is also true. But none +of these experiences, prior to 1868, reached a stage that would properly +warrant its description as a revolution. The term is very loosely applied +to a wide range of experiences. It is customary to class as revolution all +disorders from riots to rebellions. This is particularly the case where +the disorder occurs in some country other than our own. The _Standard +Dictionary_ defines the essential idea of revolution as "a change in the +form of government, or the constitution, or rulers, otherwise than +as provided by the laws of succession, election, etc." The _Century +Dictionary_ defines such proceedings as "a radical change in social or +governmental conditions; the overthrow of an established political system." +Many exceedingly interesting parallels may be drawn between the experience +of the American colonies prior to their revolution, in 1775, and the +experience of Cuba during the 19th Century. In fact, it may perhaps be +said that there is no experience in Cuba's history that cannot be fairly +paralleled in our own. In his _History of the United States_, Mr. Edward +Channing says: "The governing classes of the old country wished to exploit +the American colonists for their own use and behoof." Change the word +"American" to "Spanish," and the Cuban situation is exactly defined. The +situation in America in the 18th Century was almost identical with the +situation in Cuba in the 19th Century. Both, in those respective periods, +suffered from oppressive and restrictive trade laws and from burdensome +taxation, from subordination of their interests to the interests of the +people of a mother-country three thousand miles away. Unfortunately for the +Cubans, Spain was better able to enforce its exactions than England +was. Cuba's area was limited, its available harbors few in number, its +population small. + +Not until the years immediately preceding the revolutions by which the +United States and Cuba secured their independence, was there any general +demand for definite separation from the mother-country. The desire in both +was a fuller measure of economic and commercial opportunity. One striking +parallel may be noted. The Tories, or "loyalists," in this country have +their counterpart in the Cuban _Autonomistas_. Referring to conditions in +1763, Mr. Channing states that "never had the colonists felt a greater +pride in their connection with the British empire." Among the great figures +of the pre-revolutionary period in this country, none stands out more +clearly than James Otis, of Boston, and Patrick Henry, of Virginia. In an +impassioned address, in 1763, Otis declared that "every British subject in +America is of common right, by acts of Parliament, and by the laws of God +and nature, entitled to all the essential privileges of Britons. What God +in his Providence has united let no man dare attempt to pull asunder." +Thirteen years later, the sundering blow was struck. Patrick Henry's +resolutions submitted to the Virginia House of Burgesses, in 1765, set +that colony afire, but at that time neither he nor his associates desired +separation and independence if their natural rights were recognized. It was +not until the revolution of 1895 that the independence of Cuba became a +national demand, a movement based on realization of the hopelessness of +further dependence upon Spain for the desired economic and fiscal relief. +As in the American colonies there appeared, from time to time, individuals +or isolated groups who demanded drastic action on the part of the +colonists, so were there Cubans who, from time to time, appeared with +similar demands. Nathaniel Bacon headed a formidable revolution in Virginia +in 1676. Massachusetts rebelled against Andros and Dudley in 1689. From the +passage of the Navigation Acts, in the middle of the 17th Century, until +the culmination in 1775, there was an undercurrent of friction and a +succession of protests. The Cuban condition was quite the same excepting +the fact of burdens more grievous and more frequent open outbreaks. + +The records of many of the disorders are fragmentary. Spain had no desire +to give them publicity, and the Cubans had few means for doing so. The +_Report on the Census of Cuba_, prepared by the War Department of the +United States, in 1899, contains a summary of the various disorders in +the island. The first is the rioting in 1717, when Captain-General Roja +enforced the decree establishing a government monopoly in tobacco. The +disturbances in Haiti and Santo Domingo (1791-1800) resulting in the +establishment of independence in Haiti, under Toussaint, excited +unimportant uprisings on the part of negroes in Cuba, but they were quickly +suppressed. The first movement worthy of note came in 1823. It was +a consequence of the general movement that extended throughout +Spanish-America and resulted in the independence of all Spain's former +colonies, excepting Cuba and Porto Rico. That the influence of so vast a +movement should have been felt in Cuba was almost inevitable. As disorder +continued throughout much of the time, the period 1820-1830 is best +considered collectively. The same influences were active, and the same +forces were operative for the greater part of the term. The accounts of +it all are greatly confused, and several nations were involved, including +Spain, the United States, France, England, Mexico, and Colombia. The +slavery question was involved, as was the question of the transfer of the +island to some Power other than Spain. Independence was the aim of some, +though probably no very great number. Practically all of Cuba's later +experiences have their roots in this period. During these ten years, the +issue between Cubans who sought a larger national and economic life, +and the Spanish element that insisted upon the continuance of Spanish +absolutism, had its definite beginning, to remain a cause of almost +constant friction for three-quarters of a century. The Spanish Constitution +of 1812, abrogated in 1814, was again proclaimed in 1820, and again +abrogated in 1823. The effort of Captain-General Vives, acting under +orders from Ferdinand VII, to restore absolutism encountered both vigorous +opposition and strong support. Secret societies were organized, whose exact +purposes do not appear to be well known. Some have asserted that it was a +Masonic movement, while others have held that the organizations were +more in the nature of the _Carbonari_. One of them, called the _Soles de +Bolivar_, in some way gave its name to the immediate activities. It was +charged with having planned a rebellion against the government, but the +plans were discovered and the leaders were arrested. The movement appears +to have been widespread, with its headquarters in Matanzas. An uprising was +planned to take place on August 16, 1823, but on that day Jose Francisco +Lemus, the leader, and a number of his associates were arrested and +imprisoned. Among them was Jose Maria Heredia, the Cuban poet, who was, +for this offence, condemned, in 1824, to perpetual exile for the crime of +treason. + +Others engaged in the conspiracy fled the country. Some were officially +deported. But the punishments imposed on these people served to excite +the animosity of many more, and a period of agitation followed, marked by +occasional outbreaks and rioting. To meet the situation, an army intended +to be employed in reconquering some of the colonies that had already +declared and established their independence, was retained on the island. +In 1825, a royal decree conferred on the Spanish Governor in Cuba a power +practically absolute. This excited still further the anger of the Cuban +element and led to other manifestations of discontent. There was a +combination of political agitation with revolutionary demonstrations. +In 1826, there was a local uprising in Puerto Principe, directed more +particularly against the Spanish garrison, whose conduct was regarded as +highly offensive. A year or two later, Cuban exiles in Mexico and Colombia, +with support from the people of those countries, organized a secret society +known as the "Black Eagle," having for its purpose a Cuban revolution. Its +headquarters were in Mexico, and its activities were fruitless. Many +were arrested and tried and sentenced to death or deportation. But Vives +realized the folly of adding more fuel to the flames, and the sentences +were in all cases either mitigated or revoked. This seems to have brought +that particular series of conspiracies to an end. It was a time of active +political agitation and conspiracy, with occasional local riots that were +quickly suppressed. While much of it was revolutionary in its aims and +purposes, none of it may with any fitness be called a revolution, unless +a prevalence of a lively spirit of opposition and rebellion is to be so +classed. The agitation settled down for a number of years, but broke out in +local spasms occasionally. There were riots and disorders, but that is not +revolution. It is to be remembered that the cause of all this disturbance +was, in the main, an entirely creditable sentiment, quite as creditable +as that which led the American colonists to resist the Stamp taxes and to +destroy tea. It was a natural and righteous protest against oppression, a +movement lasting for seventy-five years, for which Americans, particularly, +should award praise rather than blame or carping criticism. Having done, in +our own way, very much what the Cubans have done, in their way, we are not +free to condemn them. The only real difference is that their methods were, +on the whole, a little more strenuous than ours. Cuban blood was stirred +by the successful revolutions in Mexico and in Spanish South America, and +conditions in the island were contrasted with those in the then somewhat +new United States. Something of the part played by this country in the +experiences of the time is presented in another chapter, on the relations +of the two countries. + +The next movement worthy of note came in 1849, if we omit the quarrel, in +1837, between General Tacon and his subordinate, General Lorenzo, and the +alleged proposal of the slaves in the neighborhood of Matanzas to rise +and slaughter all the whites. Neither of these quite belongs in the +revolutionary class. In 1847, a conspiracy was organized in the vicinity +of Cienfuegos. Its leader was General Narciso Lopez. The movement was +discovered, and some of the participants were imprisoned. Lopez escaped to +the United States where he associated himself with a group of Cuban exiles, +and opened correspondence with sympathizers in the island. They were joined +by a considerable number of adventurous Americans, inspired by a variety +of motives. The declared purpose of the enterprise was independence as the +alternative of reform in Spanish laws. An expedition was organized, but +the plans became known and President Taylor, on August 11, 1849, issued +a proclamation in which he declared that "an enterprise to invade the +territories of a friendly nation, set on foot and prosecuted within the +limits of the United States, is in the highest degree criminal." He +therefore warned all citizens of the United States who might participate in +such an enterprise that they would be subject to heavy penalties, and would +forfeit the protection of their country. He also called on "every officer +of this Government, civil or military, to use all efforts in his power to +arrest for trial and punishment every such offender against the laws." The +party was captured as it was leaving New York. The best evidence of the +time is to the effect that there was in Cuba neither demand for nor support +of such a movement, but Lopez and his associates, many of them Americans, +persisted. A second expedition was arranged, and a party of more than six +hundred men, many of them American citizens, assembled on the island of +Contoy, off the Yucatan coast, and on May 19, 1850, landed at Cardenas. But +there was no uprising on the part of the people. The Spanish authorities, +informed of the expedition, sent ships by sea and troops by land. After +a sharp skirmish, the invaders fled for their lives. Lopez and those who +escaped with him succeeded in reaching Key West. He went to Savannah, where +he was arrested but promptly liberated in response to public clamor. But +even this did not satisfy the enthusiastic liberator of a people who did +not want to be liberated in that way. He tried again in the following +year. On August 3, 1851, he sailed from near New Orleans, on the steamer +_Pampero_, in command of a force of about four hundred, largely composed +of young Americans who had been lured into the enterprise by assurance of +thrilling adventure and large pay. They landed near Bahia Honda, about +fifty miles west of Havana. Here, again, the Cubans refused to rise and +join the invaders. Here, again, they encountered the Spanish forces by whom +they were beaten and routed. Many were killed, some were captured, and +others escaped into the surrounding country and were captured afterward. +Lopez was among the captured. He was taken to Havana, and died by _garrote_ +in the little fortress La Punta. His first officer, Colonel Crittenden, and +some fifty Americans were captured and taken to Atares, the fortress at the +head of Havana harbor, where they were shot. For that somewhat brutal act, +the United States could ask no indemnity. In violation of the laws of the +United States, they had invaded the territory of a nation with which the +country was at peace. In the initial issue of the _New York Times_, on +October 18, 1851, there appeared a review of the incident, presenting a +contemporaneous opinion of the experience. It was, in part, as follows: + +"Nothing can be clearer than the fact that, for the present, at least, +the inhabitants of Cuba do not desire their freedom. The opinion has very +widely prevailed that the Cubans were grievously oppressed by their Spanish +rulers, and that the severity of their oppression alone prevented them from +making some effort to throw it off. The presence of an armed force in their +midst, however small, it was supposed would summon them by thousands to the +standard of revolt, and convert the colony into a free republic. Men high +in office, men who had lived in Cuba and were supposed to be familiar with +the sentiments of its people, have uniformly represented that they were +ripe for revolt, and desired only the presence of a small military band to +serve as a nucleus for their force. Believing that the Cuban population +would aid them, American adventurers enlisted and were ruined. They found +no aid. Not a Cuban joined them. They were treated as pirates and robbers +from the first moment of their landing. Nor could they expect any other +treatment in case of failure. They ceased to be American citizens the +moment they set out, as invaders, for the shores of Cuba." + +[Illustration: A SPANISH BLOCK HOUSE] + +The excitement of the Lopez incident was passing when it was revived, +in 1854, by the _Black Warrior_ experience, to which reference is made +elsewhere. Another invasion was projected by exuberant and adventurous +Americans. It was to sail from New Orleans under command of General +Quitman, a former Governor of the State of Mississippi. No secret was +made of the expedition, and Quitman openly boasted of his purposes, in +Washington. The reports having reached the White House, President Pierce +issued a proclamation warning "all persons, citizens of the United States +and others residing therein" that the General Government would not fail to +prosecute with due energy all those who presumed to disregard the laws of +the land and our treaty obligations. He charged all officers of the United +States to exert all their lawful power to maintain the authority and +preserve the peace of the country. Quitman was arrested, and put under +bonds to respect the neutrality laws. There was a limited uprising in +Puerto Principe, in 1851, and a conspiracy was revealed, in Pinar del Rio, +in 1852. A few years later the Liberal Club in Havana and the Cuban Junta +in New York were reported as raising money and organizing expeditions. Some +sailed, but they accomplished little, except as the activities appear as a +manifestation of the persistent opposition on the part of what was probably +only a small minority of the Cuban people. For several years, the unrest +and the agitation continued. Spain's blindness to the situation is +puzzling. In his _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan says: +"Spain, after squandering a continent, had still clung tenaciously to Cuba; +and the changing governments which had been born (in Spain) only to be +strangled, held her with a taxing hand. While England had allowed her +colonies to rule themselves, Spain had persisted in keeping Cuba in the +same state of tutelage that existed when she was the greatest power in +the world, and when the idea of colonial rights had not developed." In +_Tomorrow in Cuba_, Mr. Pepper notes that "though the conception of +colonial home rule for Cuba was non-existent among the Spanish statesmen of +that day, the perception of it was clear on the part of the thinking +people of the island. The educated and wealthy Cubans who in 1865 formed +themselves into a national party and urged administrative and economic +changes upon Madrid felt the lack of understanding among Spanish statesmen. +The concessions asked were not a broad application of civil liberties. When +their programme was rejected in its entirety they ceased to ask favors. +They inaugurated the Ten Years' War." Regarding this action by the Cubans, +Dr. Enrique Jose Varona, a distinguished Cuban and a former deputy to the +Cortes, has stated that "before the insurrection of 1868, the reform party +which included the most enlightened, wealthy, and influential Cubans, +exhausted all the resources within their reach to induce Spain to initiate +a healthy change in her Cuban policy. The party started the publication of +periodicals in Madrid and in the island, addressed petitions, maintained a +great agitation throughout the country, and having succeeded in leading the +Spanish Government to make an inquiry into the economic, political, and +social conditions in Cuba, they presented a complete plan of government +which satisfied public requirements as well as the aspirations of the +people. The Spanish Government disdainfully cast aside the proposition as +useless, increased taxation, and proceeded to its exaction with extreme +severity." Here not seek its independence; the object was reform in +oppressive laws and in burdensome taxation, a measure of self-government, +under Spain, and a greater industrial and commercial freedom. It is most +difficult to understand the short-sightedness of the Spanish authorities. +The war soon followed the refusal of these entirely reasonable demands, and +the course of the Cubans is entirely to their credit. An acceptance of the +situation and a further submission would have shown them as contemptible. + +The details of a conflict that lasted for ten years are quite impossible +of presentation in a few pages. Nor are they of value or interest to any +except special students who can find them elaborately set forth in many +volumes, some in Spanish and a few in English. Having tried once before to +cover this period as briefly and as adequately as possible, I can do no +better here than to repeat the story as told in an earlier work (_Cuba, and +the Intervention_). On the 10th of October, 1868, Carlos Manuel Cespedes +and his associates raised the cry of Cuban independence at Yara, in the +Province of Puerto Principe (now Camaguey). On the 10th of April, 1869, +there was proclaimed the Constitution of the Cuban Republic. During the +intervening months, there was considerable fighting, though it was largely +in the nature of guerrilla skirmishing. The Spanish Minister of State +asserted in a memorandum issued to Spain's representatives in other +countries, under date of February 3, 1876, that at the outbreak of the +insurrection Spain had 7,500 troops, all told, in Cuba. According to +General Sickels, at that time the American Minister to Spain, this number +was increased by reinforcements of 34,500 within the first year of the war. +The accuracy of this information, however, has been questioned. Prior +to the establishment of the so-called Republic, the affairs of the +insurrection were in the hands of an Assembly of Representatives. On +February 26, this body issued a decree proclaiming the abolition of slavery +throughout the island, and calling upon those who thus received their +freedom to "contribute their efforts to the independence of Cuba." During +the opening days of April, 1869, the Assembly met at Guiamaro. On the tenth +of that month a government was organized, with a president, vice-president, +general-in-chief of the army, secretaries of departments, and a parliament +or congress. Carlos Manuel Cespedes was chosen as President, and Manuel +de Quesada as General-in-Chief. A Constitution was adopted. Senor Morales +Lemus was appointed as minister to the United States, to represent the new +Republic, and to ask official recognition by the American Government. The +government which the United States was asked to recognize was a somewhat +vague institution. The insurrection, or revolution, if it may be so +called, at this time consisted of a nominal central government, chiefly +self-organized and self-elected, and various roving bands, probably +numbering some thousands in their aggregate, of men rudely and +incompetently armed, and showing little or nothing of military organization +or method. + +Like all Cuban-Spanish wars and warfare, the destruction of property was a +common procedure. Some of the methods employed for the suppression of the +insurrection were not unlike those adopted by General Weyler in the later +war. At Bayamo, on April 4, 1869, Count Valmaseda, the Spanish Commandant +of that district, issued the following proclamation: + +1. Every man, from the age of fifteen years upward, found away from his +place of habitation, who does not prove a justified reason therefor, will +be shot. + +2. Every unoccupied habitation will be burned by the troops. + +3. Every habitation from which no white flag floats, as a signal that its +occupants desire peace, will be reduced to ashes. + +In the summer of 1869, the United States essayed a reconciliation and +an adjustment of the differences between the contestants. To this Spain +replied that the mediation of any nation in a purely domestic question was +wholly incompatible with the honor of Spain, and that the independence of +Cuba was inadmissible as a basis of negotiation. Heavy reinforcements were +sent from Spain, and the strife continued. The commerce of the island +was not greatly disturbed, for the reason that the great producing and +commercial centres lay to the westward, and the military activities were +confined, almost exclusively, to the eastern and central areas. In April, +1874, Mr. Fish, then Secretary of State, reported that "it is now more than +five years since the uprising (in Cuba) and it has been announced with +apparent authority, that Spain has lost upward of 80,000 men, and has +expended upward of $100,000,000, in efforts to suppress it; yet the +insurrection seems today as active and as powerful as it has ever been." +Spain's losses among her troops were not due so much to the casualties of +war as they were to the ravages of disease, especially yellow fever. The +process, in which both parties would appear to be about equally culpable, +of destroying property and taking life when occasion offered, proceedings +which are hardly to be dignified by the name of war, continued until the +beginning of 1878. Throughout the entire period of the war, the American +officials labored diligently for its termination on a basis that would give +fair promise of an enduring peace. Many questions arose concerning the +arrest of American citizens and the destruction of property of American +ownership. Proposals to grant the Cubans the rights of belligerents were +dismissed as not properly warranted by the conditions, and questions +arose regarding the supply of arms and ammunition, from this country, by +filibustering expeditions. References to Cuban affairs appear in many +presidential messages, and the matter was a subject of much discussion and +numerous measures in Congress. Diplomatic communication was constantly +active. In his message of December 7, 1875, President Grant said: "The past +year has furnished no evidence of an approaching termination of the ruinous +conflict which has been raging for seven years in the neighboring island +of Cuba. While conscious that the insurrection has shown a strength and +endurance which make it at least doubtful whether it be in the power of +Spain to subdue it, it seems unquestionable that no such civil organization +exists which may be recognized as an independent government capable of +performing its international obligations and entitled to be treated as one +of the powers of the earth." Nor did he then deem the grant of belligerent +rights to the Cubans as either expedient or properly warranted by the +circumstances. + +In 1878, Martinez Campos was Governor-General of Cuba, and Maximo Gomez +was Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban forces. Both parties were weary of +the prolonged hostilities, and neither was able to compel the other to +surrender. Spain, however, professed a willingness to yield an important +part of the demands of her rebellious subjects. Martinez Campos and Gomez +met at Zanjon and, on February 10, 1878, mutually agreed to what has been +variously called a peace pact, a treaty, and a capitulation. The agreement +was based on provisions for a redress of Cuban grievances through greater +civil, political, and administrative privileges for the Cubans, with +forgetfulness of the past and amnesty for all then under sentence for +political offences. Delay in carrying these provisions into effect gave +rise to an attempt to renew the struggle two years later, but the effort +was a failure. + +Matters then quieted down for a number of years. The Cubans waited to see +what would be done. The Spanish Governor-General still remained the supreme +power and, aside from the abolition of slavery, the application of the +Spanish Constitution and Spanish laws to Cuba, and Cuban representation +in the Cortes, much of which was rather form than fact, the island gained +little by the new conditions. Discontent and protest continued and, at +last, broke again into open rebellion in 1895. + +The story of that experience is told in another chapter. In 1906, there +came one of the most deplorable experiences in the history of the island, +the first and only discreditable revolution. The causes of the experience +are not open to our criticism. Our own records show too much of precisely +the same kind of work, illegal registration, ballot box stuffing, threats +and bribery. The first election in the new Republic was carried with only +a limited and somewhat perfunctory opposition to the candidacy of Estrada +Palma. Before the second election came, in 1905, he allied himself +definitely with an organization then known as the Moderate party. The +opposition was known as the Liberal party. Responsibility for the +disgraceful campaign that followed rests on both, almost equally. The +particular difference lies in the fact that, the principal offices having +been given to adherents of the Moderates, they were able to control both +registration and election proceedings. But the methods employed by the +opposition were no less censurable. Realizing defeat, the Liberals withdrew +from the field, by concerted action, on the day of the election, and the +Moderates elected every one of their candidates. Naturally, a feeling of +bitter resentment was created, and there came, in the spring of 1906, +rumors of armed revolt. In August, an actual insurrection was begun. +Disgruntled political leaders gathered formidable bands in Pinar del Rio +and in Santa Clara provinces. President Palma became seriously alarmed, +even actually frightened. Through the United States Consul-General in +Havana, he sent urgent appeals to Washington for naval and military aid. +Mr. Taft, then Secretary of War, and Mr. Bacon, the Assistant Secretary of +State, were sent to Havana to investigate and report on the situation. They +arrived in Havana on September 19. After ten days of careful and thorough +study, and earnest effort to effect an adjustment, a proclamation was +issued declaring the creation of a provisional government. This was +accepted by both parties and the insurgent bands dispersed. Charles E. +Magoon was sent down as Provisional Governor. Americans who are disposed to +censure the Cubans for this experience in their history, may perhaps turn +with profit to some little experiences in the history of their own country +in its political infancy, in 1786 and 1794. Those incidents do not relieve +the Cubans of the censure to which they are open, but they make it a +little difficult for us to condemn them with proper grace and dignity. The +provisional government continued until January 28, 1909, when control was +turned over to the duly elected officials, they being the same who withdrew +from the polls, acknowledging defeat, in the election of 1905. + + + + +X + +_INDEPENDENCE_ + + +Cuba's final movement for independence began on February 24, 1895. Under +the treaty of Zanjon, executed in 1878, Spain agreed to grant to the Cubans +such reforms as would remove their grounds of complaint, long continued. +The Cubans denied that the terms of the agreement had been kept. Those +terms are indicated in a statement submitted by Tomas Estrada y Palma to +Richard Olney, then Secretary of State of the United States. It bore the +date of December 7, 1895. The communication sets forth, from the Cuban +point of view, of course, the causes of the revolution of 1895. It says: + +"These causes are substantially the same as those of the former revolution, +lasting from 1868 to 1878, and terminating only on the representation of +the Spanish Government that Cuba would be granted such reforms as +would remove the grounds of complaint on the part of the Cuban people. +Unfortunately the hopes thus held out have never been realized. The +representation which was to be given the Cubans has proved to be absolutely +without character; taxes have been levied anew on everything conceivable; +the offices in the island have increased, but the officers are all +Spaniards; the native Cubans have been left with no public duties +whatsoever to perform, except the payment of taxes to the Government and +blackmail to the officials, without privilege even to move from place to +place in the island except on the permission of government authority. + +"Spain has framed laws so that the natives have substantially been deprived +of the right of suffrage. The taxes levied have been almost entirely +devoted to support the army and navy in Cuba, to pay interest on the debt +that Spain has saddled on the island, and to pay the salaries of the vast +number of Spanish office holders, devoting only $746,000 for internal +improvements out of the $26,000,000 collected by tax. No public schools are +in reach of the masses for their education. All the principal industries +of the island are hampered by excessive imposts. Her commerce with every +country but Spain has been crippled in every possible manner, as can +readily be seen by the frequent protests of shipowners and merchants. + +"The Cubans have no security of person or property. The judiciary are +instruments of the military authorities. Trial by military tribunals can be +ordered at any time at the will of the Captain-General. There is, besides, +no freedom of speech, press, or religion. In point of fact, the causes of +the Revolution of 1775 in this country were not nearly as grave as those +that have driven the Cuban people to the various insurrections which +culminated in the present revolution." + +Spain, of course, denied these charges, and asserted that the agreement had +been kept in good faith. The Spanish Government may have been technically +correct in its claim that all laws necessary to the fulfillment of its +promises had been enacted. But it seems entirely certain that they had not +been made effective. The conditions of the Cubans were in no way improved +and, some time before the outbreak, they began preparations for armed +resistance. In _Cuba and the Intervention_ (published in 1905) I have +already written an outline review of the experience of the revolution, and +I shall here make use of extracts from that volume. The notable leader +and instigator of the movement was Jose Marti, a patriot, a poet, and a +dreamer, but a man of action. He visited General Maximo Gomez at his home +in Santo Domingo, where that doughty old warrior had betaken himself after +the conclusion of the Ten Years' War. Gomez accepted the command of the +proposed army of Cuban liberation. Antonio Maceo also accepted a command. +He was a mulatto, an able and daring fighter, whose motives were perhaps a +compound of patriotism, hatred of Spain, and a love for the excitement of +warfare. Others whose names are written large in Cuba's history soon joined +the movement. A _junta_, or committee, was organized with headquarters in +New York. After the death of Marti, this was placed in charge of Tomas +Estrada y Palma, who afterward became the first President of the new +Republic. Its work was to raise funds, obtain and forward supplies and +ammunition, and to advance the cause in all possible ways. There were legal +battles to be fought by and through this organization, and Mr. Horatio S. +Rubens, a New York lawyer, was placed in charge of that department. The +twenty-fourth of February was set for the beginning of activities, but arms +were lacking, and while the movement was actually begun on that day, the +operations of the first six weeks or so were limited to numerous local +uprisings of little moment. But the local authorities became alarmed, and +martial law was proclaimed in Santa Clara and Matanzas provinces on the +27th. Spain became alarmed also, and immediately despatched General +Martinez Campos as Governor-General of the island, to succeed General +Calleja. He assumed command on April 16. Maceo and his associates, among +them his brother Jose, also a fighter of note, landed from Costa Rica +on April 1. Marti, Gomez, and others, reached the island on the 11th. +Meanwhile, Bartolome Maso, an influential planter in Oriente, had been in +command of the forces in his vicinity. Many joined, and others stood ready +to join as soon as they could be equipped. Engagements with the Spanish +troops soon became a matter of daily occurrence, and Martinez Campos +realized that a formidable movement was on. Spain hurried thousands of +soldiers to the island. + +For the first five months, the insurgents kept their opponents busy with an +almost uninterrupted series of little engagements, a guerrilla warfare. In +one of these, on May 19, Jose Marti was killed. His death was a severe blow +to the patriots, but it served rather to inspire a greater activity than +to check the movement. His death came in the effort of a small band of +insurgents to pass the Spanish cordon designed to confine activities to +Oriente Province. Immediately after the death of Marti, Maximo Gomez +crossed that barrier and organized an army in Camaguey. The first +engagement properly to be regarded as a battle occurred at Peralejo, near +Bayamo, in Oriente, about the middle of July. The respective leaders were +Antonio Maceo and General Martinez Campos, in person. The victory fell to +Maceo, and Martinez Campos barely eluded capture. The engagements of the +Ten Years' War were confined to the then sparsely settled eastern half of +the island. Those of the revolution of 1895 covered the greater part of the +island, sweeping gradually but steadily from east to west. During my first +visit to Cuba, I was frequently puzzled by references to "the invasion." +"What invasion?" I asked, "Who invaded the country?" I found that it meant +the westward sweep of the liberating army under Gomez and Maceo. It +covered a period of more than two years of frequent fighting and general +destruction of property. Early in the operations Gomez issued the following +proclamation: + + +GENERAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION + +Najasa, Camaguey, July 1, 1895. + +To THE PLANTERS AND OWNERS OF CATTLE RANCHES: + +_In accord with the great interests of the revolution for the independence +of the country, and for which we are in arms_: + +WHEREAS, _all exploitations of any product whatsoever are aids and +resources to the Government that we are fighting, it is resolved by the +general-in-chief to issue this general order throughout the island, that +the introduction of articles of commerce, as well as beef and cattle, +into the towns occupied by the enemy, is absolutely prohibited. The sugar +plantations will stop their labors, and those who shall attempt to grind +the crop notwithstanding this order, will have their cane burned and their +buildings demolished. The person who, disobeying this order, shall try to +profit from the present situation of affairs, will show by his conduct +little respect for the rights of the revolution of redemption, and +therefore shall be considered as an enemy, treated as a traitor, and tried +as such in case of his capture_. + + (_Signed_) MAXIMO GOMEZ, + The General-in-Chief. + +This proved only partially effective, and it was followed by a circular to +commanding officers, a few months later, reading thus: + + +HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION + +Territory of Sancti Spiritus, November 6, 1895. + +_Animated by the spirit of unchangeable resolution in defence of the rights +of the revolution of redemption of this country of colonists, humiliated +and despised by Spain, and in harmony with what has been decreed concerning +the subject in the circular dated the 1st of July, I have ordered the +following_: + +ARTICLE I. _That all plantations shall be totally destroyed, their cane and +outbuildings burned, and railroad connections destroyed_. + +ARTICLE II. _All laborers who shall aid the sugar factories--these sources +of supplies that we must deprive the enemy of--shall be considered as +traitors to their country_. + +ARTICLE III. _All who are caught in the act, or whose violation of Article +II shall be proven, shall be shot. Let all chiefs of operations of the army +of liberty comply with this order, determined to furl triumphantly, even +over ruin and ashes, the flag of the Republic of Cuba_. + +_In regard to the manner of waging the war, follow the private instructions +that I have already given_. + +_For the sake of the honor of our arms and your well-known courage and +patriotism, it is expected that you will strictly comply with the above +orders_. + + _(Signed)_ MAXIMO GOMEZ, + General-in-Chief. + +To peace-loving souls, all this sounds very brutal, but all war is brutal +and barbarous. In our strife in the Philippines, from 1899 to 1902, many of +us were proud to be told that we were conducting a "humane war." There is +no such thing. The very terms are contradictory. Gomez had declared that +if Spain would not give up Cuba to the Cubans, the Cubans would themselves +render the island so worthless and desolate a possession that Spain could +not afford to hold it. Short of further submission to a rule that was, very +rightly, regarded as no longer endurable, no other course was open to them. +Another proclamation appeared a few days later. + + + HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF + LIBERATION + + Sancti Spiritus, November 11 1895. + +To HONEST MEN, VICTIMS OF THE TORCH: + +_The painful measure made necessary by the revolution of redemption +drenched in innocent blood from Hatuey to our own times by cruel and +merciless Spain will plunge you in misery. As general-in-chief of the army +of liberation, it is my duty to lead it to victory, without permitting +myself to be restrained or terrified, by any means necessary to place Cuba +in the shortest time in possession of her dearest ideal. I therefore place +the responsibility for so great a ruin on those who look on impassively and +force us to those extreme measures which they then condemn like dolts and +hypocrites as they are. After so many years of supplication, humiliation, +contumely, banishment, and death, when this people, of its own will, has +arisen in arms, there remains no solution but to triumph, it matters not +what means are employed to accomplish it_. + +_This people cannot hesitate between the wealth of Spain and the liberty +of Cuba. Its greatest crime would be to stain the land with blood without +effecting its purposes because of puerile scruples and fears which do not +concur with the character of the men who are in the field, challenging the +fury of an army which is one of the bravest in the world, but which in this +war is without enthusiasm or faith, ill-fed and unpaid. The war did not +begin February 24; it is about to begin now_. + +_The war had to be organized; it was necessary to calm and lead into +the proper channels the revolutionary spirit always exaggerated in the +beginning by wild enthusiasm. The struggle ought to begin in obedience to a +plan and method more or less studied, as the result of the peculiarities of +this war. This has already been done. Let Spain now send her soldiers to +rivet the chains on her slaves; the children of this land are in the field, +armed with the weapons of liberty. The struggle will be terrible, but +success will crown the revolution and the efforts of the oppressed_. + +(_Signed_) MAXIMO GOMEZ, +General-in-Chief. + +Such an address doubtless savors of bombast to many Americans, but in the +history of political and military oratory in their own land they can find +an endless number of speeches that, in that particular quality, rival if +they do not surpass it. The Cuban situation was desperate, and the Cuban +attitude was one of fixed determination. Productive industry was generally +suppressed, and much property was destroyed, by both Cubans and Spaniards. +This necessarily threw many out of employment, and drove them into the +insurgent ranks. The Cubans are a peaceful people. All desired relief from +oppressive conditions, but many did not want war. While many entered the +army from patriotic motives, many others were brought into it only as a +consequence of conditions created by the conflict. The measures adopted +were severe, but decision of the contest by pitched battles was quite +impossible. The quoted figures are somewhat unreliable, but the Spanish +forces outnumbered the Cubans by at least five to one, and they could +obtain freely the supplies and ammunition that the Cubans could obtain only +by filibustering expeditions. The Cubans, therefore, adopted a policy, the +only policy that afforded promise of success. Spain poured in fresh troops +until, by the close of 1895, its army is reported as numbering 200,000 men. + +The Cubans carried the contest westward from Oriente and Camaguey, through +Santa Clara, and into the provinces of Matanzas, Havana, and Pinar del Rio. + +[Illustration: ALONG THE HARBOR WALL _Havana_] + +The _trocha_ across the island, from Jucaro on the south to Moron on the +north, originally constructed during the Ten Years' War, was a line of +blockhouses, connected by barbed wire tangles, along a railway. This +obstructed but did not stop the Cuban advance. The authorities declared +martial law in the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Rio on January 2, +1896. Gomez advanced to Marianao, at Havana's very door, and that city was +terrified. Maceo was operating immediately beyond him in Pinar del Rio, +through the most important part of which he swept with torch and machete. +The Spaniards built a _trocha_ there from Mariel southward. Maceo crossed +it and continued his work of destruction, in which large numbers of the +people of the region joined. He burned and destroyed Spanish property; +the Spaniards, in retaliation, burned and destroyed property belonging to +Cubans. Along the highway from Marianao to Guanajay, out of many stately +country residences, only one was left standing. Villages were destroyed and +hamlets were wrecked. On one of his expeditions in December, 1896, Maceo +was killed near Punta Brava, within fifteen miles of Havana. Gomez planned +this westward sweep, from Oriente, six hundred miles away, but to Antonio +Maceo belongs a large part of the credit for its execution. The weakness of +the Ten Years' War was that it did not extend beyond the thinly populated +region of the east; Gomez and Maceo carried their war to the very gates of +the Spanish strongholds. There were occasional conflicts that might well be +called battles, but much of it was carried on by the Cubans by sudden and +unexpected dashes into Spanish camps or moving columns, brief but sometimes +bloody encounters from which the attacking force melted away after +inflicting such damage as it could. Guerrilla warfare is not perhaps a +respectable method of fighting. It involves much of what is commonly +regarded as outlawry, of pillage and of plunder, of destruction and +devastation. These results become respectable only when attained through +conventional processes, and are in some way supposed to be ennobled by +those processes. But they sometimes become the only means by which the weak +can meet the strong. Such they seemed to be in the Cuban revolt against +the Spaniards, when Maximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo made guerrilla warfare +almost a military science. Gomez formulated his plan of campaign, but, with +the means at his disposal, its successful execution was possible only by +the methods adopted. At all events, it succeeded. The Cubans were not +strong enough to drive Spain out of the island by force of arms, but they +showed themselves unconquerable by the Spanish troops. They had once +carried on a war for ten years in a limited area; by the methods adopted, +they could repeat that experience practically throughout the island. They +could at least keep insurrection alive until Spain should yield to their +terms, or until the United States should be compelled to intervene. No +great movements, but constant irritation, and the suspension of all +industry, was the policy adopted and pursued for the year 1897. + +But there was another side to it all, a different line of activity. +Immediately after his arrival on the island, on April 11, 1895, Marti +had issued a call for the selection of representatives to form a civil +government. He was killed before this was effected. An assembly met, at +Jimaguayu, in Camaguey, on September 13, 1895. It consisted of twenty +members, representing nearly all parts of the island. Its purpose was the +organization of a Cuban Republic. On the 16th, it adopted a Constitution +and, on the 18th, elected, as President, Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, and +as Vice-President, Bartolome Maso. Secretaries and sub-secretaries were +duly chosen, and all were formally installed. Maximo Gomez was officially +appointed as General-in-Chief of the army, with Antonio Maceo as Lieutenant +General. Tomas Estrada y Palma was chosen as delegate plenipotentiary +and general agent abroad, with headquarters in New York. Both civil and +military organizations were, for a time, crude and somewhat incoherent. It +could not be otherwise. They were engaged in a movement that could only +succeed by success. Arms and money were lacking. The civil government was +desirable in a field that the military arm could not cover. Action lay with +the military and with the Cuban Junta in the United States. The latter +organization immediately became active. Calls were made for financial +assistance and liberal responses were made, chiefly by Cubans. In 1896 +and 1897, bonds were issued and sold, or were exchanged for supplies and +munitions of war. For a number of years scandalous stories were afloat +declaring that these bonds were printed by the acre, and issued, purely for +speculative purposes, to the extent of millions upon millions of dollars. +The truth is that every bond printed, whether issued or unissued, has been +fully accounted for, the actual issue being about $2,200,000. Provision was +made in Cuba's Constitution for the recognition of this indebtedness, and +it has since been discharged, while the plates and the unused bonds have +been destroyed. There may have been speculation in the bonds, as there was +in the bonds issued by the United States during the Civil War, but Cuba's +conduct in the whole matter has been honest and most honorable. In that +matter certainly, its detractors have been confounded. The principal +difficulty encountered by the _junta_ was the despatch to Cuba of the men +and the munitions so greatly needed by those in the field. That, however, +is a story that I shall endeavor to tell, in part, in another chapter. It +cannot now, if ever, be told in full. + +Meanwhile, a complicated political situation developed. The story is too +long and too complicated for review in detail. It may be given in general +outline. The Peace of 1878 was followed by the organization of political +parties, the Liberal and the Union Constitutional. At first, there was +comparatively little difference in the essence of their respective +platforms, but the lines diverged as the situation developed. The Liberal +party became, and remained, the Cuban party, and the Union Constitutional +became the Spanish party. Later on, the Liberals became the Autonomists. +Their object, for twenty years, was reform in conditions under the rule of +Spain. There was no independence party. That was organized, in 1895, by +Marti, Gomez, Maceo, Maso, and their associates. It had only one plank in +its platform--_Cuba Libre y Independiente_--whatever the cost to the island +and its people. "The Autonomist group," says Mr. Pepper, in his _Tomorrow +in Cuba_, "became as much a political party as it could become under +Spanish institutions." It grew in strength and influence, and continued its +agitation persistently and stubbornly. The Spanish Cortes busied itself +with discussion of Cuban affairs, but reached no conclusions, produced no +results. In 1893, there came the definite organization of the Reformist +party, with aims not differing greatly from those of the _Autonomistas_. +But Spain delayed until Marti and his followers struck their blow. Official +efforts to placate them failed utterly, as did efforts to intimidate them +or to conquer them. The Autonomists declared their support of the existing +Government, and rebuked the insurgents in a _manifesto_ issued on April 4, +1895, six weeks after the outbreak. They only succeeded in antagonizing +both sides, the Spanish authorities and the revolutionists. Spain, greatly +alarmed, recalled Martinez Campos and sent out Weyler to succeed him. +Had Spain followed the advice of Martinez Campos, the failure of the +insurrection would have been little short of certain. It sent out Weyler, +on whom the Cubans, twenty years earlier, had conferred the title of +"Butcher." This step threw to the side of the insurgents the great mass +of the middle class Cubans who had previously wavered in uncertainty, +questioning the success of revolution while adhering to its general +object. Weyler instituted the brutal policy that came to be known as +reconcentration. It may be said, in a way, that the Cuban forces themselves +instituted this policy. To clear the country in which they were operating, +they had ordered all Spaniards and Spanish sympathizers to betake +themselves to the cities and towns occupied by Spanish garrisons. This was +inconvenient for its victims, but its purpose was humane. Gomez also sought +to concentrate the Cubans, particularly the women and children, in the +recesses of the hills where they would be less exposed to danger than they +would be in their homes. This also was a humane purpose. + +Weyler's application of this policy was utterly brutal. The people of the +country were herded in prison camps, in settlements surrounded by stockades +or trenches beyond which they might not pass. No provision was made for +their food or maintenance. The victims were non-combatants, women, and +children. In his message of December, 1897, President McKinley said of +this system, as applied by Weyler, "It was not civilized warfare; it was +extermination. The only peace it could beget was that of the wilderness +and the grave." In my experience as a campaign correspondent in several +conflicts, I have necessarily seen more or less of gruesome sights, +the result of disease and wounds, but I have seen nothing in any way +comparable, in horror and pitifulness, to the victims of this abominable +system. To describe their condition in detail would be little short of +offensive, those groups of hopeless, helpless sufferers who lingered only +until death came and kindly put them out of their misery and pain. But by +this time, two forces had come into active operation, dire alarm in Spain +and wrath and indignation in the United States. Weyler had failed as +Martinez Campos, when leaving the island, predicted. He was recalled, and +was succeeded, on October 31, 1897, by General Blanco. The new incumbent +tried conciliation, but it failed. The work had gone too far. The party in +the field had become the dominant party, not to be suppressed either by +force of arms or by promises of political and economic reform. At last, +Spain yielded. Outside pressure on Madrid, chiefly from the United States, +prevailed. A scheme for Cuban autonomy was devised and, on January 1, +1898, was put into effect. But it came too late. It was welcomed by many +non-participants in the war, and a form of government was organized under +it. But the party then dominant, the army in the field, distrusted the +arrangement and would have none of it. All overtures were rejected and +the struggle continued. On February 15, 1898, came the disaster to the +battleship _Maine_, in the harbor of Havana. On April 11th, President +McKinley's historic message went to Congress, declaring that "the only hope +of relief and repose from a condition which can no longer be endured is the +enforced pacification of Cuba," and asking for power and authority to use +the military and naval forces of the United States to effect a termination +of the strife in Cuba. Such, in the briefest possible outline, is the +record of this eventful period, eventful alike for Cuba and for the United +States. + +During this struggle, the people of the United States became deeply +interested in the affairs of the island, and the Administration in +Washington became gravely concerned by them. A preceding chapter, on the +United States and Cuba, dropped the matter of the relations of this country +to the island at the end of the Ten Years' War, but the relations were by +no means dropped, nor were they even suspended. The affairs of the island +appear again and again in diplomatic correspondence and in presidential +messages. The platform of the Republican party, adopted at the national +convention in St. Louis, on June 18, 1896, contained the following: "From +the hour of achieving their own independence, the people of the United +States have regarded with sympathy the struggles of other American peoples +to free themselves from European domination. We watch with deep and abiding +interest the heroic battle of the Cuban patriots against cruelty and +oppression, and our best hopes go out for the full success of their +determined contest for liberty. The Government of Spain having lost control +of Cuba and being unable to protect the property or lives of resident +American citizens, or to comply with its treaty obligations, we believe +that the Government of the United States should actively use its influence +and good offices to restore peace and give independence to the island." +The Democratic party platform of the same year stated that "we extend our +sympathy to the people of Cuba in their heroic struggle for liberty and +independence." The platform of the People's party likewise expressed +sympathy, and declared the belief that the time had come when "the United +States should recognize that Cuba is and of right ought to be a free and +independent State." This may be regarded as the almost unanimous opinion of +the people of this country at that time. In 1896 and 1897 many resolutions +were introduced in the Congress urging action for the recognition of Cuban +independence. There was frequent and prolonged debate on the question, but +no final action was taken. In his message of December, 1897, President +McKinley said: "Of the untried measures (regarding Cuba) there remain +only: Recognition of the insurgents as belligerents; recognition of the +independence of Cuba; neutral intervention to end the war by imposing a +rational compromise between the contestants; and intervention in favor of +one or the other party. I speak not of forcible annexation, for that +cannot be thought of. That, by our code of morality, would be criminal +aggression." + +[Illustration: COUNTRY ROAD _Havana Province_] + +Recognition of the Cubans as belligerents would have effected a radical +change in the situation. It would have given the Cubans the right to buy in +the American market the arms and supplies that they could then only obtain +surreptitiously, that they could only ship by "filibustering expeditions," +by blockade-runners. In law, the propriety of granting belligerent rights +depends upon the establishment of certain facts, upon the proof of the +existence of certain conditions. Those conditions did then exist in Cuba. +An unanswerable argument was submitted by Horatio S. Rubens, Esq., the +able counsel of the Cuban _junta_ in New York. The Cubans never asked for +intervention by the United States; they did, with full justification, ask +for recognition as belligerents. The consent of this country was deemed +inexpedient on political rather than on moral grounds. Had it suited the +purposes of this country to grant that right, very much the same arguments +would have been made in support of the course as those that were used to +support the denial of Cuba's requests. Recognition of Cuban independence, +or intervention in favor of the Cubans, would have been the equivalent of +the grant of belligerent rights. But the policy adopted, and the course +pursued, did not serve to avert war with Spain. The story of that war has +been written by many, and is not for inclusion here. The treaty of peace +was signed, in Paris, on December 10, 1898, duly ratified by both parties +in the following months, and was finally proclaimed on April 11, 1899. The +war was over, but its definite termination was officially declared on the +anniversary of the issuance of President McKinley's war message. On January +1, 1899, the American flag was hoisted throughout the island, as a signal +of full authority, but subject to the provisions of the Teller Amendment to +the Joint Resolution of Congress, of April 20, 1898, thus: + +"That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to +exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said Island except +for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is +accomplished, to leave the government and control of the Island to its +people." + +At twelve o'clock, noon, on the 20th of May, 1902, there was gathered +in the State Apartment of the Palace occupied by many Spanish +Governors-General, the officials of the United States, the elected +officials of the new Cuban Republic, and a limited number of guests. In +that same apartment, General Castellanos signed the abdication of Spanish +authority. In its turn, pursuant to its pledges, the United States +transferred authority to the President of the Cuban Republic. Four +centuries of subjection, and a century of protest and struggle, were there +and then ended, and Cuba joined the sisterhood of independent nations. + + + + +XI + +_FILIBUSTERING_ + + +The term "filibuster" affords an interesting example of the way in which +words and their uses become twisted into something altogether different +from their original meaning. It comes from a Dutch word, several centuries +old, _vrijbuiter_, or free vessel or boat. It got somehow into English as +"freebooter," and into Spanish as _filibustero_. The original referred +to piracy. Two or three centuries later, it meant an engagement in +unauthorized and illegal warfare against foreign States, in effect, +piratical invasions. In time, it came into use to describe the supply +of military material to revolutionists, and finally to obstruction in +legislative proceedings. In his message of June 13, 1870, President Grant +said that "the duty of opposition to filibustering has been admitted by +every President. Washington encountered the efforts of Genet and the French +revolutionists; John Adams, the projects of Miranda; Jefferson, the schemes +of Aaron Burr. Madison and subsequent Presidents had to deal with the +question of foreign enlistment and equipment in the United States, and +since the days of John Quincy Adams it has been one of the constant cares +of the Government in the United States to prevent piratical expeditions +against the feeble Spanish American Republics from leaving our shores." + +In 1806, Francisco Miranda, a Venezuelan patriot whose revolutionary +activities preceded those of Simon Bolivar, sailed from New York on what +would have been called, some years later, a filibustering expedition. His +three vessels were manned chiefly by Americans. There are always those +whose love of excitement and adventure, sometimes mixed with an active +sympathy for an under dog, leads them to engage in such an enterprise. This +one was productive of no important results. There were plenty of American +pirates and privateers in earlier days, but I have found no record of any +earlier actual expedition whose purpose was the creation of a new republic. +But during the next hundred years, including the considerable number +of Americans who have engaged in the present disorder in Mexico, such +enterprises have been numerous. Among the most notable are the several +Lopez expeditions to Cuba, about 1850, and the Walker expeditions to +Lower California, Nicaragua, and Honduras, a few years later. The steamer +_Virginius_, to which reference is made in another chapter, was engaged +in filibustering when she was captured, in 1873, and many of her crew and +passengers unlawfully executed, by Spanish authority, in Santiago. But that +was only one of many similar enterprises during the Ten Years' War in Cuba. +It is very doubtful if the war could have continued as it did without them. +During our own Civil War, we called such industries "blockade-running," but +it was all quite the same sort of thing. The Confederate army needed arms, +ammunition, medicine, and supplies of many kinds. On April 19, 1861, +President Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of the ports of the seceded States, +with a supplementary proclamation on the 27th that completed the line, and +thus tied the South hand and foot. In his _History of the United States_, +Elson notes that raw cotton could be bought in Southern ports for four +cents a pound while it was worth $2.50 a pound in Liverpool, and that a ton +of salt worth seven or eight dollars in Nassau, a few miles off the coast, +was worth $1700 in gold in Richmond before the close of the war, all +because of the blockade. + +There is, naturally, a lack of detail regarding the many expeditions, large +and small, of the Ten Years' War, but they began soon after the opening of +hostilities. In his _Diary_, Gideon Welles notes, under date of April 7, +1869, the prevalence of "rumors of illegal expeditions fitting out in our +country to aid the Cuban insurgents," and states that "our countrymen are +in sympathy with them." In December, of that year, President Grant reported +that a number of illegal expeditions had been broken up, but did not +refer to those that had succeeded. In October, 1870, he issued a general +proclamation, without specific reference to Cuba, warning all persons +against engagement in such expeditions. During the years of the war, +Spanish warships, at different times, seized American vessels, a proceeding +which led to some active diplomatic negotiation, and which, on several +occasions, threatened to involve this country in war with Spain. The +problem of the industry variously known as filibustering, blockade-running, +gun-running, and the shipment of contraband, has two ends. There is, first, +the task of getting the shipment out of one country, and, second, the task +of getting it into another country. While it is generally classed as an +unlawful enterprise, there frequently arises a difficulty in proving +violation of law, even when goods are seized and the participants arrested. +There is, perhaps, a moral question involved also. Such shipments may be a +violation of the law. They are generally so regarded. But they may be, +as in the case of the struggling Cubans, struggling against actual +and generally admitted wrongs, the only means of serving a worthy and +commendable end. There is no doubt that, in Cuba's revolution of 1895, +Americans who knew about the work were prone to regard a successful +expedition to the island with satisfaction if not with glee. They were +inclined to regard those engaged as worthy patriots rather than as +law-breakers. + +Under date of February 23, 1898, the House of Representatives requested +the Secretary of the Treasury to inform that body "at the earliest date +practicable, if not incompatible with the public service, what has been +done by the United States to prevent the conveyance to the Cubans +of articles produced in the United States, and what to prevent +'filibustering,' and with what results, giving particulars, and at what +expense to the United States." A reply was sent on the 28th. It makes a +very good showing for the activities of the officials responsible for the +prevention of such expeditions, but from all I can learn about the matter, +it is quite incomplete. There were a number of excursions not set down in +the official records. Sailing dates and time and place of arrival were not +advertised in the daily papers. + +The official statement shows that sixty reports of alleged filibustering +expeditions were brought to the attention of the Treasury Department; that +twenty-eight of them were frustrated through efforts of the Department; +that five were frustrated by the United States Navy; four by Spain; two +wrecked; one driven back by storm; one failed through a combination of +causes; and seventeen that may be regarded as successful expeditions. The +records of the Cuban _junta_ very materially increase the number in the +latter class. The despatch of these expeditions was a three-cornered battle +of wits. The groups engaged were the officials of the United States, the +representatives of Spain, and the agents of the revolution. The United +States employed the revenue service and the navy, aided on land by the +Customs Service, the Secret Service, and other Federal officers. The +official representatives of Spain employed scores of detectives and Spanish +spies. The Cuban group sought to outwit them all, and succeeded remarkably +well in doing so. A part of the story has been told, with general +correctness, in a little volume entitled _A Captain Unafraid_, described +as _The Strange Adventures of Dynamite Johnny O'Brien_. This man, really a +remarkable man in his special line, was born in New York, in 1837, and, at +the time this is written, is still living. He was born and grew to boyhood +in the shadow of the numerous shipyards then in active operation along the +East River. The yards were his playground. At thirteen years of age, he ran +away and went to see as cook on a fishing sloop. He admits that he could +not then "cook a pot of water without burning it," but claims that he +could catch cod-fish where no one else could find them. From fisherman, +sailing-master on private yachts, schooner captain, and officer in the +United States Navy in the Civil War, he became a licensed East River pilot +in New York. He became what might be called a professional filibuster +at the time of the revolution in Colombia, in 1885, following that with +similar experience in a revolt in Honduras two years later. The Cubans +landed a few expeditions in 1895, but a greater number were blocked. +In March, 1896, they applied to O'Brien and engaged him to command the +_Bermuda_, then lying in New York and ready to sail. Captain O'Brien +reports that her cargo included "2,500 rifles, a 12-pounder Hotchkiss +field-gun, 1,500 revolvers, 200 short carbines, 1000 pounds of dynamite, +1,200 _machetes_, and an abundance of ammunition." All was packed in boxes +marked "codfish," and "medicines." + +The _Bermuda_ sailed the next morning, March 15, with O'Brien in command, +cleared for Vera Cruz. The Cubans, including General Calixto Garcia, who +were to go on the expedition, were sent to Atlantic City, there to engage a +fishing sloop to take them off-shore where they would be picked up by the +_Bermuda_ on her way. The ship was under suspicion, and was followed down +the bay by tugboats carrying United States marshals, customs officers, and +newspaper reporters. O'Brien says: "They hung on to us down through the +lower bay and out past Sandy Hook, without getting enough to pay for a +pound of the coal they were furiously burning to keep up with us. I don't +know how far they might have followed us, but when we were well clear of +the Hook, a kind fortune sent along a blinding snow-storm, which soon +chased them back home." General Garcia and his companions were picked up as +planned, and that part of the enterprise was completed. The vessel was +on its way. A somewhat roundabout route was taken in order to avoid any +possible overhauling by naval or revenue ships. The point selected for the +landing was a little harbor on the north coast about thirty miles from the +eastern end of the island. The party included two Cuban pilots, supposed to +know the coast where they were to land. One of them proved to be a traitor +and the other, O'Brien says, "was at best an ignoramus." The traitor, who, +after the landing, paid for his offence with his life, tried to take them +into the harbor of Baracoa, where lay five Spanish warships. But O'Brien +knew the difference, as shown by his official charts, between the Cape +Maisi light, visible for eighteen miles, and the Baracoa light, visible +for only eight miles, and kicked the pilot off the bridge. The landing was +begun at half-past ten at night, and completed about three o'clock in the +morning, with five Spanish warships barely more than five miles away. The +United States Treasury Department reported this expedition as "successful." +The vessel then proceeded to Honduras, where it took on a cargo of bananas, +and returned, under orders, to Philadelphia, the home city of its owner, +Mr. John D. Hart. Arrests were made soon after the arrival, including Hart, +the owner of the vessel, O'Brien, and his mate, and General Emilio Nunez +who accompanied the expedition as the representative of the _junta_. The +case was transferred from the courts in Philadelphia to New York, and there +duly heard. The alleged offenders were defended by Horatio Rubens, Esq., of +New York, the official counsel of the _junta_. One of the grounds of the +defence was that the defendants might be guilty of smuggling arms into +Cuba, but with that offence the courts of the United States had nothing to +do. The jury disagreed. The indictments were held over the heads of the +members of the group, but no further action was taken, and two or three +years later the case was dismissed by order of the Attorney General of the +United States. + +This expedition fairly illustrates the science of filibustering in its +elementary form, a clearance with some attendant risk; a voyage with +possibility of interference at any time; and a landing made with still +greater risk and danger of capture. The trip had been made so successfully +and with such full satisfaction to the promoters that the _junta_ urged +O'Brien to remain with them as long as there should be need for his +services, and he agreed to do so. A department of expeditions was organized +under the general control of Emilio Nunez, with O'Brien as navigator. +Credit for the numerous successful expeditions that followed lies in +differing degrees with Nunez, Palma, Rubens, O'Brien, Hart, Cartaya, and +others less well known in connection with the enterprises. But for the work +they did, the risks they ran, Cuba's revolution must have failed. All of +them risked jail sentences, and some of them risked their lives in ways +perhaps even more dangerous than fighting in the field. The success of the +_Bermuda_ expedition, carried out by what may be called direct evasion, +quite seriously disturbed the authorities in this country, and excited them +to greater precautions and wider activity. Whatever may have been their +personal feelings in the matter, it was their duty to see that the laws of +the country were enforced as far as they could be. The players of the game +for the Cubans met the new activities with complicated moves, many of +which puzzled the watching officials, and landed a number of expeditions. +Meanwhile, minor expeditions continued. The official report notes that on +March 12, 1896, the _Commodore_, a 100-ton steamer, sailed from Charleston +with men, arms, and ammunition, and landed them in Cuba. The _Laurada_, a +900-ton steamer, was reported by the Spanish Legation as having sailed on +May 9, meeting three tugs and two lighters, off the coast, from which were +transferred men and arms. The report states that "some of the men landed in +Cuba, but the larger part of the arms and ammunition was thrown into the +sea," which may or may not have been the case. On May 23, the tug _Three +Friends_ left Jacksonville, took on men and arms from two small vessels +waiting outside, and landed all in Cuba. A month later, and again two +months later, the _Three Friends_ repeated the trip from Florida ports. On +June 17, the _Commodore_ made another successful trip from Charleston. + +While these and other minor expeditions were going on, the department of +expeditions in New York was busy with a more extensive enterprise. An order +was placed for 3000 rifles, 3,000,000 rounds of ammunition, 3 12-pound +Hotchkiss field-guns and 600 shells, _machetes_, and several tons of +dynamite. The steamer _Laurada_ was chartered, and the ocean-going tug +_Dauntless_ was bought in Brunswick, Georgia. A part of the purchased +munitions was ordered to New York, and the remainder, two car loads, +shipped to Jacksonville by express. Ostensibly, the _Laurada_ was to sail +from Philadelphia to Jamaica for a cargo of fruit, a business in which +she had at times engaged. Her actual instructions were to proceed to the +vicinity of Barnegat, about forty miles from New York, and there, at sea, +await orders. The arms and ammunition came down from Bridgeport on the +regular boat from that city, and were left on board until night. There was +no particular secrecy about the shipment, and detectives followed it. But +when, at dark, the big gates of the dock were closed and locked and all +seemed over for the day, the watchers assumed that nothing would be done +until the next day, and went away. But, immediately after their departure, +a big lighter slipped quietly into the dock across the wharf from the +Bridgeport boat, a swarm of men appeared and, behind the closed gates, in +the semi-darkness of the wharf, rushed boxes from steamer to lighter. The +work was finished at midnight; a tug slipped up and attached a hawser to +the lighter; and the cargo was on its way to Cuba. Johnny O'Brien was on +the tug. The _Laurada_ was met off Barnegat, as arranged, and the cargo and +about fifty Cubans put on board of her. She was ordered to proceed slowly +to Navassa Island where the _Dauntless_ would meet her. General Nunez and +O'Brien returned to New York on the tug, and while the detectives suspected +that something had been done, they had no clue whatever to guide them. +Nunez and O'Brien started immediately for Charleston, with detectives at +their heels. The _Commodore_, a tug then owned by the Cubans, lay in the +harbor of that city, with a revenue cutter standing guard over her. She was +ordered to get up steam and to go through all the motions of an immediate +departure. But this was a ruse to draw attention away from the actual +operations. Rubens, meanwhile, had gone to Jacksonville where he busied +himself in convincing the authorities that the tug _Three Friends_ was +about to get away with an expedition. With one revenue cutter watching the +_Commodore_ in Charleston, the other cutter in the neighborhood was engaged +in watching the _Three Friends_ in Jacksonville, thus leaving a clear coast +between those cities. In Charleston were about seventy-five Cubans waiting +a chance to get to the island. O'Brien states that about twenty-five +detectives were following their party. Late in the afternoon of August +13, while the smoke was pouring from the funnels of the _Commodore_, the +regular south-bound train pulled out of the city. Its rear car was a +reserved coach carrying the Cuban party, numbering a hundred or so. +Detectives tried to enter, but were told that it was a private car, which +it was. They went along in the forward cars. At ten o'clock that night, the +train reached Callahan, where the Coast Line crossed the Seaboard Air Line. +While the train was halted for the crossing, that rear car was quietly +uncoupled. The train went on, detectives and all. The railroad arrangements +were effected through the invaluable assistance of Mr. Alphonso Fritot, a +local railway man whose authority enabled him to do with trains and train +movement whatever he saw fit. He was himself of Cuban birth, though of +French-American parentage, with ample reason, both personal and patriotic, +for serving his Cuban friends, and his services were beyond measure. By his +orders, when that train with its band of detectives had pulled away for +Jacksonville, an engine picked up the detached car and ran it over to the +Coast Line. A few miles away, it collected from a blind siding the two cars +of arms and ammunition shipped some days before, from Bridgeport. A little +further on, the line crossed the Satilla River. There lay the _Dauntless_, +purchased by Rubens. Steam was up, and a quick job was made of transferring +cargo and men from train to boat. Another tug brought a supply of coal, and +soon after sunrise another expedition was on its way to Cuba. All this may +be very immoral, but some who were on the expedition have told me that it +was at least tremendously exciting. + +On August 17, the passengers and cargo were landed on the Cuban coast near +Nuevitas. The tug then proceeded to Navassa Island to meet the _Laurada_. +Half of the men and half of the cargo of the steamer were transferred to +the tug, and all were safely landed in a little cove a few miles west of +Santiago. The landing was made in broad daylight. There were a number of +Spanish naval vessels in Santiago harbor, and the city itself was filled +with Spanish troops. The tug then returned for the remainder of the +_Laurada's_ passengers and cargo, all of which were landed a few days later +at the place of the earlier landing. The _Laurada_ went on to Jamaica and +loaded with bananas, with which she sailed for Charleston. Arrests were +made as a result of the expedition, and the owner of the ship, Mr. John D. +Hart, was convicted and sentenced to sixteen months in the penitentiary. +After serving four months of his term, a pardon was secured. He is said to +be the only one, out of all those engaged in the many expeditions, who was +actually convicted, and his only offence was the chartering of his ships +to the Cuban revolutionists. The _Dauntless_ was seized on her return to +Jacksonville, but was soon released. An effort was made to indict O'Brien, +but there was too much sympathy for the Cubans in Florida, where the effort +was made. A number of minor expeditions were carried out in the next few +months, by the _Dauntless_, the _Three Friends_, and the _Commodore_, the +latter being wrecked in the last week in December. + +In February, 1897, another complicated manoeuvre was successfully executed. +This involved the use of the _Bermuda_, the _Laurada_, and no less than +seven smaller auxilliary vessels, tugs, lighters, and schooners. Rut the +_Laurada_ landed the cargo on the north-eastern coast of the island. +As O'Brien tells the story, this successful expedition so angered +Captain-General Weyler, then the ruler of the island, that he sent a +message to the daring filibuster, through an American newspaper man, +somewhat as follows: "Tell O'Brien that we will get him, sooner or later, +and when we do, instead of having him shot along with his Cuban companions, +I am going to have him ignominiously hanged from the flag-pole at Cabana, +in full view of the city." Cabana is the old fortress across the bay, +visible from nearly all parts of Havana. To this, O'Brien sent reply +saying: "To show my contempt for you and all who take orders from you, I +will make a landing within plain sight of Havana on my next trip to Cuba. +I may even land an expedition inside of the harbor and take you away a +prisoner. If we should capture you, which is much more likely than that you +will ever capture me, I will have you chopped up into small pieces and fed +to the fires of the _Dauntless_." A few months later, this little Irishman, +whom Weyler denounced as a "bloodthirsty, dare-devil," and who may have +been a dare-devil but was not bloodthirsty, actually carried out a part of +this seemingly reckless threat. He landed a cargo within a mile and a half +of Morro Castle. + +By this time, vessels of the United States navy were employed, +supplementing the work of the Revenue Service. This, of course, added both +difficulty and danger to the work. In March and April, several expeditions +were interrupted. For the Spanish blockade of the Cuban coast, there was +only contempt. Captain O'Brien told a naval officer that if the navy and +the revenue cutters would let him alone he would "advertise the time and +place of departure, carry excursions on every trip, and guarantee that +every expedition would be landed on time." In May, 1897, two carloads of +arms and ammunition were shipped from New York to Jacksonville, but, by +the authority of Mr. Fritot, they were quietly dropped from the train at +a junction point, and sent to Wilmington, N.C. Their contents were +transferred to the tug _Alexander Jones_, and that boat proceeded +nonchalantly down the river. Soon afterward, an old schooner, the _John +D. Long_, loaded with coal, followed the tug. Two revenue cutters were on +hand, but there was nothing in the movements of these vessels to excite +their interest. Off shore, the tug attached a towline to the schooner that +was carrying its coal supply, its own bunkers being crammed with guns and +cartridges. Off Palm Beach, General Nunez and some sixty Cubans were taken +from a fishing boat, according to a prearranged plan. Two days later, at an +agreed upon place, they were joined by the _Dauntless_ which had slipped +out of Jacksonville. The excursion was then complete. About half the cargo +of the _Jones_ was transferred to the _Dauntless_ and was landed, May 21, a +few miles east of Nuevitas. A second trip took the remainder of the cargo +of the _Jones_ and most of the Cuban passengers, and landed the lot under +the very guns, such as they were, of Morro Castle, and within about three +miles of the Palace of Captain-General Weyler. All that time, a force of +insurgents under Rodriguez and Aurenguren was operating in that immediate +vicinity, and was in great need of the supplies thus obtained. Some of the +dynamite then landed was used the next day to blow up a train on which +Weyler was supposed to be travelling, but in their haste the Cubans got one +train ahead of that carrying the official party. The row that Weyler made +about this landing will probably never be forgotten by the subordinates who +were the immediate victims of his rage. + +These are only a few of the many expeditions, successful and unsuccessful, +made during those three eventful years. The Treasury Department report of +February 28, 1898, gives seventeen successful operations. As a matter of +fact, more than forty landings were made, although in a few cases a single +expedition accounted for two, and in one or two instances for three +landings. The experiences run through the entire gamut of human emotions, +from absurdity to tragedy. The former is illustrated by the case of the +_Dauntless_ when she was held up by a vessel of the United States navy, and +boarded by one of the officers of the ship. He examined the tug from stem +to stern, sat on boxes of ammunition which seemed to him to be boxes of +sardines, stumbled over packages of rifles from which butts and muzzles +protruded; and failed utterly to find anything that could be regarded as +contraband. The mere fact that a vessel is engaged in transporting arms and +ammunition does not, of necessity, bring it within reach of the law. But +that particular vessel was a good deal more than under suspicion; it was +under the closest surveillance and open to the sharpest scrutiny. The +temporary myopia of that particular lieutenant of the United States navy +was no more than an outward and visible sign of a well-developed sense of +humor, and an indication of at least a personal sympathy for the Cubans +in their struggle. Tragedy is illustrated by the disaster to the steamer +_Tillie_. One day, late in January, 1898, this vessel, lying off the end +of Long Island, took on one of the largest cargoes ever started on a +filibustering expedition to Cuba. The cause is not known, but soon after +starting a leak developed, beyond the capacity of the pumps. A heavy +sea was running, and disaster was soon inevitable. The cargo was thrown +overboard to lighten the ship and the vessel was headed for the shore on +the chance that it might float until it could be beached. The water in the +ship increased rapidly, and extinguished the fires under the boilers; the +wind, blowing a high gale, swung into the northwest, thus driving the now +helpless hulk out to sea. Huge combing waves swept the decks from end to +end. O'Brien tells the story: "We looked in vain for another craft of any +kind, and by the middle of the afternoon it seemed as though it was all up +with us, for there was not much daylight left, and with her deck almost +awash it was impossible that the _Tillie_ should keep afloat all night. The +gale had swept us rapidly out to sea. The wind, which was filled with icy +needles, had kicked up a wild cross-sea, and it was more comfortable to go +down with the ship than even to think of trying to escape in the boats." At +last, when there seemed no longer any hope of rescue, the big five-masted +schooner _Governor Ames_ came plunging through the heaving seas, and, +by masterly seamanship and good fortune, backed by the heroism of her +commander and crew, succeeded in taking off all except four, who went down +with the ship. But the work went on. There is not space here to tell of the +several vessels whose names, through the engagement of the craft in these +enterprises, became as familiar to newspaper readers as are the names of +ocean liners today. A few months later, the United States Government +sent its ships and its men to help those who, for three hard years, had +struggled for national independence. + + + + +XII + +_THE STORY OF SUGAR_ + + +Chemically, sugar is a compound belonging to the group of carbohydrates, or +organic compounds of carbon with oxygen and hydrogen. The group includes +sugars, starches, gums, and celluloses. Sugar is a product of the vegetable +kingdom, of plants, trees, root crops, etc. It is found in and is +producible from many growths. As a laboratory process, it is obtainable +from many sources, but, commercially, it is derived from only two, the +sugar cane and the beet root. This statement, however, has a certain +limitation in that it omits such products as maple sugar, malt sugar, milk +sugar, and others having commercial or chemical uses on a limited scale. +But it is only with the crystallized sucrose, the familiar sugar of the +market and the household, that we are dealing here. The output of the other +sugars is measurable in hundreds or even thousands of pounds, but the +output of the sugar of commerce is measured in millions of tons. Long +experience proves that the desired substance is most readily, most +abundantly, and most cheaply, obtained from the juices of the plant +commonly known as sugar cane, and from the vegetable known as the sugar +beet. + +The mechanical processes employed in producing sugar from cane and from +beets, are practically the same. They are, broadly, the extraction or +expression of the juices, their clarification and evaporation, and +crystallization. These processes produce what is called "raw sugar," of +varying percentages of sucrose content. Following them, there comes, +for American uses, the process of refining, of removing the so-called +impurities and foreign substances, and the final production of sugar in +the shape of white crystals of different size, of sugar as powdered, cube, +loaf, or other form. In the case of cane sugar, this is usually a secondary +operation not conducted in the original mill. In the case of beet sugar, +production is not infrequently a continuous operation in the same mill, +from the beet root to the bagged or barrelled sugar ready for the market. +The final product from both cane and beet is practically the same. Pure +sugar is pure sugar, whatever its source. In the commercial production, on +large scale, there remains a small fraction of molasses or other harmless +substances, indistinguishable by sight, taste, or smell. With that fraction +removed and an absolute 100 per cent. secured, there would be no way +by which the particular origin could be determined. For all practical +purposes, the sugar of commerce, whether from cane or beet, is pure sugar. +It is doubtful if an adulterated sugar can be found in the United States, +notwithstanding the tales of the grocer who "sands" his sugar, and of the +producer who adds _terra alba_ or some other adulterant. In some countries +of Europe and elsewhere, there are sugars of inferior grades, of 85 or 90 +or more degrees of sugar purity, but they are known as such and are sold at +prices adjusted to their quality. Sugars of that class are obtainable +in this country, but they are wanted almost exclusively for particular +industrial purposes, for their glucose rather than their sucrose content. +The American household, whether the home of the rich or of the poor, +demands the well-known white sugar of established purity. + +There is still obtainable, in this country, but in limited quantity, a +sugar very pleasantly remembered by many who have reached or passed middle +age. It was variously known as "Muscovado" sugar, or as "plantation sugar," +sometimes as "coffee" or "coffee crushed." It was a sugar somewhat +sweeter to the taste than the white sugar, by reason of the presence of +a percentage of molasses. It was a superior sugar for certain kitchen +products, for pies, certain kinds of cake, etc. It has many times been +urged in Congress that the employment of what is known as the Dutch +Standard, now abolished, excluded this sugar from our market. This is not +at all the fact. The disappearance of the commodity is due solely to change +in the mechanical methods of sugar production. It would be quite impossible +to supply the world's sugar demand by the old "open kettle" process by +which that sugar was made. The quality of sugar is easily tested by any one +who has a spoonful of sugar and a glass of water. If the sugar dissolves +entirely, and dissolves without discoloring the water, it may be accepted +as a pure sugar. + +In his book on _The World's Cane Sugar Industry--Past and Present_, Mr. +H.C. Prinsen Geerligs, a recognized expert authority on the subject, gives +an elaborate history of the origin and development of the industry. His +chapters on those branches are much too long for inclusion in full, but the +following extracts tell the story in general outline. He states that the +probability that sugar cane originally came from India is very strong, "as +only the ancient literature of that country mentions sugar cane, while we +know for certain that it was conveyed (from there) to other countries by +travellers and sailors." The plant appears in Hindu mythology. A certain +prince expressed a desire to be translated to heaven during his lifetime, +but Indra, the monarch of the celestial regions, refused to admit him. A +famous Hindu hermit, Vishva Mitra, prepared a temporary paradise for the +prince, and for his use created the sugar cane as a heavenly food during +his occupation of the place. The abode was afterward demolished, but the +delectable plant, and a few other luxuries, were "spread all over the land +of mortals as a permanent memorial of Vishva Mitra's miraculous deeds." In +the time of Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) there appear tales of "a +reed growing in India which produced honey without the aid of bees." + +The early references are to sugar cane and not to cane sugar. While there +may have been earlier experiences, the history of sugar, as such, seems to +begin in the 7th century (A.D.). There is a story that the Chinese Emperor, +Tai Tsung (627-650 A.D.) sent people to Behar, in India, to learn the art +of sugar manufacture. The Arabs and the Egyptians soon learned how to +purify sugar by re-crystallization, and to manufacture sweetmeats from the +purified sugar. Marco Polo, who visited China during the last quarter of +the 13th Century, refers to "a great many sugar factories in South China, +where sugar could be freely bought at low prices." The Mohammedan records +of that period also show the manufacture, in India, of crystallized sugar +and candy. The area of production at that time covered, generally, the +entire Mediterranean coast. The crusaders found extensive plantations in +Tripoli, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Syria, and elsewhere. The plant is said to +have been introduced in Spain as early as the year 755. Its cultivation is +said to have been a flourishing industry there in the year 1150. Through +China, it was early extended to Japan, Formosa, and the Philippines. The +records of the 14th Century show the production and distribution of sugar +as an important commercial enterprise in the Mediterranean region. The +Portuguese discoveries of the 15th Century carried the plant to the Azores, +the Cape Verde islands, and to possessions in the Gulf of Guinea. The +Spaniards took it to the Western Hemisphere in the early years of the 16th +Century. The Portuguese took it to Brazil at about the same time. While a +Chinese traveller, visiting Java in 424, reports the cultivation of sugar +cane, it was not until more than twelve hundred years later that the +island, now an important source of sugar supply, began the production of +sugar as a commercial enterprise. By the end of the 18th Century there +was what might be called a sugar belt, girdling the globe and extending, +roughly, from thirty-five degrees north of the equator to thirty-five +degrees south of that line. It was then a product of many of the countries +within those limits. The supply of that time was obtained entirely from +cane. + +The early years of the 19th Century brought a new experience in the sugar +business. That was the production of sugar, in commercial quantities, +from beets. From that time until now, the commodity has been a political +shuttlecock, the object of government bounties and the subject of taxation. +In 1747, Herr Marggraf, of the Academy of Sciences, in Berlin, discovered +the existence of crystallizable sugar in the juice of the beet and other +roots. No practical use was made of the discovery until 1801 when a factory +was established near Breslau, in Silesia. The European beet-sugar industry, +that has since attained enormous proportions, had its actual beginning in +the early years of the 19th Century. It was a result of the Napoleonic wars +of that period. When the wars were ended, and the blockades raised, the +industry was continued in France by the aid of premiums, differentials, and +practically prohibitory tariffs. The activities in other European countries +under similar conditions of governmental aid, came a little later. The +total world supply of sugar, including cane and beet, less than 1,500,000 +tons, even as recently as 1850, seems small in comparison with the world's +requirement of about twelve times that quantity at the present time. The +output of beet sugar was then only about 200,000 tons, as compared with a +present production of approximately 8,000,000 tons. But sugar was then a +costly luxury while it is today a cheaply supplied household necessity. As +recently as 1870, the wholesale price of granulated sugar in New York +was thirteen and a half cents a pound, or about three times the present +average. + +Cane sugar is produced in large or small quantities in some fifty +different countries and islands. In many, the output is only for domestic +consumption, or in quantity too small to warrant inclusion in the list of +sources of commercial supply. Sixteen countries are included in the list of +beet-sugar producers. Of these, all are in Europe with the exception of the +United States and Canada. Only two countries, the United States and +Spain, produce sugar from both beet and cane. British India leads in the +production of cane sugar, with Cuba a close second on the list, and Java +the third. In their total, these three countries supply about two-thirds +of the world's total output of cane sugar. Hawaii and Porto Rico, in that +order, stand next on the list of producers. Under normal conditions, +Germany leads in beet-sugar production, with Russia second, Austria-Hungary +third, France fourth, and the United States fifth, with Belgium, the +Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark following. The island of Cuba is +the most important source of commercial cane sugar. Immediately before +the revolution of 1895, its output a little exceeded a million tons. The +derangement caused by that experience covered several years, and it was not +until 1903 that so large a crop was again made. Since that time, the output +has more than doubled. The increase is attributable to the large increase +in demand in the United States, and to the advantage given Cuban sugar in +this market by the reciprocity treaty of 1903. Practically all of Cuba's +export product is in the class commonly known as 96 degree centrifugals, +that is, raw sugar of 96 per cent, or thereabout, of sugar content. Under +normal conditions, nearly all of Cuba's shipments are to the United States. +The sugar industry was introduced in Cuba very soon after the permanent +settlement of the island, by Spaniards, in the early years of the 16th +Century, but it was not until two hundred and fifty years later that +Spain's restrictive and oppressive colonial policy made even its fair +extension possible. In 1760, two and a half centuries after the first +settlement, the sugar exports of the island were a little less than 4,400 +tons. In 1790, they were a little more than 14,000 tons. Some relaxation of +the laws regulating production and exportation, made possible an increase +to 41,000 tons in 1802, and further relaxation made possible, in 1850, an +output somewhat unreliably reported as 223,000 tons. It reached 632,000 +tons in 1890, and the stimulus of the "free sugar" schedule of the United +States brought it, in the next few years, to more than a million tons. +Production in recent years has averaged about 2,500,000 tons. + +In forty years, only a little more than a single generation, the world's +supply of sugar has been multiplied by five, from a little more than three +million tons a year to nearly eighteen million tons. The total world output +in 1875 would not today supply the demand of the United States alone. +This increase in production has been made possible by improvements in the +methods and the machinery of manufacture. Until quite recently, primitive +methods were employed, much like those used in the production of maple +sugar on the farm, although on larger scale. More attention has been paid +to varieties of the plant and some, though no very great, change has been +made in field processes. In Cuba, the cane is planted in vast areas, in +thousands of acres. Some of the estates plant and cultivate their +own fields, and grind the cane in their own mills. Others, known as +"_colonos_," are planters only, the crop being sold to the mills commonly +called "_centrales_." In its general appearance, a field of sugar-cane +looks quite like a field of corn, but the method of cultivation is somewhat +different. The slow oxen are still commonly used for plowing and for +carts. This is not because of any lack of progressive spirit, but because +experience has shown that, under all conditions of the industry, the ox +makes the most satisfactory and economical motive power, notwithstanding +his lack of pace. + +The Encyclopaedia describes sugar-cane as "a member of the grass family, +known botanically as _Saccbarum officinarum_. It is a tall, perennial +grass-like plant, giving off numerous erect stems 6 to 12 feet or more in +height, from a thick solid jointed root-stalk." The ground is plowed +in rows in which, not seed, but a stalk of cane is lightly buried. The +rootlets and the new cane spring from the joints of the planted stalk which +is laid flat and lengthwise of the row. It takes from a year to a year +and a half for the stalk to mature sufficiently for cutting and grinding. +Several cuttings, and sometimes many, are made from a single planting. +There are tales of fields on which cane has grown for forty years without +re-planting. A few years ago, ten or fifteen years was not an unusual +period. The present tendency is toward more frequent planting, but not +annual, as offering a better chance for stronger cane with a larger sugar +content. The whole process of cultivation and field treatment is hard, +heavy work, most of it very hard work. Probably the hardest and heaviest is +the cutting. This is done with a long, heavy-bladed knife, the _machete_. +The stalk, from an inch to two inches in thickness, is chopped down near +the root, the heavy knife swung with cut after cut, under a burning sun. +Only the strongest can stand it, a wearying, back-breaking task. After +cutting, the stalk is trimmed and loaded on carts to be hauled, according +to distance, either directly to the mill or to the railway running thereto. +The large estates have their own railway systems running to all the fields +of the plantation. These are private lines operated only for economy +in cane transportation. Most of the crushing mills measure their daily +consumption of cane in thousands of tons. While every precaution is taken, +there are occasional fires. In planting, wide "fire lanes," or uncultivated +strips are left to prevent the spread of fire if it occurs. + +Mill installations vary on the different plantations, but the general +principle of operation is the same on all. The first process is the +extraction of the juice that carries the sugar. It is probable that this +was originally done in hand mortars. Next came the passing of the cane +between wooden rollers turned by ox power, the rollers standing upright and +connected with a projecting shaft or beam to the outer end of which the +animal was attached, to plod around and around while the cane was fed +between the rollers. The present system is merely an expansion of that old +principle. At the mill, the stalks are dumped, by carload or by cartload, +into a channel through which they are mechanically conveyed to huge +rollers, placed horizontally, arranged in pairs or in sets of three, and +slowly turned by powerful engines. The larger mills have a series of these +rollers, two, three, or even four sets, the stalks passing from one to +another for the expression of every possible drop of the juice, up to the +point where the cost of juice extraction exceeds the value of the juice +obtained. The expressed juices are collected in troughs through which they +are run to the next operation. The crushed stalks, then known as _bagasse_, +are conveyed to the huge boilers where they are used as fuel for the +generation of the steam required in the various operations, from the +feeding and the turning of the rollers, to the device from which the final +product, the crystallized sugar, is poured into bags ready for shipment. +All this is a seasonal enterprise. The cane grows throughout the year, but +it begins to ripen in December. Then the mills start up and run until the +rains of the next May or June suspend further operations. It then becomes +impossible to haul the cane over the heavily mired roads from the muddy +fields. Usually, only a few mills begin their work in December, and early +June usually sees most of them shut down. The beginning of the rainy season +is not uniform, and there are mills in eastern Cuba that sometimes run into +July and even into August. But the general grinding season may be given as +of about five months duration, and busy months they are. The work goes on +night and day. + +The next step is the treatment of the juices expressed by the rollers and +collected in the troughs that carry it onward. The operations are highly +technical, and different methods are employed in different mills. The first +operation is one of purification. The juice, as it comes from the rollers, +carries such materials as glucose, salts, organic acids, and other +impurities, that must be removed. For this, lime is the principal agent. +The details of it all would be as tedious here as they are complicated +in the mill. The percentages of the different impurities vary with the +variation of the soils in which the cane is grown. The next step, following +clarification, is evaporation, the boiling out of a large percentage of +the water carried in the juice. For this purpose, a vacuum system is used, +making possible a more rapid evaporation with a smaller expenditure of +fuel. These two operations, clarification and evaporation by the use of the +vacuum, are merely improved methods for doing, on a large scale, what was +formerly done by boiling in pans or kettles, on a small scale. That method +is still used in many parts of the world, and even in the United States, in +a small way. For special reasons, it is still used on some of the Louisiana +plantations; it is common in the farm production of sorghum molasses in the +South; and in the manufacture of maple sugar in the North. In those places, +the juices are boiled in open pans or kettles, the impurities skimmed off +as they rise, and the boiling, for evaporation, is continued until a +proper consistency is reached, for molasses in the case of sorghum and for +crystallization in the case of plantation and maple sugars. There is an old +story of an erratic New England trader, in Newburyport, who called himself +Lord Timothy Dexter. In one of his shipments to the West Indies, a hundred +and fifty years ago, this picturesque individual included a consignment of +"warming pans," shallow metal basins with a cover and a long wooden handle, +used for warming beds on cold winter nights. The basin was filled with +coals from the fireplace, and then moved about between the sheets to take +off the chill. He was not a little ridiculed by his acquaintances for +sending such merchandise where it could not possibly be needed, but it is +said that he made considerable money out of his enterprise. With the covers +removed, the long-handled, shallow basins proved admirably adapted for use +in skimming the sugar in the boiling-pans. But the old-fashioned method +would be impossible today. + +The different operations are too complicated and too technical for more +than a reference to the purpose of the successive processes. Clarification +and evaporation having been completed, the next step is crystallization, +also a complicated operation. When this is done, there remains a dark brown +mass consisting of sugar crystals and molasses, and the next step is +the removal of all except a small percentage of the molasses. This +is accomplished by what are called the centrifugals, deep bowls with +perforated walls, whirled at two or three thousand revolutions a minute. +This expels the greater part of the molasses, and leaves a mass of +yellow-brown crystals, the coloring being due to the molasses remaining. +This is the raw sugar of commerce. Most of Cuba's raw product is classed +as "96 degree centrifugals," that is, the raw sugar, as it comes from the +centrifugal machines and is bagged for shipment, is of 96 degrees of sugar +purity. This is shipped to market, usually in full cargo lots. There it +goes to the refineries, where it is melted, clarified, evaporated, and +crystallized. This second clarification removes practically everything +except the pure crystallized sugar of the market and the table. It is then +an article of daily use in every household, and a subject of everlasting +debate in Congress. + + + + +XIII + +_VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES_ + + +The Encyclopaedia Britannica states that "although the fact has been +controverted, there cannot be a doubt that the knowledge of tobacco and +its uses came to the rest of the world from America. As the continent was +opened up and explored, it became evident that the consumption of tobacco, +especially by smoking, was a universal and immemorial usage, in many cases +bound up with the most significant and solemn tribal ceremonials." The name +"tobacco" was originally the name of the appliance in which it was smoked +and not of the plant itself, just as the term "chowder" comes from the +vessel (_chaudiere_) in which the compound was prepared. The tobacco plant +was first taken to Europe in 1558, by Francisco Fernandez, a physician who +had been sent to Mexico by Philip II to investigate the products of that +country. The English, however, appear to have been the first Europeans +to adopt the smoking habit, and Sir Walter Raleigh was notable for his +indulgence in the weed. He is said to have called for a solacing pipe just +before his execution. Very soon after their arrival, in 1607, the Virginia +settlers engaged in the cultivation of tobacco, and it soon became the most +important commercial product of the colony. Smoking, as practiced in this +country, appears to have been largely, and perhaps only, by means of pipes +generally similar to those now in use. The contents of ancient Indian +mounds, or tumuli, opened in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, show the +use of pipes by the aborigines probably centuries before the discoveries +by Columbus. Many were elaborately carved in porphyry or some other hard +stone, while others were made of baked clay. Others, many of them also +elaborately carved and ornamented, have been found in Mexico. Roman +antiquities show many pipes, but they do not show the use of tobacco. It +is assumed that they were used for burning incense, or for smoking some +aromatic herb or hemp. + +The first knowledge of the use of the plant in Cuba was in November, 1492, +when Columbus, on landing near Nuevitas, sent his messengers inland to +greet the supposed ruler of a supposed great Asiatic empire. Washington +Irving thus reports the story as it was told by Navarete, the Spanish +historian. Referring to those messengers, he says: "They beheld several of +the natives going about with firebrands in their hands, and certain dried +herbs which they rolled up in a leaf, and lighting one end, put the other +in their mouths, and continued exhaling and puffing out the smoke. A roll +of this kind they called a tobacco, a name since transferred to the plant +of which the rolls were made. The Spaniards, although prepared to meet with +wonders, were struck with astonishment at this singular and apparently +nauseous indulgence." A few years later, a different method was reported, +by Columbus, as employed in Hispaniola. This consisted of inhaling the +fumes of the leaf through a Y-shaped device applied to the nostrils. This +operation is said to have produced intoxication and stupefaction, which +appears to have been the desired result. The old name still continues +in Cuba, and if a smoker wants a cigar, he will get it by calling for a +"tobacco." The production of the plant is, next to sugar, Cuba's most +important commercial industry. Its early history is only imperfectly known. +There was probably very little commercial production during the 16th +Century, for the reason that there was then no demand for it. The demand +came in the first half of the 17th Century, and by the middle of that +period tobacco was known and used in practically all civilized countries. +The demand for it spread very rapidly, in spite of papal fulminations and +penal enactments. For a time, in Russia, the noses of smokers were cut off. +The early part of the 18th Century saw Cuba actively engaged in production +and shipment. In 1717, Cuba's tobacco was made a monopoly of the Spanish +Government. Under that system, production was regulated and prices were +fixed by the agents of the government, in utter disregard of the welfare +of the producers. As a result, several serious riots occurred. In 1723, +a large number of planters refused to accept the terms offered by the +officials, and destroyed the crops of those who did accept, a condition +repeated in the State of Kentucky a few years ago, the only difference +being that in the Cuban experience the monopolist was the Government, and +in Kentucky it was a corporation. A few years later, in 1734, the Cuban +monopoly was sold to Don Jose Tallapiedra who contracted to ship to Spain, +annually, three million pounds of tobacco. The contract was afterward given +to another, but control was resumed by the Crown, in 1760. Finally, in +1817, cultivation and trade were declared to be free, subject only to +taxation. + +[Illustration: STREET IN CAMAGUEY] + +In time, it became known that the choicest tobacco in the market came from +the western end of Cuba, from the Province of Pinar del Rio. It was given a +distinct name, _Vuelta Abajo_, a term variously translated but referring +to the downward bend of the section of the island in which that grade is +produced. Here is grown a tobacco that, thus far, has been impossible of +production elsewhere. Many experiments have been tried, in Cuba and in +other countries. Soils have been analyzed by chemists; seeds from the +_Vuelta Abajo_ have been planted; and localities have been sought where +climatic conditions corresponded. No success has been attained. Nor is the +crop of that region produced on an extensive scale, that is, the choicer +leaf. Not all of the tobacco is of the finest grade, although most of it is +of high quality. There are what may be called "patches" of ground, known +to the experts, on which the best is produced, for reasons not yet clearly +determined. The fact is well known, but the causes are somewhat mysterious. +Nor does the plant of this region appear to be susceptible of improvement +through any modern, scientific systems of cultivation. The quality +deteriorates rather than improves as a result of artificial fertilizers. +The people of the region, cultivating this special product through +generation after generation, seem to have developed a peculiar instinct for +its treatment. It is not impossible that a time may come when scientific +soil selection, seed selection, special cultivation, irrigation, and other +systems, singly or in combination, will make possible the production of a +standardized high-grade leaf in much greater quantity than heretofore, but +it seems little probable that anything so produced will excel or even equal +the best produced by these expert _vegueros_ by their indefinable but +thorough knowledge of the minutest peculiarities of this peculiar plant. +Thus far, it has not even been possible to produce it elsewhere in the +island. It has been tried outside of the fairly defined area of its +production, tried by men who knew it thoroughly within that area, tried +from the same seed, from soils that seem quite the same. But all failed. +Science may some day definitely locate the reasons, just as it may find the +reason for deterioration in the quality of Cuban tobacco eastward from that +area. The tobacco of Havana Province is excellent, but inferior to that of +Pinar del Rio. The growth of Santa Clara Province is of good quality, but +inferior to that of Havana Province, while the tobacco of eastern Cuba is +little short of an offence to a discriminating taste. + +Tobacco is grown from seeds, planted in specially prepared seed beds. +Seeding is begun in the early autumn. When the young plant has attained a +proper height, about eight or ten inches, it is removed to, and planted +in, the field of its final growth. This preliminary process demands skill, +knowledge, and careful attention equal, perhaps, to the requirements of the +later stages. Experiments have been made with mechanical appliances, but +most of the work is still done by hand, particularly in the area producing +the better qualities of leaf. From the time of transplanting, it is watched +with the greatest care. A constant battle is waged with weeds and insect +life, and water must be brought if the season is too dry. If rains are +excessive, as they sometimes are, the crop may be partly or wholly +destroyed, as it was in the autumn of 1914. The plant matures in January, +after four months of constant watchfulness and labor, in cultivation, +pruning, and protection from worms and insects. When the leaves are +properly ripened, the stalks are cut in sections, two leaves to a section. +These are hung on poles and taken to the drying sheds where they are +suspended for three or more weeks. The time of this process, and its +results, depend upon moisture, temperature, and treatment. All this is +again an operation demanding expert knowledge and constant care. When +properly cured, the leaves are packed in bales of about 110 pounds each, +and are then ready for the market. Because of the varying conditions under +which the leaf is produced, from year to year, it is somewhat difficult +to determine with any accuracy the increase in the industry. Broadly, the +output appears to have been practically doubled in the last twenty years, +a growth attributed to the new economic conditions, to the extension of +transportation facilities that have made possible the opening of new areas +to cultivation, and to the investment of capital, largely American capital. +The exports show, generally, a material increase in sales of leaf tobacco +and some decline in sales of cigars. The principal market for the leaf, for +about 85 per cent of it, is in the United States where it is made, with +more or less honesty, into "all-Havana" cigars. This country, however, +takes only about a third of Cuba's cigar output. The United Kingdom takes +about as much of that product as we do, and Germany, in normal times, takes +about half as much. The remainder is widely scattered, and genuine imported +Havana cigars are obtainable in all countries throughout the world. +The total value of Cuba's yearly tobacco crop is from $40,000,000 to +$50,000,000, including domestic consumption and foreign trade. + +The story that all Cubans, men and women alike, are habitual and constant +smokers, is not and never was true. Whatever it may have been in the past, +I am inclined to think that smoking by women is more common in this country +than it is in Cuba, particularly among the middle and upper social classes. +I have seen many American and English women smoke in public, but never a +Cuban woman. Nor is smoking by men without its exceptions. I doubt if the +percentage of non-smokers in this country is any greater than it is in +the island. There are many Cubans who do smoke, just as there are many +Americans, Englishmen, Germans, and Russians. Those who watch on the +street for a respectable Cuban woman with a cigar in her mouth, or even a +cigarette, will be disappointed. Cuba's tobacco is known by the name of the +region in which it is produced; the _Vuelta Abajo_ of Pinar del Rio; the +_Partidos_ of Havana Province; the _Manicaragua_ and the _Remedios_ of +Santa Clara; and the _Mayari_ of Oriente. Until quite recently, when +American organized capital secured control of many of the leading factories +in Cuba, it was possible to identify a cigar, in size and shape, by some +commonly employed name, such as _perfectos, conchas, panetelas, imperiales, +londres_, etc. The old names still appear, but to them there has been added +an almost interminable list in which the old distinction is almost +lost. Lost, too, or submerged, are many of the old well-known names of +manufacturers, names that were a guarantee of quality. There were also +names for different qualities, almost invariably reliable, and for color +that was supposed to mark the strength of the cigar. An accomplished smoker +may still follow the old system and call for a cigar to his liking, by the +use of the old terms and names made familiar by years of experience, but +the general run of smokers can only select, from a hundred or more boxes +bearing names and words that are unfamiliar or unknown, a cigar that +he thinks looks like one that he wants. It may be a "_superba_" an +"_imperial_" a "Wilson's Cabinet," or a "Havana Kid." + +There is a wide difference in the dates given as the time of the +introduction of the coffee plant in Cuba. One writer gives the year 1720, +another gives 1748, and still another gives 1769. Others give various years +near the end of the century. It was doubtless a minor industry for fifty +years or more before that time, but it was given an impetus and began to +assume commercial proportions during the closing years of the 18th Century. +During that century, the industry was somewhat extensively carried on in +the neighboring island of Santo Domingo. In 1790, a revolution broke out +in that island, including Haiti, and lasted, with more or less violent +activity, for nearly ten years. One result was the emigration to Cuba of +a considerable number of refugees, many of them French. They settled in +eastern Cuba, where conditions for coffee-growing are highly favorable. +Knowing that industry from their experience with it in the adjacent island, +these people naturally took it up in their new home. The cultivation of +coffee in Cuba, prior to that time, was largely in the neighborhood of +Havana, the region then of the greater settlement and development. For +the next forty years or so, the industry developed and coffee assumed a +considerable importance as an export commodity, in addition to the domestic +supply. In 1840, there were more than two thousand coffee plantations, +large and small, producing more than seventy million pounds of coffee, the +greater part of which was exported. From about the middle of the century, +the industry declined, in part because of lower prices due to increase in +the world-supply through increased production in other countries, and in +part, because of the larger chance of profit in the growing of sugar, an +industry then showing an increased importance. Coffee culture has never +been entirely suspended in the island, and efforts are made from time to +time to revive it, but for many years Cuba has imported most of its coffee +supply, the larger share being purchased from Porto Rico. It would be +easily possible for Cuba to produce its entire requirement. There are few +more beautiful sights in all the world than a field of coffee trees in +blossom. One writer has likened it to "millions of snow drops scattered +over a sea of green." They blossom, in Cuba, about the end of February or +early in March, the fruit season and picking coming in the autumn. Coffee +culture is an industry requiring great care and some knowledge, and the +preparation of the berry for the market involves no less of care and +knowledge. The quality of the Cuban berry is of the best. It is the +misfortune of the people of the United States that very few of them really +know anything about coffee and its qualities, notwithstanding the fact that +they consume about a billion pounds a year, all except a small percentage +of it being coffee of really inferior quality. But coffee, like cigars, +pickles, or music, is largely a matter of individual preference. + +Cuba produces a variety of vegetables, chiefly for domestic consumption, +and many fruits, some of which are exported. There is also a limited +production of grains. Among the tubers produced are sweet potatoes, white +potatoes, yams, the arum and the yucca. From the latter is made starch and +the cassava bread. The legumes are represented by varieties of beans and +peas. The most extensively used food of the island people is rice, only a +little of which is locally grown. The imports are valued at five or six +million dollars yearly. Corn is grown in some quantity, but nearly two +million dollars worth is imported yearly from the United States. There are +fruits of many kinds. The banana is the most important of the group, and is +grown throughout the island. It appears on the table of all, rich and +poor, sometimes _au naturel_ but more frequently cooked. There are many +varieties, some of which are exported while others are practically unknown +here. The Cuban mango is not of the best, but they are locally consumed by +the million. Only a few of the best are produced and those command a fancy +price even when they are obtainable. The aguacate, or alligator pear, is +produced in abundance. Cocoanuts are a product largely of the eastern end +of the island, although produced in fair supply elsewhere. The trees are +victims of a disastrous bud disease that has attacked them in recent years +causing heavy loss to growers. + +[Illustration: PALM-THATCHED ROOFS A PEASANT'S HOME] + +Since the American occupation, considerable attention has been given, +mainly by Americans, to the production of oranges, grape-fruit, and +pineapples, in which a considerable industry has been developed. There are +several varieties. The guava of Cuba makes a jelly that is superior to that +produced from the fruit in any other land of my experience. If there is a +better guava jelly produced anywhere, I should be pleased to sample it, +more pleased to obtain a supply. But there is a difference in the product +even there, just as there is a difference in currant or grape jelly +produced here. It depends a good deal on the maker. Some of the best of my +experience is made in the neighborhood of Santa Clara, but I have tried no +Cuban _jalea de guayaba_ that was not better than any I have had in the +Far East or elsewhere. The _guanabana_ is eaten in its natural state, but +serves its best purpose as a flavor for ices or cooling drinks. There are +a number of others, like the _anon_, the _zapote_, the _granadilla_, the +_mamey_, etc., with which visitors may experiment or not as they see fit. +Some like some of them and others like none of them. An excellent grade of +cacao, the basis of chocolate and cocoa, is produced in somewhat limited +quantity. The industry could easily be extended. In fact, there are many +soil products not now grown in the island but which might be grown there, +and many others now produced on small scale that could be produced in +important quantities. That they are not now so produced is due to lack of +both labor and capital. The industries of Cuba are, and always have been, +specialized. Sugar, tobacco, and at a time coffee, have absorbed the +capital and have afforded occupation for the greater number of the island +people. The lack of transportation facilities in earlier years, and +the system of land tenure, have made difficult if not impossible the +establishment of any large number of independent small farmers. The day +laborers in the tobacco fields and on sugar plantations have been unable to +save enough money to buy a little farm and equip it even if the land could +be purchased at all. Yet only a very small percentage of the area is +actually under cultivation. Cuba now imports nearly $40,000,000 worth of +alimentary substances, altogether too much for a country of its productive +possibilities. It is true that a part of this, such as wheat flour for +instance, cannot be produced on the island successfully, and that other +commodities, such as rice, hog products, and some other articles, can be +imported more cheaply than they can be produced locally. But the imports of +foodstuffs are undoubtedly excessive, although there are good reasons for +the present situation. It is a matter that will find adjustment in time. + +The island has mineral resources of considerable value, although the number +of products is limited. The Spanish discoverers did not find the precious +metals for which they were seeking, and while gold has since been found, +it has never appeared in quantity sufficient to warrant its exploitation. +Silver discoveries have been reported, but not in quantity to pay for its +extraction. Nothing is ever certain in those industries, but it is quite +safe to assume that Cuba is not a land of precious metals. Copper was +discovered in eastern Cuba as early as about the year 1530, and the mines +near Santiago were operated as a Government monopoly for some two hundred +years, when they were abandoned. They were idle for about a hundred years +when, in 1830, an English company with a capital of $2,400,000 reopened +them. It is officially reported that in the next forty years copper of a +value of more than $50,000,000 was extracted and shipped. During that +time, the mines were among the most notable in the world. In the meantime, +ownership was transferred to a Spanish corporation organized in Havana. +This concern became involved in litigation with the railway concerning +freight charges, and this experience was followed by the Ten Years' War, in +the early course of which the plant was destroyed and the mines flooded. In +1902, an American company was organized. It acquired practically all the +copper property in the Cobre field and began operations on an extensive and +expensive scale. A huge sum was spent in pumping thousands of tons of +water from a depth of hundreds of feet, in new equipment for the mining +operations, and in the construction of a smelter. The best that can be done +is to hope that the investors will some day get their money back. Without +any doubt, there is a large amount of copper there, and more in other parts +of Oriente. So is there copper in Camaguey, Santa Clara, and Matanzas +provinces. There are holes in the ground near the city of Camaguey that +indicate profitable operations in earlier years. The metal is spread over +a wide area in Pinar del Rio, and venturous spirits have spent many good +Spanish pesos and still better American dollars in efforts to locate +deposits big enough to pay for its excavation. Some of that class are at it +even now, and one concern is reported as doing a profitable business. + +The bitumens are represented in the island by asphalt, a low-grade coal, +and seepages of petroleum. At least, several writers tell of coal in the +vicinity of Havana, but the substance is probably only a particularly hard +asphaltum. The only real coal property of which I have any knowledge is a +quite recent discovery. The story was told me by the man whose money was +sought to develop it. It was, by the way, an anthracite property. In +response to an urgent invitation from a presumably reliable acquaintance, +my friend took his car and journeyed westward into Pinar del Rio, through a +charming country that he and I have many times enjoyed together. He picked +up his coal-discovering friend in the city of Pinar del Rio, and proceeded +into the country to inspect the coal-vein. At a number of points +immediately alongside the highway, his companion alighted to scrape away +a little of the surface of the earth and to return with a little lump of +really high-grade anthracite. Such a substance had no proper business +there, did not belong there geologically or otherwise. The explanation +soon dawned upon my friend. They were following the line of an abandoned +narrow-gauge railway, abandoned twenty years ago, along which had been +dumped, at intervals, little piles of perfectly good anthracite, imported +from Pennsylvania, for use by the portable engine used in the construction +of the road. My friend declares that he is entirely ready at any time to +swear that there are deposits of anthracite in Cuba. A very good quality +of asphalt is obtained in different parts of the island, and considerable +quantities have been shipped to the United States. Signs of petroleum +deposits have been strong enough to induce investigation and expenditure. +An American company is now at work drilling in Matanzas Province. The most +extensive and promising mineral industry is iron, especially in eastern +Cuba. Millions of tons of ore have been taken from the mountains along +the shore between Santiago and Guantanamo, and the supply appears to be +inexhaustible. The product is shipped to the United States, to a value of +several millions of dollars yearly. A few years ago, other and apparently +more extensive deposits were discovered in the northern section of Oriente, +The field bought by the Pennsylvania Steel Company is estimated to contain +600,000,000 tons of ore. The Bethlehem Steel Company is the owner of +another vast tract. The quality of these ores is excellent. In Oriente +Province also are deposits of manganese of which considerable shipments +have been made. + +It is not possible in so brief a survey of Cuba's resources and industries +to include all its present activities, to say nothing of its future +possibilities. At the present time, the island is practically an extensive +but only partly cultivated farm, producing mainly sugar and tobacco, with +fruits and vegetables as a side line. The metal deposits supplement this, +with promise of becoming increasingly valuable. The forest resources, +commercially, are not great, although there are, and will continue to be, +sales of mahogany and other fine hardwoods. Local manufacturing is on a +comparatively limited scale. All cities and many towns have their artisans, +the bakers, tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, and others. Cigar making +is, of course, classed as a manufacturing enterprise, and so, for census +purposes, is the conversion of the juice of the sugar-cane into sugar. +A number of cities have breweries, ice factories, match factories, soap +works, and other establishments large or small. All these, however, are +incidental to the great industries of the soil, and the greater part of +Cuba's requirements in the line of mill and factory products is imported. +While little is done in the shipment of cattle or beef, Cuba is a natural +cattle country. Water and nutritious grasses are abundant, and there are +vast areas, now idle, that might well be utilized for stock-raising. There +are, of course, just as there are elsewhere, various difficulties to be +met, but they are met and overcome. There are insects and diseases, but +these are controlled by properly applied scientific methods. There is open +feeding throughout the entire year, so there is no need of barns or hay. +The local cattle industry makes possible the shipment of some $2,500,000 +worth of hides and skins annually. Other lines of industry worthy of +mention, but not possible of detailed description here, include sponges, +tortoise shell, honey, wax, molasses, and henequen or sisal. All these +represent their individual thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, +and their employment of scores or hundreds of wage-earners. Those who start +for Cuba with a notion that the Cubans are an idle and lazy people, will +do well to revise that notion. There is not the hustle that may be seen +further north, but the results of Cuban activity, measured in dollars or in +tons, fairly dispute the notion of any national indolence. When two and a +half million people produce what is produced in Cuba, somebody has to work. + + + + +XIV + +_POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE_ + + +The British colonists in America were in large measure self-governing. This +is notably true in their local affairs. The Spanish colonists were +governed almost absolutely by the mother-country. A United States official +publication reports that "all government control centred in the Council of +the Indies and the King, and local self government, which was developed at +an early stage in the English colonies, became practically impossible in +the Spanish colonies, no matter to what extent it may have existed in +theory. Special regulations, decrees, etc., modifying the application of +the laws to the colonies or promulgating new laws were frequent, and their +compilation in 1680 was published as Law of the Indies. This and the _Siete +Partidas_, on which they were largely based, comprised the code under which +the Spanish-American colonies were governed." There was a paper provision, +during the greater part of the time, for a municipal electorate, the +franchise being limited to a few of the largest tax-payers. In its +practical operation, the system was nullified by the power vested in the +appointed ruler. It was a highly effective centralized organization in +which no man held office, high or low, who was not a mere instrument in the +hands of the Governor-General. Under such an institution the Cubans had, of +course, absolutely no experience in self-government. The rulers made laws +and the people obeyed them; they imposed taxes and spent the money as they +saw fit; many of them enriched themselves and their personally appointed +official household throughout the island, at the expense of the tax-payers. + +A competent observer has noted that such terms as "meeting," +"mass-meeting," "self-government," and "home-rule," had no equivalent in +the Spanish language. The first of these terms, distorted into "_mitin_," +is now in common use, and its origin is obvious. Of theories, ideals, and +intellectual conceptions, there was an abundance, but government based +on beautiful dreams does not succeed in this practical world. Denied +opportunity for free discussion of practical methods, the Cubans discussed +theories in lyceums. Under the military government of the United States, +from January 1, 1899, to May 20, 1902, there was freedom of speech and +freedom of organization. The Cubans began to hold "_mitins_," but visions +and beautiful theories characterized the addresses. Prior to the Ten Years' +War (1868-1878), there were organizations more or less political in their +nature, but the authorities were alert in preventing discussions of too +practical a character. In 1865, a number of influential Cubans organized +what has been somewhat inappropriately termed a "national party." It was +not at all a party in our use of that term. Its purpose was to suggest and +urge administrative and economic changes from the Cuban point of view. The +suggestions were ignored and, a few years later, revolution was adopted as +a means of emphasizing their importance. The result of the Ten Years' War +was an assortment of pledges of greater political and economic freedom. +Much was promised but little if anything was really granted. There was, +however, a relaxation of the earlier absolutism, and under that there +appeared a semblance of party organization, in the form of a Liberal party +and a Union Constitutional party. There was no special difference in what +might be called their platforms. Both focussed, in a somewhat general way, +the political aspirations and the economic desires of the Cuban people, +much the same aspirations and desires that had been manifested by +complaint, protest, and occasional outbreak, for fifty years. National +independence had no place in either. That came later, when an army in the +field declared that if Spain would not grant independence, the island would +be made so worthless a possession that Spain could not afford to hold it. +A few years after their organization, the Liberals became the Cuban party, +and so remained, and the Union Constitutionals became the Spanish party, +the party of the immediate administration. Later on, the Liberal party +became the Autonomist party, but Spain's concession of the demands of that +group came too late, forced, not by the Autonomists but by the party of the +Revolution that swept the island with fire and sword from Oriente to +Pinar del Rio. The Autonomists sought what their name indicates; the +Revolutionists demanded and secured national independence. + +Shortly before the final dispersion of the Army of the Revolution, +there was organized a body with the imposing title of _La Asamblea de +Representantes del Ejercito Cubano_, or the Assembly of Representatives +of the Cuban Army. It was composed of leaders of the different military +divisions of that army, and included, as I recall it, thirty-one members. +This group made no little trouble in the early days of the American +occupation. It gathered in Havana, held meetings, declared itself the +duly chosen and representative agent of the Cuban people, and demanded +recognition as such by the American authorities. Some of its members even +asserted that it constituted a _de facto_ government, and held that the +Americans should turn the whole affair over to them and promptly sail away. +But their recognition was flatly refused by the authorities. At the time, I +supported the authorities in this refusal, but afterward I felt less sure +of the wisdom of the course. As a recognized body, it might have been +useful; rejected, it made no little trouble. Transfer of control to its +hands was quite out of the question, but recognition and co-operation +might have proved helpful. That the body had a considerable representative +quality, there is no doubt. Later, I found many of its members as members +of the Constitutional Convention, and, still later, many of them have +served in high official positions, as governors of provinces, members of +Congress, in cabinet and in diplomatic positions. I am inclined to regard +the group broadly, as the origin of the present much divided Liberal party +that has, from the beginning of definite party organization, included a +considerable numerical majority of the Cuban voters. In the first national +election, held December 31, 1901, this group, the military group, appeared +as the National party, supporting Tomas Estrada y Palma as its candidate. +Its opponent was called the Republican party. Realizing its overwhelming +defeat, the latter withdrew on the day of the election, alleging all manner +of fraud and unfairness on the part of the Nationals. It is useless to +follow in detail the history of Cuba's political parties since that time. +In the election of 1905, the former National party appeared as the Liberal +party, supporting Jose Miguel Gomez, while its opponents appeared as the +Moderate party, supporting Estrada Palma who, first elected on what he +declared to be a non-partisan basis, had definitely affiliated himself with +the so-called Moderates. The election was a game of political crookedness +on both sides, and the Liberals withdrew on election day. The result +was the revolution of 1906. The Liberals split into factions, not yet +harmonized, and the Moderate party became the Conservative party. By the +fusion of some of the Liberal groups, that party carried the election of +1908, held under American auspices. A renewal of internal disorders, a +quarrel among leaders, and much discontent with their administrative +methods, resulted in the defeat of the Liberals in the campaign of 1912 +and in the election of General Mario Menocal, the head of the Conservative +ticket, and the present incumbent. + +A fair presentation of political conditions in Cuba is exceedingly +difficult, or rather it is difficult so to present them that they will be +fairly understood. I have always regarded the establishment of the Cuban +Republic in 1902 as premature, though probably unavoidable. A few years of +experience with an autonomous government under American auspices, civil and +not military, as a prologue to full independence, might have been the wiser +course, but such a plan seemed impossible. The Cubans in the field had +forced from Spain concessions that were satisfactory to many. Whether they +could have forced more than that, without the physical assistance given +by the United States, is perhaps doubtful. The matter might have been +determined by the grant of the belligerent rights for which they repeatedly +appealed to the United States. At no time in the entire experience did they +ask for intervention. That came as the result of a combination of American +wrath and American sympathy, and more in the interest of the United States +than because of concern for the Cubans. But, their victory won and Spain +expelled, the triumphant Cubans naturally desired immediate enjoyment of +the fruits of victory. They desired to exercise the independence for which +they had fought. Many protests and not a few threats of trouble attended +even the brief period of American occupation. There was, moreover, an acute +political issue in the United States. The peace and order declared as the +purpose of American intervention had been established. The amendment to +the Joint Resolution of April 20, 1898, disclaimed "any disposition or +intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said +Island except for the pacification thereof," etc. The island was pacified. +The amendment asserted, further, the determination of the United States, +pacification having been accomplished, "to leave the government and control +of the island to its people." There was no pledge of any prolonged course +of education in principles and methods of self-government. Nor did such +education play any appreciable part in the experience of the American +military government. The work of the interventors had been done in +accordance with the specifications, and the Cubans were increasingly +restless under a control that many of them, with no little reason, declared +to be as autocratic as any ever exercised by Spain. Transfer and departure +seemed to be the politic if not the only course, and we transferred and +departed. + +That these people, entirely without experience or training in +self-government, should make mistakes was quite as inevitable as it is that +a child in learning to walk will tumble down and bump its little nose. In +addition to the inevitable mistakes, there have been occasional instances +of deplorable misconduct on the part of individuals and of political +parties. For neither mistakes nor misconduct can we criticize or condemn +them without a similar criticism or condemnation of various experiences in +our own history. We should, at least, regard them with charity. There are, +moreover, incidents in the two experiences of American control of the +island that, at least, border on the unwise and the discreditable. The only +issue yet developed in Cuba is between good government and bad politics. +The first President started admirably along the line of the former, and +ended in a wretched tangle of the latter, though not at all by his own +choice or direction. Official pre-eminence and a "government job" make +quite the same appeal to the Cubans that they do to many thousands +of Americans. So do raids on the national treasury, and profitable +concessions. We see these motes in Cuban eyes somewhat more clearly than +we see the beams in our own eyes. A necessarily slow process of political +education is going on among the people, but in the meantime the +situation has afforded opportunity for exploitation by an assortment +of self-constituted political leaders who have adopted politics as a +profession and a means of livelihood. Cuba's gravest danger lies in the +political domination of men in this class. The present President, General +Mario Menocal, is not in that group. The office sought him; he did not seek +the office. Some of these self-constituted leaders have displayed a notable +aptitude for political organization, and it is largely by means of the +many little local organizations that the Cuban political game is played. +Although, I believe, somewhat less now than formerly, the little groups +follow and support individual leaders rather than parties or principles. +Parties and their minor divisions are known by the names of their leaders. +Thus, while both men are nominally of the same party, the Liberal, the +adherents of Jose Miguel Gomez, are known as Miguelistas, and the adherents +of Alfredo Zayas are known as Zayistas. Were either to announce himself +as a Conservative, or to start a new party and call it Reformist or +Progressive or any other title, he could count on being followed by most +of those who supported him as a Liberal. This is a condition that will, in +time, correct itself. What the Cuban really wants is what all people want, +an orderly, honest, and economical government, under which he may live in +peace and quiet, enjoying the fruits of his labor without paying an undue +share of the fruits to maintain his government. For that the Cuban people +took up arms against Spain. For a time they may be blinded by the idea of +mere political independence, but to that same issue they will yet return +by the route of the ballot-box. The game of politics for individual +preferment, or for personal profit, cannot long be successfully played +in Cuba, if I have rightly interpreted Cuban character and Cuban +characteristics. + +"We, the delegates of the people of Cuba, having met in constitutional +convention for the purpose of preparing and adopting the fundamental law of +their organization as an independent and sovereign people, establishing a +government capable of fulfilling its international obligations, maintaining +public peace, ensuring liberty, justice, and promoting the general welfare, +do hereby agree upon and adopt the following constitution, invoking the +protection of the Almighty. Article I. The people of Cuba are hereby +constituted a sovereign and independent State and adopt a republican form +of government." Thus opens the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba. + +I recall an intensely dramatic moment connected with the closing phrase of +the preamble. I have used a translation published by a distinguished Cuban. +That phrase, in the original, is "_invocando el favor de Dios_," perhaps +more exactly translated as "invoking the favor (or blessing) of God." When +the Constitution had been drafted and broadly approved, it was submitted +to the convention for suggestion of minor changes in verbiage. One of the +oldest and most distinguished members of the body proposed that this phrase +be left out. Another member, distinguished for his power as an orator and +for his cynicism, in a speech of considerable length set forth his opinion +that it made little difference whether it was included or excluded. There +was no benefit in its inclusion, and no advantage in excluding it. It would +hurt none and might please some to have it left in. Immediately across +the semi-circle of desks, and facing these two speakers, sat Senor Pedro +Llorente, a man of small stature, long, snow-white hair and beard, and a +nervous and alert manner. At times, his nervous energy made him almost +grotesque. At times, his absorbed earnestness made him, despite his +stature, a figure of commanding dignity. Through the preceding addresses he +waited with evident impatience. Obtaining recognition from the chairman, +he rose and stood with upraised hand his voice tremulous with emotion, to +protest against the proposed measure, declaring "as one not far from the +close of life, that the body there assembled did not represent an atheistic +people." The motion to strike out was lost, and the invocation remains. + +The result of the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention is a +highly creditable instrument. It contains a well-devised Bill of Rights, +and makes all necessary provision for governmental organization and +conduct. One feature, however, seems open to criticism. In their desire to +avoid that form of centralized control, of which they had somewhat too much +under Spanish power, the new institution provides, perhaps, for too much +local government, for a too extensive provincial and municipal system. It +has already fallen down in some respects, and it has become necessary to +centralize certain functions, quite as it has become desirable in several +of our own matters. Cuba has, perhaps, an undue overload of officialdom, +somewhat too many public officers, and quite too many people on its +pay-rolls. The feature of Cuba's Constitution that is of greatest interest +and importance to the United States is what is known as the Platt +Amendment. The provision for a Constitutional Convention in Cuba was made +in what was known as Civil Order No. 301, issued by the Military Governor, +on July 25, 1900. It provided for an election of delegates to meet in +Havana on the first Monday in November, following. The convention was to +frame and adopt a Constitution and "as a part thereof, to provide for and +agree with the Government of the United States upon the relations to exist +between that Government and the Government of Cuba," etc. Against this, the +Cubans protested vigorously. The United States had declared that "Cuba +is and of right ought to be free and independent." The Cubans held, very +properly, that definition of international relations had no fitting place +in a Constitution "as a part thereof." Their point was recognized and, +under date of November 5, Civil Order No. 310 was modified by Civil Order +No. 455. That was issued to the delegates at the time of their assembly. +It declared as follows: "It will be your duty, first, to frame and adopt a +Constitution for Cuba, and, when that has been done, to formulate what, +in your opinion, ought to be the relations between Cuba and the United +States." Taking this as their programme, the delegates proceeded to draft +a Constitution, leaving the matter of "relations" in abeyance for +consideration at the proper time. Yet, before its work was done, the +Convention was savagely criticized in the United States for its failure +to include in the Constitution what it had been authorized, and virtually +instructed, to leave out. The Constitution was completed on February 11, +1901, and was duly signed by the delegates, on February 21. A committee +was appointed, on February 11, to prepare and submit plans and proposals +regarding the matter of "relations." Prior to that, however, the matter had +been frequently but informally discussed by the delegates. Suggestions had +been made in the local press, and individual members of the Convention had +expressed their views with considerable freedom. Had the United States kept +its hands off at that time, a serious and critical situation, as well as +a sense of injustice that has not yet entirely died out, would have been +averted. + +Before the Cubans had time to put their "opinion of what ought to be +the relations" between the two countries into definite form, there was +presented to them, in a manner as needless as it was tactless, a statement +of what the American authorities thought those relations should be. The +Cubans, who were faithfully observing their earlier instructions, were +deeply offended by this interference, and by the way in which the +interference came. The measures known as the Platt Amendment was submitted +to the United States Senate, as an amendment to the Army Appropriation +bill, on February 25, 1901 The Senate passed the bill, and the House +concurred A storm of indignant protest swept over the island The Cubans +believed, and not without reason, that the instrument abridged the +independence of which they had been assured by those who now sought to +limit that independence. Public opinion in the United States was divided. +Some approved and some denounced the proceeding in bitter terms. The +division was not at all on party lines. The situation in Cuba was entirely +changed. Instead of formulating an opinion in accordance with their earlier +instructions, the members of the Convention were confronted by a choice of +what they then regarded as evils, acceptance of unacceptable terms or an +indefinite continuance of a military government then no less unacceptable. +A commission was sent to Washington to urge changes and modifications. It +was given dinners, lunches, and receptions, but nothing more. At last the +Cubans shrugged their shoulders. The desire for an immediate withdrawal of +American authority, and for Cuban assumption of the reins of government, +outweighed the objection to the terms imposed. A Cuban leader said: "There +is no use in objecting to the inevitable. It is either annexation or a +Republic with the Amendment. I prefer the latter." After four months of +stubborn opposition, the Cubans yielded, by a vote of sixteen to eleven, +with four absentees. + +In many ways, the Cuban Government is like our own. The President and +Vice-President are elected, through an electoral college, for a term of +four years. A "third term" is specifically prohibited by the Constitution. +Senators, four from each Province, are chosen, for a term of eight years, +by an electoral board. Elections for one half of the body occur every four +years. The House is chosen, by direct vote, for terms of four years, one +half being elected every two years. The Cabinet, selected and appointed by +the President, consists of eight Secretaries of Departments as follows: +Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor; State; Government; Treasury (_Hacienda_); +Public Instruction; Justice; Public Works; and Health and Charities. There +is a Supreme Court, and there are the usual minor courts. The Constitution +also makes provision for the organization and the powers of the Provincial +and Municipal Governments. To the Constitution, the Platt Amendment is +attached as an appendix, by treaty arrangement. As far as governmental +system is concerned, Cuba is fairly well equipped; a possible source of +danger is its over-equipment. Its laws permit, rather than require, an +overburden of officials, high and low. But Cuba's governmental problem +is essentially one of administration. Its particular obstacle in that +department is professional politics. + +The whole situation in Cuba is somewhat peculiar. The business of the +island, that is, the commercial business, the purchase and sale of +merchandise wholesale and retail, is almost entirely in the hands of +Spaniards. The Cuban youths seldom become clerks in stores. Most of the +so-called "_dependientes_" come out as boys from Spain. It is an old +established system. These lads, almost invariably hard workers, usually eat +and sleep in the place of their employment. The wage is small but board and +lodging, such as the latter is, are furnished. They are well fed, and the +whole system is quite paternal. For their recreation, education, and care +in case of illness, there are organizations, half club and half mutual +protective association, to which practically all belong. The fee is small +and the benefits many. Some of these are based on a regional plan, that is, +the _Centro de Asturianos_ is composed of those who come from the Spanish +province of Asturia, and those from other regions have their societies. +There is also a general society of "_dependientes_." Some of these groups +are rich, with large membership including not only the clerks of today but +those of the last thirty or forty years, men who by diligence and thrift +have risen to the top in Cuba's commercial life. Most of Cuba's business +men continue their membership in these organizations, and many contribute +liberally toward their maintenance. + +This system more or less effectively bars Cuban youths from commercial +life. Nor does commercial life seem attractive to more than a very limited +number. This leaves to them, practically, only three lines of possible +activity, the ownership and operation of a plantation, a profession, or +manual labor. The greater number there, as elsewhere, are laborers, either +on some little bit of ground they call their own or rent from its owner, +or they are employed by the proprietors of the larger estates. Such +proprietorship is, of course, open to only a few. The problem, which is +both social and political, appears in a class that cannot or will not +engage in manual labor, the well-educated or fairly-educated sons of men +of fair income and a social position. Many of these take some professional +course. But there is not room for so many in so small a country, and the +professions are greatly overcrowded. The surplus either loafs and lives by +its wits or at the expense of the family, or turns to the Government for +a "job." It constitutes a considerable element on which the aspiring +professional politician can draw for support. Having such "jobs," it +constitutes a heavy burden on the tax-payers; deprived of its places on the +Government pay-roll, it becomes a social and political menace. If a Liberal +administration throws them out of their comfortable posts, they become +noisy and perhaps violent Conservatives; if discharged by an economical +Conservative administration, they become no less noisy and no less +potentially violent Liberals. But we may not criticize. The American +control that followed the insurrection of 1906 set no example in +administrative economy for the Cubans to follow. + +The productive industries of the island have already been reviewed in other +chapters. The development of Cuba's commerce since the withdrawal of Spain, +and the substitution of a modern fiscal policy for an antiquated and +indefensible system, has been notable. It is, however, a mistake to +contrast the present condition with the condition existing at the time +of the American occupation, in 1899. The exact accuracy of the record is +questionable, but the returns for the year 1894, the year preceding the +revolution, show the total imports of the island as $77,000,000, and the +total exports as $99,000,000. The probability is that a proper valuation +would show a considerable advance in the value of the imports. The +statement of export values may be accepted. It may be assumed that had +there been no disorder, the trade of the island, by natural growth, would +have reached $90,000,000 for imports and $120,000,000, for exports, in +1900. That may be regarded as a fair normal. As it was, the imports of that +year were $72,000,000, and the exports, by reason of the general wreck of +the sugar business, were only $45,000,000. With peace and order fairly +assured, recovery came quickly. The exports of 1905, at $99,000,000, +equalled those of 1894, while the imports materially exceeded those of the +earlier year. In 1913, the exports reached $165,207,000, and the imports +$132,290,000. This growth of Cuba's commerce and industry is due mainly to +the economic requirements of the American people. We need Cuba's sugar and +we want its tobacco. These two commodities represent about 90 per cent, +of the total exports of the island. We buy nearly all of its sugar, under +normal conditions, and about 60 per cent, of its tobacco and cigars. On the +basis of the total commerce of the island, the records of recent years show +this country as the source of supply for about 53 per cent, of Cuba's +total imports, and as the market for about 83 per cent, of its exports. A +comparison of the years 1903 and 1913 shows a gain of about $87,000,000 in +Cuba's total exports. Of this, about $75,000,000 is represented by sugar. +The crop of 1894 a little exceeded a million tons. Such a quantity was +not again produced until 1903. With yearly variations, due to weather +conditions, later years show an enormous and unprecedented increase. The +crops of 1913 and 1914 were, approximately, 2,500,000 tons each. The +tobacco industry shows only a modest gain. The average value of the exports +of that commodity has risen, in ten years, from about $25,000,000 to about +$30,000,000. The increase in the industry appears largely in the shipment +of leaf tobacco. The cigar business shows practically no change, in that +time, as far as values are concerned. This resume affords a fair idea of +Cuba's trade expansion under the conditions established through the change +in government. That event opened new and larger doors of opportunity, and +the Cubans and others have been prompt in taking advantage of them. Toward +the great increase shown, two forces have operated effectively. One is the +treaty by which the provisions of the so-called Platt Amendment to the +Cuban Constitution are made permanently effective. The other is the +reciprocity treaty of 1903. + +By the operation of the former of these instruments the United States +virtually underwrites the political stability and the financial +responsibility of the Cuban Government. That Government cannot borrow any +important sums without the consent of the United States, and it has agreed +that this country "may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation +of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the +protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for discharging +the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of Paris on the +United States." This assumption of responsibility by the United States +inspired confidence on the part of capital, and large sums have been +invested in Cuban bonds, and in numerous public and private enterprises. +Railways and trolley lines have been built and many other works of public +utility have been undertaken. The activities of old sugar plantations have +been extended under improved conditions, and many new estates with costly +modern equipment have been created. The cultivation of large areas, +previously lying waste and idle, afforded both directly and indirectly +employment for an increased population, as did the numerous public works. +The other force, perhaps no less effective, appears in the reciprocity +treaty of 1903. This gave to Cuba's most important crop a large though by +no means absolute control of the constantly increasing sugar market of +the United States, as far as competition from other foreign countries +was concerned. The sugar industry of the island may be said to have been +restored to its normal proportions in 1903. Our imports for the five-year +period 1904-1908 averaged 1,200,000 tons a year. For the five-year period +1910-1914 they averaged 1,720,000 tons. In 1914, they were 2,200,000 tons +as compared with 1,260,000 tons in 1904. It is doubtful if the treaty had +any appreciable influence on the exports of Cuban tobacco to this country. +We buy Cuba's special tobacco irrespective of a custom-house advantage +that affects the box price only a little, and the price of a single cigar +probably not at all. On the other side of the account, that of our sales +to Cuba, there also appears a large increase since the application of the +reciprocity treaty. Using the figures showing exports from the United +States to Cuba, instead of Cuba's records showing imports from this +country, it appears that our sales to the island in the fiscal year 1903, +immediately preceding the operation of the treaty, amounted to $21,761,638. +In the fiscal year 1913 they were $70,581,000, and in 1914 were +$68,884,000. + +Not all of this quite remarkable gain may properly be credited to the +influence of the reciprocity treaty. The purchases of the island are +determined, broadly, by its sales. As the latter increase, so do the +former. Almost invariably, a year of large export sales is followed by a +year of heavy import purchases. The fact that our imports from Cuba are +double our sales to Cuba, in the total of a period of years, has given rise +to some foolish criticism of the Cubans on the ground that, we buying so +heavily from them, they should purchase from us a much larger percentage of +their import requirements. No such obligation is held to exist in regard +to our trade with other lands, and it should have no place in any +consideration of our trade with Cuba. There are many markets, like Brazil, +British India, Japan, China, Mexico, and Egypt, in which our purchases +exceed our sales. There are more, like the United Kingdom, France, Germany, +Italy, Canada, Central America, and numerous others, in which our sales +considerably or greatly exceed our purchases. We do not buy from them +simply because they buy from us. We buy what we need or want in that market +in which we can buy to the greatest advantage. The Cuban merchants, who are +nearly all Spaniards, do the same. The notion held by some that, because +of our service to Cuba in the time of her struggle for national life, the +Cubans should buy from us is both foolish and altogether unworthy. Any +notion of Cuba's obligation to pay us for what we may have done for her +should be promptly dismissed and forgotten. There are commodities, such as +lumber, pork products, coal, wheat flour, and mineral oil produces, +that Cuba can buy in our markets on terms better than those obtainable +elsewhere. Other commodities, such as textiles, leather goods, sugar mill +equipment, railway equipment, drugs, chemicals, and much else, must be +sold by American dealers in sharp competition with the merchants of other +countries, with such assistance as may be afforded by the reciprocity +treaty. That instrument gives us a custom-house advantage of 20, 25, 30, +and 40 per cent, in the tariff rates. It is enough in some cases to give +us a fair equality with European sellers, and in a few cases to give us a +narrow margin of advantage over them. It does not give us enough to compel +Cuban buyers to trade with us because of lower delivered prices. + +Cuba's economic future can be safely predicted on the basis of its past. +The pace of its development will depend mainly upon a further influx of +capital and an increase in its working population. Its political future +is less certain. There is ample ground for both hope and belief that the +little clouds that hang on the political horizon will be dissipated, that +there will come, year by year, a sane adjustment to the new institutions. +But full assurance of peace and order will come only when the people of the +island, whether planters or peasants, see clearly the difference between a +government conducted in their interest and a government conducted by Cubans +along Spanish lines. + + + + +INDEX + + +A + +Adams, President John, 127 +Angulo, Governor de, 59 +Animals, wild, 50 +Asphalt, 232, 233 +Autonomy, 143, 178 + + +B + +Babeque, 6, 7 +Bacon, Hon. Robert, 160 +Bacon's Rebellion, 144 +Ballou, M.M., 31, 32, 71 +Banes, 113 +Baracoa, 12, 91, 100, 114 +Batabano, 12, 116 +Baths, 52 +Bellamar, Caves of, 42,110 +Belligerent rights, 136, 140, 157, 158, 181 +_Bermuda_, 189, 197 +Bertram, Luis, 14 +Betancourt, Salvador Cisneros, 174 +Black Eagle conspiracy, 147 +_Black Warrior_, 131 +Blanco, General Ramon, 178 +Bolivia, 126 +Bolivar, Simon, 124, 185 +Bonds, Cuban, 175 +Boston sugar plantation, 113 +Buchanan, President, 130 + + +C + +Cabana, 57, 60 +Cabinet, Cuban, 250 +Cabrera, Raimundo, 135 +Cadiz, 20 +Caibarien, 102 +Callahan, James M., 125, 139, 152 +Camaguey, city, 105, 110, 111 +Camaguey, province, 40, 109 +Cardenas, 101 +Casa de Beneficencia, 24 +Castillo del Principe, 57, 60, 71, 83 +Cathay, 3 +Cathedral, Havana, 63 +Cattle, 17, 235 +Cauto river, 43 +Caves, 42 +Cemetery, Colon, 83 +Census Reports, United States, 27, 35, 44, 144, 236 +Cespedes, Carlos Manuel,154, 155 +Channing, Edward, 142, 143 +Chaparra sugar plantation, 113 +Ciego de Avila, 106 +Cienaga de Zapata, 43, 51 +Cienfuegos, 102 +Cigars, 224, 225, 254 +Cipango, 2, 5 +Clerks' Associations, 251 +Climate, 45 et seq. +Coal, 232 +Coffee, 23, 36, 226, et seq. +Colonies, American in Cuba, 12, 120 +Colonies, British, 19, 236 +Colonies, Spanish, 19, 21, 123, 126 +Columbia, 124, 145 +Columbus, Christopher + Death and remains, 63 + Describes Cuba, 3, 4, 7 + Discovers Cuba, 2 + Extract from journal, 2 + Letter to Sanchez, 3 + Memorial to, 64 + Mistaken belief, 2, 3, 5, 8 + Report to Spanish sovereigns, 7 + Second expedition, 7 +Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257 +_Commodore_, 193, 195, 197 +Constitutional Convention, 247 +Constitution, Cuban, 154, 245, 246 +Constitution, Spanish, 29, 145, 159 +Copper, 231, 232 +Cordoba, de, 12 +Cortes, Hernan, 13, 58 +Cortes, Spanish, 29, 176 +Crittenden, Col., 150 +Cuba: + Aborigines, 14, 15. + Advice to visitors, 55. + American attitude toward, 135, 137, 140. + Annexation proposed, 125 et seq. + Animals, wild, 49. + Area, 37. + Climate and temperature, 45 et seq. + Colonized, 12. + Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257. + Conquest by Velasquez, II. + Described by Columbus, 3, 4, 7. + Description, general, 37 et seq. + Discovered, 2. + Expeditions from, 13, 14. + Flora, 48. + Forests, 49. + Future of, 258. + Insects, 51. + Intervention by United States, 25, 160, 182, 242. + Mineral springs, 52. + Monopolies in, 20, 144, 220, 231. + Monroe Doctrine, 127. + Nineteenth Century, 142. + Population, 17, 23, 34. + Railways, 89, 91. + Relations with United States, 122 et seq., 247, 248. + Republic of, 182. + Revolutions, 141 et seq. + Roads, 87, 95, 96. + Self-government, 243. + Slavery in, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155. + Spanish Governors, 24, 32. + Spanish policy in, 17, 19 et seq. 24, 31. + Trade restrictions, 20, 21, 24, 25, 30. + Taxation, Spanish, 24, 27, 28, 30. + Villages, 85, 93, 94, 100 +_Cuba and the Intervention_, 154, 164 +Cushing, Caleb, 138 +Custom house, 62 + + +D + +_Dauntless_, 193, 194, 197, 199, 200 +Delicias sugar plantation, 113 +Dexter, Lord Timothy, 216 +Domestic life, 80 + + +E + +EARTHQUAKES, 53 +Elections, 240, 250 +Elson, Henry William, 186 +England, 19, 128, 130, 139, 145 +Everett, Alexander H., 130 + + +F + +FILIBUSTERING expeditions, 148 et seq., 184 et seq. +Firemen, 83 +Fish, Secretary, 157 +Flora, 48 +Florida, 13 +Forests, 48, 49 +Fortifications, 59, 60 +France, 128, 145 +Fritot, Alphonso, 196, 199 +Fruits, 5, 229 +Fuerza, la, 17, 58, 59 + + +G + +Garcia, General Calixto, 84, 190 +Geerligs, H.C. Prinsen, 206 +Gibara, 112 +Gold, 2, 6, 231 +Gomez, General Maximo, 84, 158, 164, 172, 174. Proclamations, 167 et seq. +Government, 250 +Grant, President, 135 et seq. +Guane, 101 +Guantanamo, 91, 115 +Guines, 90 + + +H + +Haiti, 9, 10, 144 +Harbors, 44 +Hart, John D., 191, 197 +Hatuey, 8 et seq. +Havana: + Bells, church, 65. + British occupation, 20. + Capital, 20, 59. + Cathedral, 63. + Changes in, 66, 67, 82, 85. + Commerce limited to, 20. + Destroyed, 17, 58, 59. + Discovered, 12, 57. + Early conditions, 61. + Excursions from, 97 et seq. + Firemen, 83. + Fortifications, 59, 60. + Homes in, 77 et seq. + Las Casas as governor, 24. + Market, fish, 74. + Name, origin of, 58. + New City, 70 et seq. + Old city, 54 et seq. + Parks, 70, 71. + _Paseo_, 75. + Public buildings, 62 et seq. + Sanitation of, 63. + Settled 12, 58. + Shopping in, 68. + Streets 61, 71. + Suburbs, 85. + Sunrise in harbor, 54. + Theatre, Nacional, 71 et seq. +Havana, province, 38, 41 +Hayes, President, 136 +Hazard, Samuel, 33, 65, 111 +Henry, Patrick, 143 +Heredia, Jose Maria, 146 +Hill, Robert T., 39, 48 +Holguin, 113 +Hotels, 91, 111 +Homes, 77 et seq. +Humboldt, Baron Alexander, 8, 14, 15, 16, 35, 53 +Hurricanes, 53 + + +I + +Imports and Exports, 253, 256 +Independence, 162 et seq. +Insect life, 51 +Intervention, First, 25, 182, 242 +Intervention, Second, 160 +Iron ore, 233, 234 +Irving, Washington, 4, 5, 6 +Isle of Pines, 8, 116, 117 et seq. + + +J + +Jefferson, Thomas, 122 +Joint Resolution of 1898, 242 +Jolo, 54 +Juana, 2, 4 +Jucaro, 106 +Junta, 164, 174, 188 + + +K + +Kimball, R.B. 32 + + +L + +Las Casas, Bartolome, 9, 14 +Las Casas, Governor Luis de, 24 +_Laurada_, 193 et seq. +Lemus, Jose Francisco, 146 +Llorente, Pedro, 246 +Lodge, Henry Cabot, 123 +Lopez, Narciso, 148 et seq. +Ludlow, General William, 63 + + +M + +Maceo, General Antonio, 99, 164, 172, 174 +McKinley, President, 122, 178, 179 +Magoon, Charles E., 160 +_Maine_, battleship, 179 +Maisi, Cape, 7, 8, 38, 115 +Malecon, 75 +Manufactures, 234 +Marti, Jose, 164, 166 +Marti, the smuggler, 72 et seq. +Martinez Campos, General, 158, 165, 166, 177. +Maso, Bartolome, 165, 174 +Massachusetts rebellion, 144 +Matanzas, city, 41, 101 +Matanzas, province, 41 +Menocal, General Mario, 241, 244 +Mexico, 13, 58, 124, 145 +Minerals, 231 et seq. +Mineral springs, 52 +Miranda, Francisco, 126, 185 +Monopolies, 20, 144, 220, 231. +Monroe Doctrine, 127 +Monroe, President, 129 +Monuments: + Firemen's, 83, 84 + Students', 84 +Moret law, 16 +Morgan, Henry, no +Morro Castle, 17, 57, 59, 60 +Mountains, 5, 41, 93 +Murielo, 13 + + +N + +NARVAEZ, 13 +Navigation acts, British, 19, 144 +Nelson, Hugh, 127 +Nipe Bay, 2, 91, 113, 114 +Nuevitas, 2, 3, 110, 111, 112 +Nunez, General Emilio, 191, 192, 199 + + +O + +O'BRIEN, "Dynamite Johnny," 189, et seq. +Ocampo, Sebastian de, 8, 12, 57 +Oriente, province, 40, 41 +Ostend Manifesto, 133 +Otis, James, 143 + + +P + +PALACE, Governor's, 64 +Palma, Tomas Estrada y, 162, 174, 192 +Palms, 5, 7, 48, 49 +Panama Congress (1826), 126 +Parks, Havana, 70, 71 +Parties, Political, 159, 176, 237, 238, 240, 244 +Pearcy _v_. Stranahan, 120 +Pepper, Charles M., 105, 134, 152, 176 +Petroleum, 233 +Pierce, President, 130, 132, 151 +Pinar del Rio, city, 101 +Pinar del Rio, province, 41 +Platt Amendment, 118, 247 et seq., 255 +Politics, 252 +Polk, President, 130 +Ponce de Leon, 13 +Population, 14, 17, 23, 34 +Porto Rico, 118 +Prado, 71, 75 +Preston sugar plantation, 113 +Puerto de Carenas, 12, 57 +Puerto Principe, see Camaguey +Punta, la, 17 + + +Q + +QUITMAN expedition, 151 + + +R + +RAILWAYS, 89, 91 +Rainfall, 46 +Real estate speculation, 120 +Reciprocity treaty, 255, 258 +Reconcentration, 177 +"Relations," question of, 247, 248 +Remedios, 102 +Revolutions, 19, 141 et seq. + of 1868, 153 et seq. + of 1895, 162 et seq. + of 1906, 159, 160 +Rhodes, James Ford, 131 +Rivers, 43 44 +Roads, 87, 95, 96 +Rubens, Horatio, S., 165, 181, 191, 192, 195 +Ruskin, John, 56 + + +S + +Saco, Antonio, 31 +Sagua la Grande, 101 +Sanchez, Rafael, 3 +Sancti Spiritus, 12, 91, 104 +Santa Clara, city, 102 +Santa Clara, province, 40 +Santangel, Luis de, 4 +Santiago de Cuba, 12, 13, 20, 115, 116 +Santo Domingo, 7 +Seville, 20 +Slavery, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155 +Smuggling, 21, 26 +Snakes, 50 +Sociedad Economica, 24 +Sociedad Patriotica, 24 +Soles de Bolivar, 146 +Soto, Hernando de, 13, 14, 17, 58 +Soule, Pierre, 132, 133 +Spain, 17, 19, 24, 29, 123 et seq., 145, 236 +Spanish-American independence, 126 +Sugar, 113, 203 et seq. + Beet sugar, 208 + Countries producing, 209 + History, 207 + In Cuba, 210 + Manufacture of, 204, 213 + Muscovado, 205 + Origin of, 206 + Planting and cutting, 213 et seq. + Production of, 209, 254, 256 +Supreme Court, United States, 120 + + +T + +Tacon, Governor Miguel, 32, 33, 70, 71 et seq. +Taft, Hon. William H., 99, 160 +Tariff, Spanish, 21, 25 +Taxes, 24, 27, 30, 163 +Taylor, President, 148 +Teller Amendment, 182 +Temperance question, 76 +Temperature, 45 et seq. +Templete, el, 64 +Ten Years' War, 16, 134, 135 et seq., 153 et seq. +Thrasher, J.S., 15, 29 +_Three Friends_, 193 et seq. +_Tillie_, wreck of the, 210 +Times, New York, 150 +Tobacco, 36, 102, 221, 222 + Cultivation in Cuba, 223 + History, 219 et seq. + Origin, 218 + Use in Cuba, 225 +Trade restricted, 20, 24, 25, 30 +Transportation, 90 +Treaty of Paris, 118, 182 +Trinidad, 12, 91, 100, 103 +Turnbull, David, 25 + + +U + +UNITED STATES: + Diplomatic correspondence, 125 et seq. + Mediation offered, 156 + Presidential messages, 125, 135, 136, 137, 158, 178, 179, 180, 184 + Relations with Cuba, 122 et seq., 179 + + +V + +Valmaseda proclamation, 156 +Varona, Enrique Jose, 153 +Vedado, el, 82 +Vegetable products, 228 et seq. +Velasquez, 8, 58 +Villages, 85, 93 +_Virginius_ affair, 116, 137, 185 +Volantes, 88 + + +W + +Welles, Gideon, 186 +Weyler, General Valeriano, 177, 198 +Wilson, Henry, 125 + + +Y + +Yumuri valley, 41 + + +Z + +Zanjon, treaty of, 158 + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Cuba, Old and New, by Albert Gardner Robinson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CUBA, OLD AND NEW *** + +***** This file should be named 11464.txt or 11464.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/4/6/11464/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Leonard D Johnson and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4f802be --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #11464 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11464) diff --git a/old/11464-8.txt b/old/11464-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ce924a8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11464-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6566 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cuba, Old and New, by Albert Gardner Robinson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Cuba, Old and New + +Author: Albert Gardner Robinson + +Release Date: March 5, 2004 [EBook #11464] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CUBA, OLD AND NEW *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Leonard D Johnson and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + +[Illustration: TOWER OF LA FUERZA + +_Havana_] + +CUBA + +OLD AND NEW + +BY + +ALBERT G. ROBINSON + +1915. + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + +I. OLD CUBA + +II. NEW CUBA + +III. THE COUNTRY + +IV. THE OLD HAVANA + +V. THE NEW HAVANA + +VI. AROUND THE ISLAND + +VII. AROUND THE ISLAND (_Continued_) + +VIII. THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA + +IX. CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS + +X. INDEPENDENCE + +XI. FILIBUSTERING + +XII. THE STORY OF SUGAR + +XIII. VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES + +XIV. POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +Tower of La Fuerza, Havana +The Morro, Havana +A Planter's Home, Havana Province +Iron Grille Gateway, El Vedado, suburb of Havana +Watering Herd of Cattle, Luyano River, near Havaria +Royal Palms +Custom House, Havana +Balconies, Old Havana +Street in Havana +Street and Church of the Angels, Havana +A Residence in El Vedado +The Volante (now quite rare) +A Village Street, Calvario, Havana Province +Street and Church, Camaguey +Cobre, Oriente Province +Hoisting the Cuban Flag over the Palace, May 20,1902 +A Spanish Block House +Along the Harbor Wall, Havana +Country Road, Havana Province +Street in Camaguey +Palm-Thatched Roofs +A Peasant's Home + + + + +CUBA + +OLD AND NEW + + + + +I + +_OLD CUBA_ + + +Christopher Columbus was a man of lively imagination. Had he been an +ordinary, prosaic and plodding individual, he would have stayed at home +combing wool as did his prosaic and plodding ancestors for several +generations. At the age of fourteen he went to sea and soon developed an +active curiosity about regions then unknown but believed to exist. There +was even then some knowledge of western Asia, and even of China as +approached from the west. Two and two being properly put together, the +result was a reasonable argument that China and India could be reached from +the other direction, that is, by going westward instead of eastward. + +In the early autumn of the year 1492, Columbus was busy discovering islands +in the Caribbean Sea region, and, incidentally, seeking for the richest +of the group. From dwellers on other islands, he heard of one, called +Cubanacan, larger and richer than any that he had then discovered. A +mixture of those tales with his own vivid imagination produced a belief +in a country of wide extent, vastly rich in gold and gems, and already a +centre of an extensive commerce. Cruising in search of what he believed to +be the eastern coast of Asia, he sighted the shore of Cuba on the morning +of October 28, 1492. His journal, under date of October 24, states: "At +midnight I tripped my anchors off this _Cabo del Isleo de Isabella_, where +I was pitched to go to the island of Cuba, which I learn from these people +is very large and magnificent, and there are gold and spices in it, and +large ships and merchants. And so I think it must be the island of Cipango +(Japan), of which they tell such wonders." The record, under date of +Sunday, 28th of October, states: "Continued for the nearest land of Cuba, +and entered a beautiful estuary, clear of rocks and other dangers. The +mouth of the estuary had twelve fathoms depth, and it was wide enough for a +ship to work into." Students have disagreed regarding the first Cuban port +entered by Columbus. There is general acceptance of October 28 as the +date of arrival. Some contend that on that day he entered Nipe Bay, while +others, and apparently the greater number, locate the spot somewhat to the +west of Nuevitas. Wherever he first landed on it, there is agreement that +he called the island Juana, in honor of Prince Juan, taking possession "in +the name of Christ, Our Lady, and the reigning Sovereigns of Spain." + +His record of the landing place is obscure. It is known that he sailed some +leagues beyond it, to the westward. While on board his caravel, on his +homeward voyage, he wrote a letter to his friend, Don Rafael Sanchez, +"Treasurer of their most Serene Highnesses," in which the experience is +described. The original letter is lost, but it was translated into Latin +and published in Barcelona in the following year, 1493. While the Latin +form is variously translated into English, the general tenor of all is the +same. He wrote: "When I arrived at Juana (Cuba), I sailed along the coast +to the west, discovering so great an extent of land that I could not +imagine it to be an island, but the continent of Cathay. I did not, +however, discover upon the coast any large cities, all we saw being a few +villages and farms, with the inhabitants of which we could not obtain any +communication, they flying at our approach. I continued my course, still +expecting to meet with some town or city, but after having gone a great +distance and not meeting with any, and finding myself proceeding toward +the north, which I was desirous, to avoid on account of the cold, and, +moreover, meeting with a contrary wind, I determined to return to the +south, and therefore put about and sailed back to a harbor which I had +before observed." That the actual landing was at or near the present port +of Nuevitas seems to be generally accepted. + +Columbus appears to have been greatly impressed by the beauty of the +island. In his _Life of Columbus_, Washington Irving says: "From his +continual remarks on the beauty of scenery, and from his evident delight in +rural sounds and objects, he appears to have been extremely open to those +happy influences, exercised over some spirits, by the graces and wonders +of nature. He gives utterance to these feelings with characteristic +enthusiasm, and at the same time with the artlessness and simplicity of +diction of a child. When speaking of some lovely scene among the groves, or +along the flowery shores of these favored islands, he says, "One could +live there forever." Cuba broke upon him like an elysium. "It is the most +beautiful island," he says, "that ever eyes beheld, full of excellent ports +and profound rivers." A little discount must be made on such a statement. +Granting all that is to be said of Cuba's scenic charms, some allowance is +to be made for two influences. One is Don Cristobal's exuberance, and the +other is the fact that when one has been knocking about, as he had been, +for nearly three months on the open sea and among low-lying and sandy +islands and keys, any land, verdure clad and hilly, is a picture of +Paradise. Many people need only two or three days at sea to reach a similar +conclusion. In his letter to Luis de Santangel, Columbus says: "All these +countries are of surpassing excellence, and in particular Juana (Cuba,), +which contains abundance of fine harbors, excelling any in Christendom, as +also many large and beautiful rivers. The land is high, and exhibits chains +of tall mountains which seem to reach to the skies and surpass beyond +comparison the isle of Cetrefrey (Sicily). These display themselves in all +manner of beautiful shapes. They are accessible in every part, and covered +with a vast variety of lofty trees which it appears to me never lose their +foliage. Some were covered with blossoms, some with fruit, and others in +different stages according to their nature. There are palm trees of six or +eight sorts. Beautiful forests of pines are likewise found, and fields of +vast extent. Here are also honey and fruits of thousand sorts, and birds of +every variety." + +Having landed at this indefinitely located point, Columbus, believing that +he had reached the region he was seeking, despatched messengers to the +interior to open communication with some high official of Cathay, in which +country he supposed himself to be, the idea of Cipango apparently having +been abandoned. "Many at the present day," says Washington Irving, "will +smile at this embassy to a naked savage chieftain in the interior of Cuba, +in mistake for an Asiatic monarch; but such was the singular nature of this +voyage, a continual series of golden dreams, and all interpreted by the +deluding volume of Marco Polo." But the messengers went on their journey, +and proceeded inland some thirty or forty miles. There they came upon a +village of about fifty huts and a population of about a thousand. They were +able to communicate only by signs, and it is quite certain that the replies +of the natives were as little understood by the messengers as the questions +were by the natives. The messengers sought something about which the +natives knew little or nothing. The communications were interpreted through +the medium of imagination and desire. Nothing accomplished, the commission +returned and made its disappointing report. Washington Irving thus +describes the further proceedings: "The report of the envoys put an end to +the many splendid fancies of Columbus, about the barbaric prince and his +capital. He was cruising, however, in a region of enchantment, in which +pleasing chimeras started up at every step, exercising by turns a power +over his imagination. During the absence of the emissaries, the Indians +had informed him, by signs, of a place to the eastward, where the people +collected gold along the river banks by torchlight and afterward wrought it +into bars with hammers. In speaking of this place they again used the words +Babeque and Bohio, which he, as usual, supposed to be the proper names of +islands or countries. His great object was to arrive at some opulent and +civilized country of the East, with which he might establish commercial +relations, and whence he might carry home a quantity of oriental +merchandise as a rich trophy of his discovery. The season was advancing; +the cool nights gave hints of approaching winter; he resolved, therefore, +not to proceed farther to the north, nor to linger about uncivilized places +which, at present, he had not the means of colonizing, but to return to the +east-south-east, in quest of Babeque, which he trusted might prove some +rich and civilized island on the coast of Asia." And so he sailed away for +Hispaniola (Santo Domingo) which appears to have become, a little later, +his favorite West Indian resort. + +[Illustration: THE MORRO _Havana_] + +He began his eastward journey on November 12th. As he did not reach Cape +Maisi, the eastern point of the island, until December 5th, he must have +made frequent stops to examine the shore. Referring to one of the ports +that he entered he wrote to the Spanish Sovereigns thus: "The amenity of +this river, and the clearness of the water, through which the sand at the +bottom may be seen; the multitude of palm trees of various forms, the +highest and most beautiful that I have met with, and an infinity of other +great and green trees; the birds in rich plumage and the verdure of the +fields, render this country of such marvellous beauty that it surpasses all +others in charms and graces, as the day doth the night in lustre. For which +reason I often say to my people that, much as I endeavor to give a complete +account of it to your majesties, my tongue cannot express the whole truth, +nor my pen describe it; and I have been so overwhelmed at the sight of so +much beauty that I have not known how to relate it." + +Columbus made no settlement in Cuba; his part extends only to the +discovery. On his second expedition, in the spring of 1494, he visited and +explored the south coast as far west as the Isle of Pines, to which he gave +the name _La Evangelista_. He touched the south coast again on his fourth +voyage, in 1503. On his way eastward from his voyage of discovery on the +coast of Central America, he missed his direct course to Hispaniola, and +came upon the Cuban shore near Cape Cruz. He was detained there for some +days by heavy weather and adverse winds, and sailed thence to his unhappy +experience in Jamaica. The work of colonizing remained for others. Columbus +died in the belief that he had discovered a part of the continent of Asia. +That Cuba was only an island was determined by Sebastian de Ocampo who +sailed around it in 1508. Baron Humboldt, who visited Cuba in 1801 and +again in 1825, and wrote learnedly about it, states that "the first +settlement of the whites occurred in 1511, when Velasquez, under orders +from Don Diego Columbus, landed at Puerto de las Palmas, near Cape Maisi, +and subjugated the Cacique Hatuey who had fled from Haiti to the eastern +end of Cuba, where he became the chief of a confederation of several +smaller native princes." This was, in fact, a military expedition composed +of three hundred soldiers, with four vessels. + +Hatuey deserves attention. His name is not infrequently seen in Cuba today, +but it is probable that few visitors know whether it refers to a man, a +bird, or a vegetable. He was the first Cuban hero of whom we have record, +although the entire reliability of the record is somewhat doubtful. The +notable historian of this period is Bartolome Las Casas, Bishop of Chiapa. +He appears to have been a man of great worth, a very tender heart, and an +imagination fully as vivid as that of Columbus. His sympathies were aroused +by the tales of the exceeding brutality of many of the early Spanish +voyagers in their relations with the natives. He went out to see for +himself, and wrote voluminously of his experiences. He also wrote with +exceeding frankness, and often with great indignation. He writes about +Hatuey. The inference is that this Cacique, or chieftain, fled from Haiti +to escape Spanish brutality, and even in fear of his life. There are other +translations of Las Casas, but for this purpose choice has been made of one +published in London about the year 1699. It is given thus: + +"There happened divers things in this island (Cuba) that deserve to be +remarked. A rich and potent Cacique named Hatuey was retired into the Isle +of Cuba to avoid that Slavery and Death with which the Spaniards menaced +him; and being informed that his persecutors were upon the point of landing +in this Island, he assembled all his Subjects and Domestics together, and +made a Speech unto them after this manner. "You know, (said he) the Report +is spread abroad that the Spaniards are ready to invade this Island, and +you are not ignorant of the ill usage our Friends and Countrymen have met +with at their hands, and the cruelties they have committed at Haiti (so +Hispaniola is called in their Language). They are now coming hither with +a design to exercise the same Outrages and Persecutions upon us. Are +you ignorant (says he) of the ill Intentions of the People of whom I am +speaking? We know not (say they all with one voice) upon what account they +come hither, but we know they are a very wicked and cruel People. I'll tell +you then (replied the Cacique) that these Europeans worship a very covetous +sort of God, so that it is difficult to satisfy him; to perform the Worship +they render to this Idol, they will exact immense Treasures of us, and will +use their utmost endeavors to reduce us to a miserable state of Slavery, +or else put us to death." The historian leaves to the imagination and +credulity of his readers the task of determining just where and how he got +the full details of this speech and of the subsequent proceedings. The +report of the latter may well be generally correct inasmuch as there were +Spanish witnesses present, but the account of this oration, delivered prior +to the arrival of the Spanish invaders, is clearly open to a suspicion that +it may be more or less imaginary. But the historian continues: "Upon this +he took a Box full of Gold and valuable Jewels which he had with him, and +exposing it to their view: Here is (said he) the God of the Spaniards, whom +we must honor with our Sports and Dances, to see if we can appease him and +render him propitious to us; that so he may command the Spaniards not to +offer us any injury. They all applauded this Speech, and fell a leaping and +dancing around the Box, till they had quite tired and spent themselves. +After which the Cacique Hatuey resuming his Discourse, continued to speak +to them in these terms: If we keep this God (says he) till he's taken away +from us, he'll certainly cause our lives to be taken away from us; and +therefore I am of opinion it will be the best way to cast him into the +river. They all approved of this Advice, and went all together with one +accord to throw this pretended God into the River." + +But the Spaniards came and encountered the resistance of Hatuey and his +followers. The invaders were victorious, and Hatuey was captured and burned +alive. Las Casas relates that while the poor wretch was in the midst of the +flames, tied to a stake, "a certain Franciscan Friar of great Piety and +Virtue, took upon him to speak to him of God and our Religion, and to +explain to him some Articles of Catholic Faith, of which he had never +heard a word before, promising him Eternal Life if he would believe and +threatening him with Eternal Torment if he continued obstinate in his +Infidelity. Hatuey reflecting on the matter, as much as the Place and +Condition in which he was would permit, asked the Friar that instructed +him, whether the Gate of Heaven was open to Spaniards; and being answered +that such of them as were good men might hope for entrance there: the +Cacique, without any farther deliberation, told him that he had no mind to +go to heaven for fear of meeting with such cruel and wicked Company as +they were; but he would much rather choose to go to Hell where he might be +delivered from the troublesome sight of such kind of People." And so died +the Cacique Hatuey. Four hundred years later, the Cuban Government named a +gunboat _Hatuey_, in his honor. + +The Velasquez expedition, in the following year, founded Baracoa, now a +small city on the northern coast near the eastern extremity of the island. +It is a spot of exceeding scenic charm. It was established as the capital +city, but it held that honor for a few years only. In 1514 and 1515, +settlements were established at what is now Santiago, at Sancti Spiritus, +Trinidad, and Batabano. The latter was originally called San Cristobal de +la Habana, the name being transferred to the present city, on the north +coast, in 1519. It displaced the name Puerto de Carenas given to the +present Havana by Ocampo, who careened his vessels there in 1508. Baracoa +was made the seat of a bishopric, and a cathedral was begun, in 1518. In +1522, both the capital and the bishopric were transferred to Santiago, a +location more readily accessible from the new settlements on the south +coast, and also from Jamaica which was then included in the diocese. +Cuba, at about this period, was the point of departure for an important +expedition. In 1517, de Cordoba, with three vessels and 110 soldiers, +was sent on an expedition to the west for further and more northerly +exploration of the land discovered by Columbus in 1503. The coast from +Panama to Honduras had been occupied. The object of this expedition was to +learn what lay to the northward. The result was the discovery of Yucatan. +Cordoba returned to die of wounds received in a battle. A second and +stronger expedition was immediately despatched. This rounded the peninsula +and followed the coast as far as the present city of Vera Cruz. In 1518, +Hernan Cortez was _alcalde_, or mayor, of Santiago de Cuba. On November 18, +of that year, he sailed from that port in command of an expedition for +the conquest of Mexico, finally effected in 1521, after one of the most +romantic campaigns in the history of warfare. All that, however, is a story +in which Cuba has no place except that of the starting point and base of +the expedition. There is another story of the same kind, a few years later. +The first discovery of Florida is somewhat uncertain. It appears on an old +Spanish map dated 1502. Following the expedition of Ponce de Leon, in 1513, +and of Murielo, in 1516, Narvaez headed an expedition from Cuba in 1528 +with some three hundred freebooters. They landed in Florida, where almost +the entire band was, very properly, destroyed by the Indians. In 1539, de +Soto sailed from Havana, with five hundred and seventy men and two hundred +and twenty-three horses, for an extended exploration. They wandered for +three years throughout what is now the southern part of the United States +from Georgia and South Carolina westward to Arkansas and Missouri. After a +series of almost incredible experiences, de Soto died in 1542, on the banks +of the Mississippi River at a point probably not far from the Red River. +These and other expeditions, from Cuba and from Mexico, to what is now +territory of the United States, produced no permanent results. No gold was +found. + +Of the inhabitants of Cuba, as found by the Spaniards, comparatively little +is recorded. They seem to have been a somewhat negative people, generally +described as docile, gentle, generous, and indolent. Their garments were +quite limited, and their customs altogether primitive. They disappear +from Cuba's story in its earliest chapters. Very little is known of their +numbers. Some historians state that, in the days of Columbus, the island +had a million inhabitants, but this is obviously little if anything more +than a rough guess. Humboldt makes the following comment: "No means now +exist to arrive at a knowledge of the population of Cuba in the time of +Columbus; but how can we admit what some otherwise judicious historians +state, that when the island of Cuba was conquered in 1511, it contained a +million inhabitants of whom only 14,000 remained in 1517. The statistical +information which we find in the writings of Las Casas is filled with +contradictions." Forty years or so later the Dominican friar, Luis Bertram, +on his return to Spain, predicted that "the 200,000 Indians now in the +island of Cuba, will perish, victims to the cruelty of the Europeans." Yet +Gomara stated that there was not an Indian in Cuba after 1553. Whatever the +exact truth regarding numbers, it is evident that they disappeared rapidly, +worked to death by severe task-masters. The institution of African slavery, +to take the place of the inefficient and fast disappearing native labor, +had its beginning in 1521. Baron Humboldt states that from that time until +1790, the total number of African negroes imported as slaves was 90,875. +In the next thirty years, the business increased rapidly, and Humboldt +estimates the total arrivals, openly entered and smuggled in, from 1521 to +1820, as 372,449. Mr. J.S. Thrasher, in a translation of Humboldt's work, +issued in 1856, added a footnote showing the arrivals up to 1854 as +644,000. A British official authority, at the same period, gives the total +as a little less than 500,000. The exact number is not important. The +institution on a large scale, in its relation to the total number of +whites, was a fact. + +It is, of course, quite impossible even today to argue the question of +slavery. To many, the offence lies in the mere fact; to others, it lies in +the operation of the system. At all events, the institution is no longer +tolerated in any civilized country. While some to whom the system itself +was a bitter offence have found much to criticize in its operation in Cuba, +the general opinion of observers appears to be that it was there notably +free from the brutality usually supposed to attend it. The Census Report of +1899, prepared under the auspices of the American authorities, states that +"while it was fraught with all the horrors of this nefarious business +elsewhere, the laws for the protection of slaves were unusually humane. +Almost from the beginning, slaves had a right to purchase their freedom or +change their masters, and long before slavery was abolished they could own +property and contract marriage. As a result, the proportion of free colored +to slaves has always been large." Humboldt, who studied the institution +while it was most extensive, states that "the position of the free negroes +in Cuba is much better than it is elsewhere, even among those nations which +have for ages flattered themselves as being most advanced in civilization." +The movement for the abolition of slavery had its beginning in 1815, with +the treaty of Vienna, to which Spain was a party. Various acts in the same +direction appear in the next fifty years. The Moret law, enacted in 1870 by +the Spanish Cortes, provided for gradual abolition in Spain's dominions, +and a law of 1880, one of the results of the Ten Years' War, definitely +abolished the system. Traces of it remained, however, until about 1887, +when it may be regarded as having become extinct forever in Cuba. + +For the first two hundred and fifty years of Cuba's history, the city of +Havana appears as the special centre of interest. There was growth in other +sections, but it was slow, for reasons that will be explained elsewhere. +In 1538, Havana was attacked and totally destroyed by a French privateer. +Hernando de Soto, then Governor of the island, at once began the +construction of defences that are now one of the special points of interest +in the city. The first was the Castillo de la Fuerza. In 1552, Havana +became the capital city. In 1555, it was again attacked, and practically +destroyed, including the new fortress, by French buccaneers. Restoration +was effected as rapidly as possible. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged, and +the construction of the Morro and of La Punta, the fortress at the foot of +the Prado, was begun. The old city wall, of which portions still remain, +was of a later period. Despite these precautions, the city was repeatedly +attacked by pirates and privateers. Some reference to these experiences +will be made in a special chapter on the city. The slow progress of the +island is shown by the fact that an accepted official report gives the +total population in 1775 as 171,620, of whom less than 100,000 were white. +The absence of precious metals is doubtless the main reason for the lack of +Spanish interest in the development of the country. For a long time after +the occupation, the principal industry was cattle raising. Agriculture, the +production of sugar, tobacco, coffee, and other crops, on anything properly +to be regarded as a commercial scale, was an experience of later years. The +reason for this will be found in the mistaken colonial policy of Spain, a +policy the application of which, in a far milder manner, cost England its +richest colony in the Western Hemisphere, and which, in the first quarter +of the 19th Century, cost Spain all of its possessions in this half of the +world, with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico. + + + + +II + +_NEW CUBA_ + + +While there is no point in Cuba's history that may be said to mark a +definite division between the Old Cuba and the New Cuba, the beginning of +the 19th Century may be taken for that purpose. Cuba's development dragged +for two hundred and fifty years. The population increased slowly and +industry lagged. For this, Spain's colonial policy was responsible. But it +was the policy of the time, carried out more or less effectively by all +nations having colonies. England wrote it particularly into her Navigation +Acts of 1651, 1660, and 1663, and supported it by later Acts. While not +rigorously enforced, and frequently evaded by the American colonists, the +system at last proved so offensive that the colonists revolted in 1775. +Most of Spain's colonies in the Western Hemisphere, for the same reason, +declared and maintained their independence in the first quarter of the +19th Century. At the bottom of Cuba's several little uprisings, and at the +bottom of its final revolt in 1895, lay the same cause of offence. In those +earlier years, it was held that colonies existed solely for the benefit +of the mother-country. In 1497, almost at the very beginning of Spain's +colonial enterprises in the New World, a royal decree was issued under +which the exclusive privilege to carry on trade with the colonies was +granted to the port of Seville. This monopoly was transferred to the port +of Cadiz in 1717, but it continued, in somewhat modified form in later +years, until Spain had no colonies left. + +While Santiago was the capital of the island, from 1522 to 1552, trade +between Spain and the island could be carried on only through that port. +When Havana became the capital, in 1552, the exclusive privilege of trade +was transferred to that city. With the exception of the years 1762 and +1763, when the British occupied Havana and declared it open to all trade, +the commerce of the island could only be done through Havana with Seville, +until 1717, and afterward with Cadiz. Baracoa, or Santiago, or Trinidad, +or any other Cuban city, could not send goods to Santander, or Malaga, or +Barcelona, or any other Spanish market, or receive goods directly from +them. The law prohibited trade between Cuba and all other countries, and +limited all trade between the island and the mother-country to the port of +Havana, at one end, and to Seville or Cadiz, according to the time of the +control of those ports, at the other end. Even intercolonial commerce was +prohibited. At times, and for brief periods, the system was modified to +the extent of special trade licences, and, occasionally, by international +treaties. But the general system of trade restriction was maintained +throughout all of Spain's colonial experience. Between 1778 and 1803, most +of Cuba's ports were opened to trade with Spain. The European wars of the +early years of the 19th Century led to modification of the trade laws, but +in 1809 foreign commerce with Spanish American ports was again prohibited. +A few years later, Spain had lost nearly all its American colonies. A new +plan was adopted in 1818. Under that, Spain sought to hold the trade of +Cuba and Porto Rico by tariffs so highly favorable to merchandise from +the mother-country as to be effectively prohibitive with regard to many +products from other countries. This, in general outline, is the cause of +Cuba's slow progress until the 19th Century, and the explanation of its +failure to make more rapid progress during that century. + +Naturally, under such conditions, bribery of officials and smuggling became +active and lucrative enterprises. It may be said, in strict confidence +between writer and reader, that Americans were frequently the parties of +the other part in these transactions. In search through a considerable +number of American histories, I have been unable to find definite +references to trade with Cuba, yet there seems to be abundant reason for +belief that such trade was carried on. There are many references to trade +with the West Indies as far back as 1640 and even a year or two earlier, +but allusions to trade with Cuba do not appear, doubtless for the reason +that it was contraband, a violation of both Spanish and British laws. There +was evidently some relaxation toward the close of the 18th Century. +There are no records of the commerce of the American colonies, and only +fragmentary records between 1776 and 1789. The more elaborate records of +1789 and following years show shipments of fish, whale oil, spermaceti +candles, lumber, staves and heading, and other articles to the "Spanish +West Indies," in which group Cuba was presumably included. The records of +the time are somewhat unreliable. It was a custom for the small vessels +engaged in that trade to take out clearance papers for the West Indies. The +cargo might be distributed in a number of ports, and the return cargo might +be similarly collected. For the year 1795, the records of the United States +show total imports from the Spanish West Indies as valued at $1,740,000, +and exports to that area as valued at $1,390,000. In 1800, the imports were +$10,588,000, and the exports $8,270,000. Just how much of this was trade +with Cuba, does not appear. Because of the trade increase at that time, +and because of other events that, soon afterward, brought Cuba into more +prominent notice, this period has been chosen as the line of division +between the Old and the New Cuba. + +Compared with the wonderful fertility of Cuba, New England is a sterile +area. Yet in 1790, a hundred and seventy years after its settlement, the +latter had a population a little exceeding a million, while the former, in +1792, or two hundred and eighty years after its occupation, is officially +credited with a population of 272,300. Of these, 153,559 were white and +118,741 were colored. Several forces came into operation at this time, and +population increased rapidly, to 572,363 in 1817, and to 704,465 in 1827. +In 1841, it was a little more than a million. But the increase in colored +population, by the importation of African slaves, outstripped the increase +by the whites. In 1841, the population was divided into 418,291 whites and +589,333 colored. The importation of slaves having declined, the year 1861 +shows a white preponderance, since continued and substantially increased. +Among the forces contributing to Cuba's rapid growth during this period +were a somewhat greater freedom of trade; the revolution in the neighboring +island of Haiti and Santo Domingo, that had its beginning in 1791 and +culminated, some ten years later, in the rule of Toussaint L'Ouverture; and +an increased demand for sugar. One result of the Haitian disorder was the +arrival, in eastern Cuba, of a large number of exiles and emigrants who +established extensive coffee plantations. During the first hundred and +fifty years of Cuba's history, the principal industry of the island was +cattle raising, aside from the domestic industry of food supply. The +proprietors lived, usually, in the cities and maintained their vast estates +in the neighborhood. To this, later on, were added the production of +honey and wax and the cultivation of tobacco. With the period now under +consideration, there came the expansion of the coffee and sugar industries. +The older activities do not appear to have been appreciably lessened; the +others were added on. + +Europe and the Western Hemisphere were at that time in a state of general +upheaval and rearrangement. Following the American Revolution, there came +the French Revolution; the Napoleonic Wars; the war of 1812 between the +United States and England; and the general revolt of the Spanish colonies. +The world was learning new lessons, adopting new policies, in which the +Spanish colonial system was a blunder the folly of which Spain did not +even then fully realize. Yet from it all, by one means and another, Cuba +benefited. Spain was fortunate in its selection of Governors-General sent +out at this time. Luis de Las Casas, who arrived in 1790, is credited with +much useful work. He improved roads and built bridges; established schools +and the _Casa de Beneficencia_, still among the leading institutions in +Havana; paved the streets of Havana; improved as far as he could the +commercial conditions; and established the _Sociedad Patriotica_, sometimes +called the _Sociedad Economica_, an organization that has since contributed +immeasurably to Cuba's welfare and progress. He was followed by others +whose rule was creditable. But the principal evils, restricted commerce +and burdensome taxation, were not removed, although world conditions +practically compelled some modification of the commercial regulations. In +1801 the ports of the island were thrown open to the trade of friendly and +neutral nations. Eight years later, foreign commerce was again prohibited. +In 1818, a new system was established, that of a tariff so highly favorable +to merchandise from Spain that it was by no means unusual for goods to +be shipped to that country, even from the United States, and from there +reshipped to Cuba. Changes in the rates were made from time to time, but +the system of heavy discrimination in favor of Spanish goods in Spanish +ships continued until the equalization of conditions under the order of the +Government of Intervention, in 1899. + +In his book published in 1840, Mr. Turnbull states that "the mercantile +interests of the island have been greatly promoted by the relaxation of +those restrictive regulations which under the old peninsular system bound +down all foreign commerce with the colonies of Spain, and laid it prostrate +at the feet of the mother-country. It cannot be said that the sound +principles of free trade, in any large or extended sense of the term, +have been recognized or acted upon even at the single port of Havana. The +discriminating duties imposed by the supreme government of Madrid on the +natural productions, manufactures, and shipping of foreign countries, in +contradistinction to those of Spain, are so stringent and so onerous as +altogether to exclude the idea of anything approaching to commercial +freedom. There is no longer, it is true, any absolute prohibition, but in +many cases the distinguishing duties are so heavy as to defeat their own +object, and, in place of promoting the interests of the mother-country, +have had little other effect than the establishment of an extensive and +ruinous contraband." Under such conditions as those existing in Cuba, +from its beginning practically until the establishment of its political +independence, industrial development and commercial expansion are more than +difficult. + +One of the natural results of such a system appeared in the activities of +smugglers. The extent to which that industry was carried on cannot, of +course, be even guessed. Some have estimated that the merchandise imported +in violation of the laws equalled in value the merchandise entered at +the custom houses. An official publication (American) states that "from +smuggling on a large scale and privateering to buccaneering and piracy is +not a long step, and under the name of privateers French, Dutch, English, +and American smugglers and buccaneers swarmed the Caribbean Sea and the +Gulf of Mexico for more than two centuries, plundering Spanish _flotas_ +and attacking colonial settlements. Among the latter, Cuba was the chief +sufferer." Had Cuba's coasts been made to order for the purpose, they could +hardly have been better adapted to the uses of smugglers. Off shore, for +more than half its coast line, both north and south, are small islands +and keys with narrow and shallow passages between them, thus making an +excellent dodging area for small boats if pursued by revenue vessels. +Thoroughly familiar with these entrances and hiding places, smugglers could +land their goods almost at will with little danger of detection or capture. + +Another heavy handicap on the economic progress of the island appears in +the system of taxation. Regarding this system, the Census of 1899 reports +as follows: + +"Apart from imports and exports, taxes were levied on real and personal +property and on industries and commerce of all kinds. Every profession, +art, or manual occupation contributed its quota, while, as far back as +1638, seal and stamp taxes were established on all judicial business and +on all kinds of petitions and claims made to official corporations, and +subsequently on all bills and accounts. These taxes were in the form of +stamps on official paper and at the date of American occupation the paper +cost from 35 cents to $3 a sheet. On deeds, wills, and other similar +documents the paper cost from 35 cents to $37.50 per sheet, according to +the value of the property concerned. Failure to use even the lowest-priced +paper involved a fine of $50. + +"There was also a municipal tax on the slaughter of cattle for the market. +This privilege was sold by the municipal council to the highest bidder, +with the result that taxes were assessed on all animals slaughtered, +whether for the market or for private consumption, with a corresponding +increase in the price of meat. + +"Another tax established in 1528, called the _derecho_ _de averia_, +required the payment of 20 ducats ($16) by every person, bond or free, +arriving in the island. In 1665 this tax was increased to $22, and +continued in force to 1765, thus retarding immigration, and, to that +extent, the increase of population, especially of the laboring class. + +"An examination of these taxes will show their excessive, arbitrary, and +unscientific character, and how they operated to discourage Cubans from +owning property or engaging in many industrial pursuits tending to benefit +them and to promote the material improvement of the island. + +"Taxes on real estate were estimated by the tax inspector on the basis +of its rental or productive capacity, and varied from 4 to 12 per cent. +Similarly, a nominal municipal tax of 25 per cent was levied on the +estimated profits of all industries and commerce, and on the income derived +from all professions, manual occupations, or agencies, the collector +receiving 6 per cent of all taxes assessed. Much unjust discrimination was +made against Cubans in determining assessable values and in collecting the +taxes, and it is said that bribery in some form was the only effective +defense against the most flagrant impositions." + +Some of the experiences of this period will be considered in special +chapters on Cuba's alleged revolutions and on the relations of the United +States to Cuba and its affairs. One point may be noted here. The wave of +republicanism that swept over a considerable part of Europe and over the +Western Hemisphere, from 1775 to 1825 had its direct influence in Spain, +and an influence only less direct in Cuba. In 1812, Spain became a +constitutional monarchy. It is true that the institution had only a +brief life, but the sentiment that lay beneath it persisted and had been +repeatedly a cause of disturbance on the Peninsula. Something of the +same sentiment pervaded Cuba and excited ambitions, not for national +independence, but for some participation in government. A royal decree, in +1810, gave Cuba representation in the Cortes, and two deputies from the +island took part in framing the Constitution of 1812. This recognition of +Cuba lasted for only two years, the Constitution being abrogated in 1814, +but it was restored in 1820, only to cease again three years later. +Representatives were again admitted to the Cortes in 1834, and again +excluded in 1837. The effect of all this was, perhaps, psychological rather +than practical, but it gave rise to a new mental attitude and to some +change in conduct. The effect appears in the numerous recurrences of open +protest and passive resistance in the place of the earlier submission. +Writing in 1855, Mr. J.S. Thrasher stated that "the essential political +elements of the island are antagonistic to those of the mother-country. +While the Cortes and the crown have frequently declared that Cuba does not +form an integral part of the Spanish monarchy, but must be governed by +special laws not applicable to Spain, and persist in ruling her under the +erroneous and unjust European colonial system, the growing wealth and +increasing intelligence of the Cubans lead them to aspire to some share in +the elimination of the political principles under which their own affairs +shall be administered. A like antagonism exists in the economic relations +of the two countries. While the people of Cuba are not averse to the +raising of such revenue as may be required for the proper wants of the +State, in the administration of which they may participate, they complain, +with a feeling of national pride, that fiscal burdens of the most onerous +kind are laid upon them for the expressed purpose of advancing interests +which are in every sense opposed to their own. Thus, Spain imposes taxes to +support a large army and navy, the principal object of which is to prevent +any expression of the public will on the part of the people of Cuba. +Another class of impositions have for their object the diversion of +the trade of Cuba to channels which shall increase the profits of the +agriculturists and mariners of Spain without regard to the interests of the +people of the island." + +[Illustration: A PLANTER'S HOME _Havana Province_] + +Yet in spite of these severe restrictions and heavy burdens, Cuba shows a +considerable progress during the first half of the century. It is far from +easy to reach fair conclusions from contemporaneous writings. Naturally, +Spanish officials and Spanish writers strove to make the best possible case +for Spain, its policies and its conduct. The press of the island was either +under official control or stood in fear of official reprisals. The Cuban +side, naturally partisan, appears to have been presented chiefly by +fugitive pamphlets, more or less surreptitiously printed and distributed, +usually the product of political extremists. Among these was a man of +marked ability and of rare skill in the use of language. He was Don Antonio +Saco, known in Cuba as the "Immortal Saco." In a letter written to a +friend, in 1846, he says, "The tyranny of our mother-country, today most +acute, will have this result--that within a period of time not very remote +the Cubans will be compelled to take up arms to banish her." That British +observers and most American observers should take the side of the Cubans is +altogether natural. Writing in 1854, Mr. M.M. Ballou, in his _History of +Cuba_, says: "The Cubans owe all the blessings they enjoy to Providence +alone (so to speak), while the evils which they suffer are directly +referable to the oppression of the home government. Nothing short of a +military despotism could maintain the connection of such an island with a +mother-country more than three thousand miles distant; and accordingly we +find the captain-general of Cuba invested with unlimited power. He is, in +fact, a viceroy appointed by the crown of Spain, and accountable only to +the reigning sovereign for his administration of the colony. His rule is +absolute; he has the power of life and death and liberty in his hands. He +can, by his arbitrary will, send into exile any person whatever, be his +name or rank what it may, whose residence in the island he considers +prejudicial to the royal interest, even if he has committed no overt act. +He can suspend the operation of the laws and ordinances, if he sees fit to +do so; can destroy or confiscate property; and, in short, the island may be +said to be perpetually in a state of siege." + +The student or the reader may take his choice. On one side are Spanish +statements, official and semi-official, and on the other side, Cuban +statements no less partisan. The facts appear to support the Cuban +argument. In spite of the severe restrictions and the heavy burdens, Cuba +shows a notable progress during the 19th Century. Governors came and went, +some very good and others very bad. There were a hundred of them from 1512 +to 1866, and thirty-six more from 1866 to 1899, the average term of service +for the entire number being a little less than three years. On the whole, +the most notable of the group of 19th Century incumbents was Don Miguel +Tacon, who ruled from June 1, 1834, until April 16, 1838. His record would +seem to place him quite decidedly in the "reactionary" class, but he was a +man of action who left behind him monuments that remain to his credit even +now. One historian, Mr. Kimball, who wrote in 1850, describes him as one +in whom short-sightedness, narrow views, and jealous and weak mind, were +joined to an uncommon stubbornness of character. Another, Mr. M.M. Ballou, +says that "probably of all the governors-general that have filled the post +in Cuba none is better known abroad, or has left more monuments to his +enterprise, than Tacon. His reputation at Havana (this was written 1854) is +of a somewhat doubtful character; for, though he followed out with energy +various improvements, yet his modes of procedure were so violent that he +was an object of terror to the people generally, rather than of gratitude. +He vastly improved the appearance of the capital and its vicinity, built +the new prison, rebuilt the governor's palace, constructed a military road +to the neighboring forts, erected a spacious theatre and market house, +arranged a new public walk, and opened a vast parade ground without the +city walls, thus laying the foundation of the new city which has now sprung +up in this formerly desolate suburb. He suppressed the gaming houses and +rendered the streets, formerly infested with robbers, as secure as those of +Boston or New York." Another writer, Mr. Samuel Hazard, in 1870, says: "Of +all the governors who have been in command of the island Governor Tacon +seems to have been the best, doing the most to improve the island, and +particularly Havana; making laws, punishing offences, and establishing some +degree of safety for its inhabitants. It is reported of him that he is +said, like the great King Alfred, to have promised the Cubans that they +should be able to leave their purses of money on the public highway without +fear of having them stolen. At all events, his name is cherished by every +Cuban for the good he has done, and _paseos_, theatres, and monuments bear +his great name in Havana." The Tacon theatre is now the Nacional, and the +Paseo Tacon is now Carlos III. The "new prison" is the _Carcel_, or jail, +at the northern end of the Prado, near the fortress of La Punta. Don Miguel +may have been disliked for his methods and his manners, but he certainly +did much to make his rule memorable. + +There is no reliable information that shows the progress of the island +during the 19th Century. Even the census figures are questioned. A reported +432,000 total population in 1804 is evidently no more than an estimate, yet +it is very likely not far from the actual. Concerning their distribution +throughout the island, and the number engaged in different occupations, +there are no records. There are no acceptable figures regarding the +respective numbers of whites and blacks. Nor is there any record of the +population in 1895, the year of the war for independence. From the definite +tabulation, under American auspices, in 1899, showing 1,576,797, it has +been estimated that the number in 1895, was a little less than 1,800,000, +the difference being represented by the disasters of the war, by the result +of reconcentration, and by departures during the disturbance. The general +result seems to be that the population was practically quadrupled. A +somewhat rough approximation would show the blacks as multiplied by three, +to an 1899 total of 505,000, with the whites multiplied by four, to a total +of 1,067,000. Nor are there figures of trade that afford any proper clue +to the growth of industry and commerce. There are records of imports +and exports from about 1850 onward, but before that time the matter of +contraband trade introduces an element of uncertainty. An American official +pamphlet on Cuban trade carries the statement, "the ascertainment of full +and exact details of the commerce of Cuba prior to the close of Spanish +dominion in the island is an impossibility. The Spanish authorities, as +a rule, published no complete returns of Cuban trade, either foreign or +domestic. Except with regard to Spain and the United States, most of the +existing commercial statistics of Cuba, prior to 1899, are fragmentary +and merely approximative. Spain and the United States have always kept a +separate and distinct trade account with Cuba; but the United Kingdom, +France, Germany, and other European countries excepting Spain, formerly +merged their statistics of trade with Cuba in one general item embracing +Cuba and Porto Rico, under the heading of "Spanish West Indies." Since +1899, however, all the Powers have kept separate accounts with Cuba, +and the statistics of the Cuban Republic have been reasonably full and +accurate." + +[Illustration: IRON GRILLE GATEWAY _El Vedado, Suburb of Havana_] + +Cuba's recorded imports in 1894 show a total value of $90,800,000, and +exports show a value of $102,000,000. Writing about the year 1825, Humboldt +says: "It is more than probable that the imports of the whole island, licit +and contraband, estimated at the actual value of the goods and the slaves, +amount, at the present time, to fifteen or sixteen millions of dollars, of +which barely three or four millions are re-exported." The same authority +gives the probable exports of that time as about $12,500,000. The trade at +the beginning of the century must have been far below this. The official +figures for 1851 show total imports amounting to $34,000,000, and exports +to $33,000,000, but the accuracy of the figures is open to question. The +more important fact is that of a very large gain in population and in +production. The coffee industry, that assumed important proportions during +a part of the first half of the century, gradually declined for the reason +that sugar became a much more profitable crop. Now, Cuba imports most of +its coffee from Porto Rico. Because of its convenience as a contraband +article, there are no reliable figures of the tobacco output. Prior to +1817, the commodity was, for much of the time, a crown monopoly and, for +the remainder of the time, a monopoly concession to private companies. In +that year, cultivation and trade became free, subject to a tax on each +planter of one-twentieth of his production. + +As we shall see, in another chapter, Cuba at last wearied of Spanish +exactions and revolted as did the United States, weary of British rule and +British exactions and restrictions, more than a hundred years earlier. + + + + +III + +_THE COUNTRY_ + + +Description of the physical features of a country seldom makes highly +entertaining reading, but it seems a necessary part of a book of this kind. +Some readers may find interest if not entertainment in such a review. The +total area of the island, including a thousand or more adjacent islands, +islets, and keys, is given as 44,164 square miles, a little less than the +area of Pennsylvania and a little more than that of Ohio or Tennessee. +Illustration of its shape by some familiar object is difficult, although +various comparisons have been attempted. Some old Spanish geographers gave +the island the name of _La Lengua de Pajaro_, "the bird's tongue." Mr. M.M. +Ballou likened it to "the blade of a Turkish scimitar slightly curved back, +or approaching the form of a long, narrow, crescent." Mr. Robert T. Hill +holds that it "resembles a great hammer-headed shark, the head of which +forms the straight, south coast of the east end of the island, from which +the sinuous body extends westward. This analogy is made still more striking +by two long, finlike strings of keys, or islets, which extend backward +along the opposite coasts, parallel to the main body of the island." But +all such comparisons call for a lively imagination. It might be likened to +the curving handles of a plow attached to a share, or to any one of a dozen +things that it does not at all clearly resemble. Regarding the Oriente +coast, from Cape Cruz to Cape Maisi, as a base, from that springs a long +and comparatively slender arm that runs northwesterly for five hundred +miles to the vicinity of Havana. There, the arm, somewhat narrowed, turns +downward in a generally southwestern direction for about two hundred miles. +The total length of the island, from Cape Maisi on the east to Cape San +Antonio on the west, is about seven hundred and thirty miles. Its width +varies from a maximum, in Oriente Province, of about one hundred and sixty +miles, to a minimum, in Havana Province, of about twenty-two miles. It has +a general coast line of about twenty-two hundred miles, or, following all +its sinuosities, of about seven thousand miles. Its north coast is, for +much of its length, steep and rocky. Throughout the greater part of the +middle provinces, there is a border of coral reefs and small islands. At +the western end, the north coast is low, rising gradually to the eastward. +At the eastern end, the northern coast is abrupt and rugged, rising in a +series of hills to the elevations in the interior. Westward from Cape Maisi +to Cape Cruz, on the south coast, and immediately along the shore line, +runs a mountain range. From here westward, broken by an occasional hill or +bluff, the coast is low and marshy. + +Probably the best description of the topography and the orography of the +island yet presented is that given by Mr. Robert T. Hill, of the United +States Geological Survey. In his book on Cuba and other islands of the West +Indies, Mr. Hill says: + +"As regards diversity of relief, Cuba's eastern end is mountainous, with +summits standing high above the adjacent sea; its middle portion is wide, +consisting of gently sloping plains, well-drained, high above the sea, and +broken 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. Over the +whole is a mantle of tender vegetation, rich in every hue that a flora of +more than three thousand species can give, and kept green by mists and +gentle 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. + +"But, at the outset the reader should dispossess his mind of any +preconceived idea that the island of Cuba is in any sense a physical unit. +On the contrary, it presents a diversity of topographic, climatic, and +cultural features, which, as distributed, divide the island into at least +three distinct natural provinces, for convenience termed the eastern, +central, and western regions. The distinct types of relief include regions +of high mountains, low hills, dissected plateaus, intermontane 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 presents a rugged aspect when viewed from the sea. About one-fourth of +the total area is mountainous, three-fifths are rolling plain, valleys, and +gentle arable slopes, and the remainder is swampy. + +"The island border on the north presents a low cliff topography, with a +horizontal sky-line from Matanzas 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 on both the north and south sides +a series of remarkable terraces, rising in stair-like arrangement to six +hundred feet or more, representing successive pauses or stages in the +elevation of the island above the sea, and constituting most striking +scenic features. About one-half the Cuban coast is bordered by keys, which +are largely old reef rock, the creations of the same coral-builders that +may now be seen through the transparent waters still at work on the modern +shallows, decking the rocks and sands with their graceful and many colored +tufts of animal foliage." + +Mr. Hill summarizes the general appearance of the island, thus: "Santiago +de Cuba (now called Oriente) is predominantly a mountainous region of high +relief, especially along the coasts, with many interior valleys. Puerto +Principe (now Camaguey) and Santa 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 +notable elevations of the island are the Cordilleras de los Organos, or +Organ Mountains, in Pinar del Rio, of which an eastward extension appears +in the Tetas de Managua, the Arcas de Canasi, the Escalera de Jaruco, +the Pan de Matanzas, and other minor elevations in Havana and Matanzas +Provinces. In Santa Clara and Camaguey, the range is represented by crest +lines and plateaus along the north shore, and finally runs into the hill +and mountain maze of Oriente. In the south-central section of the island, a +somewhat isolated group of elevations appears, culminating in El Potrerillo +at a height of nearly 3,000 feet. In Oriente, immediately along the south +coast line, is the precipitous Sierra Maestra, reaching its greatest +altitude in the Pico del Turquino, with an elevation of approximately +8,500 feet. Another elevation, near Santiago, known as La Gran Piedra, is +estimated at 5,200 feet. All these heights are densely wooded. From the +tops of some of them, east, west, and central, the views are marvellously +beautiful, but the summits of most are reached only with considerable +difficulty. One of the most notable of these view points, and one of the +most easily reached, is the height immediately behind the city of Matanzas, +overlooking the famous Yumuri valley. The valley is a broad, shallow bowl, +some five or six miles in diameter, enclosed by steeply sloping walls of +five to six hundred feet in height. Through it winds the Yumuri River. It +is best seen in the early forenoon, or the late afternoon, when there come +the shadows and the lights that are largely killed by the more vertical +rays of a midday sun. At those hours, it is a scene of entrancing +loveliness. There are views, elsewhere, covering wider expanses, but none, +I think, of equal beauty. + +The vicinity of Matanzas affords a spectacle of almost enchantment for the +sight-seer, and of deep interest for the geologist. Somewhat more than +fifty years ago, an accident revealed the beautiful caves of Bellamar, two +or three miles from the city, and easily reached by carriage. Caves ought +to be cool. These are not, but they are well worth all the perspiration it +costs to see them. They are a show place, and guides are always available. +In size, the caverns are not comparable with the caves of Kentucky and +Virginia, but they far excel in beauty. They are about three miles in +extent, and their lower levels are said to be about five hundred feet +from the surface. The rock is white limestone, in which are chambers and +passage-ways, stalactites and stalagmites innumerable. These have their +somewhat fantastic but not unfitting names, such as the Gothic Temple, the +Altar, the Guardian Spirit, the Fountain of Snow, and Columbus' Mantle. +The place has been called "a dream of fairyland," a fairly appropriate +description. The colors are snow-white, pink, and shades of yellow, and +many of the forms are wonderfully beautiful. There are many other caves in +the island, like Cotilla, in the Guines region not far from Havana, others +in the Cubitas Mountains in Camaguey Province, and still others in Oriente, +but in comparison with Bellamar they are little else than holes in the +ground. The trip through these remarkable aisles and chambers occupies some +three or four hours. + +Cuba is not big enough for rivers of size. There are innumerable streams, +for the island generally is well-watered. The only river of real importance +is the Cauto, in Oriente Province. This is the longest and the largest +river in the island. It rises in the hills north of Santiago, and winds a +devious way westward for about a hundred and fifty miles, emptying at last +into the Gulf of Buena Esperanza, north of the city of Manzanillo. It +is navigable for small boats, according to the stage of the water, from +seventy-five to a hundred miles from its mouth. Numerous smaller streams +flow to the coast on both north and south. Some, that are really estuaries, +are called rivers. Very few of them serve any commercial purposes. There +are a few water areas called lakes, but they are really little other than +ponds. On the south coast, directly opposite Matanzas, lies a vast swamp +known as the Cienega de Zapata. It occupies an area of about seventy-five +miles in length and about thirty miles in width, almost a dead flat, and +practically at sea-level. Here and there are open spaces of water or +clusters of trees, but most of it is bog and quagmire and dense mangrove +thickets. Along the coast are numerous harbors, large and small, that are +or, by dredging, could be made available for commercial purposes. Among +these, on the north coast, from west to east, are Bahia Honda, Mariel, +Havana, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Nipe Bay, and Baracoa. On the south, from east +to west, are Guantanamo, Santiago, Manzanillo, Cienfuegos, and Batabano. At +all of these, there are now cities or towns with trade either by steamers +or small sailing vessels. Among the interesting physical curiosities of +the island are the numerous "disappearing rivers." Doubtless the action +of water on limestone has left, in many places, underground chambers and +tunnels into which the streams have found an opening and in which they +disappear, perhaps to emerge again and perhaps to find their way to the sea +without reappearance. This seems to explain numerous fresh-water springs +among the keys and off-shore. The Rio San Antonio quite disappears near San +Antonio de los Banos. Near Guantanamo, a cascade drops three hundred feet +into a cavern and reappears a short distance away. Such disappearing rivers +are not unknown elsewhere but Cuba has several of them. + + * * * * * + +The Census Report of 1907, prepared under American auspices, states that +"the climate of Cuba is tropical and insular. There are no extremes of +heat, and there is no cold weather." This is quite true if the records of a +thermometer are the standard; quite untrue if measured by the sensations of +the human body. It is true that, in Havana, for instance, the thermometer +seldom exceeds 90° in the hottest months, and rarely if ever goes below 50° +in the coldest. But a day with the thermometer anywhere in the 80s may seem +to a northern body very hot, and a day with the thermometer in the 50s +is cold for anyone, whether a native or a visitor. There is doubtless a +physical reason for the fact that a hot day in the north seems hotter than +the same temperature in the south, while a day that seems, in the north, +only pleasantly cool, seems bitterly cold in the tropics. When the +thermometer drops below 60° in Havana, the coachmen blanket their horses, +the people put on all the clothes they have, and all visitors who are +at all sensitive to low temperature go about shivering. Steam heat and +furnaces are unknown, and fireplaces are a rarity. Yet, in general, the +variations are not wide, either from day to day or when measured by +seasons. The extremes are the infrequent exceptions. Nor is there wide +difference between day and night. Taking the island as a whole, the average +mean temperature for July, the hottest month, is about 82°, and for +January, the coolest month, about 71°. The mean for the year is about 77°, +as compared with 52° for New York, 48° for Chicago, 62° for Los Angeles, +and 68° for New Orleans. There are places that, by reason of exposure to +prevailing winds, or distance from the coast, are hotter or cooler than +other places. Havana is one of the cool spots, that is, relatively cool. +But no one goes there in search of cold. The yearly range in Havana, from +maximum to minimum, rarely if ever exceeds fifty degrees, and is usually +somewhat below that, while the range in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis +is usually from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five degrees. The +particular cause of discomfort for those unused to it, is the humidity that +prevails throughout the greater part of the year. The worst season for +this, however, is the mid-year months when few people visit the island. The +winter months, locally known as the "_invierno_," a term to be associated +with our word "vernal" and not with "infernal," are almost invariably +delightful, bringing to northern systems a pleasurable physical laziness +that is attended by a mental indifference to, or satisfaction with, the +sensation. + +[Illustration: WATERING HERD OF CATTLE _Luyano River near Havana_] + +The rainfall varies so widely in different parts of the island, and from +year to year, that exact information is difficult. Taken as a whole, it is +little if at all greater than it is in most places in the United States. We +have our arid spots, like El Paso, Fresno, Boise, Phoenix, and Winnemucca, +where only a few inches fall in a year, just as Cuba has a few places where +the fall may reach sixty-five or seventy inches in a year. But the average +fall in Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and Santiago, is little if any +greater than in Boston, New York, or Washington. A difference appears in +the fact that about three-quarters of Cuba's precipitation comes between +the first of May and the first of October. But the term "wet season" does +not mean that it rains all the time, or every day, any more than the term +"dry season" means that during those months it does not rain at all. At +times during the winter, or dry season, there come storms that are due to +unusual cold in the United States. These are known in Cuba, as they are in +Texas, as "northers." High winds sweep furiously across the Gulf of Mexico, +piling up huge seas on the Cuban coast, and bringing what, in the island, +is the substitute for cold weather, usually attended by rain and sometimes +by a torrent of it. The prevailing wind in Cuba is the northeast +trade-wind. In summer when the sun is directly overhead this wind is +nearly east, while in winter it is northeast. The proper way to avoid such +discomfort as attends humidity accompanying a thermometer in the 80s, is to +avoid haste in movement, to saunter instead of hurrying, to ride instead of +walking, to eat and drink in moderation, and where-ever possible, to keep +in the shade. Many of those who eat heartily and hurry always, will, +after a few days, be quite sure that they have yellow fever or some +other tropical disorder, but will be entirely mistaken about it. Modern +sanitation in Cuba has made yellow fever a remote possibility, and the +drinking water in Havana is as pure as any in the world. + +Most of the official descriptions of the flora of Cuba appear to be copied +from Robert T. Hill's book, published in 1898. As nothing better is +available, it may be used here. He says: "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 addition +to those introduced from abroad, over 3,350 native plants have been +catalogued. The flora includes nearly all characteristic forms of the +other West Indies, the southern part of Florida, and the Central American +seaboard. 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, occur, +while the pine trees, elsewhere characteristic of the temperate zone and +the high altitudes of the tropics, are found associated with palms and +mahoganies in the province of Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Pines, both +of which take their name from this tree. Among other woods are the +lignum-vitae, granadilla, the coco-wood, and the _Cedrela Odorata_ +(fragrant cedar) which is used for cigar boxes and the lining of cabinet +work." + +In quoting the number of native plants, Mr. Hill uses a report somewhat +antiquated. Later estimates place the number as between five and six +thousand. Flowers are abundant, flowers on vines, plants, shrubs, and +trees, tall stalks with massive heads, and dainty little blossoms by the +wayside. Brilliant flowering trees are planted to line the roadsides. Among +all the tree-growths, the royal palm is notable. Scoffers have likened it +to "a feather duster stood on end," but it is the prominent feature in most +of Cuba's landscape, and it serves many purposes other than that of mere +decoration. From its stem the Cuban peasant builds his little cottage which +he roofs with its leaves. Medicinal qualities are claimed for its roots. +From different parts of the tree, a wide variety of useful articles is +made, plates, buckets, basins, and even a kettle in which water may be +boiled. The huge clusters of seeds are excellent food for animals, and I +have heard it said, though without proper confirmation, that "a royal palm +will keep a hog." Almost invariably, its presence indicates a rich soil, as +it rarely grows in areas of poor land. The forest area of the island is not +known with exactness, and is variously estimated at from about six thousand +square miles to about sixteen thousand. The difference probably represents +the opinion of individual investigators as to what is forest. About +one-third of the total is reported as in Oriente, another third in +Camaguey, and the remainder scattered through the four remaining provinces. +A part of it is "public land," that is, owned by the central government, +but a greater part is of private ownership under old Spanish grants. Much +of it is dense jungle through which a way can be made only by hacking, +almost foot by foot. A good deal of it has already been cut over for its +most valuable timber. Most of the woods bear names entirely unfamiliar to +us. Some are used as cabinet woods, and some for tanning, for oils, dyes, +gums, or fibres. + +Cuba has few four-footed native wild animals. There are rabbits, but their +nativity is not quite certain. There are deer, but it is known that their +ancestors were brought from some other country. There are wild dogs, wild +cats, and wild pigs, but all are only domestic animals run wild. + +Perhaps the only animal of the kind known to be native is the _jutia_, +sometimes spelled, as pronounced, _hutia_. Some observers have referred to +it as a rat, but it climbs trees and grows to the size of a woodchuck, +or groundhog. It is sometimes eaten and is said to be quite palatable. +Reptiles are fairly common, but none of them is dangerous. The best known +is the _maja_, a snake that grows to a length, sometimes, of twelve or +fifteen feet. The country people not infrequently make of it a kind of +house pet. When that is done, the reptile often makes its home in the +cottage thatch, living on birds and mice. They are dull and sluggish in +motion. While visiting a sugar plantation a few years ago one of the hands +asked if I should be interested by their _maja_. He dipped his hand into a +nearby water-barrel in the bottom of which two of them were closely coiled. +He dragged out one of perhaps ten or twelve feet in length and four or five +inches in diameter, handling it as he would the same length of hawser. He +hung it over the limb of a tree so that I could have a good chance for +a picture of it. The thing squirmed slowly to the ground and crawled +sluggishly away to the place from which it had been taken. Of bird-life +there is a large representation, both native and migratory. Among them +are some fifty species of "waders." In some parts of the island, the very +unpleasant land-crab, about the size of a soup-plate, seems to exist in +millions, although thousands is probably nearer the actual. The American +soldiers made their acquaintance in large numbers at the time of the +Santiago campaign. They are not a proper article of food. They have a +salt-water relative that is most excellent eating, as is also the lobster +_(langosta)_ of Cuban waters. In the swamp known as the Cienega de Zapata +are both alligators and crocodiles, some of them of quite imposing +dimensions. + +[Illustration: ROYAL PALMS] + +The insect life of the island is extensive. From personal experience, +particularly behind the search-light of an automobile that drew them +in swarms, I, should say that the island would be a rich field for the +entomologist. There are mosquitos, gnats, beetles, moths, butterflies, +spiders, and scorpions. The bites of some of the spiders and the stings of +the scorpions are, of course, uncomfortable, but they are neither fatal nor +dangerous. With the exception of an occasional mosquito, and a perhaps more +than occasional flea, the visitor to cities only is likely to encounter +few of the members of these branches of Cuban zoology. There is one of +the beetle family, however, that is extremely interesting. That is +the _cucullo_, which Mr. Hazard, in his book on Cuba, calls a "bright +peripatetic candle-bearer, by whose brilliant light one can not only walk, +but even read." They are really a kind of glorified firefly, much larger +than ours, and with a much more brilliant light. I do not know their +candle-power, but Mr. Hazard exaggerates little if at all in the matter of +their brilliancy. + +While those referred to in the foregoing are the most notable features +in this particular part of the Cuban field, there are others, though of +perhaps less importance, to which reference might be made. Among them would +be the sponge fisheries of the coast in the neighborhood of Batabano, +and the numerous mineral springs, some of them really having, and others +supposed to have, remarkable curative qualities. A half century or so ago, +a number of places not far from Havana were resorts to which rich and +poor went to drink or to bathe in springs hot or cold or sulphurous or +otherwise, for their healing. Among these were the baths at San Diego, near +the Organ Mountains in Pinar del Rio; Santa Rita, near Guanabacoa in Havana +Province; others near Marianao, on the outskirts of the city; and San +Antonio, also in Havana Province. Most of these places now appear to have +lost their popularity if not their medicinal virtues. Some, like those +at Madruga, not far from Havana, still have a considerable patronage. +Something may also be said of earthquakes and hurricanes. The former +occur, on a small scale, more or less frequently in Oriente, and much less +frequently and of less severity in Havana. The latter come from time +to time to work disaster to Cuban industries and, sometimes but not +frequently, to cause loss of life and the destruction of buildings. They +rarely occur except in the late summer and the autumn. + +Nearly a hundred years ago, Alexander Humboldt, a traveller and a +scientist, wrote thus of the island of Cuba: "Notwithstanding the absence +of deep rivers and the unequal fertility of the soil, the island of Cuba +presents on every hand a most varied and agreeable country from its +undulating character, its ever-springing verdure, and the variety of its +vegetable formations." + + + + +IV + +_THE OLD HAVANA_ + + +Among the many pictures, stored away in the album of my memory, there are +two that stand out more vividly than any others. The subjects are separated +by half the world's circumference. One is the sunsets at Jolo, in the +southern Philippines. There the sun sank into the western sea in a blaze +of cloud-glory, between the low-lying islands on either hand with the rich +green of their foliage turned to purple shadows. The other is the sunrise +at Havana, seen from the deck of a steamer in the harbor. The long, soft +shadows and the mellow light fell on the blue and gray and green of the +buildings of the city, and on the red-tiled roofs, with the hills for a +background in one-half of the picture, and the gleaming water of the gulf +in the background of the other half. I had seen the long stretch of the +southern coast of the island, from Cape Antonio to Cape Maisi, while on an +excursion with a part of the army of occupation sent to Porto Rico in the +summer of 1898, and had set foot on Cuban soil at Daiquiri, but Havana in +the morning light, on January 2, 1899, was my first real Cuban experience. +It remains an ineffaceable memory. Of my surroundings and experiences aside +from that, I have no distinct recollection. All was submerged by that one +picture, and quickly buried by the activities into which I was immediately +plunged. I do not recall the length of time we were held on board for +medical inspection, nor whether the customs inspection was on board or +ashore. I recall the trip from the ship to the wharf, in one of the little +sailboats then used for the purpose, rather because of later experiences +than because of the first one. I have no purpose here to write a history +of those busy days, filled as they were with absorbing interest, with much +that was pathetic and not a little that was amusing. I have seen that +morning picture many times since, but never less beautiful, never less +impressive. Nowadays, it is lost to most travellers because the crossing +from Key West is made in the daytime, the boat reaching Havana in the +late-afternoon. Sometimes there is a partial compensation in the sunset +picture, but I have never seen that when it really rivalled the picture at +the beginning of the day. + +The visitor to Cuba, unfamiliar with the island, should take it leisurely. +It is not a place through which the tourist may rush, guide book in hand, +making snapshots with a camera, and checking off places of interest as they +are visited. Picturesqueness and quaintness are not at all lacking, but +there are no noble cathedrals, no vast museums of art and antiquity, no +snow-clad mountains. There is a charm of light and shade and color that +is to be absorbed slowly rather than swallowed at a single gulp. It is +emphatically a place in which to dawdle. Let those who are obliged to do +so, work and hurry; the visitor and the traveller should take it without +haste. It is far better to see Havana and its vicinity slowly and +enjoyably, and look at pictures of the rest of the country, than it is to +rush through the island merely for the sake of doing so. In his essay on +_The Moral of Landscape_, Mr. Ruskin said that "all travelling becomes dull +in exact proportion to its rapidity." Nowhere is that more true than it +is in Cuba. There is very little in all the island that cannot be seen in +Havana and its immediate vicinity. It is well to see the other places if +one has ample time, but they should not be seen at the expense of a proper +enjoyment of Havana and its neighborhood. In Havana are buildings as old +and buildings as beautiful as any in the island. In its vicinity are sugar +plantations, tobacco fields, pineapples, cocoanuts, mangoes, royal palms, +ceibas, peasants' homes, typical towns and villages, all the life of the +people in the city and country. The common American desire to "see it all" +in a few days, is fatal to the greatest enjoyment, and productive mainly +of physical fatigue and mental confusion. It is the misfortune of most +travellers that they carry with them only the vaguest of ideas of what they +want to see. They have heard of Cuba, of Havana, the Morro, the Prado, of a +sunny island in the midst of a sapphire sea. While it is true that almost +everything in Cuba is worth seeing, it is best to acquire, before going, +some idea of the exhibition. That saves time and many steps. The old city +wall, La Fuerza, and La Punta, are mere piles of masonry, more or less dull +and uninteresting unless one knows something of their history. The manners +and customs of any country become increasingly interesting if one knows +something about them, the reason for them. + +It is only a short trip to the Castillo del Principe, the fortress that +crowns the hill to the west of the city. From that height, the city and the +harbor are seen below, to the eastward. Across the bay, on the heights at +the entrance, are the frowning walls of Morro Castle surmounted by the +towering light-house, and the no less grim walls of La Cabaña. The +bay itself is a sprawling, shapeless body of water with a narrow neck +connecting it with the Florida Straits. Into the western side of the bay +the city thrusts itself in a shape that, on a large map, suggests more than +anything else the head and neck of an over-fed bulldog. Into this bay, in +1508, came Sebastian Ocampo, said to be the first white man to visit the +spot. He entered for the purpose of careening his little vessels in order +to remove the barnacles and accumulated weed-growth. It is possible that +the spot was discovered earlier, but there is no record of the discovery +if such was made. Ocampo gave it the name of Puerto de Carenas. The next +record is of its occupation, in 1519. Four years earlier, Diego Velasquez +had left a little colony near what is now called Batabano, on the south +coast. He gave the place the name of San Cristobal de la Habana, in memory +of the illustrious navigator and discoverer. Habana, or Havana, is a term +of aboriginal origin. It proved to be an uncomfortable place of residence, +and in 1519 the people moved across the island to the Puerto de Carenas, +taking with them the name given to the earlier settlement, and substituting +it for the name given by Ocampo. After a time, all was dropped except the +present title, Habana, or more commonly by English-speaking people, Havana. +It was not much of a place for a number of years, but in 1538 it was sacked +and burned by a French pirate, one of the many, of different nations, who +carried on a very lively buccaneering business in those and in later years +in West Indian waters. Hernando de Soto was then governor of the island, +with headquarters at the then capital city, Santiago de Cuba. He proceeded +at once to the scene of destruction. On his arrival, he ordered the +erection of a fortress. Some of the work then done still remains in the +old structure near the Palace, at the foot of Calle O'Reilly, known as La +Fuerza. A few years before this time, Hernan Cortes had conquered Mexico, +then called New Spain, and a business between Old Spain and New Spain soon +developed. The harbor of Havana made a convenient halting-place on the +voyages between the two, and the settlement assumed a steadily increasing +importance. A new governor, Gonzales Perez de Angulo, who arrived in 1549, +decided to make it his place of residence. The year 1552 is generally given +as the time of the creation of Havana as the capital city. It was at that +time made the residence city of the Governors, by their own choice, but +it was not officially established as the capital until 1589. The fortress +erected by order of de Soto proved somewhat ineffective. In 1554, another +French marauder attacked and destroyed the town. The principal industry of +those early days was cattle-raising, a considerable market being developed +for export to Mexico, and for the supply of vessels that entered the harbor +for food and water. + +The continuance of incursions by pirates made necessary some further +provision for the defence of the city. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged and +strengthened, and the construction of Morro Castle was begun. To this +work was added La Punta, the little fortress on the western shore of +the entrance, at the point of the angle now formed by the Prado and the +Malecon. These ancient structures, of practically no value whatever in +modern warfare, are now among the most picturesque points of interest in +the neighborhood. Another, in the same class, of which only a little now +remains, is of a later time. This is the old city wall, the construction +of which was begun in 1671. Following the simile of the bull-dog's head, +a tract of land, formerly known as the Arsenal yard, and now the central +railway station, lies tucked away immediately under the animal's jaw. From +there to a point on the north shore, near La Punta, in a slightly curving +line, a high wall was erected for the purpose of defence on the western +or landward side. The old city lay entirely in the area defined by this +western wall and the shore of the harbor. At intervals, gates afforded exit +to the country beyond, heavy gates that could be closed to exclude any +possible attacking party. The fortifications erected from time to time were +supposed to afford a system of effective defence for the city. They are now +little else than picturesque features in the landscape, points of interest +for visitors. Taking the chain in its order, El Morro stands on the point +on the eastern side of the entrance to the harbor. Just beyond it is La +Cabaña. About a half a mile to the east of this was the stone fort on the +hill of San Diego. Three miles east of the Morro, on the shore at Cojimar, +is a small and somewhat ancient fortification. This group constituted the +defence system on the east. At the head of the bay, on an elevation a +little to the south of the city, stands El Castillo de Atares, begun in +1763, immediately after the capture and occupation of the city by the +British. This is supposed to protect the city on the south, as Castillo del +Principe is supposed to defend it on the west. This stands on a hill on +the western outskirts, a somewhat extensive structure, begun in 1774 and +completed about twenty years later. A little further to the west, at the +mouth of the Almendares river, stands a little fort, or tower, called +Chorrera, serving as a western outpost as Cojimar serves as an eastern +outpost. Both were erected about the year 1650. On the shore generally +north of Principe was the Santa Clara battery, and between that and La +Punta, at the foot of the Calzada de Belascoain, stood the Queen's battery. +From any modern point of view, the system is little more than military +junk, better fitted for its present use as barracks, asylums, and prisons +than for military defence. But it is all highly picturesque. + +In the beginning, most of the buildings of the city were doubtless of wood, +with palm-thatched roofs. In time, these gave place to rows of abutting +stone buildings with tiled roofs. Most of them were of one story, some were +of two stories, and a few "palaces" had three. The city within the wall +is today very much as it was a century and more ago. Its streets run, +generally but not accurately, at right angles, one set almost due east and +west, from the harbor front to the line of the old wall, and the other set +runs southward from the shore of the entrance channel to the shore of the +inner harbor. Several of these streets are practically continuous +from north to south or from east to west. But most of them are rather +passage-ways than streets. The houses come to their very edges, except +for a narrow strip hardly to be classed as a sidewalk, originally left, +presumably, only for the purpose of preventing the scraping of the front of +the building by the wheels of passing carts and carriages. It is a somewhat +inconvenient system nowadays, but one gets quite used to it after a little, +threads the narrow walk a part of his way, takes to the street the rest +of the way, and steps aside to avoid passing vehicles quite as did the +carriageless in the old days. One excellent way to avoid the trouble is to +take a carriage and let the other fellow step aside. Riding in the _coche_ +is still one of the cheapest forms of convenience and entertainment in the +city, excepting the afternoon drive around the Prado and the Malecon. That +is not cheap. We used to pay a dollar an hour. My last experience cost me +three times that. + +[Illustration: CUSTOM HOUSE, HAVANA _Formerly Franciscan Convent Begun_ +1574, _finished_ 1591] + +Much of the old city is now devoted to business purposes, wholesale, +retail, and professional. But there are also residences, old churches, and +old public buildings. On the immediate water-front, and for many years used +as the custom house, stands the old Franciscan convent, erected during the +last quarter of the 16th Century. It is a somewhat imposing pile, dominated +by a high tower. I have not visited it for a number of years and do not +know if its interior is available for visitors without some special +introduction, but there is much worth seeing inside its walls, the flying +buttresses of the super-structure, some old and interesting frescoes, and +a system of dome construction that is quite remarkable. To the latter, my +attention was first called by General Ludlow, a distinguished engineer +officer of the United States Army, then acting as governor of the city. To +him belongs, although it is very rarely given, the credit for the cleansing +of Havana during the First Intervention. He frequently visited the old +convent just to see and study that interior dome construction. Immediately +behind the Palace is the old convent of the Dominicans, less imposing but +of about the same period as the Franciscan structure. It is now used as +a high-school building. The Cathedral, a block to the northward of the +Dominican convent building, is of a much later date, having been begun as +recently as 1742. It was originally the convent of the Jesuits, but became +the Cathedral in 1789. Many have believed, on what seems to be acceptable +evidence, that here for more than a hundred years rested the bones of +Christopher Columbus. He died in Valladolid in 1506, and was buried there. +His remains were removed to the Carthusian Monastery, in Seville, in 1513. +From there they are said to have been taken, in 1536, to the city of Santo +Domingo, where they remained until 1796, when they were brought to Havana +and placed in a niche in the walls of the old Cathedral, there to remain +until they were taken back to Spain in 1898. There is still an active +dispute as to whether the bones removed from Santo Domingo to Havana were +or were not those of Columbus. At all events, the urn supposed to contain +them was in this building for a hundred years, below a marble slab showing +a carving of the voyager holding a globe, with a finger pointing to the +Caribbean. Beneath this was a legend that has been thus translated: + + OH! REST THOU, IMAGE OF THE GREAT COLON, + THOUSAND CENTURIES REMAIN, GUARDED IN THE URN, + AND IN THE REMEMBRANCE OF OUR NATION. + +In this neighborhood, to the east of the Plaza de Armas, on which the +Palace fronts, is a structure known as _El Templete_. It has the appearance +of the portico of an unfinished building, but it is a finished memorial, +erected in 1828. The tradition is that on this spot there stood, in 1519, +an old ceiba tree under which the newly arrived settlers celebrated their +first mass. The yellow Palace, for many years the official headquarters and +the residence of successive Governors-General, stands opposite, and speaks +for itself. In this building, somewhat devoid of architectural merit, much +of Cuba's history, for the last three-quarters of a century, has been +written. The best time to see all this and much more that is to be seen, +is the early morning, before the wheels begin to go around. The lights and +shadows are then the best, and the streets are quieter and less crowded. +The different points of interest are easily located by the various guide +books obtainable, and the distances are not great. A cup of _cafe con +leche_ should precede the excursion. If one feels lazy, as one is quite +apt to feel in the tropics and the sub-tropics, fairly comfortable open +carriages are at all times available. With them, of course, a greater +area can be covered and more places seen, though perhaps seen less +satisfactorily. There is much to be seen in the early morning that is best +seen in those hours, and much that is not seen later in the day. In all +cities there is an early morning life and Havana is no exception. I confess +to only a limited personal knowledge of it, but I have seen enough of it, +and heard enough about it, to know that the waking-up of cities, including +Havana, is an interesting process. I have, at least, had enough personal +experience to be sure that the early morning air is delicious, the best of +the day. I am not speaking of the unholy hours preceding daybreak, but +of six to eight o'clock, which for those of us who are inclined to long +evenings is also the best time to be in bed. The early morning church bells +are a disturbance to which visitors do not readily adjust their morning +naps. Mr. Samuel Hazard, who visited Cuba about the year 1870, and wrote +quite entertainingly about it, left the following description of his +experience in Havana: + +"Hardly has the day begun to break when the newly arrived traveller is +startled from his delightful morning doze by the alarming sound of bells +ringing from every part of the town. Without any particular concert of +action, and with very different sounds, they ring out on the still morning +air, as though for a general conflagration, and the unfortunate traveller +rushes frantically from his bed to inquire if there is any hope of safety +from the flames which he imagines, from the noise made, must threaten the +whole town. Imagine, O reader! in thy native town, every square with its +church, every church with its tower, or maybe two or three of them, and +in each particular tower a half-dozen large bells, no two of which sound +alike; place the bell-ropes in the hands of some frantic man who pulls +away, first with one hand and then the other, and you will get a very faint +idea of your first awakening in Havana. Without apparent rhyme or reason, +ding, dong, ding they go, every bell-ringer at each different church +striving to see how much noise he can make, under the plea of bringing the +faithful to their prayers at the early morning mass." + +[Illustration: BALCONIES IN OLD HAVANA STREET IN HAVANA] + +The only conceivable advantage of these early bells is the fact that they +turn out many a traveller at the hour when Havana is really at its best. +Yet, as I read the descriptive tales left by those who wrote forty, fifty, +and sixty years ago, I am struck by the fact, that, after all, the old +Havana has changed but little. There are trolley lines, electric lights, +and a few other so-called modern improvements, but there is still much of +the old custom, the old atmosphere. The old wall, with its soldier-guarded +gates, is gone, and there are a few modern buildings, but only a few, for +which fact I always feel thankful, but the old city is much what it was +when Mr. Ballou, and Mr. Dana, and Mr. Kimball, and numerous others wrote +about it soon after 1850, and when Mr. Hazard wrote about it in 1870. The +automobile is there now in large numbers, in place of the old volante, and +there are asphalted streets in place of cobble-stones. The band plays in +the evening in the Parque Central or at the Glorieta, instead of in the +Plaza de Armas, but the band plays. The restaurants are still a prominent +feature in Havana life, as they were then. The ladies wear hats instead +of _mantillas_, but they buy hats on Calle Obispo just as and where their +mothers and grandmothers bought _mantillas_. Bull-fighting is gone, +presumably forever, but crowds flock to the baseball grounds. The midday +suspension of business continues, generally, and the afternoon parade, on +foot and in carriages, remains one of the important functions of the day. +There are many who know Havana, and love it, who pray diligently that it +may be many years before the city is Americanized as, for instance, New +Orleans has been. + +Most of the life of the city, as it is seen by most visitors, is outside +the old city, and probably few know that any distinction is made, yet the +line is drawn with fair clearness. There is a different appearance in both +streets and buildings. While there are shops on San Rafael and Galiano and +elsewhere, the principal shopping district is in the old city, with Calle +Obispo as its centre. They have tried officially, to change the name of the +street, but the old familiar name sticks and seems likely to stick for a +long time yet. Far be it from a mere man to attempt analysis or description +of such a place. He might tell another mere man where to buy a hat, a pair +of shoes, or eyeglasses, or a necktie, or where to find a lawyer, but the +finer points of shopping, there or elsewhere, are not properly for any +masculine description. The ladies may be trusted to learn for themselves, +and very quickly, all that they need or want to know about that phase of +Havana's commerce. I am leaving much to the guide books that can afford +space for all necessary information about churches, statues, and other +objects of interest for visitors. Havana's retail merchants have their own +way of trading, much as they do in many foreign countries, and in not a few +stores in our own country. Prices are usually a question of the customer's +ability to match the commercial shrewdness of the dealer. Much of the trade +of visitors is now confined to the purchase of such articles as may be +immediately needed and to a few souvenirs. One of the charms of the place +is the cheap transportation. If you are tired, or in a hurry, there is +always a coach near at hand that will take you where you wish to go, for a +peseta, or a quarter, if within certain officially prescribed bounds. If +you desire to go beyond those bounds, make a bargain with your driver or +be prepared for trouble. Down in the old city are to be found several +restaurants that are well worth visiting, for those who want good food. I +shall not advertise the particular places, but they are well known. As the +early morning is the best time to see the old city, the forenoon is the +best time for shopping. Such an expedition may well be followed by the +_almuerzo_, the midday breakfast or lunch, whichever one sees fit to call +it, at one of these restaurants. After that, it is well to enjoy a midday +_siesta_, in preparation for the afternoon function on the Prado and the +Malecon. + + + + +V + +THE NEW HAVANA + + +The new Havana, the city outside the old wall, is about as old as Chicago +but not nearly as tall. There is no reason why it should be. Here are wide +streets and broad avenues, and real sidewalks, some of them about as wide +as the entire street in the old city. About 1830, the region beyond the +wall was held largely by Spaniards to whom grants of land had been made +for one reason or another. These tracts were plantations, pastures, or +unimproved lands, according to the fancy of the proprietor who usually +lived in the city and enjoyed himself after the manner of his kind. Here +and there, a straggling village of palm-leaf huts sprang up. The roads were +rough tracks. To Governor-General Tacon seems due much of the credit for +the improvement beyond the walls. During his somewhat iron-handed rule +several notable buildings were erected, some of them by his authority. +The most notable feature of the district is the renowned Prado, a broad +boulevard with a park between two drive-ways, running from the water-front, +at the entrance to the harbor, southward for about a mile. A few years ago, +rows of trees shaded the central parkway, but they were almost entirely +wrecked by the hurricanes in 1906 and 1910. + +A half mile or so from its northern end, the Prado runs along the west side +of the Parque Central, the most notable of the numerous little squares of +walks and trees and flowers. A block or two further on is a little park +with an excellent statue, known as La India. Opposite that is another +really beautiful park, from the western side of which runs a broad street +that leads to the Paseo de Carlos Tercero, formerly the Paseo de Tacon, one +of the monuments left to his own memory by one of Cuba's most noted Spanish +rulers. The Paseo runs westward to El Castillo del Principe, originally a +fortress but now a penitentiary. The Prado stops just beyond the companion +parks, La India and Colon. These originally formed the Campo de Marte, laid +out by General Tacon and, in his time, used as a military parade ground. +In a way, the Parque Central is the centre of the city. It is almost that, +geographically, and perhaps quite that, socially. In its immediate vicinity +are some of the leading hotels and the principal theatres. One of the +latter, facing the park on its western side, across the Prado, is now known +as the Nacional. Formerly it was the Tacon, a monument to that notable man. +There is quite a story about that structure. It is somewhat too long for +inclusion here, but it seems worth telling. The following is an abridgment +of the tale as it is told in Mr. Ballou's _History of Cuba_, published in +1854. Tacon was the Governor of the island from 1834 to 1838. At that time, +a certain man named Marti was eminent in the smuggling and piracy business, +an industry in which many others were engaged. But Marti seems to have +stood at the top of his profession, a man of skill and daring and evidently +well supplied with brains. Tacon's efforts to capture him, or to break up +his business, were entirely unsuccessful, and a large reward was offered +for his body, alive or dead. Mr. Ballou tells the story in somewhat +dramatic manner: + +"It was a dark, cloudy night in Havana, a few months after the announcement +of the reward, when two sentinels were pacing backward and forward before +the main entrance to the Governor's palace. A little before midnight, a man +was watching them from behind a statue in the park, and after observing +that the sentinels paced their brief walk so as to meet each other, and +then turned their backs as they separated, leaving a brief moment in the +interval when the eyes of both were turned away from the entrance, seemed +to calculate upon passing them unobserved. It was an exceedingly delicate +manoeuvre, and required great care and dexterity to effect it; but, at +last, it was adroitly done, and the stranger sprang lightly through the +entrance, secreting himself behind one of the pillars of the inner court. +The sentinels paced on undisturbed. The figure which had thus stealthily +effected an entrance, now sought the broad stairs that led to the +Governor's suite, with a confidence that evinced a perfect knowledge of the +place. A second guard-post was to be passed at the head of the stairs; but, +assuming an air of authority, the stranger offered a cold military salute +and passed forward, as though there was not the most distant question of +his right to do so; and thus avoiding all suspicion in the guard's mind, he +boldly entered the Governor's reception room unchallenged, and closed the +door behind him." + +In his office, alone, the stranger found Tacon, who was naturally surprised +at the appearance of an unannounced caller. He demanded to know who the +visitor was, but a direct answer was evaded. After referring to the matter +of the reward offered for the discovery of Marti, and the pledge of +immunity to the discoverer, the caller demanded and obtained a verbal +endorsement of the promise of immunity, under the Governor's word of honor, +whatever might be the circumstances of his revelation. He then announced +himself as the much-sought pirate and smuggler, Marti. Tacon was somewhat +astounded, but he kept his word. Marti was held overnight, but "on the +following day," the Ballou account proceeds, "one of the men-of-war that +lay idly beneath the guns of Morro Castle suddenly became the scene of the +utmost activity, and, before noon, had weighed her anchor, and was standing +out into the gulf stream. Marti the smuggler was on board as her pilot; +and faithfully did he guide the ship on the discharge of his treacherous +business, revealing every haunt of the rovers, exposing their most valuable +depots; and many a smuggling craft was taken and destroyed. The amount of +money and property thus secured was very great." The contemptible job +of betraying his former companions and followers being successfully +accomplished, Marti returned with the ships, and claimed his reward from +Tacon. The General, according to his word of honor, gave Marti a full +and unconditional pardon for all his past offences, and an order on the +treasury for the amount of the reward offered. The latter was declined but, +in lieu of the sum, Marti asked for and obtained a monopoly of the right +to sell fish in Havana. He offered to build, at his own expense, a public +market of stone, that should, after a specified term of years, revert to +the government, "with all right and the title to the fishery." This +struck Tacon as a good business proposition; he saved to his treasury +the important sum of the reward and, after a time, the city would own a +valuable fish-market. He agreed to the plan. Marti thereupon went into +the fish business, made huge profits, and became, so the story goes, the +richest man in the island. After a time, being burdened with wealth, he +looked about for means of increasing his income. So he asked for and +obtained a monopoly of the theatre business in Havana, promising to build +one of the largest and finest theatres in the world. The result of the +enterprise was the present Nacional theatre, for many years regarded as +second only to the Grand theatre in Milan. But it was named the Tacon. Its +special attraction was internal; its exterior was far from imposing. It has +recently been considerably glorified. Having thus halted for the story of +the theatre, we may return to the Prado on which it fronts. Here, Havana +society used to gather every afternoon to drive, walk, and talk. The +afternoon _paseo_ was and still is the great event of the day, the great +social function of the city. At the time of my first visit, in 1899, there +was no Malecon drive along the shore to the westward. That enterprise +was begun during the First Intervention, and continued by succeeding +administrations. In the earlier days, the route for driving was down the +east side of the Prado, between the Parque Central and the _Carcel_, and +up the west side, around and around, up and down, with bows and smiles to +acquaintances met or passed, and, probably, gossip about the strangers. +Many horsemen appeared in the procession, and the central promenade was +thronged with those who walked, either because they preferred to or because +they could not afford to ride around and around. In the Parque Central were +other walkers, chatting groups, and lookers-on. Some days the band played. +Then the Prado was extended to the water-front; the _glorieta_ was erected; +and that became another centre for chatterers and watchers. The building of +the Malecon extended the range of the driveway. This afternoon function is +an old established institution and a good one. It may not compare favorably +with the drive in some of our parks in this country, but it is the best +substitute possible in Havana. Indulgence in ices, cooling drinks, +chocolate, or other refections, during this daily ceremony, is fairly +common but by no means a general practice. The afternoon tea habit has not +yet seized upon Havana. The ices are almost invariably excellent. Some of +them are prepared from native fruit flavors that are quite unknown here. +The _guanabana_ ice is particularly to be recommended. All such matters are +quite individual, but a decoction called _chocolate Espanol_ is also to be +recommended. It is served hot, too thick to drink, and is to be taken with +a spoon, to the accompaniment of cake. It is highly nourishing as well as +palatable. There is a wide variety of "soft drinks," made with oranges, +limes, or other fruits, and the _orchata_, made from almonds, and the +products of American soda fountains, but there is little use of the +high-ball or the cocktail except by Americans. + +[Illustration: STREET AND CHURCH OF THE ANGELS _Havana_] + +The Cubans are an exceedingly temperate people. Wine is used by all +classes, and _aguadiente_, the native rum, is consumed in considerable +quantity, but the Cuban rarely drinks to excess. I recall an experience +during the earlier years. I was asked to write a series of articles on the +use of intoxicants in the island, for a temperance publication in this +country. My first article so offended the publishers that they declined +to print it, and cancelled the order for the rest of the series. It was +perhaps somewhat improper, but in that article I summed up the situation +by stating that "the temperance question in Cuba is only a question of how +soon we succeed in converting them into a nation of drunkards." Beer is +used, both imported and of local manufacture. Gin, brandy, and anisette, +cordials and liqueurs are all used to some but moderate extent, but +intoxication is quite rare. One fluid extract I particularly recommend, +that is the milk of the cocoanut, the green nut. Much, however, depends +upon the cocoanut. Properly ripened, the "milk" is delicious, cooling and +wholesome, more so perhaps on a country journey than in the city. The nut +not fully ripened gives the milk, or what is locally called the "water," an +unpleasant, woody taste. I have experimented with it in different parts of +the world, in the Philippines, Ceylon, and elsewhere, and have found it +wholesome and refreshing in all places. + +The houses in the new Havana are, on the whole, vastly more cheerful +than are the dwellings in the old city. They are of the same general +architectural type, but because of the wider streets, more air and sunshine +gets into them. Some of the best and most costly are along the Prado. +A Cuban house interior generally impresses an American as lacking in +home-like quality. Some of the best are richly adorned, but there is a +certain bareness and an absence of color. As is usual with customs unlike +our own, and which we are therefore prone to regard as inferior to ours, +there are excellent reasons for Cuban interior decoration, or rather the +lack of it. A little experience, or even a little reflection, shows clearly +the impossibility of anything resembling American house decoration in +such a climate as that of Cuba. Our warm colors, hangings, upholstered +furniture, rugs, and much else that we regard as essential in northern +latitudes, would be utterly unendurable in Cuba. There, the marble or tiled +floors, the cool tones of wall and ceiling, and the furniture of wood and +cane, are not only altogether fitting but as well altogether necessary. Our +glass windows would only serve to increase heat and shut out air. As some +barrier is necessary to keep passers, even Americans, from intrusive +entrance by the windows whose bottoms are at floor level, the system of +iron bars or elaborate grille work is adopted. Few Americans see much, if +anything, of Cuban home life except as they see it through these barriers +as they pass. It is not the custom of the country to invite promiscuous or +casual acquaintances to call. It is even less the custom there than it is +with us. A book about Cuba, published a few years ago, gives a somewhat +extended account of what is called "home life," but it is the home life of +workmen and people who do laundry work to eke out a meagre living. It is +not even the life of fairly paid artisans, or of people of modest but +comfortable income. It is no more a proper description of the domestic life +of the island than would be a presentation of the life in the palaces of +the wealthy. Such attempts at description are almost invariably a mistake, +conveying, whether from purpose or from indifference to truth, a false +impression. Domestic economy and household management vary in Cuba as +they vary in the United States, in France, England, Japan, or Mexico. The +selection of an individual home, or of several, as a basis for description, +in Cuba or anywhere else, can only result in a picture badly out of drawing +and quite misleading. + +There are Cuban homes, as there are American homes, that are slatternly and +badly managed, and there are Cuban homes that are as spick and span and as +orderly in their administration as any home in this country. Their customs, +as are ours, are the result of environment and tradition. To some of us, a +rectangle of six or eight rocking-chairs, placed in the centre of a room, +in which family and visitors sit and rock while they talk, may seem +curious, but it is a custom that we may not criticize either with fairness +or common decency. The same may be said of the not uncommon custom of using +a part of the street floor of the house as a stable. It is an old custom, +brought from Spain. But I have wandered from description to incident. I +have no intention to attempt a description of Cuban home life, beyond +saying that I have been a guest in costly homes in the city and in the +little palm-leaf "shacks" of peasants, and have invariably found in both, +and in the homes of intermediate classes, only cordial hospitality and +gracious courtesy. Those who have found anything different have carried it +with them in their own attitude toward their hosts. Many of us, probably +most of us, in the United States, make a sort of fetich of the privacy of +what we call our home life. We are encased in walls of wood or masonry, +with blinds, curtains, or shades at our windows. It might be supposed that +we wanted to hide, that there was something of which to be ashamed. It +might at least be so interpreted by one unfamiliar with our ways. It is +only, like the open domestic life in Cuba, a custom, a habit of long +standing. Certainly, much of the domestic life of Cuba is open. The +mistress of the house chides a servant, rebukes or comforts a child, sits +with her embroidery, chaffers with an itinerant merchant or with the +clerk from a store, all in plain sight and hearing of the passer-by. What +everyone does, no one notices. The customs of any country are curious only +to those from other countries where customs are different. Our ways of life +are quite as curious to others as are their ways to us. We are quite +blind to that fact chiefly because of an absurd conviction of the +immense superiority of our ways. We do not stop to consider reasons for +differences. A cup of coffee on an American breakfast table usually +consists of about four parts coffee and one part milk or cream. Most Cubans +usually reverse these percentages. There is a good reason for it. In +our climate, we do not need the large open doors and windows, the high +ceilings, and the full and free ventilation that make life endurable +in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Their system here would be as +impossible as would be our system there. Houses in Cuba like those of an +American city or town would make life a miserable burden. The publicity, or +semi-publicity, of Cuban home life is a necessary result of conditions. +It is, naturally, more in evidence in the city proper, where the houses, +abutting immediately on the street, as do most of our city houses, are +built, as ours are, in solid rows. We avoid a good deal of publicity by +piling our homes on top of each other, and by elevators and stair-climbing. + +The location of a residence in Havana gives no special idea of the wealth +or the social standing of those who occupy it. Not a few well-to-do people +still live in the old city, where the streets are narrow and where business +is trying to crowd out everything except itself. The home in that quarter +may be in a block in which a number of buildings are residences, or it +may stand with a warehouse on one side and a workshop on the other. A few +people, of unquestionable social position still live in buildings in which +the street floor is a store or an office. There is nothing curious about +this. In many American cities, old families have clung to old homes, and +not a few new families have, from one reason or another, occupied similar +quarters. Such a residence may not conform to modern social ideas and +standards, but there are Americans in this country, as well as Cubans and +Spaniards in Havana, who can afford to ignore those standards. The same is +true of many who live in the newer city, outside the old walls. There as +here, business encroaches on many streets formerly strictly residential. +This holds in the newer part of the city as well as in the old part. A +number of streets there are, for a part of their length, quite given over +to business. Even the Prado itself is the victim of commercial invasion. +What was once one of the finest residences in the city, the old Aldama +place fronting on the Campo de Marte, is now a cigar factory. A little +beyond it is the Tacon market, occupying an entire block. Stores and shops +surround it. The old avenue leading to the once fashionable Cerro, and +to the only less fashionable Jesus del Monte, is now a business street. +Another business street leads out of the Parque Central, alongside the +former Tacon theatre. The broad Calzada de Galiano, once a fashionable +residence street, is now largely commercial. While less picturesque than +some parts of the old city within the walls, the most attractive part of +Havana is undoubtedly the section of El Vedado, the westward extension +along the shore. Here are broad streets, trees, gardens, and many beautiful +and costly dwellings. This is really the modern Havana. A part of it is +only a little above sea-level, and behind that strip is a hill. A few years +ago, only a small number of houses were on the hillside or the hilltop. +Now, it is well built over with modern houses. The architectural type is +generally retained, and it is rather a pity that there should be even +what variation there is. El Vedado is the region of the wealthy and the +well-to-do, with a large percentage of foreigners. It has its social ways, +very much as other places have, in this country, in France, Hong Kong, or +Honolulu. They are not quite our ways, but they are a result of conditions, +just as ours are. + +On the hill, a little back of El Vedado, are two "points of interest" for +visitors; the old fortress, el Castillo del Principe, and the cemetery. +In the latter are some notable monuments. One is known as the Firemen's +Monument. For many years, Havana has had, supplementary to its municipal +organization, a volunteer firemen's corps. In various ways the latter +resembles a number of military organizations in the United States. It is at +once a somewhat exclusive social club and a practical force. Membership +is a social distinction. If you are in Havana and see men in admirably +tailored, uniforms and fire helmets, rushing in a particular direction in +cabs, carriages or automobiles, you may know that they are members of the +_Bomberos del Comercio_ on their way to a conflagration. Most excellent +real work they have done again and again in time of fire and flood. On +parade, they look exceedingly dapper with their helmets, uniforms, boots +and equipment, somewhat too dandified even to suggest any smoke other than +that of cigars or cigarettes. But they are the "real thing in smoke-eaters" +when they get to work. They have a long list of heroic deeds on their +records. The monument in Colon Cemetery commemorates one of those deeds. +In an extensive and dangerous fire, in May, 1890, thirty of these men +lost their lives. A few years later, this beautiful and costly shaft was +erected, by private subscription, as a tribute to their valor and devotion. +Another shaft, perhaps no less notable, commemorates a deplorable and +unpardonable event. A number of medical students, mere boys, in the +University of Havana, were charged with defacing the tomb of a Spanish +officer who had been killed by a Cuban in a political quarrel. At +its worst, it was a boyish prank, demanding rebuke or even some mild +punishment. Later evidence indicates that while there was a demonstration +there was no defacement of the vault. Forty-two students were arrested as +participants, tried by court-martial, and sentenced to be shot. Eight of +them were shot at La Punta, at the foot of the Prado near the sea-front, +and the remainder sentenced to imprisonment for life. All of these, I +believe, were afterward released. The Students' Monument expresses the +feeling of the Cubans in the matter, a noble memorial. There are numerous +other shafts and memorials that are notable and interesting. A number of +Cuba's leaders, Maximo Gomez, Calixto Garcia, and others, are buried in +this cemetery. + +[Illustration: A RESIDENCE IN EL VEDADO] + +Further on, to the southeast, are other sections of the new Havana, the +districts of Cerro and Jesus del Monte. El Vedado has largely supplanted +these neighborhoods as the "court end" of the city. Many of the fine old +residences of forty or fifty years ago still remain, but most of them are +now closely surrounded by the more modest homes of a less aristocratic +group. A few gardens remain to suggest what they were in the earlier days. +Still further out, in the west-and-south quarter-circle, are little towns, +villages, and hamlets, typically Cuban, with here and there the more +imposing estate of planter or proprietor. But, far the greater number of +visitors, perhaps with greater reason, find more of charm and interest +in the city itself than in the suburbs or the surrounding country. The +enjoyment of unfamiliar places is altogether personal. There are many who +really see nothing; they come away from a brief visit with only a confusion +of vague recollections of sights and sounds, of brief inspection of +buildings about which they knew nothing, of the big, yellow Palace, of this +church and that, of the Morro and the harbor, of sunny days, and of late +afternoons along the Prado and the Malecon. To me, Havana is losing its +greatest charm through an excess of Americanization, slowly but steadily +taking from the place much of the individuality that made it most +attractive. It will be a long time before that is entirely lost, but +five-story office buildings, automobiles in the afternoon parade, steaks +or ham and eggs at an eight or nine o'clock breakfast, and all kinds of +indescribable hats in place of dainty and graceful _mantillas_, seem to +me a detraction, like bay-windows and porticos added to an old colonial +mansion. + + + + +VI + +_AROUND THE ISLAND_ + + +A hundred years ago, the Cubans travelled from place to place about the +island, just as our ancestors did in this country, by water and over rough +trails few of which could, with any approach to correctness, be described +as roads. It was not until about a hundred years ago that we, in this +country, began to build anything even remotely resembling a modern highway. +Our towns and cities were on the seaboard or on the banks of rivers +navigable for vessels of size sufficient for their purposes. Commodities +carried to or brought from places not so located were dragged in stoutly +built wagons over routes the best of which was worse than the worst to be +found anywhere today. Because real road-making in Cuba is quite a modern +institution, an enterprise to which, in their phrase, the Spanish +Government did not "dedicate" itself, the Cuban wagons and carts of today +are chiefly those of the older time. They are heavy, cumbrous affairs with +large wheels, a diameter necessitated by the deep ruts through which a +passage was made. A smaller wheel would soon have been "hub-deep" and +hopelessly stuck. So, too, with the carriages of the nabobs. The poorer +people, when they travelled at all, went on foot or on horseback, as our +ancestors did. The nabobs had their _volantes_, still occasionally, but +with increasing rarity, seen in some parts of the island. Forty years ago, +such vehicles, only a little changed from the original type, were common +enough in Havana itself. About that time, or a few years earlier, the +four-wheeler began to supplant them for city use. + +There is a technical difference between the original type of _volante_ and +its successor which, though still called a _volante_ was properly called a +_quitrin_. The only real difference was that the top of the _quitrin_ was +collapsible, and could be lowered when desirable, while the top of +the _volante_ was not. I have ridden in these affairs, I cannot say +comfortably, over roads that would have been quite impossible for any other +wheeled vehicle. At the back, and somewhat behind the body were two wheels, +six feet in diameter. From, the axle, two shafts projected for a distance, +if memory serves me, of some twelve or fifteen feet. A little forward of +the axle, the body, not unlike the old-fashioned American chaise, was +suspended on stout leather straps serving as springs. Away off in front, at +the end of the shafts, was a horse on which the driver rode in a heavy and +clumsy saddle. For long-distance travel, or for particularly rough roads, +a second horse was added, alongside the shaft horse, and sometimes a third +animal. The motion was pleasant enough over the occasional smooth places, +but the usual motion was much like that of a cork in a whirlpool, or of a +small boat in a choppy sea. Little attention was paid to rocks or ruts; it +was almost impossible to capsize the thing. One wheel might be two feet or +more higher than the other, whereupon the rider on the upper side would be +piled on top of the rider or riders on the lower side, but there was always +a fair distribution of this favor. The rocks and ruts were not always on +the same side of the road. The safety from overturn was in the long shafts +which allowed free play. In the older days, say sixty or seventy years +ago, the _volante_ or the _quitrin_ was an outward and visible sign of a +well-lined pocket-book. It indicated the possessor as a man of wealth, +probably a rich planter who needed such a vehicle to carry him and his +family from their mansion in the city to their perhaps quite as costly home +on the plantation. The _calisero_, or driver, was dressed in a costume +truly gorgeous, the horses were of the best, and the vehicle itself +may have cost two thousand dollars or more. The operation of such a +contrivance, extending, from the rear of the wheels to the horse's nose, +for twenty feet or more, in the narrow streets of the old city, was a +scientific problem, particularly in turning corners. + +Cuba was early in the field with a railway. In 1830, the United States +had only thirty-two miles of line, the beginning of its present enormous +system. Cuba's first railway was opened to traffic in November, 1837. It +was a forty-five mile line connecting Havana with the town of Guines, +southeast of the city. While official permission was, of course, necessary +before the work could be undertaken, it was in fact a Cuban enterprise, due +to the activity of the _Junta de Fomento_, or Society for Improvement. It +was built with capital obtained in London, the construction being in charge +of Mr. Alfred Cruger, an American engineer. Ten years later there were +nearly three hundred miles of line. At the beginning of the American +occupation, in 1899, there were about nine-hundred and fifty miles. There +are now more than 2,000 miles of public service line in operation, and in +addition there are many hundreds of miles of private lines on the sugar +estates. Several cities have trolley lines. For some years after the +American occupation, as before that experience, there was only a +water-and-rail connection, or an all-water route, between the eastern and +western sections of the island. The usual route from Havana to Santiago +was by rail to Batabano or to Cienfuegos, and thence by steamer. The +alternative was an all-water route, consuming several days, by steamer +along the north coast, with halts at different ports, and around the +eastern end of the island to the destination. It is now an all-rail run of +twenty-four hours. The project for a "spinal railway" from one end of +the island to the other had been under consideration for many years. The +configuration lent itself excellently to such a system, and not at all +well to any other. A railway map of such a system shows a line, generally, +through the middle of the island along its length, with numerous branch +lines running north and south to the various cities and ports on the coast. +The plan, broadly, is being carried out. A combination of existing lines +afforded a route to the city of Santa Clara. From these eastward, the Cuba +Company, commonly known as the Van Home road, completed a through line in +1902. In its beginning, it was a highly ambitious scheme, involving the +building of many towns along the way, the erection of many sugar mills, and +the creation of a commercial city, at Nipe Bay, that would leave Havana in +the back-number class. All that called for a sum of money not then and not +now available. But the "spinal railroad" was built, and from it a number of +radiating lines have been built, to Sancti Spiritus, Manzanillo, Nipe +Bay, and to Guantanamo. About the only places on the island, really worth +seeing, with the exception of Trinidad and Baracoa, can now be reached by a +fairly comfortable railway journey. + +[Illustration: THE VOLANTE _Now quite rare_] + +In most of the larger cities of the island, a half dozen or so of them, the +traveller is made fairly comfortable and is almost invariably well fed. But +any question of physical comfort in hotels, more particularly in country +hotels, raises a question of standards. As Touchstone remarked, when in the +forest of Arden, "Travellers must be content." Those who are not ready to +make themselves so, no matter what the surroundings, should stay at home, +which, Touchstone also remarked, "is a better place." If the standard is +the ostentatious structure of the larger cities of this country, with its +elaborate menu and its systematized service, there will doubtless be cause +for complaint. So will there be if the standard is the quiet, cleanly inn +of many towns in this country and in parts of Europe. The larger towns and +villages of the island have a _posada_ in which food and lodging may be +obtained; the smaller places may or may not have "a place to stay." Cuba +is not a land in which commercial travellers swarm everywhere, demanding +comfort and willing to pay a reasonable price for it. However, few +travellers and fewer tourists have any inclination to depart from known +and beaten paths, or any reason for doing so. Nor does a fairly thorough +inspection of the island necessitate any halting in out-of-the-way places +where there is not even an imitation of an inn. All that one needs to see, +and all that most care to see, can be seen in little tours, for a day, from +the larger cities. Yet if one wants to wander a little in the by-paths, it +is easy enough to do so. + +What one sees or does in Cuba will depend mainly upon the purpose of the +visit, and upon the violence of the individual mania for seeing as many +places as possible. If the object is merely an excursion or an escape from +the rigors of a northern winter, there is no occasion for wandering out of +sight of the capital city. There is more to see and more to do in Havana +than there is in all the rest of the island. Nor is there much to be seen +elsewhere that cannot be seen in the immediate vicinity of that city. This, +of course, does not cover the matter of scenery. There are no mountains, +no forest jungles in that neighborhood, but forests in Cuba are not +particularly interesting, and even the mountains of Oriente are no more +beautiful or majestic than are our own summits, our own White Hills of New +Hampshire, the Adirondacks, the Blue Ridge, the Alleghenies, the Rockies, +and the Sierras. The charm of Cuba, and it is extremely charming, is not +its special "points of interest." It is rather a general impression, a +combination of soft and genial climate with varying lights and shades and +colors. Even after much experience there, I am not yet quite ready either +to admit or to deny that the island, taken as a whole, is either beautiful +or picturesque, and yet there is much of both. Attention is rarely +challenged by the sublime or the majestic, but is often arrested by +some play of light and shade. Cuban villages, with few exceptions, are +unattractive, although there is not infrequently some particular building, +usually a church, that calls for a second look or a careful examination. +Most of these little communities consist of a row of low and ungraceful +structures bordering the highway. They are usually extended by building on +at the ends. If the town street gets undesirably long, a second street or a +third will be made, on one or both sides of the main street, and thus the +town acquires breadth as well as length. The houses are built immediately +upon the roadside, and sidewalks are quite unusual. Nor, until the place +becomes a large town or a small city, is there, in most cases, any attempt +at decoration by means of shade trees. A tree may be left if there happened +to be one when the village was born, but rarely do the inhabitants turn +their streets into tree-shaded avenues. There would be an excellent +opportunity for the activities of Village Improvement Societies in Cuba, if +it were not for the fact that such tree-planting would involve pushing all +the houses ten or fifteen feet back from the roadside. + +I have never studied the system of town building in the island, yet it is +presumable that there was some such system. In the larger places, there is +usually a central park around which are arranged the church, the public +buildings, and the stores. Whether these were so constructed from an +original plan, or whether they are an evolution, along a general plan, from +the long, single street, I do not know. I am inclined to believe that the +former was the case, and that it followed the location of a church. The +custom is, of course, of Spanish origin, and is common throughout the +greater part of Latin America. It finds a fair parallel in our own country +custom, by no means infrequent, of an open "green" or common in front +of the village church and the town hall. Tree-setting along the Cuban +highways, more particularly in the neighborhood of the cities, is not at +all unusual, and some of these shaded roads are exceedingly charming. Some +are entirely over-arched by laurel trees and the gorgeous _flamboyan_, +making long tunnels of shade "through whose broken roof the sky looks in." +Evidently the Spanish authorities were too much interested in making money +and enjoying themselves in the cities to care very much for what happened +to the Cubans in the villages, as long as they paid the money that filled +the official pocket and paid for the official entertainment, and the Cubans +were too busy getting that money to have much time for village improvement. +The Spaniards, following their home custom, might decorate a military +highway to some extent, but the rough trail over which the peasant carried +his little crop did not concern them. That was quite the business of the +peasant who had neither the time nor money to do anything about it. + +The question of good roads in Cuba is very much what it is in this country. +Cuba needs more good roads than its people can afford to build; so does the +United States. At the time of the American occupation, in 1899, there were +only 160 miles of improved highway in the entire island. Of this, 85 miles +were in Havana Province, and 75 miles in Pinar del Rio. The remainder of +the island had none. Some work was done during the First Intervention +and more was done under the Palma government. At the time of the Second +Intervention, there were about 380 miles. That is, the United States and +the Cuban Republic built, in six years, nearly 40 per cent, more highway +than the Spanish authorities built in four hundred years. During the Palma +regime, plans were drawn for an extensive road system, to be carried out +as rapidly as the financial resources permitted. Not unlike similar +proceedings in this country, in river and harbor work and public +buildings, politics came into the matter and, like our own under similar +circumstances, each Congressman insisted that some of such work as could +immediately be undertaken, some of the money that could be immediately +spent, should benefit his particular district. The result was that what was +done by the Cubans was somewhat scattered, short stretches built here and +there, new bridges built when there might or might not be a usable road to +them. The Cuban plan involved, for its completion, a period of years and +a large appropriation. It called for comparatively small yearly +appropriations for many roads, for more than four hundred different +projects. Then came the Second Intervention, in 1906, with what has seemed +to many of us an utterly unwise and unwarranted expenditure for the +completion of certain selected projects included in the Cuban plan. It may +be granted that the roads were needed, some of them very much needed, but +there are thousands of miles of unconstructed but much needed roads in +the United States. Yet, in this country, Federal, State, county, and town +treasuries are not drained to their last dollar, and their credit strained, +to build those roads. From the drain on its financial resources, the island +will recover, but the misfortune appears in the setting of a standard for +Federal expenditure, in its total for all purposes amounting to about +$40,000,000 a year, far beyond the reasonable or proper bearing power of +the island. But the work was done, the money spent, and the Cubans were +committed to more work and to further expenditure. I find no data showing +with exactness the mileage completed by the Magoon government, which came +to an end in January, 1909, but a Cuban official report made at the end of +1910 shows that the combined activities of the respective administrations, +Spanish, American, and Cuban, had given the island, at that time, +practically a thousand miles of improved highway, distributed throughout +the island. + +To see the real Cuba, one must get into the country. Havana is the +principal city, and for many it is the most interesting place on the +island, but it is no more Cuba than Paris is France or than New York is the +United States. The real Cuba is rural; the real Cuban is a countryman, a +man of the soil. If he is rich, he desires to measure his possessions in +_caballerias_ of 33-1/3 acres; if poor, in _hectareas_ of 2-1/2 acres. I do +not recall any Cuban cartoon representing the Cuban people that was not a +picture of the peasant, the _guajiro_. Cuba, as a political organism, is +shown as a quite charming _senorita_, but _el pueblo Cubano_, the Cuban +people, are shown as the man of the fields. With the present equipment +of railroads, trolley lines, automobile busses, and highways, little +excursions are easily made in a day. The railways, trolleys, and automobile +busses are unsatisfactory means of locomotion for sight-seeing. The +passenger is rushed past the very sights that would be of the greatest +interest. To most of us, a private hired automobile is open to the very +serious objection of its expensiveness, an item that may sometimes be +reduced by division. It has been my good fortune in more recent years to be +whirled around in cars belonging to friends but my favorite trip in earlier +days is, I presume, still open to those who may care to make it. I have +recommended it to many, and have taken a number with me over the route. + +It is an easy one-day excursion of about sixty miles, by rail to Guanajay, +by carriage to Marianao, and return to Havana by rail. Morning trains +run to Guanajay, through a region generally attractive and certainly +interesting to the novice, by way of Rincon and San Antonio de los Banos, a +somewhat roundabout route, but giving a very good idea of the country, its +plantations, villages, and peasant homes. At Guanajay, an early lunch, or a +late breakfast, may be obtained at the hotel, before or after an inspection +of the town itself, a typical place with its little central park, its old +church, and typical residences. Inquiry regarding the transportation to +Marianao by carriage should not be too direct. It should be treated as a +mere possibility depending upon a reasonable charge. I have sometimes spent +a very pleasant hour in intermittent bargaining with the competitors for +the job, although knowing very well what I would pay and what they would +finally accept. Amiably conducted, as such discussions should be in +Cuba, the chaffering becomes a matter of mutual entertainment. A bargain +concluded, a start may be made about noon for a drive over a good road, +through a series of typical villages, to Marianao, in time for a late +afternoon train to Havana, reaching there in ample time for dinner. Along +the road from Guanajay to Marianao, Maceo swept with ruthless hand in +1896, destroying Spanish property. Here the Spaniards, no less ruthless, +destroyed the property of Cubans. It is now a region of peaceful industry, +and little or nothing remains to indicate its condition when I first saw +it. The little villages along the way were in ruins, the fields were +uncultivated, and there were no cattle. At intervals there stood the walls +of what had been beautiful country estates. Only one of many was left +standing. At intervals, also, stood the Spanish blockhouses. All along that +route, in 1906, were the insurrectos of the unfortunate experience of that +year. In the village of Caimito, a short distance from Guanajay, along that +road, I visited Pino Guerra at his then headquarters when he and his +forces so menaced Havana that Secretary Taft, in his capacity of Peace +Commissioner, ordered their withdrawal to a greater distance. The trip by +rail and road, exhibits most of Cuba's special characteristics. There are +fields of sugar cane and fields of tobacco, country villages and peasant +homes, fruits and vegetables, ceiba trees, royal palms, cocoanut palms, and +mango trees. There is no other trip, as easily made, where so much can be +seen. But there are other excursions in the vicinity, for many reasons best +made by carriage or by private hired automobile. Within fifteen miles or so +of the city, are places like Calvario, Bejucal, and Managua, all reached +by good highways through interesting and typical country, and all well +illustrating the real life of the real Cubans. It was in the vicinity of +those places that Maximo Gomez operated in 1895 and 1896, terrorizing +Havana by menacing it from the south and the east while Maceo threatened it +from the west. Another short and pleasant trip can be made around the head +of the harbor to Guanabacoa, and thence to Cojimar. Another interesting and +easily reached point is Guines, a good example of places of its size and +class. + +Of Cuba's larger cities, there are a score that would demand attention in a +guide-book. Just as there is a certain similarity in most American cities, +in that they are collections of business and residence buildings of +generally similar architecture, so is there a certain sameness in most of +Cuba's cities. To see two or three of them is to get a general idea of all, +although each has its particular features, some particular building, or +some special charm of surroundings. The most difficult of access are +Baracoa, the oldest city of the island, and Trinidad, founded only a few +years later. Glancing at some of these places, in their order from west +to east, the first is Pinar del Rio, a comparatively modern city, dating +really from the second half of the 18th Century. It owes its past and its +present importance to its location as a centre of the tobacco region of the +_Vuelta Abajo_. From comfortable headquarters here, excursions can be made, +by rail or road, through what is perhaps the most attractive, and not +the least interesting section of the island. To the north are the Organ +Mountains and the picturesque town of Vinales, one of the most charming +spots, in point of scenery, in Cuba. To the west, by rail, is Guane, the +oldest settlement in western Cuba, and all around are beautiful hills and +cultivated valleys. Eastward from Havana, the first city of importance is +Matanzas. Here is much to interest and much to charm, the city itself, its +harbor, its two rivers, the famous valley of the Yumuri, and the caves of +Bellamar. The city, founded in 1693, lies along the shore of the bay and +rises to the higher ground of the hills behind it. It lies about sixty +miles from Havana, and is easily reached by rail or by automobile. The +next city in order, also on the north coast, is Cardenas, a modern place, +settled in 1828, and owing its importance to its convenience as a shipping +port for the numerous sugar estates in its vicinity, an importance now +somewhat modified by the facilities for rail shipment to other harbors. +Seventy-five miles or so further eastward is Sagua la Grande, another point +of former convenience as a shipping point for sugar. The city itself is +located on a river, or estuary, some ten or twelve miles from its mouth. +Forty miles or so further on are Remedies and Caibarien, a few miles apart, +the latter on the coast and the former a few miles inland. Caibarien, like +Cardenas and Sagua, is chiefly notable as a sugar port, while Remedios is +the centre of one of the great tobacco districts, producing a leaf of good +quality but generally inferior to the _Partidos_ of Havana Province, and +quite inferior to the famous _Vuelta Abajo_. Southward of this region, and +about midway the width of the island, somewhat more than two hundred miles +eastward of Havana, is the city of Santa Clara, better known in the island +as Villa Clara. The city dates its existence from 1689. It lies surrounded +by rolling hills and expansive valleys, but in the absence of extensive +plantations in its immediate environs, one is led to wonder just why so +pleasant a place should be there, and why it should have reached its +present proportions. For the tourist who wants to "see it all," it is an +excellent and most comfortable central headquarters. + +[Illustration: A VILLAGE STREET _Calvario, Havana Province_] + +From Villa Clara it is only a short run to Cienfuegos, the "city of a +hundred fires," a modern place, only about a hundred years old. There is +every probability that Columbus entered the harbor in 1494, and perhaps +no less probability that Ocampo entered in 1508, on his voyage around the +island. The harbor extends inland for several miles, with an irregular +shore line, behind which rises a border line of hills. The city itself +is some four or five miles from the entrance to the harbor. It came into +existence, and still exists, chiefly by reason of the sugar business. It +is an important outlet for that industry, and many estates are in its near +vicinity. The old city of Trinidad is reached, by boat, from Cienfuegos, or +rather its port city, Casilda, is so reached. Presumably, it was the port +city that Velasquez founded in 1514, a location a few miles inland +being chosen later, as being less exposed to attacks by the pirates and +freebooters who infested the Caribbean Sea for many years. It is said that +Cortes landed here and recruited his forces on his way to Mexico, in 1518. +The city itself stands on the lower slopes of the hills that form its +highly effective background. Its streets are narrow and tortuous. Like most +of the cities of the island, and most of the cities of the world, it has +its humble homes of the poor, and its mansions of the rich. Immediately +behind it stands a hill with an elevation of about nine hundred feet above +sea-level. Its name indicates the reason for its application, _La Vigia_, +the "lookout," or the "watch-tower." From its summit, we may assume that +the people of earlier times scanned the horizon for any sign of approaching +pirates by whom they might be attacked. It serves a more satisfactory +purpose nowadays in that it affords one of the loveliest panoramic views to +be found anywhere in Cuba. Not far away, and accessible from the city, is +the Pico de Potrerillo, about 3,000 feet elevation, the highest point in +Central Cuba. Northeast of Trinidad, and reached by rail from Villa Clara, +is Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad's rival in antiquity, both having been +founded, by Velasquez, in the same year. Here also are narrow, crooked +streets in a city of no mean attractions, although it lacks the picturesque +charm of its rival in age. It is an inland city, about twenty-five miles +from the coast, but even that did not protect it from attack by the +pirates. It was several times the victim of their depredations. + + + + +VII + +_AROUND THE ISLAND: Continued_ + + +The next city, eastward, is Camaguey, in many ways doubtless the best +worth a visit, next to Havana, of any city on the island. It is a place +of interesting history and, for me personally, a place of somewhat mixed +recollections. The history may wait until I have told my story. I think +it must have been on my third visit to the island, early in 1902. On my +arrival in Havana, I met my friend Charles M. Pepper, a fellow laborer in +the newspaper field. He at once informed me that he and I were to start the +next morning for a three or four weeks' journey around the island. It was +news to me, and the fact that my baggage, excepting the suitcase that I +carried, had failed to come on the boat that brought me, led me to demur. +My objections were overruled on the ground that we could carry little +baggage anyway, and all that was needed could be bought before starting, or +along the way. The next morning saw us on the early train for Matanzas. We +spent a week or ten days in that city, in Cardenas, Sagua, Santa Clara, and +Cienfuegos, renewing former acquaintance and noting the changes effected by +the restoration from the war period. That was before the completion of the +Cuba Railway. To get to Camaguey, then known as Puerto Principe, we took +the steamer at Cienfuegos and journeyed along the coast to Jucaro. There, +because of shallow water, we were dropped into a shore boat some four or +five miles from the coast, and there our troubles began. Fortunately, it +was early morning. We got something to eat and some coffee, which is almost +invariably good in Cuba, but when we meet nowadays we have a laugh over +that breakfast at Jucaro. I don't know, and really don't care, what the +place is now. After some hours of waiting, we secured passage in an +antiquated little car attached to a freight train carrying supplies and +structural material to Ciego de Avila, for use by the railway then being +built in both directions, eastward and westward from that point. The line +that there crosses the island from north to south was built in the time +of the Ten Years' War (1868-1878) as a barrier against the revolutionists +operating in eastern Cuba. It was restored for use in the revolution of +1895, but its blockhouses at every kilometre, and its barbed wire tangles, +were entirely ineffective against Gomez and Maceo and other leaders, all of +whom crossed it at their own sweet will, although not without an occasional +vicious little contest. We reached Ciego de Avila soon after noon, and had +to wait there over night for a further advance. The place is now a thriving +little city, but it was then a somewhat sprawling village with a building +that was called a hotel. But we got food and drink and beds, all that is +really necessary for experienced campaigners. For the next two days, Old +Man Trouble made himself our personal companion and did not lose sight of +us for a single minute. + +Through personal acquaintance with the railway officials, we obtained +permission to travel over the line, on any and all trains, as far as it was +then built, some forty miles or so toward Camaguey. Through them, also, we +arranged for saddle horses to meet us at railhead for the remainder of the +journey. There were no trains except construction trains carrying rails, +ties, lumber, and other materials. We boarded the first one out in the +morning. We had our choice of riding on any of those commodities that we +might select. There was not even a caboose. We chose a car of lumber as the +most promising. For four or five hours we crawled through that country, +roasting and broiling on that pile of planks, but the ties and the rails +were even hotter. The only way we could keep a place cool enough to sit on +was by sitting on it. I once occupied a stateroom next to the steamer's +funnel. I have seen, day after day, the pitch bubble between the planks of +a steamer's deck in the Indian Ocean. I have been in other places that I +thought plenty hot enough, but never have I been so thoroughly cooked as +were my companion and I perched on the lumber pile. On top of that, or +rather on top of us, there poured a constant rain of cinders from the +locomotive puffing away a few cars ahead of us. The road-bed was rough, and +at times we had to hang on for our very lives. We can laugh about it now, +but, at the time, it was no joke. At last we reached the end of the line, +somewhere in a hot Cuban forest, but there were no horses. We watched the +operation of railway building, and took turns in anathematizing, in every +language of which we had any knowledge, the abandoned ruffian who failed to +appear with those horses. Before night, we were almost ready to wish that +he had died on the way. At last he came. Our baggage was loaded on a +pack-horse; we mounted and rode gallantly on our way. We had about thirty +miles to cover by that or some other means of locomotion. Before we had +gone a mile, we developed a clear understanding of the reasons for the sale +of those horses by the Government of the United States, but why the United +States Army ever bought them for cavalry mounts we could not even imagine. +There was no road. Most of the way we followed the partly constructed +road-bed for the new railway, making frequent detours, through field or +jungle, to get around gaps or places of impossible roughness. Before we had +covered two miles, we began to wish that the man who sent those horses, a +Spaniard, by the way, might be doomed to ride them through all eternity +under the saddles with which they were equipped. We were sorry enough for +the poor brutes, but sorrier still for ourselves. For several days, I +limped in misery from a long row of savage blisters raised on my leg +by rawhide knots with which my saddle had been repaired. An hour after +starting, we were overtaken by a heavy thunder-shower. At nightfall, after +having covered about fifteen wretched miles, we reached a construction camp +where an American nobleman, disguised as a section-boss, gave us food and +lodging in the little palm-leaf shack that served as his temporary home. It +was barely big enough for one, but he made it do for three. + +[Illustration: STREET AND CHURCH _Camaguey_] + +Early in the morning, we resumed our journey, plodding along as best we +could over a half-graded "right-of-way." A couple of hours brought us to +a larger construction camp where we halted for such relief as we could +secure. We then were some twelve or fourteen miles from our destination. We +discussed the wisdom of making the rest of the way on foot, as preferable +to that particular kind of saddle-work, leaving our baggage to come along +with the horses when it might. But fortune smiled, or it may have been just +a grimace. Word came that a team, two horses and a wagon, would go to the +city that afternoon, and there would be room for us. We told our pilot, +the man with the horses, just what we thought of him and all his miserable +ancestors, gave him a couple of _pesos_, and rejoiced over our prospects of +better fortune. But it proved to be only an escape from the fire into +the frying-pan. I have driven over many miles of South African _veldt_, +straight "across lots," in all comfort, but while the general topography of +Camaguey puts it somewhat into the _veldt_ class, its immediate surface +did not in the least remind me of the South African plateau. The trip was +little short of wonderful for its bumpiness. We got to Camaguey sore and +bruised but, as far as we could discover, physically intact, and, having +arrived, may now return to its history and description. May no "gentle +reader" who scans these pages repeat our experience in getting there. It +is supposed that here, or immediately here-about, was the place of "fifty +houses and a thousand people" encountered by the messengers of Columbus, +when he sent them inland to deliver official letters of introduction to the +gorgeous ruler of the country in which he thought he was. Different writers +tell different stories about the settlement of the place, but there is no +doubt that it was among the earliest to be settled. Columbus gave to a +harbor in that vicinity, in all probability the Bay of Nuevitas, the name +Puerto del Principe, or Port of the Prince. He called the islands of the +neighborhood the Gardens of the King. On that bay, about 1514, Diego +Velasquez founded a city, probably the present Nuevitas, which he is said +to have called Santa Maria. Somewhere from two to ten years later, an +inland settlement was made. This developed into the city that was afterward +given the name of Santa Maria del Puerto del Principe, now very properly +changed to the old Indian name of Camaguey. + +If the idea of an inland location was, as it is said to have been, +protection against pirates and buccaneers, it was not altogether a +success. The distinguished pirate, Mr. Henry Morgan, raided the place very +effectively in 1668, securing much loot. In his book, published in 1871, +Mr. Hazard says: "Puerto Principe (the present Camaguey) is, probably, the +oldest, quaintest town on the island,--in fact, it may be said to be a +finished town, as the world has gone on so fast that the place seems a +million years old, and from its style of dress, a visitor might think he +was put back almost to the days of Columbus." There have been changes +since that time, but the old charm is still there, the narrow and crooked +streets, forming almost a labyrinth, the old buildings, and much else that +I earnestly hope may never be changed. There is now an up-to-date hotel, +connected with the railway company, but if I were to go there again and the +old hotel was habitable, I know I should go where I first stayed, and where +we occupied a huge barrack-like room charged on our bill as "_habitaciones +preferentes_," the state chamber. It had a dirty tiled floor, and was the +home of many fleas, but there was something about it that I liked. I do not +mean to say that all of Camaguey, "the city of the plain," is lovely, or +picturesque or even interesting. No more is all of Paris, or Budapest, +or Amsterdam, or Washington. They are only so in some of their component +parts, but it is those parts that remain in the memory. The country around +the city is a vast plain, for many years, and still, a grazing country, a +land of horses and cattle. The charm is in the city itself. If I could see +only one place outside of Havana, I would see Camaguey. A little less than +fifty miles to the north is Nuevitas, reached by one of the first railways +built in Cuba, now if ever little more than the port city for its larger +neighbor. Columbus became somewhat ecstatic over the region. Perhaps it was +then more charming, or the season more favorable, than when I saw it. I +do not recall any feeling of special enthusiasm about its scenic charms. +Perhaps I should have discovered them had I stayed longer. Perhaps I should +have been more impressed had it not been for the impressions of Camaguey. I +saw Nuevitas only briefly on my way eastward on that memorable excursion by +construction train and saddle. The only route then available was by boat +along the north shore, and it was there that we caught the steamer for +Santiago. + +That sail along the coast would have afforded greater pleasure had it +lacked the noisy presence of an itinerant opera company whose members +persisted, day and night, in exercising their lungs to the accompaniment of +an alleged piano in the cabin. I have a far more pleasant recollection, or +rather a memory because it stays with me, of music in those waters. The +transport on which I went to Porto Rico, in the summer of 1898, carried, +among other troops, a battery of light artillery. It had an unusually good +bugler, and his sounding of "taps" on those soft, starlit nights remains +with me as one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. The shrieks, +squalls, and roars of those opera people were in a wholly different class. +About seventy-five miles east of Nuevitas is Gibara, merely a shipping port +for the inland city of Holguin. The former is only one of a number of such +places found along the coast. Most of them are attractive in point of +surrounding scenery, but little or not at all attractive in themselves, +being mere groups of uninteresting structures of the conventional type. +Holguin is perhaps two hundred years old, quite pleasantly situated, but +affording no special points of interest for the tourist. The city is now +easily reached by a branch of the Cuba Railway. It is worth the visit of +those who "want to see it all." Beyond Gibara is Nipe Bay, not improbably +the first Cuban harbor entered by Columbus. Nipe Bay and its near neighbor, +Banes Bay, are the centres of what is now the greatest industrial activity +of any part of the island. Here, recent American investment is measured in +scores of millions of dollars. Here, in the immediate neighborhood, are +some of the largest sugar plantations and mills on the island, the Boston +and the Preston. A little to the west of Gibara are two others, Chaparra +and Delicias. Hitherto, the western half of the island has been, the great +producing district, but present indications point to a not distant time +when the eastern district will rival and, it may be, outstrip the section +of older development. The foundation is already laid for an extensive +enterprise. Nature has afforded one of the finest land-locked harbors in +the world at Nipe, and another, though smaller, a few miles away, at Banes. +The region now has railroad connection with practically all parts of the +island. Around those bays are sugar lands, tobacco lands, fruit lands, and +a few miles inland are the vast iron ore beds that, as they are developed, +will afford employment for an army of workmen. Nipe Bay is the natural +commercial outlet for a vast area of richly productive soil. At present, +the region affords nothing of special interest except its industrial +activities, its miles and miles of sugar cane, its huge mills, and the +villages built to house its thousands of workmen. + +Seventy-five miles or so eastward of Nipe, lies one of the most charming +and interesting spots on the island. This is old Baracoa, the oldest +settlement on the island, now to be reached only by water or by the +roughest of journeys over mountain trails. The town itself does not amount +to much, but the bay is a gem, a little, circular basin, forest-shaded to +its border, its waters clear as crystal. Behind it rise the forest-clad +hills, step on step, culminating in _el Yunque_, "the anvil," with an +elevation of about eighteen hundred feet. Baracoa is supposed to be the +place about which Columbus wrote one of his most glowing and extravagant +eulogies. Whether it is really worth the time and the discomfort of a +special trip to see it, is perhaps somewhat doubtful. It is a place of +scenery and sentiment, and little else. There is an old fort on a hilltop, +not particularly picturesque, and an old church in which is a cross quite +doubtfully reported as having been furnished by Columbus. Sometime, years +hence, there will be easier communication, and the fertile hillsides and +still more fertile valleys will supply various produces for consumption in +the United States. About twenty-five miles east of Baracoa is the end of +the island, Cape Maisi. Swinging around that, the coasting steamers turn +due west along the shore to Santiago, passing the harbor of Guantanamo, +with its United States naval station. That place is reached by rail from +Santiago, a highly picturesque route through the Guantanamo valley. Besides +the naval station, the place is a shipping port, affording nothing of +special interest to the traveller who has seen other and more easily +accessible cities of its type. It always seems to me that Santiago, or more +properly Santiago de Cuba, would be more engaging if we could forget the +more recent history of this city, known to most Cubans as Cuba (pronounced +Cooba). No doubt, it is a much better place in which to live than it was +twenty years ago, and much of its old charm remains. Its setting cannot +be changed. It is itself a hillside town, surrounded by hills, with real +mountains on its horizon. The old cathedral, a dominant structure, has +been quite a little patched up in recent years, and shows the patches. The +houses, big and little, are still painted in nearly all the shades of the +spectrum. But there is a seeming change, doubtless psychological rather +than physical. One sees, in imagination, Cervera's squadron "bottled up" in +the beautiful harbor, while Sampson's ships lie outside waiting for it to +come out. It is difficult to forget San Juan Hill and El Caney, a few +miles behind the city, and remember only its older stories. A good deal of +history has been made here in the last four hundred years. Its pages +show such names as Velasquez, Grijalva, Hernan Cortes, and Narvaez, and +centuries later, Cespedes, Marti, and Palma. Here was enacted the grim +tragedy of the _Virginius_, and here was the conflict that terminated +Spain's once vast dominion in the western world. My own impression is +that most of its history has already been written, that it will have no +important future. As a port of shipment, I think it must yield to the new +port, Nipe Bay, on the north coast. It is merely a bit of commercial logic, +the question of a sixty-mile rail-haul as compared with a voyage around the +end of the island. Santiago will not be wiped from the map, but I doubt its +long continuance as the leading commercial centre of eastern Cuba. It is +also a fairly safe prediction that the same laws of commercial logic will +some day operate to drain northward the products of the fertile valley of +the Cauto, and the region behind old Manzanillo and around the still older +Bayamo. + +[Illustration: COBRE _Oriente Province_] + +Except the places earlier mentioned, Jucaro, Trinidad and Cienfuegos, there +are no southern ports to the west until Batabano is reached, immediately +south of, and only a few miles from, the city of Havana. It is a shallow +harbor, of no commercial importance. It serves mainly as the centre of a +sponge-fishing industry, and as a point of departure for the Isle of Pines, +and for ports on the south coast. The Isle of Pines is of interest for a +number of reasons, among which are its history, its mineral springs, its +delightful climate, and an American colony that has made much trouble +in Washington. Columbus landed there in 1494, and gave it the name _La +Evangelista_. It lies about sixty miles off the coast, almost due south +from Havana. Between the island and the mainland lies a labyrinth of islets +and keys, many of them verdure-clad. Its area is officially given as 1,180 +square miles. There seems no doubt that, at some earlier time, it formed a +part of the main island, with which it compares in geologic structure and +configuration. It is now, in effect, two islands connected by a marsh; the +northern part being broken and hilly, and the southern part low, flat, and +sandy, probably a comparatively recently reclaimed coralline plain. The +island has been, at various times, the headquarters of bands of pirates, a +military hospital, a penal institution, and a source of political trouble. +It is now a Cuban island the larger part of which is owned by Americans. It +is a part of the province of Havana, and will probably so remain as long as +Cuba is Cuba. My personal investigations of the disputed question of the +political ownership of the island began early in 1899. I then reached a +conclusion from which I have not since seen any reason to depart. The +island was then, had always been, and is now, as much a part of Cuba as +Long Island and Key West have been and are parts of the United States. + +Just who it was that first raised the question of ownership, none of us who +investigated the matter at the time of its particular acuteness, was +able to determine satisfactorily, although some of us had a well-defined +suspicion. The man is now dead, and I shall not give his name. Article I, +of the Treaty of Paris, of December 10, 1898, presumably disposes of the +Cuban area; Article II refers to Porto Rico; and Article III refers to the +Philippines. The issue regarding the Isle of Pines was raised under +Article II, presumably referring only to Porto Rico. A slight but possibly +important difference appears in the Spanish and the English versions. The +English text reads that "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and other +islands now under Spanish sovereignty" etc. The Spanish text, literally +translated runs: "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and the others +that are now under its sovereignty." The obvious reference of the article +is to Mona, Viequez, and Culebra, all small islands in Porto Rican waters. +But the question was raised and was vigorously discussed. An official map +was issued showing the island as American territory. Americans jumped +in, bought up large tracts, and started a lively real estate boom. They +advertised it widely as American territory, and many put their little +collections of dollars into it. The claim of Spanish cession was afterward +denied in the very document that served to keep the issue alive for a +number of years. Article VI of the Platt Amendment, which the Cubans +accepted with marked reluctance, declared that the island was omitted from +the boundaries of Cuba, and that the title and ownership should be left to +future adjustment by treaty. But no alternative appears between cession and +no cession. Had the island become definitely American territory by cession, +its alienation, by such a step, would not have been possible. When we left +Cuba, in 1902, the official instructions from Washington were that the Isle +of Pines would remain under a _de facto_ American government. President +Palma, accepting the transfer, expressed his understanding that it would +"continue _de facto_ under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Cuba." In +some way, the departing American authority failed to leave any agent or +representative of the _de facto_ government of the United States, and the +Cubans included the island in their new administration, very properly. When +the treaty proposed by the Platt Amendment came before the United States +Senate, it hung fire, and finally found lodgment in one of the many +pigeon-holes generously provided for the use of that august body. There it +may probably be found today, a record and nothing more. Why? For the very +simple reason that some of the resident claimants for American ownership +sent up a consignment of cigars made on the island from tobacco grown on +the island, and refused to pay duty on them. The ground of refusal was that +they were a domestic product, sent from one port in the United States to +another port in the same country, and therefore not dutiable. The case of +Pearcy _vs_ Stranahan, the former representing the shippers, and the latter +being the Collector of the Port of New York, came before the Supreme Court +of the United States, and that final authority decided and declared that +the Isle of Pines was Cuban territory and a part of Cuba. The question is +settled, and the Isle of Pines can become territory of the United States +only by purchase, conquest, or some other form of territorial transfer. + +While the American settlers in the Isle of Pines, and the several +real-estate companies who seek purchasers for their holdings, own a large +part of the territory, they still constitute a minority of the population. +Many of the settlers, probably most of them, are industrious and persistent +in their various productive activities. Their specialty is citrus fruits, +but their products are not limited to that line. More than a few have tried +their little experiment in pioneering, and have returned to their home land +more or less disgusted with their experience. Those who have remained, +and have worked faithfully and intelligently, have probably done a little +better than they would have done at home. The great wealth for which all, +doubtless, earnestly hoped, and in which many, doubtless, really believed, +has not come. This settlement is only one of many speculative exploitations +in Cuba. Some of these have been fairly honest, but many of them have been +little better than rank swindles. Many have been entirely abandoned, the +buyers losing the hard-earned dollars they had invested. Others, better +located, have been developed, by patience, persistence, and thrift, into +fairly prosperous colonies. I do not know how many victims have been +caught by unscrupulous and ignorant promoters in the last fifteen years, +principally in the United States and in Canada, but they are certainly +many, so many that the speculative industry has declined in recent years. +Many of the settlers who have remained have learned the game, have +discovered that prosperity in Cuba is purchased by hard work just as it is +elsewhere. In different parts of the island, east, west, and centre, there +are now thrifty and contented colonists who have fought their battle, and +have learned the rules that nature has formulated as the condition of +success in such countries. Whether these people have really done any better +than they would have done had they stayed at home and followed the rules +there laid down, is perhaps another question. At all events, there are +hundreds of very comfortable and happy American homes in Cuba, even in the +Isle of Pines, where they persist in growling because it is Cuba and not +the United States. + +In a review of a country including forty-four thousand square miles of +territory, condensed into two chapters, it is quite impossible to include +all that is worth telling. Moreover, there is much in the island of which +no adequate description can be given. There is much that must be seen if it +if to be fairly understood and appreciated. + + + + +VIII + +_THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA_ + + +IN his message to Congress, on December 5, 1898, President McKinley +declared that "the new Cuba yet to arise from the ashes of the past must +needs be bound to us by ties of singular intimacy and strength if its +enduring welfare is to be assured." + +Probably to many of the people of the United States, the story of our +relations with Cuba had its beginning with the Spanish-American war. +That is quite like a notion that the history of an apple begins with its +separation from the tree on which it grew. The general history of the +island is reviewed in other chapters in this volume. The story of our +active relations with Cuba and its affairs runs back for more than a +hundred years, at least to the days of President Thomas Jefferson who, +in 1808, wrote thus to Albert Gallatin: "I shall sincerely lament Cuba's +falling into any other hands but those of its present owners." Several +other references to the island appear at about that time. Two great +movements were then going on. Europe was in the throes of the Napoleonic +disturbance, and for more than twenty-five years both France and England +schemed, sometimes openly and sometimes secretly, for the possession of +Cuba. The other movement was the revolution in Spain's colonies in the +Western Hemisphere, a movement that cost Spain all of its possessions in +that area, with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico. The influence of the +revolutionary activities naturally extended to Cuba, but it was not until +after 1820 that matters became dangerously critical. From that time until +the present, the question of Cuba's political fate, and the question of our +relations with the island, form an interesting and highly important chapter +in the history of the United States as well as in the history of Cuba. + +In his book on the war with Spain, Henry Cabot Lodge makes a statement that +may seem curious to some and amazing to others. It is, however, the opinion +of a competent and thoroughly trained student of history. He writes thus: + +"The expulsion of Spain from the Antilles is merely the last and final step +of the inexorable movement in which the United States has been engaged for +nearly a century. By influence and by example, or more directly, by arms +and by the pressure of ever-advancing settlements, the United States drove +Spain from all her continental possessions in the Western Hemisphere, until +nothing was left to the successors of Charles and Philip but Cuba and Porto +Rico. How did it happen that this great movement stopped when it came to +the ocean's edge? The movement against Spain was at once national +and organic, while the pause on the sea-coast was artificial and in +contravention of the laws of political evolution in the Americas. The +conditions in Cuba and Porto Rico did not differ from those which had gone +down in ruin wherever the flag of Spain waved on the mainland. The Cubans +desired freedom, and Bolivar would fain have gone to their aid. Mexico and +Colombia, in 1825, planned to invade the island, and at that time invasion +was sure to be successful. What power stayed the oncoming tide which had +swept over a continent? Not Cuban loyalty, for the expression 'Faithful +Cuba' was a lie from the beginning. The power which prevented the +liberation of Cuba was the United States, and more than seventy years later +this republic has had to fight a war because at the appointed time she set +herself against her own teachings, and brought to a halt the movement she +had herself started to free the New World from the oppression of the Old. +The United States held back Mexico and Colombia and Bolivar, used +her influence at home and abroad to that end, and, in the opinion of +contemporary mankind, succeeded, according to her desires, in keeping Cuba +under the dominion of Spain." + +For a number of years, Cuba's destiny was a subject of the gravest concern +in Washington. Four solutions presented themselves; first, the acquisition +of Cuba by the United States; second, its retention by Spain; third, +its transfer to some power other than Spain; fourth, its political +independence. That the issue was decided by the United States is shown by +all the history of the time. While other factors had their influence in the +determination, it is entirely clear that the issue turned on the question +of slavery. In his book on _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan +summarizes his review of the official proceedings by saying that "the South +did not want to see Cuba independent _without_ slavery, while the North did +not want to annex it _with_ slavery." In his work on the _Rise and Fall of +the Slave Power in America_, Mr. Henry Wilson declares that "thus clearly +and unequivocally did this Republic step forth the champion of slavery, and +boldly insist that these islands should remain under the hateful despotism +of Spain, rather than gain their independence by means that should inure to +the detriment of its cherished system. Indeed, it (the United States) would +fight to fasten more securely the double bondage on Cuba and the slave." + +From this point of view, unquestionably correct, it is altogether evident +that the United States assumed responsibility for Cuba's welfare, not by +the intervention of 1898, but by its acts more than seventy years earlier. +The diplomatic records of those years are filled with communications +regarding the island, and it was again and again the subject of legislation +or proposed legislation. President after President dealt with it in +messages to Congress. The acquisition of the island, by purchase or +otherwise, was again and again discussed. Popular interest was again and +again excited; the Spanish colonial policy was denounced; and the burdens +and sufferings of the Cubans were depicted in many harrowing tales. For the +policy that led to the imposition of a restraining hand on proposals to +free Cuba, in those early days, the people of the United States today must +blush. The independence movement in the States of Spanish-America may be +said to have had its definite beginning in 1806, when Francisco Miranda, +a Venezuelan, sailed from New York with three ships manned by American +filibusters, although the first land battle was fought in Bolivia, in 1809, +and the last was fought in the same country, in 1825. But the great wave +swept from the northern border of Mexico to the southernmost point of +Spanish possession. When these States declared their independence, they +wrote into their Constitutions that all men should be free, that human +slavery should be abolished forever from their soil. The attitude of the +United States in the matter of Cuba was determined by the objection to the +existence of an anti-slavery State so near our border. The experience of +Haiti and Santo Domingo was, of course, clearly in mind, but the objection +went deeper than that. Those who are interested may read with profit the +debates in the Congress of the United States, in 1826, on the subject of +the despatch of delegates to the so-called Panama Congress-of that year. On +the whole, it is not pleasant reading from any present point of view. + +Our cherished Monroe Doctrine was one of the fruits of this period, and in +the enunciation of that policy the affairs of Cuba were a prominent if not +the dominant force. The language of this doctrine is said to have been +written by Secretary Adams, but it is embodied in the message of President +Monroe, in December, 1823, and so bears his name. In April, of that year, +Secretary Adams sent a long communication to Mr. Nelson, then the American +Minister to Spain. For their bearing on the Cuban question, and for the +presentation of a view that runs through many years of American policy, +extracts from that letter may be included here. + + DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + WASHINGTON, April 28, 1823. + +"In the war between France and Spain, now commencing, other interests, +peculiarly ours, will, in all probability, be deeply involved. Whatever may +be the issue of this war, as between these two European powers, it may be +taken for granted that the dominion of Spain upon the American continent, +north and south, is irrecoverably gone. But the islands of Cuba and Porto +Rico still remain nominally, and so far really, dependent upon her, that +she possesses the power of transferring her own dominion over them, +together with the possession of them, to others. These islands, from their +local position are natural appendages to the North American continent, +and one of them, Cuba, almost in sight of our shores, from a multitude of +considerations, has become an object of transcendant importance to the +commercial and political interests of our Union. Its commanding position, +with reference to the Gulf of Mexico and the West India seas; the character +of its population; its situation midway between our southern coast and +the island of St. Domingo; its safe and capacious harbor of the Havana, +fronting a long line of our shores destitute of the same advantage; the +nature of its productions and of its wants, furnishing the supplies and +needing the returns of a commerce immensely profitable and mutually +beneficial,--give it an importance in the sum of our national interests +with which that of no other foreign territory can be compared, and little +inferior to that which binds the different members of this Union together. +Such, indeed, are the interests of that island and of this country, the +geographical, commercial, moral, and political relations, that, in looking +forward to the probable course of events, for the short period of half +a century, it is scarcely possible to resist the conviction that the +annexation of Cuba to our federal republic will be indispensable to the +continuance and integrity of the Union itself." + +The communication proceeds to relate the knowledge of the Department that +both Great Britain and France were desirous of securing possession and +control of the island, and to disclaim, on the part of the United States, +all disposition to obtain possession of either Cuba or Porto Rico. +The complications of the situation became increasingly serious, more +particularly with regard to Cuba, and on December 2, of that year (1823), +President Monroe issued his message carrying the "doctrine," which may be +given thus: + +"In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we +have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do so. +It is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent +injuries or make preparations for our defense. With the movements in this +hemisphere we are of necessity more immediately connected. We owe it, +therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the +United States and those powers (of Europe) to declare that we should +consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion +of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing +colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and +shall not interfere. But with the Governments that have declared their +independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have recognized, +we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or +controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power in any +other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward +the United States." + +From this time onward, Cuba appears as an almost continuous object of +special interest to both the people and the officials of the United States. +Notwithstanding this disclaimer of President Monroe's message, the idea +of the acquisition of the island, by the United States, soon arose. It +persisted through all the years down to the time of the Teller amendment, +in 1898, and there are many who even now regard annexation as inevitable at +some future time, more or less distant. The plan appears as a suggestion +in a communication, under date of November 30, 1825, from Alexander +H. Everett, then Minister to Madrid, to President Adams. It crops up +repeatedly in various quarters in later years. It would be a difficult and +tedious undertaking to chase through all the diplomatic records of seventy +years the references to Cuba and its affairs. + +From that period until the present time, the affairs of the island have +been a matter of constant interest and frequent anxiety in Washington. Fear +of British acquisition of the island appears to have subsided about 1860, +but there were in the island two groups, both relatively small, one of +them working for independence, and the other for annexation to the +United States. The great majority, however, desired some fair measure of +self-government, and relief from economic and financial burdens, under the +Spanish flag. The purchase of the island by the United States was proposed +by President Polk, in 1848; by President Pierce, in 1854; and by President +Buchanan, in his time. Crises appeared from time to time. Among them was +the incident of the _Black Warrior_, in 1854. Mr. Rhodes thus describes the +affair, in his _History of the United States_: + +"_The Black Warrior_ was an American merchant steamer, plying between +Mobile and New York, stopping at Havana for passengers and mail. She had +made thirty-six such voyages, almost always having a cargo for the American +port, and never being permitted to bring freight into Havana. The custom +of her agent was to clear her 'in ballast' the day before her arrival. The +practice, while contrary to the regulations of Cuban ports, had always +been winked at by the authorities. It was well understood that the _Black +Warrior_ generally had a cargo aboard, but a detailed manifest of her load +had never been required. She had always been permitted to sail unmolested +until, when bound from Mobile to New York, she was stopped on the 28th of +February, 1854, by order of the royal exchequer, for having violated +the regulations of the port. The agent, finding that the cause of this +proceeding was the failure to manifest the cargo 'in transit,' offered to +amend the manifest, which under the rules he had a right to do; but this +the collector, on a flimsy pretext, refused to permit. The agent was at the +same time informed that the cargo was confiscated and the captain fined, in +pursuance of the custom-house regulations. The cargo was cotton, valued +at one hundred thousand dollars; and the captain was fined six thousand +dollars. The United States consul applied to the captain-general for +redress, but no satisfaction was obtained. A gang of men with lighters were +sent to the ship under the charge of the _commandante_, who ordered the +captain of the _Black Warrior_ to discharge her cargo. This he refused to +do. The _commandante_ then had the hatches opened, and his men began +to take out the bales of cotton. The captain hauled down his flag and +abandoned the vessel to the Spanish authorities." + +The news of the incident created great excitement in Washington. President +Pierce sent a message to Congress, stating that demand had been made on +Spain for indemnity, and suggesting provisional legislation that would +enable him, if negotiations failed, "to insure the observance of our just +rights, to obtain redress for injuries received, and to vindicate the honor +of our flag." + +Mr. Soule, then the American Minister to Madrid, was the official through +whom the negotiations were conducted. He was a man of somewhat impetuous +temperament, and an ardent advocate of Cuba's annexation. He quite +overstepped both the bounds of propriety and of his authority in his +submission, under instructions, of a demand for three hundred thousand +dollars indemnity. This, and Spanish diplomatic methods, led to delay, and +the excitement died out. In the meantime, Spain released the vessel and its +cargo, disavowed and disapproved the conduct of the local officials, paid +the indemnity claimed by the owners of the vessel, and the ship resumed its +regular trips, being treated with every courtesy when visiting Havana. But +the incident gave rise to active discussion, and for a time threatened +serious results. It followed on the heels of another experience, the Lopez +expeditions, to which reference is made in another chapter, and came at a +time when Cuba and Cuban affairs were topics of a lively public interest. +The subject of acquisition was under general public discussion and occupied +a large share of public attention. Some wanted war with Spain, and others +proposed the purchase of the island from Spain. But the immediate cause +of complaint having been removed by the release of the ship, Soule was +instructed to take no further steps in the matter, and the excitement +gradually passed away. + +Immediately following this experience, and growing out of it, came the +incident of the "Ostend Manifesto." At that time, James Buchanan was +Minister to England. John Y. Mason was Minister to France, and Pierre Soule +was Minister to Spain. Secretary of State Marcy suggested a conference +between these three officials. They met at Ostend, but afterward +transferred their deliberations to Aix la Chapelle. The meeting attracted +general attention in Europe. The result of what they reported as "a full +and unreserved interchange of views and sentiments," was a recommendation +that an earnest effort be made immediately to purchase Cuba. They were of +opinion that the sum of one hundred and twenty million dollars be offered. +The report proceeded thus: "After we shall have offered Spain a price for +Cuba far beyond its present value, and this shall have been refused, it +will then be time to consider the question, does Cuba in the possession +of Spain seriously endanger our internal peace and the existence of our +cherished Union? Should this question be answered in the affirmative, then, +by every law, human and divine, we shall be justified in wresting it from +Spain if we possess the power; and this upon the very same principle that +would justify an individual in tearing down the burning house of his +neighbor if there were no other means of preventing the flame from +destroying his own home." It is evident that Soule dominated the meeting, +and only less evident that he, in some way, cajoled his associates +into signing the report. No action was taken on the matter by the +Administration, and the incident has passed into history somewhat, perhaps, +as one of the curiosities of diplomacy. At all events, all historians note +it, and some give it considerable attention. + +The next serious complication arose out of the Ten Years' War, in Cuba, +in 1868, to which reference is made in a chapter on Cuba's revolutions. +Spain's leaders seemed quite incapable of grasping the Cuban situation, of +seeing it in its proper light. It is more than probable that, even then, +the Cubans would have remained loyal if the Spanish authorities had paid +attention to their just and reasonable demands. As stated by Mr. Pepper, +in his _Tomorrow in Cuba_, "The machete and the torch then gained what +peaceful agitation had not been able to achieve." The demands of the +Cubans are thus stated by Señor Cabrera, in his _Cuba and the Cubans_: "A +constitutional system in place of the autocracy of the Captain-General, +freedom of the press, the right of petition, cessation of the exclusion of +Cubans from public office, unrestricted industrial liberty, abolition of +restrictions on the transfer of landed property, the right of assembly and +of association, representation in the Cortes, and local self-government," +all reasonable and just demands from every point of view of modern +civilization. Spain refused all, and on October 10, 1868, an actual +revolution began, the first in the history of the island to be properly +classed as a revolution. The United States soon became concerned and +involved. In his message to Congress on December 6, 1869, President Grant +said: "For more than a year, a valuable province of Spain, and a near +neighbor of ours, in whom all our people cannot but feel a deep interest, +has been struggling for independence and freedom. The people and the +Government of the United States entertain the same warm feelings and +sympathies for the people of Cuba in their pending struggle that they have +manifested throughout the previous struggles between Spain and her former +colonies (Mexico, Central America and South America) in behalf of the +latter. But the contest has at no time assumed the conditions which amount +to a war in the sense of international law, or which would show the +existence of a _de facto_ political organization of the insurgents +sufficient to justify a recognition of belligerency." On June 13, 1870, +President Grant sent a special message to Congress, in which he reviewed +the Cuban situation. Another reference appears in his message of December +5, 1870. In his message of December 4, 1871, he stated that "it is to be +regretted that the disturbed condition of the island of Cuba continues +to be a source of annoyance and anxiety. The existence of a protracted +struggle in such close proximity to our own territory, without apparent +prospect of an early termination, cannot be other than an object of concern +to a people who, while abstaining from interference in the affairs of other +powers, naturally desire to see every other country in the undisturbed +enjoyment of peace, liberty, and the blessings of free institutions." In +the message of December 2, 1872, he said: "It is with regret that I have +again to announce a continuance of the disturbed condition in the island of +Cuba. The contest has now lasted for more than four years. Were its scene +at a distance from our neighborhood, we might be indifferent to its result, +although humanity could not be unmoved by many of its incidents wherever +they might occur. It is, however, at out door." Reference was made to it in +all following annual messages, until President Hayes, in 1878, announced +its termination, ten years after its beginning. The contest had become +practically a deadlock, and a compromise was arranged by General Maximo +Gomez, for the Cubans, and General Martinez Campos, for Spain. + +[Illustration: HOISTING THE CUBAN FLAG OVER THE PALACE, MAY 20, 1902 +_Senate building on the right_] + +The entanglements that grew out of the experiences of this period are too +long and too complicated for detailed review here. This country had no +desire for war with Spain, but approval of the Spanish policy in Cuba was +impossible. The sympathies of the American people were with the Cubans, as +they had been for fifty years, and as they continued to be until the end of +Spanish occupation in the West Indies. Rumors of all kinds were afloat, and +again and again the situation seemed to have reached a crisis that could be +ended only by war. A particularly aggravating incident appeared in what is +known as the _Virginius_ case. This was described as follows, in President +Grant's message to Congress on December 1, 1873. + +"The steamer _Virginius_ was on the 26th day of September, 1870, duly +registered at the port of New York as a part of the commercial marine +of the United States. On the 4th of October, 1870, having received the +certificate of her register in the usual legal form, she sailed from +the port of New York, and has not since been within the territorial +jurisdiction of the United States. On the 31st day of October last (1873), +while sailing under the flag of the United States on the high seas, she was +forcibly seized by the Spanish gunboat _Tornado_, and was carried into the +port of Santiago de Cuba, where fifty-three of her passengers and crew were +inhumanly, and, so far at least as related to those who were citizens of +the United States, without due process of law, put to death." + +Only for the timely arrival of the British man-of-war _Niobe_, and the +prompt and decisive action of her commander, there is no doubt that +ninety-three others would have shared the fate of their companions. Some +were Americans and some were British. The excitement in this country was +intense, and war with Spain was widely demanded. Further investigation +revealed the fact that the American registry was dishonest, that the ship +really belonged to or was chartered by Cubans, that it was engaged in +carrying supplies and munitions of war to the insurgents, and that its +right to fly the American flag was more than doubtful. The ship was seized +by the American authorities under a charge of violation of the maritime +laws of the United States, and was ordered to New York, for a trial of the +case. American naval officers were placed in command, but she was in bad +condition, and foundered in a gale near Cape Fear. As far as the vessel +was concerned, the incident was closed. There remained the question of +indemnity for what Caleb Cushing, then the American Minister to Spain, in +his communication to the Spanish authorities, denounced as "a dreadful, +a savage act, the inhuman slaughter in cold blood, of fifty-three human +beings, a large number of them citizens of the United States, shot without +lawful trial, without any valid pretension of authority, and to the horror +of the whole civilized world." England also filed its claim for the loss +of British subjects, and payment was soon after made "for the purpose of +relief of the families or persons of the ship's company and passengers." In +his _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan says: "The catalogue +of irritating affairs in relation to Cuba, of which the _Virginius_ was +only the culmination, might have been urged as sufficient to justify a +policy of intervention to stop the stubborn war of extermination which had +been tolerated by peaceful neighbors for five years. Some would have been +ready to advocate intervention as a duty. The relations of Cuba to the +United States, the Spanish commercial restrictions which placed Cuba at +the mercy of Spanish monopolists, and the character of the Spanish rule, +pointed to the conclusion that if Spain should not voluntarily grant +reforms and guarantee pacification of the island, the United States might +be compelled, especially for future security, temporarily to occupy it and +assist in the organization of a liberal government based upon modern views. +Such action might have led to annexation, but not necessarily; it might +have led to a restoration of Spanish possession under restrictions as to +the character of Spanish rule, and as to the size of the Spanish army and +naval force in the vicinity; more likely it would have resulted in the +independence of Cuba under American protection." + +These are only some of the more prominent features in fifty years of +American interest in Cuba. Throughout the entire period, the sympathies +of the American people were strongly pro-Cuban. Money and supplies were +contributed from time to time to assist the Cubans in their efforts to +effect a change in their conditions, either through modification of Spanish +laws, or by the road of independence. Only a minority of the Cubans sought +to follow that road at that time. The movement for independence was not +national until it was made so in 1895. What would have happened had we, +at the time of the Ten Years' War, granted to the Cubans the rights of +belligerents, is altogether a matter of speculation. Such a course was then +deemed politically inexpedient. + + + + +IX + +_CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS_ + + +Only by magnifying protests into revolts, and riots into revolutions, is it +possible to show Cuba as the "land of revolutions" that many have declared +it to be. The truth is that from the settlement of the island in 1512 until +the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1898, there were only two experiences +that can, by any proper use of the term, be called revolutions. This +statement, of course, disputes a widely accepted notion, but many notions +become widely accepted because of assertions that are not contradicted. +That a strong undercurrent of discontent runs through all Cuba's history +from 1820 to 1895, is true. That there were numerous manifestations of that +discontent, and occasional attempts at revolution, is also true. But none +of these experiences, prior to 1868, reached a stage that would properly +warrant its description as a revolution. The term is very loosely applied +to a wide range of experiences. It is customary to class as revolution all +disorders from riots to rebellions. This is particularly the case where +the disorder occurs in some country other than our own. The _Standard +Dictionary_ defines the essential idea of revolution as "a change in the +form of government, or the constitution, or rulers, otherwise than +as provided by the laws of succession, election, etc." The _Century +Dictionary_ defines such proceedings as "a radical change in social or +governmental conditions; the overthrow of an established political system." +Many exceedingly interesting parallels may be drawn between the experience +of the American colonies prior to their revolution, in 1775, and the +experience of Cuba during the 19th Century. In fact, it may perhaps be +said that there is no experience in Cuba's history that cannot be fairly +paralleled in our own. In his _History of the United States_, Mr. Edward +Channing says: "The governing classes of the old country wished to exploit +the American colonists for their own use and behoof." Change the word +"American" to "Spanish," and the Cuban situation is exactly defined. The +situation in America in the 18th Century was almost identical with the +situation in Cuba in the 19th Century. Both, in those respective periods, +suffered from oppressive and restrictive trade laws and from burdensome +taxation, from subordination of their interests to the interests of the +people of a mother-country three thousand miles away. Unfortunately for the +Cubans, Spain was better able to enforce its exactions than England +was. Cuba's area was limited, its available harbors few in number, its +population small. + +Not until the years immediately preceding the revolutions by which the +United States and Cuba secured their independence, was there any general +demand for definite separation from the mother-country. The desire in both +was a fuller measure of economic and commercial opportunity. One striking +parallel may be noted. The Tories, or "loyalists," in this country have +their counterpart in the Cuban _Autonomistas_. Referring to conditions in +1763, Mr. Channing states that "never had the colonists felt a greater +pride in their connection with the British empire." Among the great figures +of the pre-revolutionary period in this country, none stands out more +clearly than James Otis, of Boston, and Patrick Henry, of Virginia. In an +impassioned address, in 1763, Otis declared that "every British subject in +America is of common right, by acts of Parliament, and by the laws of God +and nature, entitled to all the essential privileges of Britons. What God +in his Providence has united let no man dare attempt to pull asunder." +Thirteen years later, the sundering blow was struck. Patrick Henry's +resolutions submitted to the Virginia House of Burgesses, in 1765, set +that colony afire, but at that time neither he nor his associates desired +separation and independence if their natural rights were recognized. It was +not until the revolution of 1895 that the independence of Cuba became a +national demand, a movement based on realization of the hopelessness of +further dependence upon Spain for the desired economic and fiscal relief. +As in the American colonies there appeared, from time to time, individuals +or isolated groups who demanded drastic action on the part of the +colonists, so were there Cubans who, from time to time, appeared with +similar demands. Nathaniel Bacon headed a formidable revolution in Virginia +in 1676. Massachusetts rebelled against Andros and Dudley in 1689. From the +passage of the Navigation Acts, in the middle of the 17th Century, until +the culmination in 1775, there was an undercurrent of friction and a +succession of protests. The Cuban condition was quite the same excepting +the fact of burdens more grievous and more frequent open outbreaks. + +The records of many of the disorders are fragmentary. Spain had no desire +to give them publicity, and the Cubans had few means for doing so. The +_Report on the Census of Cuba_, prepared by the War Department of the +United States, in 1899, contains a summary of the various disorders in +the island. The first is the rioting in 1717, when Captain-General Roja +enforced the decree establishing a government monopoly in tobacco. The +disturbances in Haiti and Santo Domingo (1791-1800) resulting in the +establishment of independence in Haiti, under Toussaint, excited +unimportant uprisings on the part of negroes in Cuba, but they were quickly +suppressed. The first movement worthy of note came in 1823. It was +a consequence of the general movement that extended throughout +Spanish-America and resulted in the independence of all Spain's former +colonies, excepting Cuba and Porto Rico. That the influence of so vast a +movement should have been felt in Cuba was almost inevitable. As disorder +continued throughout much of the time, the period 1820-1830 is best +considered collectively. The same influences were active, and the same +forces were operative for the greater part of the term. The accounts of +it all are greatly confused, and several nations were involved, including +Spain, the United States, France, England, Mexico, and Colombia. The +slavery question was involved, as was the question of the transfer of the +island to some Power other than Spain. Independence was the aim of some, +though probably no very great number. Practically all of Cuba's later +experiences have their roots in this period. During these ten years, the +issue between Cubans who sought a larger national and economic life, +and the Spanish element that insisted upon the continuance of Spanish +absolutism, had its definite beginning, to remain a cause of almost +constant friction for three-quarters of a century. The Spanish Constitution +of 1812, abrogated in 1814, was again proclaimed in 1820, and again +abrogated in 1823. The effort of Captain-General Vives, acting under +orders from Ferdinand VII, to restore absolutism encountered both vigorous +opposition and strong support. Secret societies were organized, whose exact +purposes do not appear to be well known. Some have asserted that it was a +Masonic movement, while others have held that the organizations were +more in the nature of the _Carbonari_. One of them, called the _Soles de +Bolivar_, in some way gave its name to the immediate activities. It was +charged with having planned a rebellion against the government, but the +plans were discovered and the leaders were arrested. The movement appears +to have been widespread, with its headquarters in Matanzas. An uprising was +planned to take place on August 16, 1823, but on that day Jose Francisco +Lemus, the leader, and a number of his associates were arrested and +imprisoned. Among them was José Maria Heredia, the Cuban poet, who was, +for this offence, condemned, in 1824, to perpetual exile for the crime of +treason. + +Others engaged in the conspiracy fled the country. Some were officially +deported. But the punishments imposed on these people served to excite +the animosity of many more, and a period of agitation followed, marked by +occasional outbreaks and rioting. To meet the situation, an army intended +to be employed in reconquering some of the colonies that had already +declared and established their independence, was retained on the island. +In 1825, a royal decree conferred on the Spanish Governor in Cuba a power +practically absolute. This excited still further the anger of the Cuban +element and led to other manifestations of discontent. There was a +combination of political agitation with revolutionary demonstrations. +In 1826, there was a local uprising in Puerto Principe, directed more +particularly against the Spanish garrison, whose conduct was regarded as +highly offensive. A year or two later, Cuban exiles in Mexico and Colombia, +with support from the people of those countries, organized a secret society +known as the "Black Eagle," having for its purpose a Cuban revolution. Its +headquarters were in Mexico, and its activities were fruitless. Many +were arrested and tried and sentenced to death or deportation. But Vives +realized the folly of adding more fuel to the flames, and the sentences +were in all cases either mitigated or revoked. This seems to have brought +that particular series of conspiracies to an end. It was a time of active +political agitation and conspiracy, with occasional local riots that were +quickly suppressed. While much of it was revolutionary in its aims and +purposes, none of it may with any fitness be called a revolution, unless +a prevalence of a lively spirit of opposition and rebellion is to be so +classed. The agitation settled down for a number of years, but broke out in +local spasms occasionally. There were riots and disorders, but that is not +revolution. It is to be remembered that the cause of all this disturbance +was, in the main, an entirely creditable sentiment, quite as creditable +as that which led the American colonists to resist the Stamp taxes and to +destroy tea. It was a natural and righteous protest against oppression, a +movement lasting for seventy-five years, for which Americans, particularly, +should award praise rather than blame or carping criticism. Having done, in +our own way, very much what the Cubans have done, in their way, we are not +free to condemn them. The only real difference is that their methods were, +on the whole, a little more strenuous than ours. Cuban blood was stirred +by the successful revolutions in Mexico and in Spanish South America, and +conditions in the island were contrasted with those in the then somewhat +new United States. Something of the part played by this country in the +experiences of the time is presented in another chapter, on the relations +of the two countries. + +The next movement worthy of note came in 1849, if we omit the quarrel, in +1837, between General Tacon and his subordinate, General Lorenzo, and the +alleged proposal of the slaves in the neighborhood of Matanzas to rise +and slaughter all the whites. Neither of these quite belongs in the +revolutionary class. In 1847, a conspiracy was organized in the vicinity +of Cienfuegos. Its leader was General Narciso Lopez. The movement was +discovered, and some of the participants were imprisoned. Lopez escaped to +the United States where he associated himself with a group of Cuban exiles, +and opened correspondence with sympathizers in the island. They were joined +by a considerable number of adventurous Americans, inspired by a variety +of motives. The declared purpose of the enterprise was independence as the +alternative of reform in Spanish laws. An expedition was organized, but +the plans became known and President Taylor, on August 11, 1849, issued +a proclamation in which he declared that "an enterprise to invade the +territories of a friendly nation, set on foot and prosecuted within the +limits of the United States, is in the highest degree criminal." He +therefore warned all citizens of the United States who might participate in +such an enterprise that they would be subject to heavy penalties, and would +forfeit the protection of their country. He also called on "every officer +of this Government, civil or military, to use all efforts in his power to +arrest for trial and punishment every such offender against the laws." The +party was captured as it was leaving New York. The best evidence of the +time is to the effect that there was in Cuba neither demand for nor support +of such a movement, but Lopez and his associates, many of them Americans, +persisted. A second expedition was arranged, and a party of more than six +hundred men, many of them American citizens, assembled on the island of +Contoy, off the Yucatan coast, and on May 19, 1850, landed at Cardenas. But +there was no uprising on the part of the people. The Spanish authorities, +informed of the expedition, sent ships by sea and troops by land. After +a sharp skirmish, the invaders fled for their lives. Lopez and those who +escaped with him succeeded in reaching Key West. He went to Savannah, where +he was arrested but promptly liberated in response to public clamor. But +even this did not satisfy the enthusiastic liberator of a people who did +not want to be liberated in that way. He tried again in the following +year. On August 3, 1851, he sailed from near New Orleans, on the steamer +_Pampero_, in command of a force of about four hundred, largely composed +of young Americans who had been lured into the enterprise by assurance of +thrilling adventure and large pay. They landed near Bahia Honda, about +fifty miles west of Havana. Here, again, the Cubans refused to rise and +join the invaders. Here, again, they encountered the Spanish forces by whom +they were beaten and routed. Many were killed, some were captured, and +others escaped into the surrounding country and were captured afterward. +Lopez was among the captured. He was taken to Havana, and died by _garrote_ +in the little fortress La Punta. His first officer, Colonel Crittenden, and +some fifty Americans were captured and taken to Atares, the fortress at the +head of Havana harbor, where they were shot. For that somewhat brutal act, +the United States could ask no indemnity. In violation of the laws of the +United States, they had invaded the territory of a nation with which the +country was at peace. In the initial issue of the _New York Times_, on +October 18, 1851, there appeared a review of the incident, presenting a +contemporaneous opinion of the experience. It was, in part, as follows: + +"Nothing can be clearer than the fact that, for the present, at least, +the inhabitants of Cuba do not desire their freedom. The opinion has very +widely prevailed that the Cubans were grievously oppressed by their Spanish +rulers, and that the severity of their oppression alone prevented them from +making some effort to throw it off. The presence of an armed force in their +midst, however small, it was supposed would summon them by thousands to the +standard of revolt, and convert the colony into a free republic. Men high +in office, men who had lived in Cuba and were supposed to be familiar with +the sentiments of its people, have uniformly represented that they were +ripe for revolt, and desired only the presence of a small military band to +serve as a nucleus for their force. Believing that the Cuban population +would aid them, American adventurers enlisted and were ruined. They found +no aid. Not a Cuban joined them. They were treated as pirates and robbers +from the first moment of their landing. Nor could they expect any other +treatment in case of failure. They ceased to be American citizens the +moment they set out, as invaders, for the shores of Cuba." + +[Illustration: A SPANISH BLOCK HOUSE] + +The excitement of the Lopez incident was passing when it was revived, +in 1854, by the _Black Warrior_ experience, to which reference is made +elsewhere. Another invasion was projected by exuberant and adventurous +Americans. It was to sail from New Orleans under command of General +Quitman, a former Governor of the State of Mississippi. No secret was +made of the expedition, and Quitman openly boasted of his purposes, in +Washington. The reports having reached the White House, President Pierce +issued a proclamation warning "all persons, citizens of the United States +and others residing therein" that the General Government would not fail to +prosecute with due energy all those who presumed to disregard the laws of +the land and our treaty obligations. He charged all officers of the United +States to exert all their lawful power to maintain the authority and +preserve the peace of the country. Quitman was arrested, and put under +bonds to respect the neutrality laws. There was a limited uprising in +Puerto Principe, in 1851, and a conspiracy was revealed, in Pinar del Rio, +in 1852. A few years later the Liberal Club in Havana and the Cuban Junta +in New York were reported as raising money and organizing expeditions. Some +sailed, but they accomplished little, except as the activities appear as a +manifestation of the persistent opposition on the part of what was probably +only a small minority of the Cuban people. For several years, the unrest +and the agitation continued. Spain's blindness to the situation is +puzzling. In his _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan says: +"Spain, after squandering a continent, had still clung tenaciously to Cuba; +and the changing governments which had been born (in Spain) only to be +strangled, held her with a taxing hand. While England had allowed her +colonies to rule themselves, Spain had persisted in keeping Cuba in the +same state of tutelage that existed when she was the greatest power in +the world, and when the idea of colonial rights had not developed." In +_Tomorrow in Cuba_, Mr. Pepper notes that "though the conception of +colonial home rule for Cuba was non-existent among the Spanish statesmen of +that day, the perception of it was clear on the part of the thinking +people of the island. The educated and wealthy Cubans who in 1865 formed +themselves into a national party and urged administrative and economic +changes upon Madrid felt the lack of understanding among Spanish statesmen. +The concessions asked were not a broad application of civil liberties. When +their programme was rejected in its entirety they ceased to ask favors. +They inaugurated the Ten Years' War." Regarding this action by the Cubans, +Dr. Enrique José Varona, a distinguished Cuban and a former deputy to the +Cortes, has stated that "before the insurrection of 1868, the reform party +which included the most enlightened, wealthy, and influential Cubans, +exhausted all the resources within their reach to induce Spain to initiate +a healthy change in her Cuban policy. The party started the publication of +periodicals in Madrid and in the island, addressed petitions, maintained a +great agitation throughout the country, and having succeeded in leading the +Spanish Government to make an inquiry into the economic, political, and +social conditions in Cuba, they presented a complete plan of government +which satisfied public requirements as well as the aspirations of the +people. The Spanish Government disdainfully cast aside the proposition as +useless, increased taxation, and proceeded to its exaction with extreme +severity." Here not seek its independence; the object was reform in +oppressive laws and in burdensome taxation, a measure of self-government, +under Spain, and a greater industrial and commercial freedom. It is most +difficult to understand the short-sightedness of the Spanish authorities. +The war soon followed the refusal of these entirely reasonable demands, and +the course of the Cubans is entirely to their credit. An acceptance of the +situation and a further submission would have shown them as contemptible. + +The details of a conflict that lasted for ten years are quite impossible +of presentation in a few pages. Nor are they of value or interest to any +except special students who can find them elaborately set forth in many +volumes, some in Spanish and a few in English. Having tried once before to +cover this period as briefly and as adequately as possible, I can do no +better here than to repeat the story as told in an earlier work (_Cuba, and +the Intervention_). On the 10th of October, 1868, Carlos Manuel Cespedes +and his associates raised the cry of Cuban independence at Yara, in the +Province of Puerto Principe (now Camaguey). On the 10th of April, 1869, +there was proclaimed the Constitution of the Cuban Republic. During the +intervening months, there was considerable fighting, though it was largely +in the nature of guerrilla skirmishing. The Spanish Minister of State +asserted in a memorandum issued to Spain's representatives in other +countries, under date of February 3, 1876, that at the outbreak of the +insurrection Spain had 7,500 troops, all told, in Cuba. According to +General Sickels, at that time the American Minister to Spain, this number +was increased by reinforcements of 34,500 within the first year of the war. +The accuracy of this information, however, has been questioned. Prior +to the establishment of the so-called Republic, the affairs of the +insurrection were in the hands of an Assembly of Representatives. On +February 26, this body issued a decree proclaiming the abolition of slavery +throughout the island, and calling upon those who thus received their +freedom to "contribute their efforts to the independence of Cuba." During +the opening days of April, 1869, the Assembly met at Guiamaro. On the tenth +of that month a government was organized, with a president, vice-president, +general-in-chief of the army, secretaries of departments, and a parliament +or congress. Carlos Manuel Cespedes was chosen as President, and Manuel +de Quesada as General-in-Chief. A Constitution was adopted. Señor Morales +Lemus was appointed as minister to the United States, to represent the new +Republic, and to ask official recognition by the American Government. The +government which the United States was asked to recognize was a somewhat +vague institution. The insurrection, or revolution, if it may be so +called, at this time consisted of a nominal central government, chiefly +self-organized and self-elected, and various roving bands, probably +numbering some thousands in their aggregate, of men rudely and +incompetently armed, and showing little or nothing of military organization +or method. + +Like all Cuban-Spanish wars and warfare, the destruction of property was a +common procedure. Some of the methods employed for the suppression of the +insurrection were not unlike those adopted by General Weyler in the later +war. At Bayamo, on April 4, 1869, Count Valmaseda, the Spanish Commandant +of that district, issued the following proclamation: + +1. Every man, from the age of fifteen years upward, found away from his +place of habitation, who does not prove a justified reason therefor, will +be shot. + +2. Every unoccupied habitation will be burned by the troops. + +3. Every habitation from which no white flag floats, as a signal that its +occupants desire peace, will be reduced to ashes. + +In the summer of 1869, the United States essayed a reconciliation and +an adjustment of the differences between the contestants. To this Spain +replied that the mediation of any nation in a purely domestic question was +wholly incompatible with the honor of Spain, and that the independence of +Cuba was inadmissible as a basis of negotiation. Heavy reinforcements were +sent from Spain, and the strife continued. The commerce of the island +was not greatly disturbed, for the reason that the great producing and +commercial centres lay to the westward, and the military activities were +confined, almost exclusively, to the eastern and central areas. In April, +1874, Mr. Fish, then Secretary of State, reported that "it is now more than +five years since the uprising (in Cuba) and it has been announced with +apparent authority, that Spain has lost upward of 80,000 men, and has +expended upward of $100,000,000, in efforts to suppress it; yet the +insurrection seems today as active and as powerful as it has ever been." +Spain's losses among her troops were not due so much to the casualties of +war as they were to the ravages of disease, especially yellow fever. The +process, in which both parties would appear to be about equally culpable, +of destroying property and taking life when occasion offered, proceedings +which are hardly to be dignified by the name of war, continued until the +beginning of 1878. Throughout the entire period of the war, the American +officials labored diligently for its termination on a basis that would give +fair promise of an enduring peace. Many questions arose concerning the +arrest of American citizens and the destruction of property of American +ownership. Proposals to grant the Cubans the rights of belligerents were +dismissed as not properly warranted by the conditions, and questions +arose regarding the supply of arms and ammunition, from this country, by +filibustering expeditions. References to Cuban affairs appear in many +presidential messages, and the matter was a subject of much discussion and +numerous measures in Congress. Diplomatic communication was constantly +active. In his message of December 7, 1875, President Grant said: "The past +year has furnished no evidence of an approaching termination of the ruinous +conflict which has been raging for seven years in the neighboring island +of Cuba. While conscious that the insurrection has shown a strength and +endurance which make it at least doubtful whether it be in the power of +Spain to subdue it, it seems unquestionable that no such civil organization +exists which may be recognized as an independent government capable of +performing its international obligations and entitled to be treated as one +of the powers of the earth." Nor did he then deem the grant of belligerent +rights to the Cubans as either expedient or properly warranted by the +circumstances. + +In 1878, Martinez Campos was Governor-General of Cuba, and Maximo Gomez +was Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban forces. Both parties were weary of +the prolonged hostilities, and neither was able to compel the other to +surrender. Spain, however, professed a willingness to yield an important +part of the demands of her rebellious subjects. Martinez Campos and Gomez +met at Zanjon and, on February 10, 1878, mutually agreed to what has been +variously called a peace pact, a treaty, and a capitulation. The agreement +was based on provisions for a redress of Cuban grievances through greater +civil, political, and administrative privileges for the Cubans, with +forgetfulness of the past and amnesty for all then under sentence for +political offences. Delay in carrying these provisions into effect gave +rise to an attempt to renew the struggle two years later, but the effort +was a failure. + +Matters then quieted down for a number of years. The Cubans waited to see +what would be done. The Spanish Governor-General still remained the supreme +power and, aside from the abolition of slavery, the application of the +Spanish Constitution and Spanish laws to Cuba, and Cuban representation +in the Cortes, much of which was rather form than fact, the island gained +little by the new conditions. Discontent and protest continued and, at +last, broke again into open rebellion in 1895. + +The story of that experience is told in another chapter. In 1906, there +came one of the most deplorable experiences in the history of the island, +the first and only discreditable revolution. The causes of the experience +are not open to our criticism. Our own records show too much of precisely +the same kind of work, illegal registration, ballot box stuffing, threats +and bribery. The first election in the new Republic was carried with only +a limited and somewhat perfunctory opposition to the candidacy of Estrada +Palma. Before the second election came, in 1905, he allied himself +definitely with an organization then known as the Moderate party. The +opposition was known as the Liberal party. Responsibility for the +disgraceful campaign that followed rests on both, almost equally. The +particular difference lies in the fact that, the principal offices having +been given to adherents of the Moderates, they were able to control both +registration and election proceedings. But the methods employed by the +opposition were no less censurable. Realizing defeat, the Liberals withdrew +from the field, by concerted action, on the day of the election, and the +Moderates elected every one of their candidates. Naturally, a feeling of +bitter resentment was created, and there came, in the spring of 1906, +rumors of armed revolt. In August, an actual insurrection was begun. +Disgruntled political leaders gathered formidable bands in Pinar del Rio +and in Santa Clara provinces. President Palma became seriously alarmed, +even actually frightened. Through the United States Consul-General in +Havana, he sent urgent appeals to Washington for naval and military aid. +Mr. Taft, then Secretary of War, and Mr. Bacon, the Assistant Secretary of +State, were sent to Havana to investigate and report on the situation. They +arrived in Havana on September 19. After ten days of careful and thorough +study, and earnest effort to effect an adjustment, a proclamation was +issued declaring the creation of a provisional government. This was +accepted by both parties and the insurgent bands dispersed. Charles E. +Magoon was sent down as Provisional Governor. Americans who are disposed to +censure the Cubans for this experience in their history, may perhaps turn +with profit to some little experiences in the history of their own country +in its political infancy, in 1786 and 1794. Those incidents do not relieve +the Cubans of the censure to which they are open, but they make it a +little difficult for us to condemn them with proper grace and dignity. The +provisional government continued until January 28, 1909, when control was +turned over to the duly elected officials, they being the same who withdrew +from the polls, acknowledging defeat, in the election of 1905. + + + + +X + +_INDEPENDENCE_ + + +Cuba's final movement for independence began on February 24, 1895. Under +the treaty of Zanjon, executed in 1878, Spain agreed to grant to the Cubans +such reforms as would remove their grounds of complaint, long continued. +The Cubans denied that the terms of the agreement had been kept. Those +terms are indicated in a statement submitted by Tomas Estrada y Palma to +Richard Olney, then Secretary of State of the United States. It bore the +date of December 7, 1895. The communication sets forth, from the Cuban +point of view, of course, the causes of the revolution of 1895. It says: + +"These causes are substantially the same as those of the former revolution, +lasting from 1868 to 1878, and terminating only on the representation of +the Spanish Government that Cuba would be granted such reforms as +would remove the grounds of complaint on the part of the Cuban people. +Unfortunately the hopes thus held out have never been realized. The +representation which was to be given the Cubans has proved to be absolutely +without character; taxes have been levied anew on everything conceivable; +the offices in the island have increased, but the officers are all +Spaniards; the native Cubans have been left with no public duties +whatsoever to perform, except the payment of taxes to the Government and +blackmail to the officials, without privilege even to move from place to +place in the island except on the permission of government authority. + +"Spain has framed laws so that the natives have substantially been deprived +of the right of suffrage. The taxes levied have been almost entirely +devoted to support the army and navy in Cuba, to pay interest on the debt +that Spain has saddled on the island, and to pay the salaries of the vast +number of Spanish office holders, devoting only $746,000 for internal +improvements out of the $26,000,000 collected by tax. No public schools are +in reach of the masses for their education. All the principal industries +of the island are hampered by excessive imposts. Her commerce with every +country but Spain has been crippled in every possible manner, as can +readily be seen by the frequent protests of shipowners and merchants. + +"The Cubans have no security of person or property. The judiciary are +instruments of the military authorities. Trial by military tribunals can be +ordered at any time at the will of the Captain-General. There is, besides, +no freedom of speech, press, or religion. In point of fact, the causes of +the Revolution of 1775 in this country were not nearly as grave as those +that have driven the Cuban people to the various insurrections which +culminated in the present revolution." + +Spain, of course, denied these charges, and asserted that the agreement had +been kept in good faith. The Spanish Government may have been technically +correct in its claim that all laws necessary to the fulfillment of its +promises had been enacted. But it seems entirely certain that they had not +been made effective. The conditions of the Cubans were in no way improved +and, some time before the outbreak, they began preparations for armed +resistance. In _Cuba and the Intervention_ (published in 1905) I have +already written an outline review of the experience of the revolution, and +I shall here make use of extracts from that volume. The notable leader +and instigator of the movement was José Marti, a patriot, a poet, and a +dreamer, but a man of action. He visited General Maximo Gomez at his home +in Santo Domingo, where that doughty old warrior had betaken himself after +the conclusion of the Ten Years' War. Gomez accepted the command of the +proposed army of Cuban liberation. Antonio Maceo also accepted a command. +He was a mulatto, an able and daring fighter, whose motives were perhaps a +compound of patriotism, hatred of Spain, and a love for the excitement of +warfare. Others whose names are written large in Cuba's history soon joined +the movement. A _junta_, or committee, was organized with headquarters in +New York. After the death of Marti, this was placed in charge of Tomas +Estrada y Palma, who afterward became the first President of the new +Republic. Its work was to raise funds, obtain and forward supplies and +ammunition, and to advance the cause in all possible ways. There were legal +battles to be fought by and through this organization, and Mr. Horatio S. +Rubens, a New York lawyer, was placed in charge of that department. The +twenty-fourth of February was set for the beginning of activities, but arms +were lacking, and while the movement was actually begun on that day, the +operations of the first six weeks or so were limited to numerous local +uprisings of little moment. But the local authorities became alarmed, and +martial law was proclaimed in Santa Clara and Matanzas provinces on the +27th. Spain became alarmed also, and immediately despatched General +Martinez Campos as Governor-General of the island, to succeed General +Calleja. He assumed command on April 16. Maceo and his associates, among +them his brother José, also a fighter of note, landed from Costa Rica +on April 1. Marti, Gomez, and others, reached the island on the 11th. +Meanwhile, Bartolomé Maso, an influential planter in Oriente, had been in +command of the forces in his vicinity. Many joined, and others stood ready +to join as soon as they could be equipped. Engagements with the Spanish +troops soon became a matter of daily occurrence, and Martinez Campos +realized that a formidable movement was on. Spain hurried thousands of +soldiers to the island. + +For the first five months, the insurgents kept their opponents busy with an +almost uninterrupted series of little engagements, a guerrilla warfare. In +one of these, on May 19, José Marti was killed. His death was a severe blow +to the patriots, but it served rather to inspire a greater activity than +to check the movement. His death came in the effort of a small band of +insurgents to pass the Spanish cordon designed to confine activities to +Oriente Province. Immediately after the death of Marti, Maximo Gomez +crossed that barrier and organized an army in Camaguey. The first +engagement properly to be regarded as a battle occurred at Peralejo, near +Bayamo, in Oriente, about the middle of July. The respective leaders were +Antonio Maceo and General Martinez Campos, in person. The victory fell to +Maceo, and Martinez Campos barely eluded capture. The engagements of the +Ten Years' War were confined to the then sparsely settled eastern half of +the island. Those of the revolution of 1895 covered the greater part of the +island, sweeping gradually but steadily from east to west. During my first +visit to Cuba, I was frequently puzzled by references to "the invasion." +"What invasion?" I asked, "Who invaded the country?" I found that it meant +the westward sweep of the liberating army under Gomez and Maceo. It +covered a period of more than two years of frequent fighting and general +destruction of property. Early in the operations Gomez issued the following +proclamation: + + +GENERAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION + +Najasa, Camaguey, July 1, 1895. + +To THE PLANTERS AND OWNERS OF CATTLE RANCHES: + +_In accord with the great interests of the revolution for the independence +of the country, and for which we are in arms_: + +WHEREAS, _all exploitations of any product whatsoever are aids and +resources to the Government that we are fighting, it is resolved by the +general-in-chief to issue this general order throughout the island, that +the introduction of articles of commerce, as well as beef and cattle, +into the towns occupied by the enemy, is absolutely prohibited. The sugar +plantations will stop their labors, and those who shall attempt to grind +the crop notwithstanding this order, will have their cane burned and their +buildings demolished. The person who, disobeying this order, shall try to +profit from the present situation of affairs, will show by his conduct +little respect for the rights of the revolution of redemption, and +therefore shall be considered as an enemy, treated as a traitor, and tried +as such in case of his capture_. + + (_Signed_) MAXIMO GOMEZ, + The General-in-Chief. + +This proved only partially effective, and it was followed by a circular to +commanding officers, a few months later, reading thus: + + +HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION + +Territory of Sancti Spiritus, November 6, 1895. + +_Animated by the spirit of unchangeable resolution in defence of the rights +of the revolution of redemption of this country of colonists, humiliated +and despised by Spain, and in harmony with what has been decreed concerning +the subject in the circular dated the 1st of July, I have ordered the +following_: + +ARTICLE I. _That all plantations shall be totally destroyed, their cane and +outbuildings burned, and railroad connections destroyed_. + +ARTICLE II. _All laborers who shall aid the sugar factories--these sources +of supplies that we must deprive the enemy of--shall be considered as +traitors to their country_. + +ARTICLE III. _All who are caught in the act, or whose violation of Article +II shall be proven, shall be shot. Let all chiefs of operations of the army +of liberty comply with this order, determined to furl triumphantly, even +over ruin and ashes, the flag of the Republic of Cuba_. + +_In regard to the manner of waging the war, follow the private instructions +that I have already given_. + +_For the sake of the honor of our arms and your well-known courage and +patriotism, it is expected that you will strictly comply with the above +orders_. + + _(Signed)_ MAXIMO GOMEZ, + General-in-Chief. + +To peace-loving souls, all this sounds very brutal, but all war is brutal +and barbarous. In our strife in the Philippines, from 1899 to 1902, many of +us were proud to be told that we were conducting a "humane war." There is +no such thing. The very terms are contradictory. Gomez had declared that +if Spain would not give up Cuba to the Cubans, the Cubans would themselves +render the island so worthless and desolate a possession that Spain could +not afford to hold it. Short of further submission to a rule that was, very +rightly, regarded as no longer endurable, no other course was open to them. +Another proclamation appeared a few days later. + + + HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF + LIBERATION + + Sancti Spiritus, November 11 1895. + +To HONEST MEN, VICTIMS OF THE TORCH: + +_The painful measure made necessary by the revolution of redemption +drenched in innocent blood from Hatuey to our own times by cruel and +merciless Spain will plunge you in misery. As general-in-chief of the army +of liberation, it is my duty to lead it to victory, without permitting +myself to be restrained or terrified, by any means necessary to place Cuba +in the shortest time in possession of her dearest ideal. I therefore place +the responsibility for so great a ruin on those who look on impassively and +force us to those extreme measures which they then condemn like dolts and +hypocrites as they are. After so many years of supplication, humiliation, +contumely, banishment, and death, when this people, of its own will, has +arisen in arms, there remains no solution but to triumph, it matters not +what means are employed to accomplish it_. + +_This people cannot hesitate between the wealth of Spain and the liberty +of Cuba. Its greatest crime would be to stain the land with blood without +effecting its purposes because of puerile scruples and fears which do not +concur with the character of the men who are in the field, challenging the +fury of an army which is one of the bravest in the world, but which in this +war is without enthusiasm or faith, ill-fed and unpaid. The war did not +begin February 24; it is about to begin now_. + +_The war had to be organized; it was necessary to calm and lead into +the proper channels the revolutionary spirit always exaggerated in the +beginning by wild enthusiasm. The struggle ought to begin in obedience to a +plan and method more or less studied, as the result of the peculiarities of +this war. This has already been done. Let Spain now send her soldiers to +rivet the chains on her slaves; the children of this land are in the field, +armed with the weapons of liberty. The struggle will be terrible, but +success will crown the revolution and the efforts of the oppressed_. + +(_Signed_) MAXIMO GOMEZ, +General-in-Chief. + +Such an address doubtless savors of bombast to many Americans, but in the +history of political and military oratory in their own land they can find +an endless number of speeches that, in that particular quality, rival if +they do not surpass it. The Cuban situation was desperate, and the Cuban +attitude was one of fixed determination. Productive industry was generally +suppressed, and much property was destroyed, by both Cubans and Spaniards. +This necessarily threw many out of employment, and drove them into the +insurgent ranks. The Cubans are a peaceful people. All desired relief from +oppressive conditions, but many did not want war. While many entered the +army from patriotic motives, many others were brought into it only as a +consequence of conditions created by the conflict. The measures adopted +were severe, but decision of the contest by pitched battles was quite +impossible. The quoted figures are somewhat unreliable, but the Spanish +forces outnumbered the Cubans by at least five to one, and they could +obtain freely the supplies and ammunition that the Cubans could obtain only +by filibustering expeditions. The Cubans, therefore, adopted a policy, the +only policy that afforded promise of success. Spain poured in fresh troops +until, by the close of 1895, its army is reported as numbering 200,000 men. + +The Cubans carried the contest westward from Oriente and Camaguey, through +Santa Clara, and into the provinces of Matanzas, Havana, and Pinar del Rio. + +[Illustration: ALONG THE HARBOR WALL _Havana_] + +The _trocha_ across the island, from Jucaro on the south to Moron on the +north, originally constructed during the Ten Years' War, was a line of +blockhouses, connected by barbed wire tangles, along a railway. This +obstructed but did not stop the Cuban advance. The authorities declared +martial law in the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Rio on January 2, +1896. Gomez advanced to Marianao, at Havana's very door, and that city was +terrified. Maceo was operating immediately beyond him in Pinar del Rio, +through the most important part of which he swept with torch and machete. +The Spaniards built a _trocha_ there from Mariel southward. Maceo crossed +it and continued his work of destruction, in which large numbers of the +people of the region joined. He burned and destroyed Spanish property; +the Spaniards, in retaliation, burned and destroyed property belonging to +Cubans. Along the highway from Marianao to Guanajay, out of many stately +country residences, only one was left standing. Villages were destroyed and +hamlets were wrecked. On one of his expeditions in December, 1896, Maceo +was killed near Punta Brava, within fifteen miles of Havana. Gomez planned +this westward sweep, from Oriente, six hundred miles away, but to Antonio +Maceo belongs a large part of the credit for its execution. The weakness of +the Ten Years' War was that it did not extend beyond the thinly populated +region of the east; Gomez and Maceo carried their war to the very gates of +the Spanish strongholds. There were occasional conflicts that might well be +called battles, but much of it was carried on by the Cubans by sudden and +unexpected dashes into Spanish camps or moving columns, brief but sometimes +bloody encounters from which the attacking force melted away after +inflicting such damage as it could. Guerrilla warfare is not perhaps a +respectable method of fighting. It involves much of what is commonly +regarded as outlawry, of pillage and of plunder, of destruction and +devastation. These results become respectable only when attained through +conventional processes, and are in some way supposed to be ennobled by +those processes. But they sometimes become the only means by which the weak +can meet the strong. Such they seemed to be in the Cuban revolt against +the Spaniards, when Maximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo made guerrilla warfare +almost a military science. Gomez formulated his plan of campaign, but, with +the means at his disposal, its successful execution was possible only by +the methods adopted. At all events, it succeeded. The Cubans were not +strong enough to drive Spain out of the island by force of arms, but they +showed themselves unconquerable by the Spanish troops. They had once +carried on a war for ten years in a limited area; by the methods adopted, +they could repeat that experience practically throughout the island. They +could at least keep insurrection alive until Spain should yield to their +terms, or until the United States should be compelled to intervene. No +great movements, but constant irritation, and the suspension of all +industry, was the policy adopted and pursued for the year 1897. + +But there was another side to it all, a different line of activity. +Immediately after his arrival on the island, on April 11, 1895, Marti +had issued a call for the selection of representatives to form a civil +government. He was killed before this was effected. An assembly met, at +Jimaguayu, in Camaguey, on September 13, 1895. It consisted of twenty +members, representing nearly all parts of the island. Its purpose was the +organization of a Cuban Republic. On the 16th, it adopted a Constitution +and, on the 18th, elected, as President, Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, and +as Vice-President, Bartolomé Maso. Secretaries and sub-secretaries were +duly chosen, and all were formally installed. Maximo Gomez was officially +appointed as General-in-Chief of the army, with Antonio Maceo as Lieutenant +General. Tomas Estrada y Palma was chosen as delegate plenipotentiary +and general agent abroad, with headquarters in New York. Both civil and +military organizations were, for a time, crude and somewhat incoherent. It +could not be otherwise. They were engaged in a movement that could only +succeed by success. Arms and money were lacking. The civil government was +desirable in a field that the military arm could not cover. Action lay with +the military and with the Cuban Junta in the United States. The latter +organization immediately became active. Calls were made for financial +assistance and liberal responses were made, chiefly by Cubans. In 1896 +and 1897, bonds were issued and sold, or were exchanged for supplies and +munitions of war. For a number of years scandalous stories were afloat +declaring that these bonds were printed by the acre, and issued, purely for +speculative purposes, to the extent of millions upon millions of dollars. +The truth is that every bond printed, whether issued or unissued, has been +fully accounted for, the actual issue being about $2,200,000. Provision was +made in Cuba's Constitution for the recognition of this indebtedness, and +it has since been discharged, while the plates and the unused bonds have +been destroyed. There may have been speculation in the bonds, as there was +in the bonds issued by the United States during the Civil War, but Cuba's +conduct in the whole matter has been honest and most honorable. In that +matter certainly, its detractors have been confounded. The principal +difficulty encountered by the _junta_ was the despatch to Cuba of the men +and the munitions so greatly needed by those in the field. That, however, +is a story that I shall endeavor to tell, in part, in another chapter. It +cannot now, if ever, be told in full. + +Meanwhile, a complicated political situation developed. The story is too +long and too complicated for review in detail. It may be given in general +outline. The Peace of 1878 was followed by the organization of political +parties, the Liberal and the Union Constitutional. At first, there was +comparatively little difference in the essence of their respective +platforms, but the lines diverged as the situation developed. The Liberal +party became, and remained, the Cuban party, and the Union Constitutional +became the Spanish party. Later on, the Liberals became the Autonomists. +Their object, for twenty years, was reform in conditions under the rule of +Spain. There was no independence party. That was organized, in 1895, by +Marti, Gomez, Maceo, Maso, and their associates. It had only one plank in +its platform--_Cuba Libre y Independiente_--whatever the cost to the island +and its people. "The Autonomist group," says Mr. Pepper, in his _Tomorrow +in Cuba_, "became as much a political party as it could become under +Spanish institutions." It grew in strength and influence, and continued its +agitation persistently and stubbornly. The Spanish Cortes busied itself +with discussion of Cuban affairs, but reached no conclusions, produced no +results. In 1893, there came the definite organization of the Reformist +party, with aims not differing greatly from those of the _Autonomistas_. +But Spain delayed until Marti and his followers struck their blow. Official +efforts to placate them failed utterly, as did efforts to intimidate them +or to conquer them. The Autonomists declared their support of the existing +Government, and rebuked the insurgents in a _manifesto_ issued on April 4, +1895, six weeks after the outbreak. They only succeeded in antagonizing +both sides, the Spanish authorities and the revolutionists. Spain, greatly +alarmed, recalled Martinez Campos and sent out Weyler to succeed him. +Had Spain followed the advice of Martinez Campos, the failure of the +insurrection would have been little short of certain. It sent out Weyler, +on whom the Cubans, twenty years earlier, had conferred the title of +"Butcher." This step threw to the side of the insurgents the great mass +of the middle class Cubans who had previously wavered in uncertainty, +questioning the success of revolution while adhering to its general +object. Weyler instituted the brutal policy that came to be known as +reconcentration. It may be said, in a way, that the Cuban forces themselves +instituted this policy. To clear the country in which they were operating, +they had ordered all Spaniards and Spanish sympathizers to betake +themselves to the cities and towns occupied by Spanish garrisons. This was +inconvenient for its victims, but its purpose was humane. Gomez also sought +to concentrate the Cubans, particularly the women and children, in the +recesses of the hills where they would be less exposed to danger than they +would be in their homes. This also was a humane purpose. + +Weyler's application of this policy was utterly brutal. The people of the +country were herded in prison camps, in settlements surrounded by stockades +or trenches beyond which they might not pass. No provision was made for +their food or maintenance. The victims were non-combatants, women, and +children. In his message of December, 1897, President McKinley said of +this system, as applied by Weyler, "It was not civilized warfare; it was +extermination. The only peace it could beget was that of the wilderness +and the grave." In my experience as a campaign correspondent in several +conflicts, I have necessarily seen more or less of gruesome sights, +the result of disease and wounds, but I have seen nothing in any way +comparable, in horror and pitifulness, to the victims of this abominable +system. To describe their condition in detail would be little short of +offensive, those groups of hopeless, helpless sufferers who lingered only +until death came and kindly put them out of their misery and pain. But by +this time, two forces had come into active operation, dire alarm in Spain +and wrath and indignation in the United States. Weyler had failed as +Martinez Campos, when leaving the island, predicted. He was recalled, and +was succeeded, on October 31, 1897, by General Blanco. The new incumbent +tried conciliation, but it failed. The work had gone too far. The party in +the field had become the dominant party, not to be suppressed either by +force of arms or by promises of political and economic reform. At last, +Spain yielded. Outside pressure on Madrid, chiefly from the United States, +prevailed. A scheme for Cuban autonomy was devised and, on January 1, +1898, was put into effect. But it came too late. It was welcomed by many +non-participants in the war, and a form of government was organized under +it. But the party then dominant, the army in the field, distrusted the +arrangement and would have none of it. All overtures were rejected and +the struggle continued. On February 15, 1898, came the disaster to the +battleship _Maine_, in the harbor of Havana. On April 11th, President +McKinley's historic message went to Congress, declaring that "the only hope +of relief and repose from a condition which can no longer be endured is the +enforced pacification of Cuba," and asking for power and authority to use +the military and naval forces of the United States to effect a termination +of the strife in Cuba. Such, in the briefest possible outline, is the +record of this eventful period, eventful alike for Cuba and for the United +States. + +During this struggle, the people of the United States became deeply +interested in the affairs of the island, and the Administration in +Washington became gravely concerned by them. A preceding chapter, on the +United States and Cuba, dropped the matter of the relations of this country +to the island at the end of the Ten Years' War, but the relations were by +no means dropped, nor were they even suspended. The affairs of the island +appear again and again in diplomatic correspondence and in presidential +messages. The platform of the Republican party, adopted at the national +convention in St. Louis, on June 18, 1896, contained the following: "From +the hour of achieving their own independence, the people of the United +States have regarded with sympathy the struggles of other American peoples +to free themselves from European domination. We watch with deep and abiding +interest the heroic battle of the Cuban patriots against cruelty and +oppression, and our best hopes go out for the full success of their +determined contest for liberty. The Government of Spain having lost control +of Cuba and being unable to protect the property or lives of resident +American citizens, or to comply with its treaty obligations, we believe +that the Government of the United States should actively use its influence +and good offices to restore peace and give independence to the island." +The Democratic party platform of the same year stated that "we extend our +sympathy to the people of Cuba in their heroic struggle for liberty and +independence." The platform of the People's party likewise expressed +sympathy, and declared the belief that the time had come when "the United +States should recognize that Cuba is and of right ought to be a free and +independent State." This may be regarded as the almost unanimous opinion of +the people of this country at that time. In 1896 and 1897 many resolutions +were introduced in the Congress urging action for the recognition of Cuban +independence. There was frequent and prolonged debate on the question, but +no final action was taken. In his message of December, 1897, President +McKinley said: "Of the untried measures (regarding Cuba) there remain +only: Recognition of the insurgents as belligerents; recognition of the +independence of Cuba; neutral intervention to end the war by imposing a +rational compromise between the contestants; and intervention in favor of +one or the other party. I speak not of forcible annexation, for that +cannot be thought of. That, by our code of morality, would be criminal +aggression." + +[Illustration: COUNTRY ROAD _Havana Province_] + +Recognition of the Cubans as belligerents would have effected a radical +change in the situation. It would have given the Cubans the right to buy in +the American market the arms and supplies that they could then only obtain +surreptitiously, that they could only ship by "filibustering expeditions," +by blockade-runners. In law, the propriety of granting belligerent rights +depends upon the establishment of certain facts, upon the proof of the +existence of certain conditions. Those conditions did then exist in Cuba. +An unanswerable argument was submitted by Horatio S. Rubens, Esq., the +able counsel of the Cuban _junta_ in New York. The Cubans never asked for +intervention by the United States; they did, with full justification, ask +for recognition as belligerents. The consent of this country was deemed +inexpedient on political rather than on moral grounds. Had it suited the +purposes of this country to grant that right, very much the same arguments +would have been made in support of the course as those that were used to +support the denial of Cuba's requests. Recognition of Cuban independence, +or intervention in favor of the Cubans, would have been the equivalent of +the grant of belligerent rights. But the policy adopted, and the course +pursued, did not serve to avert war with Spain. The story of that war has +been written by many, and is not for inclusion here. The treaty of peace +was signed, in Paris, on December 10, 1898, duly ratified by both parties +in the following months, and was finally proclaimed on April 11, 1899. The +war was over, but its definite termination was officially declared on the +anniversary of the issuance of President McKinley's war message. On January +1, 1899, the American flag was hoisted throughout the island, as a signal +of full authority, but subject to the provisions of the Teller Amendment to +the Joint Resolution of Congress, of April 20, 1898, thus: + +"That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to +exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said Island except +for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is +accomplished, to leave the government and control of the Island to its +people." + +At twelve o'clock, noon, on the 20th of May, 1902, there was gathered +in the State Apartment of the Palace occupied by many Spanish +Governors-General, the officials of the United States, the elected +officials of the new Cuban Republic, and a limited number of guests. In +that same apartment, General Castellanos signed the abdication of Spanish +authority. In its turn, pursuant to its pledges, the United States +transferred authority to the President of the Cuban Republic. Four +centuries of subjection, and a century of protest and struggle, were there +and then ended, and Cuba joined the sisterhood of independent nations. + + + + +XI + +_FILIBUSTERING_ + + +The term "filibuster" affords an interesting example of the way in which +words and their uses become twisted into something altogether different +from their original meaning. It comes from a Dutch word, several centuries +old, _vrijbuiter_, or free vessel or boat. It got somehow into English as +"freebooter," and into Spanish as _filibustero_. The original referred +to piracy. Two or three centuries later, it meant an engagement in +unauthorized and illegal warfare against foreign States, in effect, +piratical invasions. In time, it came into use to describe the supply +of military material to revolutionists, and finally to obstruction in +legislative proceedings. In his message of June 13, 1870, President Grant +said that "the duty of opposition to filibustering has been admitted by +every President. Washington encountered the efforts of Genet and the French +revolutionists; John Adams, the projects of Miranda; Jefferson, the schemes +of Aaron Burr. Madison and subsequent Presidents had to deal with the +question of foreign enlistment and equipment in the United States, and +since the days of John Quincy Adams it has been one of the constant cares +of the Government in the United States to prevent piratical expeditions +against the feeble Spanish American Republics from leaving our shores." + +In 1806, Francisco Miranda, a Venezuelan patriot whose revolutionary +activities preceded those of Simon Bolivar, sailed from New York on what +would have been called, some years later, a filibustering expedition. His +three vessels were manned chiefly by Americans. There are always those +whose love of excitement and adventure, sometimes mixed with an active +sympathy for an under dog, leads them to engage in such an enterprise. This +one was productive of no important results. There were plenty of American +pirates and privateers in earlier days, but I have found no record of any +earlier actual expedition whose purpose was the creation of a new republic. +But during the next hundred years, including the considerable number +of Americans who have engaged in the present disorder in Mexico, such +enterprises have been numerous. Among the most notable are the several +Lopez expeditions to Cuba, about 1850, and the Walker expeditions to +Lower California, Nicaragua, and Honduras, a few years later. The steamer +_Virginius_, to which reference is made in another chapter, was engaged +in filibustering when she was captured, in 1873, and many of her crew and +passengers unlawfully executed, by Spanish authority, in Santiago. But that +was only one of many similar enterprises during the Ten Years' War in Cuba. +It is very doubtful if the war could have continued as it did without them. +During our own Civil War, we called such industries "blockade-running," but +it was all quite the same sort of thing. The Confederate army needed arms, +ammunition, medicine, and supplies of many kinds. On April 19, 1861, +President Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of the ports of the seceded States, +with a supplementary proclamation on the 27th that completed the line, and +thus tied the South hand and foot. In his _History of the United States_, +Elson notes that raw cotton could be bought in Southern ports for four +cents a pound while it was worth $2.50 a pound in Liverpool, and that a ton +of salt worth seven or eight dollars in Nassau, a few miles off the coast, +was worth $1700 in gold in Richmond before the close of the war, all +because of the blockade. + +There is, naturally, a lack of detail regarding the many expeditions, large +and small, of the Ten Years' War, but they began soon after the opening of +hostilities. In his _Diary_, Gideon Welles notes, under date of April 7, +1869, the prevalence of "rumors of illegal expeditions fitting out in our +country to aid the Cuban insurgents," and states that "our countrymen are +in sympathy with them." In December, of that year, President Grant reported +that a number of illegal expeditions had been broken up, but did not +refer to those that had succeeded. In October, 1870, he issued a general +proclamation, without specific reference to Cuba, warning all persons +against engagement in such expeditions. During the years of the war, +Spanish warships, at different times, seized American vessels, a proceeding +which led to some active diplomatic negotiation, and which, on several +occasions, threatened to involve this country in war with Spain. The +problem of the industry variously known as filibustering, blockade-running, +gun-running, and the shipment of contraband, has two ends. There is, first, +the task of getting the shipment out of one country, and, second, the task +of getting it into another country. While it is generally classed as an +unlawful enterprise, there frequently arises a difficulty in proving +violation of law, even when goods are seized and the participants arrested. +There is, perhaps, a moral question involved also. Such shipments may be a +violation of the law. They are generally so regarded. But they may be, +as in the case of the struggling Cubans, struggling against actual +and generally admitted wrongs, the only means of serving a worthy and +commendable end. There is no doubt that, in Cuba's revolution of 1895, +Americans who knew about the work were prone to regard a successful +expedition to the island with satisfaction if not with glee. They were +inclined to regard those engaged as worthy patriots rather than as +law-breakers. + +Under date of February 23, 1898, the House of Representatives requested +the Secretary of the Treasury to inform that body "at the earliest date +practicable, if not incompatible with the public service, what has been +done by the United States to prevent the conveyance to the Cubans +of articles produced in the United States, and what to prevent +'filibustering,' and with what results, giving particulars, and at what +expense to the United States." A reply was sent on the 28th. It makes a +very good showing for the activities of the officials responsible for the +prevention of such expeditions, but from all I can learn about the matter, +it is quite incomplete. There were a number of excursions not set down in +the official records. Sailing dates and time and place of arrival were not +advertised in the daily papers. + +The official statement shows that sixty reports of alleged filibustering +expeditions were brought to the attention of the Treasury Department; that +twenty-eight of them were frustrated through efforts of the Department; +that five were frustrated by the United States Navy; four by Spain; two +wrecked; one driven back by storm; one failed through a combination of +causes; and seventeen that may be regarded as successful expeditions. The +records of the Cuban _junta_ very materially increase the number in the +latter class. The despatch of these expeditions was a three-cornered battle +of wits. The groups engaged were the officials of the United States, the +representatives of Spain, and the agents of the revolution. The United +States employed the revenue service and the navy, aided on land by the +Customs Service, the Secret Service, and other Federal officers. The +official representatives of Spain employed scores of detectives and Spanish +spies. The Cuban group sought to outwit them all, and succeeded remarkably +well in doing so. A part of the story has been told, with general +correctness, in a little volume entitled _A Captain Unafraid_, described +as _The Strange Adventures of Dynamite Johnny O'Brien_. This man, really a +remarkable man in his special line, was born in New York, in 1837, and, at +the time this is written, is still living. He was born and grew to boyhood +in the shadow of the numerous shipyards then in active operation along the +East River. The yards were his playground. At thirteen years of age, he ran +away and went to see as cook on a fishing sloop. He admits that he could +not then "cook a pot of water without burning it," but claims that he +could catch cod-fish where no one else could find them. From fisherman, +sailing-master on private yachts, schooner captain, and officer in the +United States Navy in the Civil War, he became a licensed East River pilot +in New York. He became what might be called a professional filibuster +at the time of the revolution in Colombia, in 1885, following that with +similar experience in a revolt in Honduras two years later. The Cubans +landed a few expeditions in 1895, but a greater number were blocked. +In March, 1896, they applied to O'Brien and engaged him to command the +_Bermuda_, then lying in New York and ready to sail. Captain O'Brien +reports that her cargo included "2,500 rifles, a 12-pounder Hotchkiss +field-gun, 1,500 revolvers, 200 short carbines, 1000 pounds of dynamite, +1,200 _machetes_, and an abundance of ammunition." All was packed in boxes +marked "codfish," and "medicines." + +The _Bermuda_ sailed the next morning, March 15, with O'Brien in command, +cleared for Vera Cruz. The Cubans, including General Calixto Garcia, who +were to go on the expedition, were sent to Atlantic City, there to engage a +fishing sloop to take them off-shore where they would be picked up by the +_Bermuda_ on her way. The ship was under suspicion, and was followed down +the bay by tugboats carrying United States marshals, customs officers, and +newspaper reporters. O'Brien says: "They hung on to us down through the +lower bay and out past Sandy Hook, without getting enough to pay for a +pound of the coal they were furiously burning to keep up with us. I don't +know how far they might have followed us, but when we were well clear of +the Hook, a kind fortune sent along a blinding snow-storm, which soon +chased them back home." General Garcia and his companions were picked up as +planned, and that part of the enterprise was completed. The vessel was +on its way. A somewhat roundabout route was taken in order to avoid any +possible overhauling by naval or revenue ships. The point selected for the +landing was a little harbor on the north coast about thirty miles from the +eastern end of the island. The party included two Cuban pilots, supposed to +know the coast where they were to land. One of them proved to be a traitor +and the other, O'Brien says, "was at best an ignoramus." The traitor, who, +after the landing, paid for his offence with his life, tried to take them +into the harbor of Baracoa, where lay five Spanish warships. But O'Brien +knew the difference, as shown by his official charts, between the Cape +Maisi light, visible for eighteen miles, and the Baracoa light, visible +for only eight miles, and kicked the pilot off the bridge. The landing was +begun at half-past ten at night, and completed about three o'clock in the +morning, with five Spanish warships barely more than five miles away. The +United States Treasury Department reported this expedition as "successful." +The vessel then proceeded to Honduras, where it took on a cargo of bananas, +and returned, under orders, to Philadelphia, the home city of its owner, +Mr. John D. Hart. Arrests were made soon after the arrival, including Hart, +the owner of the vessel, O'Brien, and his mate, and General Emilio Nuñez +who accompanied the expedition as the representative of the _junta_. The +case was transferred from the courts in Philadelphia to New York, and there +duly heard. The alleged offenders were defended by Horatio Rubens, Esq., of +New York, the official counsel of the _junta_. One of the grounds of the +defence was that the defendants might be guilty of smuggling arms into +Cuba, but with that offence the courts of the United States had nothing to +do. The jury disagreed. The indictments were held over the heads of the +members of the group, but no further action was taken, and two or three +years later the case was dismissed by order of the Attorney General of the +United States. + +This expedition fairly illustrates the science of filibustering in its +elementary form, a clearance with some attendant risk; a voyage with +possibility of interference at any time; and a landing made with still +greater risk and danger of capture. The trip had been made so successfully +and with such full satisfaction to the promoters that the _junta_ urged +O'Brien to remain with them as long as there should be need for his +services, and he agreed to do so. A department of expeditions was organized +under the general control of Emilio Nuñez, with O'Brien as navigator. +Credit for the numerous successful expeditions that followed lies in +differing degrees with Nuñez, Palma, Rubens, O'Brien, Hart, Cartaya, and +others less well known in connection with the enterprises. But for the work +they did, the risks they ran, Cuba's revolution must have failed. All of +them risked jail sentences, and some of them risked their lives in ways +perhaps even more dangerous than fighting in the field. The success of the +_Bermuda_ expedition, carried out by what may be called direct evasion, +quite seriously disturbed the authorities in this country, and excited them +to greater precautions and wider activity. Whatever may have been their +personal feelings in the matter, it was their duty to see that the laws of +the country were enforced as far as they could be. The players of the game +for the Cubans met the new activities with complicated moves, many of +which puzzled the watching officials, and landed a number of expeditions. +Meanwhile, minor expeditions continued. The official report notes that on +March 12, 1896, the _Commodore_, a 100-ton steamer, sailed from Charleston +with men, arms, and ammunition, and landed them in Cuba. The _Laurada_, a +900-ton steamer, was reported by the Spanish Legation as having sailed on +May 9, meeting three tugs and two lighters, off the coast, from which were +transferred men and arms. The report states that "some of the men landed in +Cuba, but the larger part of the arms and ammunition was thrown into the +sea," which may or may not have been the case. On May 23, the tug _Three +Friends_ left Jacksonville, took on men and arms from two small vessels +waiting outside, and landed all in Cuba. A month later, and again two +months later, the _Three Friends_ repeated the trip from Florida ports. On +June 17, the _Commodore_ made another successful trip from Charleston. + +While these and other minor expeditions were going on, the department of +expeditions in New York was busy with a more extensive enterprise. An order +was placed for 3000 rifles, 3,000,000 rounds of ammunition, 3 12-pound +Hotchkiss field-guns and 600 shells, _machetes_, and several tons of +dynamite. The steamer _Laurada_ was chartered, and the ocean-going tug +_Dauntless_ was bought in Brunswick, Georgia. A part of the purchased +munitions was ordered to New York, and the remainder, two car loads, +shipped to Jacksonville by express. Ostensibly, the _Laurada_ was to sail +from Philadelphia to Jamaica for a cargo of fruit, a business in which +she had at times engaged. Her actual instructions were to proceed to the +vicinity of Barnegat, about forty miles from New York, and there, at sea, +await orders. The arms and ammunition came down from Bridgeport on the +regular boat from that city, and were left on board until night. There was +no particular secrecy about the shipment, and detectives followed it. But +when, at dark, the big gates of the dock were closed and locked and all +seemed over for the day, the watchers assumed that nothing would be done +until the next day, and went away. But, immediately after their departure, +a big lighter slipped quietly into the dock across the wharf from the +Bridgeport boat, a swarm of men appeared and, behind the closed gates, in +the semi-darkness of the wharf, rushed boxes from steamer to lighter. The +work was finished at midnight; a tug slipped up and attached a hawser to +the lighter; and the cargo was on its way to Cuba. Johnny O'Brien was on +the tug. The _Laurada_ was met off Barnegat, as arranged, and the cargo and +about fifty Cubans put on board of her. She was ordered to proceed slowly +to Navassa Island where the _Dauntless_ would meet her. General Nuñez and +O'Brien returned to New York on the tug, and while the detectives suspected +that something had been done, they had no clue whatever to guide them. +Nuñez and O'Brien started immediately for Charleston, with detectives at +their heels. The _Commodore_, a tug then owned by the Cubans, lay in the +harbor of that city, with a revenue cutter standing guard over her. She was +ordered to get up steam and to go through all the motions of an immediate +departure. But this was a ruse to draw attention away from the actual +operations. Rubens, meanwhile, had gone to Jacksonville where he busied +himself in convincing the authorities that the tug _Three Friends_ was +about to get away with an expedition. With one revenue cutter watching the +_Commodore_ in Charleston, the other cutter in the neighborhood was engaged +in watching the _Three Friends_ in Jacksonville, thus leaving a clear coast +between those cities. In Charleston were about seventy-five Cubans waiting +a chance to get to the island. O'Brien states that about twenty-five +detectives were following their party. Late in the afternoon of August +13, while the smoke was pouring from the funnels of the _Commodore_, the +regular south-bound train pulled out of the city. Its rear car was a +reserved coach carrying the Cuban party, numbering a hundred or so. +Detectives tried to enter, but were told that it was a private car, which +it was. They went along in the forward cars. At ten o'clock that night, the +train reached Callahan, where the Coast Line crossed the Seaboard Air Line. +While the train was halted for the crossing, that rear car was quietly +uncoupled. The train went on, detectives and all. The railroad arrangements +were effected through the invaluable assistance of Mr. Alphonso Fritot, a +local railway man whose authority enabled him to do with trains and train +movement whatever he saw fit. He was himself of Cuban birth, though of +French-American parentage, with ample reason, both personal and patriotic, +for serving his Cuban friends, and his services were beyond measure. By his +orders, when that train with its band of detectives had pulled away for +Jacksonville, an engine picked up the detached car and ran it over to the +Coast Line. A few miles away, it collected from a blind siding the two cars +of arms and ammunition shipped some days before, from Bridgeport. A little +further on, the line crossed the Satilla River. There lay the _Dauntless_, +purchased by Rubens. Steam was up, and a quick job was made of transferring +cargo and men from train to boat. Another tug brought a supply of coal, and +soon after sunrise another expedition was on its way to Cuba. All this may +be very immoral, but some who were on the expedition have told me that it +was at least tremendously exciting. + +On August 17, the passengers and cargo were landed on the Cuban coast near +Nuevitas. The tug then proceeded to Navassa Island to meet the _Laurada_. +Half of the men and half of the cargo of the steamer were transferred to +the tug, and all were safely landed in a little cove a few miles west of +Santiago. The landing was made in broad daylight. There were a number of +Spanish naval vessels in Santiago harbor, and the city itself was filled +with Spanish troops. The tug then returned for the remainder of the +_Laurada's_ passengers and cargo, all of which were landed a few days later +at the place of the earlier landing. The _Laurada_ went on to Jamaica and +loaded with bananas, with which she sailed for Charleston. Arrests were +made as a result of the expedition, and the owner of the ship, Mr. John D. +Hart, was convicted and sentenced to sixteen months in the penitentiary. +After serving four months of his term, a pardon was secured. He is said to +be the only one, out of all those engaged in the many expeditions, who was +actually convicted, and his only offence was the chartering of his ships +to the Cuban revolutionists. The _Dauntless_ was seized on her return to +Jacksonville, but was soon released. An effort was made to indict O'Brien, +but there was too much sympathy for the Cubans in Florida, where the effort +was made. A number of minor expeditions were carried out in the next few +months, by the _Dauntless_, the _Three Friends_, and the _Commodore_, the +latter being wrecked in the last week in December. + +In February, 1897, another complicated manoeuvre was successfully executed. +This involved the use of the _Bermuda_, the _Laurada_, and no less than +seven smaller auxilliary vessels, tugs, lighters, and schooners. Rut the +_Laurada_ landed the cargo on the north-eastern coast of the island. +As O'Brien tells the story, this successful expedition so angered +Captain-General Weyler, then the ruler of the island, that he sent a +message to the daring filibuster, through an American newspaper man, +somewhat as follows: "Tell O'Brien that we will get him, sooner or later, +and when we do, instead of having him shot along with his Cuban companions, +I am going to have him ignominiously hanged from the flag-pole at Cabaña, +in full view of the city." Cabaña is the old fortress across the bay, +visible from nearly all parts of Havana. To this, O'Brien sent reply +saying: "To show my contempt for you and all who take orders from you, I +will make a landing within plain sight of Havana on my next trip to Cuba. +I may even land an expedition inside of the harbor and take you away a +prisoner. If we should capture you, which is much more likely than that you +will ever capture me, I will have you chopped up into small pieces and fed +to the fires of the _Dauntless_." A few months later, this little Irishman, +whom Weyler denounced as a "bloodthirsty, dare-devil," and who may have +been a dare-devil but was not bloodthirsty, actually carried out a part of +this seemingly reckless threat. He landed a cargo within a mile and a half +of Morro Castle. + +By this time, vessels of the United States navy were employed, +supplementing the work of the Revenue Service. This, of course, added both +difficulty and danger to the work. In March and April, several expeditions +were interrupted. For the Spanish blockade of the Cuban coast, there was +only contempt. Captain O'Brien told a naval officer that if the navy and +the revenue cutters would let him alone he would "advertise the time and +place of departure, carry excursions on every trip, and guarantee that +every expedition would be landed on time." In May, 1897, two carloads of +arms and ammunition were shipped from New York to Jacksonville, but, by +the authority of Mr. Fritot, they were quietly dropped from the train at +a junction point, and sent to Wilmington, N.C. Their contents were +transferred to the tug _Alexander Jones_, and that boat proceeded +nonchalantly down the river. Soon afterward, an old schooner, the _John +D. Long_, loaded with coal, followed the tug. Two revenue cutters were on +hand, but there was nothing in the movements of these vessels to excite +their interest. Off shore, the tug attached a towline to the schooner that +was carrying its coal supply, its own bunkers being crammed with guns and +cartridges. Off Palm Beach, General Nuñez and some sixty Cubans were taken +from a fishing boat, according to a prearranged plan. Two days later, at an +agreed upon place, they were joined by the _Dauntless_ which had slipped +out of Jacksonville. The excursion was then complete. About half the cargo +of the _Jones_ was transferred to the _Dauntless_ and was landed, May 21, a +few miles east of Nuevitas. A second trip took the remainder of the cargo +of the _Jones_ and most of the Cuban passengers, and landed the lot under +the very guns, such as they were, of Morro Castle, and within about three +miles of the Palace of Captain-General Weyler. All that time, a force of +insurgents under Rodriguez and Aurenguren was operating in that immediate +vicinity, and was in great need of the supplies thus obtained. Some of the +dynamite then landed was used the next day to blow up a train on which +Weyler was supposed to be travelling, but in their haste the Cubans got one +train ahead of that carrying the official party. The row that Weyler made +about this landing will probably never be forgotten by the subordinates who +were the immediate victims of his rage. + +These are only a few of the many expeditions, successful and unsuccessful, +made during those three eventful years. The Treasury Department report of +February 28, 1898, gives seventeen successful operations. As a matter of +fact, more than forty landings were made, although in a few cases a single +expedition accounted for two, and in one or two instances for three +landings. The experiences run through the entire gamut of human emotions, +from absurdity to tragedy. The former is illustrated by the case of the +_Dauntless_ when she was held up by a vessel of the United States navy, and +boarded by one of the officers of the ship. He examined the tug from stem +to stern, sat on boxes of ammunition which seemed to him to be boxes of +sardines, stumbled over packages of rifles from which butts and muzzles +protruded; and failed utterly to find anything that could be regarded as +contraband. The mere fact that a vessel is engaged in transporting arms and +ammunition does not, of necessity, bring it within reach of the law. But +that particular vessel was a good deal more than under suspicion; it was +under the closest surveillance and open to the sharpest scrutiny. The +temporary myopia of that particular lieutenant of the United States navy +was no more than an outward and visible sign of a well-developed sense of +humor, and an indication of at least a personal sympathy for the Cubans +in their struggle. Tragedy is illustrated by the disaster to the steamer +_Tillie_. One day, late in January, 1898, this vessel, lying off the end +of Long Island, took on one of the largest cargoes ever started on a +filibustering expedition to Cuba. The cause is not known, but soon after +starting a leak developed, beyond the capacity of the pumps. A heavy +sea was running, and disaster was soon inevitable. The cargo was thrown +overboard to lighten the ship and the vessel was headed for the shore on +the chance that it might float until it could be beached. The water in the +ship increased rapidly, and extinguished the fires under the boilers; the +wind, blowing a high gale, swung into the northwest, thus driving the now +helpless hulk out to sea. Huge combing waves swept the decks from end to +end. O'Brien tells the story: "We looked in vain for another craft of any +kind, and by the middle of the afternoon it seemed as though it was all up +with us, for there was not much daylight left, and with her deck almost +awash it was impossible that the _Tillie_ should keep afloat all night. The +gale had swept us rapidly out to sea. The wind, which was filled with icy +needles, had kicked up a wild cross-sea, and it was more comfortable to go +down with the ship than even to think of trying to escape in the boats." At +last, when there seemed no longer any hope of rescue, the big five-masted +schooner _Governor Ames_ came plunging through the heaving seas, and, +by masterly seamanship and good fortune, backed by the heroism of her +commander and crew, succeeded in taking off all except four, who went down +with the ship. But the work went on. There is not space here to tell of the +several vessels whose names, through the engagement of the craft in these +enterprises, became as familiar to newspaper readers as are the names of +ocean liners today. A few months later, the United States Government +sent its ships and its men to help those who, for three hard years, had +struggled for national independence. + + + + +XII + +_THE STORY OF SUGAR_ + + +Chemically, sugar is a compound belonging to the group of carbohydrates, or +organic compounds of carbon with oxygen and hydrogen. The group includes +sugars, starches, gums, and celluloses. Sugar is a product of the vegetable +kingdom, of plants, trees, root crops, etc. It is found in and is +producible from many growths. As a laboratory process, it is obtainable +from many sources, but, commercially, it is derived from only two, the +sugar cane and the beet root. This statement, however, has a certain +limitation in that it omits such products as maple sugar, malt sugar, milk +sugar, and others having commercial or chemical uses on a limited scale. +But it is only with the crystallized sucrose, the familiar sugar of the +market and the household, that we are dealing here. The output of the other +sugars is measurable in hundreds or even thousands of pounds, but the +output of the sugar of commerce is measured in millions of tons. Long +experience proves that the desired substance is most readily, most +abundantly, and most cheaply, obtained from the juices of the plant +commonly known as sugar cane, and from the vegetable known as the sugar +beet. + +The mechanical processes employed in producing sugar from cane and from +beets, are practically the same. They are, broadly, the extraction or +expression of the juices, their clarification and evaporation, and +crystallization. These processes produce what is called "raw sugar," of +varying percentages of sucrose content. Following them, there comes, +for American uses, the process of refining, of removing the so-called +impurities and foreign substances, and the final production of sugar in +the shape of white crystals of different size, of sugar as powdered, cube, +loaf, or other form. In the case of cane sugar, this is usually a secondary +operation not conducted in the original mill. In the case of beet sugar, +production is not infrequently a continuous operation in the same mill, +from the beet root to the bagged or barrelled sugar ready for the market. +The final product from both cane and beet is practically the same. Pure +sugar is pure sugar, whatever its source. In the commercial production, on +large scale, there remains a small fraction of molasses or other harmless +substances, indistinguishable by sight, taste, or smell. With that fraction +removed and an absolute 100 per cent. secured, there would be no way +by which the particular origin could be determined. For all practical +purposes, the sugar of commerce, whether from cane or beet, is pure sugar. +It is doubtful if an adulterated sugar can be found in the United States, +notwithstanding the tales of the grocer who "sands" his sugar, and of the +producer who adds _terra alba_ or some other adulterant. In some countries +of Europe and elsewhere, there are sugars of inferior grades, of 85 or 90 +or more degrees of sugar purity, but they are known as such and are sold at +prices adjusted to their quality. Sugars of that class are obtainable +in this country, but they are wanted almost exclusively for particular +industrial purposes, for their glucose rather than their sucrose content. +The American household, whether the home of the rich or of the poor, +demands the well-known white sugar of established purity. + +There is still obtainable, in this country, but in limited quantity, a +sugar very pleasantly remembered by many who have reached or passed middle +age. It was variously known as "Muscovado" sugar, or as "plantation sugar," +sometimes as "coffee" or "coffee crushed." It was a sugar somewhat +sweeter to the taste than the white sugar, by reason of the presence of +a percentage of molasses. It was a superior sugar for certain kitchen +products, for pies, certain kinds of cake, etc. It has many times been +urged in Congress that the employment of what is known as the Dutch +Standard, now abolished, excluded this sugar from our market. This is not +at all the fact. The disappearance of the commodity is due solely to change +in the mechanical methods of sugar production. It would be quite impossible +to supply the world's sugar demand by the old "open kettle" process by +which that sugar was made. The quality of sugar is easily tested by any one +who has a spoonful of sugar and a glass of water. If the sugar dissolves +entirely, and dissolves without discoloring the water, it may be accepted +as a pure sugar. + +In his book on _The World's Cane Sugar Industry--Past and Present_, Mr. +H.C. Prinsen Geerligs, a recognized expert authority on the subject, gives +an elaborate history of the origin and development of the industry. His +chapters on those branches are much too long for inclusion in full, but the +following extracts tell the story in general outline. He states that the +probability that sugar cane originally came from India is very strong, "as +only the ancient literature of that country mentions sugar cane, while we +know for certain that it was conveyed (from there) to other countries by +travellers and sailors." The plant appears in Hindu mythology. A certain +prince expressed a desire to be translated to heaven during his lifetime, +but Indra, the monarch of the celestial regions, refused to admit him. A +famous Hindu hermit, Vishva Mitra, prepared a temporary paradise for the +prince, and for his use created the sugar cane as a heavenly food during +his occupation of the place. The abode was afterward demolished, but the +delectable plant, and a few other luxuries, were "spread all over the land +of mortals as a permanent memorial of Vishva Mitra's miraculous deeds." In +the time of Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) there appear tales of "a +reed growing in India which produced honey without the aid of bees." + +The early references are to sugar cane and not to cane sugar. While there +may have been earlier experiences, the history of sugar, as such, seems to +begin in the 7th century (A.D.). There is a story that the Chinese Emperor, +Tai Tsung (627-650 A.D.) sent people to Behar, in India, to learn the art +of sugar manufacture. The Arabs and the Egyptians soon learned how to +purify sugar by re-crystallization, and to manufacture sweetmeats from the +purified sugar. Marco Polo, who visited China during the last quarter of +the 13th Century, refers to "a great many sugar factories in South China, +where sugar could be freely bought at low prices." The Mohammedan records +of that period also show the manufacture, in India, of crystallized sugar +and candy. The area of production at that time covered, generally, the +entire Mediterranean coast. The crusaders found extensive plantations in +Tripoli, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Syria, and elsewhere. The plant is said to +have been introduced in Spain as early as the year 755. Its cultivation is +said to have been a flourishing industry there in the year 1150. Through +China, it was early extended to Japan, Formosa, and the Philippines. The +records of the 14th Century show the production and distribution of sugar +as an important commercial enterprise in the Mediterranean region. The +Portuguese discoveries of the 15th Century carried the plant to the Azores, +the Cape Verde islands, and to possessions in the Gulf of Guinea. The +Spaniards took it to the Western Hemisphere in the early years of the 16th +Century. The Portuguese took it to Brazil at about the same time. While a +Chinese traveller, visiting Java in 424, reports the cultivation of sugar +cane, it was not until more than twelve hundred years later that the +island, now an important source of sugar supply, began the production of +sugar as a commercial enterprise. By the end of the 18th Century there +was what might be called a sugar belt, girdling the globe and extending, +roughly, from thirty-five degrees north of the equator to thirty-five +degrees south of that line. It was then a product of many of the countries +within those limits. The supply of that time was obtained entirely from +cane. + +The early years of the 19th Century brought a new experience in the sugar +business. That was the production of sugar, in commercial quantities, +from beets. From that time until now, the commodity has been a political +shuttlecock, the object of government bounties and the subject of taxation. +In 1747, Herr Marggraf, of the Academy of Sciences, in Berlin, discovered +the existence of crystallizable sugar in the juice of the beet and other +roots. No practical use was made of the discovery until 1801 when a factory +was established near Breslau, in Silesia. The European beet-sugar industry, +that has since attained enormous proportions, had its actual beginning in +the early years of the 19th Century. It was a result of the Napoleonic wars +of that period. When the wars were ended, and the blockades raised, the +industry was continued in France by the aid of premiums, differentials, and +practically prohibitory tariffs. The activities in other European countries +under similar conditions of governmental aid, came a little later. The +total world supply of sugar, including cane and beet, less than 1,500,000 +tons, even as recently as 1850, seems small in comparison with the world's +requirement of about twelve times that quantity at the present time. The +output of beet sugar was then only about 200,000 tons, as compared with a +present production of approximately 8,000,000 tons. But sugar was then a +costly luxury while it is today a cheaply supplied household necessity. As +recently as 1870, the wholesale price of granulated sugar in New York +was thirteen and a half cents a pound, or about three times the present +average. + +Cane sugar is produced in large or small quantities in some fifty +different countries and islands. In many, the output is only for domestic +consumption, or in quantity too small to warrant inclusion in the list of +sources of commercial supply. Sixteen countries are included in the list of +beet-sugar producers. Of these, all are in Europe with the exception of the +United States and Canada. Only two countries, the United States and +Spain, produce sugar from both beet and cane. British India leads in the +production of cane sugar, with Cuba a close second on the list, and Java +the third. In their total, these three countries supply about two-thirds +of the world's total output of cane sugar. Hawaii and Porto Rico, in that +order, stand next on the list of producers. Under normal conditions, +Germany leads in beet-sugar production, with Russia second, Austria-Hungary +third, France fourth, and the United States fifth, with Belgium, the +Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark following. The island of Cuba is +the most important source of commercial cane sugar. Immediately before +the revolution of 1895, its output a little exceeded a million tons. The +derangement caused by that experience covered several years, and it was not +until 1903 that so large a crop was again made. Since that time, the output +has more than doubled. The increase is attributable to the large increase +in demand in the United States, and to the advantage given Cuban sugar in +this market by the reciprocity treaty of 1903. Practically all of Cuba's +export product is in the class commonly known as 96 degree centrifugals, +that is, raw sugar of 96 per cent, or thereabout, of sugar content. Under +normal conditions, nearly all of Cuba's shipments are to the United States. +The sugar industry was introduced in Cuba very soon after the permanent +settlement of the island, by Spaniards, in the early years of the 16th +Century, but it was not until two hundred and fifty years later that +Spain's restrictive and oppressive colonial policy made even its fair +extension possible. In 1760, two and a half centuries after the first +settlement, the sugar exports of the island were a little less than 4,400 +tons. In 1790, they were a little more than 14,000 tons. Some relaxation of +the laws regulating production and exportation, made possible an increase +to 41,000 tons in 1802, and further relaxation made possible, in 1850, an +output somewhat unreliably reported as 223,000 tons. It reached 632,000 +tons in 1890, and the stimulus of the "free sugar" schedule of the United +States brought it, in the next few years, to more than a million tons. +Production in recent years has averaged about 2,500,000 tons. + +In forty years, only a little more than a single generation, the world's +supply of sugar has been multiplied by five, from a little more than three +million tons a year to nearly eighteen million tons. The total world output +in 1875 would not today supply the demand of the United States alone. +This increase in production has been made possible by improvements in the +methods and the machinery of manufacture. Until quite recently, primitive +methods were employed, much like those used in the production of maple +sugar on the farm, although on larger scale. More attention has been paid +to varieties of the plant and some, though no very great, change has been +made in field processes. In Cuba, the cane is planted in vast areas, in +thousands of acres. Some of the estates plant and cultivate their +own fields, and grind the cane in their own mills. Others, known as +"_colonos_," are planters only, the crop being sold to the mills commonly +called "_centrales_." In its general appearance, a field of sugar-cane +looks quite like a field of corn, but the method of cultivation is somewhat +different. The slow oxen are still commonly used for plowing and for +carts. This is not because of any lack of progressive spirit, but because +experience has shown that, under all conditions of the industry, the ox +makes the most satisfactory and economical motive power, notwithstanding +his lack of pace. + +The Encyclopædia describes sugar-cane as "a member of the grass family, +known botanically as _Saccbarum officinarum_. It is a tall, perennial +grass-like plant, giving off numerous erect stems 6 to 12 feet or more in +height, from a thick solid jointed root-stalk." The ground is plowed +in rows in which, not seed, but a stalk of cane is lightly buried. The +rootlets and the new cane spring from the joints of the planted stalk which +is laid flat and lengthwise of the row. It takes from a year to a year +and a half for the stalk to mature sufficiently for cutting and grinding. +Several cuttings, and sometimes many, are made from a single planting. +There are tales of fields on which cane has grown for forty years without +re-planting. A few years ago, ten or fifteen years was not an unusual +period. The present tendency is toward more frequent planting, but not +annual, as offering a better chance for stronger cane with a larger sugar +content. The whole process of cultivation and field treatment is hard, +heavy work, most of it very hard work. Probably the hardest and heaviest is +the cutting. This is done with a long, heavy-bladed knife, the _machete_. +The stalk, from an inch to two inches in thickness, is chopped down near +the root, the heavy knife swung with cut after cut, under a burning sun. +Only the strongest can stand it, a wearying, back-breaking task. After +cutting, the stalk is trimmed and loaded on carts to be hauled, according +to distance, either directly to the mill or to the railway running thereto. +The large estates have their own railway systems running to all the fields +of the plantation. These are private lines operated only for economy +in cane transportation. Most of the crushing mills measure their daily +consumption of cane in thousands of tons. While every precaution is taken, +there are occasional fires. In planting, wide "fire lanes," or uncultivated +strips are left to prevent the spread of fire if it occurs. + +Mill installations vary on the different plantations, but the general +principle of operation is the same on all. The first process is the +extraction of the juice that carries the sugar. It is probable that this +was originally done in hand mortars. Next came the passing of the cane +between wooden rollers turned by ox power, the rollers standing upright and +connected with a projecting shaft or beam to the outer end of which the +animal was attached, to plod around and around while the cane was fed +between the rollers. The present system is merely an expansion of that old +principle. At the mill, the stalks are dumped, by carload or by cartload, +into a channel through which they are mechanically conveyed to huge +rollers, placed horizontally, arranged in pairs or in sets of three, and +slowly turned by powerful engines. The larger mills have a series of these +rollers, two, three, or even four sets, the stalks passing from one to +another for the expression of every possible drop of the juice, up to the +point where the cost of juice extraction exceeds the value of the juice +obtained. The expressed juices are collected in troughs through which they +are run to the next operation. The crushed stalks, then known as _bagasse_, +are conveyed to the huge boilers where they are used as fuel for the +generation of the steam required in the various operations, from the +feeding and the turning of the rollers, to the device from which the final +product, the crystallized sugar, is poured into bags ready for shipment. +All this is a seasonal enterprise. The cane grows throughout the year, but +it begins to ripen in December. Then the mills start up and run until the +rains of the next May or June suspend further operations. It then becomes +impossible to haul the cane over the heavily mired roads from the muddy +fields. Usually, only a few mills begin their work in December, and early +June usually sees most of them shut down. The beginning of the rainy season +is not uniform, and there are mills in eastern Cuba that sometimes run into +July and even into August. But the general grinding season may be given as +of about five months duration, and busy months they are. The work goes on +night and day. + +The next step is the treatment of the juices expressed by the rollers and +collected in the troughs that carry it onward. The operations are highly +technical, and different methods are employed in different mills. The first +operation is one of purification. The juice, as it comes from the rollers, +carries such materials as glucose, salts, organic acids, and other +impurities, that must be removed. For this, lime is the principal agent. +The details of it all would be as tedious here as they are complicated +in the mill. The percentages of the different impurities vary with the +variation of the soils in which the cane is grown. The next step, following +clarification, is evaporation, the boiling out of a large percentage of +the water carried in the juice. For this purpose, a vacuum system is used, +making possible a more rapid evaporation with a smaller expenditure of +fuel. These two operations, clarification and evaporation by the use of the +vacuum, are merely improved methods for doing, on a large scale, what was +formerly done by boiling in pans or kettles, on a small scale. That method +is still used in many parts of the world, and even in the United States, in +a small way. For special reasons, it is still used on some of the Louisiana +plantations; it is common in the farm production of sorghum molasses in the +South; and in the manufacture of maple sugar in the North. In those places, +the juices are boiled in open pans or kettles, the impurities skimmed off +as they rise, and the boiling, for evaporation, is continued until a +proper consistency is reached, for molasses in the case of sorghum and for +crystallization in the case of plantation and maple sugars. There is an old +story of an erratic New England trader, in Newburyport, who called himself +Lord Timothy Dexter. In one of his shipments to the West Indies, a hundred +and fifty years ago, this picturesque individual included a consignment of +"warming pans," shallow metal basins with a cover and a long wooden handle, +used for warming beds on cold winter nights. The basin was filled with +coals from the fireplace, and then moved about between the sheets to take +off the chill. He was not a little ridiculed by his acquaintances for +sending such merchandise where it could not possibly be needed, but it is +said that he made considerable money out of his enterprise. With the covers +removed, the long-handled, shallow basins proved admirably adapted for use +in skimming the sugar in the boiling-pans. But the old-fashioned method +would be impossible today. + +The different operations are too complicated and too technical for more +than a reference to the purpose of the successive processes. Clarification +and evaporation having been completed, the next step is crystallization, +also a complicated operation. When this is done, there remains a dark brown +mass consisting of sugar crystals and molasses, and the next step is +the removal of all except a small percentage of the molasses. This +is accomplished by what are called the centrifugals, deep bowls with +perforated walls, whirled at two or three thousand revolutions a minute. +This expels the greater part of the molasses, and leaves a mass of +yellow-brown crystals, the coloring being due to the molasses remaining. +This is the raw sugar of commerce. Most of Cuba's raw product is classed +as "96 degree centrifugals," that is, the raw sugar, as it comes from the +centrifugal machines and is bagged for shipment, is of 96 degrees of sugar +purity. This is shipped to market, usually in full cargo lots. There it +goes to the refineries, where it is melted, clarified, evaporated, and +crystallized. This second clarification removes practically everything +except the pure crystallized sugar of the market and the table. It is then +an article of daily use in every household, and a subject of everlasting +debate in Congress. + + + + +XIII + +_VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES_ + + +The Encyclopædia Britannica states that "although the fact has been +controverted, there cannot be a doubt that the knowledge of tobacco and +its uses came to the rest of the world from America. As the continent was +opened up and explored, it became evident that the consumption of tobacco, +especially by smoking, was a universal and immemorial usage, in many cases +bound up with the most significant and solemn tribal ceremonials." The name +"tobacco" was originally the name of the appliance in which it was smoked +and not of the plant itself, just as the term "chowder" comes from the +vessel (_chaudière_) in which the compound was prepared. The tobacco plant +was first taken to Europe in 1558, by Francisco Fernandez, a physician who +had been sent to Mexico by Philip II to investigate the products of that +country. The English, however, appear to have been the first Europeans +to adopt the smoking habit, and Sir Walter Raleigh was notable for his +indulgence in the weed. He is said to have called for a solacing pipe just +before his execution. Very soon after their arrival, in 1607, the Virginia +settlers engaged in the cultivation of tobacco, and it soon became the most +important commercial product of the colony. Smoking, as practiced in this +country, appears to have been largely, and perhaps only, by means of pipes +generally similar to those now in use. The contents of ancient Indian +mounds, or tumuli, opened in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, show the +use of pipes by the aborigines probably centuries before the discoveries +by Columbus. Many were elaborately carved in porphyry or some other hard +stone, while others were made of baked clay. Others, many of them also +elaborately carved and ornamented, have been found in Mexico. Roman +antiquities show many pipes, but they do not show the use of tobacco. It +is assumed that they were used for burning incense, or for smoking some +aromatic herb or hemp. + +The first knowledge of the use of the plant in Cuba was in November, 1492, +when Columbus, on landing near Nuevitas, sent his messengers inland to +greet the supposed ruler of a supposed great Asiatic empire. Washington +Irving thus reports the story as it was told by Navarete, the Spanish +historian. Referring to those messengers, he says: "They beheld several of +the natives going about with firebrands in their hands, and certain dried +herbs which they rolled up in a leaf, and lighting one end, put the other +in their mouths, and continued exhaling and puffing out the smoke. A roll +of this kind they called a tobacco, a name since transferred to the plant +of which the rolls were made. The Spaniards, although prepared to meet with +wonders, were struck with astonishment at this singular and apparently +nauseous indulgence." A few years later, a different method was reported, +by Columbus, as employed in Hispaniola. This consisted of inhaling the +fumes of the leaf through a Y-shaped device applied to the nostrils. This +operation is said to have produced intoxication and stupefaction, which +appears to have been the desired result. The old name still continues +in Cuba, and if a smoker wants a cigar, he will get it by calling for a +"tobacco." The production of the plant is, next to sugar, Cuba's most +important commercial industry. Its early history is only imperfectly known. +There was probably very little commercial production during the 16th +Century, for the reason that there was then no demand for it. The demand +came in the first half of the 17th Century, and by the middle of that +period tobacco was known and used in practically all civilized countries. +The demand for it spread very rapidly, in spite of papal fulminations and +penal enactments. For a time, in Russia, the noses of smokers were cut off. +The early part of the 18th Century saw Cuba actively engaged in production +and shipment. In 1717, Cuba's tobacco was made a monopoly of the Spanish +Government. Under that system, production was regulated and prices were +fixed by the agents of the government, in utter disregard of the welfare +of the producers. As a result, several serious riots occurred. In 1723, +a large number of planters refused to accept the terms offered by the +officials, and destroyed the crops of those who did accept, a condition +repeated in the State of Kentucky a few years ago, the only difference +being that in the Cuban experience the monopolist was the Government, and +in Kentucky it was a corporation. A few years later, in 1734, the Cuban +monopoly was sold to Don José Tallapiedra who contracted to ship to Spain, +annually, three million pounds of tobacco. The contract was afterward given +to another, but control was resumed by the Crown, in 1760. Finally, in +1817, cultivation and trade were declared to be free, subject only to +taxation. + +[Illustration: STREET IN CAMAGUEY] + +In time, it became known that the choicest tobacco in the market came from +the western end of Cuba, from the Province of Pinar del Rio. It was given a +distinct name, _Vuelta Abajo_, a term variously translated but referring +to the downward bend of the section of the island in which that grade is +produced. Here is grown a tobacco that, thus far, has been impossible of +production elsewhere. Many experiments have been tried, in Cuba and in +other countries. Soils have been analyzed by chemists; seeds from the +_Vuelta Abajo_ have been planted; and localities have been sought where +climatic conditions corresponded. No success has been attained. Nor is the +crop of that region produced on an extensive scale, that is, the choicer +leaf. Not all of the tobacco is of the finest grade, although most of it is +of high quality. There are what may be called "patches" of ground, known +to the experts, on which the best is produced, for reasons not yet clearly +determined. The fact is well known, but the causes are somewhat mysterious. +Nor does the plant of this region appear to be susceptible of improvement +through any modern, scientific systems of cultivation. The quality +deteriorates rather than improves as a result of artificial fertilizers. +The people of the region, cultivating this special product through +generation after generation, seem to have developed a peculiar instinct for +its treatment. It is not impossible that a time may come when scientific +soil selection, seed selection, special cultivation, irrigation, and other +systems, singly or in combination, will make possible the production of a +standardized high-grade leaf in much greater quantity than heretofore, but +it seems little probable that anything so produced will excel or even equal +the best produced by these expert _vegueros_ by their indefinable but +thorough knowledge of the minutest peculiarities of this peculiar plant. +Thus far, it has not even been possible to produce it elsewhere in the +island. It has been tried outside of the fairly defined area of its +production, tried by men who knew it thoroughly within that area, tried +from the same seed, from soils that seem quite the same. But all failed. +Science may some day definitely locate the reasons, just as it may find the +reason for deterioration in the quality of Cuban tobacco eastward from that +area. The tobacco of Havana Province is excellent, but inferior to that of +Pinar del Rio. The growth of Santa Clara Province is of good quality, but +inferior to that of Havana Province, while the tobacco of eastern Cuba is +little short of an offence to a discriminating taste. + +Tobacco is grown from seeds, planted in specially prepared seed beds. +Seeding is begun in the early autumn. When the young plant has attained a +proper height, about eight or ten inches, it is removed to, and planted +in, the field of its final growth. This preliminary process demands skill, +knowledge, and careful attention equal, perhaps, to the requirements of the +later stages. Experiments have been made with mechanical appliances, but +most of the work is still done by hand, particularly in the area producing +the better qualities of leaf. From the time of transplanting, it is watched +with the greatest care. A constant battle is waged with weeds and insect +life, and water must be brought if the season is too dry. If rains are +excessive, as they sometimes are, the crop may be partly or wholly +destroyed, as it was in the autumn of 1914. The plant matures in January, +after four months of constant watchfulness and labor, in cultivation, +pruning, and protection from worms and insects. When the leaves are +properly ripened, the stalks are cut in sections, two leaves to a section. +These are hung on poles and taken to the drying sheds where they are +suspended for three or more weeks. The time of this process, and its +results, depend upon moisture, temperature, and treatment. All this is +again an operation demanding expert knowledge and constant care. When +properly cured, the leaves are packed in bales of about 110 pounds each, +and are then ready for the market. Because of the varying conditions under +which the leaf is produced, from year to year, it is somewhat difficult +to determine with any accuracy the increase in the industry. Broadly, the +output appears to have been practically doubled in the last twenty years, +a growth attributed to the new economic conditions, to the extension of +transportation facilities that have made possible the opening of new areas +to cultivation, and to the investment of capital, largely American capital. +The exports show, generally, a material increase in sales of leaf tobacco +and some decline in sales of cigars. The principal market for the leaf, for +about 85 per cent of it, is in the United States where it is made, with +more or less honesty, into "all-Havana" cigars. This country, however, +takes only about a third of Cuba's cigar output. The United Kingdom takes +about as much of that product as we do, and Germany, in normal times, takes +about half as much. The remainder is widely scattered, and genuine imported +Havana cigars are obtainable in all countries throughout the world. +The total value of Cuba's yearly tobacco crop is from $40,000,000 to +$50,000,000, including domestic consumption and foreign trade. + +The story that all Cubans, men and women alike, are habitual and constant +smokers, is not and never was true. Whatever it may have been in the past, +I am inclined to think that smoking by women is more common in this country +than it is in Cuba, particularly among the middle and upper social classes. +I have seen many American and English women smoke in public, but never a +Cuban woman. Nor is smoking by men without its exceptions. I doubt if the +percentage of non-smokers in this country is any greater than it is in +the island. There are many Cubans who do smoke, just as there are many +Americans, Englishmen, Germans, and Russians. Those who watch on the +street for a respectable Cuban woman with a cigar in her mouth, or even a +cigarette, will be disappointed. Cuba's tobacco is known by the name of the +region in which it is produced; the _Vuelta Abajo_ of Pinar del Rio; the +_Partidos_ of Havana Province; the _Manicaragua_ and the _Remedios_ of +Santa Clara; and the _Mayari_ of Oriente. Until quite recently, when +American organized capital secured control of many of the leading factories +in Cuba, it was possible to identify a cigar, in size and shape, by some +commonly employed name, such as _perfectos, conchas, panetelas, imperiales, +londres_, etc. The old names still appear, but to them there has been added +an almost interminable list in which the old distinction is almost +lost. Lost, too, or submerged, are many of the old well-known names of +manufacturers, names that were a guarantee of quality. There were also +names for different qualities, almost invariably reliable, and for color +that was supposed to mark the strength of the cigar. An accomplished smoker +may still follow the old system and call for a cigar to his liking, by the +use of the old terms and names made familiar by years of experience, but +the general run of smokers can only select, from a hundred or more boxes +bearing names and words that are unfamiliar or unknown, a cigar that +he thinks looks like one that he wants. It may be a "_superba_" an +"_imperial_" a "Wilson's Cabinet," or a "Havana Kid." + +There is a wide difference in the dates given as the time of the +introduction of the coffee plant in Cuba. One writer gives the year 1720, +another gives 1748, and still another gives 1769. Others give various years +near the end of the century. It was doubtless a minor industry for fifty +years or more before that time, but it was given an impetus and began to +assume commercial proportions during the closing years of the 18th Century. +During that century, the industry was somewhat extensively carried on in +the neighboring island of Santo Domingo. In 1790, a revolution broke out +in that island, including Haiti, and lasted, with more or less violent +activity, for nearly ten years. One result was the emigration to Cuba of +a considerable number of refugees, many of them French. They settled in +eastern Cuba, where conditions for coffee-growing are highly favorable. +Knowing that industry from their experience with it in the adjacent island, +these people naturally took it up in their new home. The cultivation of +coffee in Cuba, prior to that time, was largely in the neighborhood of +Havana, the region then of the greater settlement and development. For +the next forty years or so, the industry developed and coffee assumed a +considerable importance as an export commodity, in addition to the domestic +supply. In 1840, there were more than two thousand coffee plantations, +large and small, producing more than seventy million pounds of coffee, the +greater part of which was exported. From about the middle of the century, +the industry declined, in part because of lower prices due to increase in +the world-supply through increased production in other countries, and in +part, because of the larger chance of profit in the growing of sugar, an +industry then showing an increased importance. Coffee culture has never +been entirely suspended in the island, and efforts are made from time to +time to revive it, but for many years Cuba has imported most of its coffee +supply, the larger share being purchased from Porto Rico. It would be +easily possible for Cuba to produce its entire requirement. There are few +more beautiful sights in all the world than a field of coffee trees in +blossom. One writer has likened it to "millions of snow drops scattered +over a sea of green." They blossom, in Cuba, about the end of February or +early in March, the fruit season and picking coming in the autumn. Coffee +culture is an industry requiring great care and some knowledge, and the +preparation of the berry for the market involves no less of care and +knowledge. The quality of the Cuban berry is of the best. It is the +misfortune of the people of the United States that very few of them really +know anything about coffee and its qualities, notwithstanding the fact that +they consume about a billion pounds a year, all except a small percentage +of it being coffee of really inferior quality. But coffee, like cigars, +pickles, or music, is largely a matter of individual preference. + +Cuba produces a variety of vegetables, chiefly for domestic consumption, +and many fruits, some of which are exported. There is also a limited +production of grains. Among the tubers produced are sweet potatoes, white +potatoes, yams, the arum and the yucca. From the latter is made starch and +the cassava bread. The legumes are represented by varieties of beans and +peas. The most extensively used food of the island people is rice, only a +little of which is locally grown. The imports are valued at five or six +million dollars yearly. Corn is grown in some quantity, but nearly two +million dollars worth is imported yearly from the United States. There are +fruits of many kinds. The banana is the most important of the group, and is +grown throughout the island. It appears on the table of all, rich and +poor, sometimes _au naturel_ but more frequently cooked. There are many +varieties, some of which are exported while others are practically unknown +here. The Cuban mango is not of the best, but they are locally consumed by +the million. Only a few of the best are produced and those command a fancy +price even when they are obtainable. The aguacate, or alligator pear, is +produced in abundance. Cocoanuts are a product largely of the eastern end +of the island, although produced in fair supply elsewhere. The trees are +victims of a disastrous bud disease that has attacked them in recent years +causing heavy loss to growers. + +[Illustration: PALM-THATCHED ROOFS A PEASANT'S HOME] + +Since the American occupation, considerable attention has been given, +mainly by Americans, to the production of oranges, grape-fruit, and +pineapples, in which a considerable industry has been developed. There are +several varieties. The guava of Cuba makes a jelly that is superior to that +produced from the fruit in any other land of my experience. If there is a +better guava jelly produced anywhere, I should be pleased to sample it, +more pleased to obtain a supply. But there is a difference in the product +even there, just as there is a difference in currant or grape jelly +produced here. It depends a good deal on the maker. Some of the best of my +experience is made in the neighborhood of Santa Clara, but I have tried no +Cuban _jalea de guayaba_ that was not better than any I have had in the +Far East or elsewhere. The _guanabana_ is eaten in its natural state, but +serves its best purpose as a flavor for ices or cooling drinks. There are +a number of others, like the _anon_, the _zapote_, the _granadilla_, the +_mamey_, etc., with which visitors may experiment or not as they see fit. +Some like some of them and others like none of them. An excellent grade of +cacao, the basis of chocolate and cocoa, is produced in somewhat limited +quantity. The industry could easily be extended. In fact, there are many +soil products not now grown in the island but which might be grown there, +and many others now produced on small scale that could be produced in +important quantities. That they are not now so produced is due to lack of +both labor and capital. The industries of Cuba are, and always have been, +specialized. Sugar, tobacco, and at a time coffee, have absorbed the +capital and have afforded occupation for the greater number of the island +people. The lack of transportation facilities in earlier years, and +the system of land tenure, have made difficult if not impossible the +establishment of any large number of independent small farmers. The day +laborers in the tobacco fields and on sugar plantations have been unable to +save enough money to buy a little farm and equip it even if the land could +be purchased at all. Yet only a very small percentage of the area is +actually under cultivation. Cuba now imports nearly $40,000,000 worth of +alimentary substances, altogether too much for a country of its productive +possibilities. It is true that a part of this, such as wheat flour for +instance, cannot be produced on the island successfully, and that other +commodities, such as rice, hog products, and some other articles, can be +imported more cheaply than they can be produced locally. But the imports of +foodstuffs are undoubtedly excessive, although there are good reasons for +the present situation. It is a matter that will find adjustment in time. + +The island has mineral resources of considerable value, although the number +of products is limited. The Spanish discoverers did not find the precious +metals for which they were seeking, and while gold has since been found, +it has never appeared in quantity sufficient to warrant its exploitation. +Silver discoveries have been reported, but not in quantity to pay for its +extraction. Nothing is ever certain in those industries, but it is quite +safe to assume that Cuba is not a land of precious metals. Copper was +discovered in eastern Cuba as early as about the year 1530, and the mines +near Santiago were operated as a Government monopoly for some two hundred +years, when they were abandoned. They were idle for about a hundred years +when, in 1830, an English company with a capital of $2,400,000 reopened +them. It is officially reported that in the next forty years copper of a +value of more than $50,000,000 was extracted and shipped. During that +time, the mines were among the most notable in the world. In the meantime, +ownership was transferred to a Spanish corporation organized in Havana. +This concern became involved in litigation with the railway concerning +freight charges, and this experience was followed by the Ten Years' War, in +the early course of which the plant was destroyed and the mines flooded. In +1902, an American company was organized. It acquired practically all the +copper property in the Cobre field and began operations on an extensive and +expensive scale. A huge sum was spent in pumping thousands of tons of +water from a depth of hundreds of feet, in new equipment for the mining +operations, and in the construction of a smelter. The best that can be done +is to hope that the investors will some day get their money back. Without +any doubt, there is a large amount of copper there, and more in other parts +of Oriente. So is there copper in Camaguey, Santa Clara, and Matanzas +provinces. There are holes in the ground near the city of Camaguey that +indicate profitable operations in earlier years. The metal is spread over +a wide area in Pinar del Rio, and venturous spirits have spent many good +Spanish pesos and still better American dollars in efforts to locate +deposits big enough to pay for its excavation. Some of that class are at it +even now, and one concern is reported as doing a profitable business. + +The bitumens are represented in the island by asphalt, a low-grade coal, +and seepages of petroleum. At least, several writers tell of coal in the +vicinity of Havana, but the substance is probably only a particularly hard +asphaltum. The only real coal property of which I have any knowledge is a +quite recent discovery. The story was told me by the man whose money was +sought to develop it. It was, by the way, an anthracite property. In +response to an urgent invitation from a presumably reliable acquaintance, +my friend took his car and journeyed westward into Pinar del Rio, through a +charming country that he and I have many times enjoyed together. He picked +up his coal-discovering friend in the city of Pinar del Rio, and proceeded +into the country to inspect the coal-vein. At a number of points +immediately alongside the highway, his companion alighted to scrape away +a little of the surface of the earth and to return with a little lump of +really high-grade anthracite. Such a substance had no proper business +there, did not belong there geologically or otherwise. The explanation +soon dawned upon my friend. They were following the line of an abandoned +narrow-gauge railway, abandoned twenty years ago, along which had been +dumped, at intervals, little piles of perfectly good anthracite, imported +from Pennsylvania, for use by the portable engine used in the construction +of the road. My friend declares that he is entirely ready at any time to +swear that there are deposits of anthracite in Cuba. A very good quality +of asphalt is obtained in different parts of the island, and considerable +quantities have been shipped to the United States. Signs of petroleum +deposits have been strong enough to induce investigation and expenditure. +An American company is now at work drilling in Matanzas Province. The most +extensive and promising mineral industry is iron, especially in eastern +Cuba. Millions of tons of ore have been taken from the mountains along +the shore between Santiago and Guantanamo, and the supply appears to be +inexhaustible. The product is shipped to the United States, to a value of +several millions of dollars yearly. A few years ago, other and apparently +more extensive deposits were discovered in the northern section of Oriente, +The field bought by the Pennsylvania Steel Company is estimated to contain +600,000,000 tons of ore. The Bethlehem Steel Company is the owner of +another vast tract. The quality of these ores is excellent. In Oriente +Province also are deposits of manganese of which considerable shipments +have been made. + +It is not possible in so brief a survey of Cuba's resources and industries +to include all its present activities, to say nothing of its future +possibilities. At the present time, the island is practically an extensive +but only partly cultivated farm, producing mainly sugar and tobacco, with +fruits and vegetables as a side line. The metal deposits supplement this, +with promise of becoming increasingly valuable. The forest resources, +commercially, are not great, although there are, and will continue to be, +sales of mahogany and other fine hardwoods. Local manufacturing is on a +comparatively limited scale. All cities and many towns have their artisans, +the bakers, tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, and others. Cigar making +is, of course, classed as a manufacturing enterprise, and so, for census +purposes, is the conversion of the juice of the sugar-cane into sugar. +A number of cities have breweries, ice factories, match factories, soap +works, and other establishments large or small. All these, however, are +incidental to the great industries of the soil, and the greater part of +Cuba's requirements in the line of mill and factory products is imported. +While little is done in the shipment of cattle or beef, Cuba is a natural +cattle country. Water and nutritious grasses are abundant, and there are +vast areas, now idle, that might well be utilized for stock-raising. There +are, of course, just as there are elsewhere, various difficulties to be +met, but they are met and overcome. There are insects and diseases, but +these are controlled by properly applied scientific methods. There is open +feeding throughout the entire year, so there is no need of barns or hay. +The local cattle industry makes possible the shipment of some $2,500,000 +worth of hides and skins annually. Other lines of industry worthy of +mention, but not possible of detailed description here, include sponges, +tortoise shell, honey, wax, molasses, and henequen or sisal. All these +represent their individual thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, +and their employment of scores or hundreds of wage-earners. Those who start +for Cuba with a notion that the Cubans are an idle and lazy people, will +do well to revise that notion. There is not the hustle that may be seen +further north, but the results of Cuban activity, measured in dollars or in +tons, fairly dispute the notion of any national indolence. When two and a +half million people produce what is produced in Cuba, somebody has to work. + + + + +XIV + +_POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE_ + + +The British colonists in America were in large measure self-governing. This +is notably true in their local affairs. The Spanish colonists were +governed almost absolutely by the mother-country. A United States official +publication reports that "all government control centred in the Council of +the Indies and the King, and local self government, which was developed at +an early stage in the English colonies, became practically impossible in +the Spanish colonies, no matter to what extent it may have existed in +theory. Special regulations, decrees, etc., modifying the application of +the laws to the colonies or promulgating new laws were frequent, and their +compilation in 1680 was published as Law of the Indies. This and the _Siete +Partidas_, on which they were largely based, comprised the code under which +the Spanish-American colonies were governed." There was a paper provision, +during the greater part of the time, for a municipal electorate, the +franchise being limited to a few of the largest tax-payers. In its +practical operation, the system was nullified by the power vested in the +appointed ruler. It was a highly effective centralized organization in +which no man held office, high or low, who was not a mere instrument in the +hands of the Governor-General. Under such an institution the Cubans had, of +course, absolutely no experience in self-government. The rulers made laws +and the people obeyed them; they imposed taxes and spent the money as they +saw fit; many of them enriched themselves and their personally appointed +official household throughout the island, at the expense of the tax-payers. + +A competent observer has noted that such terms as "meeting," +"mass-meeting," "self-government," and "home-rule," had no equivalent in +the Spanish language. The first of these terms, distorted into "_mitin_," +is now in common use, and its origin is obvious. Of theories, ideals, and +intellectual conceptions, there was an abundance, but government based +on beautiful dreams does not succeed in this practical world. Denied +opportunity for free discussion of practical methods, the Cubans discussed +theories in lyceums. Under the military government of the United States, +from January 1, 1899, to May 20, 1902, there was freedom of speech and +freedom of organization. The Cubans began to hold "_mitins_," but visions +and beautiful theories characterized the addresses. Prior to the Ten Years' +War (1868-1878), there were organizations more or less political in their +nature, but the authorities were alert in preventing discussions of too +practical a character. In 1865, a number of influential Cubans organized +what has been somewhat inappropriately termed a "national party." It was +not at all a party in our use of that term. Its purpose was to suggest and +urge administrative and economic changes from the Cuban point of view. The +suggestions were ignored and, a few years later, revolution was adopted as +a means of emphasizing their importance. The result of the Ten Years' War +was an assortment of pledges of greater political and economic freedom. +Much was promised but little if anything was really granted. There was, +however, a relaxation of the earlier absolutism, and under that there +appeared a semblance of party organization, in the form of a Liberal party +and a Union Constitutional party. There was no special difference in what +might be called their platforms. Both focussed, in a somewhat general way, +the political aspirations and the economic desires of the Cuban people, +much the same aspirations and desires that had been manifested by +complaint, protest, and occasional outbreak, for fifty years. National +independence had no place in either. That came later, when an army in the +field declared that if Spain would not grant independence, the island would +be made so worthless a possession that Spain could not afford to hold it. +A few years after their organization, the Liberals became the Cuban party, +and so remained, and the Union Constitutionals became the Spanish party, +the party of the immediate administration. Later on, the Liberal party +became the Autonomist party, but Spain's concession of the demands of that +group came too late, forced, not by the Autonomists but by the party of the +Revolution that swept the island with fire and sword from Oriente to +Pinar del Rio. The Autonomists sought what their name indicates; the +Revolutionists demanded and secured national independence. + +Shortly before the final dispersion of the Army of the Revolution, +there was organized a body with the imposing title of _La Asamblea de +Representantes del Ejercito Cubano_, or the Assembly of Representatives +of the Cuban Army. It was composed of leaders of the different military +divisions of that army, and included, as I recall it, thirty-one members. +This group made no little trouble in the early days of the American +occupation. It gathered in Havana, held meetings, declared itself the +duly chosen and representative agent of the Cuban people, and demanded +recognition as such by the American authorities. Some of its members even +asserted that it constituted a _de facto_ government, and held that the +Americans should turn the whole affair over to them and promptly sail away. +But their recognition was flatly refused by the authorities. At the time, I +supported the authorities in this refusal, but afterward I felt less sure +of the wisdom of the course. As a recognized body, it might have been +useful; rejected, it made no little trouble. Transfer of control to its +hands was quite out of the question, but recognition and co-operation +might have proved helpful. That the body had a considerable representative +quality, there is no doubt. Later, I found many of its members as members +of the Constitutional Convention, and, still later, many of them have +served in high official positions, as governors of provinces, members of +Congress, in cabinet and in diplomatic positions. I am inclined to regard +the group broadly, as the origin of the present much divided Liberal party +that has, from the beginning of definite party organization, included a +considerable numerical majority of the Cuban voters. In the first national +election, held December 31, 1901, this group, the military group, appeared +as the National party, supporting Tomas Estrada y Palma as its candidate. +Its opponent was called the Republican party. Realizing its overwhelming +defeat, the latter withdrew on the day of the election, alleging all manner +of fraud and unfairness on the part of the Nationals. It is useless to +follow in detail the history of Cuba's political parties since that time. +In the election of 1905, the former National party appeared as the Liberal +party, supporting José Miguel Gomez, while its opponents appeared as the +Moderate party, supporting Estrada Palma who, first elected on what he +declared to be a non-partisan basis, had definitely affiliated himself with +the so-called Moderates. The election was a game of political crookedness +on both sides, and the Liberals withdrew on election day. The result +was the revolution of 1906. The Liberals split into factions, not yet +harmonized, and the Moderate party became the Conservative party. By the +fusion of some of the Liberal groups, that party carried the election of +1908, held under American auspices. A renewal of internal disorders, a +quarrel among leaders, and much discontent with their administrative +methods, resulted in the defeat of the Liberals in the campaign of 1912 +and in the election of General Mario Menocal, the head of the Conservative +ticket, and the present incumbent. + +A fair presentation of political conditions in Cuba is exceedingly +difficult, or rather it is difficult so to present them that they will be +fairly understood. I have always regarded the establishment of the Cuban +Republic in 1902 as premature, though probably unavoidable. A few years of +experience with an autonomous government under American auspices, civil and +not military, as a prologue to full independence, might have been the wiser +course, but such a plan seemed impossible. The Cubans in the field had +forced from Spain concessions that were satisfactory to many. Whether they +could have forced more than that, without the physical assistance given +by the United States, is perhaps doubtful. The matter might have been +determined by the grant of the belligerent rights for which they repeatedly +appealed to the United States. At no time in the entire experience did they +ask for intervention. That came as the result of a combination of American +wrath and American sympathy, and more in the interest of the United States +than because of concern for the Cubans. But, their victory won and Spain +expelled, the triumphant Cubans naturally desired immediate enjoyment of +the fruits of victory. They desired to exercise the independence for which +they had fought. Many protests and not a few threats of trouble attended +even the brief period of American occupation. There was, moreover, an acute +political issue in the United States. The peace and order declared as the +purpose of American intervention had been established. The amendment to +the Joint Resolution of April 20, 1898, disclaimed "any disposition or +intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said +Island except for the pacification thereof," etc. The island was pacified. +The amendment asserted, further, the determination of the United States, +pacification having been accomplished, "to leave the government and control +of the island to its people." There was no pledge of any prolonged course +of education in principles and methods of self-government. Nor did such +education play any appreciable part in the experience of the American +military government. The work of the interventors had been done in +accordance with the specifications, and the Cubans were increasingly +restless under a control that many of them, with no little reason, declared +to be as autocratic as any ever exercised by Spain. Transfer and departure +seemed to be the politic if not the only course, and we transferred and +departed. + +That these people, entirely without experience or training in +self-government, should make mistakes was quite as inevitable as it is that +a child in learning to walk will tumble down and bump its little nose. In +addition to the inevitable mistakes, there have been occasional instances +of deplorable misconduct on the part of individuals and of political +parties. For neither mistakes nor misconduct can we criticize or condemn +them without a similar criticism or condemnation of various experiences in +our own history. We should, at least, regard them with charity. There are, +moreover, incidents in the two experiences of American control of the +island that, at least, border on the unwise and the discreditable. The only +issue yet developed in Cuba is between good government and bad politics. +The first President started admirably along the line of the former, and +ended in a wretched tangle of the latter, though not at all by his own +choice or direction. Official pre-eminence and a "government job" make +quite the same appeal to the Cubans that they do to many thousands +of Americans. So do raids on the national treasury, and profitable +concessions. We see these motes in Cuban eyes somewhat more clearly than +we see the beams in our own eyes. A necessarily slow process of political +education is going on among the people, but in the meantime the +situation has afforded opportunity for exploitation by an assortment +of self-constituted political leaders who have adopted politics as a +profession and a means of livelihood. Cuba's gravest danger lies in the +political domination of men in this class. The present President, General +Mario Menocal, is not in that group. The office sought him; he did not seek +the office. Some of these self-constituted leaders have displayed a notable +aptitude for political organization, and it is largely by means of the +many little local organizations that the Cuban political game is played. +Although, I believe, somewhat less now than formerly, the little groups +follow and support individual leaders rather than parties or principles. +Parties and their minor divisions are known by the names of their leaders. +Thus, while both men are nominally of the same party, the Liberal, the +adherents of José Miguel Gomez, are known as Miguelistas, and the adherents +of Alfredo Zayas are known as Zayistas. Were either to announce himself +as a Conservative, or to start a new party and call it Reformist or +Progressive or any other title, he could count on being followed by most +of those who supported him as a Liberal. This is a condition that will, in +time, correct itself. What the Cuban really wants is what all people want, +an orderly, honest, and economical government, under which he may live in +peace and quiet, enjoying the fruits of his labor without paying an undue +share of the fruits to maintain his government. For that the Cuban people +took up arms against Spain. For a time they may be blinded by the idea of +mere political independence, but to that same issue they will yet return +by the route of the ballot-box. The game of politics for individual +preferment, or for personal profit, cannot long be successfully played +in Cuba, if I have rightly interpreted Cuban character and Cuban +characteristics. + +"We, the delegates of the people of Cuba, having met in constitutional +convention for the purpose of preparing and adopting the fundamental law of +their organization as an independent and sovereign people, establishing a +government capable of fulfilling its international obligations, maintaining +public peace, ensuring liberty, justice, and promoting the general welfare, +do hereby agree upon and adopt the following constitution, invoking the +protection of the Almighty. Article I. The people of Cuba are hereby +constituted a sovereign and independent State and adopt a republican form +of government." Thus opens the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba. + +I recall an intensely dramatic moment connected with the closing phrase of +the preamble. I have used a translation published by a distinguished Cuban. +That phrase, in the original, is "_invocando el favor de Dios_," perhaps +more exactly translated as "invoking the favor (or blessing) of God." When +the Constitution had been drafted and broadly approved, it was submitted +to the convention for suggestion of minor changes in verbiage. One of the +oldest and most distinguished members of the body proposed that this phrase +be left out. Another member, distinguished for his power as an orator and +for his cynicism, in a speech of considerable length set forth his opinion +that it made little difference whether it was included or excluded. There +was no benefit in its inclusion, and no advantage in excluding it. It would +hurt none and might please some to have it left in. Immediately across +the semi-circle of desks, and facing these two speakers, sat Señor Pedro +Llorente, a man of small stature, long, snow-white hair and beard, and a +nervous and alert manner. At times, his nervous energy made him almost +grotesque. At times, his absorbed earnestness made him, despite his +stature, a figure of commanding dignity. Through the preceding addresses he +waited with evident impatience. Obtaining recognition from the chairman, +he rose and stood with upraised hand his voice tremulous with emotion, to +protest against the proposed measure, declaring "as one not far from the +close of life, that the body there assembled did not represent an atheistic +people." The motion to strike out was lost, and the invocation remains. + +The result of the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention is a +highly creditable instrument. It contains a well-devised Bill of Rights, +and makes all necessary provision for governmental organization and +conduct. One feature, however, seems open to criticism. In their desire to +avoid that form of centralized control, of which they had somewhat too much +under Spanish power, the new institution provides, perhaps, for too much +local government, for a too extensive provincial and municipal system. It +has already fallen down in some respects, and it has become necessary to +centralize certain functions, quite as it has become desirable in several +of our own matters. Cuba has, perhaps, an undue overload of officialdom, +somewhat too many public officers, and quite too many people on its +pay-rolls. The feature of Cuba's Constitution that is of greatest interest +and importance to the United States is what is known as the Platt +Amendment. The provision for a Constitutional Convention in Cuba was made +in what was known as Civil Order No. 301, issued by the Military Governor, +on July 25, 1900. It provided for an election of delegates to meet in +Havana on the first Monday in November, following. The convention was to +frame and adopt a Constitution and "as a part thereof, to provide for and +agree with the Government of the United States upon the relations to exist +between that Government and the Government of Cuba," etc. Against this, the +Cubans protested vigorously. The United States had declared that "Cuba +is and of right ought to be free and independent." The Cubans held, very +properly, that definition of international relations had no fitting place +in a Constitution "as a part thereof." Their point was recognized and, +under date of November 5, Civil Order No. 310 was modified by Civil Order +No. 455. That was issued to the delegates at the time of their assembly. +It declared as follows: "It will be your duty, first, to frame and adopt a +Constitution for Cuba, and, when that has been done, to formulate what, +in your opinion, ought to be the relations between Cuba and the United +States." Taking this as their programme, the delegates proceeded to draft +a Constitution, leaving the matter of "relations" in abeyance for +consideration at the proper time. Yet, before its work was done, the +Convention was savagely criticized in the United States for its failure +to include in the Constitution what it had been authorized, and virtually +instructed, to leave out. The Constitution was completed on February 11, +1901, and was duly signed by the delegates, on February 21. A committee +was appointed, on February 11, to prepare and submit plans and proposals +regarding the matter of "relations." Prior to that, however, the matter had +been frequently but informally discussed by the delegates. Suggestions had +been made in the local press, and individual members of the Convention had +expressed their views with considerable freedom. Had the United States kept +its hands off at that time, a serious and critical situation, as well as +a sense of injustice that has not yet entirely died out, would have been +averted. + +Before the Cubans had time to put their "opinion of what ought to be +the relations" between the two countries into definite form, there was +presented to them, in a manner as needless as it was tactless, a statement +of what the American authorities thought those relations should be. The +Cubans, who were faithfully observing their earlier instructions, were +deeply offended by this interference, and by the way in which the +interference came. The measures known as the Platt Amendment was submitted +to the United States Senate, as an amendment to the Army Appropriation +bill, on February 25, 1901 The Senate passed the bill, and the House +concurred A storm of indignant protest swept over the island The Cubans +believed, and not without reason, that the instrument abridged the +independence of which they had been assured by those who now sought to +limit that independence. Public opinion in the United States was divided. +Some approved and some denounced the proceeding in bitter terms. The +division was not at all on party lines. The situation in Cuba was entirely +changed. Instead of formulating an opinion in accordance with their earlier +instructions, the members of the Convention were confronted by a choice of +what they then regarded as evils, acceptance of unacceptable terms or an +indefinite continuance of a military government then no less unacceptable. +A commission was sent to Washington to urge changes and modifications. It +was given dinners, lunches, and receptions, but nothing more. At last the +Cubans shrugged their shoulders. The desire for an immediate withdrawal of +American authority, and for Cuban assumption of the reins of government, +outweighed the objection to the terms imposed. A Cuban leader said: "There +is no use in objecting to the inevitable. It is either annexation or a +Republic with the Amendment. I prefer the latter." After four months of +stubborn opposition, the Cubans yielded, by a vote of sixteen to eleven, +with four absentees. + +In many ways, the Cuban Government is like our own. The President and +Vice-President are elected, through an electoral college, for a term of +four years. A "third term" is specifically prohibited by the Constitution. +Senators, four from each Province, are chosen, for a term of eight years, +by an electoral board. Elections for one half of the body occur every four +years. The House is chosen, by direct vote, for terms of four years, one +half being elected every two years. The Cabinet, selected and appointed by +the President, consists of eight Secretaries of Departments as follows: +Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor; State; Government; Treasury (_Hacienda_); +Public Instruction; Justice; Public Works; and Health and Charities. There +is a Supreme Court, and there are the usual minor courts. The Constitution +also makes provision for the organization and the powers of the Provincial +and Municipal Governments. To the Constitution, the Platt Amendment is +attached as an appendix, by treaty arrangement. As far as governmental +system is concerned, Cuba is fairly well equipped; a possible source of +danger is its over-equipment. Its laws permit, rather than require, an +overburden of officials, high and low. But Cuba's governmental problem +is essentially one of administration. Its particular obstacle in that +department is professional politics. + +The whole situation in Cuba is somewhat peculiar. The business of the +island, that is, the commercial business, the purchase and sale of +merchandise wholesale and retail, is almost entirely in the hands of +Spaniards. The Cuban youths seldom become clerks in stores. Most of the +so-called "_dependientes_" come out as boys from Spain. It is an old +established system. These lads, almost invariably hard workers, usually eat +and sleep in the place of their employment. The wage is small but board and +lodging, such as the latter is, are furnished. They are well fed, and the +whole system is quite paternal. For their recreation, education, and care +in case of illness, there are organizations, half club and half mutual +protective association, to which practically all belong. The fee is small +and the benefits many. Some of these are based on a regional plan, that is, +the _Centro de Asturianos_ is composed of those who come from the Spanish +province of Asturia, and those from other regions have their societies. +There is also a general society of "_dependientes_." Some of these groups +are rich, with large membership including not only the clerks of today but +those of the last thirty or forty years, men who by diligence and thrift +have risen to the top in Cuba's commercial life. Most of Cuba's business +men continue their membership in these organizations, and many contribute +liberally toward their maintenance. + +This system more or less effectively bars Cuban youths from commercial +life. Nor does commercial life seem attractive to more than a very limited +number. This leaves to them, practically, only three lines of possible +activity, the ownership and operation of a plantation, a profession, or +manual labor. The greater number there, as elsewhere, are laborers, either +on some little bit of ground they call their own or rent from its owner, +or they are employed by the proprietors of the larger estates. Such +proprietorship is, of course, open to only a few. The problem, which is +both social and political, appears in a class that cannot or will not +engage in manual labor, the well-educated or fairly-educated sons of men +of fair income and a social position. Many of these take some professional +course. But there is not room for so many in so small a country, and the +professions are greatly overcrowded. The surplus either loafs and lives by +its wits or at the expense of the family, or turns to the Government for +a "job." It constitutes a considerable element on which the aspiring +professional politician can draw for support. Having such "jobs," it +constitutes a heavy burden on the tax-payers; deprived of its places on the +Government pay-roll, it becomes a social and political menace. If a Liberal +administration throws them out of their comfortable posts, they become +noisy and perhaps violent Conservatives; if discharged by an economical +Conservative administration, they become no less noisy and no less +potentially violent Liberals. But we may not criticize. The American +control that followed the insurrection of 1906 set no example in +administrative economy for the Cubans to follow. + +The productive industries of the island have already been reviewed in other +chapters. The development of Cuba's commerce since the withdrawal of Spain, +and the substitution of a modern fiscal policy for an antiquated and +indefensible system, has been notable. It is, however, a mistake to +contrast the present condition with the condition existing at the time +of the American occupation, in 1899. The exact accuracy of the record is +questionable, but the returns for the year 1894, the year preceding the +revolution, show the total imports of the island as $77,000,000, and the +total exports as $99,000,000. The probability is that a proper valuation +would show a considerable advance in the value of the imports. The +statement of export values may be accepted. It may be assumed that had +there been no disorder, the trade of the island, by natural growth, would +have reached $90,000,000 for imports and $120,000,000, for exports, in +1900. That may be regarded as a fair normal. As it was, the imports of that +year were $72,000,000, and the exports, by reason of the general wreck of +the sugar business, were only $45,000,000. With peace and order fairly +assured, recovery came quickly. The exports of 1905, at $99,000,000, +equalled those of 1894, while the imports materially exceeded those of the +earlier year. In 1913, the exports reached $165,207,000, and the imports +$132,290,000. This growth of Cuba's commerce and industry is due mainly to +the economic requirements of the American people. We need Cuba's sugar and +we want its tobacco. These two commodities represent about 90 per cent, +of the total exports of the island. We buy nearly all of its sugar, under +normal conditions, and about 60 per cent, of its tobacco and cigars. On the +basis of the total commerce of the island, the records of recent years show +this country as the source of supply for about 53 per cent, of Cuba's +total imports, and as the market for about 83 per cent, of its exports. A +comparison of the years 1903 and 1913 shows a gain of about $87,000,000 in +Cuba's total exports. Of this, about $75,000,000 is represented by sugar. +The crop of 1894 a little exceeded a million tons. Such a quantity was +not again produced until 1903. With yearly variations, due to weather +conditions, later years show an enormous and unprecedented increase. The +crops of 1913 and 1914 were, approximately, 2,500,000 tons each. The +tobacco industry shows only a modest gain. The average value of the exports +of that commodity has risen, in ten years, from about $25,000,000 to about +$30,000,000. The increase in the industry appears largely in the shipment +of leaf tobacco. The cigar business shows practically no change, in that +time, as far as values are concerned. This résumé affords a fair idea of +Cuba's trade expansion under the conditions established through the change +in government. That event opened new and larger doors of opportunity, and +the Cubans and others have been prompt in taking advantage of them. Toward +the great increase shown, two forces have operated effectively. One is the +treaty by which the provisions of the so-called Platt Amendment to the +Cuban Constitution are made permanently effective. The other is the +reciprocity treaty of 1903. + +By the operation of the former of these instruments the United States +virtually underwrites the political stability and the financial +responsibility of the Cuban Government. That Government cannot borrow any +important sums without the consent of the United States, and it has agreed +that this country "may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation +of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the +protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for discharging +the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of Paris on the +United States." This assumption of responsibility by the United States +inspired confidence on the part of capital, and large sums have been +invested in Cuban bonds, and in numerous public and private enterprises. +Railways and trolley lines have been built and many other works of public +utility have been undertaken. The activities of old sugar plantations have +been extended under improved conditions, and many new estates with costly +modern equipment have been created. The cultivation of large areas, +previously lying waste and idle, afforded both directly and indirectly +employment for an increased population, as did the numerous public works. +The other force, perhaps no less effective, appears in the reciprocity +treaty of 1903. This gave to Cuba's most important crop a large though by +no means absolute control of the constantly increasing sugar market of +the United States, as far as competition from other foreign countries +was concerned. The sugar industry of the island may be said to have been +restored to its normal proportions in 1903. Our imports for the five-year +period 1904-1908 averaged 1,200,000 tons a year. For the five-year period +1910-1914 they averaged 1,720,000 tons. In 1914, they were 2,200,000 tons +as compared with 1,260,000 tons in 1904. It is doubtful if the treaty had +any appreciable influence on the exports of Cuban tobacco to this country. +We buy Cuba's special tobacco irrespective of a custom-house advantage +that affects the box price only a little, and the price of a single cigar +probably not at all. On the other side of the account, that of our sales +to Cuba, there also appears a large increase since the application of the +reciprocity treaty. Using the figures showing exports from the United +States to Cuba, instead of Cuba's records showing imports from this +country, it appears that our sales to the island in the fiscal year 1903, +immediately preceding the operation of the treaty, amounted to $21,761,638. +In the fiscal year 1913 they were $70,581,000, and in 1914 were +$68,884,000. + +Not all of this quite remarkable gain may properly be credited to the +influence of the reciprocity treaty. The purchases of the island are +determined, broadly, by its sales. As the latter increase, so do the +former. Almost invariably, a year of large export sales is followed by a +year of heavy import purchases. The fact that our imports from Cuba are +double our sales to Cuba, in the total of a period of years, has given rise +to some foolish criticism of the Cubans on the ground that, we buying so +heavily from them, they should purchase from us a much larger percentage of +their import requirements. No such obligation is held to exist in regard +to our trade with other lands, and it should have no place in any +consideration of our trade with Cuba. There are many markets, like Brazil, +British India, Japan, China, Mexico, and Egypt, in which our purchases +exceed our sales. There are more, like the United Kingdom, France, Germany, +Italy, Canada, Central America, and numerous others, in which our sales +considerably or greatly exceed our purchases. We do not buy from them +simply because they buy from us. We buy what we need or want in that market +in which we can buy to the greatest advantage. The Cuban merchants, who are +nearly all Spaniards, do the same. The notion held by some that, because +of our service to Cuba in the time of her struggle for national life, the +Cubans should buy from us is both foolish and altogether unworthy. Any +notion of Cuba's obligation to pay us for what we may have done for her +should be promptly dismissed and forgotten. There are commodities, such as +lumber, pork products, coal, wheat flour, and mineral oil produces, +that Cuba can buy in our markets on terms better than those obtainable +elsewhere. Other commodities, such as textiles, leather goods, sugar mill +equipment, railway equipment, drugs, chemicals, and much else, must be +sold by American dealers in sharp competition with the merchants of other +countries, with such assistance as may be afforded by the reciprocity +treaty. That instrument gives us a custom-house advantage of 20, 25, 30, +and 40 per cent, in the tariff rates. It is enough in some cases to give +us a fair equality with European sellers, and in a few cases to give us a +narrow margin of advantage over them. It does not give us enough to compel +Cuban buyers to trade with us because of lower delivered prices. + +Cuba's economic future can be safely predicted on the basis of its past. +The pace of its development will depend mainly upon a further influx of +capital and an increase in its working population. Its political future +is less certain. There is ample ground for both hope and belief that the +little clouds that hang on the political horizon will be dissipated, that +there will come, year by year, a sane adjustment to the new institutions. +But full assurance of peace and order will come only when the people of the +island, whether planters or peasants, see clearly the difference between a +government conducted in their interest and a government conducted by Cubans +along Spanish lines. + + + + +INDEX + + +A + +Adams, President John, 127 +Angulo, Governor de, 59 +Animals, wild, 50 +Asphalt, 232, 233 +Autonomy, 143, 178 + + +B + +Babeque, 6, 7 +Bacon, Hon. Robert, 160 +Bacon's Rebellion, 144 +Ballou, M.M., 31, 32, 71 +Banes, 113 +Baracoa, 12, 91, 100, 114 +Batabano, 12, 116 +Baths, 52 +Bellamar, Caves of, 42,110 +Belligerent rights, 136, 140, 157, 158, 181 +_Bermuda_, 189, 197 +Bertram, Luis, 14 +Betancourt, Salvador Cisneros, 174 +Black Eagle conspiracy, 147 +_Black Warrior_, 131 +Blanco, General Ramon, 178 +Bolivia, 126 +Bolivar, Simon, 124, 185 +Bonds, Cuban, 175 +Boston sugar plantation, 113 +Buchanan, President, 130 + + +C + +Cabaña, 57, 60 +Cabinet, Cuban, 250 +Cabrera, Raimundo, 135 +Cadiz, 20 +Caibarien, 102 +Callahan, James M., 125, 139, 152 +Camaguey, city, 105, 110, 111 +Camaguey, province, 40, 109 +Cardenas, 101 +Casa de Beneficencia, 24 +Castillo del Principe, 57, 60, 71, 83 +Cathay, 3 +Cathedral, Havana, 63 +Cattle, 17, 235 +Cauto river, 43 +Caves, 42 +Cemetery, Colon, 83 +Census Reports, United States, 27, 35, 44, 144, 236 +Cespedes, Carlos Manuel,154, 155 +Channing, Edward, 142, 143 +Chaparra sugar plantation, 113 +Ciego de Avila, 106 +Cienaga de Zapata, 43, 51 +Cienfuegos, 102 +Cigars, 224, 225, 254 +Cipango, 2, 5 +Clerks' Associations, 251 +Climate, 45 et seq. +Coal, 232 +Coffee, 23, 36, 226, et seq. +Colonies, American in Cuba, 12, 120 +Colonies, British, 19, 236 +Colonies, Spanish, 19, 21, 123, 126 +Columbia, 124, 145 +Columbus, Christopher + Death and remains, 63 + Describes Cuba, 3, 4, 7 + Discovers Cuba, 2 + Extract from journal, 2 + Letter to Sanchez, 3 + Memorial to, 64 + Mistaken belief, 2, 3, 5, 8 + Report to Spanish sovereigns, 7 + Second expedition, 7 +Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257 +_Commodore_, 193, 195, 197 +Constitutional Convention, 247 +Constitution, Cuban, 154, 245, 246 +Constitution, Spanish, 29, 145, 159 +Copper, 231, 232 +Cordoba, de, 12 +Cortes, Hernan, 13, 58 +Cortes, Spanish, 29, 176 +Crittenden, Col., 150 +Cuba: + Aborigines, 14, 15. + Advice to visitors, 55. + American attitude toward, 135, 137, 140. + Annexation proposed, 125 et seq. + Animals, wild, 49. + Area, 37. + Climate and temperature, 45 et seq. + Colonized, 12. + Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257. + Conquest by Velasquez, II. + Described by Columbus, 3, 4, 7. + Description, general, 37 et seq. + Discovered, 2. + Expeditions from, 13, 14. + Flora, 48. + Forests, 49. + Future of, 258. + Insects, 51. + Intervention by United States, 25, 160, 182, 242. + Mineral springs, 52. + Monopolies in, 20, 144, 220, 231. + Monroe Doctrine, 127. + Nineteenth Century, 142. + Population, 17, 23, 34. + Railways, 89, 91. + Relations with United States, 122 et seq., 247, 248. + Republic of, 182. + Revolutions, 141 et seq. + Roads, 87, 95, 96. + Self-government, 243. + Slavery in, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155. + Spanish Governors, 24, 32. + Spanish policy in, 17, 19 et seq. 24, 31. + Trade restrictions, 20, 21, 24, 25, 30. + Taxation, Spanish, 24, 27, 28, 30. + Villages, 85, 93, 94, 100 +_Cuba and the Intervention_, 154, 164 +Cushing, Caleb, 138 +Custom house, 62 + + +D + +_Dauntless_, 193, 194, 197, 199, 200 +Delicias sugar plantation, 113 +Dexter, Lord Timothy, 216 +Domestic life, 80 + + +E + +EARTHQUAKES, 53 +Elections, 240, 250 +Elson, Henry William, 186 +England, 19, 128, 130, 139, 145 +Everett, Alexander H., 130 + + +F + +FILIBUSTERING expeditions, 148 et seq., 184 et seq. +Firemen, 83 +Fish, Secretary, 157 +Flora, 48 +Florida, 13 +Forests, 48, 49 +Fortifications, 59, 60 +France, 128, 145 +Fritot, Alphonso, 196, 199 +Fruits, 5, 229 +Fuerza, la, 17, 58, 59 + + +G + +Garcia, General Calixto, 84, 190 +Geerligs, H.C. Prinsen, 206 +Gibara, 112 +Gold, 2, 6, 231 +Gomez, General Maximo, 84, 158, 164, 172, 174. Proclamations, 167 et seq. +Government, 250 +Grant, President, 135 et seq. +Guane, 101 +Guantanamo, 91, 115 +Guines, 90 + + +H + +Haiti, 9, 10, 144 +Harbors, 44 +Hart, John D., 191, 197 +Hatuey, 8 et seq. +Havana: + Bells, church, 65. + British occupation, 20. + Capital, 20, 59. + Cathedral, 63. + Changes in, 66, 67, 82, 85. + Commerce limited to, 20. + Destroyed, 17, 58, 59. + Discovered, 12, 57. + Early conditions, 61. + Excursions from, 97 et seq. + Firemen, 83. + Fortifications, 59, 60. + Homes in, 77 et seq. + Las Casas as governor, 24. + Market, fish, 74. + Name, origin of, 58. + New City, 70 et seq. + Old city, 54 et seq. + Parks, 70, 71. + _Paseo_, 75. + Public buildings, 62 et seq. + Sanitation of, 63. + Settled 12, 58. + Shopping in, 68. + Streets 61, 71. + Suburbs, 85. + Sunrise in harbor, 54. + Theatre, Nacional, 71 et seq. +Havana, province, 38, 41 +Hayes, President, 136 +Hazard, Samuel, 33, 65, 111 +Henry, Patrick, 143 +Heredia, José Maria, 146 +Hill, Robert T., 39, 48 +Holguin, 113 +Hotels, 91, 111 +Homes, 77 et seq. +Humboldt, Baron Alexander, 8, 14, 15, 16, 35, 53 +Hurricanes, 53 + + +I + +Imports and Exports, 253, 256 +Independence, 162 et seq. +Insect life, 51 +Intervention, First, 25, 182, 242 +Intervention, Second, 160 +Iron ore, 233, 234 +Irving, Washington, 4, 5, 6 +Isle of Pines, 8, 116, 117 et seq. + + +J + +Jefferson, Thomas, 122 +Joint Resolution of 1898, 242 +Jolo, 54 +Juana, 2, 4 +Jucaro, 106 +Junta, 164, 174, 188 + + +K + +Kimball, R.B. 32 + + +L + +Las Casas, Bartolomé, 9, 14 +Las Casas, Governor Luis de, 24 +_Laurada_, 193 et seq. +Lemus, José Francisco, 146 +Llorente, Pedro, 246 +Lodge, Henry Cabot, 123 +Lopez, Narciso, 148 et seq. +Ludlow, General William, 63 + + +M + +Maceo, General Antonio, 99, 164, 172, 174 +McKinley, President, 122, 178, 179 +Magoon, Charles E., 160 +_Maine_, battleship, 179 +Maisi, Cape, 7, 8, 38, 115 +Malecon, 75 +Manufactures, 234 +Marti, José, 164, 166 +Marti, the smuggler, 72 et seq. +Martinez Campos, General, 158, 165, 166, 177. +Maso, Bartolomé, 165, 174 +Massachusetts rebellion, 144 +Matanzas, city, 41, 101 +Matanzas, province, 41 +Menocal, General Mario, 241, 244 +Mexico, 13, 58, 124, 145 +Minerals, 231 et seq. +Mineral springs, 52 +Miranda, Francisco, 126, 185 +Monopolies, 20, 144, 220, 231. +Monroe Doctrine, 127 +Monroe, President, 129 +Monuments: + Firemen's, 83, 84 + Students', 84 +Moret law, 16 +Morgan, Henry, no +Morro Castle, 17, 57, 59, 60 +Mountains, 5, 41, 93 +Murielo, 13 + + +N + +NARVAEZ, 13 +Navigation acts, British, 19, 144 +Nelson, Hugh, 127 +Nipe Bay, 2, 91, 113, 114 +Nuevitas, 2, 3, 110, 111, 112 +Nuñez, General Emilio, 191, 192, 199 + + +O + +O'BRIEN, "Dynamite Johnny," 189, et seq. +Ocampo, Sebastian de, 8, 12, 57 +Oriente, province, 40, 41 +Ostend Manifesto, 133 +Otis, James, 143 + + +P + +PALACE, Governor's, 64 +Palma, Tomas Estrada y, 162, 174, 192 +Palms, 5, 7, 48, 49 +Panama Congress (1826), 126 +Parks, Havana, 70, 71 +Parties, Political, 159, 176, 237, 238, 240, 244 +Pearcy _v_. Stranahan, 120 +Pepper, Charles M., 105, 134, 152, 176 +Petroleum, 233 +Pierce, President, 130, 132, 151 +Pinar del Rio, city, 101 +Pinar del Rio, province, 41 +Platt Amendment, 118, 247 et seq., 255 +Politics, 252 +Polk, President, 130 +Ponce de Leon, 13 +Population, 14, 17, 23, 34 +Porto Rico, 118 +Prado, 71, 75 +Preston sugar plantation, 113 +Puerto de Carenas, 12, 57 +Puerto Principe, see Camaguey +Punta, la, 17 + + +Q + +QUITMAN expedition, 151 + + +R + +RAILWAYS, 89, 91 +Rainfall, 46 +Real estate speculation, 120 +Reciprocity treaty, 255, 258 +Reconcentration, 177 +"Relations," question of, 247, 248 +Remedios, 102 +Revolutions, 19, 141 et seq. + of 1868, 153 et seq. + of 1895, 162 et seq. + of 1906, 159, 160 +Rhodes, James Ford, 131 +Rivers, 43 44 +Roads, 87, 95, 96 +Rubens, Horatio, S., 165, 181, 191, 192, 195 +Ruskin, John, 56 + + +S + +Saco, Antonio, 31 +Sagua la Grande, 101 +Sanchez, Rafael, 3 +Sancti Spiritus, 12, 91, 104 +Santa Clara, city, 102 +Santa Clara, province, 40 +Santangel, Luis de, 4 +Santiago de Cuba, 12, 13, 20, 115, 116 +Santo Domingo, 7 +Seville, 20 +Slavery, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155 +Smuggling, 21, 26 +Snakes, 50 +Sociedad Economica, 24 +Sociedad Patriotica, 24 +Soles de Bolivar, 146 +Soto, Hernando de, 13, 14, 17, 58 +Soule, Pierre, 132, 133 +Spain, 17, 19, 24, 29, 123 et seq., 145, 236 +Spanish-American independence, 126 +Sugar, 113, 203 et seq. + Beet sugar, 208 + Countries producing, 209 + History, 207 + In Cuba, 210 + Manufacture of, 204, 213 + Muscovado, 205 + Origin of, 206 + Planting and cutting, 213 et seq. + Production of, 209, 254, 256 +Supreme Court, United States, 120 + + +T + +Tacon, Governor Miguel, 32, 33, 70, 71 et seq. +Taft, Hon. William H., 99, 160 +Tariff, Spanish, 21, 25 +Taxes, 24, 27, 30, 163 +Taylor, President, 148 +Teller Amendment, 182 +Temperance question, 76 +Temperature, 45 et seq. +Templete, el, 64 +Ten Years' War, 16, 134, 135 et seq., 153 et seq. +Thrasher, J.S., 15, 29 +_Three Friends_, 193 et seq. +_Tillie_, wreck of the, 210 +Times, New York, 150 +Tobacco, 36, 102, 221, 222 + Cultivation in Cuba, 223 + History, 219 et seq. + Origin, 218 + Use in Cuba, 225 +Trade restricted, 20, 24, 25, 30 +Transportation, 90 +Treaty of Paris, 118, 182 +Trinidad, 12, 91, 100, 103 +Turnbull, David, 25 + + +U + +UNITED STATES: + Diplomatic correspondence, 125 et seq. + Mediation offered, 156 + Presidential messages, 125, 135, 136, 137, 158, 178, 179, 180, 184 + Relations with Cuba, 122 et seq., 179 + + +V + +Valmaseda proclamation, 156 +Varona, Enrique José, 153 +Vedado, el, 82 +Vegetable products, 228 et seq. +Velasquez, 8, 58 +Villages, 85, 93 +_Virginius_ affair, 116, 137, 185 +Volantes, 88 + + +W + +Welles, Gideon, 186 +Weyler, General Valeriano, 177, 198 +Wilson, Henry, 125 + + +Y + +Yumuri valley, 41 + + +Z + +Zanjon, treaty of, 158 + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Cuba, Old and New, by Albert Gardner Robinson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CUBA, OLD AND NEW *** + +***** This file should be named 11464-8.txt or 11464-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/4/6/11464/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Leonard D Johnson and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Cuba, Old and New + +Author: Albert Gardner Robinson + +Release Date: March 5, 2004 [EBook #11464] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CUBA, OLD AND NEW *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Leonard D Johnson and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + + <div class="figure"> + <a id="fig01"></a><a href="images/image01.jpg"><img width="40%" + src="images/image01.jpg" alt="TOWER OF LA FUERZA" /></a> + <h3>TOWER OF LA FUERZA<br /> + <i>Havana</i></h3> + </div> + <h1>CUBA</h1> + <h1>OLD AND NEW</h1> + <h4>BY</h4> + <h3>ALBERT G. ROBINSON</h3> + <h4>1915</h4> + <h2>CONTENTS</h2> + <div class="toc"> + <p>CHAPTER</p> + <a href="#I">I. OLD CUBA</a><br /> + <a href="#II">II. NEW CUBA</a><br /> + <a href="#III">III. THE COUNTRY</a><br /> + <a href="#IV">IV. THE OLD HAVANA</a><br /> + <a href="#V">V. THE NEW HAVANA</a><br /> + <a href="#VI">VI. AROUND THE ISLAND</a><br /> + <a href="#VII">VII. AROUND THE ISLAND (<i>Continued</i>)</a><br /> + <a href="#VIII">VIII. THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA</a><br /> + <a href="#IX">IX. CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS</a><br /> + <a href="#X">X. INDEPENDENCE</a><br /> + <a href="#XI">XI. FILIBUSTERING</a><br /> + <a href="#XII">XII. THE STORY OF SUGAR</a><br /> + <a href="#XIII">XIII. VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES</a><br /> + <a href="#XIV">XIV. POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE</a><br /> + </div> + <h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + <div class="ill"> + <a href="#fig01">Tower of La Fuerza, Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig02">The Morro, Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig03">A Planter's Home, Havana Province</a><br /> + <a href="#fig04">Iron Grille Gateway, El Vedado, suburb of Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig05">Watering Herd of Cattle, Luyano River, near Havaria</a><br /> + <a href="#fig06">Royal Palms</a><br /> + <a href="#fig07">Custom House, Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig08">Balconies, Old Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig08">Street in Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig09">Street and Church of the Angels, Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig10">A Residence in El Vedado</a><br /> + <a href="#fig11">The Volante (now quite rare)</a><br /> + <a href="#fig12">A Village Street, Calvario, Havana Province</a><br /> + <a href="#fig13">Street and Church, Camaguey</a><br /> + <a href="#fig14">Cobre, Oriente Province</a><br /> + <a href="#fig15">Hoisting the Cuban Flag over the Palace, May 20,1902</a><br /> + <a href="#fig16">A Spanish Block House</a><br /> + <a href="#fig17">Along the Harbor Wall, Havana</a><br /> + <a href="#fig18">Country Road, Havana Province</a><br /> + <a href="#fig19">Street in Camaguey</a><br /> + <a href="#fig20">Palm-Thatched Roofs</a><br /> + <a href="#fig20">A Peasant's Home</a><br /> + </div> + <h1>CUBA</h1> + <h1>OLD AND NEW</h1> + <h2><a id="I">I</a><br /> + <i>OLD CUBA</i></h2> + <p>Christopher Columbus was a man of lively imagination. Had he been an ordinary, + prosaic and plodding individual, he would have stayed at home combing wool as did his + prosaic and plodding ancestors for several generations. At the age of fourteen he + went to sea and soon developed an active curiosity about regions then unknown but + believed to exist. There was even then some knowledge of western Asia, and even of + China as approached from the west. Two and two being properly put together, the + result was a reasonable argument that China and India could be reached from the other + direction, that is, by going westward instead of eastward.</p> + <p>In the early autumn of the year 1492, Columbus was busy discovering islands in the + Caribbean Sea region, and, incidentally, seeking for the richest of the group. From + dwellers on other islands, he heard of one, called Cubanacan, larger and richer than + any that he had then discovered. A mixture of those tales with his own vivid + imagination produced a belief in a country of wide extent, vastly rich in gold and + gems, and already a centre of an extensive commerce. Cruising in search of what he + believed to be the eastern coast of Asia, he sighted the shore of Cuba on the morning + of October 28, 1492. His journal, under date of October 24, states: "At midnight I + tripped my anchors off this <i>Cabo del Isleo de Isabella</i>, where I was pitched to + go to the island of Cuba, which I learn from these people is very large and + magnificent, and there are gold and spices in it, and large ships and merchants. And + so I think it must be the island of Cipango (Japan), of which they tell such + wonders." The record, under date of Sunday, 28th of October, states: "Continued for + the nearest land of Cuba, and entered a beautiful estuary, clear of rocks and other + dangers. The mouth of the estuary had twelve fathoms depth, and it was wide enough + for a ship to work into." Students have disagreed regarding the first Cuban port + entered by Columbus. There is general acceptance of October 28 as the date of + arrival. Some contend that on that day he entered Nipe Bay, while others, and + apparently the greater number, locate the spot somewhat to the west of Nuevitas. + Wherever he first landed on it, there is agreement that he called the island Juana, + in honor of Prince Juan, taking possession "in the name of Christ, Our Lady, and the + reigning Sovereigns of Spain."</p> + <p>His record of the landing place is obscure. It is known that he sailed some + leagues beyond it, to the westward. While on board his caravel, on his homeward + voyage, he wrote a letter to his friend, Don Rafael Sanchez, "Treasurer of their most + Serene Highnesses," in which the experience is described. The original letter is + lost, but it was translated into Latin and published in Barcelona in the following + year, 1493. While the Latin form is variously translated into English, the general + tenor of all is the same. He wrote: "When I arrived at Juana (Cuba), I sailed along + the coast to the west, discovering so great an extent of land that I could not + imagine it to be an island, but the continent of Cathay. I did not, however, discover + upon the coast any large cities, all we saw being a few villages and farms, with the + inhabitants of which we could not obtain any communication, they flying at our + approach. I continued my course, still expecting to meet with some town or city, but + after having gone a great distance and not meeting with any, and finding myself + proceeding toward the north, which I was desirous, to avoid on account of the cold, + and, moreover, meeting with a contrary wind, I determined to return to the south, and + therefore put about and sailed back to a harbor which I had before observed." That + the actual landing was at or near the present port of Nuevitas seems to be generally + accepted.</p> + <p>Columbus appears to have been greatly impressed by the beauty of the island. In + his <i>Life of Columbus</i>, Washington Irving says: "From his continual remarks on + the beauty of scenery, and from his evident delight in rural sounds and objects, he + appears to have been extremely open to those happy influences, exercised over some + spirits, by the graces and wonders of nature. He gives utterance to these feelings + with characteristic enthusiasm, and at the same time with the artlessness and + simplicity of diction of a child. When speaking of some lovely scene among the + groves, or along the flowery shores of these favored islands, he says, "One could + live there forever." Cuba broke upon him like an elysium. "It is the most beautiful + island," he says, "that ever eyes beheld, full of excellent ports and profound + rivers." A little discount must be made on such a statement. Granting all that is to + be said of Cuba's scenic charms, some allowance is to be made for two influences. One + is Don Cristobal's exuberance, and the other is the fact that when one has been + knocking about, as he had been, for nearly three months on the open sea and among + low-lying and sandy islands and keys, any land, verdure clad and hilly, is a picture + of Paradise. Many people need only two or three days at sea to reach a similar + conclusion. In his letter to Luis de Santangel, Columbus says: "All these countries + are of surpassing excellence, and in particular Juana (Cuba,), which contains + abundance of fine harbors, excelling any in Christendom, as also many large and + beautiful rivers. The land is high, and exhibits chains of tall mountains which seem + to reach to the skies and surpass beyond comparison the isle of Cetrefrey (Sicily). + These display themselves in all manner of beautiful shapes. They are accessible in + every part, and covered with a vast variety of lofty trees which it appears to me + never lose their foliage. Some were covered with blossoms, some with fruit, and + others in different stages according to their nature. There are palm trees of six or + eight sorts. Beautiful forests of pines are likewise found, and fields of vast + extent. Here are also honey and fruits of thousand sorts, and birds of every + variety."</p> + <p>Having landed at this indefinitely located point, Columbus, believing that he had + reached the region he was seeking, despatched messengers to the interior to open + communication with some high official of Cathay, in which country he supposed himself + to be, the idea of Cipango apparently having been abandoned. "Many at the present + day," says Washington Irving, "will smile at this embassy to a naked savage chieftain + in the interior of Cuba, in mistake for an Asiatic monarch; but such was the singular + nature of this voyage, a continual series of golden dreams, and all interpreted by + the deluding volume of Marco Polo." But the messengers went on their journey, and + proceeded inland some thirty or forty miles. There they came upon a village of about + fifty huts and a population of about a thousand. They were able to communicate only + by signs, and it is quite certain that the replies of the natives were as little + understood by the messengers as the questions were by the natives. The messengers + sought something about which the natives knew little or nothing. The communications + were interpreted through the medium of imagination and desire. Nothing accomplished, + the commission returned and made its disappointing report. Washington Irving thus + describes the further proceedings: "The report of the envoys put an end to the many + splendid fancies of Columbus, about the barbaric prince and his capital. He was + cruising, however, in a region of enchantment, in which pleasing chimeras started up + at every step, exercising by turns a power over his imagination. During the absence + of the emissaries, the Indians had informed him, by signs, of a place to the + eastward, where the people collected gold along the river banks by torchlight and + afterward wrought it into bars with hammers. In speaking of this place they again + used the words Babeque and Bohio, which he, as usual, supposed to be the proper names + of islands or countries. His great object was to arrive at some opulent and civilized + country of the East, with which he might establish commercial relations, and whence + he might carry home a quantity of oriental merchandise as a rich trophy of his + discovery. The season was advancing; the cool nights gave hints of approaching + winter; he resolved, therefore, not to proceed farther to the north, nor to linger + about uncivilized places which, at present, he had not the means of colonizing, but + to return to the east-south-east, in quest of Babeque, which he trusted might prove + some rich and civilized island on the coast of Asia." And so he sailed away for + Hispaniola (Santo Domingo) which appears to have become, a little later, his favorite + West Indian resort.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig02"></a><a href="images/image02.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image02.jpg" alt="THE MORRO" /></a> + <h3>THE MORRO<br /> + <i>Havana</i></h3> + </div> + <p>He began his eastward journey on November 12th. As he did not reach Cape Maisi, + the eastern point of the island, until December 5th, he must have made frequent stops + to examine the shore. Referring to one of the ports that he entered he wrote to the + Spanish Sovereigns thus: "The amenity of this river, and the clearness of the water, + through which the sand at the bottom may be seen; the multitude of palm trees of + various forms, the highest and most beautiful that I have met with, and an infinity + of other great and green trees; the birds in rich plumage and the verdure of the + fields, render this country of such marvellous beauty that it surpasses all others in + charms and graces, as the day doth the night in lustre. For which reason I often say + to my people that, much as I endeavor to give a complete account of it to your + majesties, my tongue cannot express the whole truth, nor my pen describe it; and I + have been so overwhelmed at the sight of so much beauty that I have not known how to + relate it."</p> + <p>Columbus made no settlement in Cuba; his part extends only to the discovery. On + his second expedition, in the spring of 1494, he visited and explored the south coast + as far west as the Isle of Pines, to which he gave the name <i>La Evangelista</i>. He + touched the south coast again on his fourth voyage, in 1503. On his way eastward from + his voyage of discovery on the coast of Central America, he missed his direct course + to Hispaniola, and came upon the Cuban shore near Cape Cruz. He was detained there + for some days by heavy weather and adverse winds, and sailed thence to his unhappy + experience in Jamaica. The work of colonizing remained for others. Columbus died in + the belief that he had discovered a part of the continent of Asia. That Cuba was only + an island was determined by Sebastian de Ocampo who sailed around it in 1508. Baron + Humboldt, who visited Cuba in 1801 and again in 1825, and wrote learnedly about it, + states that "the first settlement of the whites occurred in 1511, when Velasquez, + under orders from Don Diego Columbus, landed at Puerto de las Palmas, near Cape + Maisi, and subjugated the Cacique Hatuey who had fled from Haiti to the eastern end + of Cuba, where he became the chief of a confederation of several smaller native + princes." This was, in fact, a military expedition composed of three hundred + soldiers, with four vessels.</p> + <p>Hatuey deserves attention. His name is not infrequently seen in Cuba today, but it + is probable that few visitors know whether it refers to a man, a bird, or a + vegetable. He was the first Cuban hero of whom we have record, although the entire + reliability of the record is somewhat doubtful. The notable historian of this period + is Bartolome Las Casas, Bishop of Chiapa. He appears to have been a man of great + worth, a very tender heart, and an imagination fully as vivid as that of Columbus. + His sympathies were aroused by the tales of the exceeding brutality of many of the + early Spanish voyagers in their relations with the natives. He went out to see for + himself, and wrote voluminously of his experiences. He also wrote with exceeding + frankness, and often with great indignation. He writes about Hatuey. The inference is + that this Cacique, or chieftain, fled from Haiti to escape Spanish brutality, and + even in fear of his life. There are other translations of Las Casas, but for this + purpose choice has been made of one published in London about the year 1699. It is + given thus:</p> + <p>"There happened divers things in this island (Cuba) that deserve to be remarked. A + rich and potent Cacique named Hatuey was retired into the Isle of Cuba to avoid that + Slavery and Death with which the Spaniards menaced him; and being informed that his + persecutors were upon the point of landing in this Island, he assembled all his + Subjects and Domestics together, and made a Speech unto them after this manner. "You + know, (said he) the Report is spread abroad that the Spaniards are ready to invade + this Island, and you are not ignorant of the ill usage our Friends and Countrymen + have met with at their hands, and the cruelties they have committed at Haiti (so + Hispaniola is called in their Language). They are now coming hither with a design to + exercise the same Outrages and Persecutions upon us. Are you ignorant (says he) of + the ill Intentions of the People of whom I am speaking? We know not (say they all + with one voice) upon what account they come hither, but we know they are a very + wicked and cruel People. I'll tell you then (replied the Cacique) that these + Europeans worship a very covetous sort of God, so that it is difficult to satisfy + him; to perform the Worship they render to this Idol, they will exact immense + Treasures of us, and will use their utmost endeavors to reduce us to a miserable + state of Slavery, or else put us to death." The historian leaves to the imagination + and credulity of his readers the task of determining just where and how he got the + full details of this speech and of the subsequent proceedings. The report of the + latter may well be generally correct inasmuch as there were Spanish witnesses + present, but the account of this oration, delivered prior to the arrival of the + Spanish invaders, is clearly open to a suspicion that it may be more or less + imaginary. But the historian continues: "Upon this he took a Box full of Gold and + valuable Jewels which he had with him, and exposing it to their view: Here is (said + he) the God of the Spaniards, whom we must honor with our Sports and Dances, to see + if we can appease him and render him propitious to us; that so he may command the + Spaniards not to offer us any injury. They all applauded this Speech, and fell a + leaping and dancing around the Box, till they had quite tired and spent themselves. + After which the Cacique Hatuey resuming his Discourse, continued to speak to them in + these terms: If we keep this God (says he) till he's taken away from us, he'll + certainly cause our lives to be taken away from us; and therefore I am of opinion it + will be the best way to cast him into the river. They all approved of this Advice, + and went all together with one accord to throw this pretended God into the + River."</p> + <p>But the Spaniards came and encountered the resistance of Hatuey and his followers. + The invaders were victorious, and Hatuey was captured and burned alive. Las Casas + relates that while the poor wretch was in the midst of the flames, tied to a stake, + "a certain Franciscan Friar of great Piety and Virtue, took upon him to speak to him + of God and our Religion, and to explain to him some Articles of Catholic Faith, of + which he had never heard a word before, promising him Eternal Life if he would + believe and threatening him with Eternal Torment if he continued obstinate in his + Infidelity. Hatuey reflecting on the matter, as much as the Place and Condition in + which he was would permit, asked the Friar that instructed him, whether the Gate of + Heaven was open to Spaniards; and being answered that such of them as were good men + might hope for entrance there: the Cacique, without any farther deliberation, told + him that he had no mind to go to heaven for fear of meeting with such cruel and + wicked Company as they were; but he would much rather choose to go to Hell where he + might be delivered from the troublesome sight of such kind of People." And so died + the Cacique Hatuey. Four hundred years later, the Cuban Government named a gunboat + <i>Hatuey</i>, in his honor.</p> + <p>The Velasquez expedition, in the following year, founded Baracoa, now a small city + on the northern coast near the eastern extremity of the island. It is a spot of + exceeding scenic charm. It was established as the capital city, but it held that + honor for a few years only. In 1514 and 1515, settlements were established at what is + now Santiago, at Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad, and Batabano. The latter was originally + called San Cristobal de la Habana, the name being transferred to the present city, on + the north coast, in 1519. It displaced the name Puerto de Carenas given to the + present Havana by Ocampo, who careened his vessels there in 1508. Baracoa was made + the seat of a bishopric, and a cathedral was begun, in 1518. In 1522, both the + capital and the bishopric were transferred to Santiago, a location more readily + accessible from the new settlements on the south coast, and also from Jamaica which + was then included in the diocese. Cuba, at about this period, was the point of + departure for an important expedition. In 1517, de Cordoba, with three vessels and + 110 soldiers, was sent on an expedition to the west for further and more northerly + exploration of the land discovered by Columbus in 1503. The coast from Panama to + Honduras had been occupied. The object of this expedition was to learn what lay to + the northward. The result was the discovery of Yucatan. Cordoba returned to die of + wounds received in a battle. A second and stronger expedition was immediately + despatched. This rounded the peninsula and followed the coast as far as the present + city of Vera Cruz. In 1518, Hernan Cortez was <i>alcalde</i>, or mayor, of Santiago + de Cuba. On November 18, of that year, he sailed from that port in command of an + expedition for the conquest of Mexico, finally effected in 1521, after one of the + most romantic campaigns in the history of warfare. All that, however, is a story in + which Cuba has no place except that of the starting point and base of the expedition. + There is another story of the same kind, a few years later. The first discovery of + Florida is somewhat uncertain. It appears on an old Spanish map dated 1502. Following + the expedition of Ponce de Leon, in 1513, and of Murielo, in 1516, Narvaez headed an + expedition from Cuba in 1528 with some three hundred freebooters. They landed in + Florida, where almost the entire band was, very properly, destroyed by the Indians. + In 1539, de Soto sailed from Havana, with five hundred and seventy men and two + hundred and twenty-three horses, for an extended exploration. They wandered for three + years throughout what is now the southern part of the United States from Georgia and + South Carolina westward to Arkansas and Missouri. After a series of almost incredible + experiences, de Soto died in 1542, on the banks of the Mississippi River at a point + probably not far from the Red River. These and other expeditions, from Cuba and from + Mexico, to what is now territory of the United States, produced no permanent results. + No gold was found.</p> + <p>Of the inhabitants of Cuba, as found by the Spaniards, comparatively little is + recorded. They seem to have been a somewhat negative people, generally described as + docile, gentle, generous, and indolent. Their garments were quite limited, and their + customs altogether primitive. They disappear from Cuba's story in its earliest + chapters. Very little is known of their numbers. Some historians state that, in the + days of Columbus, the island had a million inhabitants, but this is obviously little + if anything more than a rough guess. Humboldt makes the following comment: "No means + now exist to arrive at a knowledge of the population of Cuba in the time of Columbus; + but how can we admit what some otherwise judicious historians state, that when the + island of Cuba was conquered in 1511, it contained a million inhabitants of whom only + 14,000 remained in 1517. The statistical information which we find in the writings of + Las Casas is filled with contradictions." Forty years or so later the Dominican + friar, Luis Bertram, on his return to Spain, predicted that "the 200,000 Indians now + in the island of Cuba, will perish, victims to the cruelty of the Europeans." Yet + Gomara stated that there was not an Indian in Cuba after 1553. Whatever the exact + truth regarding numbers, it is evident that they disappeared rapidly, worked to death + by severe task-masters. The institution of African slavery, to take the place of the + inefficient and fast disappearing native labor, had its beginning in 1521. Baron + Humboldt states that from that time until 1790, the total number of African negroes + imported as slaves was 90,875. In the next thirty years, the business increased + rapidly, and Humboldt estimates the total arrivals, openly entered and smuggled in, + from 1521 to 1820, as 372,449. Mr. J.S. Thrasher, in a translation of Humboldt's + work, issued in 1856, added a footnote showing the arrivals up to 1854 as 644,000. A + British official authority, at the same period, gives the total as a little less than + 500,000. The exact number is not important. The institution on a large scale, in its + relation to the total number of whites, was a fact.</p> + <p>It is, of course, quite impossible even today to argue the question of slavery. To + many, the offence lies in the mere fact; to others, it lies in the operation of the + system. At all events, the institution is no longer tolerated in any civilized + country. While some to whom the system itself was a bitter offence have found much to + criticize in its operation in Cuba, the general opinion of observers appears to be + that it was there notably free from the brutality usually supposed to attend it. The + Census Report of 1899, prepared under the auspices of the American authorities, + states that "while it was fraught with all the horrors of this nefarious business + elsewhere, the laws for the protection of slaves were unusually humane. Almost from + the beginning, slaves had a right to purchase their freedom or change their masters, + and long before slavery was abolished they could own property and contract marriage. + As a result, the proportion of free colored to slaves has always been large." + Humboldt, who studied the institution while it was most extensive, states that "the + position of the free negroes in Cuba is much better than it is elsewhere, even among + those nations which have for ages flattered themselves as being most advanced in + civilization." The movement for the abolition of slavery had its beginning in 1815, + with the treaty of Vienna, to which Spain was a party. Various acts in the same + direction appear in the next fifty years. The Moret law, enacted in 1870 by the + Spanish Cortes, provided for gradual abolition in Spain's dominions, and a law of + 1880, one of the results of the Ten Years' War, definitely abolished the system. + Traces of it remained, however, until about 1887, when it may be regarded as having + become extinct forever in Cuba.</p> + <p>For the first two hundred and fifty years of Cuba's history, the city of Havana + appears as the special centre of interest. There was growth in other sections, but it + was slow, for reasons that will be explained elsewhere. In 1538, Havana was attacked + and totally destroyed by a French privateer. Hernando de Soto, then Governor of the + island, at once began the construction of defences that are now one of the special + points of interest in the city. The first was the Castillo de la Fuerza. In 1552, + Havana became the capital city. In 1555, it was again attacked, and practically + destroyed, including the new fortress, by French buccaneers. Restoration was effected + as rapidly as possible. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged, and the construction of the + Morro and of La Punta, the fortress at the foot of the Prado, was begun. The old city + wall, of which portions still remain, was of a later period. Despite these + precautions, the city was repeatedly attacked by pirates and privateers. Some + reference to these experiences will be made in a special chapter on the city. The + slow progress of the island is shown by the fact that an accepted official report + gives the total population in 1775 as 171,620, of whom less than 100,000 were white. + The absence of precious metals is doubtless the main reason for the lack of Spanish + interest in the development of the country. For a long time after the occupation, the + principal industry was cattle raising. Agriculture, the production of sugar, tobacco, + coffee, and other crops, on anything properly to be regarded as a commercial scale, + was an experience of later years. The reason for this will be found in the mistaken + colonial policy of Spain, a policy the application of which, in a far milder manner, + cost England its richest colony in the Western Hemisphere, and which, in the first + quarter of the 19th Century, cost Spain all of its possessions in this half of the + world, with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico.</p> + <h2><a id="II">II</a><br /> + <i>NEW CUBA</i></h2> + <p>While there is no point in Cuba's history that may be said to mark a definite + division between the Old Cuba and the New Cuba, the beginning of the 19th Century may + be taken for that purpose. Cuba's development dragged for two hundred and fifty + years. The population increased slowly and industry lagged. For this, Spain's + colonial policy was responsible. But it was the policy of the time, carried out more + or less effectively by all nations having colonies. England wrote it particularly + into her Navigation Acts of 1651, 1660, and 1663, and supported it by later Acts. + While not rigorously enforced, and frequently evaded by the American colonists, the + system at last proved so offensive that the colonists revolted in 1775. Most of + Spain's colonies in the Western Hemisphere, for the same reason, declared and + maintained their independence in the first quarter of the 19th Century. At the bottom + of Cuba's several little uprisings, and at the bottom of its final revolt in 1895, + lay the same cause of offence. In those earlier years, it was held that colonies + existed solely for the benefit of the mother-country. In 1497, almost at the very + beginning of Spain's colonial enterprises in the New World, a royal decree was issued + under which the exclusive privilege to carry on trade with the colonies was granted + to the port of Seville. This monopoly was transferred to the port of Cadiz in 1717, + but it continued, in somewhat modified form in later years, until Spain had no + colonies left.</p> + <p>While Santiago was the capital of the island, from 1522 to 1552, trade between + Spain and the island could be carried on only through that port. When Havana became + the capital, in 1552, the exclusive privilege of trade was transferred to that city. + With the exception of the years 1762 and 1763, when the British occupied Havana and + declared it open to all trade, the commerce of the island could only be done through + Havana with Seville, until 1717, and afterward with Cadiz. Baracoa, or Santiago, or + Trinidad, or any other Cuban city, could not send goods to Santander, or Malaga, or + Barcelona, or any other Spanish market, or receive goods directly from them. The law + prohibited trade between Cuba and all other countries, and limited all trade between + the island and the mother-country to the port of Havana, at one end, and to Seville + or Cadiz, according to the time of the control of those ports, at the other end. Even + intercolonial commerce was prohibited. At times, and for brief periods, the system + was modified to the extent of special trade licences, and, occasionally, by + international treaties. But the general system of trade restriction was maintained + throughout all of Spain's colonial experience. Between 1778 and 1803, most of Cuba's + ports were opened to trade with Spain. The European wars of the early years of the + 19th Century led to modification of the trade laws, but in 1809 foreign commerce with + Spanish American ports was again prohibited. A few years later, Spain had lost nearly + all its American colonies. A new plan was adopted in 1818. Under that, Spain sought + to hold the trade of Cuba and Porto Rico by tariffs so highly favorable to + merchandise from the mother-country as to be effectively prohibitive with regard to + many products from other countries. This, in general outline, is the cause of Cuba's + slow progress until the 19th Century, and the explanation of its failure to make more + rapid progress during that century.</p> + <p>Naturally, under such conditions, bribery of officials and smuggling became active + and lucrative enterprises. It may be said, in strict confidence between writer and + reader, that Americans were frequently the parties of the other part in these + transactions. In search through a considerable number of American histories, I have + been unable to find definite references to trade with Cuba, yet there seems to be + abundant reason for belief that such trade was carried on. There are many references + to trade with the West Indies as far back as 1640 and even a year or two earlier, but + allusions to trade with Cuba do not appear, doubtless for the reason that it was + contraband, a violation of both Spanish and British laws. There was evidently some + relaxation toward the close of the 18th Century. There are no records of the commerce + of the American colonies, and only fragmentary records between 1776 and 1789. The + more elaborate records of 1789 and following years show shipments of fish, whale oil, + spermaceti candles, lumber, staves and heading, and other articles to the "Spanish + West Indies," in which group Cuba was presumably included. The records of the time + are somewhat unreliable. It was a custom for the small vessels engaged in that trade + to take out clearance papers for the West Indies. The cargo might be distributed in a + number of ports, and the return cargo might be similarly collected. For the year + 1795, the records of the United States show total imports from the Spanish West + Indies as valued at $1,740,000, and exports to that area as valued at $1,390,000. In + 1800, the imports were $10,588,000, and the exports $8,270,000. Just how much of this + was trade with Cuba, does not appear. Because of the trade increase at that time, and + because of other events that, soon afterward, brought Cuba into more prominent + notice, this period has been chosen as the line of division between the Old and the + New Cuba.</p> + <p>Compared with the wonderful fertility of Cuba, New England is a sterile area. Yet + in 1790, a hundred and seventy years after its settlement, the latter had a + population a little exceeding a million, while the former, in 1792, or two hundred + and eighty years after its occupation, is officially credited with a population of + 272,300. Of these, 153,559 were white and 118,741 were colored. Several forces came + into operation at this time, and population increased rapidly, to 572,363 in 1817, + and to 704,465 in 1827. In 1841, it was a little more than a million. But the + increase in colored population, by the importation of African slaves, outstripped the + increase by the whites. In 1841, the population was divided into 418,291 whites and + 589,333 colored. The importation of slaves having declined, the year 1861 shows a + white preponderance, since continued and substantially increased. Among the forces + contributing to Cuba's rapid growth during this period were a somewhat greater + freedom of trade; the revolution in the neighboring island of Haiti and Santo + Domingo, that had its beginning in 1791 and culminated, some ten years later, in the + rule of Toussaint L'Ouverture; and an increased demand for sugar. One result of the + Haitian disorder was the arrival, in eastern Cuba, of a large number of exiles and + emigrants who established extensive coffee plantations. During the first hundred and + fifty years of Cuba's history, the principal industry of the island was cattle + raising, aside from the domestic industry of food supply. The proprietors lived, + usually, in the cities and maintained their vast estates in the neighborhood. To + this, later on, were added the production of honey and wax and the cultivation of + tobacco. With the period now under consideration, there came the expansion of the + coffee and sugar industries. The older activities do not appear to have been + appreciably lessened; the others were added on.</p> + <p>Europe and the Western Hemisphere were at that time in a state of general upheaval + and rearrangement. Following the American Revolution, there came the French + Revolution; the Napoleonic Wars; the war of 1812 between the United States and + England; and the general revolt of the Spanish colonies. The world was learning new + lessons, adopting new policies, in which the Spanish colonial system was a blunder + the folly of which Spain did not even then fully realize. Yet from it all, by one + means and another, Cuba benefited. Spain was fortunate in its selection of + Governors-General sent out at this time. Luis de Las Casas, who arrived in 1790, is + credited with much useful work. He improved roads and built bridges; established + schools and the <i>Casa de Beneficencia</i>, still among the leading institutions in + Havana; paved the streets of Havana; improved as far as he could the commercial + conditions; and established the <i>Sociedad Patriotica</i>, sometimes called the + <i>Sociedad Economica</i>, an organization that has since contributed immeasurably to + Cuba's welfare and progress. He was followed by others whose rule was creditable. But + the principal evils, restricted commerce and burdensome taxation, were not removed, + although world conditions practically compelled some modification of the commercial + regulations. In 1801 the ports of the island were thrown open to the trade of + friendly and neutral nations. Eight years later, foreign commerce was again + prohibited. In 1818, a new system was established, that of a tariff so highly + favorable to merchandise from Spain that it was by no means unusual for goods to be + shipped to that country, even from the United States, and from there reshipped to + Cuba. Changes in the rates were made from time to time, but the system of heavy + discrimination in favor of Spanish goods in Spanish ships continued until the + equalization of conditions under the order of the Government of Intervention, in + 1899.</p> + <p>In his book published in 1840, Mr. Turnbull states that "the mercantile interests + of the island have been greatly promoted by the relaxation of those restrictive + regulations which under the old peninsular system bound down all foreign commerce + with the colonies of Spain, and laid it prostrate at the feet of the mother-country. + It cannot be said that the sound principles of free trade, in any large or extended + sense of the term, have been recognized or acted upon even at the single port of + Havana. The discriminating duties imposed by the supreme government of Madrid on the + natural productions, manufactures, and shipping of foreign countries, in + contradistinction to those of Spain, are so stringent and so onerous as altogether to + exclude the idea of anything approaching to commercial freedom. There is no longer, + it is true, any absolute prohibition, but in many cases the distinguishing duties are + so heavy as to defeat their own object, and, in place of promoting the interests of + the mother-country, have had little other effect than the establishment of an + extensive and ruinous contraband." Under such conditions as those existing in Cuba, + from its beginning practically until the establishment of its political independence, + industrial development and commercial expansion are more than difficult.</p> + <p>One of the natural results of such a system appeared in the activities of + smugglers. The extent to which that industry was carried on cannot, of course, be + even guessed. Some have estimated that the merchandise imported in violation of the + laws equalled in value the merchandise entered at the custom houses. An official + publication (American) states that "from smuggling on a large scale and privateering + to buccaneering and piracy is not a long step, and under the name of privateers + French, Dutch, English, and American smugglers and buccaneers swarmed the Caribbean + Sea and the Gulf of Mexico for more than two centuries, plundering Spanish + <i>flotas</i> and attacking colonial settlements. Among the latter, Cuba was the + chief sufferer." Had Cuba's coasts been made to order for the purpose, they could + hardly have been better adapted to the uses of smugglers. Off shore, for more than + half its coast line, both north and south, are small islands and keys with narrow and + shallow passages between them, thus making an excellent dodging area for small boats + if pursued by revenue vessels. Thoroughly familiar with these entrances and hiding + places, smugglers could land their goods almost at will with little danger of + detection or capture.</p> + <p>Another heavy handicap on the economic progress of the island appears in the + system of taxation. Regarding this system, the Census of 1899 reports as follows:</p> + <p>"Apart from imports and exports, taxes were levied on real and personal property + and on industries and commerce of all kinds. Every profession, art, or manual + occupation contributed its quota, while, as far back as 1638, seal and stamp taxes + were established on all judicial business and on all kinds of petitions and claims + made to official corporations, and subsequently on all bills and accounts. These + taxes were in the form of stamps on official paper and at the date of American + occupation the paper cost from 35 cents to $3 a sheet. On deeds, wills, and other + similar documents the paper cost from 35 cents to $37.50 per sheet, according to the + value of the property concerned. Failure to use even the lowest-priced paper involved + a fine of $50.</p> + <p>"There was also a municipal tax on the slaughter of cattle for the market. This + privilege was sold by the municipal council to the highest bidder, with the result + that taxes were assessed on all animals slaughtered, whether for the market or for + private consumption, with a corresponding increase in the price of meat.</p> + <p>"Another tax established in 1528, called the <i>derecho</i> <i>de averia</i>, + required the payment of 20 ducats ($16) by every person, bond or free, arriving in + the island. In 1665 this tax was increased to $22, and continued in force to 1765, + thus retarding immigration, and, to that extent, the increase of population, + especially of the laboring class.</p> + <p>"An examination of these taxes will show their excessive, arbitrary, and + unscientific character, and how they operated to discourage Cubans from owning + property or engaging in many industrial pursuits tending to benefit them and to + promote the material improvement of the island.</p> + <p>"Taxes on real estate were estimated by the tax inspector on the basis of its + rental or productive capacity, and varied from 4 to 12 per cent. Similarly, a nominal + municipal tax of 25 per cent was levied on the estimated profits of all industries + and commerce, and on the income derived from all professions, manual occupations, or + agencies, the collector receiving 6 per cent of all taxes assessed. Much unjust + discrimination was made against Cubans in determining assessable values and in + collecting the taxes, and it is said that bribery in some form was the only effective + defense against the most flagrant impositions."</p> + <p>Some of the experiences of this period will be considered in special chapters on + Cuba's alleged revolutions and on the relations of the United States to Cuba and its + affairs. One point may be noted here. The wave of republicanism that swept over a + considerable part of Europe and over the Western Hemisphere, from 1775 to 1825 had + its direct influence in Spain, and an influence only less direct in Cuba. In 1812, + Spain became a constitutional monarchy. It is true that the institution had only a + brief life, but the sentiment that lay beneath it persisted and had been repeatedly a + cause of disturbance on the Peninsula. Something of the same sentiment pervaded Cuba + and excited ambitions, not for national independence, but for some participation in + government. A royal decree, in 1810, gave Cuba representation in the Cortes, and two + deputies from the island took part in framing the Constitution of 1812. This + recognition of Cuba lasted for only two years, the Constitution being abrogated in + 1814, but it was restored in 1820, only to cease again three years later. + Representatives were again admitted to the Cortes in 1834, and again excluded in + 1837. The effect of all this was, perhaps, psychological rather than practical, but + it gave rise to a new mental attitude and to some change in conduct. The effect + appears in the numerous recurrences of open protest and passive resistance in the + place of the earlier submission. Writing in 1855, Mr. J.S. Thrasher stated that "the + essential political elements of the island are antagonistic to those of the + mother-country. While the Cortes and the crown have frequently declared that Cuba + does not form an integral part of the Spanish monarchy, but must be governed by + special laws not applicable to Spain, and persist in ruling her under the erroneous + and unjust European colonial system, the growing wealth and increasing intelligence + of the Cubans lead them to aspire to some share in the elimination of the political + principles under which their own affairs shall be administered. A like antagonism + exists in the economic relations of the two countries. While the people of Cuba are + not averse to the raising of such revenue as may be required for the proper wants of + the State, in the administration of which they may participate, they complain, with a + feeling of national pride, that fiscal burdens of the most onerous kind are laid upon + them for the expressed purpose of advancing interests which are in every sense + opposed to their own. Thus, Spain imposes taxes to support a large army and navy, the + principal object of which is to prevent any expression of the public will on the part + of the people of Cuba. Another class of impositions have for their object the + diversion of the trade of Cuba to channels which shall increase the profits of the + agriculturists and mariners of Spain without regard to the interests of the people of + the island."</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig03"></a><a href="images/image03.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image03.jpg" alt="A PLANTER'S HOME" /></a> + <h3>A PLANTER'S HOME<br /> + <i>Havana Province</i></h3> + </div> + <p>Yet in spite of these severe restrictions and heavy burdens, Cuba shows a + considerable progress during the first half of the century. It is far from easy to + reach fair conclusions from contemporaneous writings. Naturally, Spanish officials + and Spanish writers strove to make the best possible case for Spain, its policies and + its conduct. The press of the island was either under official control or stood in + fear of official reprisals. The Cuban side, naturally partisan, appears to have been + presented chiefly by fugitive pamphlets, more or less surreptitiously printed and + distributed, usually the product of political extremists. Among these was a man of + marked ability and of rare skill in the use of language. He was Don Antonio Saco, + known in Cuba as the "Immortal Saco." In a letter written to a friend, in 1846, he + says, "The tyranny of our mother-country, today most acute, will have this + result—that within a period of time not very remote the Cubans will be compelled to + take up arms to banish her." That British observers and most American observers + should take the side of the Cubans is altogether natural. Writing in 1854, Mr. M.M. + Ballou, in his <i>History of Cuba</i>, says: "The Cubans owe all the blessings they + enjoy to Providence alone (so to speak), while the evils which they suffer are + directly referable to the oppression of the home government. Nothing short of a + military despotism could maintain the connection of such an island with a + mother-country more than three thousand miles distant; and accordingly we find the + captain-general of Cuba invested with unlimited power. He is, in fact, a viceroy + appointed by the crown of Spain, and accountable only to the reigning sovereign for + his administration of the colony. His rule is absolute; he has the power of life and + death and liberty in his hands. He can, by his arbitrary will, send into exile any + person whatever, be his name or rank what it may, whose residence in the island he + considers prejudicial to the royal interest, even if he has committed no overt act. + He can suspend the operation of the laws and ordinances, if he sees fit to do so; can + destroy or confiscate property; and, in short, the island may be said to be + perpetually in a state of siege."</p> + <p>The student or the reader may take his choice. On one side are Spanish statements, + official and semi-official, and on the other side, Cuban statements no less partisan. + The facts appear to support the Cuban argument. In spite of the severe restrictions + and the heavy burdens, Cuba shows a notable progress during the 19th Century. + Governors came and went, some very good and others very bad. There were a hundred of + them from 1512 to 1866, and thirty-six more from 1866 to 1899, the average term of + service for the entire number being a little less than three years. On the whole, the + most notable of the group of 19th Century incumbents was Don Miguel Tacon, who ruled + from June 1, 1834, until April 16, 1838. His record would seem to place him quite + decidedly in the "reactionary" class, but he was a man of action who left behind him + monuments that remain to his credit even now. One historian, Mr. Kimball, who wrote + in 1850, describes him as one in whom short-sightedness, narrow views, and jealous + and weak mind, were joined to an uncommon stubbornness of character. Another, Mr. + M.M. Ballou, says that "probably of all the governors-general that have filled the + post in Cuba none is better known abroad, or has left more monuments to his + enterprise, than Tacon. His reputation at Havana (this was written 1854) is of a + somewhat doubtful character; for, though he followed out with energy various + improvements, yet his modes of procedure were so violent that he was an object of + terror to the people generally, rather than of gratitude. He vastly improved the + appearance of the capital and its vicinity, built the new prison, rebuilt the + governor's palace, constructed a military road to the neighboring forts, erected a + spacious theatre and market house, arranged a new public walk, and opened a vast + parade ground without the city walls, thus laying the foundation of the new city + which has now sprung up in this formerly desolate suburb. He suppressed the gaming + houses and rendered the streets, formerly infested with robbers, as secure as those + of Boston or New York." Another writer, Mr. Samuel Hazard, in 1870, says: "Of all the + governors who have been in command of the island Governor Tacon seems to have been + the best, doing the most to improve the island, and particularly Havana; making laws, + punishing offences, and establishing some degree of safety for its inhabitants. It is + reported of him that he is said, like the great King Alfred, to have promised the + Cubans that they should be able to leave their purses of money on the public highway + without fear of having them stolen. At all events, his name is cherished by every + Cuban for the good he has done, and <i>paseos</i>, theatres, and monuments bear his + great name in Havana." The Tacon theatre is now the Nacional, and the Paseo Tacon is + now Carlos III. The "new prison" is the <i>Carcel</i>, or jail, at the northern end + of the Prado, near the fortress of La Punta. Don Miguel may have been disliked for + his methods and his manners, but he certainly did much to make his rule + memorable.</p> + <p>There is no reliable information that shows the progress of the island during the + 19th Century. Even the census figures are questioned. A reported 432,000 total + population in 1804 is evidently no more than an estimate, yet it is very likely not + far from the actual. Concerning their distribution throughout the island, and the + number engaged in different occupations, there are no records. There are no + acceptable figures regarding the respective numbers of whites and blacks. Nor is + there any record of the population in 1895, the year of the war for independence. + From the definite tabulation, under American auspices, in 1899, showing 1,576,797, it + has been estimated that the number in 1895, was a little less than 1,800,000, the + difference being represented by the disasters of the war, by the result of + reconcentration, and by departures during the disturbance. The general result seems + to be that the population was practically quadrupled. A somewhat rough approximation + would show the blacks as multiplied by three, to an 1899 total of 505,000, with the + whites multiplied by four, to a total of 1,067,000. Nor are there figures of trade + that afford any proper clue to the growth of industry and commerce. There are records + of imports and exports from about 1850 onward, but before that time the matter of + contraband trade introduces an element of uncertainty. An American official pamphlet + on Cuban trade carries the statement, "the ascertainment of full and exact details of + the commerce of Cuba prior to the close of Spanish dominion in the island is an + impossibility. The Spanish authorities, as a rule, published no complete returns of + Cuban trade, either foreign or domestic. Except with regard to Spain and the United + States, most of the existing commercial statistics of Cuba, prior to 1899, are + fragmentary and merely approximative. Spain and the United States have always kept a + separate and distinct trade account with Cuba; but the United Kingdom, France, + Germany, and other European countries excepting Spain, formerly merged their + statistics of trade with Cuba in one general item embracing Cuba and Porto Rico, + under the heading of "Spanish West Indies." Since 1899, however, all the Powers have + kept separate accounts with Cuba, and the statistics of the Cuban Republic have been + reasonably full and accurate."</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig04"></a><a href="images/image04.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image04.jpg" alt="IRON GRILLE GATEWAY" /></a> + <h3>IRON GRILLE GATEWAY<br /> + <i>El Vedado, Suburb of Havana</i></h3> + </div> + <p>Cuba's recorded imports in 1894 show a total value of $90,800,000, and exports + show a value of $102,000,000. Writing about the year 1825, Humboldt says: "It is more + than probable that the imports of the whole island, licit and contraband, estimated + at the actual value of the goods and the slaves, amount, at the present time, to + fifteen or sixteen millions of dollars, of which barely three or four millions are + re-exported." The same authority gives the probable exports of that time as about + $12,500,000. The trade at the beginning of the century must have been far below this. + The official figures for 1851 show total imports amounting to $34,000,000, and + exports to $33,000,000, but the accuracy of the figures is open to question. The more + important fact is that of a very large gain in population and in production. The + coffee industry, that assumed important proportions during a part of the first half + of the century, gradually declined for the reason that sugar became a much more + profitable crop. Now, Cuba imports most of its coffee from Porto Rico. Because of its + convenience as a contraband article, there are no reliable figures of the tobacco + output. Prior to 1817, the commodity was, for much of the time, a crown monopoly and, + for the remainder of the time, a monopoly concession to private companies. In that + year, cultivation and trade became free, subject to a tax on each planter of + one-twentieth of his production.</p> + <p>As we shall see, in another chapter, Cuba at last wearied of Spanish exactions and + revolted as did the United States, weary of British rule and British exactions and + restrictions, more than a hundred years earlier.</p> + <h2><a id="III">III</a><br /> + <i>THE COUNTRY</i></h2> + <p>Description of the physical features of a country seldom makes highly entertaining + reading, but it seems a necessary part of a book of this kind. Some readers may find + interest if not entertainment in such a review. The total area of the island, + including a thousand or more adjacent islands, islets, and keys, is given as 44,164 + square miles, a little less than the area of Pennsylvania and a little more than that + of Ohio or Tennessee. Illustration of its shape by some familiar object is difficult, + although various comparisons have been attempted. Some old Spanish geographers gave + the island the name of <i>La Lengua de Pajaro</i>, "the bird's tongue." Mr. M.M. + Ballou likened it to "the blade of a Turkish scimitar slightly curved back, or + approaching the form of a long, narrow, crescent." Mr. Robert T. Hill holds that it + "resembles a great hammer-headed shark, the head of which forms the straight, south + coast of the east end of the island, from which the sinuous body extends westward. + This analogy is made still more striking by two long, finlike strings of keys, or + islets, which extend backward along the opposite coasts, parallel to the main body of + the island." But all such comparisons call for a lively imagination. It might be + likened to the curving handles of a plow attached to a share, or to any one of a + dozen things that it does not at all clearly resemble. Regarding the Oriente coast, + from Cape Cruz to Cape Maisi, as a base, from that springs a long and comparatively + slender arm that runs northwesterly for five hundred miles to the vicinity of Havana. + There, the arm, somewhat narrowed, turns downward in a generally southwestern + direction for about two hundred miles. The total length of the island, from Cape + Maisi on the east to Cape San Antonio on the west, is about seven hundred and thirty + miles. Its width varies from a maximum, in Oriente Province, of about one hundred and + sixty miles, to a minimum, in Havana Province, of about twenty-two miles. It has a + general coast line of about twenty-two hundred miles, or, following all its + sinuosities, of about seven thousand miles. Its north coast is, for much of its + length, steep and rocky. Throughout the greater part of the middle provinces, there + is a border of coral reefs and small islands. At the western end, the north coast is + low, rising gradually to the eastward. At the eastern end, the northern coast is + abrupt and rugged, rising in a series of hills to the elevations in the interior. + Westward from Cape Maisi to Cape Cruz, on the south coast, and immediately along the + shore line, runs a mountain range. From here westward, broken by an occasional hill + or bluff, the coast is low and marshy.</p> + <p>Probably the best description of the topography and the orography of the island + yet presented is that given by Mr. Robert T. Hill, of the United States Geological + Survey. In his book on Cuba and other islands of the West Indies, Mr. Hill says:</p> + <p>"As regards diversity of relief, Cuba's eastern end is mountainous, with summits + standing high above the adjacent sea; its middle portion is wide, consisting of + gently sloping plains, well-drained, high above the sea, and broken 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. Over the whole is a mantle of tender vegetation, rich in every hue that + a flora of more than three thousand species can give, and kept green by mists and + gentle 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.</p> + <p>"But, at the outset the reader should dispossess his mind of any preconceived idea + that the island of Cuba is in any sense a physical unit. On the contrary, it presents + a diversity of topographic, climatic, and cultural features, which, as distributed, + divide the island into at least three distinct natural provinces, for convenience + termed the eastern, central, and western regions. The distinct types of relief + include regions of high mountains, low hills, dissected plateaus, intermontane + 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 + presents a rugged aspect when viewed from the sea. About one-fourth of the total area + is mountainous, three-fifths are rolling plain, valleys, and gentle arable slopes, + and the remainder is swampy.</p> + <p>"The island border on the north presents a low cliff topography, with a horizontal + sky-line from Matanzas 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 on both the north and south sides a series of remarkable terraces, + rising in stair-like arrangement to six hundred feet or more, representing successive + pauses or stages in the elevation of the island above the sea, and constituting most + striking scenic features. About one-half the Cuban coast is bordered by keys, which + are largely old reef rock, the creations of the same coral-builders that may now be + seen through the transparent waters still at work on the modern shallows, decking the + rocks and sands with their graceful and many colored tufts of animal foliage."</p> + <p>Mr. Hill summarizes the general appearance of the island, thus: "Santiago de Cuba + (now called Oriente) is predominantly a mountainous region of high relief, especially + along the coasts, with many interior valleys. Puerto Principe (now Camaguey) and + Santa 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 notable elevations of the island are the Cordilleras de los Organos, or + Organ Mountains, in Pinar del Rio, of which an eastward extension appears in the + Tetas de Managua, the Arcas de Canasi, the Escalera de Jaruco, the Pan de Matanzas, + and other minor elevations in Havana and Matanzas Provinces. In Santa Clara and + Camaguey, the range is represented by crest lines and plateaus along the north shore, + and finally runs into the hill and mountain maze of Oriente. In the south-central + section of the island, a somewhat isolated group of elevations appears, culminating + in El Potrerillo at a height of nearly 3,000 feet. In Oriente, immediately along the + south coast line, is the precipitous Sierra Maestra, reaching its greatest altitude + in the Pico del Turquino, with an elevation of approximately 8,500 feet. Another + elevation, near Santiago, known as La Gran Piedra, is estimated at 5,200 feet. All + these heights are densely wooded. From the tops of some of them, east, west, and + central, the views are marvellously beautiful, but the summits of most are reached + only with considerable difficulty. One of the most notable of these view points, and + one of the most easily reached, is the height immediately behind the city of + Matanzas, overlooking the famous Yumuri valley. The valley is a broad, shallow bowl, + some five or six miles in diameter, enclosed by steeply sloping walls of five to six + hundred feet in height. Through it winds the Yumuri River. It is best seen in the + early forenoon, or the late afternoon, when there come the shadows and the lights + that are largely killed by the more vertical rays of a midday sun. At those hours, it + is a scene of entrancing loveliness. There are views, elsewhere, covering wider + expanses, but none, I think, of equal beauty.</p> + <p>The vicinity of Matanzas affords a spectacle of almost enchantment for the + sight-seer, and of deep interest for the geologist. Somewhat more than fifty years + ago, an accident revealed the beautiful caves of Bellamar, two or three miles from + the city, and easily reached by carriage. Caves ought to be cool. These are not, but + they are well worth all the perspiration it costs to see them. They are a show place, + and guides are always available. In size, the caverns are not comparable with the + caves of Kentucky and Virginia, but they far excel in beauty. They are about three + miles in extent, and their lower levels are said to be about five hundred feet from + the surface. The rock is white limestone, in which are chambers and passage-ways, + stalactites and stalagmites innumerable. These have their somewhat fantastic but not + unfitting names, such as the Gothic Temple, the Altar, the Guardian Spirit, the + Fountain of Snow, and Columbus' Mantle. The place has been called "a dream of + fairyland," a fairly appropriate description. The colors are snow-white, pink, and + shades of yellow, and many of the forms are wonderfully beautiful. There are many + other caves in the island, like Cotilla, in the Guines region not far from Havana, + others in the Cubitas Mountains in Camaguey Province, and still others in Oriente, + but in comparison with Bellamar they are little else than holes in the ground. The + trip through these remarkable aisles and chambers occupies some three or four + hours.</p> + <p>Cuba is not big enough for rivers of size. There are innumerable streams, for the + island generally is well-watered. The only river of real importance is the Cauto, in + Oriente Province. This is the longest and the largest river in the island. It rises + in the hills north of Santiago, and winds a devious way westward for about a hundred + and fifty miles, emptying at last into the Gulf of Buena Esperanza, north of the city + of Manzanillo. It is navigable for small boats, according to the stage of the water, + from seventy-five to a hundred miles from its mouth. Numerous smaller streams flow to + the coast on both north and south. Some, that are really estuaries, are called + rivers. Very few of them serve any commercial purposes. There are a few water areas + called lakes, but they are really little other than ponds. On the south coast, + directly opposite Matanzas, lies a vast swamp known as the Cienega de Zapata. It + occupies an area of about seventy-five miles in length and about thirty miles in + width, almost a dead flat, and practically at sea-level. Here and there are open + spaces of water or clusters of trees, but most of it is bog and quagmire and dense + mangrove thickets. Along the coast are numerous harbors, large and small, that are + or, by dredging, could be made available for commercial purposes. Among these, on the + north coast, from west to east, are Bahia Honda, Mariel, Havana, Matanzas, Nuevitas, + Nipe Bay, and Baracoa. On the south, from east to west, are Guantanamo, Santiago, + Manzanillo, Cienfuegos, and Batabano. At all of these, there are now cities or towns + with trade either by steamers or small sailing vessels. Among the interesting + physical curiosities of the island are the numerous "disappearing rivers." Doubtless + the action of water on limestone has left, in many places, underground chambers and + tunnels into which the streams have found an opening and in which they disappear, + perhaps to emerge again and perhaps to find their way to the sea without + reappearance. This seems to explain numerous fresh-water springs among the keys and + off-shore. The Rio San Antonio quite disappears near San Antonio de los Banos. Near + Guantanamo, a cascade drops three hundred feet into a cavern and reappears a short + distance away. Such disappearing rivers are not unknown elsewhere but Cuba has + several of them.</p> + <hr /> + <p>The Census Report of 1907, prepared under American auspices, states that "the + climate of Cuba is tropical and insular. There are no extremes of heat, and there is + no cold weather." This is quite true if the records of a thermometer are the + standard; quite untrue if measured by the sensations of the human body. It is true + that, in Havana, for instance, the thermometer seldom exceeds 90° in the hottest + months, and rarely if ever goes below 50° in the coldest. But a day with the + thermometer anywhere in the 80s may seem to a northern body very hot, and a day with + the thermometer in the 50s is cold for anyone, whether a native or a visitor. There + is doubtless a physical reason for the fact that a hot day in the north seems hotter + than the same temperature in the south, while a day that seems, in the north, only + pleasantly cool, seems bitterly cold in the tropics. When the thermometer drops below + 60° in Havana, the coachmen blanket their horses, the people put on all the clothes + they have, and all visitors who are at all sensitive to low temperature go about + shivering. Steam heat and furnaces are unknown, and fireplaces are a rarity. Yet, in + general, the variations are not wide, either from day to day or when measured by + seasons. The extremes are the infrequent exceptions. Nor is there wide difference + between day and night. Taking the island as a whole, the average mean temperature for + July, the hottest month, is about 82°, and for January, the coolest month, about + 71°. + The mean for the year is about 77°, as compared with 52° for New York, + 48° for Chicago, 62° for Los Angeles, and 68° for New Orleans. + There are places that, by reason of exposure to prevailing winds, or distance from + the coast, are hotter or + cooler than other places. Havana is one of the cool spots, that is, relatively cool. + But no one goes there in search of cold. The yearly range in Havana, from maximum to + minimum, rarely if ever exceeds fifty degrees, and is usually somewhat below that, + while the range in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis is usually from one hundred to + one hundred and twenty-five degrees. The particular cause of discomfort for those + unused to it, is the humidity that prevails throughout the greater part of the year. + The worst season for this, however, is the mid-year months when few people visit the + island. The winter months, locally known as the "<i>invierno</i>," a term to be + associated with our word "vernal" and not with "infernal," are almost invariably + delightful, bringing to northern systems a pleasurable physical laziness that is + attended by a mental indifference to, or satisfaction with, the sensation.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig05"></a><a href="images/image05.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image05.jpg" alt="WATERING HERD OF CATTLE" /></a> + <h3>WATERING HERD OF CATTLE<br /> + <i>Luyano River near Havana</i></h3> + </div> + <p>The rainfall varies so widely in different parts of the island, and from year to + year, that exact information is difficult. Taken as a whole, it is little if at all + greater than it is in most places in the United States. We have our arid spots, like + El Paso, Fresno, Boise, Phoenix, and Winnemucca, where only a few inches fall in a + year, just as Cuba has a few places where the fall may reach sixty-five or seventy + inches in a year. But the average fall in Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and Santiago, + is little if any greater than in Boston, New York, or Washington. A difference + appears in the fact that about three-quarters of Cuba's precipitation comes between + the first of May and the first of October. But the term "wet season" does not mean + that it rains all the time, or every day, any more than the term "dry season" means + that during those months it does not rain at all. At times during the winter, or dry + season, there come storms that are due to unusual cold in the United States. These + are known in Cuba, as they are in Texas, as "northers." High winds sweep furiously + across the Gulf of Mexico, piling up huge seas on the Cuban coast, and bringing what, + in the island, is the substitute for cold weather, usually attended by rain and + sometimes by a torrent of it. The prevailing wind in Cuba is the northeast + trade-wind. In summer when the sun is directly overhead this wind is nearly east, + while in winter it is northeast. The proper way to avoid such discomfort as attends + humidity accompanying a thermometer in the 80s, is to avoid haste in movement, to + saunter instead of hurrying, to ride instead of walking, to eat and drink in + moderation, and where-ever possible, to keep in the shade. Many of those who eat + heartily and hurry always, will, after a few days, be quite sure that they have + yellow fever or some other tropical disorder, but will be entirely mistaken about it. + Modern sanitation in Cuba has made yellow fever a remote possibility, and the + drinking water in Havana is as pure as any in the world.</p> + <p>Most of the official descriptions of the flora of Cuba appear to be copied from + Robert T. Hill's book, published in 1898. As nothing better is available, it may be + used here. He says: "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 addition to those introduced from abroad, over 3,350 native plants + have been catalogued. The flora includes nearly all characteristic forms of the other + West Indies, the southern part of Florida, and the Central American seaboard. Nearly + all the large trees of the Mexican <i>Tierra Caliente</i>, so remarkable for their + size, foliage, and fragrance, reappear in western Cuba. Numerous species of palm, + including the famous royal palm, occur, while the pine trees, elsewhere + characteristic of the temperate zone and the high altitudes of the tropics, are found + associated with palms and mahoganies in the province of Pinar del Rio and the Isle of + Pines, both of which take their name from this tree. Among other woods are the + lignum-vitae, granadilla, the coco-wood, and the <i>Cedrela Odorata</i> (fragrant + cedar) which is used for cigar boxes and the lining of cabinet work."</p> + <p>In quoting the number of native plants, Mr. Hill uses a report somewhat + antiquated. Later estimates place the number as between five and six thousand. + Flowers are abundant, flowers on vines, plants, shrubs, and trees, tall stalks with + massive heads, and dainty little blossoms by the wayside. Brilliant flowering trees + are planted to line the roadsides. Among all the tree-growths, the royal palm is + notable. Scoffers have likened it to "a feather duster stood on end," but it is the + prominent feature in most of Cuba's landscape, and it serves many purposes other than + that of mere decoration. From its stem the Cuban peasant builds his little cottage + which he roofs with its leaves. Medicinal qualities are claimed for its roots. From + different parts of the tree, a wide variety of useful articles is made, plates, + buckets, basins, and even a kettle in which water may be boiled. The huge clusters of + seeds are excellent food for animals, and I have heard it said, though without proper + confirmation, that "a royal palm will keep a hog." Almost invariably, its presence + indicates a rich soil, as it rarely grows in areas of poor land. The forest area of + the island is not known with exactness, and is variously estimated at from about six + thousand square miles to about sixteen thousand. The difference probably represents + the opinion of individual investigators as to what is forest. About one-third of the + total is reported as in Oriente, another third in Camaguey, and the remainder + scattered through the four remaining provinces. A part of it is "public land," that + is, owned by the central government, but a greater part is of private ownership under + old Spanish grants. Much of it is dense jungle through which a way can be made only + by hacking, almost foot by foot. A good deal of it has already been cut over for its + most valuable timber. Most of the woods bear names entirely unfamiliar to us. Some + are used as cabinet woods, and some for tanning, for oils, dyes, gums, or fibres.</p> + <p>Cuba has few four-footed native wild animals. There are rabbits, but their + nativity is not quite certain. There are deer, but it is known that their ancestors + were brought from some other country. There are wild dogs, wild cats, and wild pigs, + but all are only domestic animals run wild.</p> + <p>Perhaps the only animal of the kind known to be native is the <i>jutia</i>, + sometimes spelled, as pronounced, <i>hutia</i>. Some observers have referred to it as + a rat, but it climbs trees and grows to the size of a woodchuck, or groundhog. It is + sometimes eaten and is said to be quite palatable. Reptiles are fairly common, but + none of them is dangerous. The best known is the <i>maja</i>, a snake that grows to a + length, sometimes, of twelve or fifteen feet. The country people not infrequently + make of it a kind of house pet. When that is done, the reptile often makes its home + in the cottage thatch, living on birds and mice. They are dull and sluggish in + motion. While visiting a sugar plantation a few years ago one of the hands asked if I + should be interested by their <i>maja</i>. He dipped his hand into a nearby + water-barrel in the bottom of which two of them were closely coiled. He dragged out + one of perhaps ten or twelve feet in length and four or five inches in diameter, + handling it as he would the same length of hawser. He hung it over the limb of a tree + so that I could have a good chance for a picture of it. The thing squirmed slowly to + the ground and crawled sluggishly away to the place from which it had been taken. Of + bird-life there is a large representation, both native and migratory. Among them are + some fifty species of "waders." In some parts of the island, the very unpleasant + land-crab, about the size of a soup-plate, seems to exist in millions, although + thousands is probably nearer the actual. The American soldiers made their + acquaintance in large numbers at the time of the Santiago campaign. They are not a + proper article of food. They have a salt-water relative that is most excellent + eating, as is also the lobster <i>(langosta)</i> of Cuban waters. In the swamp known + as the Cienega de Zapata are both alligators and crocodiles, some of them of quite + imposing dimensions.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig06"></a><a href="images/image06.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image06.jpg" alt="ROYAL PALMS" /></a> + <h3>ROYAL PALMS</h3> + </div> + <p>The insect life of the island is extensive. From personal experience, particularly + behind the search-light of an automobile that drew them in swarms, I, should say that + the island would be a rich field for the entomologist. There are mosquitos, gnats, + beetles, moths, butterflies, spiders, and scorpions. The bites of some of the spiders + and the stings of the scorpions are, of course, uncomfortable, but they are neither + fatal nor dangerous. With the exception of an occasional mosquito, and a perhaps more + than occasional flea, the visitor to cities only is likely to encounter few of the + members of these branches of Cuban zoology. There is one of the beetle family, + however, that is extremely interesting. That is the <i>cucullo</i>, which Mr. Hazard, + in his book on Cuba, calls a "bright peripatetic candle-bearer, by whose brilliant + light one can not only walk, but even read." They are really a kind of glorified + firefly, much larger than ours, and with a much more brilliant light. I do not know + their candle-power, but Mr. Hazard exaggerates little if at all in the matter of + their brilliancy.</p> + <p>While those referred to in the foregoing are the most notable features in this + particular part of the Cuban field, there are others, though of perhaps less + importance, to which reference might be made. Among them would be the sponge + fisheries of the coast in the neighborhood of Batabano, and the numerous mineral + springs, some of them really having, and others supposed to have, remarkable curative + qualities. A half century or so ago, a number of places not far from Havana were + resorts to which rich and poor went to drink or to bathe in springs hot or cold or + sulphurous or otherwise, for their healing. Among these were the baths at San Diego, + near the Organ Mountains in Pinar del Rio; Santa Rita, near Guanabacoa in Havana + Province; others near Marianao, on the outskirts of the city; and San Antonio, also + in Havana Province. Most of these places now appear to have lost their popularity if + not their medicinal virtues. Some, like those at Madruga, not far from Havana, still + have a considerable patronage. Something may also be said of earthquakes and + hurricanes. The former occur, on a small scale, more or less frequently in Oriente, + and much less frequently and of less severity in Havana. The latter come from time to + time to work disaster to Cuban industries and, sometimes but not frequently, to cause + loss of life and the destruction of buildings. They rarely occur except in the late + summer and the autumn.</p> + <p>Nearly a hundred years ago, Alexander Humboldt, a traveller and a scientist, wrote + thus of the island of Cuba: "Notwithstanding the absence of deep rivers and the + unequal fertility of the soil, the island of Cuba presents on every hand a most + varied and agreeable country from its undulating character, its ever-springing + verdure, and the variety of its vegetable formations."</p> + <h2><a id="IV">IV</a><br /> + <i>THE OLD HAVANA</i></h2> + <p>Among the many pictures, stored away in the album of my memory, there are two that + stand out more vividly than any others. The subjects are separated by half the + world's circumference. One is the sunsets at Jolo, in the southern Philippines. There + the sun sank into the western sea in a blaze of cloud-glory, between the low-lying + islands on either hand with the rich green of their foliage turned to purple shadows. + The other is the sunrise at Havana, seen from the deck of a steamer in the harbor. + The long, soft shadows and the mellow light fell on the blue and gray and green of + the buildings of the city, and on the red-tiled roofs, with the hills for a + background in one-half of the picture, and the gleaming water of the gulf in the + background of the other half. I had seen the long stretch of the southern coast of + the island, from Cape Antonio to Cape Maisi, while on an excursion with a part of the + army of occupation sent to Porto Rico in the summer of 1898, and had set foot on + Cuban soil at Daiquiri, but Havana in the morning light, on January 2, 1899, was my + first real Cuban experience. It remains an ineffaceable memory. Of my surroundings + and experiences aside from that, I have no distinct recollection. All was submerged + by that one picture, and quickly buried by the activities into which I was + immediately plunged. I do not recall the length of time we were held on board for + medical inspection, nor whether the customs inspection was on board or ashore. I + recall the trip from the ship to the wharf, in one of the little sailboats then used + for the purpose, rather because of later experiences than because of the first one. I + have no purpose here to write a history of those busy days, filled as they were with + absorbing interest, with much that was pathetic and not a little that was amusing. I + have seen that morning picture many times since, but never less beautiful, never less + impressive. Nowadays, it is lost to most travellers because the crossing from Key + West is made in the daytime, the boat reaching Havana in the late-afternoon. + Sometimes there is a partial compensation in the sunset picture, but I have never + seen that when it really rivalled the picture at the beginning of the day.</p> + <p>The visitor to Cuba, unfamiliar with the island, should take it leisurely. It is + not a place through which the tourist may rush, guide book in hand, making snapshots + with a camera, and checking off places of interest as they are visited. + Picturesqueness and quaintness are not at all lacking, but there are no noble + cathedrals, no vast museums of art and antiquity, no snow-clad mountains. There is a + charm of light and shade and color that is to be absorbed slowly rather than + swallowed at a single gulp. It is emphatically a place in which to dawdle. Let those + who are obliged to do so, work and hurry; the visitor and the traveller should take + it without haste. It is far better to see Havana and its vicinity slowly and + enjoyably, and look at pictures of the rest of the country, than it is to rush + through the island merely for the sake of doing so. In his essay on <i>The Moral of + Landscape</i>, Mr. Ruskin said that "all travelling becomes dull in exact proportion + to its rapidity." Nowhere is that more true than it is in Cuba. There is very little + in all the island that cannot be seen in Havana and its immediate vicinity. It is + well to see the other places if one has ample time, but they should not be seen at + the expense of a proper enjoyment of Havana and its neighborhood. In Havana are + buildings as old and buildings as beautiful as any in the island. In its vicinity are + sugar plantations, tobacco fields, pineapples, cocoanuts, mangoes, royal palms, + ceibas, peasants' homes, typical towns and villages, all the life of the people in + the city and country. The common American desire to "see it all" in a few days, is + fatal to the greatest enjoyment, and productive mainly of physical fatigue and mental + confusion. It is the misfortune of most travellers that they carry with them only the + vaguest of ideas of what they want to see. They have heard of Cuba, of Havana, the + Morro, the Prado, of a sunny island in the midst of a sapphire sea. While it is true + that almost everything in Cuba is worth seeing, it is best to acquire, before going, + some idea of the exhibition. That saves time and many steps. The old city wall, La + Fuerza, and La Punta, are mere piles of masonry, more or less dull and uninteresting + unless one knows something of their history. The manners and customs of any country + become increasingly interesting if one knows something about them, the reason for + them.</p> + <p>It is only a short trip to the Castillo del Principe, the fortress that crowns the + hill to the west of the city. From that height, the city and the harbor are seen + below, to the eastward. Across the bay, on the heights at the entrance, are the + frowning walls of Morro Castle surmounted by the towering light-house, and the no + less grim walls of La Cabaña. The bay itself is a sprawling, shapeless body of water + with a narrow neck connecting it with the Florida Straits. Into the western side of + the bay the city thrusts itself in a shape that, on a large map, suggests more than + anything else the head and neck of an over-fed bulldog. Into this bay, in 1508, came + Sebastian Ocampo, said to be the first white man to visit the spot. He entered for + the purpose of careening his little vessels in order to remove the barnacles and + accumulated weed-growth. It is possible that the spot was discovered earlier, but + there is no record of the discovery if such was made. Ocampo gave it the name of + Puerto de Carenas. The next record is of its occupation, in 1519. Four years earlier, + Diego Velasquez had left a little colony near what is now called Batabano, on the + south coast. He gave the place the name of San Cristobal de la Habana, in memory of + the illustrious navigator and discoverer. Habana, or Havana, is a term of aboriginal + origin. It proved to be an uncomfortable place of residence, and in 1519 the people + moved across the island to the Puerto de Carenas, taking with them the name given to + the earlier settlement, and substituting it for the name given by Ocampo. After a + time, all was dropped except the present title, Habana, or more commonly by + English-speaking people, Havana. It was not much of a place for a number of years, + but in 1538 it was sacked and burned by a French pirate, one of the many, of + different nations, who carried on a very lively buccaneering business in those and in + later years in West Indian waters. Hernando de Soto was then governor of the island, + with headquarters at the then capital city, Santiago de Cuba. He proceeded at once to + the scene of destruction. On his arrival, he ordered the erection of a fortress. Some + of the work then done still remains in the old structure near the Palace, at the foot + of Calle O'Reilly, known as La Fuerza. A few years before this time, Hernan Cortes + had conquered Mexico, then called New Spain, and a business between Old Spain and New + Spain soon developed. The harbor of Havana made a convenient halting-place on the + voyages between the two, and the settlement assumed a steadily increasing importance. + A new governor, Gonzales Perez de Angulo, who arrived in 1549, decided to make it his + place of residence. The year 1552 is generally given as the time of the creation of + Havana as the capital city. It was at that time made the residence city of the + Governors, by their own choice, but it was not officially established as the capital + until 1589. The fortress erected by order of de Soto proved somewhat ineffective. In + 1554, another French marauder attacked and destroyed the town. The principal industry + of those early days was cattle-raising, a considerable market being developed for + export to Mexico, and for the supply of vessels that entered the harbor for food and + water.</p> + <p>The continuance of incursions by pirates made necessary some further provision for + the defence of the city. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged and strengthened, and the + construction of Morro Castle was begun. To this work was added La Punta, the little + fortress on the western shore of the entrance, at the point of the angle now formed + by the Prado and the Malecon. These ancient structures, of practically no value + whatever in modern warfare, are now among the most picturesque points of interest in + the neighborhood. Another, in the same class, of which only a little now remains, is + of a later time. This is the old city wall, the construction of which was begun in + 1671. Following the simile of the bull-dog's head, a tract of land, formerly known as + the Arsenal yard, and now the central railway station, lies tucked away immediately + under the animal's jaw. From there to a point on the north shore, near La Punta, in a + slightly curving line, a high wall was erected for the purpose of defence on the + western or landward side. The old city lay entirely in the area defined by this + western wall and the shore of the harbor. At intervals, gates afforded exit to the + country beyond, heavy gates that could be closed to exclude any possible attacking + party. The fortifications erected from time to time were supposed to afford a system + of effective defence for the city. They are now little else than picturesque features + in the landscape, points of interest for visitors. Taking the chain in its order, El + Morro stands on the point on the eastern side of the entrance to the harbor. Just + beyond it is La Cabaña. About a half a mile to the east of this was the stone fort on + the hill of San Diego. Three miles east of the Morro, on the shore at Cojimar, is a + small and somewhat ancient fortification. This group constituted the defence system + on the east. At the head of the bay, on an elevation a little to the south of the + city, stands El Castillo de Atares, begun in 1763, immediately after the capture and + occupation of the city by the British. This is supposed to protect the city on the + south, as Castillo del Principe is supposed to defend it on the west. This stands on + a hill on the western outskirts, a somewhat extensive structure, begun in 1774 and + completed about twenty years later. A little further to the west, at the mouth of the + Almendares river, stands a little fort, or tower, called Chorrera, serving as a + western outpost as Cojimar serves as an eastern outpost. Both were erected about the + year 1650. On the shore generally north of Principe was the Santa Clara battery, and + between that and La Punta, at the foot of the Calzada de Belascoain, stood the + Queen's battery. From any modern point of view, the system is little more than + military junk, better fitted for its present use as barracks, asylums, and prisons + than for military defence. But it is all highly picturesque.</p> + <p>In the beginning, most of the buildings of the city were doubtless of wood, with + palm-thatched roofs. In time, these gave place to rows of abutting stone buildings + with tiled roofs. Most of them were of one story, some were of two stories, and a few + "palaces" had three. The city within the wall is today very much as it was a century + and more ago. Its streets run, generally but not accurately, at right angles, one set + almost due east and west, from the harbor front to the line of the old wall, and the + other set runs southward from the shore of the entrance channel to the shore of the + inner harbor. Several of these streets are practically continuous from north to south + or from east to west. But most of them are rather passage-ways than streets. The + houses come to their very edges, except for a narrow strip hardly to be classed as a + sidewalk, originally left, presumably, only for the purpose of preventing the + scraping of the front of the building by the wheels of passing carts and carriages. + It is a somewhat inconvenient system nowadays, but one gets quite used to it after a + little, threads the narrow walk a part of his way, takes to the street the rest of + the way, and steps aside to avoid passing vehicles quite as did the carriageless in + the old days. One excellent way to avoid the trouble is to take a carriage and let + the other fellow step aside. Riding in the <i>coche</i> is still one of the cheapest + forms of convenience and entertainment in the city, excepting the afternoon drive + around the Prado and the Malecon. That is not cheap. We used to pay a dollar an hour. + My last experience cost me three times that.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:50%;"> + <a id="fig07"></a><a href="images/image07.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image07.jpg" alt="CUSTOM HOUSE, HAVANA" /></a> + <h3>CUSTOM HOUSE, HAVANA<br /> + <i>Formerly Franciscan Convent<br /> + Begun</i> 1574, <i>finished</i> 1591</h3> + </div> + <p>Much of the old city is now devoted to business purposes, wholesale, retail, and + professional. But there are also residences, old churches, and old public buildings. + On the immediate water-front, and for many years used as the custom house, stands the + old Franciscan convent, erected during the last quarter of the 16th Century. It is a + somewhat imposing pile, dominated by a high tower. I have not visited it for a number + of years and do not know if its interior is available for visitors without some + special introduction, but there is much worth seeing inside its walls, the flying + buttresses of the super-structure, some old and interesting frescoes, and a system of + dome construction that is quite remarkable. To the latter, my attention was first + called by General Ludlow, a distinguished engineer officer of the United States Army, + then acting as governor of the city. To him belongs, although it is very rarely + given, the credit for the cleansing of Havana during the First Intervention. He + frequently visited the old convent just to see and study that interior dome + construction. Immediately behind the Palace is the old convent of the Dominicans, + less imposing but of about the same period as the Franciscan structure. It is now + used as a high-school building. The Cathedral, a block to the northward of the + Dominican convent building, is of a much later date, having been begun as recently as + 1742. It was originally the convent of the Jesuits, but became the Cathedral in 1789. + Many have believed, on what seems to be acceptable evidence, that here for more than + a hundred years rested the bones of Christopher Columbus. He died in Valladolid in + 1506, and was buried there. His remains were removed to the Carthusian Monastery, in + Seville, in 1513. From there they are said to have been taken, in 1536, to the city + of Santo Domingo, where they remained until 1796, when they were brought to Havana + and placed in a niche in the walls of the old Cathedral, there to remain until they + were taken back to Spain in 1898. There is still an active dispute as to whether the + bones removed from Santo Domingo to Havana were or were not those of Columbus. At all + events, the urn supposed to contain them was in this building for a hundred years, + below a marble slab showing a carving of the voyager holding a globe, with a finger + pointing to the Caribbean. Beneath this was a legend that has been thus + translated:</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>OH! REST THOU, IMAGE OF THE GREAT COLON,<br /> + THOUSAND CENTURIES REMAIN, GUARDED IN THE URN,<br /> + AND IN THE REMEMBRANCE OF OUR NATION.</p> + </div> + </div> + <p>In this neighborhood, to the east of the Plaza de Armas, on which the Palace + fronts, is a structure known as <i>El Templete</i>. It has the appearance of the + portico of an unfinished building, but it is a finished memorial, erected in 1828. + The tradition is that on this spot there stood, in 1519, an old ceiba tree under + which the newly arrived settlers celebrated their first mass. The yellow Palace, for + many years the official headquarters and the residence of successive + Governors-General, stands opposite, and speaks for itself. In this building, somewhat + devoid of architectural merit, much of Cuba's history, for the last three-quarters of + a century, has been written. The best time to see all this and much more that is to + be seen, is the early morning, before the wheels begin to go around. The lights and + shadows are then the best, and the streets are quieter and less crowded. The + different points of interest are easily located by the various guide books + obtainable, and the distances are not great. A cup of <i>cafe con leche</i> should + precede the excursion. If one feels lazy, as one is quite apt to feel in the tropics + and the sub-tropics, fairly comfortable open carriages are at all times available. + With them, of course, a greater area can be covered and more places seen, though + perhaps seen less satisfactorily. There is much to be seen in the early morning that + is best seen in those hours, and much that is not seen later in the day. In all + cities there is an early morning life and Havana is no exception. I confess to only a + limited personal knowledge of it, but I have seen enough of it, and heard enough + about it, to know that the waking-up of cities, including Havana, is an interesting + process. I have, at least, had enough personal experience to be sure that the early + morning air is delicious, the best of the day. I am not speaking of the unholy hours + preceding daybreak, but of six to eight o'clock, which for those of us who are + inclined to long evenings is also the best time to be in bed. The early morning + church bells are a disturbance to which visitors do not readily adjust their morning + naps. Mr. Samuel Hazard, who visited Cuba about the year 1870, and wrote quite + entertainingly about it, left the following description of his experience in + Havana:</p> + <p>"Hardly has the day begun to break when the newly arrived traveller is startled + from his delightful morning doze by the alarming sound of bells ringing from every + part of the town. Without any particular concert of action, and with very different + sounds, they ring out on the still morning air, as though for a general + conflagration, and the unfortunate traveller rushes frantically from his bed to + inquire if there is any hope of safety from the flames which he imagines, from the + noise made, must threaten the whole town. Imagine, O reader! in thy native town, + every square with its church, every church with its tower, or maybe two or three of + them, and in each particular tower a half-dozen large bells, no two of which sound + alike; place the bell-ropes in the hands of some frantic man who pulls away, first + with one hand and then the other, and you will get a very faint idea of your first + awakening in Havana. Without apparent rhyme or reason, ding, dong, ding they go, + every bell-ringer at each different church striving to see how much noise he can + make, under the plea of bringing the faithful to their prayers at the early morning + mass."</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig08"></a><a href="images/image08.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image08.jpg" alt="BALCONIES IN OLD HAVANA STREET IN HAVANA" /></a> + <h3>BALCONIES IN OLD HAVANA<br /> + STREET IN HAVANA</h3> + </div> + <p>The only conceivable advantage of these early bells is the fact that they turn out + many a traveller at the hour when Havana is really at its best. Yet, as I read the + descriptive tales left by those who wrote forty, fifty, and sixty years ago, I am + struck by the fact, that, after all, the old Havana has changed but little. There are + trolley lines, electric lights, and a few other so-called modern improvements, but + there is still much of the old custom, the old atmosphere. The old wall, with its + soldier-guarded gates, is gone, and there are a few modern buildings, but only a few, + for which fact I always feel thankful, but the old city is much what it was when Mr. + Ballou, and Mr. Dana, and Mr. Kimball, and numerous others wrote about it soon after + 1850, and when Mr. Hazard wrote about it in 1870. The automobile is there now in + large numbers, in place of the old volante, and there are asphalted streets in place + of cobble-stones. The band plays in the evening in the Parque Central or at the + Glorieta, instead of in the Plaza de Armas, but the band plays. The restaurants are + still a prominent feature in Havana life, as they were then. The ladies wear hats + instead of <i>mantillas</i>, but they buy hats on Calle Obispo just as and where + their mothers and grandmothers bought <i>mantillas</i>. Bull-fighting is gone, + presumably forever, but crowds flock to the baseball grounds. The midday suspension + of business continues, generally, and the afternoon parade, on foot and in carriages, + remains one of the important functions of the day. There are many who know Havana, + and love it, who pray diligently that it may be many years before the city is + Americanized as, for instance, New Orleans has been.</p> + <p>Most of the life of the city, as it is seen by most visitors, is outside the old + city, and probably few know that any distinction is made, yet the line is drawn with + fair clearness. There is a different appearance in both streets and buildings. While + there are shops on San Rafael and Galiano and elsewhere, the principal shopping + district is in the old city, with Calle Obispo as its centre. They have tried + officially, to change the name of the street, but the old familiar name sticks and + seems likely to stick for a long time yet. Far be it from a mere man to attempt + analysis or description of such a place. He might tell another mere man where to buy + a hat, a pair of shoes, or eyeglasses, or a necktie, or where to find a lawyer, but + the finer points of shopping, there or elsewhere, are not properly for any masculine + description. The ladies may be trusted to learn for themselves, and very quickly, all + that they need or want to know about that phase of Havana's commerce. I am leaving + much to the guide books that can afford space for all necessary information about + churches, statues, and other objects of interest for visitors. Havana's retail + merchants have their own way of trading, much as they do in many foreign countries, + and in not a few stores in our own country. Prices are usually a question of the + customer's ability to match the commercial shrewdness of the dealer. Much of the + trade of visitors is now confined to the purchase of such articles as may be + immediately needed and to a few souvenirs. One of the charms of the place is the + cheap transportation. If you are tired, or in a hurry, there is always a coach near + at hand that will take you where you wish to go, for a peseta, or a quarter, if + within certain officially prescribed bounds. If you desire to go beyond those bounds, + make a bargain with your driver or be prepared for trouble. Down in the old city are + to be found several restaurants that are well worth visiting, for those who want good + food. I shall not advertise the particular places, but they are well known. As the + early morning is the best time to see the old city, the forenoon is the best time for + shopping. Such an expedition may well be followed by the <i>almuerzo</i>, the midday + breakfast or lunch, whichever one sees fit to call it, at one of these restaurants. + After that, it is well to enjoy a midday <i>siesta</i>, in preparation for the + afternoon function on the Prado and the Malecon.</p> + <h2><a id="V">V</a><br /> + THE NEW HAVANA</h2> + <p>The new Havana, the city outside the old wall, is about as old as Chicago but not + nearly as tall. There is no reason why it should be. Here are wide streets and broad + avenues, and real sidewalks, some of them about as wide as the entire street in the + old city. About 1830, the region beyond the wall was held largely by Spaniards to + whom grants of land had been made for one reason or another. These tracts were + plantations, pastures, or unimproved lands, according to the fancy of the proprietor + who usually lived in the city and enjoyed himself after the manner of his kind. Here + and there, a straggling village of palm-leaf huts sprang up. The roads were rough + tracks. To Governor-General Tacon seems due much of the credit for the improvement + beyond the walls. During his somewhat iron-handed rule several notable buildings were + erected, some of them by his authority. The most notable feature of the district is + the renowned Prado, a broad boulevard with a park between two drive-ways, running + from the water-front, at the entrance to the harbor, southward for about a mile. A + few years ago, rows of trees shaded the central parkway, but they were almost + entirely wrecked by the hurricanes in 1906 and 1910.</p> + <p>A half mile or so from its northern end, the Prado runs along the west side of the + Parque Central, the most notable of the numerous little squares of walks and trees + and flowers. A block or two further on is a little park with an excellent statue, + known as La India. Opposite that is another really beautiful park, from the western + side of which runs a broad street that leads to the Paseo de Carlos Tercero, formerly + the Paseo de Tacon, one of the monuments left to his own memory by one of Cuba's most + noted Spanish rulers. The Paseo runs westward to El Castillo del Principe, originally + a fortress but now a penitentiary. The Prado stops just beyond the companion parks, + La India and Colon. These originally formed the Campo de Marte, laid out by General + Tacon and, in his time, used as a military parade ground. In a way, the Parque + Central is the centre of the city. It is almost that, geographically, and perhaps + quite that, socially. In its immediate vicinity are some of the leading hotels and + the principal theatres. One of the latter, facing the park on its western side, + across the Prado, is now known as the Nacional. Formerly it was the Tacon, a monument + to that notable man. There is quite a story about that structure. It is somewhat too + long for inclusion here, but it seems worth telling. The following is an abridgment + of the tale as it is told in Mr. Ballou's <i>History of Cuba</i>, published in 1854. + Tacon was the Governor of the island from 1834 to 1838. At that time, a certain man + named Marti was eminent in the smuggling and piracy business, an industry in which + many others were engaged. But Marti seems to have stood at the top of his profession, + a man of skill and daring and evidently well supplied with brains. Tacon's efforts to + capture him, or to break up his business, were entirely unsuccessful, and a large + reward was offered for his body, alive or dead. Mr. Ballou tells the story in + somewhat dramatic manner:</p> + <p>"It was a dark, cloudy night in Havana, a few months after the announcement of the + reward, when two sentinels were pacing backward and forward before the main entrance + to the Governor's palace. A little before midnight, a man was watching them from + behind a statue in the park, and after observing that the sentinels paced their brief + walk so as to meet each other, and then turned their backs as they separated, leaving + a brief moment in the interval when the eyes of both were turned away from the + entrance, seemed to calculate upon passing them unobserved. It was an exceedingly + delicate manoeuvre, and required great care and dexterity to effect it; but, at last, + it was adroitly done, and the stranger sprang lightly through the entrance, secreting + himself behind one of the pillars of the inner court. The sentinels paced on + undisturbed. The figure which had thus stealthily effected an entrance, now sought + the broad stairs that led to the Governor's suite, with a confidence that evinced a + perfect knowledge of the place. A second guard-post was to be passed at the head of + the stairs; but, assuming an air of authority, the stranger offered a cold military + salute and passed forward, as though there was not the most distant question of his + right to do so; and thus avoiding all suspicion in the guard's mind, he boldly + entered the Governor's reception room unchallenged, and closed the door behind + him."</p> + <p>In his office, alone, the stranger found Tacon, who was naturally surprised at the + appearance of an unannounced caller. He demanded to know who the visitor was, but a + direct answer was evaded. After referring to the matter of the reward offered for the + discovery of Marti, and the pledge of immunity to the discoverer, the caller demanded + and obtained a verbal endorsement of the promise of immunity, under the Governor's + word of honor, whatever might be the circumstances of his revelation. He then + announced himself as the much-sought pirate and smuggler, Marti. Tacon was somewhat + astounded, but he kept his word. Marti was held overnight, but "on the following + day," the Ballou account proceeds, "one of the men-of-war that lay idly beneath the + guns of Morro Castle suddenly became the scene of the utmost activity, and, before + noon, had weighed her anchor, and was standing out into the gulf stream. Marti the + smuggler was on board as her pilot; and faithfully did he guide the ship on the + discharge of his treacherous business, revealing every haunt of the rovers, exposing + their most valuable depots; and many a smuggling craft was taken and destroyed. The + amount of money and property thus secured was very great." The contemptible job of + betraying his former companions and followers being successfully accomplished, Marti + returned with the ships, and claimed his reward from Tacon. The General, according to + his word of honor, gave Marti a full and unconditional pardon for all his past + offences, and an order on the treasury for the amount of the reward offered. The + latter was declined but, in lieu of the sum, Marti asked for and obtained a monopoly + of the right to sell fish in Havana. He offered to build, at his own expense, a + public market of stone, that should, after a specified term of years, revert to the + government, "with all right and the title to the fishery." This struck Tacon as a + good business proposition; he saved to his treasury the important sum of the reward + and, after a time, the city would own a valuable fish-market. He agreed to the plan. + Marti thereupon went into the fish business, made huge profits, and became, so the + story goes, the richest man in the island. After a time, being burdened with wealth, + he looked about for means of increasing his income. So he asked for and obtained a + monopoly of the theatre business in Havana, promising to build one of the largest and + finest theatres in the world. The result of the enterprise was the present Nacional + theatre, for many years regarded as second only to the Grand theatre in Milan. But it + was named the Tacon. Its special attraction was internal; its exterior was far from + imposing. It has recently been considerably glorified. Having thus halted for the + story of the theatre, we may return to the Prado on which it fronts. Here, Havana + society used to gather every afternoon to drive, walk, and talk. The afternoon + <i>paseo</i> was and still is the great event of the day, the great social function + of the city. At the time of my first visit, in 1899, there was no Malecon drive along + the shore to the westward. That enterprise was begun during the First Intervention, + and continued by succeeding administrations. In the earlier days, the route for + driving was down the east side of the Prado, between the Parque Central and the + <i>Carcel</i>, and up the west side, around and around, up and down, with bows and + smiles to acquaintances met or passed, and, probably, gossip about the strangers. + Many horsemen appeared in the procession, and the central promenade was thronged with + those who walked, either because they preferred to or because they could not afford + to ride around and around. In the Parque Central were other walkers, chatting groups, + and lookers-on. Some days the band played. Then the Prado was extended to the + water-front; the <i>glorieta</i> was erected; and that became another centre for + chatterers and watchers. The building of the Malecon extended the range of the + driveway. This afternoon function is an old established institution and a good one. + It may not compare favorably with the drive in some of our parks in this country, but + it is the best substitute possible in Havana. Indulgence in ices, cooling drinks, + chocolate, or other refections, during this daily ceremony, is fairly common but by + no means a general practice. The afternoon tea habit has not yet seized upon Havana. + The ices are almost invariably excellent. Some of them are prepared from native fruit + flavors that are quite unknown here. The <i>guanabana</i> ice is particularly to be + recommended. All such matters are quite individual, but a decoction called + <i>chocolate Espanol</i> is also to be recommended. It is served hot, too thick to + drink, and is to be taken with a spoon, to the accompaniment of cake. It is highly + nourishing as well as palatable. There is a wide variety of "soft drinks," made with + oranges, limes, or other fruits, and the <i>orchata</i>, made from almonds, and the + products of American soda fountains, but there is little use of the high-ball or the + cocktail except by Americans.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig09"></a><a href="images/image09.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image09.jpg" alt="STREET AND CHURCH OF THE ANGELS" /></a> + <h3>STREET AND CHURCH OF THE ANGELS<br /> + <i>Havana</i></h3> + </div> + <p>The Cubans are an exceedingly temperate people. Wine is used by all classes, and + <i>aguadiente</i>, the native rum, is consumed in considerable quantity, but the + Cuban rarely drinks to excess. I recall an experience during the earlier years. I was + asked to write a series of articles on the use of intoxicants in the island, for a + temperance publication in this country. My first article so offended the publishers + that they declined to print it, and cancelled the order for the rest of the series. + It was perhaps somewhat improper, but in that article I summed up the situation by + stating that "the temperance question in Cuba is only a question of how soon we + succeed in converting them into a nation of drunkards." Beer is used, both imported + and of local manufacture. Gin, brandy, and anisette, cordials and liqueurs are all + used to some but moderate extent, but intoxication is quite rare. One fluid extract I + particularly recommend, that is the milk of the cocoanut, the green nut. Much, + however, depends upon the cocoanut. Properly ripened, the "milk" is delicious, + cooling and wholesome, more so perhaps on a country journey than in the city. The nut + not fully ripened gives the milk, or what is locally called the "water," an + unpleasant, woody taste. I have experimented with it in different parts of the world, + in the Philippines, Ceylon, and elsewhere, and have found it wholesome and refreshing + in all places.</p> + <p>The houses in the new Havana are, on the whole, vastly more cheerful than are the + dwellings in the old city. They are of the same general architectural type, but + because of the wider streets, more air and sunshine gets into them. Some of the best + and most costly are along the Prado. A Cuban house interior generally impresses an + American as lacking in home-like quality. Some of the best are richly adorned, but + there is a certain bareness and an absence of color. As is usual with customs unlike + our own, and which we are therefore prone to regard as inferior to ours, there are + excellent reasons for Cuban interior decoration, or rather the lack of it. A little + experience, or even a little reflection, shows clearly the impossibility of anything + resembling American house decoration in such a climate as that of Cuba. Our warm + colors, hangings, upholstered furniture, rugs, and much else that we regard as + essential in northern latitudes, would be utterly unendurable in Cuba. There, the + marble or tiled floors, the cool tones of wall and ceiling, and the furniture of wood + and cane, are not only altogether fitting but as well altogether necessary. Our glass + windows would only serve to increase heat and shut out air. As some barrier is + necessary to keep passers, even Americans, from intrusive entrance by the windows + whose bottoms are at floor level, the system of iron bars or elaborate grille work is + adopted. Few Americans see much, if anything, of Cuban home life except as they see + it through these barriers as they pass. It is not the custom of the country to invite + promiscuous or casual acquaintances to call. It is even less the custom there than it + is with us. A book about Cuba, published a few years ago, gives a somewhat extended + account of what is called "home life," but it is the home life of workmen and people + who do laundry work to eke out a meagre living. It is not even the life of fairly + paid artisans, or of people of modest but comfortable income. It is no more a proper + description of the domestic life of the island than would be a presentation of the + life in the palaces of the wealthy. Such attempts at description are almost + invariably a mistake, conveying, whether from purpose or from indifference to truth, + a false impression. Domestic economy and household management vary in Cuba as they + vary in the United States, in France, England, Japan, or Mexico. The selection of an + individual home, or of several, as a basis for description, in Cuba or anywhere else, + can only result in a picture badly out of drawing and quite misleading.</p> + <p>There are Cuban homes, as there are American homes, that are slatternly and badly + managed, and there are Cuban homes that are as spick and span and as orderly in their + administration as any home in this country. Their customs, as are ours, are the + result of environment and tradition. To some of us, a rectangle of six or eight + rocking-chairs, placed in the centre of a room, in which family and visitors sit and + rock while they talk, may seem curious, but it is a custom that we may not criticize + either with fairness or common decency. The same may be said of the not uncommon + custom of using a part of the street floor of the house as a stable. It is an old + custom, brought from Spain. But I have wandered from description to incident. I have + no intention to attempt a description of Cuban home life, beyond saying that I have + been a guest in costly homes in the city and in the little palm-leaf "shacks" of + peasants, and have invariably found in both, and in the homes of intermediate + classes, only cordial hospitality and gracious courtesy. Those who have found + anything different have carried it with them in their own attitude toward their + hosts. Many of us, probably most of us, in the United States, make a sort of fetich + of the privacy of what we call our home life. We are encased in walls of wood or + masonry, with blinds, curtains, or shades at our windows. It might be supposed that + we wanted to hide, that there was something of which to be ashamed. It might at least + be so interpreted by one unfamiliar with our ways. It is only, like the open domestic + life in Cuba, a custom, a habit of long standing. Certainly, much of the domestic + life of Cuba is open. The mistress of the house chides a servant, rebukes or comforts + a child, sits with her embroidery, chaffers with an itinerant merchant or with the + clerk from a store, all in plain sight and hearing of the passer-by. What everyone + does, no one notices. The customs of any country are curious only to those from other + countries where customs are different. Our ways of life are quite as curious to + others as are their ways to us. We are quite blind to that fact chiefly because of an + absurd conviction of the immense superiority of our ways. We do not stop to consider + reasons for differences. A cup of coffee on an American breakfast table usually + consists of about four parts coffee and one part milk or cream. Most Cubans usually + reverse these percentages. There is a good reason for it. In our climate, we do not + need the large open doors and windows, the high ceilings, and the full and free + ventilation that make life endurable in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Their + system here would be as impossible as would be our system there. Houses in Cuba like + those of an American city or town would make life a miserable burden. The publicity, + or semi-publicity, of Cuban home life is a necessary result of conditions. It is, + naturally, more in evidence in the city proper, where the houses, abutting + immediately on the street, as do most of our city houses, are built, as ours are, in + solid rows. We avoid a good deal of publicity by piling our homes on top of each + other, and by elevators and stair-climbing.</p> + <p>The location of a residence in Havana gives no special idea of the wealth or the + social standing of those who occupy it. Not a few well-to-do people still live in the + old city, where the streets are narrow and where business is trying to crowd out + everything except itself. The home in that quarter may be in a block in which a + number of buildings are residences, or it may stand with a warehouse on one side and + a workshop on the other. A few people, of unquestionable social position still live + in buildings in which the street floor is a store or an office. There is nothing + curious about this. In many American cities, old families have clung to old homes, + and not a few new families have, from one reason or another, occupied similar + quarters. Such a residence may not conform to modern social ideas and standards, but + there are Americans in this country, as well as Cubans and Spaniards in Havana, who + can afford to ignore those standards. The same is true of many who live in the newer + city, outside the old walls. There as here, business encroaches on many streets + formerly strictly residential. This holds in the newer part of the city as well as in + the old part. A number of streets there are, for a part of their length, quite given + over to business. Even the Prado itself is the victim of commercial invasion. What + was once one of the finest residences in the city, the old Aldama place fronting on + the Campo de Marte, is now a cigar factory. A little beyond it is the Tacon market, + occupying an entire block. Stores and shops surround it. The old avenue leading to + the once fashionable Cerro, and to the only less fashionable Jesus del Monte, is now + a business street. Another business street leads out of the Parque Central, alongside + the former Tacon theatre. The broad Calzada de Galiano, once a fashionable residence + street, is now largely commercial. While less picturesque than some parts of the old + city within the walls, the most attractive part of Havana is undoubtedly the section + of El Vedado, the westward extension along the shore. Here are broad streets, trees, + gardens, and many beautiful and costly dwellings. This is really the modern Havana. A + part of it is only a little above sea-level, and behind that strip is a hill. A few + years ago, only a small number of houses were on the hillside or the hilltop. Now, it + is well built over with modern houses. The architectural type is generally retained, + and it is rather a pity that there should be even what variation there is. El Vedado + is the region of the wealthy and the well-to-do, with a large percentage of + foreigners. It has its social ways, very much as other places have, in this country, + in France, Hong Kong, or Honolulu. They are not quite our ways, but they are a result + of conditions, just as ours are.</p> + <p>On the hill, a little back of El Vedado, are two "points of interest" for + visitors; the old fortress, el Castillo del Principe, and the cemetery. In the latter + are some notable monuments. One is known as the Firemen's Monument. For many years, + Havana has had, supplementary to its municipal organization, a volunteer firemen's + corps. In various ways the latter resembles a number of military organizations in the + United States. It is at once a somewhat exclusive social club and a practical force. + Membership is a social distinction. If you are in Havana and see men in admirably + tailored, uniforms and fire helmets, rushing in a particular direction in cabs, + carriages or automobiles, you may know that they are members of the <i>Bomberos del + Comercio</i> on their way to a conflagration. Most excellent real work they have done + again and again in time of fire and flood. On parade, they look exceedingly dapper + with their helmets, uniforms, boots and equipment, somewhat too dandified even to + suggest any smoke other than that of cigars or cigarettes. But they are the "real + thing in smoke-eaters" when they get to work. They have a long list of heroic deeds + on their records. The monument in Colon Cemetery commemorates one of those deeds. In + an extensive and dangerous fire, in May, 1890, thirty of these men lost their lives. + A few years later, this beautiful and costly shaft was erected, by private + subscription, as a tribute to their valor and devotion. Another shaft, perhaps no + less notable, commemorates a deplorable and unpardonable event. A number of medical + students, mere boys, in the University of Havana, were charged with defacing the tomb + of a Spanish officer who had been killed by a Cuban in a political quarrel. At its + worst, it was a boyish prank, demanding rebuke or even some mild punishment. Later + evidence indicates that while there was a demonstration there was no defacement of + the vault. Forty-two students were arrested as participants, tried by court-martial, + and sentenced to be shot. Eight of them were shot at La Punta, at the foot of the + Prado near the sea-front, and the remainder sentenced to imprisonment for life. All + of these, I believe, were afterward released. The Students' Monument expresses the + feeling of the Cubans in the matter, a noble memorial. There are numerous other + shafts and memorials that are notable and interesting. A number of Cuba's leaders, + Maximo Gomez, Calixto Garcia, and others, are buried in this cemetery.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig10"></a><a href="images/image10.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image10.jpg" alt="A RESIDENCE IN EL VEDADO" /></a> + <h3>A RESIDENCE IN EL VEDADO</h3> + </div> + <p>Further on, to the southeast, are other sections of the new Havana, the districts + of Cerro and Jesus del Monte. El Vedado has largely supplanted these neighborhoods as + the "court end" of the city. Many of the fine old residences of forty or fifty years + ago still remain, but most of them are now closely surrounded by the more modest + homes of a less aristocratic group. A few gardens remain to suggest what they were in + the earlier days. Still further out, in the west-and-south quarter-circle, are little + towns, villages, and hamlets, typically Cuban, with here and there the more imposing + estate of planter or proprietor. But, far the greater number of visitors, perhaps + with greater reason, find more of charm and interest in the city itself than in the + suburbs or the surrounding country. The enjoyment of unfamiliar places is altogether + personal. There are many who really see nothing; they come away from a brief visit + with only a confusion of vague recollections of sights and sounds, of brief + inspection of buildings about which they knew nothing, of the big, yellow Palace, of + this church and that, of the Morro and the harbor, of sunny days, and of late + afternoons along the Prado and the Malecon. To me, Havana is losing its greatest + charm through an excess of Americanization, slowly but steadily taking from the place + much of the individuality that made it most attractive. It will be a long time before + that is entirely lost, but five-story office buildings, automobiles in the afternoon + parade, steaks or ham and eggs at an eight or nine o'clock breakfast, and all kinds + of indescribable hats in place of dainty and graceful <i>mantillas</i>, seem to me a + detraction, like bay-windows and porticos added to an old colonial mansion.</p> + <h2><a id="VI">VI</a><br /> + <i>AROUND THE ISLAND</i></h2> + <p>A hundred years ago, the Cubans travelled from place to place about the island, + just as our ancestors did in this country, by water and over rough trails few of + which could, with any approach to correctness, be described as roads. It was not + until about a hundred years ago that we, in this country, began to build anything + even remotely resembling a modern highway. Our towns and cities were on the seaboard + or on the banks of rivers navigable for vessels of size sufficient for their + purposes. Commodities carried to or brought from places not so located were dragged + in stoutly built wagons over routes the best of which was worse than the worst to be + found anywhere today. Because real road-making in Cuba is quite a modern institution, + an enterprise to which, in their phrase, the Spanish Government did not "dedicate" + itself, the Cuban wagons and carts of today are chiefly those of the older time. They + are heavy, cumbrous affairs with large wheels, a diameter necessitated by the deep + ruts through which a passage was made. A smaller wheel would soon have been + "hub-deep" and hopelessly stuck. So, too, with the carriages of the nabobs. The + poorer people, when they travelled at all, went on foot or on horseback, as our + ancestors did. The nabobs had their <i>volantes</i>, still occasionally, but with + increasing rarity, seen in some parts of the island. Forty years ago, such vehicles, + only a little changed from the original type, were common enough in Havana itself. + About that time, or a few years earlier, the four-wheeler began to supplant them for + city use.</p> + <p>There is a technical difference between the original type of <i>volante</i> and + its successor which, though still called a <i>volante</i> was properly called a + <i>quitrin</i>. The only real difference was that the top of the <i>quitrin</i> was + collapsible, and could be lowered when desirable, while the top of the <i>volante</i> + was not. I have ridden in these affairs, I cannot say comfortably, over roads that + would have been quite impossible for any other wheeled vehicle. At the back, and + somewhat behind the body were two wheels, six feet in diameter. From, the axle, two + shafts projected for a distance, if memory serves me, of some twelve or fifteen feet. + A little forward of the axle, the body, not unlike the old-fashioned American chaise, + was suspended on stout leather straps serving as springs. Away off in front, at the + end of the shafts, was a horse on which the driver rode in a heavy and clumsy saddle. + For long-distance travel, or for particularly rough roads, a second horse was added, + alongside the shaft horse, and sometimes a third animal. The motion was pleasant + enough over the occasional smooth places, but the usual motion was much like that of + a cork in a whirlpool, or of a small boat in a choppy sea. Little attention was paid + to rocks or ruts; it was almost impossible to capsize the thing. One wheel might be + two feet or more higher than the other, whereupon the rider on the upper side would + be piled on top of the rider or riders on the lower side, but there was always a fair + distribution of this favor. The rocks and ruts were not always on the same side of + the road. The safety from overturn was in the long shafts which allowed free play. In + the older days, say sixty or seventy years ago, the <i>volante</i> or the + <i>quitrin</i> was an outward and visible sign of a well-lined pocket-book. It + indicated the possessor as a man of wealth, probably a rich planter who needed such a + vehicle to carry him and his family from their mansion in the city to their perhaps + quite as costly home on the plantation. The <i>calisero</i>, or driver, was dressed + in a costume truly gorgeous, the horses were of the best, and the vehicle itself may + have cost two thousand dollars or more. The operation of such a contrivance, + extending, from the rear of the wheels to the horse's nose, for twenty feet or more, + in the narrow streets of the old city, was a scientific problem, particularly in + turning corners.</p> + <p>Cuba was early in the field with a railway. In 1830, the United States had only + thirty-two miles of line, the beginning of its present enormous system. Cuba's first + railway was opened to traffic in November, 1837. It was a forty-five mile line + connecting Havana with the town of Guines, southeast of the city. While official + permission was, of course, necessary before the work could be undertaken, it was in + fact a Cuban enterprise, due to the activity of the <i>Junta de Fomento</i>, or + Society for Improvement. It was built with capital obtained in London, the + construction being in charge of Mr. Alfred Cruger, an American engineer. Ten years + later there were nearly three hundred miles of line. At the beginning of the American + occupation, in 1899, there were about nine-hundred and fifty miles. There are now + more than 2,000 miles of public service line in operation, and in addition there are + many hundreds of miles of private lines on the sugar estates. Several cities have + trolley lines. For some years after the American occupation, as before that + experience, there was only a water-and-rail connection, or an all-water route, + between the eastern and western sections of the island. The usual route from Havana + to Santiago was by rail to Batabano or to Cienfuegos, and thence by steamer. The + alternative was an all-water route, consuming several days, by steamer along the + north coast, with halts at different ports, and around the eastern end of the island + to the destination. It is now an all-rail run of twenty-four hours. The project for a + "spinal railway" from one end of the island to the other had been under consideration + for many years. The configuration lent itself excellently to such a system, and not + at all well to any other. A railway map of such a system shows a line, generally, + through the middle of the island along its length, with numerous branch lines running + north and south to the various cities and ports on the coast. The plan, broadly, is + being carried out. A combination of existing lines afforded a route to the city of + Santa Clara. From these eastward, the Cuba Company, commonly known as the Van Home + road, completed a through line in 1902. In its beginning, it was a highly ambitious + scheme, involving the building of many towns along the way, the erection of many + sugar mills, and the creation of a commercial city, at Nipe Bay, that would leave + Havana in the back-number class. All that called for a sum of money not then and not + now available. But the "spinal railroad" was built, and from it a number of radiating + lines have been built, to Sancti Spiritus, Manzanillo, Nipe Bay, and to Guantanamo. + About the only places on the island, really worth seeing, with the exception of + Trinidad and Baracoa, can now be reached by a fairly comfortable railway journey.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig11"></a><a href="images/image11.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image11.jpg" alt="THE VOLANTE" /></a> + <h3>THE VOLANTE<br /> + <i>Now quite rare</i></h3> + </div> + <p>In most of the larger cities of the island, a half dozen or so of them, the + traveller is made fairly comfortable and is almost invariably well fed. But any + question of physical comfort in hotels, more particularly in country hotels, raises a + question of standards. As Touchstone remarked, when in the forest of Arden, + "Travellers must be content." Those who are not ready to make themselves so, no + matter what the surroundings, should stay at home, which, Touchstone also remarked, + "is a better place." If the standard is the ostentatious structure of the larger + cities of this country, with its elaborate menu and its systematized service, there + will doubtless be cause for complaint. So will there be if the standard is the quiet, + cleanly inn of many towns in this country and in parts of Europe. The larger towns + and villages of the island have a <i>posada</i> in which food and lodging may be + obtained; the smaller places may or may not have "a place to stay." Cuba is not a + land in which commercial travellers swarm everywhere, demanding comfort and willing + to pay a reasonable price for it. However, few travellers and fewer tourists have any + inclination to depart from known and beaten paths, or any reason for doing so. Nor + does a fairly thorough inspection of the island necessitate any halting in + out-of-the-way places where there is not even an imitation of an inn. All that one + needs to see, and all that most care to see, can be seen in little tours, for a day, + from the larger cities. Yet if one wants to wander a little in the by-paths, it is + easy enough to do so.</p> + <p>What one sees or does in Cuba will depend mainly upon the purpose of the visit, + and upon the violence of the individual mania for seeing as many places as possible. + If the object is merely an excursion or an escape from the rigors of a northern + winter, there is no occasion for wandering out of sight of the capital city. There is + more to see and more to do in Havana than there is in all the rest of the island. Nor + is there much to be seen elsewhere that cannot be seen in the immediate vicinity of + that city. This, of course, does not cover the matter of scenery. There are no + mountains, no forest jungles in that neighborhood, but forests in Cuba are not + particularly interesting, and even the mountains of Oriente are no more beautiful or + majestic than are our own summits, our own White Hills of New Hampshire, the + Adirondacks, the Blue Ridge, the Alleghenies, the Rockies, and the Sierras. The charm + of Cuba, and it is extremely charming, is not its special "points of interest." It is + rather a general impression, a combination of soft and genial climate with varying + lights and shades and colors. Even after much experience there, I am not yet quite + ready either to admit or to deny that the island, taken as a whole, is either + beautiful or picturesque, and yet there is much of both. Attention is rarely + challenged by the sublime or the majestic, but is often arrested by some play of + light and shade. Cuban villages, with few exceptions, are unattractive, although + there is not infrequently some particular building, usually a church, that calls for + a second look or a careful examination. Most of these little communities consist of a + row of low and ungraceful structures bordering the highway. They are usually extended + by building on at the ends. If the town street gets undesirably long, a second street + or a third will be made, on one or both sides of the main street, and thus the town + acquires breadth as well as length. The houses are built immediately upon the + roadside, and sidewalks are quite unusual. Nor, until the place becomes a large town + or a small city, is there, in most cases, any attempt at decoration by means of shade + trees. A tree may be left if there happened to be one when the village was born, but + rarely do the inhabitants turn their streets into tree-shaded avenues. There would be + an excellent opportunity for the activities of Village Improvement Societies in Cuba, + if it were not for the fact that such tree-planting would involve pushing all the + houses ten or fifteen feet back from the roadside.</p> + <p>I have never studied the system of town building in the island, yet it is + presumable that there was some such system. In the larger places, there is usually a + central park around which are arranged the church, the public buildings, and the + stores. Whether these were so constructed from an original plan, or whether they are + an evolution, along a general plan, from the long, single street, I do not know. I am + inclined to believe that the former was the case, and that it followed the location + of a church. The custom is, of course, of Spanish origin, and is common throughout + the greater part of Latin America. It finds a fair parallel in our own country + custom, by no means infrequent, of an open "green" or common in front of the village + church and the town hall. Tree-setting along the Cuban highways, more particularly in + the neighborhood of the cities, is not at all unusual, and some of these shaded roads + are exceedingly charming. Some are entirely over-arched by laurel trees and the + gorgeous <i>flamboyan</i>, making long tunnels of shade "through whose broken roof + the sky looks in." Evidently the Spanish authorities were too much interested in + making money and enjoying themselves in the cities to care very much for what + happened to the Cubans in the villages, as long as they paid the money that filled + the official pocket and paid for the official entertainment, and the Cubans were too + busy getting that money to have much time for village improvement. The Spaniards, + following their home custom, might decorate a military highway to some extent, but + the rough trail over which the peasant carried his little crop did not concern them. + That was quite the business of the peasant who had neither the time nor money to do + anything about it.</p> + <p>The question of good roads in Cuba is very much what it is in this country. Cuba + needs more good roads than its people can afford to build; so does the United States. + At the time of the American occupation, in 1899, there were only 160 miles of + improved highway in the entire island. Of this, 85 miles were in Havana Province, and + 75 miles in Pinar del Rio. The remainder of the island had none. Some work was done + during the First Intervention and more was done under the Palma government. At the + time of the Second Intervention, there were about 380 miles. That is, the United + States and the Cuban Republic built, in six years, nearly 40 per cent, more highway + than the Spanish authorities built in four hundred years. During the Palma regime, + plans were drawn for an extensive road system, to be carried out as rapidly as the + financial resources permitted. Not unlike similar proceedings in this country, in + river and harbor work and public buildings, politics came into the matter and, like + our own under similar circumstances, each Congressman insisted that some of such work + as could immediately be undertaken, some of the money that could be immediately + spent, should benefit his particular district. The result was that what was done by + the Cubans was somewhat scattered, short stretches built here and there, new bridges + built when there might or might not be a usable road to them. The Cuban plan + involved, for its completion, a period of years and a large appropriation. It called + for comparatively small yearly appropriations for many roads, for more than four + hundred different projects. Then came the Second Intervention, in 1906, with what has + seemed to many of us an utterly unwise and unwarranted expenditure for the completion + of certain selected projects included in the Cuban plan. It may be granted that the + roads were needed, some of them very much needed, but there are thousands of miles of + unconstructed but much needed roads in the United States. Yet, in this country, + Federal, State, county, and town treasuries are not drained to their last dollar, and + their credit strained, to build those roads. From the drain on its financial + resources, the island will recover, but the misfortune appears in the setting of a + standard for Federal expenditure, in its total for all purposes amounting to about + $40,000,000 a year, far beyond the reasonable or proper bearing power of the island. + But the work was done, the money spent, and the Cubans were committed to more work + and to further expenditure. I find no data showing with exactness the mileage + completed by the Magoon government, which came to an end in January, 1909, but a + Cuban official report made at the end of 1910 shows that the combined activities of + the respective administrations, Spanish, American, and Cuban, had given the island, + at that time, practically a thousand miles of improved highway, distributed + throughout the island.</p> + <p>To see the real Cuba, one must get into the country. Havana is the principal city, + and for many it is the most interesting place on the island, but it is no more Cuba + than Paris is France or than New York is the United States. The real Cuba is rural; + the real Cuban is a countryman, a man of the soil. If he is rich, he desires to + measure his possessions in <i>caballerias</i> of 33-1/3 acres; if poor, in + <i>hectareas</i> of 2-1/2 acres. I do not recall any Cuban cartoon representing the + Cuban people that was not a picture of the peasant, the <i>guajiro</i>. Cuba, as a + political organism, is shown as a quite charming <i>senorita</i>, but <i>el pueblo + Cubano</i>, the Cuban people, are shown as the man of the fields. With the present + equipment of railroads, trolley lines, automobile busses, and highways, little + excursions are easily made in a day. The railways, trolleys, and automobile busses + are unsatisfactory means of locomotion for sight-seeing. The passenger is rushed past + the very sights that would be of the greatest interest. To most of us, a private + hired automobile is open to the very serious objection of its expensiveness, an item + that may sometimes be reduced by division. It has been my good fortune in more recent + years to be whirled around in cars belonging to friends but my favorite trip in + earlier days is, I presume, still open to those who may care to make it. I have + recommended it to many, and have taken a number with me over the route.</p> + <p>It is an easy one-day excursion of about sixty miles, by rail to Guanajay, by + carriage to Marianao, and return to Havana by rail. Morning trains run to Guanajay, + through a region generally attractive and certainly interesting to the novice, by way + of Rincon and San Antonio de los Banos, a somewhat roundabout route, but giving a + very good idea of the country, its plantations, villages, and peasant homes. At + Guanajay, an early lunch, or a late breakfast, may be obtained at the hotel, before + or after an inspection of the town itself, a typical place with its little central + park, its old church, and typical residences. Inquiry regarding the transportation to + Marianao by carriage should not be too direct. It should be treated as a mere + possibility depending upon a reasonable charge. I have sometimes spent a very + pleasant hour in intermittent bargaining with the competitors for the job, although + knowing very well what I would pay and what they would finally accept. Amiably + conducted, as such discussions should be in Cuba, the chaffering becomes a matter of + mutual entertainment. A bargain concluded, a start may be made about noon for a drive + over a good road, through a series of typical villages, to Marianao, in time for a + late afternoon train to Havana, reaching there in ample time for dinner. Along the + road from Guanajay to Marianao, Maceo swept with ruthless hand in 1896, destroying + Spanish property. Here the Spaniards, no less ruthless, destroyed the property of + Cubans. It is now a region of peaceful industry, and little or nothing remains to + indicate its condition when I first saw it. The little villages along the way were in + ruins, the fields were uncultivated, and there were no cattle. At intervals there + stood the walls of what had been beautiful country estates. Only one of many was left + standing. At intervals, also, stood the Spanish blockhouses. All along that route, in + 1906, were the insurrectos of the unfortunate experience of that year. In the village + of Caimito, a short distance from Guanajay, along that road, I visited Pino Guerra at + his then headquarters when he and his forces so menaced Havana that Secretary Taft, + in his capacity of Peace Commissioner, ordered their withdrawal to a greater + distance. The trip by rail and road, exhibits most of Cuba's special characteristics. + There are fields of sugar cane and fields of tobacco, country villages and peasant + homes, fruits and vegetables, ceiba trees, royal palms, cocoanut palms, and mango + trees. There is no other trip, as easily made, where so much can be seen. But there + are other excursions in the vicinity, for many reasons best made by carriage or by + private hired automobile. Within fifteen miles or so of the city, are places like + Calvario, Bejucal, and Managua, all reached by good highways through interesting and + typical country, and all well illustrating the real life of the real Cubans. It was + in the vicinity of those places that Maximo Gomez operated in 1895 and 1896, + terrorizing Havana by menacing it from the south and the east while Maceo threatened + it from the west. Another short and pleasant trip can be made around the head of the + harbor to Guanabacoa, and thence to Cojimar. Another interesting and easily reached + point is Guines, a good example of places of its size and class.</p> + <p>Of Cuba's larger cities, there are a score that would demand attention in a + guide-book. Just as there is a certain similarity in most American cities, in that + they are collections of business and residence buildings of generally similar + architecture, so is there a certain sameness in most of Cuba's cities. To see two or + three of them is to get a general idea of all, although each has its particular + features, some particular building, or some special charm of surroundings. The most + difficult of access are Baracoa, the oldest city of the island, and Trinidad, founded + only a few years later. Glancing at some of these places, in their order from west to + east, the first is Pinar del Rio, a comparatively modern city, dating really from the + second half of the 18th Century. It owes its past and its present importance to its + location as a centre of the tobacco region of the <i>Vuelta Abajo</i>. From + comfortable headquarters here, excursions can be made, by rail or road, through what + is perhaps the most attractive, and not the least interesting section of the island. + To the north are the Organ Mountains and the picturesque town of Vinales, one of the + most charming spots, in point of scenery, in Cuba. To the west, by rail, is Guane, + the oldest settlement in western Cuba, and all around are beautiful hills and + cultivated valleys. Eastward from Havana, the first city of importance is Matanzas. + Here is much to interest and much to charm, the city itself, its harbor, its two + rivers, the famous valley of the Yumuri, and the caves of Bellamar. The city, founded + in 1693, lies along the shore of the bay and rises to the higher ground of the hills + behind it. It lies about sixty miles from Havana, and is easily reached by rail or by + automobile. The next city in order, also on the north coast, is Cardenas, a modern + place, settled in 1828, and owing its importance to its convenience as a shipping + port for the numerous sugar estates in its vicinity, an importance now somewhat + modified by the facilities for rail shipment to other harbors. Seventy-five miles or + so further eastward is Sagua la Grande, another point of former convenience as a + shipping point for sugar. The city itself is located on a river, or estuary, some ten + or twelve miles from its mouth. Forty miles or so further on are Remedies and + Caibarien, a few miles apart, the latter on the coast and the former a few miles + inland. Caibarien, like Cardenas and Sagua, is chiefly notable as a sugar port, while + Remedios is the centre of one of the great tobacco districts, producing a leaf of + good quality but generally inferior to the <i>Partidos</i> of Havana Province, and + quite inferior to the famous <i>Vuelta Abajo</i>. Southward of this region, and about + midway the width of the island, somewhat more than two hundred miles eastward of + Havana, is the city of Santa Clara, better known in the island as Villa Clara. The + city dates its existence from 1689. It lies surrounded by rolling hills and expansive + valleys, but in the absence of extensive plantations in its immediate environs, one + is led to wonder just why so pleasant a place should be there, and why it should have + reached its present proportions. For the tourist who wants to "see it all," it is an + excellent and most comfortable central headquarters.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig12"></a><a href="images/image12.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image12.jpg" alt="A VILLAGE STREET" /></a> + <h3>A VILLAGE STREET<br /> + <i>Calvario, Havana Province</i></h3> + </div> + <p>From Villa Clara it is only a short run to Cienfuegos, the "city of a hundred + fires," a modern place, only about a hundred years old. There is every probability + that Columbus entered the harbor in 1494, and perhaps no less probability that Ocampo + entered in 1508, on his voyage around the island. The harbor extends inland for + several miles, with an irregular shore line, behind which rises a border line of + hills. The city itself is some four or five miles from the entrance to the harbor. It + came into existence, and still exists, chiefly by reason of the sugar business. It is + an important outlet for that industry, and many estates are in its near vicinity. The + old city of Trinidad is reached, by boat, from Cienfuegos, or rather its port city, + Casilda, is so reached. Presumably, it was the port city that Velasquez founded in + 1514, a location a few miles inland being chosen later, as being less exposed to + attacks by the pirates and freebooters who infested the Caribbean Sea for many years. + It is said that Cortes landed here and recruited his forces on his way to Mexico, in + 1518. The city itself stands on the lower slopes of the hills that form its highly + effective background. Its streets are narrow and tortuous. Like most of the cities of + the island, and most of the cities of the world, it has its humble homes of the poor, + and its mansions of the rich. Immediately behind it stands a hill with an elevation + of about nine hundred feet above sea-level. Its name indicates the reason for its + application, <i>La Vigia</i>, the "lookout," or the "watch-tower." From its summit, + we may assume that the people of earlier times scanned the horizon for any sign of + approaching pirates by whom they might be attacked. It serves a more satisfactory + purpose nowadays in that it affords one of the loveliest panoramic views to be found + anywhere in Cuba. Not far away, and accessible from the city, is the Pico de + Potrerillo, about 3,000 feet elevation, the highest point in Central Cuba. Northeast + of Trinidad, and reached by rail from Villa Clara, is Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad's + rival in antiquity, both having been founded, by Velasquez, in the same year. Here + also are narrow, crooked streets in a city of no mean attractions, although it lacks + the picturesque charm of its rival in age. It is an inland city, about twenty-five + miles from the coast, but even that did not protect it from attack by the pirates. It + was several times the victim of their depredations.</p> + <h2><a id="VII">VII</a><br /> + <i>AROUND THE ISLAND: Continued</i></h2> + <p>The next city, eastward, is Camaguey, in many ways doubtless the best worth a + visit, next to Havana, of any city on the island. It is a place of interesting + history and, for me personally, a place of somewhat mixed recollections. The history + may wait until I have told my story. I think it must have been on my third visit to + the island, early in 1902. On my arrival in Havana, I met my friend Charles M. + Pepper, a fellow laborer in the newspaper field. He at once informed me that he and I + were to start the next morning for a three or four weeks' journey around the island. + It was news to me, and the fact that my baggage, excepting the suitcase that I + carried, had failed to come on the boat that brought me, led me to demur. My + objections were overruled on the ground that we could carry little baggage anyway, + and all that was needed could be bought before starting, or along the way. The next + morning saw us on the early train for Matanzas. We spent a week or ten days in that + city, in Cardenas, Sagua, Santa Clara, and Cienfuegos, renewing former acquaintance + and noting the changes effected by the restoration from the war period. That was + before the completion of the Cuba Railway. To get to Camaguey, then known as Puerto + Principe, we took the steamer at Cienfuegos and journeyed along the coast to Jucaro. + There, because of shallow water, we were dropped into a shore boat some four or five + miles from the coast, and there our troubles began. Fortunately, it was early + morning. We got something to eat and some coffee, which is almost invariably good in + Cuba, but when we meet nowadays we have a laugh over that breakfast at Jucaro. I + don't know, and really don't care, what the place is now. After some hours of + waiting, we secured passage in an antiquated little car attached to a freight train + carrying supplies and structural material to Ciego de Avila, for use by the railway + then being built in both directions, eastward and westward from that point. The line + that there crosses the island from north to south was built in the time of the Ten + Years' War (1868-1878) as a barrier against the revolutionists operating in eastern + Cuba. It was restored for use in the revolution of 1895, but its blockhouses at every + kilometre, and its barbed wire tangles, were entirely ineffective against Gomez and + Maceo and other leaders, all of whom crossed it at their own sweet will, although not + without an occasional vicious little contest. We reached Ciego de Avila soon after + noon, and had to wait there over night for a further advance. The place is now a + thriving little city, but it was then a somewhat sprawling village with a building + that was called a hotel. But we got food and drink and beds, all that is really + necessary for experienced campaigners. For the next two days, Old Man Trouble made + himself our personal companion and did not lose sight of us for a single minute.</p> + <p>Through personal acquaintance with the railway officials, we obtained permission + to travel over the line, on any and all trains, as far as it was then built, some + forty miles or so toward Camaguey. Through them, also, we arranged for saddle horses + to meet us at railhead for the remainder of the journey. There were no trains except + construction trains carrying rails, ties, lumber, and other materials. We boarded the + first one out in the morning. We had our choice of riding on any of those commodities + that we might select. There was not even a caboose. We chose a car of lumber as the + most promising. For four or five hours we crawled through that country, roasting and + broiling on that pile of planks, but the ties and the rails were even hotter. The + only way we could keep a place cool enough to sit on was by sitting on it. I once + occupied a stateroom next to the steamer's funnel. I have seen, day after day, the + pitch bubble between the planks of a steamer's deck in the Indian Ocean. I have been + in other places that I thought plenty hot enough, but never have I been so thoroughly + cooked as were my companion and I perched on the lumber pile. On top of that, or + rather on top of us, there poured a constant rain of cinders from the locomotive + puffing away a few cars ahead of us. The road-bed was rough, and at times we had to + hang on for our very lives. We can laugh about it now, but, at the time, it was no + joke. At last we reached the end of the line, somewhere in a hot Cuban forest, but + there were no horses. We watched the operation of railway building, and took turns in + anathematizing, in every language of which we had any knowledge, the abandoned + ruffian who failed to appear with those horses. Before night, we were almost ready to + wish that he had died on the way. At last he came. Our baggage was loaded on a + pack-horse; we mounted and rode gallantly on our way. We had about thirty miles to + cover by that or some other means of locomotion. Before we had gone a mile, we + developed a clear understanding of the reasons for the sale of those horses by the + Government of the United States, but why the United States Army ever bought them for + cavalry mounts we could not even imagine. There was no road. Most of the way we + followed the partly constructed road-bed for the new railway, making frequent + detours, through field or jungle, to get around gaps or places of impossible + roughness. Before we had covered two miles, we began to wish that the man who sent + those horses, a Spaniard, by the way, might be doomed to ride them through all + eternity under the saddles with which they were equipped. We were sorry enough for + the poor brutes, but sorrier still for ourselves. For several days, I limped in + misery from a long row of savage blisters raised on my leg by rawhide knots with + which my saddle had been repaired. An hour after starting, we were overtaken by a + heavy thunder-shower. At nightfall, after having covered about fifteen wretched + miles, we reached a construction camp where an American nobleman, disguised as a + section-boss, gave us food and lodging in the little palm-leaf shack that served as + his temporary home. It was barely big enough for one, but he made it do for + three.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig13"></a><a href="images/image13.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image13.jpg" alt="STREET AND CHURCH" /></a> + <h3>STREET AND CHURCH<br /> + <i>Camaguey</i></h3> + </div> + <p>Early in the morning, we resumed our journey, plodding along as best we could over + a half-graded "right-of-way." A couple of hours brought us to a larger construction + camp where we halted for such relief as we could secure. We then were some twelve or + fourteen miles from our destination. We discussed the wisdom of making the rest of + the way on foot, as preferable to that particular kind of saddle-work, leaving our + baggage to come along with the horses when it might. But fortune smiled, or it may + have been just a grimace. Word came that a team, two horses and a wagon, would go to + the city that afternoon, and there would be room for us. We told our pilot, the man + with the horses, just what we thought of him and all his miserable ancestors, gave + him a couple of <i>pesos</i>, and rejoiced over our prospects of better fortune. But + it proved to be only an escape from the fire into the frying-pan. I have driven over + many miles of South African <i>veldt</i>, straight "across lots," in all comfort, but + while the general topography of Camaguey puts it somewhat into the <i>veldt</i> + class, its immediate surface did not in the least remind me of the South African + plateau. The trip was little short of wonderful for its bumpiness. We got to Camaguey + sore and bruised but, as far as we could discover, physically intact, and, having + arrived, may now return to its history and description. May no "gentle reader" who + scans these pages repeat our experience in getting there. It is supposed that here, + or immediately here-about, was the place of "fifty houses and a thousand people" + encountered by the messengers of Columbus, when he sent them inland to deliver + official letters of introduction to the gorgeous ruler of the country in which he + thought he was. Different writers tell different stories about the settlement of the + place, but there is no doubt that it was among the earliest to be settled. Columbus + gave to a harbor in that vicinity, in all probability the Bay of Nuevitas, the name + Puerto del Principe, or Port of the Prince. He called the islands of the neighborhood + the Gardens of the King. On that bay, about 1514, Diego Velasquez founded a city, + probably the present Nuevitas, which he is said to have called Santa Maria. Somewhere + from two to ten years later, an inland settlement was made. This developed into the + city that was afterward given the name of Santa Maria del Puerto del Principe, now + very properly changed to the old Indian name of Camaguey.</p> + <p>If the idea of an inland location was, as it is said to have been, protection + against pirates and buccaneers, it was not altogether a success. The distinguished + pirate, Mr. Henry Morgan, raided the place very effectively in 1668, securing much + loot. In his book, published in 1871, Mr. Hazard says: "Puerto Principe (the present + Camaguey) is, probably, the oldest, quaintest town on the island,—in fact, it may be + said to be a finished town, as the world has gone on so fast that the place seems a + million years old, and from its style of dress, a visitor might think he was put back + almost to the days of Columbus." There have been changes since that time, but the old + charm is still there, the narrow and crooked streets, forming almost a labyrinth, the + old buildings, and much else that I earnestly hope may never be changed. There is now + an up-to-date hotel, connected with the railway company, but if I were to go there + again and the old hotel was habitable, I know I should go where I first stayed, and + where we occupied a huge barrack-like room charged on our bill as "<i>habitaciones + preferentes</i>," the state chamber. It had a dirty tiled floor, and was the home of + many fleas, but there was something about it that I liked. I do not mean to say that + all of Camaguey, "the city of the plain," is lovely, or picturesque or even + interesting. No more is all of Paris, or Budapest, or Amsterdam, or Washington. They + are only so in some of their component parts, but it is those parts that remain in + the memory. The country around the city is a vast plain, for many years, and still, a + grazing country, a land of horses and cattle. The charm is in the city itself. If I + could see only one place outside of Havana, I would see Camaguey. A little less than + fifty miles to the north is Nuevitas, reached by one of the first railways built in + Cuba, now if ever little more than the port city for its larger neighbor. Columbus + became somewhat ecstatic over the region. Perhaps it was then more charming, or the + season more favorable, than when I saw it. I do not recall any feeling of special + enthusiasm about its scenic charms. Perhaps I should have discovered them had I + stayed longer. Perhaps I should have been more impressed had it not been for the + impressions of Camaguey. I saw Nuevitas only briefly on my way eastward on that + memorable excursion by construction train and saddle. The only route then available + was by boat along the north shore, and it was there that we caught the steamer for + Santiago.</p> + <p>That sail along the coast would have afforded greater pleasure had it lacked the + noisy presence of an itinerant opera company whose members persisted, day and night, + in exercising their lungs to the accompaniment of an alleged piano in the cabin. I + have a far more pleasant recollection, or rather a memory because it stays with me, + of music in those waters. The transport on which I went to Porto Rico, in the summer + of 1898, carried, among other troops, a battery of light artillery. It had an + unusually good bugler, and his sounding of "taps" on those soft, starlit nights + remains with me as one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. The shrieks, + squalls, and roars of those opera people were in a wholly different class. About + seventy-five miles east of Nuevitas is Gibara, merely a shipping port for the inland + city of Holguin. The former is only one of a number of such places found along the + coast. Most of them are attractive in point of surrounding scenery, but little or not + at all attractive in themselves, being mere groups of uninteresting structures of the + conventional type. Holguin is perhaps two hundred years old, quite pleasantly + situated, but affording no special points of interest for the tourist. The city is + now easily reached by a branch of the Cuba Railway. It is worth the visit of those + who "want to see it all." Beyond Gibara is Nipe Bay, not improbably the first Cuban + harbor entered by Columbus. Nipe Bay and its near neighbor, Banes Bay, are the + centres of what is now the greatest industrial activity of any part of the island. + Here, recent American investment is measured in scores of millions of dollars. Here, + in the immediate neighborhood, are some of the largest sugar plantations and mills on + the island, the Boston and the Preston. A little to the west of Gibara are two + others, Chaparra and Delicias. Hitherto, the western half of the island has been, the + great producing district, but present indications point to a not distant time when + the eastern district will rival and, it may be, outstrip the section of older + development. The foundation is already laid for an extensive enterprise. Nature has + afforded one of the finest land-locked harbors in the world at Nipe, and another, + though smaller, a few miles away, at Banes. The region now has railroad connection + with practically all parts of the island. Around those bays are sugar lands, tobacco + lands, fruit lands, and a few miles inland are the vast iron ore beds that, as they + are developed, will afford employment for an army of workmen. Nipe Bay is the natural + commercial outlet for a vast area of richly productive soil. At present, the region + affords nothing of special interest except its industrial activities, its miles and + miles of sugar cane, its huge mills, and the villages built to house its thousands of + workmen.</p> + <p>Seventy-five miles or so eastward of Nipe, lies one of the most charming and + interesting spots on the island. This is old Baracoa, the oldest settlement on the + island, now to be reached only by water or by the roughest of journeys over mountain + trails. The town itself does not amount to much, but the bay is a gem, a little, + circular basin, forest-shaded to its border, its waters clear as crystal. Behind it + rise the forest-clad hills, step on step, culminating in <i>el Yunque</i>, "the + anvil," with an elevation of about eighteen hundred feet. Baracoa is supposed to be + the place about which Columbus wrote one of his most glowing and extravagant + eulogies. Whether it is really worth the time and the discomfort of a special trip to + see it, is perhaps somewhat doubtful. It is a place of scenery and sentiment, and + little else. There is an old fort on a hilltop, not particularly picturesque, and an + old church in which is a cross quite doubtfully reported as having been furnished by + Columbus. Sometime, years hence, there will be easier communication, and the fertile + hillsides and still more fertile valleys will supply various produces for consumption + in the United States. About twenty-five miles east of Baracoa is the end of the + island, Cape Maisi. Swinging around that, the coasting steamers turn due west along + the shore to Santiago, passing the harbor of Guantanamo, with its United States naval + station. That place is reached by rail from Santiago, a highly picturesque route + through the Guantanamo valley. Besides the naval station, the place is a shipping + port, affording nothing of special interest to the traveller who has seen other and + more easily accessible cities of its type. It always seems to me that Santiago, or + more properly Santiago de Cuba, would be more engaging if we could forget the more + recent history of this city, known to most Cubans as Cuba (pronounced Cooba). No + doubt, it is a much better place in which to live than it was twenty years ago, and + much of its old charm remains. Its setting cannot be changed. It is itself a hillside + town, surrounded by hills, with real mountains on its horizon. The old cathedral, a + dominant structure, has been quite a little patched up in recent years, and shows the + patches. The houses, big and little, are still painted in nearly all the shades of + the spectrum. But there is a seeming change, doubtless psychological rather than + physical. One sees, in imagination, Cervera's squadron "bottled up" in the beautiful + harbor, while Sampson's ships lie outside waiting for it to come out. It is difficult + to forget San Juan Hill and El Caney, a few miles behind the city, and remember only + its older stories. A good deal of history has been made here in the last four hundred + years. Its pages show such names as Velasquez, Grijalva, Hernan Cortes, and Narvaez, + and centuries later, Cespedes, Marti, and Palma. Here was enacted the grim tragedy of + the <i>Virginius</i>, and here was the conflict that terminated Spain's once vast + dominion in the western world. My own impression is that most of its history has + already been written, that it will have no important future. As a port of shipment, I + think it must yield to the new port, Nipe Bay, on the north coast. It is merely a bit + of commercial logic, the question of a sixty-mile rail-haul as compared with a voyage + around the end of the island. Santiago will not be wiped from the map, but I doubt + its long continuance as the leading commercial centre of eastern Cuba. It is also a + fairly safe prediction that the same laws of commercial logic will some day operate + to drain northward the products of the fertile valley of the Cauto, and the region + behind old Manzanillo and around the still older Bayamo.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig14"></a><a href="images/image14.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image14.jpg" alt="COBRE" /></a> + <h3>COBRE<br /> + <i>Oriente Province</i></h3> + </div> + <p>Except the places earlier mentioned, Jucaro, Trinidad and Cienfuegos, there are no + southern ports to the west until Batabano is reached, immediately south of, and only + a few miles from, the city of Havana. It is a shallow harbor, of no commercial + importance. It serves mainly as the centre of a sponge-fishing industry, and as a + point of departure for the Isle of Pines, and for ports on the south coast. The Isle + of Pines is of interest for a number of reasons, among which are its history, its + mineral springs, its delightful climate, and an American colony that has made much + trouble in Washington. Columbus landed there in 1494, and gave it the name <i>La + Evangelista</i>. It lies about sixty miles off the coast, almost due south from + Havana. Between the island and the mainland lies a labyrinth of islets and keys, many + of them verdure-clad. Its area is officially given as 1,180 square miles. There seems + no doubt that, at some earlier time, it formed a part of the main island, with which + it compares in geologic structure and configuration. It is now, in effect, two + islands connected by a marsh; the northern part being broken and hilly, and the + southern part low, flat, and sandy, probably a comparatively recently reclaimed + coralline plain. The island has been, at various times, the headquarters of bands of + pirates, a military hospital, a penal institution, and a source of political trouble. + It is now a Cuban island the larger part of which is owned by Americans. It is a part + of the province of Havana, and will probably so remain as long as Cuba is Cuba. My + personal investigations of the disputed question of the political ownership of the + island began early in 1899. I then reached a conclusion from which I have not since + seen any reason to depart. The island was then, had always been, and is now, as much + a part of Cuba as Long Island and Key West have been and are parts of the United + States.</p> + <p>Just who it was that first raised the question of ownership, none of us who + investigated the matter at the time of its particular acuteness, was able to + determine satisfactorily, although some of us had a well-defined suspicion. The man + is now dead, and I shall not give his name. Article I, of the Treaty of Paris, of + December 10, 1898, presumably disposes of the Cuban area; Article II refers to Porto + Rico; and Article III refers to the Philippines. The issue regarding the Isle of + Pines was raised under Article II, presumably referring only to Porto Rico. A slight + but possibly important difference appears in the Spanish and the English versions. + The English text reads that "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and other + islands now under Spanish sovereignty" etc. The Spanish text, literally translated + runs: "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and the others that are now under its + sovereignty." The obvious reference of the article is to Mona, Viequez, and Culebra, + all small islands in Porto Rican waters. But the question was raised and was + vigorously discussed. An official map was issued showing the island as American + territory. Americans jumped in, bought up large tracts, and started a lively real + estate boom. They advertised it widely as American territory, and many put their + little collections of dollars into it. The claim of Spanish cession was afterward + denied in the very document that served to keep the issue alive for a number of + years. Article VI of the Platt Amendment, which the Cubans accepted with marked + reluctance, declared that the island was omitted from the boundaries of Cuba, and + that the title and ownership should be left to future adjustment by treaty. But no + alternative appears between cession and no cession. Had the island become definitely + American territory by cession, its alienation, by such a step, would not have been + possible. When we left Cuba, in 1902, the official instructions from Washington were + that the Isle of Pines would remain under a <i>de facto</i> American government. + President Palma, accepting the transfer, expressed his understanding that it would + "continue <i>de facto</i> under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Cuba." In some + way, the departing American authority failed to leave any agent or representative of + the <i>de facto</i> government of the United States, and the Cubans included the + island in their new administration, very properly. When the treaty proposed by the + Platt Amendment came before the United States Senate, it hung fire, and finally found + lodgment in one of the many pigeon-holes generously provided for the use of that + august body. There it may probably be found today, a record and nothing more. Why? + For the very simple reason that some of the resident claimants for American ownership + sent up a consignment of cigars made on the island from tobacco grown on the island, + and refused to pay duty on them. The ground of refusal was that they were a domestic + product, sent from one port in the United States to another port in the same country, + and therefore not dutiable. The case of Pearcy <i>vs</i> Stranahan, the former + representing the shippers, and the latter being the Collector of the Port of New + York, came before the Supreme Court of the United States, and that final authority + decided and declared that the Isle of Pines was Cuban territory and a part of Cuba. + The question is settled, and the Isle of Pines can become territory of the United + States only by purchase, conquest, or some other form of territorial transfer.</p> + <p>While the American settlers in the Isle of Pines, and the several real-estate + companies who seek purchasers for their holdings, own a large part of the territory, + they still constitute a minority of the population. Many of the settlers, probably + most of them, are industrious and persistent in their various productive activities. + Their specialty is citrus fruits, but their products are not limited to that line. + More than a few have tried their little experiment in pioneering, and have returned + to their home land more or less disgusted with their experience. Those who have + remained, and have worked faithfully and intelligently, have probably done a little + better than they would have done at home. The great wealth for which all, doubtless, + earnestly hoped, and in which many, doubtless, really believed, has not come. This + settlement is only one of many speculative exploitations in Cuba. Some of these have + been fairly honest, but many of them have been little better than rank swindles. Many + have been entirely abandoned, the buyers losing the hard-earned dollars they had + invested. Others, better located, have been developed, by patience, persistence, and + thrift, into fairly prosperous colonies. I do not know how many victims have been + caught by unscrupulous and ignorant promoters in the last fifteen years, principally + in the United States and in Canada, but they are certainly many, so many that the + speculative industry has declined in recent years. Many of the settlers who have + remained have learned the game, have discovered that prosperity in Cuba is purchased + by hard work just as it is elsewhere. In different parts of the island, east, west, + and centre, there are now thrifty and contented colonists who have fought their + battle, and have learned the rules that nature has formulated as the condition of + success in such countries. Whether these people have really done any better than they + would have done had they stayed at home and followed the rules there laid down, is + perhaps another question. At all events, there are hundreds of very comfortable and + happy American homes in Cuba, even in the Isle of Pines, where they persist in + growling because it is Cuba and not the United States.</p> + <p>In a review of a country including forty-four thousand square miles of territory, + condensed into two chapters, it is quite impossible to include all that is worth + telling. Moreover, there is much in the island of which no adequate description can + be given. There is much that must be seen if it if to be fairly understood and + appreciated.</p> + <h2><a id="VIII">VIII</a><br /> + <i>THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA</i></h2> + <p>IN his message to Congress, on December 5, 1898, President McKinley declared that + "the new Cuba yet to arise from the ashes of the past must needs be bound to us by + ties of singular intimacy and strength if its enduring welfare is to be assured."</p> + <p>Probably to many of the people of the United States, the story of our relations + with Cuba had its beginning with the Spanish-American war. That is quite like a + notion that the history of an apple begins with its separation from the tree on which + it grew. The general history of the island is reviewed in other chapters in this + volume. The story of our active relations with Cuba and its affairs runs back for + more than a hundred years, at least to the days of President Thomas Jefferson who, in + 1808, wrote thus to Albert Gallatin: "I shall sincerely lament Cuba's falling into + any other hands but those of its present owners." Several other references to the + island appear at about that time. Two great movements were then going on. Europe was + in the throes of the Napoleonic disturbance, and for more than twenty-five years both + France and England schemed, sometimes openly and sometimes secretly, for the + possession of Cuba. The other movement was the revolution in Spain's colonies in the + Western Hemisphere, a movement that cost Spain all of its possessions in that area, + with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico. The influence of the revolutionary + activities naturally extended to Cuba, but it was not until after 1820 that matters + became dangerously critical. From that time until the present, the question of Cuba's + political fate, and the question of our relations with the island, form an + interesting and highly important chapter in the history of the United States as well + as in the history of Cuba.</p> + <p>In his book on the war with Spain, Henry Cabot Lodge makes a statement that may + seem curious to some and amazing to others. It is, however, the opinion of a + competent and thoroughly trained student of history. He writes thus:</p> + <p>"The expulsion of Spain from the Antilles is merely the last and final step of the + inexorable movement in which the United States has been engaged for nearly a century. + By influence and by example, or more directly, by arms and by the pressure of + ever-advancing settlements, the United States drove Spain from all her continental + possessions in the Western Hemisphere, until nothing was left to the successors of + Charles and Philip but Cuba and Porto Rico. How did it happen that this great + movement stopped when it came to the ocean's edge? The movement against Spain was at + once national and organic, while the pause on the sea-coast was artificial and in + contravention of the laws of political evolution in the Americas. The conditions in + Cuba and Porto Rico did not differ from those which had gone down in ruin wherever + the flag of Spain waved on the mainland. The Cubans desired freedom, and Bolivar + would fain have gone to their aid. Mexico and Colombia, in 1825, planned to invade + the island, and at that time invasion was sure to be successful. What power stayed + the oncoming tide which had swept over a continent? Not Cuban loyalty, for the + expression 'Faithful Cuba' was a lie from the beginning. The power which prevented + the liberation of Cuba was the United States, and more than seventy years later this + republic has had to fight a war because at the appointed time she set herself against + her own teachings, and brought to a halt the movement she had herself started to free + the New World from the oppression of the Old. The United States held back Mexico and + Colombia and Bolivar, used her influence at home and abroad to that end, and, in the + opinion of contemporary mankind, succeeded, according to her desires, in keeping Cuba + under the dominion of Spain."</p> + <p>For a number of years, Cuba's destiny was a subject of the gravest concern in + Washington. Four solutions presented themselves; first, the acquisition of Cuba by + the United States; second, its retention by Spain; third, its transfer to some power + other than Spain; fourth, its political independence. That the issue was decided by + the United States is shown by all the history of the time. While other factors had + their influence in the determination, it is entirely clear that the issue turned on + the question of slavery. In his book on <i>Cuba and International Relations</i>, Mr. + Callahan summarizes his review of the official proceedings by saying that "the South + did not want to see Cuba independent <i>without</i> slavery, while the North did not + want to annex it <i>with</i> slavery." In his work on the <i>Rise and Fall of the + Slave Power in America</i>, Mr. Henry Wilson declares that "thus clearly and + unequivocally did this Republic step forth the champion of slavery, and boldly insist + that these islands should remain under the hateful despotism of Spain, rather than + gain their independence by means that should inure to the detriment of its cherished + system. Indeed, it (the United States) would fight to fasten more securely the double + bondage on Cuba and the slave."</p> + <p>From this point of view, unquestionably correct, it is altogether evident that the + United States assumed responsibility for Cuba's welfare, not by the intervention of + 1898, but by its acts more than seventy years earlier. The diplomatic records of + those years are filled with communications regarding the island, and it was again and + again the subject of legislation or proposed legislation. President after President + dealt with it in messages to Congress. The acquisition of the island, by purchase or + otherwise, was again and again discussed. Popular interest was again and again + excited; the Spanish colonial policy was denounced; and the burdens and sufferings of + the Cubans were depicted in many harrowing tales. For the policy that led to the + imposition of a restraining hand on proposals to free Cuba, in those early days, the + people of the United States today must blush. The independence movement in the States + of Spanish-America may be said to have had its definite beginning in 1806, when + Francisco Miranda, a Venezuelan, sailed from New York with three ships manned by + American filibusters, although the first land battle was fought in Bolivia, in 1809, + and the last was fought in the same country, in 1825. But the great wave swept from + the northern border of Mexico to the southernmost point of Spanish possession. When + these States declared their independence, they wrote into their Constitutions that + all men should be free, that human slavery should be abolished forever from their + soil. The attitude of the United States in the matter of Cuba was determined by the + objection to the existence of an anti-slavery State so near our border. The + experience of Haiti and Santo Domingo was, of course, clearly in mind, but the + objection went deeper than that. Those who are interested may read with profit the + debates in the Congress of the United States, in 1826, on the subject of the despatch + of delegates to the so-called Panama Congress-of that year. On the whole, it is not + pleasant reading from any present point of view.</p> + <p>Our cherished Monroe Doctrine was one of the fruits of this period, and in the + enunciation of that policy the affairs of Cuba were a prominent if not the dominant + force. The language of this doctrine is said to have been written by Secretary Adams, + but it is embodied in the message of President Monroe, in December, 1823, and so + bears his name. In April, of that year, Secretary Adams sent a long communication to + Mr. Nelson, then the American Minister to Spain. For their bearing on the Cuban + question, and for the presentation of a view that runs through many years of American + policy, extracts from that letter may be included here.</p> +<pre> +DEPARTMENT OF STATE, +WASHINGTON, April 28, 1823. +</pre> + <p>"In the war between France and Spain, now commencing, other interests, peculiarly + ours, will, in all probability, be deeply involved. Whatever may be the issue of this + war, as between these two European powers, it may be taken for granted that the + dominion of Spain upon the American continent, north and south, is irrecoverably + gone. But the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico still remain nominally, and so far + really, dependent upon her, that she possesses the power of transferring her own + dominion over them, together with the possession of them, to others. These islands, + from their local position are natural appendages to the North American continent, and + one of them, Cuba, almost in sight of our shores, from a multitude of considerations, + has become an object of transcendant importance to the commercial and political + interests of our Union. Its commanding position, with reference to the Gulf of Mexico + and the West India seas; the character of its population; its situation midway + between our southern coast and the island of St. Domingo; its safe and capacious + harbor of the Havana, fronting a long line of our shores destitute of the same + advantage; the nature of its productions and of its wants, furnishing the supplies + and needing the returns of a commerce immensely profitable and mutually + beneficial,—give it an importance in the sum of our national interests with which + that of no other foreign territory can be compared, and little inferior to that which + binds the different members of this Union together. Such, indeed, are the interests + of that island and of this country, the geographical, commercial, moral, and + political relations, that, in looking forward to the probable course of events, for + the short period of half a century, it is scarcely possible to resist the conviction + that the annexation of Cuba to our federal republic will be indispensable to the + continuance and integrity of the Union itself."</p> + <p>The communication proceeds to relate the knowledge of the Department that both + Great Britain and France were desirous of securing possession and control of the + island, and to disclaim, on the part of the United States, all disposition to obtain + possession of either Cuba or Porto Rico. The complications of the situation became + increasingly serious, more particularly with regard to Cuba, and on December 2, of + that year (1823), President Monroe issued his message carrying the "doctrine," which + may be given thus:</p> + <p>"In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we have + never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do so. It is only when + our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent injuries or make + preparations for our defense. With the movements in this hemisphere we are of + necessity more immediately connected. We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the + amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers (of Europe) to + declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to + any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the + existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and + shall not interfere. But with the Governments that have declared their independence + and maintained it, and whose independence we have recognized, we could not view any + interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner + their destiny, by any European power in any other light than as the manifestation of + an unfriendly disposition toward the United States."</p> + <p>From this time onward, Cuba appears as an almost continuous object of special + interest to both the people and the officials of the United States. Notwithstanding + this disclaimer of President Monroe's message, the idea of the acquisition of the + island, by the United States, soon arose. It persisted through all the years down to + the time of the Teller amendment, in 1898, and there are many who even now regard + annexation as inevitable at some future time, more or less distant. The plan appears + as a suggestion in a communication, under date of November 30, 1825, from Alexander + H. Everett, then Minister to Madrid, to President Adams. It crops up repeatedly in + various quarters in later years. It would be a difficult and tedious undertaking to + chase through all the diplomatic records of seventy years the references to Cuba and + its affairs.</p> + <p>From that period until the present time, the affairs of the island have been a + matter of constant interest and frequent anxiety in Washington. Fear of British + acquisition of the island appears to have subsided about 1860, but there were in the + island two groups, both relatively small, one of them working for independence, and + the other for annexation to the United States. The great majority, however, desired + some fair measure of self-government, and relief from economic and financial burdens, + under the Spanish flag. The purchase of the island by the United States was proposed + by President Polk, in 1848; by President Pierce, in 1854; and by President Buchanan, + in his time. Crises appeared from time to time. Among them was the incident of the + <i>Black Warrior</i>, in 1854. Mr. Rhodes thus describes the affair, in his + <i>History of the United States</i>:</p> + <p>"<i>The Black Warrior</i> was an American merchant steamer, plying between Mobile + and New York, stopping at Havana for passengers and mail. She had made thirty-six + such voyages, almost always having a cargo for the American port, and never being + permitted to bring freight into Havana. The custom of her agent was to clear her 'in + ballast' the day before her arrival. The practice, while contrary to the regulations + of Cuban ports, had always been winked at by the authorities. It was well understood + that the <i>Black Warrior</i> generally had a cargo aboard, but a detailed manifest + of her load had never been required. She had always been permitted to sail unmolested + until, when bound from Mobile to New York, she was stopped on the 28th of February, + 1854, by order of the royal exchequer, for having violated the regulations of the + port. The agent, finding that the cause of this proceeding was the failure to + manifest the cargo 'in transit,' offered to amend the manifest, which under the rules + he had a right to do; but this the collector, on a flimsy pretext, refused to permit. + The agent was at the same time informed that the cargo was confiscated and the + captain fined, in pursuance of the custom-house regulations. The cargo was cotton, + valued at one hundred thousand dollars; and the captain was fined six thousand + dollars. The United States consul applied to the captain-general for redress, but no + satisfaction was obtained. A gang of men with lighters were sent to the ship under + the charge of the <i>commandante</i>, who ordered the captain of the <i>Black + Warrior</i> to discharge her cargo. This he refused to do. The <i>commandante</i> + then had the hatches opened, and his men began to take out the bales of cotton. The + captain hauled down his flag and abandoned the vessel to the Spanish + authorities."</p> + <p>The news of the incident created great excitement in Washington. President Pierce + sent a message to Congress, stating that demand had been made on Spain for indemnity, + and suggesting provisional legislation that would enable him, if negotiations failed, + "to insure the observance of our just rights, to obtain redress for injuries + received, and to vindicate the honor of our flag."</p> + <p>Mr. Soule, then the American Minister to Madrid, was the official through whom the + negotiations were conducted. He was a man of somewhat impetuous temperament, and an + ardent advocate of Cuba's annexation. He quite overstepped both the bounds of + propriety and of his authority in his submission, under instructions, of a demand for + three hundred thousand dollars indemnity. This, and Spanish diplomatic methods, led + to delay, and the excitement died out. In the meantime, Spain released the vessel and + its cargo, disavowed and disapproved the conduct of the local officials, paid the + indemnity claimed by the owners of the vessel, and the ship resumed its regular + trips, being treated with every courtesy when visiting Havana. But the incident gave + rise to active discussion, and for a time threatened serious results. It followed on + the heels of another experience, the Lopez expeditions, to which reference is made in + another chapter, and came at a time when Cuba and Cuban affairs were topics of a + lively public interest. The subject of acquisition was under general public + discussion and occupied a large share of public attention. Some wanted war with + Spain, and others proposed the purchase of the island from Spain. But the immediate + cause of complaint having been removed by the release of the ship, Soule was + instructed to take no further steps in the matter, and the excitement gradually + passed away.</p> + <p>Immediately following this experience, and growing out of it, came the incident of + the "Ostend Manifesto." At that time, James Buchanan was Minister to England. John Y. + Mason was Minister to France, and Pierre Soule was Minister to Spain. Secretary of + State Marcy suggested a conference between these three officials. They met at Ostend, + but afterward transferred their deliberations to Aix la Chapelle. The meeting + attracted general attention in Europe. The result of what they reported as "a full + and unreserved interchange of views and sentiments," was a recommendation that an + earnest effort be made immediately to purchase Cuba. They were of opinion that the + sum of one hundred and twenty million dollars be offered. The report proceeded thus: + "After we shall have offered Spain a price for Cuba far beyond its present value, and + this shall have been refused, it will then be time to consider the question, does + Cuba in the possession of Spain seriously endanger our internal peace and the + existence of our cherished Union? Should this question be answered in the + affirmative, then, by every law, human and divine, we shall be justified in wresting + it from Spain if we possess the power; and this upon the very same principle that + would justify an individual in tearing down the burning house of his neighbor if + there were no other means of preventing the flame from destroying his own home." It + is evident that Soule dominated the meeting, and only less evident that he, in some + way, cajoled his associates into signing the report. No action was taken on the + matter by the Administration, and the incident has passed into history somewhat, + perhaps, as one of the curiosities of diplomacy. At all events, all historians note + it, and some give it considerable attention.</p> + <p>The next serious complication arose out of the Ten Years' War, in Cuba, in 1868, + to which reference is made in a chapter on Cuba's revolutions. Spain's leaders seemed + quite incapable of grasping the Cuban situation, of seeing it in its proper light. It + is more than probable that, even then, the Cubans would have remained loyal if the + Spanish authorities had paid attention to their just and reasonable demands. As + stated by Mr. Pepper, in his <i>Tomorrow in Cuba</i>, "The machete and the torch then + gained what peaceful agitation had not been able to achieve." The demands of the + Cubans are thus stated by Señor Cabrera, in his <i>Cuba and the Cubans</i>: "A + constitutional system in place of the autocracy of the Captain-General, freedom of + the press, the right of petition, cessation of the exclusion of Cubans from public + office, unrestricted industrial liberty, abolition of restrictions on the transfer of + landed property, the right of assembly and of association, representation in the + Cortes, and local self-government," all reasonable and just demands from every point + of view of modern civilization. Spain refused all, and on October 10, 1868, an actual + revolution began, the first in the history of the island to be properly classed as a + revolution. The United States soon became concerned and involved. In his message to + Congress on December 6, 1869, President Grant said: "For more than a year, a valuable + province of Spain, and a near neighbor of ours, in whom all our people cannot but + feel a deep interest, has been struggling for independence and freedom. The people + and the Government of the United States entertain the same warm feelings and + sympathies for the people of Cuba in their pending struggle that they have manifested + throughout the previous struggles between Spain and her former colonies (Mexico, + Central America and South America) in behalf of the latter. But the contest has at no + time assumed the conditions which amount to a war in the sense of international law, + or which would show the existence of a <i>de facto</i> political organization of the + insurgents sufficient to justify a recognition of belligerency." On June 13, 1870, + President Grant sent a special message to Congress, in which he reviewed the Cuban + situation. Another reference appears in his message of December 5, 1870. In his + message of December 4, 1871, he stated that "it is to be regretted that the disturbed + condition of the island of Cuba continues to be a source of annoyance and anxiety. + The existence of a protracted struggle in such close proximity to our own territory, + without apparent prospect of an early termination, cannot be other than an object of + concern to a people who, while abstaining from interference in the affairs of other + powers, naturally desire to see every other country in the undisturbed enjoyment of + peace, liberty, and the blessings of free institutions." In the message of December + 2, 1872, he said: "It is with regret that I have again to announce a continuance of + the disturbed condition in the island of Cuba. The contest has now lasted for more + than four years. Were its scene at a distance from our neighborhood, we might be + indifferent to its result, although humanity could not be unmoved by many of its + incidents wherever they might occur. It is, however, at out door." Reference was made + to it in all following annual messages, until President Hayes, in 1878, announced its + termination, ten years after its beginning. The contest had become practically a + deadlock, and a compromise was arranged by General Maximo Gomez, for the Cubans, and + General Martinez Campos, for Spain.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig15"></a><a href="images/image15.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image15.jpg" alt="" /></a> + <h3>HOISTING THE CUBAN FLAG OVER THE PALACE, MAY 20, 1902<br /> + <i>Senate building on the right</i></h3> + </div> + <p>The entanglements that grew out of the experiences of this period are too long and + too complicated for detailed review here. This country had no desire for war with + Spain, but approval of the Spanish policy in Cuba was impossible. The sympathies of + the American people were with the Cubans, as they had been for fifty years, and as + they continued to be until the end of Spanish occupation in the West Indies. Rumors + of all kinds were afloat, and again and again the situation seemed to have reached a + crisis that could be ended only by war. A particularly aggravating incident appeared + in what is known as the <i>Virginius</i> case. This was described as follows, in + President Grant's message to Congress on December 1, 1873.</p> + <p>"The steamer <i>Virginius</i> was on the 26th day of September, 1870, duly + registered at the port of New York as a part of the commercial marine of the United + States. On the 4th of October, 1870, having received the certificate of her register + in the usual legal form, she sailed from the port of New York, and has not since been + within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. On the 31st day of October + last (1873), while sailing under the flag of the United States on the high seas, she + was forcibly seized by the Spanish gunboat <i>Tornado</i>, and was carried into the + port of Santiago de Cuba, where fifty-three of her passengers and crew were + inhumanly, and, so far at least as related to those who were citizens of the United + States, without due process of law, put to death."</p> + <p>Only for the timely arrival of the British man-of-war <i>Niobe</i>, and the prompt + and decisive action of her commander, there is no doubt that ninety-three others + would have shared the fate of their companions. Some were Americans and some were + British. The excitement in this country was intense, and war with Spain was widely + demanded. Further investigation revealed the fact that the American registry was + dishonest, that the ship really belonged to or was chartered by Cubans, that it was + engaged in carrying supplies and munitions of war to the insurgents, and that its + right to fly the American flag was more than doubtful. The ship was seized by the + American authorities under a charge of violation of the maritime laws of the United + States, and was ordered to New York, for a trial of the case. American naval officers + were placed in command, but she was in bad condition, and foundered in a gale near + Cape Fear. As far as the vessel was concerned, the incident was closed. There + remained the question of indemnity for what Caleb Cushing, then the American Minister + to Spain, in his communication to the Spanish authorities, denounced as "a dreadful, + a savage act, the inhuman slaughter in cold blood, of fifty-three human beings, a + large number of them citizens of the United States, shot without lawful trial, + without any valid pretension of authority, and to the horror of the whole civilized + world." England also filed its claim for the loss of British subjects, and payment + was soon after made "for the purpose of relief of the families or persons of the + ship's company and passengers." In his <i>Cuba and International Relations</i>, Mr. + Callahan says: "The catalogue of irritating affairs in relation to Cuba, of which the + <i>Virginius</i> was only the culmination, might have been urged as sufficient to + justify a policy of intervention to stop the stubborn war of extermination which had + been tolerated by peaceful neighbors for five years. Some would have been ready to + advocate intervention as a duty. The relations of Cuba to the United States, the + Spanish commercial restrictions which placed Cuba at the mercy of Spanish + monopolists, and the character of the Spanish rule, pointed to the conclusion that if + Spain should not voluntarily grant reforms and guarantee pacification of the island, + the United States might be compelled, especially for future security, temporarily to + occupy it and assist in the organization of a liberal government based upon modern + views. Such action might have led to annexation, but not necessarily; it might have + led to a restoration of Spanish possession under restrictions as to the character of + Spanish rule, and as to the size of the Spanish army and naval force in the vicinity; + more likely it would have resulted in the independence of Cuba under American + protection."</p> + <p>These are only some of the more prominent features in fifty years of American + interest in Cuba. Throughout the entire period, the sympathies of the American people + were strongly pro-Cuban. Money and supplies were contributed from time to time to + assist the Cubans in their efforts to effect a change in their conditions, either + through modification of Spanish laws, or by the road of independence. Only a minority + of the Cubans sought to follow that road at that time. The movement for independence + was not national until it was made so in 1895. What would have happened had we, at + the time of the Ten Years' War, granted to the Cubans the rights of belligerents, is + altogether a matter of speculation. Such a course was then deemed politically + inexpedient.</p> + <h2><a id="IX">IX</a><br /> + <i>CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS</i></h2> + <p>Only by magnifying protests into revolts, and riots into revolutions, is it + possible to show Cuba as the "land of revolutions" that many have declared it to be. + The truth is that from the settlement of the island in 1512 until the signing of the + Treaty of Paris in 1898, there were only two experiences that can, by any proper use + of the term, be called revolutions. This statement, of course, disputes a widely + accepted notion, but many notions become widely accepted because of assertions that + are not contradicted. That a strong undercurrent of discontent runs through all + Cuba's history from 1820 to 1895, is true. That there were numerous manifestations of + that discontent, and occasional attempts at revolution, is also true. But none of + these experiences, prior to 1868, reached a stage that would properly warrant its + description as a revolution. The term is very loosely applied to a wide range of + experiences. It is customary to class as revolution all disorders from riots to + rebellions. This is particularly the case where the disorder occurs in some country + other than our own. The <i>Standard Dictionary</i> defines the essential idea of + revolution as "a change in the form of government, or the constitution, or rulers, + otherwise than as provided by the laws of succession, election, etc." The <i>Century + Dictionary</i> defines such proceedings as "a radical change in social or + governmental conditions; the overthrow of an established political system." Many + exceedingly interesting parallels may be drawn between the experience of the American + colonies prior to their revolution, in 1775, and the experience of Cuba during the + 19th Century. In fact, it may perhaps be said that there is no experience in Cuba's + history that cannot be fairly paralleled in our own. In his <i>History of the United + States</i>, Mr. Edward Channing says: "The governing classes of the old country + wished to exploit the American colonists for their own use and behoof." Change the + word "American" to "Spanish," and the Cuban situation is exactly defined. The + situation in America in the 18th Century was almost identical with the situation in + Cuba in the 19th Century. Both, in those respective periods, suffered from oppressive + and restrictive trade laws and from burdensome taxation, from subordination of their + interests to the interests of the people of a mother-country three thousand miles + away. Unfortunately for the Cubans, Spain was better able to enforce its exactions + than England was. Cuba's area was limited, its available harbors few in number, its + population small.</p> + <p>Not until the years immediately preceding the revolutions by which the United + States and Cuba secured their independence, was there any general demand for definite + separation from the mother-country. The desire in both was a fuller measure of + economic and commercial opportunity. One striking parallel may be noted. The Tories, + or "loyalists," in this country have their counterpart in the Cuban + <i>Autonomistas</i>. Referring to conditions in 1763, Mr. Channing states that "never + had the colonists felt a greater pride in their connection with the British empire." + Among the great figures of the pre-revolutionary period in this country, none stands + out more clearly than James Otis, of Boston, and Patrick Henry, of Virginia. In an + impassioned address, in 1763, Otis declared that "every British subject in America is + of common right, by acts of Parliament, and by the laws of God and nature, entitled + to all the essential privileges of Britons. What God in his Providence has united let + no man dare attempt to pull asunder." Thirteen years later, the sundering blow was + struck. Patrick Henry's resolutions submitted to the Virginia House of Burgesses, in + 1765, set that colony afire, but at that time neither he nor his associates desired + separation and independence if their natural rights were recognized. It was not until + the revolution of 1895 that the independence of Cuba became a national demand, a + movement based on realization of the hopelessness of further dependence upon Spain + for the desired economic and fiscal relief. As in the American colonies there + appeared, from time to time, individuals or isolated groups who demanded drastic + action on the part of the colonists, so were there Cubans who, from time to time, + appeared with similar demands. Nathaniel Bacon headed a formidable revolution in + Virginia in 1676. Massachusetts rebelled against Andros and Dudley in 1689. From the + passage of the Navigation Acts, in the middle of the 17th Century, until the + culmination in 1775, there was an undercurrent of friction and a succession of + protests. The Cuban condition was quite the same excepting the fact of burdens more + grievous and more frequent open outbreaks.</p> + <p>The records of many of the disorders are fragmentary. Spain had no desire to give + them publicity, and the Cubans had few means for doing so. The <i>Report on the + Census of Cuba</i>, prepared by the War Department of the United States, in 1899, + contains a summary of the various disorders in the island. The first is the rioting + in 1717, when Captain-General Roja enforced the decree establishing a government + monopoly in tobacco. The disturbances in Haiti and Santo Domingo (1791-1800) + resulting in the establishment of independence in Haiti, under Toussaint, excited + unimportant uprisings on the part of negroes in Cuba, but they were quickly + suppressed. The first movement worthy of note came in 1823. It was a consequence of + the general movement that extended throughout Spanish-America and resulted in the + independence of all Spain's former colonies, excepting Cuba and Porto Rico. That the + influence of so vast a movement should have been felt in Cuba was almost inevitable. + As disorder continued throughout much of the time, the period 1820-1830 is best + considered collectively. The same influences were active, and the same forces were + operative for the greater part of the term. The accounts of it all are greatly + confused, and several nations were involved, including Spain, the United States, + France, England, Mexico, and Colombia. The slavery question was involved, as was the + question of the transfer of the island to some Power other than Spain. Independence + was the aim of some, though probably no very great number. Practically all of Cuba's + later experiences have their roots in this period. During these ten years, the issue + between Cubans who sought a larger national and economic life, and the Spanish + element that insisted upon the continuance of Spanish absolutism, had its definite + beginning, to remain a cause of almost constant friction for three-quarters of a + century. The Spanish Constitution of 1812, abrogated in 1814, was again proclaimed in + 1820, and again abrogated in 1823. The effort of Captain-General Vives, acting under + orders from Ferdinand VII, to restore absolutism encountered both vigorous opposition + and strong support. Secret societies were organized, whose exact purposes do not + appear to be well known. Some have asserted that it was a Masonic movement, while + others have held that the organizations were more in the nature of the + <i>Carbonari</i>. One of them, called the <i>Soles de Bolivar</i>, in some way gave + its name to the immediate activities. It was charged with having planned a rebellion + against the government, but the plans were discovered and the leaders were arrested. + The movement appears to have been widespread, with its headquarters in Matanzas. An + uprising was planned to take place on August 16, 1823, but on that day José Francisco + Lemus, the leader, and a number of his associates were arrested and imprisoned. Among + them was José Maria Heredia, the Cuban poet, who was, for this offence, condemned, in + 1824, to perpetual exile for the crime of treason.</p> + <p>Others engaged in the conspiracy fled the country. Some were officially deported. + But the punishments imposed on these people served to excite the animosity of many + more, and a period of agitation followed, marked by occasional outbreaks and rioting. + To meet the situation, an army intended to be employed in reconquering some of the + colonies that had already declared and established their independence, was retained + on the island. In 1825, a royal decree conferred on the Spanish Governor in Cuba a + power practically absolute. This excited still further the anger of the Cuban element + and led to other manifestations of discontent. There was a combination of political + agitation with revolutionary demonstrations. In 1826, there was a local uprising in + Puerto Principe, directed more particularly against the Spanish garrison, whose + conduct was regarded as highly offensive. A year or two later, Cuban exiles in Mexico + and Colombia, with support from the people of those countries, organized a secret + society known as the "Black Eagle," having for its purpose a Cuban revolution. Its + headquarters were in Mexico, and its activities were fruitless. Many were arrested + and tried and sentenced to death or deportation. But Vives realized the folly of + adding more fuel to the flames, and the sentences were in all cases either mitigated + or revoked. This seems to have brought that particular series of conspiracies to an + end. It was a time of active political agitation and conspiracy, with occasional + local riots that were quickly suppressed. While much of it was revolutionary in its + aims and purposes, none of it may with any fitness be called a revolution, unless a + prevalence of a lively spirit of opposition and rebellion is to be so classed. The + agitation settled down for a number of years, but broke out in local spasms + occasionally. There were riots and disorders, but that is not revolution. It is to be + remembered that the cause of all this disturbance was, in the main, an entirely + creditable sentiment, quite as creditable as that which led the American colonists to + resist the Stamp taxes and to destroy tea. It was a natural and righteous protest + against oppression, a movement lasting for seventy-five years, for which Americans, + particularly, should award praise rather than blame or carping criticism. Having + done, in our own way, very much what the Cubans have done, in their way, we are not + free to condemn them. The only real difference is that their methods were, on the + whole, a little more strenuous than ours. Cuban blood was stirred by the successful + revolutions in Mexico and in Spanish South America, and conditions in the island were + contrasted with those in the then somewhat new United States. Something of the part + played by this country in the experiences of the time is presented in another + chapter, on the relations of the two countries.</p> + <p>The next movement worthy of note came in 1849, if we omit the quarrel, in 1837, + between General Tacon and his subordinate, General Lorenzo, and the alleged proposal + of the slaves in the neighborhood of Matanzas to rise and slaughter all the whites. + Neither of these quite belongs in the revolutionary class. In 1847, a conspiracy was + organized in the vicinity of Cienfuegos. Its leader was General Narciso Lopez. The + movement was discovered, and some of the participants were imprisoned. Lopez escaped + to the United States where he associated himself with a group of Cuban exiles, and + opened correspondence with sympathizers in the island. They were joined by a + considerable number of adventurous Americans, inspired by a variety of motives. The + declared purpose of the enterprise was independence as the alternative of reform in + Spanish laws. An expedition was organized, but the plans became known and President + Taylor, on August 11, 1849, issued a proclamation in which he declared that "an + enterprise to invade the territories of a friendly nation, set on foot and prosecuted + within the limits of the United States, is in the highest degree criminal." He + therefore warned all citizens of the United States who might participate in such an + enterprise that they would be subject to heavy penalties, and would forfeit the + protection of their country. He also called on "every officer of this Government, + civil or military, to use all efforts in his power to arrest for trial and punishment + every such offender against the laws." The party was captured as it was leaving New + York. The best evidence of the time is to the effect that there was in Cuba neither + demand for nor support of such a movement, but Lopez and his associates, many of them + Americans, persisted. A second expedition was arranged, and a party of more than six + hundred men, many of them American citizens, assembled on the island of Contoy, off + the Yucatan coast, and on May 19, 1850, landed at Cardenas. But there was no uprising + on the part of the people. The Spanish authorities, informed of the expedition, sent + ships by sea and troops by land. After a sharp skirmish, the invaders fled for their + lives. Lopez and those who escaped with him succeeded in reaching Key West. He went + to Savannah, where he was arrested but promptly liberated in response to public + clamor. But even this did not satisfy the enthusiastic liberator of a people who did + not want to be liberated in that way. He tried again in the following year. On August + 3, 1851, he sailed from near New Orleans, on the steamer <i>Pampero</i>, in command + of a force of about four hundred, largely composed of young Americans who had been + lured into the enterprise by assurance of thrilling adventure and large pay. They + landed near Bahia Honda, about fifty miles west of Havana. Here, again, the Cubans + refused to rise and join the invaders. Here, again, they encountered the Spanish + forces by whom they were beaten and routed. Many were killed, some were captured, and + others escaped into the surrounding country and were captured afterward. Lopez was + among the captured. He was taken to Havana, and died by <i>garrote</i> in the little + fortress La Punta. His first officer, Colonel Crittenden, and some fifty Americans + were captured and taken to Atares, the fortress at the head of Havana harbor, where + they were shot. For that somewhat brutal act, the United States could ask no + indemnity. In violation of the laws of the United States, they had invaded the + territory of a nation with which the country was at peace. In the initial issue of + the <i>New York Times</i>, on October 18, 1851, there appeared a review of the + incident, presenting a contemporaneous opinion of the experience. It was, in part, as + follows:</p> + <p>"Nothing can be clearer than the fact that, for the present, at least, the + inhabitants of Cuba do not desire their freedom. The opinion has very widely + prevailed that the Cubans were grievously oppressed by their Spanish rulers, and that + the severity of their oppression alone prevented them from making some effort to + throw it off. The presence of an armed force in their midst, however small, it was + supposed would summon them by thousands to the standard of revolt, and convert the + colony into a free republic. Men high in office, men who had lived in Cuba and were + supposed to be familiar with the sentiments of its people, have uniformly represented + that they were ripe for revolt, and desired only the presence of a small military + band to serve as a nucleus for their force. Believing that the Cuban population would + aid them, American adventurers enlisted and were ruined. They found no aid. Not a + Cuban joined them. They were treated as pirates and robbers from the first moment of + their landing. Nor could they expect any other treatment in case of failure. They + ceased to be American citizens the moment they set out, as invaders, for the shores + of Cuba."</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig16"></a><a href="images/image16.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image16.jpg" alt="SPANISH BLOCK HOUSE" /></a> + <h3>A SPANISH BLOCK HOUSE</h3> + </div> + <p>The excitement of the Lopez incident was passing when it was revived, in 1854, by + the <i>Black Warrior</i> experience, to which reference is made elsewhere. Another + invasion was projected by exuberant and adventurous Americans. It was to sail from + New Orleans under command of General Quitman, a former Governor of the State of + Mississippi. No secret was made of the expedition, and Quitman openly boasted of his + purposes, in Washington. The reports having reached the White House, President Pierce + issued a proclamation warning "all persons, citizens of the United States and others + residing therein" that the General Government would not fail to prosecute with due + energy all those who presumed to disregard the laws of the land and our treaty + obligations. He charged all officers of the United States to exert all their lawful + power to maintain the authority and preserve the peace of the country. Quitman was + arrested, and put under bonds to respect the neutrality laws. There was a limited + uprising in Puerto Principe, in 1851, and a conspiracy was revealed, in Pinar del + Rio, in 1852. A few years later the Liberal Club in Havana and the Cuban Junta in New + York were reported as raising money and organizing expeditions. Some sailed, but they + accomplished little, except as the activities appear as a manifestation of the + persistent opposition on the part of what was probably only a small minority of the + Cuban people. For several years, the unrest and the agitation continued. Spain's + blindness to the situation is puzzling. In his <i>Cuba and International + Relations</i>, Mr. Callahan says: "Spain, after squandering a continent, had still + clung tenaciously to Cuba; and the changing governments which had been born (in + Spain) only to be strangled, held her with a taxing hand. While England had allowed + her colonies to rule themselves, Spain had persisted in keeping Cuba in the same + state of tutelage that existed when she was the greatest power in the world, and when + the idea of colonial rights had not developed." In <i>Tomorrow in Cuba</i>, Mr. + Pepper notes that "though the conception of colonial home rule for Cuba was + non-existent among the Spanish statesmen of that day, the perception of it was clear + on the part of the thinking people of the island. The educated and wealthy Cubans who + in 1865 formed themselves into a national party and urged administrative and economic + changes upon Madrid felt the lack of understanding among Spanish statesmen. The + concessions asked were not a broad application of civil liberties. When their + programme was rejected in its entirety they ceased to ask favors. They inaugurated + the Ten Years' War." Regarding this action by the Cubans, Dr. Enrique José Varona, a + distinguished Cuban and a former deputy to the Cortes, has stated that "before the + insurrection of 1868, the reform party which included the most enlightened, wealthy, + and influential Cubans, exhausted all the resources within their reach to induce + Spain to initiate a healthy change in her Cuban policy. The party started the + publication of periodicals in Madrid and in the island, addressed petitions, + maintained a great agitation throughout the country, and having succeeded in leading + the Spanish Government to make an inquiry into the economic, political, and social + conditions in Cuba, they presented a complete plan of government which satisfied + public requirements as well as the aspirations of the people. The Spanish Government + disdainfully cast aside the proposition as useless, increased taxation, and proceeded + to its exaction with extreme severity." Here not seek its independence; the object + was reform in oppressive laws and in burdensome taxation, a measure of + self-government, under Spain, and a greater industrial and commercial freedom. It is + most difficult to understand the short-sightedness of the Spanish authorities. The + war soon followed the refusal of these entirely reasonable demands, and the course of + the Cubans is entirely to their credit. An acceptance of the situation and a further + submission would have shown them as contemptible.</p> + <p>The details of a conflict that lasted for ten years are quite impossible of + presentation in a few pages. Nor are they of value or interest to any except special + students who can find them elaborately set forth in many volumes, some in Spanish and + a few in English. Having tried once before to cover this period as briefly and as + adequately as possible, I can do no better here than to repeat the story as told in + an earlier work (<i>Cuba, and the Intervention</i>). On the 10th of October, 1868, + Carlos Manuel Cespedes and his associates raised the cry of Cuban independence at + Yara, in the Province of Puerto Principe (now Camaguey). On the 10th of April, 1869, + there was proclaimed the Constitution of the Cuban Republic. During the intervening + months, there was considerable fighting, though it was largely in the nature of + guerrilla skirmishing. The Spanish Minister of State asserted in a memorandum issued + to Spain's representatives in other countries, under date of February 3, 1876, that + at the outbreak of the insurrection Spain had 7,500 troops, all told, in Cuba. + According to General Sickels, at that time the American Minister to Spain, this + number was increased by reinforcements of 34,500 within the first year of the war. + The accuracy of this information, however, has been questioned. Prior to the + establishment of the so-called Republic, the affairs of the insurrection were in the + hands of an Assembly of Representatives. On February 26, this body issued a decree + proclaiming the abolition of slavery throughout the island, and calling upon those + who thus received their freedom to "contribute their efforts to the independence of + Cuba." During the opening days of April, 1869, the Assembly met at Guiamaro. On the + tenth of that month a government was organized, with a president, vice-president, + general-in-chief of the army, secretaries of departments, and a parliament or + congress. Carlos Manuel Cespedes was chosen as President, and Manuel de Quesada as + General-in-Chief. A Constitution was adopted. Señor Morales Lemus was appointed as + minister to the United States, to represent the new Republic, and to ask official + recognition by the American Government. The government which the United States was + asked to recognize was a somewhat vague institution. The insurrection, or revolution, + if it may be so called, at this time consisted of a nominal central government, + chiefly self-organized and self-elected, and various roving bands, probably numbering + some thousands in their aggregate, of men rudely and incompetently armed, and showing + little or nothing of military organization or method.</p> + <p>Like all Cuban-Spanish wars and warfare, the destruction of property was a common + procedure. Some of the methods employed for the suppression of the insurrection were + not unlike those adopted by General Weyler in the later war. At Bayamo, on April 4, + 1869, Count Valmaseda, the Spanish Commandant of that district, issued the following + proclamation:</p> + <p>1. Every man, from the age of fifteen years upward, found away from his place of + habitation, who does not prove a justified reason therefor, will be shot.</p> + <p>2. Every unoccupied habitation will be burned by the troops.</p> + <p>3. Every habitation from which no white flag floats, as a signal that its + occupants desire peace, will be reduced to ashes.</p> + <p>In the summer of 1869, the United States essayed a reconciliation and an + adjustment of the differences between the contestants. To this Spain replied that the + mediation of any nation in a purely domestic question was wholly incompatible with + the honor of Spain, and that the independence of Cuba was inadmissible as a basis of + negotiation. Heavy reinforcements were sent from Spain, and the strife continued. The + commerce of the island was not greatly disturbed, for the reason that the great + producing and commercial centres lay to the westward, and the military activities + were confined, almost exclusively, to the eastern and central areas. In April, 1874, + Mr. Fish, then Secretary of State, reported that "it is now more than five years + since the uprising (in Cuba) and it has been announced with apparent authority, that + Spain has lost upward of 80,000 men, and has expended upward of $100,000,000, in + efforts to suppress it; yet the insurrection seems today as active and as powerful as + it has ever been." Spain's losses among her troops were not due so much to the + casualties of war as they were to the ravages of disease, especially yellow fever. + The process, in which both parties would appear to be about equally culpable, of + destroying property and taking life when occasion offered, proceedings which are + hardly to be dignified by the name of war, continued until the beginning of 1878. + Throughout the entire period of the war, the American officials labored diligently + for its termination on a basis that would give fair promise of an enduring peace. + Many questions arose concerning the arrest of American citizens and the destruction + of property of American ownership. Proposals to grant the Cubans the rights of + belligerents were dismissed as not properly warranted by the conditions, and + questions arose regarding the supply of arms and ammunition, from this country, by + filibustering expeditions. References to Cuban affairs appear in many presidential + messages, and the matter was a subject of much discussion and numerous measures in + Congress. Diplomatic communication was constantly active. In his message of December + 7, 1875, President Grant said: "The past year has furnished no evidence of an + approaching termination of the ruinous conflict which has been raging for seven years + in the neighboring island of Cuba. While conscious that the insurrection has shown a + strength and endurance which make it at least doubtful whether it be in the power of + Spain to subdue it, it seems unquestionable that no such civil organization exists + which may be recognized as an independent government capable of performing its + international obligations and entitled to be treated as one of the powers of the + earth." Nor did he then deem the grant of belligerent rights to the Cubans as either + expedient or properly warranted by the circumstances.</p> + <p>In 1878, Martinez Campos was Governor-General of Cuba, and Maximo Gomez was + Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban forces. Both parties were weary of the prolonged + hostilities, and neither was able to compel the other to surrender. Spain, however, + professed a willingness to yield an important part of the demands of her rebellious + subjects. Martinez Campos and Gomez met at Zanjon and, on February 10, 1878, mutually + agreed to what has been variously called a peace pact, a treaty, and a capitulation. + The agreement was based on provisions for a redress of Cuban grievances through + greater civil, political, and administrative privileges for the Cubans, with + forgetfulness of the past and amnesty for all then under sentence for political + offences. Delay in carrying these provisions into effect gave rise to an attempt to + renew the struggle two years later, but the effort was a failure.</p> + <p>Matters then quieted down for a number of years. The Cubans waited to see what + would be done. The Spanish Governor-General still remained the supreme power and, + aside from the abolition of slavery, the application of the Spanish Constitution and + Spanish laws to Cuba, and Cuban representation in the Cortes, much of which was + rather form than fact, the island gained little by the new conditions. Discontent and + protest continued and, at last, broke again into open rebellion in 1895.</p> + <p>The story of that experience is told in another chapter. In 1906, there came one + of the most deplorable experiences in the history of the island, the first and only + discreditable revolution. The causes of the experience are not open to our criticism. + Our own records show too much of precisely the same kind of work, illegal + registration, ballot box stuffing, threats and bribery. The first election in the new + Republic was carried with only a limited and somewhat perfunctory opposition to the + candidacy of Estrada Palma. Before the second election came, in 1905, he allied + himself definitely with an organization then known as the Moderate party. The + opposition was known as the Liberal party. Responsibility for the disgraceful + campaign that followed rests on both, almost equally. The particular difference lies + in the fact that, the principal offices having been given to adherents of the + Moderates, they were able to control both registration and election proceedings. But + the methods employed by the opposition were no less censurable. Realizing defeat, the + Liberals withdrew from the field, by concerted action, on the day of the election, + and the Moderates elected every one of their candidates. Naturally, a feeling of + bitter resentment was created, and there came, in the spring of 1906, rumors of armed + revolt. In August, an actual insurrection was begun. Disgruntled political leaders + gathered formidable bands in Pinar del Rio and in Santa Clara provinces. President + Palma became seriously alarmed, even actually frightened. Through the United States + Consul-General in Havana, he sent urgent appeals to Washington for naval and military + aid. Mr. Taft, then Secretary of War, and Mr. Bacon, the Assistant Secretary of + State, were sent to Havana to investigate and report on the situation. They arrived + in Havana on September 19. After ten days of careful and thorough study, and earnest + effort to effect an adjustment, a proclamation was issued declaring the creation of a + provisional government. This was accepted by both parties and the insurgent bands + dispersed. Charles E. Magoon was sent down as Provisional Governor. Americans who are + disposed to censure the Cubans for this experience in their history, may perhaps turn + with profit to some little experiences in the history of their own country in its + political infancy, in 1786 and 1794. Those incidents do not relieve the Cubans of the + censure to which they are open, but they make it a little difficult for us to condemn + them with proper grace and dignity. The provisional government continued until + January 28, 1909, when control was turned over to the duly elected officials, they + being the same who withdrew from the polls, acknowledging defeat, in the election of + 1905.</p> + <h2><a id="X">X</a><br /> + <i>INDEPENDENCE</i></h2> + <p>Cuba's final movement for independence began on February 24, 1895. Under the + treaty of Zanjon, executed in 1878, Spain agreed to grant to the Cubans such reforms + as would remove their grounds of complaint, long continued. The Cubans denied that + the terms of the agreement had been kept. Those terms are indicated in a statement + submitted by Tomas Estrada y Palma to Richard Olney, then Secretary of State of the + United States. It bore the date of December 7, 1895. The communication sets forth, + from the Cuban point of view, of course, the causes of the revolution of 1895. It + says:</p> + <p>"These causes are substantially the same as those of the former revolution, + lasting from 1868 to 1878, and terminating only on the representation of the Spanish + Government that Cuba would be granted such reforms as would remove the grounds of + complaint on the part of the Cuban people. Unfortunately the hopes thus held out have + never been realized. The representation which was to be given the Cubans has proved + to be absolutely without character; taxes have been levied anew on everything + conceivable; the offices in the island have increased, but the officers are all + Spaniards; the native Cubans have been left with no public duties whatsoever to + perform, except the payment of taxes to the Government and blackmail to the + officials, without privilege even to move from place to place in the island except on + the permission of government authority.</p> + <p>"Spain has framed laws so that the natives have substantially been deprived of the + right of suffrage. The taxes levied have been almost entirely devoted to support the + army and navy in Cuba, to pay interest on the debt that Spain has saddled on the + island, and to pay the salaries of the vast number of Spanish office holders, + devoting only $746,000 for internal improvements out of the $26,000,000 collected by + tax. No public schools are in reach of the masses for their education. All the + principal industries of the island are hampered by excessive imposts. Her commerce + with every country but Spain has been crippled in every possible manner, as can + readily be seen by the frequent protests of shipowners and merchants.</p> + <p>"The Cubans have no security of person or property. The judiciary are instruments + of the military authorities. Trial by military tribunals can be ordered at any time + at the will of the Captain-General. There is, besides, no freedom of speech, press, + or religion. In point of fact, the causes of the Revolution of 1775 in this country + were not nearly as grave as those that have driven the Cuban people to the various + insurrections which culminated in the present revolution."</p> + <p>Spain, of course, denied these charges, and asserted that the agreement had been + kept in good faith. The Spanish Government may have been technically correct in its + claim that all laws necessary to the fulfillment of its promises had been enacted. + But it seems entirely certain that they had not been made effective. The conditions + of the Cubans were in no way improved and, some time before the outbreak, they began + preparations for armed resistance. In <i>Cuba and the Intervention</i> (published in + 1905) I have already written an outline review of the experience of the revolution, + and I shall here make use of extracts from that volume. The notable leader and + instigator of the movement was José Marti, a patriot, a poet, and a dreamer, but a + man of action. He visited General Maximo Gomez at his home in Santo Domingo, where + that doughty old warrior had betaken himself after the conclusion of the Ten Years' + War. Gomez accepted the command of the proposed army of Cuban liberation. Antonio + Maceo also accepted a command. He was a mulatto, an able and daring fighter, whose + motives were perhaps a compound of patriotism, hatred of Spain, and a love for the + excitement of warfare. Others whose names are written large in Cuba's history soon + joined the movement. A <i>junta</i>, or committee, was organized with headquarters in + New York. After the death of Marti, this was placed in charge of Tomas Estrada y + Palma, who afterward became the first President of the new Republic. Its work was to + raise funds, obtain and forward supplies and ammunition, and to advance the cause in + all possible ways. There were legal battles to be fought by and through this + organization, and Mr. Horatio S. Rubens, a New York lawyer, was placed in charge of + that department. The twenty-fourth of February was set for the beginning of + activities, but arms were lacking, and while the movement was actually begun on that + day, the operations of the first six weeks or so were limited to numerous local + uprisings of little moment. But the local authorities became alarmed, and martial law + was proclaimed in Santa Clara and Matanzas provinces on the 27th. Spain became + alarmed also, and immediately despatched General Martinez Campos as Governor-General + of the island, to succeed General Calleja. He assumed command on April 16. Maceo and + his associates, among them his brother José, also a fighter of note, landed from + Costa Rica on April 1. Marti, Gomez, and others, reached the island on the 11th. + Meanwhile, Bartolomé Maso, an influential planter in Oriente, had been in command of + the forces in his vicinity. Many joined, and others stood ready to join as soon as + they could be equipped. Engagements with the Spanish troops soon became a matter of + daily occurrence, and Martinez Campos realized that a formidable movement was on. + Spain hurried thousands of soldiers to the island.</p> + <p>For the first five months, the insurgents kept their opponents busy with an almost + uninterrupted series of little engagements, a guerrilla warfare. In one of these, on + May 19, José Marti was killed. His death was a severe blow to the patriots, but it + served rather to inspire a greater activity than to check the movement. His death + came in the effort of a small band of insurgents to pass the Spanish cordon designed + to confine activities to Oriente Province. Immediately after the death of Marti, + Maximo Gomez crossed that barrier and organized an army in Camaguey. The first + engagement properly to be regarded as a battle occurred at Peralejo, near Bayamo, in + Oriente, about the middle of July. The respective leaders were Antonio Maceo and + General Martinez Campos, in person. The victory fell to Maceo, and Martinez Campos + barely eluded capture. The engagements of the Ten Years' War were confined to the + then sparsely settled eastern half of the island. Those of the revolution of 1895 + covered the greater part of the island, sweeping gradually but steadily from east to + west. During my first visit to Cuba, I was frequently puzzled by references to "the + invasion." "What invasion?" I asked, "Who invaded the country?" I found that it meant + the westward sweep of the liberating army under Gomez and Maceo. It covered a period + of more than two years of frequent fighting and general destruction of property. + Early in the operations Gomez issued the following proclamation:</p> + <p><b>GENERAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION</b></p> + <p>Najasa, Camaguey, July 1, 1895.</p> + <p>To THE PLANTERS AND OWNERS OF CATTLE RANCHES:</p> + <p><i>In accord with the great interests of the revolution for the independence of + the country, and for which we are in arms</i>:</p> + <p>WHEREAS, <i>all exploitations of any product whatsoever are aids and resources to + the Government that we are fighting, it is resolved by the general-in-chief to issue + this general order throughout the island, that the introduction of articles of + commerce, as well as beef and cattle, into the towns occupied by the enemy, is + absolutely prohibited. The sugar plantations will stop their labors, and those who + shall attempt to grind the crop notwithstanding this order, will have their cane + burned and their buildings demolished. The person who, disobeying this order, shall + try to profit from the present situation of affairs, will show by his conduct little + respect for the rights of the revolution of redemption, and therefore shall be + considered as an enemy, treated as a traitor, and tried as such in case of his + capture</i>.</p> +<pre> +(<i>Signed</i>) MAXIMO GOMEZ, +The General-in-Chief. +</pre> + <p>This proved only partially effective, and it was followed by a circular to + commanding officers, a few months later, reading thus:</p> + <p><b>HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION</b></p> + <p>Territory of Sancti Spiritus, November 6, 1895.</p> + <p><i>Animated by the spirit of unchangeable resolution in defence of the rights of + the revolution of redemption of this country of colonists, humiliated and despised by + Spain, and in harmony with what has been decreed concerning the subject in the + circular dated the 1st of July, I have ordered the following</i>:</p> + <p>ARTICLE I. <i>That all plantations shall be totally destroyed, their cane and + outbuildings burned, and railroad connections destroyed</i>.</p> + <p>ARTICLE II. <i>All laborers who shall aid the sugar factories—these sources of + supplies that we must deprive the enemy of—shall be considered as traitors to their + country</i>.</p> + <p>ARTICLE III. <i>All who are caught in the act, or whose violation of Article II + shall be proven, shall be shot. Let all chiefs of operations of the army of liberty + comply with this order, determined to furl triumphantly, even over ruin and ashes, + the flag of the Republic of Cuba</i>.</p> + <p><i>In regard to the manner of waging the war, follow the private instructions that + I have already given</i>.</p> + <p><i>For the sake of the honor of our arms and your well-known courage and + patriotism, it is expected that you will strictly comply with the above + orders</i>.</p> +<pre> +<i>(Signed)</i> MAXIMO GOMEZ, +General-in-Chief. +</pre> + <p>To peace-loving souls, all this sounds very brutal, but all war is brutal and + barbarous. In our strife in the Philippines, from 1899 to 1902, many of us were proud + to be told that we were conducting a "humane war." There is no such thing. The very + terms are contradictory. Gomez had declared that if Spain would not give up Cuba to + the Cubans, the Cubans would themselves render the island so worthless and desolate a + possession that Spain could not afford to hold it. Short of further submission to a + rule that was, very rightly, regarded as no longer endurable, no other course was + open to them. Another proclamation appeared a few days later.</p> + <p><b>HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION</b></p> + <p>Sancti Spiritus, November 11 1895.</p> + <p>To HONEST MEN, VICTIMS OF THE TORCH:</p> + <p><i>The painful measure made necessary by the revolution of redemption drenched in + innocent blood from Hatuey to our own times by cruel and merciless Spain will plunge + you in misery. As general-in-chief of the army of liberation, it is my duty to lead + it to victory, without permitting myself to be restrained or terrified, by any means + necessary to place Cuba in the shortest time in possession of her dearest ideal. I + therefore place the responsibility for so great a ruin on those who look on + impassively and force us to those extreme measures which they then condemn like dolts + and hypocrites as they are. After so many years of supplication, humiliation, + contumely, banishment, and death, when this people, of its own will, has arisen in + arms, there remains no solution but to triumph, it matters not what means are + employed to accomplish it</i>.</p> + <p><i>This people cannot hesitate between the wealth of Spain and the liberty of + Cuba. Its greatest crime would be to stain the land with blood without effecting its + purposes because of puerile scruples and fears which do not concur with the character + of the men who are in the field, challenging the fury of an army which is one of the + bravest in the world, but which in this war is without enthusiasm or faith, ill-fed + and unpaid. The war did not begin February 24; it is about to begin now</i>.</p> + <p><i>The war had to be organized; it was necessary to calm and lead into the proper + channels the revolutionary spirit always exaggerated in the beginning by wild + enthusiasm. The struggle ought to begin in obedience to a plan and method more or + less studied, as the result of the peculiarities of this war. This has already been + done. Let Spain now send her soldiers to rivet the chains on her slaves; the children + of this land are in the field, armed with the weapons of liberty. The struggle will + be terrible, but success will crown the revolution and the efforts of the + oppressed</i>.</p> +<pre> +(<i>Signed</i>) MAXIMO GOMEZ, +General-in-Chief. +</pre> + <p>Such an address doubtless savors of bombast to many Americans, but in the history + of political and military oratory in their own land they can find an endless number + of speeches that, in that particular quality, rival if they do not surpass it. The + Cuban situation was desperate, and the Cuban attitude was one of fixed determination. + Productive industry was generally suppressed, and much property was destroyed, by + both Cubans and Spaniards. This necessarily threw many out of employment, and drove + them into the insurgent ranks. The Cubans are a peaceful people. All desired relief + from oppressive conditions, but many did not want war. While many entered the army + from patriotic motives, many others were brought into it only as a consequence of + conditions created by the conflict. The measures adopted were severe, but decision of + the contest by pitched battles was quite impossible. The quoted figures are somewhat + unreliable, but the Spanish forces outnumbered the Cubans by at least five to one, + and they could obtain freely the supplies and ammunition that the Cubans could obtain + only by filibustering expeditions. The Cubans, therefore, adopted a policy, the only + policy that afforded promise of success. Spain poured in fresh troops until, by the + close of 1895, its army is reported as numbering 200,000 men.</p> + <p>The Cubans carried the contest westward from Oriente and Camaguey, through Santa + Clara, and into the provinces of Matanzas, Havana, and Pinar del Rio.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig17"></a><a href="images/image17.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image17.jpg" alt="ALONG THE HARBOR WALL" /></a> + <h3>ALONG THE HARBOR WALL<br /> + <i>Havana</i></h3> + </div> + <p>The <i>trocha</i> across the island, from Jucaro on the south to Moron on the + north, originally constructed during the Ten Years' War, was a line of blockhouses, + connected by barbed wire tangles, along a railway. This obstructed but did not stop + the Cuban advance. The authorities declared martial law in the provinces of Havana + and Pinar del Rio on January 2, 1896. Gomez advanced to Marianao, at Havana's very + door, and that city was terrified. Maceo was operating immediately beyond him in + Pinar del Rio, through the most important part of which he swept with torch and + machete. The Spaniards built a <i>trocha</i> there from Mariel southward. Maceo + crossed it and continued his work of destruction, in which large numbers of the + people of the region joined. He burned and destroyed Spanish property; the Spaniards, + in retaliation, burned and destroyed property belonging to Cubans. Along the highway + from Marianao to Guanajay, out of many stately country residences, only one was left + standing. Villages were destroyed and hamlets were wrecked. On one of his expeditions + in December, 1896, Maceo was killed near Punta Brava, within fifteen miles of Havana. + Gomez planned this westward sweep, from Oriente, six hundred miles away, but to + Antonio Maceo belongs a large part of the credit for its execution. The weakness of + the Ten Years' War was that it did not extend beyond the thinly populated region of + the east; Gomez and Maceo carried their war to the very gates of the Spanish + strongholds. There were occasional conflicts that might well be called battles, but + much of it was carried on by the Cubans by sudden and unexpected dashes into Spanish + camps or moving columns, brief but sometimes bloody encounters from which the + attacking force melted away after inflicting such damage as it could. Guerrilla + warfare is not perhaps a respectable method of fighting. It involves much of what is + commonly regarded as outlawry, of pillage and of plunder, of destruction and + devastation. These results become respectable only when attained through conventional + processes, and are in some way supposed to be ennobled by those processes. But they + sometimes become the only means by which the weak can meet the strong. Such they + seemed to be in the Cuban revolt against the Spaniards, when Maximo Gomez and Antonio + Maceo made guerrilla warfare almost a military science. Gomez formulated his plan of + campaign, but, with the means at his disposal, its successful execution was possible + only by the methods adopted. At all events, it succeeded. The Cubans were not strong + enough to drive Spain out of the island by force of arms, but they showed themselves + unconquerable by the Spanish troops. They had once carried on a war for ten years in + a limited area; by the methods adopted, they could repeat that experience practically + throughout the island. They could at least keep insurrection alive until Spain should + yield to their terms, or until the United States should be compelled to intervene. No + great movements, but constant irritation, and the suspension of all industry, was the + policy adopted and pursued for the year 1897.</p> + <p>But there was another side to it all, a different line of activity. Immediately + after his arrival on the island, on April 11, 1895, Marti had issued a call for the + selection of representatives to form a civil government. He was killed before this + was effected. An assembly met, at Jimaguayu, in Camaguey, on September 13, 1895. It + consisted of twenty members, representing nearly all parts of the island. Its purpose + was the organization of a Cuban Republic. On the 16th, it adopted a Constitution and, + on the 18th, elected, as President, Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, and as + Vice-President, Bartolomé Maso. Secretaries and sub-secretaries were duly chosen, and + all were formally installed. Maximo Gomez was officially appointed as + General-in-Chief of the army, with Antonio Maceo as Lieutenant General. Tomas Estrada + y Palma was chosen as delegate plenipotentiary and general agent abroad, with + headquarters in New York. Both civil and military organizations were, for a time, + crude and somewhat incoherent. It could not be otherwise. They were engaged in a + movement that could only succeed by success. Arms and money were lacking. The civil + government was desirable in a field that the military arm could not cover. Action lay + with the military and with the Cuban Junta in the United States. The latter + organization immediately became active. Calls were made for financial assistance and + liberal responses were made, chiefly by Cubans. In 1896 and 1897, bonds were issued + and sold, or were exchanged for supplies and munitions of war. For a number of years + scandalous stories were afloat declaring that these bonds were printed by the acre, + and issued, purely for speculative purposes, to the extent of millions upon millions + of dollars. The truth is that every bond printed, whether issued or unissued, has + been fully accounted for, the actual issue being about $2,200,000. Provision was made + in Cuba's Constitution for the recognition of this indebtedness, and it has since + been discharged, while the plates and the unused bonds have been destroyed. There may + have been speculation in the bonds, as there was in the bonds issued by the United + States during the Civil War, but Cuba's conduct in the whole matter has been honest + and most honorable. In that matter certainly, its detractors have been confounded. + The principal difficulty encountered by the <i>junta</i> was the despatch to Cuba of + the men and the munitions so greatly needed by those in the field. That, however, is + a story that I shall endeavor to tell, in part, in another chapter. It cannot now, if + ever, be told in full.</p> + <p>Meanwhile, a complicated political situation developed. The story is too long and + too complicated for review in detail. It may be given in general outline. The Peace + of 1878 was followed by the organization of political parties, the Liberal and the + Union Constitutional. At first, there was comparatively little difference in the + essence of their respective platforms, but the lines diverged as the situation + developed. The Liberal party became, and remained, the Cuban party, and the Union + Constitutional became the Spanish party. Later on, the Liberals became the + Autonomists. Their object, for twenty years, was reform in conditions under the rule + of Spain. There was no independence party. That was organized, in 1895, by Marti, + Gomez, Maceo, Maso, and their associates. It had only one plank in its + platform—<i>Cuba Libre y Independiente</i>—whatever the cost to the island and its + people. "The Autonomist group," says Mr. Pepper, in his <i>Tomorrow in Cuba</i>, + "became as much a political party as it could become under Spanish institutions." It + grew in strength and influence, and continued its agitation persistently and + stubbornly. The Spanish Cortes busied itself with discussion of Cuban affairs, but + reached no conclusions, produced no results. In 1893, there came the definite + organization of the Reformist party, with aims not differing greatly from those of + the <i>Autonomistas</i>. But Spain delayed until Marti and his followers struck their + blow. Official efforts to placate them failed utterly, as did efforts to intimidate + them or to conquer them. The Autonomists declared their support of the existing + Government, and rebuked the insurgents in a <i>manifesto</i> issued on April 4, 1895, + six weeks after the outbreak. They only succeeded in antagonizing both sides, the + Spanish authorities and the revolutionists. Spain, greatly alarmed, recalled Martinez + Campos and sent out Weyler to succeed him. Had Spain followed the advice of Martinez + Campos, the failure of the insurrection would have been little short of certain. It + sent out Weyler, on whom the Cubans, twenty years earlier, had conferred the title of + "Butcher." This step threw to the side of the insurgents the great mass of the middle + class Cubans who had previously wavered in uncertainty, questioning the success of + revolution while adhering to its general object. Weyler instituted the brutal policy + that came to be known as reconcentration. It may be said, in a way, that the Cuban + forces themselves instituted this policy. To clear the country in which they were + operating, they had ordered all Spaniards and Spanish sympathizers to betake + themselves to the cities and towns occupied by Spanish garrisons. This was + inconvenient for its victims, but its purpose was humane. Gomez also sought to + concentrate the Cubans, particularly the women and children, in the recesses of the + hills where they would be less exposed to danger than they would be in their homes. + This also was a humane purpose.</p> + <p>Weyler's application of this policy was utterly brutal. The people of the country + were herded in prison camps, in settlements surrounded by stockades or trenches + beyond which they might not pass. No provision was made for their food or + maintenance. The victims were non-combatants, women, and children. In his message of + December, 1897, President McKinley said of this system, as applied by Weyler, "It was + not civilized warfare; it was extermination. The only peace it could beget was that + of the wilderness and the grave." In my experience as a campaign correspondent in + several conflicts, I have necessarily seen more or less of gruesome sights, the + result of disease and wounds, but I have seen nothing in any way comparable, in + horror and pitifulness, to the victims of this abominable system. To describe their + condition in detail would be little short of offensive, those groups of hopeless, + helpless sufferers who lingered only until death came and kindly put them out of + their misery and pain. But by this time, two forces had come into active operation, + dire alarm in Spain and wrath and indignation in the United States. Weyler had failed + as Martinez Campos, when leaving the island, predicted. He was recalled, and was + succeeded, on October 31, 1897, by General Blanco. The new incumbent tried + conciliation, but it failed. The work had gone too far. The party in the field had + become the dominant party, not to be suppressed either by force of arms or by + promises of political and economic reform. At last, Spain yielded. Outside pressure + on Madrid, chiefly from the United States, prevailed. A scheme for Cuban autonomy was + devised and, on January 1, 1898, was put into effect. But it came too late. It was + welcomed by many non-participants in the war, and a form of government was organized + under it. But the party then dominant, the army in the field, distrusted the + arrangement and would have none of it. All overtures were rejected and the struggle + continued. On February 15, 1898, came the disaster to the battleship <i>Maine</i>, in + the harbor of Havana. On April 11th, President McKinley's historic message went to + Congress, declaring that "the only hope of relief and repose from a condition which + can no longer be endured is the enforced pacification of Cuba," and asking for power + and authority to use the military and naval forces of the United States to effect a + termination of the strife in Cuba. Such, in the briefest possible outline, is the + record of this eventful period, eventful alike for Cuba and for the United + States.</p> + <p>During this struggle, the people of the United States became deeply interested in + the affairs of the island, and the Administration in Washington became gravely + concerned by them. A preceding chapter, on the United States and Cuba, dropped the + matter of the relations of this country to the island at the end of the Ten Years' + War, but the relations were by no means dropped, nor were they even suspended. The + affairs of the island appear again and again in diplomatic correspondence and in + presidential messages. The platform of the Republican party, adopted at the national + convention in St. Louis, on June 18, 1896, contained the following: "From the hour of + achieving their own independence, the people of the United States have regarded with + sympathy the struggles of other American peoples to free themselves from European + domination. We watch with deep and abiding interest the heroic battle of the Cuban + patriots against cruelty and oppression, and our best hopes go out for the full + success of their determined contest for liberty. The Government of Spain having lost + control of Cuba and being unable to protect the property or lives of resident + American citizens, or to comply with its treaty obligations, we believe that the + Government of the United States should actively use its influence and good offices to + restore peace and give independence to the island." The Democratic party platform of + the same year stated that "we extend our sympathy to the people of Cuba in their + heroic struggle for liberty and independence." The platform of the People's party + likewise expressed sympathy, and declared the belief that the time had come when "the + United States should recognize that Cuba is and of right ought to be a free and + independent State." This may be regarded as the almost unanimous opinion of the + people of this country at that time. In 1896 and 1897 many resolutions were + introduced in the Congress urging action for the recognition of Cuban independence. + There was frequent and prolonged debate on the question, but no final action was + taken. In his message of December, 1897, President McKinley said: "Of the untried + measures (regarding Cuba) there remain only: Recognition of the insurgents as + belligerents; recognition of the independence of Cuba; neutral intervention to end + the war by imposing a rational compromise between the contestants; and intervention + in favor of one or the other party. I speak not of forcible annexation, for that + cannot be thought of. That, by our code of morality, would be criminal + aggression."</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig18"></a><a href="images/image18.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image18.jpg" alt="COUNTRY ROAD" /></a> + <h3>COUNTRY ROAD<br /> + <i>Havana Province</i></h3> + </div> + <p>Recognition of the Cubans as belligerents would have effected a radical change in + the situation. It would have given the Cubans the right to buy in the American market + the arms and supplies that they could then only obtain surreptitiously, that they + could only ship by "filibustering expeditions," by blockade-runners. In law, the + propriety of granting belligerent rights depends upon the establishment of certain + facts, upon the proof of the existence of certain conditions. Those conditions did + then exist in Cuba. An unanswerable argument was submitted by Horatio S. Rubens, + Esq., the able counsel of the Cuban <i>junta</i> in New York. The Cubans never asked + for intervention by the United States; they did, with full justification, ask for + recognition as belligerents. The consent of this country was deemed inexpedient on + political rather than on moral grounds. Had it suited the purposes of this country to + grant that right, very much the same arguments would have been made in support of the + course as those that were used to support the denial of Cuba's requests. Recognition + of Cuban independence, or intervention in favor of the Cubans, would have been the + equivalent of the grant of belligerent rights. But the policy adopted, and the course + pursued, did not serve to avert war with Spain. The story of that war has been + written by many, and is not for inclusion here. The treaty of peace was signed, in + Paris, on December 10, 1898, duly ratified by both parties in the following months, + and was finally proclaimed on April 11, 1899. The war was over, but its definite + termination was officially declared on the anniversary of the issuance of President + McKinley's war message. On January 1, 1899, the American flag was hoisted throughout + the island, as a signal of full authority, but subject to the provisions of the + Teller Amendment to the Joint Resolution of Congress, of April 20, 1898, thus:</p> + <p>"That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to exercise + sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said Island except for the pacification + thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the + government and control of the Island to its people."</p> + <p>At twelve o'clock, noon, on the 20th of May, 1902, there was gathered in the State + Apartment of the Palace occupied by many Spanish Governors-General, the officials of + the United States, the elected officials of the new Cuban Republic, and a limited + number of guests. In that same apartment, General Castellanos signed the abdication + of Spanish authority. In its turn, pursuant to its pledges, the United States + transferred authority to the President of the Cuban Republic. Four centuries of + subjection, and a century of protest and struggle, were there and then ended, and + Cuba joined the sisterhood of independent nations.</p> + <h2><a id="XI">XI</a><br /> + <i>FILIBUSTERING</i></h2> + <p>The term "filibuster" affords an interesting example of the way in which words and + their uses become twisted into something altogether different from their original + meaning. It comes from a Dutch word, several centuries old, <i>vrijbuiter</i>, or + free vessel or boat. It got somehow into English as "freebooter," and into Spanish as + <i>filibustero</i>. The original referred to piracy. Two or three centuries later, it + meant an engagement in unauthorized and illegal warfare against foreign States, in + effect, piratical invasions. In time, it came into use to describe the supply of + military material to revolutionists, and finally to obstruction in legislative + proceedings. In his message of June 13, 1870, President Grant said that "the duty of + opposition to filibustering has been admitted by every President. Washington + encountered the efforts of Genet and the French revolutionists; John Adams, the + projects of Miranda; Jefferson, the schemes of Aaron Burr. Madison and subsequent + Presidents had to deal with the question of foreign enlistment and equipment in the + United States, and since the days of John Quincy Adams it has been one of the + constant cares of the Government in the United States to prevent piratical + expeditions against the feeble Spanish American Republics from leaving our + shores."</p> + <p>In 1806, Francisco Miranda, a Venezuelan patriot whose revolutionary activities + preceded those of Simon Bolivar, sailed from New York on what would have been called, + some years later, a filibustering expedition. His three vessels were manned chiefly + by Americans. There are always those whose love of excitement and adventure, + sometimes mixed with an active sympathy for an under dog, leads them to engage in + such an enterprise. This one was productive of no important results. There were + plenty of American pirates and privateers in earlier days, but I have found no record + of any earlier actual expedition whose purpose was the creation of a new republic. + But during the next hundred years, including the considerable number of Americans who + have engaged in the present disorder in Mexico, such enterprises have been numerous. + Among the most notable are the several Lopez expeditions to Cuba, about 1850, and the + Walker expeditions to Lower California, Nicaragua, and Honduras, a few years later. + The steamer <i>Virginius</i>, to which reference is made in another chapter, was + engaged in filibustering when she was captured, in 1873, and many of her crew and + passengers unlawfully executed, by Spanish authority, in Santiago. But that was only + one of many similar enterprises during the Ten Years' War in Cuba. It is very + doubtful if the war could have continued as it did without them. During our own Civil + War, we called such industries "blockade-running," but it was all quite the same sort + of thing. The Confederate army needed arms, ammunition, medicine, and supplies of + many kinds. On April 19, 1861, President Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of the ports + of the seceded States, with a supplementary proclamation on the 27th that completed + the line, and thus tied the South hand and foot. In his <i>History of the United + States</i>, Elson notes that raw cotton could be bought in Southern ports for four + cents a pound while it was worth $2.50 a pound in Liverpool, and that a ton of salt + worth seven or eight dollars in Nassau, a few miles off the coast, was worth $1700 in + gold in Richmond before the close of the war, all because of the blockade.</p> + <p>There is, naturally, a lack of detail regarding the many expeditions, large and + small, of the Ten Years' War, but they began soon after the opening of hostilities. + In his <i>Diary</i>, Gideon Welles notes, under date of April 7, 1869, the prevalence + of "rumors of illegal expeditions fitting out in our country to aid the Cuban + insurgents," and states that "our countrymen are in sympathy with them." In December, + of that year, President Grant reported that a number of illegal expeditions had been + broken up, but did not refer to those that had succeeded. In October, 1870, he issued + a general proclamation, without specific reference to Cuba, warning all persons + against engagement in such expeditions. During the years of the war, Spanish + warships, at different times, seized American vessels, a proceeding which led to some + active diplomatic negotiation, and which, on several occasions, threatened to involve + this country in war with Spain. The problem of the industry variously known as + filibustering, blockade-running, gun-running, and the shipment of contraband, has two + ends. There is, first, the task of getting the shipment out of one country, and, + second, the task of getting it into another country. While it is generally classed as + an unlawful enterprise, there frequently arises a difficulty in proving violation of + law, even when goods are seized and the participants arrested. There is, perhaps, a + moral question involved also. Such shipments may be a violation of the law. They are + generally so regarded. But they may be, as in the case of the struggling Cubans, + struggling against actual and generally admitted wrongs, the only means of serving a + worthy and commendable end. There is no doubt that, in Cuba's revolution of 1895, + Americans who knew about the work were prone to regard a successful expedition to the + island with satisfaction if not with glee. They were inclined to regard those engaged + as worthy patriots rather than as law-breakers.</p> + <p>Under date of February 23, 1898, the House of Representatives requested the + Secretary of the Treasury to inform that body "at the earliest date practicable, if + not incompatible with the public service, what has been done by the United States to + prevent the conveyance to the Cubans of articles produced in the United States, and + what to prevent 'filibustering,' and with what results, giving particulars, and at + what expense to the United States." A reply was sent on the 28th. It makes a very + good showing for the activities of the officials responsible for the prevention of + such expeditions, but from all I can learn about the matter, it is quite incomplete. + There were a number of excursions not set down in the official records. Sailing dates + and time and place of arrival were not advertised in the daily papers.</p> + <p>The official statement shows that sixty reports of alleged filibustering + expeditions were brought to the attention of the Treasury Department; that + twenty-eight of them were frustrated through efforts of the Department; that five + were frustrated by the United States Navy; four by Spain; two wrecked; one driven + back by storm; one failed through a combination of causes; and seventeen that may be + regarded as successful expeditions. The records of the Cuban <i>junta</i> very + materially increase the number in the latter class. The despatch of these expeditions + was a three-cornered battle of wits. The groups engaged were the officials of the + United States, the representatives of Spain, and the agents of the revolution. The + United States employed the revenue service and the navy, aided on land by the Customs + Service, the Secret Service, and other Federal officers. The official representatives + of Spain employed scores of detectives and Spanish spies. The Cuban group sought to + outwit them all, and succeeded remarkably well in doing so. A part of the story has + been told, with general correctness, in a little volume entitled <i>A Captain + Unafraid</i>, described as <i>The Strange Adventures of Dynamite Johnny O'Brien</i>. + This man, really a remarkable man in his special line, was born in New York, in 1837, + and, at the time this is written, is still living. He was born and grew to boyhood in + the shadow of the numerous shipyards then in active operation along the East River. + The yards were his playground. At thirteen years of age, he ran away and went to see + as cook on a fishing sloop. He admits that he could not then "cook a pot of water + without burning it," but claims that he could catch cod-fish where no one else could + find them. From fisherman, sailing-master on private yachts, schooner captain, and + officer in the United States Navy in the Civil War, he became a licensed East River + pilot in New York. He became what might be called a professional filibuster at the + time of the revolution in Colombia, in 1885, following that with similar experience + in a revolt in Honduras two years later. The Cubans landed a few expeditions in 1895, + but a greater number were blocked. In March, 1896, they applied to O'Brien and + engaged him to command the <i>Bermuda</i>, then lying in New York and ready to sail. + Captain O'Brien reports that her cargo included "2,500 rifles, a 12-pounder Hotchkiss + field-gun, 1,500 revolvers, 200 short carbines, 1000 pounds of dynamite, 1,200 + <i>machetes</i>, and an abundance of ammunition." All was packed in boxes marked + "codfish," and "medicines."</p> + <p>The <i>Bermuda</i> sailed the next morning, March 15, with O'Brien in command, + cleared for Vera Cruz. The Cubans, including General Calixto Garcia, who were to go + on the expedition, were sent to Atlantic City, there to engage a fishing sloop to + take them off-shore where they would be picked up by the <i>Bermuda</i> on her way. + The ship was under suspicion, and was followed down the bay by tugboats carrying + United States marshals, customs officers, and newspaper reporters. O'Brien says: + "They hung on to us down through the lower bay and out past Sandy Hook, without + getting enough to pay for a pound of the coal they were furiously burning to keep up + with us. I don't know how far they might have followed us, but when we were well + clear of the Hook, a kind fortune sent along a blinding snow-storm, which soon chased + them back home." General Garcia and his companions were picked up as planned, and + that part of the enterprise was completed. The vessel was on its way. A somewhat + roundabout route was taken in order to avoid any possible overhauling by naval or + revenue ships. The point selected for the landing was a little harbor on the north + coast about thirty miles from the eastern end of the island. The party included two + Cuban pilots, supposed to know the coast where they were to land. One of them proved + to be a traitor and the other, O'Brien says, "was at best an ignoramus." The traitor, + who, after the landing, paid for his offence with his life, tried to take them into + the harbor of Baracoa, where lay five Spanish warships. But O'Brien knew the + difference, as shown by his official charts, between the Cape Maisi light, visible + for eighteen miles, and the Baracoa light, visible for only eight miles, and kicked + the pilot off the bridge. The landing was begun at half-past ten at night, and + completed about three o'clock in the morning, with five Spanish warships barely more + than five miles away. The United States Treasury Department reported this expedition + as "successful." The vessel then proceeded to Honduras, where it took on a cargo of + bananas, and returned, under orders, to Philadelphia, the home city of its owner, Mr. + John D. Hart. Arrests were made soon after the arrival, including Hart, the owner of + the vessel, O'Brien, and his mate, and General Emilio Nuñez who accompanied the + expedition as the representative of the <i>junta</i>. The case was transferred from + the courts in Philadelphia to New York, and there duly heard. The alleged offenders + were defended by Horatio Rubens, Esq., of New York, the official counsel of the + <i>junta</i>. One of the grounds of the defence was that the defendants might be + guilty of smuggling arms into Cuba, but with that offence the courts of the United + States had nothing to do. The jury disagreed. The indictments were held over the + heads of the members of the group, but no further action was taken, and two or three + years later the case was dismissed by order of the Attorney General of the United + States.</p> + <p>This expedition fairly illustrates the science of filibustering in its elementary + form, a clearance with some attendant risk; a voyage with possibility of interference + at any time; and a landing made with still greater risk and danger of capture. The + trip had been made so successfully and with such full satisfaction to the promoters + that the <i>junta</i> urged O'Brien to remain with them as long as there should be + need for his services, and he agreed to do so. A department of expeditions was + organized under the general control of Emilio Nuñez, with O'Brien as navigator. + Credit for the numerous successful expeditions that followed lies in differing + degrees with Nuñez, Palma, Rubens, O'Brien, Hart, Cartaya, and others less well known + in connection with the enterprises. But for the work they did, the risks they ran, + Cuba's revolution must have failed. All of them risked jail sentences, and some of + them risked their lives in ways perhaps even more dangerous than fighting in the + field. The success of the <i>Bermuda</i> expedition, carried out by what may be + called direct evasion, quite seriously disturbed the authorities in this country, and + excited them to greater precautions and wider activity. Whatever may have been their + personal feelings in the matter, it was their duty to see that the laws of the + country were enforced as far as they could be. The players of the game for the Cubans + met the new activities with complicated moves, many of which puzzled the watching + officials, and landed a number of expeditions. Meanwhile, minor expeditions + continued. The official report notes that on March 12, 1896, the <i>Commodore</i>, a + 100-ton steamer, sailed from Charleston with men, arms, and ammunition, and landed + them in Cuba. The <i>Laurada</i>, a 900-ton steamer, was reported by the Spanish + Legation as having sailed on May 9, meeting three tugs and two lighters, off the + coast, from which were transferred men and arms. The report states that "some of the + men landed in Cuba, but the larger part of the arms and ammunition was thrown into + the sea," which may or may not have been the case. On May 23, the tug <i>Three + Friends</i> left Jacksonville, took on men and arms from two small vessels waiting + outside, and landed all in Cuba. A month later, and again two months later, the + <i>Three Friends</i> repeated the trip from Florida ports. On June 17, the + <i>Commodore</i> made another successful trip from Charleston.</p> + <p>While these and other minor expeditions were going on, the department of + expeditions in New York was busy with a more extensive enterprise. An order was + placed for 3000 rifles, 3,000,000 rounds of ammunition, 3 12-pound Hotchkiss + field-guns and 600 shells, <i>machetes</i>, and several tons of dynamite. The steamer + <i>Laurada</i> was chartered, and the ocean-going tug <i>Dauntless</i> was bought in + Brunswick, Georgia. A part of the purchased munitions was ordered to New York, and + the remainder, two car loads, shipped to Jacksonville by express. Ostensibly, the + <i>Laurada</i> was to sail from Philadelphia to Jamaica for a cargo of fruit, a + business in which she had at times engaged. Her actual instructions were to proceed + to the vicinity of Barnegat, about forty miles from New York, and there, at sea, + await orders. The arms and ammunition came down from Bridgeport on the regular boat + from that city, and were left on board until night. There was no particular secrecy + about the shipment, and detectives followed it. But when, at dark, the big gates of + the dock were closed and locked and all seemed over for the day, the watchers assumed + that nothing would be done until the next day, and went away. But, immediately after + their departure, a big lighter slipped quietly into the dock across the wharf from + the Bridgeport boat, a swarm of men appeared and, behind the closed gates, in the + semi-darkness of the wharf, rushed boxes from steamer to lighter. The work was + finished at midnight; a tug slipped up and attached a hawser to the lighter; and the + cargo was on its way to Cuba. Johnny O'Brien was on the tug. The <i>Laurada</i> was + met off Barnegat, as arranged, and the cargo and about fifty Cubans put on board of + her. She was ordered to proceed slowly to Navassa Island where the <i>Dauntless</i> + would meet her. General Nuñez and O'Brien returned to New York on the tug, and while + the detectives suspected that something had been done, they had no clue whatever to + guide them. Nuñez and O'Brien started immediately for Charleston, with detectives at + their heels. The <i>Commodore</i>, a tug then owned by the Cubans, lay in the harbor + of that city, with a revenue cutter standing guard over her. She was ordered to get + up steam and to go through all the motions of an immediate departure. But this was a + ruse to draw attention away from the actual operations. Rubens, meanwhile, had gone + to Jacksonville where he busied himself in convincing the authorities that the tug + <i>Three Friends</i> was about to get away with an expedition. With one revenue + cutter watching the <i>Commodore</i> in Charleston, the other cutter in the + neighborhood was engaged in watching the <i>Three Friends</i> in Jacksonville, thus + leaving a clear coast between those cities. In Charleston were about seventy-five + Cubans waiting a chance to get to the island. O'Brien states that about twenty-five + detectives were following their party. Late in the afternoon of August 13, while the + smoke was pouring from the funnels of the <i>Commodore</i>, the regular south-bound + train pulled out of the city. Its rear car was a reserved coach carrying the Cuban + party, numbering a hundred or so. Detectives tried to enter, but were told that it + was a private car, which it was. They went along in the forward cars. At ten o'clock + that night, the train reached Callahan, where the Coast Line crossed the Seaboard Air + Line. While the train was halted for the crossing, that rear car was quietly + uncoupled. The train went on, detectives and all. The railroad arrangements were + effected through the invaluable assistance of Mr. Alphonso Fritot, a local railway + man whose authority enabled him to do with trains and train movement whatever he saw + fit. He was himself of Cuban birth, though of French-American parentage, with ample + reason, both personal and patriotic, for serving his Cuban friends, and his services + were beyond measure. By his orders, when that train with its band of detectives had + pulled away for Jacksonville, an engine picked up the detached car and ran it over to + the Coast Line. A few miles away, it collected from a blind siding the two cars of + arms and ammunition shipped some days before, from Bridgeport. A little further on, + the line crossed the Satilla River. There lay the <i>Dauntless</i>, purchased by + Rubens. Steam was up, and a quick job was made of transferring cargo and men from + train to boat. Another tug brought a supply of coal, and soon after sunrise another + expedition was on its way to Cuba. All this may be very immoral, but some who were on + the expedition have told me that it was at least tremendously exciting.</p> + <p>On August 17, the passengers and cargo were landed on the Cuban coast near + Nuevitas. The tug then proceeded to Navassa Island to meet the <i>Laurada</i>. Half + of the men and half of the cargo of the steamer were transferred to the tug, and all + were safely landed in a little cove a few miles west of Santiago. The landing was + made in broad daylight. There were a number of Spanish naval vessels in Santiago + harbor, and the city itself was filled with Spanish troops. The tug then returned for + the remainder of the <i>Laurada's</i> passengers and cargo, all of which were landed + a few days later at the place of the earlier landing. The <i>Laurada</i> went on to + Jamaica and loaded with bananas, with which she sailed for Charleston. Arrests were + made as a result of the expedition, and the owner of the ship, Mr. John D. Hart, was + convicted and sentenced to sixteen months in the penitentiary. After serving four + months of his term, a pardon was secured. He is said to be the only one, out of all + those engaged in the many expeditions, who was actually convicted, and his only + offence was the chartering of his ships to the Cuban revolutionists. The + <i>Dauntless</i> was seized on her return to Jacksonville, but was soon released. An + effort was made to indict O'Brien, but there was too much sympathy for the Cubans in + Florida, where the effort was made. A number of minor expeditions were carried out in + the next few months, by the <i>Dauntless</i>, the <i>Three Friends</i>, and the + <i>Commodore</i>, the latter being wrecked in the last week in December.</p> + <p>In February, 1897, another complicated manoeuvre was successfully executed. This + involved the use of the <i>Bermuda</i>, the <i>Laurada</i>, and no less than seven + smaller auxilliary vessels, tugs, lighters, and schooners. Rut the <i>Laurada</i> + landed the cargo on the north-eastern coast of the island. As O'Brien tells the + story, this successful expedition so angered Captain-General Weyler, then the ruler + of the island, that he sent a message to the daring filibuster, through an American + newspaper man, somewhat as follows: "Tell O'Brien that we will get him, sooner or + later, and when we do, instead of having him shot along with his Cuban companions, I + am going to have him ignominiously hanged from the flag-pole at Cabaña, in full view + of the city." Cabaña is the old fortress across the bay, visible from nearly all + parts of Havana. To this, O'Brien sent reply saying: "To show my contempt for you and + all who take orders from you, I will make a landing within plain sight of Havana on + my next trip to Cuba. I may even land an expedition inside of the harbor and take you + away a prisoner. If we should capture you, which is much more likely than that you + will ever capture me, I will have you chopped up into small pieces and fed to the + fires of the <i>Dauntless</i>." A few months later, this little Irishman, whom Weyler + denounced as a "bloodthirsty, dare-devil," and who may have been a dare-devil but was + not bloodthirsty, actually carried out a part of this seemingly reckless threat. He + landed a cargo within a mile and a half of Morro Castle.</p> + <p>By this time, vessels of the United States navy were employed, supplementing the + work of the Revenue Service. This, of course, added both difficulty and danger to the + work. In March and April, several expeditions were interrupted. For the Spanish + blockade of the Cuban coast, there was only contempt. Captain O'Brien told a naval + officer that if the navy and the revenue cutters would let him alone he would + "advertise the time and place of departure, carry excursions on every trip, and + guarantee that every expedition would be landed on time." In May, 1897, two carloads + of arms and ammunition were shipped from New York to Jacksonville, but, by the + authority of Mr. Fritot, they were quietly dropped from the train at a junction + point, and sent to Wilmington, N.C. Their contents were transferred to the tug + <i>Alexander Jones</i>, and that boat proceeded nonchalantly down the river. Soon + afterward, an old schooner, the <i>John D. Long</i>, loaded with coal, followed the + tug. Two revenue cutters were on hand, but there was nothing in the movements of + these vessels to excite their interest. Off shore, the tug attached a towline to the + schooner that was carrying its coal supply, its own bunkers being crammed with guns + and cartridges. Off Palm Beach, General Nuñez and some sixty Cubans were taken from a + fishing boat, according to a prearranged plan. Two days later, at an agreed upon + place, they were joined by the <i>Dauntless</i> which had slipped out of + Jacksonville. The excursion was then complete. About half the cargo of the + <i>Jones</i> was transferred to the <i>Dauntless</i> and was landed, May 21, a few + miles east of Nuevitas. A second trip took the remainder of the cargo of the + <i>Jones</i> and most of the Cuban passengers, and landed the lot under the very + guns, such as they were, of Morro Castle, and within about three miles of the Palace + of Captain-General Weyler. All that time, a force of insurgents under Rodriguez and + Aurenguren was operating in that immediate vicinity, and was in great need of the + supplies thus obtained. Some of the dynamite then landed was used the next day to + blow up a train on which Weyler was supposed to be travelling, but in their haste the + Cubans got one train ahead of that carrying the official party. The row that Weyler + made about this landing will probably never be forgotten by the subordinates who were + the immediate victims of his rage.</p> + <p>These are only a few of the many expeditions, successful and unsuccessful, made + during those three eventful years. The Treasury Department report of February 28, + 1898, gives seventeen successful operations. As a matter of fact, more than forty + landings were made, although in a few cases a single expedition accounted for two, + and in one or two instances for three landings. The experiences run through the + entire gamut of human emotions, from absurdity to tragedy. The former is illustrated + by the case of the <i>Dauntless</i> when she was held up by a vessel of the United + States navy, and boarded by one of the officers of the ship. He examined the tug from + stem to stern, sat on boxes of ammunition which seemed to him to be boxes of + sardines, stumbled over packages of rifles from which butts and muzzles protruded; + and failed utterly to find anything that could be regarded as contraband. The mere + fact that a vessel is engaged in transporting arms and ammunition does not, of + necessity, bring it within reach of the law. But that particular vessel was a good + deal more than under suspicion; it was under the closest surveillance and open to the + sharpest scrutiny. The temporary myopia of that particular lieutenant of the United + States navy was no more than an outward and visible sign of a well-developed sense of + humor, and an indication of at least a personal sympathy for the Cubans in their + struggle. Tragedy is illustrated by the disaster to the steamer <i>Tillie</i>. One + day, late in January, 1898, this vessel, lying off the end of Long Island, took on + one of the largest cargoes ever started on a filibustering expedition to Cuba. The + cause is not known, but soon after starting a leak developed, beyond the capacity of + the pumps. A heavy sea was running, and disaster was soon inevitable. The cargo was + thrown overboard to lighten the ship and the vessel was headed for the shore on the + chance that it might float until it could be beached. The water in the ship increased + rapidly, and extinguished the fires under the boilers; the wind, blowing a high gale, + swung into the northwest, thus driving the now helpless hulk out to sea. Huge combing + waves swept the decks from end to end. O'Brien tells the story: "We looked in vain + for another craft of any kind, and by the middle of the afternoon it seemed as though + it was all up with us, for there was not much daylight left, and with her deck almost + awash it was impossible that the <i>Tillie</i> should keep afloat all night. The gale + had swept us rapidly out to sea. The wind, which was filled with icy needles, had + kicked up a wild cross-sea, and it was more comfortable to go down with the ship than + even to think of trying to escape in the boats." At last, when there seemed no longer + any hope of rescue, the big five-masted schooner <i>Governor Ames</i> came plunging + through the heaving seas, and, by masterly seamanship and good fortune, backed by the + heroism of her commander and crew, succeeded in taking off all except four, who went + down with the ship. But the work went on. There is not space here to tell of the + several vessels whose names, through the engagement of the craft in these + enterprises, became as familiar to newspaper readers as are the names of ocean liners + today. A few months later, the United States Government sent its ships and its men to + help those who, for three hard years, had struggled for national independence.</p> + <h2><a id="XII">XII</a><br /> + <i>THE STORY OF SUGAR</i></h2> + <p>Chemically, sugar is a compound belonging to the group of carbohydrates, or + organic compounds of carbon with oxygen and hydrogen. The group includes sugars, + starches, gums, and celluloses. Sugar is a product of the vegetable kingdom, of + plants, trees, root crops, etc. It is found in and is producible from many growths. + As a laboratory process, it is obtainable from many sources, but, commercially, it is + derived from only two, the sugar cane and the beet root. This statement, however, has + a certain limitation in that it omits such products as maple sugar, malt sugar, milk + sugar, and others having commercial or chemical uses on a limited scale. But it is + only with the crystallized sucrose, the familiar sugar of the market and the + household, that we are dealing here. The output of the other sugars is measurable in + hundreds or even thousands of pounds, but the output of the sugar of commerce is + measured in millions of tons. Long experience proves that the desired substance is + most readily, most abundantly, and most cheaply, obtained from the juices of the + plant commonly known as sugar cane, and from the vegetable known as the sugar + beet.</p> + <p>The mechanical processes employed in producing sugar from cane and from beets, are + practically the same. They are, broadly, the extraction or expression of the juices, + their clarification and evaporation, and crystallization. These processes produce + what is called "raw sugar," of varying percentages of sucrose content. Following + them, there comes, for American uses, the process of refining, of removing the + so-called impurities and foreign substances, and the final production of sugar in the + shape of white crystals of different size, of sugar as powdered, cube, loaf, or other + form. In the case of cane sugar, this is usually a secondary operation not conducted + in the original mill. In the case of beet sugar, production is not infrequently a + continuous operation in the same mill, from the beet root to the bagged or barrelled + sugar ready for the market. The final product from both cane and beet is practically + the same. Pure sugar is pure sugar, whatever its source. In the commercial + production, on large scale, there remains a small fraction of molasses or other + harmless substances, indistinguishable by sight, taste, or smell. With that fraction + removed and an absolute 100 per cent. secured, there would be no way by which the + particular origin could be determined. For all practical purposes, the sugar of + commerce, whether from cane or beet, is pure sugar. It is doubtful if an adulterated + sugar can be found in the United States, notwithstanding the tales of the grocer who + "sands" his sugar, and of the producer who adds <i>terra alba</i> or some other + adulterant. In some countries of Europe and elsewhere, there are sugars of inferior + grades, of 85 or 90 or more degrees of sugar purity, but they are known as such and + are sold at prices adjusted to their quality. Sugars of that class are obtainable in + this country, but they are wanted almost exclusively for particular industrial + purposes, for their glucose rather than their sucrose content. The American + household, whether the home of the rich or of the poor, demands the well-known white + sugar of established purity.</p> + <p>There is still obtainable, in this country, but in limited quantity, a sugar very + pleasantly remembered by many who have reached or passed middle age. It was variously + known as "Muscovado" sugar, or as "plantation sugar," sometimes as "coffee" or + "coffee crushed." It was a sugar somewhat sweeter to the taste than the white sugar, + by reason of the presence of a percentage of molasses. It was a superior sugar for + certain kitchen products, for pies, certain kinds of cake, etc. It has many times + been urged in Congress that the employment of what is known as the Dutch Standard, + now abolished, excluded this sugar from our market. This is not at all the fact. The + disappearance of the commodity is due solely to change in the mechanical methods of + sugar production. It would be quite impossible to supply the world's sugar demand by + the old "open kettle" process by which that sugar was made. The quality of sugar is + easily tested by any one who has a spoonful of sugar and a glass of water. If the + sugar dissolves entirely, and dissolves without discoloring the water, it may be + accepted as a pure sugar.</p> + <p>In his book on <i>The World's Cane Sugar Industry—Past and Present</i>, Mr. H.C. + Prinsen Geerligs, a recognized expert authority on the subject, gives an elaborate + history of the origin and development of the industry. His chapters on those branches + are much too long for inclusion in full, but the following extracts tell the story in + general outline. He states that the probability that sugar cane originally came from + India is very strong, "as only the ancient literature of that country mentions sugar + cane, while we know for certain that it was conveyed (from there) to other countries + by travellers and sailors." The plant appears in Hindu mythology. A certain prince + expressed a desire to be translated to heaven during his lifetime, but Indra, the + monarch of the celestial regions, refused to admit him. A famous Hindu hermit, Vishva + Mitra, prepared a temporary paradise for the prince, and for his use created the + sugar cane as a heavenly food during his occupation of the place. The abode was + afterward demolished, but the delectable plant, and a few other luxuries, were + "spread all over the land of mortals as a permanent memorial of Vishva Mitra's + miraculous deeds." In the time of Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) there appear + tales of "a reed growing in India which produced honey without the aid of bees."</p> + <p>The early references are to sugar cane and not to cane sugar. While there may have + been earlier experiences, the history of sugar, as such, seems to begin in the 7th + century (A.D.). There is a story that the Chinese Emperor, Tai Tsung (627-650 A.D.) + sent people to Behar, in India, to learn the art of sugar manufacture. The Arabs and + the Egyptians soon learned how to purify sugar by re-crystallization, and to + manufacture sweetmeats from the purified sugar. Marco Polo, who visited China during + the last quarter of the 13th Century, refers to "a great many sugar factories in + South China, where sugar could be freely bought at low prices." The Mohammedan + records of that period also show the manufacture, in India, of crystallized sugar and + candy. The area of production at that time covered, generally, the entire + Mediterranean coast. The crusaders found extensive plantations in Tripoli, + Mesopotamia, Palestine, Syria, and elsewhere. The plant is said to have been + introduced in Spain as early as the year 755. Its cultivation is said to have been a + flourishing industry there in the year 1150. Through China, it was early extended to + Japan, Formosa, and the Philippines. The records of the 14th Century show the + production and distribution of sugar as an important commercial enterprise in the + Mediterranean region. The Portuguese discoveries of the 15th Century carried the + plant to the Azores, the Cape Verde islands, and to possessions in the Gulf of + Guinea. The Spaniards took it to the Western Hemisphere in the early years of the + 16th Century. The Portuguese took it to Brazil at about the same time. While a + Chinese traveller, visiting Java in 424, reports the cultivation of sugar cane, it + was not until more than twelve hundred years later that the island, now an important + source of sugar supply, began the production of sugar as a commercial enterprise. By + the end of the 18th Century there was what might be called a sugar belt, girdling the + globe and extending, roughly, from thirty-five degrees north of the equator to + thirty-five degrees south of that line. It was then a product of many of the + countries within those limits. The supply of that time was obtained entirely from + cane.</p> + <p>The early years of the 19th Century brought a new experience in the sugar + business. That was the production of sugar, in commercial quantities, from beets. + From that time until now, the commodity has been a political shuttlecock, the object + of government bounties and the subject of taxation. In 1747, Herr Marggraf, of the + Academy of Sciences, in Berlin, discovered the existence of crystallizable sugar in + the juice of the beet and other roots. No practical use was made of the discovery + until 1801 when a factory was established near Breslau, in Silesia. The European + beet-sugar industry, that has since attained enormous proportions, had its actual + beginning in the early years of the 19th Century. It was a result of the Napoleonic + wars of that period. When the wars were ended, and the blockades raised, the industry + was continued in France by the aid of premiums, differentials, and practically + prohibitory tariffs. The activities in other European countries under similar + conditions of governmental aid, came a little later. The total world supply of sugar, + including cane and beet, less than 1,500,000 tons, even as recently as 1850, seems + small in comparison with the world's requirement of about twelve times that quantity + at the present time. The output of beet sugar was then only about 200,000 tons, as + compared with a present production of approximately 8,000,000 tons. But sugar was + then a costly luxury while it is today a cheaply supplied household necessity. As + recently as 1870, the wholesale price of granulated sugar in New York was thirteen + and a half cents a pound, or about three times the present average.</p> + <p>Cane sugar is produced in large or small quantities in some fifty different + countries and islands. In many, the output is only for domestic consumption, or in + quantity too small to warrant inclusion in the list of sources of commercial supply. + Sixteen countries are included in the list of beet-sugar producers. Of these, all are + in Europe with the exception of the United States and Canada. Only two countries, the + United States and Spain, produce sugar from both beet and cane. British India leads + in the production of cane sugar, with Cuba a close second on the list, and Java the + third. In their total, these three countries supply about two-thirds of the world's + total output of cane sugar. Hawaii and Porto Rico, in that order, stand next on the + list of producers. Under normal conditions, Germany leads in beet-sugar production, + with Russia second, Austria-Hungary third, France fourth, and the United States + fifth, with Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark following. The + island of Cuba is the most important source of commercial cane sugar. Immediately + before the revolution of 1895, its output a little exceeded a million tons. The + derangement caused by that experience covered several years, and it was not until + 1903 that so large a crop was again made. Since that time, the output has more than + doubled. The increase is attributable to the large increase in demand in the United + States, and to the advantage given Cuban sugar in this market by the reciprocity + treaty of 1903. Practically all of Cuba's export product is in the class commonly + known as 96 degree centrifugals, that is, raw sugar of 96 per cent, or thereabout, of + sugar content. Under normal conditions, nearly all of Cuba's shipments are to the + United States. The sugar industry was introduced in Cuba very soon after the + permanent settlement of the island, by Spaniards, in the early years of the 16th + Century, but it was not until two hundred and fifty years later that Spain's + restrictive and oppressive colonial policy made even its fair extension possible. In + 1760, two and a half centuries after the first settlement, the sugar exports of the + island were a little less than 4,400 tons. In 1790, they were a little more than + 14,000 tons. Some relaxation of the laws regulating production and exportation, made + possible an increase to 41,000 tons in 1802, and further relaxation made possible, in + 1850, an output somewhat unreliably reported as 223,000 tons. It reached 632,000 tons + in 1890, and the stimulus of the "free sugar" schedule of the United States brought + it, in the next few years, to more than a million tons. Production in recent years + has averaged about 2,500,000 tons.</p> + <p>In forty years, only a little more than a single generation, the world's supply of + sugar has been multiplied by five, from a little more than three million tons a year + to nearly eighteen million tons. The total world output in 1875 would not today + supply the demand of the United States alone. This increase in production has been + made possible by improvements in the methods and the machinery of manufacture. Until + quite recently, primitive methods were employed, much like those used in the + production of maple sugar on the farm, although on larger scale. More attention has + been paid to varieties of the plant and some, though no very great, change has been + made in field processes. In Cuba, the cane is planted in vast areas, in thousands of + acres. Some of the estates plant and cultivate their own fields, and grind the cane + in their own mills. Others, known as "<i>colonos</i>," are planters only, the crop + being sold to the mills commonly called "<i>centrales</i>." In its general + appearance, a field of sugar-cane looks quite like a field of corn, but the method of + cultivation is somewhat different. The slow oxen are still commonly used for plowing + and for carts. This is not because of any lack of progressive spirit, but because + experience has shown that, under all conditions of the industry, the ox makes the + most satisfactory and economical motive power, notwithstanding his lack of pace.</p> + <p>The Encyclopædia describes sugar-cane as "a member of the grass family, known + botanically as <i>Saccbarum officinarum</i>. It is a tall, perennial grass-like + plant, giving off numerous erect stems 6 to 12 feet or more in height, from a thick + solid jointed root-stalk." The ground is plowed in rows in which, not seed, but a + stalk of cane is lightly buried. The rootlets and the new cane spring from the joints + of the planted stalk which is laid flat and lengthwise of the row. It takes from a + year to a year and a half for the stalk to mature sufficiently for cutting and + grinding. Several cuttings, and sometimes many, are made from a single planting. + There are tales of fields on which cane has grown for forty years without + re-planting. A few years ago, ten or fifteen years was not an unusual period. The + present tendency is toward more frequent planting, but not annual, as offering a + better chance for stronger cane with a larger sugar content. The whole process of + cultivation and field treatment is hard, heavy work, most of it very hard work. + Probably the hardest and heaviest is the cutting. This is done with a long, + heavy-bladed knife, the <i>machete</i>. The stalk, from an inch to two inches in + thickness, is chopped down near the root, the heavy knife swung with cut after cut, + under a burning sun. Only the strongest can stand it, a wearying, back-breaking task. + After cutting, the stalk is trimmed and loaded on carts to be hauled, according to + distance, either directly to the mill or to the railway running thereto. The large + estates have their own railway systems running to all the fields of the plantation. + These are private lines operated only for economy in cane transportation. Most of the + crushing mills measure their daily consumption of cane in thousands of tons. While + every precaution is taken, there are occasional fires. In planting, wide "fire + lanes," or uncultivated strips are left to prevent the spread of fire if it + occurs.</p> + <p>Mill installations vary on the different plantations, but the general principle of + operation is the same on all. The first process is the extraction of the juice that + carries the sugar. It is probable that this was originally done in hand mortars. Next + came the passing of the cane between wooden rollers turned by ox power, the rollers + standing upright and connected with a projecting shaft or beam to the outer end of + which the animal was attached, to plod around and around while the cane was fed + between the rollers. The present system is merely an expansion of that old principle. + At the mill, the stalks are dumped, by carload or by cartload, into a channel through + which they are mechanically conveyed to huge rollers, placed horizontally, arranged + in pairs or in sets of three, and slowly turned by powerful engines. The larger mills + have a series of these rollers, two, three, or even four sets, the stalks passing + from one to another for the expression of every possible drop of the juice, up to the + point where the cost of juice extraction exceeds the value of the juice obtained. The + expressed juices are collected in troughs through which they are run to the next + operation. The crushed stalks, then known as <i>bagasse</i>, are conveyed to the huge + boilers where they are used as fuel for the generation of the steam required in the + various operations, from the feeding and the turning of the rollers, to the device + from which the final product, the crystallized sugar, is poured into bags ready for + shipment. All this is a seasonal enterprise. The cane grows throughout the year, but + it begins to ripen in December. Then the mills start up and run until the rains of + the next May or June suspend further operations. It then becomes impossible to haul + the cane over the heavily mired roads from the muddy fields. Usually, only a few + mills begin their work in December, and early June usually sees most of them shut + down. The beginning of the rainy season is not uniform, and there are mills in + eastern Cuba that sometimes run into July and even into August. But the general + grinding season may be given as of about five months duration, and busy months they + are. The work goes on night and day.</p> + <p>The next step is the treatment of the juices expressed by the rollers and + collected in the troughs that carry it onward. The operations are highly technical, + and different methods are employed in different mills. The first operation is one of + purification. The juice, as it comes from the rollers, carries such materials as + glucose, salts, organic acids, and other impurities, that must be removed. For this, + lime is the principal agent. The details of it all would be as tedious here as they + are complicated in the mill. The percentages of the different impurities vary with + the variation of the soils in which the cane is grown. The next step, following + clarification, is evaporation, the boiling out of a large percentage of the water + carried in the juice. For this purpose, a vacuum system is used, making possible a + more rapid evaporation with a smaller expenditure of fuel. These two operations, + clarification and evaporation by the use of the vacuum, are merely improved methods + for doing, on a large scale, what was formerly done by boiling in pans or kettles, on + a small scale. That method is still used in many parts of the world, and even in the + United States, in a small way. For special reasons, it is still used on some of the + Louisiana plantations; it is common in the farm production of sorghum molasses in the + South; and in the manufacture of maple sugar in the North. In those places, the + juices are boiled in open pans or kettles, the impurities skimmed off as they rise, + and the boiling, for evaporation, is continued until a proper consistency is reached, + for molasses in the case of sorghum and for crystallization in the case of plantation + and maple sugars. There is an old story of an erratic New England trader, in + Newburyport, who called himself Lord Timothy Dexter. In one of his shipments to the + West Indies, a hundred and fifty years ago, this picturesque individual included a + consignment of "warming pans," shallow metal basins with a cover and a long wooden + handle, used for warming beds on cold winter nights. The basin was filled with coals + from the fireplace, and then moved about between the sheets to take off the chill. He + was not a little ridiculed by his acquaintances for sending such merchandise where it + could not possibly be needed, but it is said that he made considerable money out of + his enterprise. With the covers removed, the long-handled, shallow basins proved + admirably adapted for use in skimming the sugar in the boiling-pans. But the + old-fashioned method would be impossible today.</p> + <p>The different operations are too complicated and too technical for more than a + reference to the purpose of the successive processes. Clarification and evaporation + having been completed, the next step is crystallization, also a complicated + operation. When this is done, there remains a dark brown mass consisting of sugar + crystals and molasses, and the next step is the removal of all except a small + percentage of the molasses. This is accomplished by what are called the centrifugals, + deep bowls with perforated walls, whirled at two or three thousand revolutions a + minute. This expels the greater part of the molasses, and leaves a mass of + yellow-brown crystals, the coloring being due to the molasses remaining. This is the + raw sugar of commerce. Most of Cuba's raw product is classed as "96 degree + centrifugals," that is, the raw sugar, as it comes from the centrifugal machines and + is bagged for shipment, is of 96 degrees of sugar purity. This is shipped to market, + usually in full cargo lots. There it goes to the refineries, where it is melted, + clarified, evaporated, and crystallized. This second clarification removes + practically everything except the pure crystallized sugar of the market and the + table. It is then an article of daily use in every household, and a subject of + everlasting debate in Congress.</p> + <h2><a id="XIII">XIII</a><br /> + <i>VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES</i></h2> + <p>The Encyclopædia Britannica states that "although the fact has been controverted, + there cannot be a doubt that the knowledge of tobacco and its uses came to the rest + of the world from America. As the continent was opened up and explored, it became + evident that the consumption of tobacco, especially by smoking, was a universal and + immemorial usage, in many cases bound up with the most significant and solemn tribal + ceremonials." The name "tobacco" was originally the name of the appliance in which it + was smoked and not of the plant itself, just as the term "chowder" comes from the + vessel (<i>chaudière</i>) in which the compound was prepared. The tobacco plant was + first taken to Europe in 1558, by Francisco Fernandez, a physician who had been sent + to Mexico by Philip II to investigate the products of that country. The English, + however, appear to have been the first Europeans to adopt the smoking habit, and Sir + Walter Raleigh was notable for his indulgence in the weed. He is said to have called + for a solacing pipe just before his execution. Very soon after their arrival, in + 1607, the Virginia settlers engaged in the cultivation of tobacco, and it soon became + the most important commercial product of the colony. Smoking, as practiced in this + country, appears to have been largely, and perhaps only, by means of pipes generally + similar to those now in use. The contents of ancient Indian mounds, or tumuli, opened + in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, show the use of pipes by the aborigines + probably centuries before the discoveries by Columbus. Many were elaborately carved + in porphyry or some other hard stone, while others were made of baked clay. Others, + many of them also elaborately carved and ornamented, have been found in Mexico. Roman + antiquities show many pipes, but they do not show the use of tobacco. It is assumed + that they were used for burning incense, or for smoking some aromatic herb or + hemp.</p> + <p>The first knowledge of the use of the plant in Cuba was in November, 1492, when + Columbus, on landing near Nuevitas, sent his messengers inland to greet the supposed + ruler of a supposed great Asiatic empire. Washington Irving thus reports the story as + it was told by Navarete, the Spanish historian. Referring to those messengers, he + says: "They beheld several of the natives going about with firebrands in their hands, + and certain dried herbs which they rolled up in a leaf, and lighting one end, put the + other in their mouths, and continued exhaling and puffing out the smoke. A roll of + this kind they called a tobacco, a name since transferred to the plant of which the + rolls were made. The Spaniards, although prepared to meet with wonders, were struck + with astonishment at this singular and apparently nauseous indulgence." A few years + later, a different method was reported, by Columbus, as employed in Hispaniola. This + consisted of inhaling the fumes of the leaf through a Y-shaped device applied to the + nostrils. This operation is said to have produced intoxication and stupefaction, + which appears to have been the desired result. The old name still continues in Cuba, + and if a smoker wants a cigar, he will get it by calling for a "tobacco." The + production of the plant is, next to sugar, Cuba's most important commercial industry. + Its early history is only imperfectly known. There was probably very little + commercial production during the 16th Century, for the reason that there was then no + demand for it. The demand came in the first half of the 17th Century, and by the + middle of that period tobacco was known and used in practically all civilized + countries. The demand for it spread very rapidly, in spite of papal fulminations and + penal enactments. For a time, in Russia, the noses of smokers were cut off. The early + part of the 18th Century saw Cuba actively engaged in production and shipment. In + 1717, Cuba's tobacco was made a monopoly of the Spanish Government. Under that + system, production was regulated and prices were fixed by the agents of the + government, in utter disregard of the welfare of the producers. As a result, several + serious riots occurred. In 1723, a large number of planters refused to accept the + terms offered by the officials, and destroyed the crops of those who did accept, a + condition repeated in the State of Kentucky a few years ago, the only difference + being that in the Cuban experience the monopolist was the Government, and in Kentucky + it was a corporation. A few years later, in 1734, the Cuban monopoly was sold to Don + José Tallapiedra who contracted to ship to Spain, annually, three million pounds of + tobacco. The contract was afterward given to another, but control was resumed by the + Crown, in 1760. Finally, in 1817, cultivation and trade were declared to be free, + subject only to taxation.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig19"></a><a href="images/image19.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image19.jpg" alt="STREET IN CAMAGUEY" /></a> + <h3>STREET IN CAMAGUEY</h3> + </div> + <p>In time, it became known that the choicest tobacco in the market came from the + western end of Cuba, from the Province of Pinar del Rio. It was given a distinct + name, <i>Vuelta Abajo</i>, a term variously translated but referring to the downward + bend of the section of the island in which that grade is produced. Here is grown a + tobacco that, thus far, has been impossible of production elsewhere. Many experiments + have been tried, in Cuba and in other countries. Soils have been analyzed by + chemists; seeds from the <i>Vuelta Abajo</i> have been planted; and localities have + been sought where climatic conditions corresponded. No success has been attained. Nor + is the crop of that region produced on an extensive scale, that is, the choicer leaf. + Not all of the tobacco is of the finest grade, although most of it is of high + quality. There are what may be called "patches" of ground, known to the experts, on + which the best is produced, for reasons not yet clearly determined. The fact is well + known, but the causes are somewhat mysterious. Nor does the plant of this region + appear to be susceptible of improvement through any modern, scientific systems of + cultivation. The quality deteriorates rather than improves as a result of artificial + fertilizers. The people of the region, cultivating this special product through + generation after generation, seem to have developed a peculiar instinct for its + treatment. It is not impossible that a time may come when scientific soil selection, + seed selection, special cultivation, irrigation, and other systems, singly or in + combination, will make possible the production of a standardized high-grade leaf in + much greater quantity than heretofore, but it seems little probable that anything so + produced will excel or even equal the best produced by these expert <i>vegueros</i> + by their indefinable but thorough knowledge of the minutest peculiarities of this + peculiar plant. Thus far, it has not even been possible to produce it elsewhere in + the island. It has been tried outside of the fairly defined area of its production, + tried by men who knew it thoroughly within that area, tried from the same seed, from + soils that seem quite the same. But all failed. Science may some day definitely + locate the reasons, just as it may find the reason for deterioration in the quality + of Cuban tobacco eastward from that area. The tobacco of Havana Province is + excellent, but inferior to that of Pinar del Rio. The growth of Santa Clara Province + is of good quality, but inferior to that of Havana Province, while the tobacco of + eastern Cuba is little short of an offence to a discriminating taste.</p> + <p>Tobacco is grown from seeds, planted in specially prepared seed beds. Seeding is + begun in the early autumn. When the young plant has attained a proper height, about + eight or ten inches, it is removed to, and planted in, the field of its final growth. + This preliminary process demands skill, knowledge, and careful attention equal, + perhaps, to the requirements of the later stages. Experiments have been made with + mechanical appliances, but most of the work is still done by hand, particularly in + the area producing the better qualities of leaf. From the time of transplanting, it + is watched with the greatest care. A constant battle is waged with weeds and insect + life, and water must be brought if the season is too dry. If rains are excessive, as + they sometimes are, the crop may be partly or wholly destroyed, as it was in the + autumn of 1914. The plant matures in January, after four months of constant + watchfulness and labor, in cultivation, pruning, and protection from worms and + insects. When the leaves are properly ripened, the stalks are cut in sections, two + leaves to a section. These are hung on poles and taken to the drying sheds where they + are suspended for three or more weeks. The time of this process, and its results, + depend upon moisture, temperature, and treatment. All this is again an operation + demanding expert knowledge and constant care. When properly cured, the leaves are + packed in bales of about 110 pounds each, and are then ready for the market. Because + of the varying conditions under which the leaf is produced, from year to year, it is + somewhat difficult to determine with any accuracy the increase in the industry. + Broadly, the output appears to have been practically doubled in the last twenty + years, a growth attributed to the new economic conditions, to the extension of + transportation facilities that have made possible the opening of new areas to + cultivation, and to the investment of capital, largely American capital. The exports + show, generally, a material increase in sales of leaf tobacco and some decline in + sales of cigars. The principal market for the leaf, for about 85 per cent of it, is + in the United States where it is made, with more or less honesty, into "all-Havana" + cigars. This country, however, takes only about a third of Cuba's cigar output. The + United Kingdom takes about as much of that product as we do, and Germany, in normal + times, takes about half as much. The remainder is widely scattered, and genuine + imported Havana cigars are obtainable in all countries throughout the world. The + total value of Cuba's yearly tobacco crop is from $40,000,000 to $50,000,000, + including domestic consumption and foreign trade.</p> + <p>The story that all Cubans, men and women alike, are habitual and constant smokers, + is not and never was true. Whatever it may have been in the past, I am inclined to + think that smoking by women is more common in this country than it is in Cuba, + particularly among the middle and upper social classes. I have seen many American and + English women smoke in public, but never a Cuban woman. Nor is smoking by men without + its exceptions. I doubt if the percentage of non-smokers in this country is any + greater than it is in the island. There are many Cubans who do smoke, just as there + are many Americans, Englishmen, Germans, and Russians. Those who watch on the street + for a respectable Cuban woman with a cigar in her mouth, or even a cigarette, will be + disappointed. Cuba's tobacco is known by the name of the region in which it is + produced; the <i>Vuelta Abajo</i> of Pinar del Rio; the <i>Partidos</i> of Havana + Province; the <i>Manicaragua</i> and the <i>Remedios</i> of Santa Clara; and the + <i>Mayari</i> of Oriente. Until quite recently, when American organized capital + secured control of many of the leading factories in Cuba, it was possible to identify + a cigar, in size and shape, by some commonly employed name, such as <i>perfectos, + conchas, panetelas, imperiales, londres</i>, etc. The old names still appear, but to + them there has been added an almost interminable list in which the old distinction is + almost lost. Lost, too, or submerged, are many of the old well-known names of + manufacturers, names that were a guarantee of quality. There were also names for + different qualities, almost invariably reliable, and for color that was supposed to + mark the strength of the cigar. An accomplished smoker may still follow the old + system and call for a cigar to his liking, by the use of the old terms and names made + familiar by years of experience, but the general run of smokers can only select, from + a hundred or more boxes bearing names and words that are unfamiliar or unknown, a + cigar that he thinks looks like one that he wants. It may be a "<i>superba</i>" an + "<i>imperial</i>" a "Wilson's Cabinet," or a "Havana Kid."</p> + <p>There is a wide difference in the dates given as the time of the introduction of + the coffee plant in Cuba. One writer gives the year 1720, another gives 1748, and + still another gives 1769. Others give various years near the end of the century. It + was doubtless a minor industry for fifty years or more before that time, but it was + given an impetus and began to assume commercial proportions during the closing years + of the 18th Century. During that century, the industry was somewhat extensively + carried on in the neighboring island of Santo Domingo. In 1790, a revolution broke + out in that island, including Haiti, and lasted, with more or less violent activity, + for nearly ten years. One result was the emigration to Cuba of a considerable number + of refugees, many of them French. They settled in eastern Cuba, where conditions for + coffee-growing are highly favorable. Knowing that industry from their experience with + it in the adjacent island, these people naturally took it up in their new home. The + cultivation of coffee in Cuba, prior to that time, was largely in the neighborhood of + Havana, the region then of the greater settlement and development. For the next forty + years or so, the industry developed and coffee assumed a considerable importance as + an export commodity, in addition to the domestic supply. In 1840, there were more + than two thousand coffee plantations, large and small, producing more than seventy + million pounds of coffee, the greater part of which was exported. From about the + middle of the century, the industry declined, in part because of lower prices due to + increase in the world-supply through increased production in other countries, and in + part, because of the larger chance of profit in the growing of sugar, an industry + then showing an increased importance. Coffee culture has never been entirely + suspended in the island, and efforts are made from time to time to revive it, but for + many years Cuba has imported most of its coffee supply, the larger share being + purchased from Porto Rico. It would be easily possible for Cuba to produce its entire + requirement. There are few more beautiful sights in all the world than a field of + coffee trees in blossom. One writer has likened it to "millions of snow drops + scattered over a sea of green." They blossom, in Cuba, about the end of February or + early in March, the fruit season and picking coming in the autumn. Coffee culture is + an industry requiring great care and some knowledge, and the preparation of the berry + for the market involves no less of care and knowledge. The quality of the Cuban berry + is of the best. It is the misfortune of the people of the United States that very few + of them really know anything about coffee and its qualities, notwithstanding the fact + that they consume about a billion pounds a year, all except a small percentage of it + being coffee of really inferior quality. But coffee, like cigars, pickles, or music, + is largely a matter of individual preference.</p> + <p>Cuba produces a variety of vegetables, chiefly for domestic consumption, and many + fruits, some of which are exported. There is also a limited production of grains. + Among the tubers produced are sweet potatoes, white potatoes, yams, the arum and the + yucca. From the latter is made starch and the cassava bread. The legumes are + represented by varieties of beans and peas. The most extensively used food of the + island people is rice, only a little of which is locally grown. The imports are + valued at five or six million dollars yearly. Corn is grown in some quantity, but + nearly two million dollars worth is imported yearly from the United States. There are + fruits of many kinds. The banana is the most important of the group, and is grown + throughout the island. It appears on the table of all, rich and poor, sometimes <i>au + naturel</i> but more frequently cooked. There are many varieties, some of which are + exported while others are practically unknown here. The Cuban mango is not of the + best, but they are locally consumed by the million. Only a few of the best are + produced and those command a fancy price even when they are obtainable. The aguacate, + or alligator pear, is produced in abundance. Cocoanuts are a product largely of the + eastern end of the island, although produced in fair supply elsewhere. The trees are + victims of a disastrous bud disease that has attacked them in recent years causing + heavy loss to growers.</p> + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a id="fig20"></a><a href="images/image20.jpg"><img width="100%" + src="images/image20.jpg" alt="PALM-THATCHED ROOFS" /></a> + <h3>PALM-THATCHED ROOFS<br /> + A PEASANT'S HOME</h3> + </div> + <p>Since the American occupation, considerable attention has been given, mainly by + Americans, to the production of oranges, grape-fruit, and pineapples, in which a + considerable industry has been developed. There are several varieties. The guava of + Cuba makes a jelly that is superior to that produced from the fruit in any other land + of my experience. If there is a better guava jelly produced anywhere, I should be + pleased to sample it, more pleased to obtain a supply. But there is a difference in + the product even there, just as there is a difference in currant or grape jelly + produced here. It depends a good deal on the maker. Some of the best of my experience + is made in the neighborhood of Santa Clara, but I have tried no Cuban <i>jalea de + guayaba</i> that was not better than any I have had in the Far East or elsewhere. The + <i>guanabana</i> is eaten in its natural state, but serves its best purpose as a + flavor for ices or cooling drinks. There are a number of others, like the + <i>anon</i>, the <i>zapote</i>, the <i>granadilla</i>, the <i>mamey</i>, etc., with + which visitors may experiment or not as they see fit. Some like some of them and + others like none of them. An excellent grade of cacao, the basis of chocolate and + cocoa, is produced in somewhat limited quantity. The industry could easily be + extended. In fact, there are many soil products not now grown in the island but which + might be grown there, and many others now produced on small scale that could be + produced in important quantities. That they are not now so produced is due to lack of + both labor and capital. The industries of Cuba are, and always have been, + specialized. Sugar, tobacco, and at a time coffee, have absorbed the capital and have + afforded occupation for the greater number of the island people. The lack of + transportation facilities in earlier years, and the system of land tenure, have made + difficult if not impossible the establishment of any large number of independent + small farmers. The day laborers in the tobacco fields and on sugar plantations have + been unable to save enough money to buy a little farm and equip it even if the land + could be purchased at all. Yet only a very small percentage of the area is actually + under cultivation. Cuba now imports nearly $40,000,000 worth of alimentary + substances, altogether too much for a country of its productive possibilities. It is + true that a part of this, such as wheat flour for instance, cannot be produced on the + island successfully, and that other commodities, such as rice, hog products, and some + other articles, can be imported more cheaply than they can be produced locally. But + the imports of foodstuffs are undoubtedly excessive, although there are good reasons + for the present situation. It is a matter that will find adjustment in time.</p> + <p>The island has mineral resources of considerable value, although the number of + products is limited. The Spanish discoverers did not find the precious metals for + which they were seeking, and while gold has since been found, it has never appeared + in quantity sufficient to warrant its exploitation. Silver discoveries have been + reported, but not in quantity to pay for its extraction. Nothing is ever certain in + those industries, but it is quite safe to assume that Cuba is not a land of precious + metals. Copper was discovered in eastern Cuba as early as about the year 1530, and + the mines near Santiago were operated as a Government monopoly for some two hundred + years, when they were abandoned. They were idle for about a hundred years when, in + 1830, an English company with a capital of $2,400,000 reopened them. It is officially + reported that in the next forty years copper of a value of more than $50,000,000 was + extracted and shipped. During that time, the mines were among the most notable in the + world. In the meantime, ownership was transferred to a Spanish corporation organized + in Havana. This concern became involved in litigation with the railway concerning + freight charges, and this experience was followed by the Ten Years' War, in the early + course of which the plant was destroyed and the mines flooded. In 1902, an American + company was organized. It acquired practically all the copper property in the Cobre + field and began operations on an extensive and expensive scale. A huge sum was spent + in pumping thousands of tons of water from a depth of hundreds of feet, in new + equipment for the mining operations, and in the construction of a smelter. The best + that can be done is to hope that the investors will some day get their money back. + Without any doubt, there is a large amount of copper there, and more in other parts + of Oriente. So is there copper in Camaguey, Santa Clara, and Matanzas provinces. + There are holes in the ground near the city of Camaguey that indicate profitable + operations in earlier years. The metal is spread over a wide area in Pinar del Rio, + and venturous spirits have spent many good Spanish pesos and still better American + dollars in efforts to locate deposits big enough to pay for its excavation. Some of + that class are at it even now, and one concern is reported as doing a profitable + business.</p> + <p>The bitumens are represented in the island by asphalt, a low-grade coal, and + seepages of petroleum. At least, several writers tell of coal in the vicinity of + Havana, but the substance is probably only a particularly hard asphaltum. The only + real coal property of which I have any knowledge is a quite recent discovery. The + story was told me by the man whose money was sought to develop it. It was, by the + way, an anthracite property. In response to an urgent invitation from a presumably + reliable acquaintance, my friend took his car and journeyed westward into Pinar del + Rio, through a charming country that he and I have many times enjoyed together. He + picked up his coal-discovering friend in the city of Pinar del Rio, and proceeded + into the country to inspect the coal-vein. At a number of points immediately + alongside the highway, his companion alighted to scrape away a little of the surface + of the earth and to return with a little lump of really high-grade anthracite. Such a + substance had no proper business there, did not belong there geologically or + otherwise. The explanation soon dawned upon my friend. They were following the line + of an abandoned narrow-gauge railway, abandoned twenty years ago, along which had + been dumped, at intervals, little piles of perfectly good anthracite, imported from + Pennsylvania, for use by the portable engine used in the construction of the road. My + friend declares that he is entirely ready at any time to swear that there are + deposits of anthracite in Cuba. A very good quality of asphalt is obtained in + different parts of the island, and considerable quantities have been shipped to the + United States. Signs of petroleum deposits have been strong enough to induce + investigation and expenditure. An American company is now at work drilling in + Matanzas Province. The most extensive and promising mineral industry is iron, + especially in eastern Cuba. Millions of tons of ore have been taken from the + mountains along the shore between Santiago and Guantanamo, and the supply appears to + be inexhaustible. The product is shipped to the United States, to a value of several + millions of dollars yearly. A few years ago, other and apparently more extensive + deposits were discovered in the northern section of Oriente, The field bought by the + Pennsylvania Steel Company is estimated to contain 600,000,000 tons of ore. The + Bethlehem Steel Company is the owner of another vast tract. The quality of these ores + is excellent. In Oriente Province also are deposits of manganese of which + considerable shipments have been made.</p> + <p>It is not possible in so brief a survey of Cuba's resources and industries to + include all its present activities, to say nothing of its future possibilities. At + the present time, the island is practically an extensive but only partly cultivated + farm, producing mainly sugar and tobacco, with fruits and vegetables as a side line. + The metal deposits supplement this, with promise of becoming increasingly valuable. + The forest resources, commercially, are not great, although there are, and will + continue to be, sales of mahogany and other fine hardwoods. Local manufacturing is on + a comparatively limited scale. All cities and many towns have their artisans, the + bakers, tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, and others. Cigar making is, of course, + classed as a manufacturing enterprise, and so, for census purposes, is the conversion + of the juice of the sugar-cane into sugar. A number of cities have breweries, ice + factories, match factories, soap works, and other establishments large or small. All + these, however, are incidental to the great industries of the soil, and the greater + part of Cuba's requirements in the line of mill and factory products is imported. + While little is done in the shipment of cattle or beef, Cuba is a natural cattle + country. Water and nutritious grasses are abundant, and there are vast areas, now + idle, that might well be utilized for stock-raising. There are, of course, just as + there are elsewhere, various difficulties to be met, but they are met and overcome. + There are insects and diseases, but these are controlled by properly applied + scientific methods. There is open feeding throughout the entire year, so there is no + need of barns or hay. The local cattle industry makes possible the shipment of some + $2,500,000 worth of hides and skins annually. Other lines of industry worthy of + mention, but not possible of detailed description here, include sponges, tortoise + shell, honey, wax, molasses, and henequen or sisal. All these represent their + individual thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and their employment of + scores or hundreds of wage-earners. Those who start for Cuba with a notion that the + Cubans are an idle and lazy people, will do well to revise that notion. There is not + the hustle that may be seen further north, but the results of Cuban activity, + measured in dollars or in tons, fairly dispute the notion of any national indolence. + When two and a half million people produce what is produced in Cuba, somebody has to + work.</p> + <h2><a id="XIV">XIV</a><br /> + <i>POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE</i></h2> + <p>The British colonists in America were in large measure self-governing. This is + notably true in their local affairs. The Spanish colonists were governed almost + absolutely by the mother-country. A United States official publication reports that + "all government control centred in the Council of the Indies and the King, and local + self government, which was developed at an early stage in the English colonies, + became practically impossible in the Spanish colonies, no matter to what extent it + may have existed in theory. Special regulations, decrees, etc., modifying the + application of the laws to the colonies or promulgating new laws were frequent, and + their compilation in 1680 was published as Law of the Indies. This and the <i>Siete + Partidas</i>, on which they were largely based, comprised the code under which the + Spanish-American colonies were governed." There was a paper provision, during the + greater part of the time, for a municipal electorate, the franchise being limited to + a few of the largest tax-payers. In its practical operation, the system was nullified + by the power vested in the appointed ruler. It was a highly effective centralized + organization in which no man held office, high or low, who was not a mere instrument + in the hands of the Governor-General. Under such an institution the Cubans had, of + course, absolutely no experience in self-government. The rulers made laws and the + people obeyed them; they imposed taxes and spent the money as they saw fit; many of + them enriched themselves and their personally appointed official household throughout + the island, at the expense of the tax-payers.</p> + <p>A competent observer has noted that such terms as "meeting," "mass-meeting," + "self-government," and "home-rule," had no equivalent in the Spanish language. The + first of these terms, distorted into "<i>mitin</i>," is now in common use, and its + origin is obvious. Of theories, ideals, and intellectual conceptions, there was an + abundance, but government based on beautiful dreams does not succeed in this + practical world. Denied opportunity for free discussion of practical methods, the + Cubans discussed theories in lyceums. Under the military government of the United + States, from January 1, 1899, to May 20, 1902, there was freedom of speech and + freedom of organization. The Cubans began to hold "<i>mitins</i>," but visions and + beautiful theories characterized the addresses. Prior to the Ten Years' War + (1868-1878), there were organizations more or less political in their nature, but the + authorities were alert in preventing discussions of too practical a character. In + 1865, a number of influential Cubans organized what has been somewhat inappropriately + termed a "national party." It was not at all a party in our use of that term. Its + purpose was to suggest and urge administrative and economic changes from the Cuban + point of view. The suggestions were ignored and, a few years later, revolution was + adopted as a means of emphasizing their importance. The result of the Ten Years' War + was an assortment of pledges of greater political and economic freedom. Much was + promised but little if anything was really granted. There was, however, a relaxation + of the earlier absolutism, and under that there appeared a semblance of party + organization, in the form of a Liberal party and a Union Constitutional party. There + was no special difference in what might be called their platforms. Both focussed, in + a somewhat general way, the political aspirations and the economic desires of the + Cuban people, much the same aspirations and desires that had been manifested by + complaint, protest, and occasional outbreak, for fifty years. National independence + had no place in either. That came later, when an army in the field declared that if + Spain would not grant independence, the island would be made so worthless a + possession that Spain could not afford to hold it. A few years after their + organization, the Liberals became the Cuban party, and so remained, and the Union + Constitutionals became the Spanish party, the party of the immediate administration. + Later on, the Liberal party became the Autonomist party, but Spain's concession of + the demands of that group came too late, forced, not by the Autonomists but by the + party of the Revolution that swept the island with fire and sword from Oriente to + Pinar del Rio. The Autonomists sought what their name indicates; the Revolutionists + demanded and secured national independence.</p> + <p>Shortly before the final dispersion of the Army of the Revolution, there was + organized a body with the imposing title of <i>La Asamblea de Representantes del + Ejercito Cubano</i>, or the Assembly of Representatives of the Cuban Army. It was + composed of leaders of the different military divisions of that army, and included, + as I recall it, thirty-one members. This group made no little trouble in the early + days of the American occupation. It gathered in Havana, held meetings, declared + itself the duly chosen and representative agent of the Cuban people, and demanded + recognition as such by the American authorities. Some of its members even asserted + that it constituted a <i>de facto</i> government, and held that the Americans should + turn the whole affair over to them and promptly sail away. But their recognition was + flatly refused by the authorities. At the time, I supported the authorities in this + refusal, but afterward I felt less sure of the wisdom of the course. As a recognized + body, it might have been useful; rejected, it made no little trouble. Transfer of + control to its hands was quite out of the question, but recognition and co-operation + might have proved helpful. That the body had a considerable representative quality, + there is no doubt. Later, I found many of its members as members of the + Constitutional Convention, and, still later, many of them have served in high + official positions, as governors of provinces, members of Congress, in cabinet and in + diplomatic positions. I am inclined to regard the group broadly, as the origin of the + present much divided Liberal party that has, from the beginning of definite party + organization, included a considerable numerical majority of the Cuban voters. In the + first national election, held December 31, 1901, this group, the military group, + appeared as the National party, supporting Tomas Estrada y Palma as its candidate. + Its opponent was called the Republican party. Realizing its overwhelming defeat, the + latter withdrew on the day of the election, alleging all manner of fraud and + unfairness on the part of the Nationals. It is useless to follow in detail the + history of Cuba's political parties since that time. In the election of 1905, the + former National party appeared as the Liberal party, supporting José Miguel Gomez, + while its opponents appeared as the Moderate party, supporting Estrada Palma who, + first elected on what he declared to be a non-partisan basis, had definitely + affiliated himself with the so-called Moderates. The election was a game of political + crookedness on both sides, and the Liberals withdrew on election day. The result was + the revolution of 1906. The Liberals split into factions, not yet harmonized, and the + Moderate party became the Conservative party. By the fusion of some of the Liberal + groups, that party carried the election of 1908, held under American auspices. A + renewal of internal disorders, a quarrel among leaders, and much discontent with + their administrative methods, resulted in the defeat of the Liberals in the campaign + of 1912 and in the election of General Mario Menocal, the head of the Conservative + ticket, and the present incumbent.</p> + <p>A fair presentation of political conditions in Cuba is exceedingly difficult, or + rather it is difficult so to present them that they will be fairly understood. I have + always regarded the establishment of the Cuban Republic in 1902 as premature, though + probably unavoidable. A few years of experience with an autonomous government under + American auspices, civil and not military, as a prologue to full independence, might + have been the wiser course, but such a plan seemed impossible. The Cubans in the + field had forced from Spain concessions that were satisfactory to many. Whether they + could have forced more than that, without the physical assistance given by the United + States, is perhaps doubtful. The matter might have been determined by the grant of + the belligerent rights for which they repeatedly appealed to the United States. At no + time in the entire experience did they ask for intervention. That came as the result + of a combination of American wrath and American sympathy, and more in the interest of + the United States than because of concern for the Cubans. But, their victory won and + Spain expelled, the triumphant Cubans naturally desired immediate enjoyment of the + fruits of victory. They desired to exercise the independence for which they had + fought. Many protests and not a few threats of trouble attended even the brief period + of American occupation. There was, moreover, an acute political issue in the United + States. The peace and order declared as the purpose of American intervention had been + established. The amendment to the Joint Resolution of April 20, 1898, disclaimed "any + disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said + Island except for the pacification thereof," etc. The island was pacified. The + amendment asserted, further, the determination of the United States, pacification + having been accomplished, "to leave the government and control of the island to its + people." There was no pledge of any prolonged course of education in principles and + methods of self-government. Nor did such education play any appreciable part in the + experience of the American military government. The work of the interventors had been + done in accordance with the specifications, and the Cubans were increasingly restless + under a control that many of them, with no little reason, declared to be as + autocratic as any ever exercised by Spain. Transfer and departure seemed to be the + politic if not the only course, and we transferred and departed.</p> + <p>That these people, entirely without experience or training in self-government, + should make mistakes was quite as inevitable as it is that a child in learning to + walk will tumble down and bump its little nose. In addition to the inevitable + mistakes, there have been occasional instances of deplorable misconduct on the part + of individuals and of political parties. For neither mistakes nor misconduct can we + criticize or condemn them without a similar criticism or condemnation of various + experiences in our own history. We should, at least, regard them with charity. There + are, moreover, incidents in the two experiences of American control of the island + that, at least, border on the unwise and the discreditable. The only issue yet + developed in Cuba is between good government and bad politics. The first President + started admirably along the line of the former, and ended in a wretched tangle of the + latter, though not at all by his own choice or direction. Official pre-eminence and a + "government job" make quite the same appeal to the Cubans that they do to many + thousands of Americans. So do raids on the national treasury, and profitable + concessions. We see these motes in Cuban eyes somewhat more clearly than we see the + beams in our own eyes. A necessarily slow process of political education is going on + among the people, but in the meantime the situation has afforded opportunity for + exploitation by an assortment of self-constituted political leaders who have adopted + politics as a profession and a means of livelihood. Cuba's gravest danger lies in the + political domination of men in this class. The present President, General Mario + Menocal, is not in that group. The office sought him; he did not seek the office. + Some of these self-constituted leaders have displayed a notable aptitude for + political organization, and it is largely by means of the many little local + organizations that the Cuban political game is played. Although, I believe, somewhat + less now than formerly, the little groups follow and support individual leaders + rather than parties or principles. Parties and their minor divisions are known by the + names of their leaders. Thus, while both men are nominally of the same party, the + Liberal, the adherents of José Miguel Gomez, are known as Miguelistas, and the + adherents of Alfredo Zayas are known as Zayistas. Were either to announce himself as + a Conservative, or to start a new party and call it Reformist or Progressive or any + other title, he could count on being followed by most of those who supported him as a + Liberal. This is a condition that will, in time, correct itself. What the Cuban + really wants is what all people want, an orderly, honest, and economical government, + under which he may live in peace and quiet, enjoying the fruits of his labor without + paying an undue share of the fruits to maintain his government. For that the Cuban + people took up arms against Spain. For a time they may be blinded by the idea of mere + political independence, but to that same issue they will yet return by the route of + the ballot-box. The game of politics for individual preferment, or for personal + profit, cannot long be successfully played in Cuba, if I have rightly interpreted + Cuban character and Cuban characteristics.</p> + <p>"We, the delegates of the people of Cuba, having met in constitutional convention + for the purpose of preparing and adopting the fundamental law of their organization + as an independent and sovereign people, establishing a government capable of + fulfilling its international obligations, maintaining public peace, ensuring liberty, + justice, and promoting the general welfare, do hereby agree upon and adopt the + following constitution, invoking the protection of the Almighty. Article I. The + people of Cuba are hereby constituted a sovereign and independent State and adopt a + republican form of government." Thus opens the Constitution of the Republic of + Cuba.</p> + <p>I recall an intensely dramatic moment connected with the closing phrase of the + preamble. I have used a translation published by a distinguished Cuban. That phrase, + in the original, is "<i>invocando el favor de Dios</i>," perhaps more exactly + translated as "invoking the favor (or blessing) of God." When the Constitution had + been drafted and broadly approved, it was submitted to the convention for suggestion + of minor changes in verbiage. One of the oldest and most distinguished members of the + body proposed that this phrase be left out. Another member, distinguished for his + power as an orator and for his cynicism, in a speech of considerable length set forth + his opinion that it made little difference whether it was included or excluded. There + was no benefit in its inclusion, and no advantage in excluding it. It would hurt none + and might please some to have it left in. Immediately across the semi-circle of + desks, and facing these two speakers, sat Señor Pedro Llorente, a man of small + stature, long, snow-white hair and beard, and a nervous and alert manner. At times, + his nervous energy made him almost grotesque. At times, his absorbed earnestness made + him, despite his stature, a figure of commanding dignity. Through the preceding + addresses he waited with evident impatience. Obtaining recognition from the chairman, + he rose and stood with upraised hand his voice tremulous with emotion, to protest + against the proposed measure, declaring "as one not far from the close of life, that + the body there assembled did not represent an atheistic people." The motion to strike + out was lost, and the invocation remains.</p> + <p>The result of the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention is a highly + creditable instrument. It contains a well-devised Bill of Rights, and makes all + necessary provision for governmental organization and conduct. One feature, however, + seems open to criticism. In their desire to avoid that form of centralized control, + of which they had somewhat too much under Spanish power, the new institution + provides, perhaps, for too much local government, for a too extensive provincial and + municipal system. It has already fallen down in some respects, and it has become + necessary to centralize certain functions, quite as it has become desirable in + several of our own matters. Cuba has, perhaps, an undue overload of officialdom, + somewhat too many public officers, and quite too many people on its pay-rolls. The + feature of Cuba's Constitution that is of greatest interest and importance to the + United States is what is known as the Platt Amendment. The provision for a + Constitutional Convention in Cuba was made in what was known as Civil Order No. 301, + issued by the Military Governor, on July 25, 1900. It provided for an election of + delegates to meet in Havana on the first Monday in November, following. The + convention was to frame and adopt a Constitution and "as a part thereof, to provide + for and agree with the Government of the United States upon the relations to exist + between that Government and the Government of Cuba," etc. Against this, the Cubans + protested vigorously. The United States had declared that "Cuba is and of right ought + to be free and independent." The Cubans held, very properly, that definition of + international relations had no fitting place in a Constitution "as a part thereof." + Their point was recognized and, under date of November 5, Civil Order No. 310 was + modified by Civil Order No. 455. That was issued to the delegates at the time of + their assembly. It declared as follows: "It will be your duty, first, to frame and + adopt a Constitution for Cuba, and, when that has been done, to formulate what, in + your opinion, ought to be the relations between Cuba and the United States." Taking + this as their programme, the delegates proceeded to draft a Constitution, leaving the + matter of "relations" in abeyance for consideration at the proper time. Yet, before + its work was done, the Convention was savagely criticized in the United States for + its failure to include in the Constitution what it had been authorized, and virtually + instructed, to leave out. The Constitution was completed on February 11, 1901, and + was duly signed by the delegates, on February 21. A committee was appointed, on + February 11, to prepare and submit plans and proposals regarding the matter of + "relations." Prior to that, however, the matter had been frequently but informally + discussed by the delegates. Suggestions had been made in the local press, and + individual members of the Convention had expressed their views with considerable + freedom. Had the United States kept its hands off at that time, a serious and + critical situation, as well as a sense of injustice that has not yet entirely died + out, would have been averted.</p> + <p>Before the Cubans had time to put their "opinion of what ought to be the + relations" between the two countries into definite form, there was presented to them, + in a manner as needless as it was tactless, a statement of what the American + authorities thought those relations should be. The Cubans, who were faithfully + observing their earlier instructions, were deeply offended by this interference, and + by the way in which the interference came. The measures known as the Platt Amendment + was submitted to the United States Senate, as an amendment to the Army Appropriation + bill, on February 25, 1901 The Senate passed the bill, and the House concurred A + storm of indignant protest swept over the island The Cubans believed, and not without + reason, that the instrument abridged the independence of which they had been assured + by those who now sought to limit that independence. Public opinion in the United + States was divided. Some approved and some denounced the proceeding in bitter terms. + The division was not at all on party lines. The situation in Cuba was entirely + changed. Instead of formulating an opinion in accordance with their earlier + instructions, the members of the Convention were confronted by a choice of what they + then regarded as evils, acceptance of unacceptable terms or an indefinite continuance + of a military government then no less unacceptable. A commission was sent to + Washington to urge changes and modifications. It was given dinners, lunches, and + receptions, but nothing more. At last the Cubans shrugged their shoulders. The desire + for an immediate withdrawal of American authority, and for Cuban assumption of the + reins of government, outweighed the objection to the terms imposed. A Cuban leader + said: "There is no use in objecting to the inevitable. It is either annexation or a + Republic with the Amendment. I prefer the latter." After four months of stubborn + opposition, the Cubans yielded, by a vote of sixteen to eleven, with four + absentees.</p> + <p>In many ways, the Cuban Government is like our own. The President and + Vice-President are elected, through an electoral college, for a term of four years. A + "third term" is specifically prohibited by the Constitution. Senators, four from each + Province, are chosen, for a term of eight years, by an electoral board. Elections for + one half of the body occur every four years. The House is chosen, by direct vote, for + terms of four years, one half being elected every two years. The Cabinet, selected + and appointed by the President, consists of eight Secretaries of Departments as + follows: Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor; State; Government; Treasury + (<i>Hacienda</i>); Public Instruction; Justice; Public Works; and Health and + Charities. There is a Supreme Court, and there are the usual minor courts. The + Constitution also makes provision for the organization and the powers of the + Provincial and Municipal Governments. To the Constitution, the Platt Amendment is + attached as an appendix, by treaty arrangement. As far as governmental system is + concerned, Cuba is fairly well equipped; a possible source of danger is its + over-equipment. Its laws permit, rather than require, an overburden of officials, + high and low. But Cuba's governmental problem is essentially one of administration. + Its particular obstacle in that department is professional politics.</p> + <p>The whole situation in Cuba is somewhat peculiar. The business of the island, that + is, the commercial business, the purchase and sale of merchandise wholesale and + retail, is almost entirely in the hands of Spaniards. The Cuban youths seldom become + clerks in stores. Most of the so-called "<i>dependientes</i>" come out as boys from + Spain. It is an old established system. These lads, almost invariably hard workers, + usually eat and sleep in the place of their employment. The wage is small but board + and lodging, such as the latter is, are furnished. They are well fed, and the whole + system is quite paternal. For their recreation, education, and care in case of + illness, there are organizations, half club and half mutual protective association, + to which practically all belong. The fee is small and the benefits many. Some of + these are based on a regional plan, that is, the <i>Centro de Asturianos</i> is + composed of those who come from the Spanish province of Asturia, and those from other + regions have their societies. There is also a general society of + "<i>dependientes</i>." Some of these groups are rich, with large membership including + not only the clerks of today but those of the last thirty or forty years, men who by + diligence and thrift have risen to the top in Cuba's commercial life. Most of Cuba's + business men continue their membership in these organizations, and many contribute + liberally toward their maintenance.</p> + <p>This system more or less effectively bars Cuban youths from commercial life. Nor + does commercial life seem attractive to more than a very limited number. This leaves + to them, practically, only three lines of possible activity, the ownership and + operation of a plantation, a profession, or manual labor. The greater number there, + as elsewhere, are laborers, either on some little bit of ground they call their own + or rent from its owner, or they are employed by the proprietors of the larger + estates. Such proprietorship is, of course, open to only a few. The problem, which is + both social and political, appears in a class that cannot or will not engage in + manual labor, the well-educated or fairly-educated sons of men of fair income and a + social position. Many of these take some professional course. But there is not room + for so many in so small a country, and the professions are greatly overcrowded. The + surplus either loafs and lives by its wits or at the expense of the family, or turns + to the Government for a "job." It constitutes a considerable element on which the + aspiring professional politician can draw for support. Having such "jobs," it + constitutes a heavy burden on the tax-payers; deprived of its places on the + Government pay-roll, it becomes a social and political menace. If a Liberal + administration throws them out of their comfortable posts, they become noisy and + perhaps violent Conservatives; if discharged by an economical Conservative + administration, they become no less noisy and no less potentially violent Liberals. + But we may not criticize. The American control that followed the insurrection of 1906 + set no example in administrative economy for the Cubans to follow.</p> + <p>The productive industries of the island have already been reviewed in other + chapters. The development of Cuba's commerce since the withdrawal of Spain, and the + substitution of a modern fiscal policy for an antiquated and indefensible system, has + been notable. It is, however, a mistake to contrast the present condition with the + condition existing at the time of the American occupation, in 1899. The exact + accuracy of the record is questionable, but the returns for the year 1894, the year + preceding the revolution, show the total imports of the island as $77,000,000, and + the total exports as $99,000,000. The probability is that a proper valuation would + show a considerable advance in the value of the imports. The statement of export + values may be accepted. It may be assumed that had there been no disorder, the trade + of the island, by natural growth, would have reached $90,000,000 for imports and + $120,000,000, for exports, in 1900. That may be regarded as a fair normal. As it was, + the imports of that year were $72,000,000, and the exports, by reason of the general + wreck of the sugar business, were only $45,000,000. With peace and order fairly + assured, recovery came quickly. The exports of 1905, at $99,000,000, equalled those + of 1894, while the imports materially exceeded those of the earlier year. In 1913, + the exports reached $165,207,000, and the imports $132,290,000. This growth of Cuba's + commerce and industry is due mainly to the economic requirements of the American + people. We need Cuba's sugar and we want its tobacco. These two commodities represent + about 90 per cent, of the total exports of the island. We buy nearly all of its + sugar, under normal conditions, and about 60 per cent, of its tobacco and cigars. On + the basis of the total commerce of the island, the records of recent years show this + country as the source of supply for about 53 per cent, of Cuba's total imports, and + as the market for about 83 per cent, of its exports. A comparison of the years 1903 + and 1913 shows a gain of about $87,000,000 in Cuba's total exports. Of this, about + $75,000,000 is represented by sugar. The crop of 1894 a little exceeded a million + tons. Such a quantity was not again produced until 1903. With yearly variations, due + to weather conditions, later years show an enormous and unprecedented increase. The + crops of 1913 and 1914 were, approximately, 2,500,000 tons each. The tobacco industry + shows only a modest gain. The average value of the exports of that commodity has + risen, in ten years, from about $25,000,000 to about $30,000,000. The increase in the + industry appears largely in the shipment of leaf tobacco. The cigar business shows + practically no change, in that time, as far as values are concerned. This résumé + affords a fair idea of Cuba's trade expansion under the conditions established + through the change in government. That event opened new and larger doors of + opportunity, and the Cubans and others have been prompt in taking advantage of them. + Toward the great increase shown, two forces have operated effectively. One is the + treaty by which the provisions of the so-called Platt Amendment to the Cuban + Constitution are made permanently effective. The other is the reciprocity treaty of + 1903.</p> + <p>By the operation of the former of these instruments the United States virtually + underwrites the political stability and the financial responsibility of the Cuban + Government. That Government cannot borrow any important sums without the consent of + the United States, and it has agreed that this country "may exercise the right to + intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government + adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for + discharging the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of Paris on + the United States." This assumption of responsibility by the United States inspired + confidence on the part of capital, and large sums have been invested in Cuban bonds, + and in numerous public and private enterprises. Railways and trolley lines have been + built and many other works of public utility have been undertaken. The activities of + old sugar plantations have been extended under improved conditions, and many new + estates with costly modern equipment have been created. The cultivation of large + areas, previously lying waste and idle, afforded both directly and indirectly + employment for an increased population, as did the numerous public works. The other + force, perhaps no less effective, appears in the reciprocity treaty of 1903. This + gave to Cuba's most important crop a large though by no means absolute control of the + constantly increasing sugar market of the United States, as far as competition from + other foreign countries was concerned. The sugar industry of the island may be said + to have been restored to its normal proportions in 1903. Our imports for the + five-year period 1904-1908 averaged 1,200,000 tons a year. For the five-year period + 1910-1914 they averaged 1,720,000 tons. In 1914, they were 2,200,000 tons as compared + with 1,260,000 tons in 1904. It is doubtful if the treaty had any appreciable + influence on the exports of Cuban tobacco to this country. We buy Cuba's special + tobacco irrespective of a custom-house advantage that affects the box price only a + little, and the price of a single cigar probably not at all. On the other side of the + account, that of our sales to Cuba, there also appears a large increase since the + application of the reciprocity treaty. Using the figures showing exports from the + United States to Cuba, instead of Cuba's records showing imports from this country, + it appears that our sales to the island in the fiscal year 1903, immediately + preceding the operation of the treaty, amounted to $21,761,638. In the fiscal year + 1913 they were $70,581,000, and in 1914 were $68,884,000.</p> + <p>Not all of this quite remarkable gain may properly be credited to the influence of + the reciprocity treaty. The purchases of the island are determined, broadly, by its + sales. As the latter increase, so do the former. Almost invariably, a year of large + export sales is followed by a year of heavy import purchases. The fact that our + imports from Cuba are double our sales to Cuba, in the total of a period of years, + has given rise to some foolish criticism of the Cubans on the ground that, we buying + so heavily from them, they should purchase from us a much larger percentage of their + import requirements. No such obligation is held to exist in regard to our trade with + other lands, and it should have no place in any consideration of our trade with Cuba. + There are many markets, like Brazil, British India, Japan, China, Mexico, and Egypt, + in which our purchases exceed our sales. There are more, like the United Kingdom, + France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Central America, and numerous others, in which our + sales considerably or greatly exceed our purchases. We do not buy from them simply + because they buy from us. We buy what we need or want in that market in which we can + buy to the greatest advantage. The Cuban merchants, who are nearly all Spaniards, do + the same. The notion held by some that, because of our service to Cuba in the time of + her struggle for national life, the Cubans should buy from us is both foolish and + altogether unworthy. Any notion of Cuba's obligation to pay us for what we may have + done for her should be promptly dismissed and forgotten. There are commodities, such + as lumber, pork products, coal, wheat flour, and mineral oil produces, that Cuba can + buy in our markets on terms better than those obtainable elsewhere. Other + commodities, such as textiles, leather goods, sugar mill equipment, railway + equipment, drugs, chemicals, and much else, must be sold by American dealers in sharp + competition with the merchants of other countries, with such assistance as may be + afforded by the reciprocity treaty. That instrument gives us a custom-house advantage + of 20, 25, 30, and 40 per cent, in the tariff rates. It is enough in some cases to + give us a fair equality with European sellers, and in a few cases to give us a narrow + margin of advantage over them. It does not give us enough to compel Cuban buyers to + trade with us because of lower delivered prices.</p> + <p>Cuba's economic future can be safely predicted on the basis of its past. The pace + of its development will depend mainly upon a further influx of capital and an + increase in its working population. Its political future is less certain. There is + ample ground for both hope and belief that the little clouds that hang on the + political horizon will be dissipated, that there will come, year by year, a sane + adjustment to the new institutions. But full assurance of peace and order will come + only when the people of the island, whether planters or peasants, see clearly the + difference between a government conducted in their interest and a government + conducted by Cubans along Spanish lines.</p> + <h2>INDEX</h2> +<pre> +A +Adams, President John, 127 +Angulo, Governor de, 59 +Animals, wild, 50 +Asphalt, 232, 233 +Autonomy, 143, 178 +B +Babeque, 6, 7 +Bacon, Hon. Robert, 160 +Bacon's Rebellion, 144 +Ballou, M.M., 31, 32, 71 +Banes, 113 +Baracoa, 12, 91, 100, 114 +Batabano, 12, 116 +Baths, 52 +Bellamar, Caves of, 42,110 +Belligerent rights, 136, 140, 157, 158, 181 +<i>Bermuda</i>, 189, 197 +Bertram, Luis, 14 +Betancourt, Salvador Cisneros, 174 +Black Eagle conspiracy, 147 +<i>Black Warrior</i>, 131 +Blanco, General Ramon, 178 +Bolivia, 126 +Bolivar, Simon, 124, 185 +Bonds, Cuban, 175 +Boston sugar plantation, 113 +Buchanan, President, 130 +C +Cabaña, 57, 60 +Cabinet, Cuban, 250 +Cabrera, Raimundo, 135 +Cadiz, 20 +Caibarien, 102 +Callahan, James M., 125, 139, 152 +Camaguey, city, 105, 110, 111 +Camaguey, province, 40, 109 +Cardenas, 101 +Casa de Beneficencia, 24 +Castillo del Principe, 57, 60, 71, 83 +Cathay, 3 +Cathedral, Havana, 63 +Cattle, 17, 235 +Cauto river, 43 +Caves, 42 +Cemetery, Colon, 83 +Census Reports, United States, 27, 35, 44, 144, 236 +Cespedes, Carlos Manuel,154, 155 +Channing, Edward, 142, 143 +Chaparra sugar plantation, 113 +Ciego de Avila, 106 +Cienaga de Zapata, 43, 51 +Cienfuegos, 102 +Cigars, 224, 225, 254 +Cipango, 2, 5 +Clerks' Associations, 251 +Climate, 45 et seq. +Coal, 232 +Coffee, 23, 36, 226, et seq. +Colonies, American in Cuba, 12, 120 +Colonies, British, 19, 236 +Colonies, Spanish, 19, 21, 123, 126 +Columbia, 124, 145 +Columbus, Christopher + Death and remains, 63 + Describes Cuba, 3, 4, 7 + Discovers Cuba, 2 + Extract from journal, 2 + Letter to Sanchez, 3 + Memorial to, 64 + Mistaken belief, 2, 3, 5, 8 + Report to Spanish sovereigns, 7 + Second expedition, 7 +Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257 +<i>Commodore</i>, 193, 195, 197 +Constitutional Convention, 247 +Constitution, Cuban, 154, 245, 246 +Constitution, Spanish, 29, 145, 159 +Copper, 231, 232 +Cordoba, de, 12 +Cortes, Hernan, 13, 58 +Cortes, Spanish, 29, 176 +Crittenden, Col., 150 +Cuba: + Aborigines, 14, 15. + Advice to visitors, 55. + American attitude toward, 135, 137, 140. + Annexation proposed, 125 et seq. + Animals, wild, 49. + Area, 37. + Climate and temperature, 45 et seq. + Colonized, 12. + Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257. + Conquest by Velasquez, II. + Described by Columbus, 3, 4, 7. + Description, general, 37 et seq. + Discovered, 2. + Expeditions from, 13, 14. + Flora, 48. + Forests, 49. + Future of, 258. + Insects, 51. + Intervention by United States, 25, 160, 182, 242. + Mineral springs, 52. + Monopolies in, 20, 144, 220, 231. + Monroe Doctrine, 127. + Nineteenth Century, 142. + Population, 17, 23, 34. + Railways, 89, 91. + Relations with United States, 122 et seq., 247, 248. + Republic of, 182. + Revolutions, 141 et seq. + Roads, 87, 95, 96. + Self-government, 243. + Slavery in, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155. + Spanish Governors, 24, 32. + Spanish policy in, 17, 19 et seq. 24, 31. + Trade restrictions, 20, 21, 24, 25, 30. + Taxation, Spanish, 24, 27, 28, 30. + Villages, 85, 93, 94, 100 +<i>Cuba and the Intervention</i>, 154, 164 +Cushing, Caleb, 138 +Custom house, 62 +D +<i>Dauntless</i>, 193, 194, 197, 199, 200 +Delicias sugar plantation, 113 +Dexter, Lord Timothy, 216 +Domestic life, 80 +E +EARTHQUAKES, 53 +Elections, 240, 250 +Elson, Henry William, 186 +England, 19, 128, 130, 139, 145 +Everett, Alexander H., 130 +F +FILIBUSTERING expeditions, 148 et seq., 184 et seq. +Firemen, 83 +Fish, Secretary, 157 +Flora, 48 +Florida, 13 +Forests, 48, 49 +Fortifications, 59, 60 +France, 128, 145 +Fritot, Alphonso, 196, 199 +Fruits, 5, 229 +Fuerza, la, 17, 58, 59 +G +Garcia, General Calixto, 84, 190 +Geerligs, H.C. Prinsen, 206 +Gibara, 112 +Gold, 2, 6, 231 +Gomez, General Maximo, 84, 158, 164, 172, 174. + Proclamations, 167 et seq. +Government, 250 +Grant, President, 135 et seq. +Guane, 101 +Guantanamo, 91, 115 +Guines, 90 +H +Haiti, 9, 10, 144 +Harbors, 44 +Hart, John D., 191, 197 +Hatuey, 8 et seq. +Havana: + Bells, church, 65. + British occupation, 20. + Capital, 20, 59. + Cathedral, 63. + Changes in, 66, 67, 82, 85. + Commerce limited to, 20. + Destroyed, 17, 58, 59. + Discovered, 12, 57. + Early conditions, 61. + Excursions from, 97 et seq. + Firemen, 83. + Fortifications, 59, 60. + Homes in, 77 et seq. + Las Casas as governor, 24. + Market, fish, 74. + Name, origin of, 58. + New City, 70 et seq. + Old city, 54 et seq. + Parks, 70, 71. + <i>Paseo</i>, 75. + Public buildings, 62 et seq. + Sanitation of, 63. + Settled 12, 58. + Shopping in, 68. + Streets 61, 71. + Suburbs, 85. + Sunrise in harbor, 54. + Theatre, Nacional, 71 et seq. +Havana, province, 38, 41 +Hayes, President, 136 +Hazard, Samuel, 33, 65, 111 +Henry, Patrick, 143 +Heredia, José Maria, 146 +Hill, Robert T., 39, 48 +Holguin, 113 +Hotels, 91, 111 +Homes, 77 et seq. +Humboldt, Baron Alexander, 8, 14, 15, 16, 35, 53 +Hurricanes, 53 +I +Imports and Exports, 253, 256 +Independence, 162 et seq. +Insect life, 51 +Intervention, First, 25, 182, 242 +Intervention, Second, 160 +Iron ore, 233, 234 +Irving, Washington, 4, 5, 6 +Isle of Pines, 8, 116, 117 et seq. +J +Jefferson, Thomas, 122 +Joint Resolution of 1898, 242 +Jolo, 54 +Juana, 2, 4 +Jucaro, 106 +Junta, 164, 174, 188 +K +Kimball, R.B. 32 +L +Las Casas, Bartolomé, 9, 14 +Las Casas, Governor Luis de, 24 +<i>Laurada</i>, 193 et seq. +Lemus, José Francisco, 146 +Llorente, Pedro, 246 +Lodge, Henry Cabot, 123 +Lopez, Narciso, 148 et seq. +Ludlow, General William, 63 +M +Maceo, General Antonio, 99, 164, 172, 174 +McKinley, President, 122, 178, 179 +Magoon, Charles E., 160 +<i>Maine</i>, battleship, 179 +Maisi, Cape, 7, 8, 38, 115 +Malecon, 75 +Manufactures, 234 +Marti, José, 164, 166 +Marti, the smuggler, 72 et seq. +Martinez Campos, General, 158, 165, 166, 177. +Maso, Bartolomé, 165, 174 +Massachusetts rebellion, 144 +Matanzas, city, 41, 101 +Matanzas, province, 41 +Menocal, General Mario, 241, 244 +Mexico, 13, 58, 124, 145 +Minerals, 231 et seq. +Mineral springs, 52 +Miranda, Francisco, 126, 185 +Monopolies, 20, 144, 220, 231. +Monroe Doctrine, 127 +Monroe, President, 129 +Monuments: + Firemen's, 83, 84 + Students', 84 +Moret law, 16 +Morgan, Henry, no +Morro Castle, 17, 57, 59, 60 +Mountains, 5, 41, 93 +Murielo, 13 +N +NARVAEZ, 13 +Navigation acts, British, 19, 144 +Nelson, Hugh, 127 +Nipe Bay, 2, 91, 113, 114 +Nuevitas, 2, 3, 110, 111, 112 +Nuñez, General Emilio, 191, 192, 199 +O +O'BRIEN, "Dynamite Johnny," 189, et seq. +Ocampo, Sebastian de, 8, 12, 57 +Oriente, province, 40, 41 +Ostend Manifesto, 133 +Otis, James, 143 +P +PALACE, Governor's, 64 +Palma, Tomas Estrada y, 162, 174, 192 +Palms, 5, 7, 48, 49 +Panama Congress (1826), 126 +Parks, Havana, 70, 71 +Parties, Political, 159, 176, 237, 238, 240, 244 +Pearcy <i>v</i>. Stranahan, 120 +Pepper, Charles M., 105, 134, 152, 176 +Petroleum, 233 +Pierce, President, 130, 132, 151 +Pinar del Rio, city, 101 +Pinar del Rio, province, 41 +Platt Amendment, 118, 247 et seq., 255 +Politics, 252 +Polk, President, 130 +Ponce de Leon, 13 +Population, 14, 17, 23, 34 +Porto Rico, 118 +Prado, 71, 75 +Preston sugar plantation, 113 +Puerto de Carenas, 12, 57 +Puerto Principe, see Camaguey +Punta, la, 17 +Q +QUITMAN expedition, 151 +R +RAILWAYS, 89, 91 +Rainfall, 46 +Real estate speculation, 120 +Reciprocity treaty, 255, 258 +Reconcentration, 177 +"Relations," question of, 247, 248 +Remedios, 102 +Revolutions, 19, 141 et seq. + of 1868, 153 et seq. + of 1895, 162 et seq. + of 1906, 159, 160 +Rhodes, James Ford, 131 +Rivers, 43 44 +Roads, 87, 95, 96 +Rubens, Horatio, S., 165, 181, 191, 192, 195 +Ruskin, John, 56 +S +Saco, Antonio, 31 +Sagua la Grande, 101 +Sanchez, Rafael, 3 +Sancti Spiritus, 12, 91, 104 +Santa Clara, city, 102 +Santa Clara, province, 40 +Santangel, Luis de, 4 +Santiago de Cuba, 12, 13, 20, 115, 116 +Santo Domingo, 7 +Seville, 20 +Slavery, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155 +Smuggling, 21, 26 +Snakes, 50 +Sociedad Economica, 24 +Sociedad Patriotica, 24 +Soles de Bolivar, 146 +Soto, Hernando de, 13, 14, 17, 58 +Soule, Pierre, 132, 133 +Spain, 17, 19, 24, 29, 123 et seq., 145, 236 +Spanish-American independence, 126 +Sugar, 113, 203 et seq. + Beet sugar, 208 + Countries producing, 209 + History, 207 + In Cuba, 210 + Manufacture of, 204, 213 + Muscovado, 205 + Origin of, 206 + Planting and cutting, 213 et seq. + Production of, 209, 254, 256 +Supreme Court, United States, 120 +T +Tacon, Governor Miguel, 32, 33, 70, 71 et seq. +Taft, Hon. William H., 99, 160 +Tariff, Spanish, 21, 25 +Taxes, 24, 27, 30, 163 +Taylor, President, 148 +Teller Amendment, 182 +Temperance question, 76 +Temperature, 45 et seq. +Templete, el, 64 +Ten Years' War, 16, 134, 135 et seq., 153 et seq. +Thrasher, J.S., 15, 29 +<i>Three Friends</i>, 193 et seq. +<i>Tillie</i>, wreck of the, 210 +Times, New York, 150 +Tobacco, 36, 102, 221, 222 + Cultivation in Cuba, 223 + History, 219 et seq. + Origin, 218 + Use in Cuba, 225 +Trade restricted, 20, 24, 25, 30 +Transportation, 90 +Treaty of Paris, 118, 182 +Trinidad, 12, 91, 100, 103 +Turnbull, David, 25 +U +UNITED STATES: + Diplomatic correspondence, 125 et seq. + Mediation offered, 156 + Presidential messages, 125, 135, 136, 137, 158, 178, 179, 180, 184 + Relations with Cuba, 122 et seq., 179 +V +Valmaseda proclamation, 156 +Varona, Enrique José, 153 +Vedado, el, 82 +Vegetable products, 228 et seq. +Velasquez, 8, 58 +Villages, 85, 93 +<i>Virginius</i> affair, 116, 137, 185 +Volantes, 88 +W +Welles, Gideon, 186 +Weyler, General Valeriano, 177, 198 +Wilson, Henry, 125 +Y +Yumuri valley, 41 +Z +Zanjon, treaty of, 158 +</pre> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Cuba, Old and New, by Albert Gardner Robinson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CUBA, OLD AND NEW *** + +***** This file should be named 11464-h.htm or 11464-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/4/6/11464/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Leonard D Johnson and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Cuba, Old and New + +Author: Albert Gardner Robinson + +Release Date: March 5, 2004 [EBook #11464] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CUBA, OLD AND NEW *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Leonard D Johnson and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + +[Illustration: TOWER OF LA FUERZA + +_Havana_] + +CUBA + +OLD AND NEW + +BY + +ALBERT G. ROBINSON + +1915. + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + +I. OLD CUBA + +II. NEW CUBA + +III. THE COUNTRY + +IV. THE OLD HAVANA + +V. THE NEW HAVANA + +VI. AROUND THE ISLAND + +VII. AROUND THE ISLAND (_Continued_) + +VIII. THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA + +IX. CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS + +X. INDEPENDENCE + +XI. FILIBUSTERING + +XII. THE STORY OF SUGAR + +XIII. VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES + +XIV. POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +Tower of La Fuerza, Havana +The Morro, Havana +A Planter's Home, Havana Province +Iron Grille Gateway, El Vedado, suburb of Havana +Watering Herd of Cattle, Luyano River, near Havaria +Royal Palms +Custom House, Havana +Balconies, Old Havana +Street in Havana +Street and Church of the Angels, Havana +A Residence in El Vedado +The Volante (now quite rare) +A Village Street, Calvario, Havana Province +Street and Church, Camaguey +Cobre, Oriente Province +Hoisting the Cuban Flag over the Palace, May 20,1902 +A Spanish Block House +Along the Harbor Wall, Havana +Country Road, Havana Province +Street in Camaguey +Palm-Thatched Roofs +A Peasant's Home + + + + +CUBA + +OLD AND NEW + + + + +I + +_OLD CUBA_ + + +Christopher Columbus was a man of lively imagination. Had he been an +ordinary, prosaic and plodding individual, he would have stayed at home +combing wool as did his prosaic and plodding ancestors for several +generations. At the age of fourteen he went to sea and soon developed an +active curiosity about regions then unknown but believed to exist. There +was even then some knowledge of western Asia, and even of China as +approached from the west. Two and two being properly put together, the +result was a reasonable argument that China and India could be reached from +the other direction, that is, by going westward instead of eastward. + +In the early autumn of the year 1492, Columbus was busy discovering islands +in the Caribbean Sea region, and, incidentally, seeking for the richest +of the group. From dwellers on other islands, he heard of one, called +Cubanacan, larger and richer than any that he had then discovered. A +mixture of those tales with his own vivid imagination produced a belief +in a country of wide extent, vastly rich in gold and gems, and already a +centre of an extensive commerce. Cruising in search of what he believed to +be the eastern coast of Asia, he sighted the shore of Cuba on the morning +of October 28, 1492. His journal, under date of October 24, states: "At +midnight I tripped my anchors off this _Cabo del Isleo de Isabella_, where +I was pitched to go to the island of Cuba, which I learn from these people +is very large and magnificent, and there are gold and spices in it, and +large ships and merchants. And so I think it must be the island of Cipango +(Japan), of which they tell such wonders." The record, under date of +Sunday, 28th of October, states: "Continued for the nearest land of Cuba, +and entered a beautiful estuary, clear of rocks and other dangers. The +mouth of the estuary had twelve fathoms depth, and it was wide enough for a +ship to work into." Students have disagreed regarding the first Cuban port +entered by Columbus. There is general acceptance of October 28 as the +date of arrival. Some contend that on that day he entered Nipe Bay, while +others, and apparently the greater number, locate the spot somewhat to the +west of Nuevitas. Wherever he first landed on it, there is agreement that +he called the island Juana, in honor of Prince Juan, taking possession "in +the name of Christ, Our Lady, and the reigning Sovereigns of Spain." + +His record of the landing place is obscure. It is known that he sailed some +leagues beyond it, to the westward. While on board his caravel, on his +homeward voyage, he wrote a letter to his friend, Don Rafael Sanchez, +"Treasurer of their most Serene Highnesses," in which the experience is +described. The original letter is lost, but it was translated into Latin +and published in Barcelona in the following year, 1493. While the Latin +form is variously translated into English, the general tenor of all is the +same. He wrote: "When I arrived at Juana (Cuba), I sailed along the coast +to the west, discovering so great an extent of land that I could not +imagine it to be an island, but the continent of Cathay. I did not, +however, discover upon the coast any large cities, all we saw being a few +villages and farms, with the inhabitants of which we could not obtain any +communication, they flying at our approach. I continued my course, still +expecting to meet with some town or city, but after having gone a great +distance and not meeting with any, and finding myself proceeding toward +the north, which I was desirous, to avoid on account of the cold, and, +moreover, meeting with a contrary wind, I determined to return to the +south, and therefore put about and sailed back to a harbor which I had +before observed." That the actual landing was at or near the present port +of Nuevitas seems to be generally accepted. + +Columbus appears to have been greatly impressed by the beauty of the +island. In his _Life of Columbus_, Washington Irving says: "From his +continual remarks on the beauty of scenery, and from his evident delight in +rural sounds and objects, he appears to have been extremely open to those +happy influences, exercised over some spirits, by the graces and wonders +of nature. He gives utterance to these feelings with characteristic +enthusiasm, and at the same time with the artlessness and simplicity of +diction of a child. When speaking of some lovely scene among the groves, or +along the flowery shores of these favored islands, he says, "One could +live there forever." Cuba broke upon him like an elysium. "It is the most +beautiful island," he says, "that ever eyes beheld, full of excellent ports +and profound rivers." A little discount must be made on such a statement. +Granting all that is to be said of Cuba's scenic charms, some allowance is +to be made for two influences. One is Don Cristobal's exuberance, and the +other is the fact that when one has been knocking about, as he had been, +for nearly three months on the open sea and among low-lying and sandy +islands and keys, any land, verdure clad and hilly, is a picture of +Paradise. Many people need only two or three days at sea to reach a similar +conclusion. In his letter to Luis de Santangel, Columbus says: "All these +countries are of surpassing excellence, and in particular Juana (Cuba,), +which contains abundance of fine harbors, excelling any in Christendom, as +also many large and beautiful rivers. The land is high, and exhibits chains +of tall mountains which seem to reach to the skies and surpass beyond +comparison the isle of Cetrefrey (Sicily). These display themselves in all +manner of beautiful shapes. They are accessible in every part, and covered +with a vast variety of lofty trees which it appears to me never lose their +foliage. Some were covered with blossoms, some with fruit, and others in +different stages according to their nature. There are palm trees of six or +eight sorts. Beautiful forests of pines are likewise found, and fields of +vast extent. Here are also honey and fruits of thousand sorts, and birds of +every variety." + +Having landed at this indefinitely located point, Columbus, believing that +he had reached the region he was seeking, despatched messengers to the +interior to open communication with some high official of Cathay, in which +country he supposed himself to be, the idea of Cipango apparently having +been abandoned. "Many at the present day," says Washington Irving, "will +smile at this embassy to a naked savage chieftain in the interior of Cuba, +in mistake for an Asiatic monarch; but such was the singular nature of this +voyage, a continual series of golden dreams, and all interpreted by the +deluding volume of Marco Polo." But the messengers went on their journey, +and proceeded inland some thirty or forty miles. There they came upon a +village of about fifty huts and a population of about a thousand. They were +able to communicate only by signs, and it is quite certain that the replies +of the natives were as little understood by the messengers as the questions +were by the natives. The messengers sought something about which the +natives knew little or nothing. The communications were interpreted through +the medium of imagination and desire. Nothing accomplished, the commission +returned and made its disappointing report. Washington Irving thus +describes the further proceedings: "The report of the envoys put an end to +the many splendid fancies of Columbus, about the barbaric prince and his +capital. He was cruising, however, in a region of enchantment, in which +pleasing chimeras started up at every step, exercising by turns a power +over his imagination. During the absence of the emissaries, the Indians +had informed him, by signs, of a place to the eastward, where the people +collected gold along the river banks by torchlight and afterward wrought it +into bars with hammers. In speaking of this place they again used the words +Babeque and Bohio, which he, as usual, supposed to be the proper names of +islands or countries. His great object was to arrive at some opulent and +civilized country of the East, with which he might establish commercial +relations, and whence he might carry home a quantity of oriental +merchandise as a rich trophy of his discovery. The season was advancing; +the cool nights gave hints of approaching winter; he resolved, therefore, +not to proceed farther to the north, nor to linger about uncivilized places +which, at present, he had not the means of colonizing, but to return to the +east-south-east, in quest of Babeque, which he trusted might prove some +rich and civilized island on the coast of Asia." And so he sailed away for +Hispaniola (Santo Domingo) which appears to have become, a little later, +his favorite West Indian resort. + +[Illustration: THE MORRO _Havana_] + +He began his eastward journey on November 12th. As he did not reach Cape +Maisi, the eastern point of the island, until December 5th, he must have +made frequent stops to examine the shore. Referring to one of the ports +that he entered he wrote to the Spanish Sovereigns thus: "The amenity of +this river, and the clearness of the water, through which the sand at the +bottom may be seen; the multitude of palm trees of various forms, the +highest and most beautiful that I have met with, and an infinity of other +great and green trees; the birds in rich plumage and the verdure of the +fields, render this country of such marvellous beauty that it surpasses all +others in charms and graces, as the day doth the night in lustre. For which +reason I often say to my people that, much as I endeavor to give a complete +account of it to your majesties, my tongue cannot express the whole truth, +nor my pen describe it; and I have been so overwhelmed at the sight of so +much beauty that I have not known how to relate it." + +Columbus made no settlement in Cuba; his part extends only to the +discovery. On his second expedition, in the spring of 1494, he visited and +explored the south coast as far west as the Isle of Pines, to which he gave +the name _La Evangelista_. He touched the south coast again on his fourth +voyage, in 1503. On his way eastward from his voyage of discovery on the +coast of Central America, he missed his direct course to Hispaniola, and +came upon the Cuban shore near Cape Cruz. He was detained there for some +days by heavy weather and adverse winds, and sailed thence to his unhappy +experience in Jamaica. The work of colonizing remained for others. Columbus +died in the belief that he had discovered a part of the continent of Asia. +That Cuba was only an island was determined by Sebastian de Ocampo who +sailed around it in 1508. Baron Humboldt, who visited Cuba in 1801 and +again in 1825, and wrote learnedly about it, states that "the first +settlement of the whites occurred in 1511, when Velasquez, under orders +from Don Diego Columbus, landed at Puerto de las Palmas, near Cape Maisi, +and subjugated the Cacique Hatuey who had fled from Haiti to the eastern +end of Cuba, where he became the chief of a confederation of several +smaller native princes." This was, in fact, a military expedition composed +of three hundred soldiers, with four vessels. + +Hatuey deserves attention. His name is not infrequently seen in Cuba today, +but it is probable that few visitors know whether it refers to a man, a +bird, or a vegetable. He was the first Cuban hero of whom we have record, +although the entire reliability of the record is somewhat doubtful. The +notable historian of this period is Bartolome Las Casas, Bishop of Chiapa. +He appears to have been a man of great worth, a very tender heart, and an +imagination fully as vivid as that of Columbus. His sympathies were aroused +by the tales of the exceeding brutality of many of the early Spanish +voyagers in their relations with the natives. He went out to see for +himself, and wrote voluminously of his experiences. He also wrote with +exceeding frankness, and often with great indignation. He writes about +Hatuey. The inference is that this Cacique, or chieftain, fled from Haiti +to escape Spanish brutality, and even in fear of his life. There are other +translations of Las Casas, but for this purpose choice has been made of one +published in London about the year 1699. It is given thus: + +"There happened divers things in this island (Cuba) that deserve to be +remarked. A rich and potent Cacique named Hatuey was retired into the Isle +of Cuba to avoid that Slavery and Death with which the Spaniards menaced +him; and being informed that his persecutors were upon the point of landing +in this Island, he assembled all his Subjects and Domestics together, and +made a Speech unto them after this manner. "You know, (said he) the Report +is spread abroad that the Spaniards are ready to invade this Island, and +you are not ignorant of the ill usage our Friends and Countrymen have met +with at their hands, and the cruelties they have committed at Haiti (so +Hispaniola is called in their Language). They are now coming hither with +a design to exercise the same Outrages and Persecutions upon us. Are +you ignorant (says he) of the ill Intentions of the People of whom I am +speaking? We know not (say they all with one voice) upon what account they +come hither, but we know they are a very wicked and cruel People. I'll tell +you then (replied the Cacique) that these Europeans worship a very covetous +sort of God, so that it is difficult to satisfy him; to perform the Worship +they render to this Idol, they will exact immense Treasures of us, and will +use their utmost endeavors to reduce us to a miserable state of Slavery, +or else put us to death." The historian leaves to the imagination and +credulity of his readers the task of determining just where and how he got +the full details of this speech and of the subsequent proceedings. The +report of the latter may well be generally correct inasmuch as there were +Spanish witnesses present, but the account of this oration, delivered prior +to the arrival of the Spanish invaders, is clearly open to a suspicion that +it may be more or less imaginary. But the historian continues: "Upon this +he took a Box full of Gold and valuable Jewels which he had with him, and +exposing it to their view: Here is (said he) the God of the Spaniards, whom +we must honor with our Sports and Dances, to see if we can appease him and +render him propitious to us; that so he may command the Spaniards not to +offer us any injury. They all applauded this Speech, and fell a leaping and +dancing around the Box, till they had quite tired and spent themselves. +After which the Cacique Hatuey resuming his Discourse, continued to speak +to them in these terms: If we keep this God (says he) till he's taken away +from us, he'll certainly cause our lives to be taken away from us; and +therefore I am of opinion it will be the best way to cast him into the +river. They all approved of this Advice, and went all together with one +accord to throw this pretended God into the River." + +But the Spaniards came and encountered the resistance of Hatuey and his +followers. The invaders were victorious, and Hatuey was captured and burned +alive. Las Casas relates that while the poor wretch was in the midst of the +flames, tied to a stake, "a certain Franciscan Friar of great Piety and +Virtue, took upon him to speak to him of God and our Religion, and to +explain to him some Articles of Catholic Faith, of which he had never +heard a word before, promising him Eternal Life if he would believe and +threatening him with Eternal Torment if he continued obstinate in his +Infidelity. Hatuey reflecting on the matter, as much as the Place and +Condition in which he was would permit, asked the Friar that instructed +him, whether the Gate of Heaven was open to Spaniards; and being answered +that such of them as were good men might hope for entrance there: the +Cacique, without any farther deliberation, told him that he had no mind to +go to heaven for fear of meeting with such cruel and wicked Company as +they were; but he would much rather choose to go to Hell where he might be +delivered from the troublesome sight of such kind of People." And so died +the Cacique Hatuey. Four hundred years later, the Cuban Government named a +gunboat _Hatuey_, in his honor. + +The Velasquez expedition, in the following year, founded Baracoa, now a +small city on the northern coast near the eastern extremity of the island. +It is a spot of exceeding scenic charm. It was established as the capital +city, but it held that honor for a few years only. In 1514 and 1515, +settlements were established at what is now Santiago, at Sancti Spiritus, +Trinidad, and Batabano. The latter was originally called San Cristobal de +la Habana, the name being transferred to the present city, on the north +coast, in 1519. It displaced the name Puerto de Carenas given to the +present Havana by Ocampo, who careened his vessels there in 1508. Baracoa +was made the seat of a bishopric, and a cathedral was begun, in 1518. In +1522, both the capital and the bishopric were transferred to Santiago, a +location more readily accessible from the new settlements on the south +coast, and also from Jamaica which was then included in the diocese. +Cuba, at about this period, was the point of departure for an important +expedition. In 1517, de Cordoba, with three vessels and 110 soldiers, +was sent on an expedition to the west for further and more northerly +exploration of the land discovered by Columbus in 1503. The coast from +Panama to Honduras had been occupied. The object of this expedition was to +learn what lay to the northward. The result was the discovery of Yucatan. +Cordoba returned to die of wounds received in a battle. A second and +stronger expedition was immediately despatched. This rounded the peninsula +and followed the coast as far as the present city of Vera Cruz. In 1518, +Hernan Cortez was _alcalde_, or mayor, of Santiago de Cuba. On November 18, +of that year, he sailed from that port in command of an expedition for +the conquest of Mexico, finally effected in 1521, after one of the most +romantic campaigns in the history of warfare. All that, however, is a story +in which Cuba has no place except that of the starting point and base of +the expedition. There is another story of the same kind, a few years later. +The first discovery of Florida is somewhat uncertain. It appears on an old +Spanish map dated 1502. Following the expedition of Ponce de Leon, in 1513, +and of Murielo, in 1516, Narvaez headed an expedition from Cuba in 1528 +with some three hundred freebooters. They landed in Florida, where almost +the entire band was, very properly, destroyed by the Indians. In 1539, de +Soto sailed from Havana, with five hundred and seventy men and two hundred +and twenty-three horses, for an extended exploration. They wandered for +three years throughout what is now the southern part of the United States +from Georgia and South Carolina westward to Arkansas and Missouri. After a +series of almost incredible experiences, de Soto died in 1542, on the banks +of the Mississippi River at a point probably not far from the Red River. +These and other expeditions, from Cuba and from Mexico, to what is now +territory of the United States, produced no permanent results. No gold was +found. + +Of the inhabitants of Cuba, as found by the Spaniards, comparatively little +is recorded. They seem to have been a somewhat negative people, generally +described as docile, gentle, generous, and indolent. Their garments were +quite limited, and their customs altogether primitive. They disappear +from Cuba's story in its earliest chapters. Very little is known of their +numbers. Some historians state that, in the days of Columbus, the island +had a million inhabitants, but this is obviously little if anything more +than a rough guess. Humboldt makes the following comment: "No means now +exist to arrive at a knowledge of the population of Cuba in the time of +Columbus; but how can we admit what some otherwise judicious historians +state, that when the island of Cuba was conquered in 1511, it contained a +million inhabitants of whom only 14,000 remained in 1517. The statistical +information which we find in the writings of Las Casas is filled with +contradictions." Forty years or so later the Dominican friar, Luis Bertram, +on his return to Spain, predicted that "the 200,000 Indians now in the +island of Cuba, will perish, victims to the cruelty of the Europeans." Yet +Gomara stated that there was not an Indian in Cuba after 1553. Whatever the +exact truth regarding numbers, it is evident that they disappeared rapidly, +worked to death by severe task-masters. The institution of African slavery, +to take the place of the inefficient and fast disappearing native labor, +had its beginning in 1521. Baron Humboldt states that from that time until +1790, the total number of African negroes imported as slaves was 90,875. +In the next thirty years, the business increased rapidly, and Humboldt +estimates the total arrivals, openly entered and smuggled in, from 1521 to +1820, as 372,449. Mr. J.S. Thrasher, in a translation of Humboldt's work, +issued in 1856, added a footnote showing the arrivals up to 1854 as +644,000. A British official authority, at the same period, gives the total +as a little less than 500,000. The exact number is not important. The +institution on a large scale, in its relation to the total number of +whites, was a fact. + +It is, of course, quite impossible even today to argue the question of +slavery. To many, the offence lies in the mere fact; to others, it lies in +the operation of the system. At all events, the institution is no longer +tolerated in any civilized country. While some to whom the system itself +was a bitter offence have found much to criticize in its operation in Cuba, +the general opinion of observers appears to be that it was there notably +free from the brutality usually supposed to attend it. The Census Report of +1899, prepared under the auspices of the American authorities, states that +"while it was fraught with all the horrors of this nefarious business +elsewhere, the laws for the protection of slaves were unusually humane. +Almost from the beginning, slaves had a right to purchase their freedom or +change their masters, and long before slavery was abolished they could own +property and contract marriage. As a result, the proportion of free colored +to slaves has always been large." Humboldt, who studied the institution +while it was most extensive, states that "the position of the free negroes +in Cuba is much better than it is elsewhere, even among those nations which +have for ages flattered themselves as being most advanced in civilization." +The movement for the abolition of slavery had its beginning in 1815, with +the treaty of Vienna, to which Spain was a party. Various acts in the same +direction appear in the next fifty years. The Moret law, enacted in 1870 by +the Spanish Cortes, provided for gradual abolition in Spain's dominions, +and a law of 1880, one of the results of the Ten Years' War, definitely +abolished the system. Traces of it remained, however, until about 1887, +when it may be regarded as having become extinct forever in Cuba. + +For the first two hundred and fifty years of Cuba's history, the city of +Havana appears as the special centre of interest. There was growth in other +sections, but it was slow, for reasons that will be explained elsewhere. +In 1538, Havana was attacked and totally destroyed by a French privateer. +Hernando de Soto, then Governor of the island, at once began the +construction of defences that are now one of the special points of interest +in the city. The first was the Castillo de la Fuerza. In 1552, Havana +became the capital city. In 1555, it was again attacked, and practically +destroyed, including the new fortress, by French buccaneers. Restoration +was effected as rapidly as possible. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged, and +the construction of the Morro and of La Punta, the fortress at the foot of +the Prado, was begun. The old city wall, of which portions still remain, +was of a later period. Despite these precautions, the city was repeatedly +attacked by pirates and privateers. Some reference to these experiences +will be made in a special chapter on the city. The slow progress of the +island is shown by the fact that an accepted official report gives the +total population in 1775 as 171,620, of whom less than 100,000 were white. +The absence of precious metals is doubtless the main reason for the lack of +Spanish interest in the development of the country. For a long time after +the occupation, the principal industry was cattle raising. Agriculture, the +production of sugar, tobacco, coffee, and other crops, on anything properly +to be regarded as a commercial scale, was an experience of later years. The +reason for this will be found in the mistaken colonial policy of Spain, a +policy the application of which, in a far milder manner, cost England its +richest colony in the Western Hemisphere, and which, in the first quarter +of the 19th Century, cost Spain all of its possessions in this half of the +world, with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico. + + + + +II + +_NEW CUBA_ + + +While there is no point in Cuba's history that may be said to mark a +definite division between the Old Cuba and the New Cuba, the beginning of +the 19th Century may be taken for that purpose. Cuba's development dragged +for two hundred and fifty years. The population increased slowly and +industry lagged. For this, Spain's colonial policy was responsible. But it +was the policy of the time, carried out more or less effectively by all +nations having colonies. England wrote it particularly into her Navigation +Acts of 1651, 1660, and 1663, and supported it by later Acts. While not +rigorously enforced, and frequently evaded by the American colonists, the +system at last proved so offensive that the colonists revolted in 1775. +Most of Spain's colonies in the Western Hemisphere, for the same reason, +declared and maintained their independence in the first quarter of the +19th Century. At the bottom of Cuba's several little uprisings, and at the +bottom of its final revolt in 1895, lay the same cause of offence. In those +earlier years, it was held that colonies existed solely for the benefit +of the mother-country. In 1497, almost at the very beginning of Spain's +colonial enterprises in the New World, a royal decree was issued under +which the exclusive privilege to carry on trade with the colonies was +granted to the port of Seville. This monopoly was transferred to the port +of Cadiz in 1717, but it continued, in somewhat modified form in later +years, until Spain had no colonies left. + +While Santiago was the capital of the island, from 1522 to 1552, trade +between Spain and the island could be carried on only through that port. +When Havana became the capital, in 1552, the exclusive privilege of trade +was transferred to that city. With the exception of the years 1762 and +1763, when the British occupied Havana and declared it open to all trade, +the commerce of the island could only be done through Havana with Seville, +until 1717, and afterward with Cadiz. Baracoa, or Santiago, or Trinidad, +or any other Cuban city, could not send goods to Santander, or Malaga, or +Barcelona, or any other Spanish market, or receive goods directly from +them. The law prohibited trade between Cuba and all other countries, and +limited all trade between the island and the mother-country to the port of +Havana, at one end, and to Seville or Cadiz, according to the time of the +control of those ports, at the other end. Even intercolonial commerce was +prohibited. At times, and for brief periods, the system was modified to +the extent of special trade licences, and, occasionally, by international +treaties. But the general system of trade restriction was maintained +throughout all of Spain's colonial experience. Between 1778 and 1803, most +of Cuba's ports were opened to trade with Spain. The European wars of the +early years of the 19th Century led to modification of the trade laws, but +in 1809 foreign commerce with Spanish American ports was again prohibited. +A few years later, Spain had lost nearly all its American colonies. A new +plan was adopted in 1818. Under that, Spain sought to hold the trade of +Cuba and Porto Rico by tariffs so highly favorable to merchandise from +the mother-country as to be effectively prohibitive with regard to many +products from other countries. This, in general outline, is the cause of +Cuba's slow progress until the 19th Century, and the explanation of its +failure to make more rapid progress during that century. + +Naturally, under such conditions, bribery of officials and smuggling became +active and lucrative enterprises. It may be said, in strict confidence +between writer and reader, that Americans were frequently the parties of +the other part in these transactions. In search through a considerable +number of American histories, I have been unable to find definite +references to trade with Cuba, yet there seems to be abundant reason for +belief that such trade was carried on. There are many references to trade +with the West Indies as far back as 1640 and even a year or two earlier, +but allusions to trade with Cuba do not appear, doubtless for the reason +that it was contraband, a violation of both Spanish and British laws. There +was evidently some relaxation toward the close of the 18th Century. +There are no records of the commerce of the American colonies, and only +fragmentary records between 1776 and 1789. The more elaborate records of +1789 and following years show shipments of fish, whale oil, spermaceti +candles, lumber, staves and heading, and other articles to the "Spanish +West Indies," in which group Cuba was presumably included. The records of +the time are somewhat unreliable. It was a custom for the small vessels +engaged in that trade to take out clearance papers for the West Indies. The +cargo might be distributed in a number of ports, and the return cargo might +be similarly collected. For the year 1795, the records of the United States +show total imports from the Spanish West Indies as valued at $1,740,000, +and exports to that area as valued at $1,390,000. In 1800, the imports were +$10,588,000, and the exports $8,270,000. Just how much of this was trade +with Cuba, does not appear. Because of the trade increase at that time, +and because of other events that, soon afterward, brought Cuba into more +prominent notice, this period has been chosen as the line of division +between the Old and the New Cuba. + +Compared with the wonderful fertility of Cuba, New England is a sterile +area. Yet in 1790, a hundred and seventy years after its settlement, the +latter had a population a little exceeding a million, while the former, in +1792, or two hundred and eighty years after its occupation, is officially +credited with a population of 272,300. Of these, 153,559 were white and +118,741 were colored. Several forces came into operation at this time, and +population increased rapidly, to 572,363 in 1817, and to 704,465 in 1827. +In 1841, it was a little more than a million. But the increase in colored +population, by the importation of African slaves, outstripped the increase +by the whites. In 1841, the population was divided into 418,291 whites and +589,333 colored. The importation of slaves having declined, the year 1861 +shows a white preponderance, since continued and substantially increased. +Among the forces contributing to Cuba's rapid growth during this period +were a somewhat greater freedom of trade; the revolution in the neighboring +island of Haiti and Santo Domingo, that had its beginning in 1791 and +culminated, some ten years later, in the rule of Toussaint L'Ouverture; and +an increased demand for sugar. One result of the Haitian disorder was the +arrival, in eastern Cuba, of a large number of exiles and emigrants who +established extensive coffee plantations. During the first hundred and +fifty years of Cuba's history, the principal industry of the island was +cattle raising, aside from the domestic industry of food supply. The +proprietors lived, usually, in the cities and maintained their vast estates +in the neighborhood. To this, later on, were added the production of +honey and wax and the cultivation of tobacco. With the period now under +consideration, there came the expansion of the coffee and sugar industries. +The older activities do not appear to have been appreciably lessened; the +others were added on. + +Europe and the Western Hemisphere were at that time in a state of general +upheaval and rearrangement. Following the American Revolution, there came +the French Revolution; the Napoleonic Wars; the war of 1812 between the +United States and England; and the general revolt of the Spanish colonies. +The world was learning new lessons, adopting new policies, in which the +Spanish colonial system was a blunder the folly of which Spain did not +even then fully realize. Yet from it all, by one means and another, Cuba +benefited. Spain was fortunate in its selection of Governors-General sent +out at this time. Luis de Las Casas, who arrived in 1790, is credited with +much useful work. He improved roads and built bridges; established schools +and the _Casa de Beneficencia_, still among the leading institutions in +Havana; paved the streets of Havana; improved as far as he could the +commercial conditions; and established the _Sociedad Patriotica_, sometimes +called the _Sociedad Economica_, an organization that has since contributed +immeasurably to Cuba's welfare and progress. He was followed by others +whose rule was creditable. But the principal evils, restricted commerce +and burdensome taxation, were not removed, although world conditions +practically compelled some modification of the commercial regulations. In +1801 the ports of the island were thrown open to the trade of friendly and +neutral nations. Eight years later, foreign commerce was again prohibited. +In 1818, a new system was established, that of a tariff so highly favorable +to merchandise from Spain that it was by no means unusual for goods to +be shipped to that country, even from the United States, and from there +reshipped to Cuba. Changes in the rates were made from time to time, but +the system of heavy discrimination in favor of Spanish goods in Spanish +ships continued until the equalization of conditions under the order of the +Government of Intervention, in 1899. + +In his book published in 1840, Mr. Turnbull states that "the mercantile +interests of the island have been greatly promoted by the relaxation of +those restrictive regulations which under the old peninsular system bound +down all foreign commerce with the colonies of Spain, and laid it prostrate +at the feet of the mother-country. It cannot be said that the sound +principles of free trade, in any large or extended sense of the term, +have been recognized or acted upon even at the single port of Havana. The +discriminating duties imposed by the supreme government of Madrid on the +natural productions, manufactures, and shipping of foreign countries, in +contradistinction to those of Spain, are so stringent and so onerous as +altogether to exclude the idea of anything approaching to commercial +freedom. There is no longer, it is true, any absolute prohibition, but in +many cases the distinguishing duties are so heavy as to defeat their own +object, and, in place of promoting the interests of the mother-country, +have had little other effect than the establishment of an extensive and +ruinous contraband." Under such conditions as those existing in Cuba, +from its beginning practically until the establishment of its political +independence, industrial development and commercial expansion are more than +difficult. + +One of the natural results of such a system appeared in the activities of +smugglers. The extent to which that industry was carried on cannot, of +course, be even guessed. Some have estimated that the merchandise imported +in violation of the laws equalled in value the merchandise entered at +the custom houses. An official publication (American) states that "from +smuggling on a large scale and privateering to buccaneering and piracy is +not a long step, and under the name of privateers French, Dutch, English, +and American smugglers and buccaneers swarmed the Caribbean Sea and the +Gulf of Mexico for more than two centuries, plundering Spanish _flotas_ +and attacking colonial settlements. Among the latter, Cuba was the chief +sufferer." Had Cuba's coasts been made to order for the purpose, they could +hardly have been better adapted to the uses of smugglers. Off shore, for +more than half its coast line, both north and south, are small islands +and keys with narrow and shallow passages between them, thus making an +excellent dodging area for small boats if pursued by revenue vessels. +Thoroughly familiar with these entrances and hiding places, smugglers could +land their goods almost at will with little danger of detection or capture. + +Another heavy handicap on the economic progress of the island appears in +the system of taxation. Regarding this system, the Census of 1899 reports +as follows: + +"Apart from imports and exports, taxes were levied on real and personal +property and on industries and commerce of all kinds. Every profession, +art, or manual occupation contributed its quota, while, as far back as +1638, seal and stamp taxes were established on all judicial business and +on all kinds of petitions and claims made to official corporations, and +subsequently on all bills and accounts. These taxes were in the form of +stamps on official paper and at the date of American occupation the paper +cost from 35 cents to $3 a sheet. On deeds, wills, and other similar +documents the paper cost from 35 cents to $37.50 per sheet, according to +the value of the property concerned. Failure to use even the lowest-priced +paper involved a fine of $50. + +"There was also a municipal tax on the slaughter of cattle for the market. +This privilege was sold by the municipal council to the highest bidder, +with the result that taxes were assessed on all animals slaughtered, +whether for the market or for private consumption, with a corresponding +increase in the price of meat. + +"Another tax established in 1528, called the _derecho_ _de averia_, +required the payment of 20 ducats ($16) by every person, bond or free, +arriving in the island. In 1665 this tax was increased to $22, and +continued in force to 1765, thus retarding immigration, and, to that +extent, the increase of population, especially of the laboring class. + +"An examination of these taxes will show their excessive, arbitrary, and +unscientific character, and how they operated to discourage Cubans from +owning property or engaging in many industrial pursuits tending to benefit +them and to promote the material improvement of the island. + +"Taxes on real estate were estimated by the tax inspector on the basis +of its rental or productive capacity, and varied from 4 to 12 per cent. +Similarly, a nominal municipal tax of 25 per cent was levied on the +estimated profits of all industries and commerce, and on the income derived +from all professions, manual occupations, or agencies, the collector +receiving 6 per cent of all taxes assessed. Much unjust discrimination was +made against Cubans in determining assessable values and in collecting the +taxes, and it is said that bribery in some form was the only effective +defense against the most flagrant impositions." + +Some of the experiences of this period will be considered in special +chapters on Cuba's alleged revolutions and on the relations of the United +States to Cuba and its affairs. One point may be noted here. The wave of +republicanism that swept over a considerable part of Europe and over the +Western Hemisphere, from 1775 to 1825 had its direct influence in Spain, +and an influence only less direct in Cuba. In 1812, Spain became a +constitutional monarchy. It is true that the institution had only a +brief life, but the sentiment that lay beneath it persisted and had been +repeatedly a cause of disturbance on the Peninsula. Something of the +same sentiment pervaded Cuba and excited ambitions, not for national +independence, but for some participation in government. A royal decree, in +1810, gave Cuba representation in the Cortes, and two deputies from the +island took part in framing the Constitution of 1812. This recognition of +Cuba lasted for only two years, the Constitution being abrogated in 1814, +but it was restored in 1820, only to cease again three years later. +Representatives were again admitted to the Cortes in 1834, and again +excluded in 1837. The effect of all this was, perhaps, psychological rather +than practical, but it gave rise to a new mental attitude and to some +change in conduct. The effect appears in the numerous recurrences of open +protest and passive resistance in the place of the earlier submission. +Writing in 1855, Mr. J.S. Thrasher stated that "the essential political +elements of the island are antagonistic to those of the mother-country. +While the Cortes and the crown have frequently declared that Cuba does not +form an integral part of the Spanish monarchy, but must be governed by +special laws not applicable to Spain, and persist in ruling her under the +erroneous and unjust European colonial system, the growing wealth and +increasing intelligence of the Cubans lead them to aspire to some share in +the elimination of the political principles under which their own affairs +shall be administered. A like antagonism exists in the economic relations +of the two countries. While the people of Cuba are not averse to the +raising of such revenue as may be required for the proper wants of the +State, in the administration of which they may participate, they complain, +with a feeling of national pride, that fiscal burdens of the most onerous +kind are laid upon them for the expressed purpose of advancing interests +which are in every sense opposed to their own. Thus, Spain imposes taxes to +support a large army and navy, the principal object of which is to prevent +any expression of the public will on the part of the people of Cuba. +Another class of impositions have for their object the diversion of +the trade of Cuba to channels which shall increase the profits of the +agriculturists and mariners of Spain without regard to the interests of the +people of the island." + +[Illustration: A PLANTER'S HOME _Havana Province_] + +Yet in spite of these severe restrictions and heavy burdens, Cuba shows a +considerable progress during the first half of the century. It is far from +easy to reach fair conclusions from contemporaneous writings. Naturally, +Spanish officials and Spanish writers strove to make the best possible case +for Spain, its policies and its conduct. The press of the island was either +under official control or stood in fear of official reprisals. The Cuban +side, naturally partisan, appears to have been presented chiefly by +fugitive pamphlets, more or less surreptitiously printed and distributed, +usually the product of political extremists. Among these was a man of +marked ability and of rare skill in the use of language. He was Don Antonio +Saco, known in Cuba as the "Immortal Saco." In a letter written to a +friend, in 1846, he says, "The tyranny of our mother-country, today most +acute, will have this result--that within a period of time not very remote +the Cubans will be compelled to take up arms to banish her." That British +observers and most American observers should take the side of the Cubans is +altogether natural. Writing in 1854, Mr. M.M. Ballou, in his _History of +Cuba_, says: "The Cubans owe all the blessings they enjoy to Providence +alone (so to speak), while the evils which they suffer are directly +referable to the oppression of the home government. Nothing short of a +military despotism could maintain the connection of such an island with a +mother-country more than three thousand miles distant; and accordingly we +find the captain-general of Cuba invested with unlimited power. He is, in +fact, a viceroy appointed by the crown of Spain, and accountable only to +the reigning sovereign for his administration of the colony. His rule is +absolute; he has the power of life and death and liberty in his hands. He +can, by his arbitrary will, send into exile any person whatever, be his +name or rank what it may, whose residence in the island he considers +prejudicial to the royal interest, even if he has committed no overt act. +He can suspend the operation of the laws and ordinances, if he sees fit to +do so; can destroy or confiscate property; and, in short, the island may be +said to be perpetually in a state of siege." + +The student or the reader may take his choice. On one side are Spanish +statements, official and semi-official, and on the other side, Cuban +statements no less partisan. The facts appear to support the Cuban +argument. In spite of the severe restrictions and the heavy burdens, Cuba +shows a notable progress during the 19th Century. Governors came and went, +some very good and others very bad. There were a hundred of them from 1512 +to 1866, and thirty-six more from 1866 to 1899, the average term of service +for the entire number being a little less than three years. On the whole, +the most notable of the group of 19th Century incumbents was Don Miguel +Tacon, who ruled from June 1, 1834, until April 16, 1838. His record would +seem to place him quite decidedly in the "reactionary" class, but he was a +man of action who left behind him monuments that remain to his credit even +now. One historian, Mr. Kimball, who wrote in 1850, describes him as one +in whom short-sightedness, narrow views, and jealous and weak mind, were +joined to an uncommon stubbornness of character. Another, Mr. M.M. Ballou, +says that "probably of all the governors-general that have filled the post +in Cuba none is better known abroad, or has left more monuments to his +enterprise, than Tacon. His reputation at Havana (this was written 1854) is +of a somewhat doubtful character; for, though he followed out with energy +various improvements, yet his modes of procedure were so violent that he +was an object of terror to the people generally, rather than of gratitude. +He vastly improved the appearance of the capital and its vicinity, built +the new prison, rebuilt the governor's palace, constructed a military road +to the neighboring forts, erected a spacious theatre and market house, +arranged a new public walk, and opened a vast parade ground without the +city walls, thus laying the foundation of the new city which has now sprung +up in this formerly desolate suburb. He suppressed the gaming houses and +rendered the streets, formerly infested with robbers, as secure as those of +Boston or New York." Another writer, Mr. Samuel Hazard, in 1870, says: "Of +all the governors who have been in command of the island Governor Tacon +seems to have been the best, doing the most to improve the island, and +particularly Havana; making laws, punishing offences, and establishing some +degree of safety for its inhabitants. It is reported of him that he is +said, like the great King Alfred, to have promised the Cubans that they +should be able to leave their purses of money on the public highway without +fear of having them stolen. At all events, his name is cherished by every +Cuban for the good he has done, and _paseos_, theatres, and monuments bear +his great name in Havana." The Tacon theatre is now the Nacional, and the +Paseo Tacon is now Carlos III. The "new prison" is the _Carcel_, or jail, +at the northern end of the Prado, near the fortress of La Punta. Don Miguel +may have been disliked for his methods and his manners, but he certainly +did much to make his rule memorable. + +There is no reliable information that shows the progress of the island +during the 19th Century. Even the census figures are questioned. A reported +432,000 total population in 1804 is evidently no more than an estimate, yet +it is very likely not far from the actual. Concerning their distribution +throughout the island, and the number engaged in different occupations, +there are no records. There are no acceptable figures regarding the +respective numbers of whites and blacks. Nor is there any record of the +population in 1895, the year of the war for independence. From the definite +tabulation, under American auspices, in 1899, showing 1,576,797, it has +been estimated that the number in 1895, was a little less than 1,800,000, +the difference being represented by the disasters of the war, by the result +of reconcentration, and by departures during the disturbance. The general +result seems to be that the population was practically quadrupled. A +somewhat rough approximation would show the blacks as multiplied by three, +to an 1899 total of 505,000, with the whites multiplied by four, to a total +of 1,067,000. Nor are there figures of trade that afford any proper clue +to the growth of industry and commerce. There are records of imports +and exports from about 1850 onward, but before that time the matter of +contraband trade introduces an element of uncertainty. An American official +pamphlet on Cuban trade carries the statement, "the ascertainment of full +and exact details of the commerce of Cuba prior to the close of Spanish +dominion in the island is an impossibility. The Spanish authorities, as +a rule, published no complete returns of Cuban trade, either foreign or +domestic. Except with regard to Spain and the United States, most of the +existing commercial statistics of Cuba, prior to 1899, are fragmentary +and merely approximative. Spain and the United States have always kept a +separate and distinct trade account with Cuba; but the United Kingdom, +France, Germany, and other European countries excepting Spain, formerly +merged their statistics of trade with Cuba in one general item embracing +Cuba and Porto Rico, under the heading of "Spanish West Indies." Since +1899, however, all the Powers have kept separate accounts with Cuba, +and the statistics of the Cuban Republic have been reasonably full and +accurate." + +[Illustration: IRON GRILLE GATEWAY _El Vedado, Suburb of Havana_] + +Cuba's recorded imports in 1894 show a total value of $90,800,000, and +exports show a value of $102,000,000. Writing about the year 1825, Humboldt +says: "It is more than probable that the imports of the whole island, licit +and contraband, estimated at the actual value of the goods and the slaves, +amount, at the present time, to fifteen or sixteen millions of dollars, of +which barely three or four millions are re-exported." The same authority +gives the probable exports of that time as about $12,500,000. The trade at +the beginning of the century must have been far below this. The official +figures for 1851 show total imports amounting to $34,000,000, and exports +to $33,000,000, but the accuracy of the figures is open to question. The +more important fact is that of a very large gain in population and in +production. The coffee industry, that assumed important proportions during +a part of the first half of the century, gradually declined for the reason +that sugar became a much more profitable crop. Now, Cuba imports most of +its coffee from Porto Rico. Because of its convenience as a contraband +article, there are no reliable figures of the tobacco output. Prior to +1817, the commodity was, for much of the time, a crown monopoly and, for +the remainder of the time, a monopoly concession to private companies. In +that year, cultivation and trade became free, subject to a tax on each +planter of one-twentieth of his production. + +As we shall see, in another chapter, Cuba at last wearied of Spanish +exactions and revolted as did the United States, weary of British rule and +British exactions and restrictions, more than a hundred years earlier. + + + + +III + +_THE COUNTRY_ + + +Description of the physical features of a country seldom makes highly +entertaining reading, but it seems a necessary part of a book of this kind. +Some readers may find interest if not entertainment in such a review. The +total area of the island, including a thousand or more adjacent islands, +islets, and keys, is given as 44,164 square miles, a little less than the +area of Pennsylvania and a little more than that of Ohio or Tennessee. +Illustration of its shape by some familiar object is difficult, although +various comparisons have been attempted. Some old Spanish geographers gave +the island the name of _La Lengua de Pajaro_, "the bird's tongue." Mr. M.M. +Ballou likened it to "the blade of a Turkish scimitar slightly curved back, +or approaching the form of a long, narrow, crescent." Mr. Robert T. Hill +holds that it "resembles a great hammer-headed shark, the head of which +forms the straight, south coast of the east end of the island, from which +the sinuous body extends westward. This analogy is made still more striking +by two long, finlike strings of keys, or islets, which extend backward +along the opposite coasts, parallel to the main body of the island." But +all such comparisons call for a lively imagination. It might be likened to +the curving handles of a plow attached to a share, or to any one of a dozen +things that it does not at all clearly resemble. Regarding the Oriente +coast, from Cape Cruz to Cape Maisi, as a base, from that springs a long +and comparatively slender arm that runs northwesterly for five hundred +miles to the vicinity of Havana. There, the arm, somewhat narrowed, turns +downward in a generally southwestern direction for about two hundred miles. +The total length of the island, from Cape Maisi on the east to Cape San +Antonio on the west, is about seven hundred and thirty miles. Its width +varies from a maximum, in Oriente Province, of about one hundred and sixty +miles, to a minimum, in Havana Province, of about twenty-two miles. It has +a general coast line of about twenty-two hundred miles, or, following all +its sinuosities, of about seven thousand miles. Its north coast is, for +much of its length, steep and rocky. Throughout the greater part of the +middle provinces, there is a border of coral reefs and small islands. At +the western end, the north coast is low, rising gradually to the eastward. +At the eastern end, the northern coast is abrupt and rugged, rising in a +series of hills to the elevations in the interior. Westward from Cape Maisi +to Cape Cruz, on the south coast, and immediately along the shore line, +runs a mountain range. From here westward, broken by an occasional hill or +bluff, the coast is low and marshy. + +Probably the best description of the topography and the orography of the +island yet presented is that given by Mr. Robert T. Hill, of the United +States Geological Survey. In his book on Cuba and other islands of the West +Indies, Mr. Hill says: + +"As regards diversity of relief, Cuba's eastern end is mountainous, with +summits standing high above the adjacent sea; its middle portion is wide, +consisting of gently sloping plains, well-drained, high above the sea, and +broken 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. Over the +whole is a mantle of tender vegetation, rich in every hue that a flora of +more than three thousand species can give, and kept green by mists and +gentle 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. + +"But, at the outset the reader should dispossess his mind of any +preconceived idea that the island of Cuba is in any sense a physical unit. +On the contrary, it presents a diversity of topographic, climatic, and +cultural features, which, as distributed, divide the island into at least +three distinct natural provinces, for convenience termed the eastern, +central, and western regions. The distinct types of relief include regions +of high mountains, low hills, dissected plateaus, intermontane 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 presents a rugged aspect when viewed from the sea. About one-fourth of +the total area is mountainous, three-fifths are rolling plain, valleys, and +gentle arable slopes, and the remainder is swampy. + +"The island border on the north presents a low cliff topography, with a +horizontal sky-line from Matanzas 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 on both the north and south sides +a series of remarkable terraces, rising in stair-like arrangement to six +hundred feet or more, representing successive pauses or stages in the +elevation of the island above the sea, and constituting most striking +scenic features. About one-half the Cuban coast is bordered by keys, which +are largely old reef rock, the creations of the same coral-builders that +may now be seen through the transparent waters still at work on the modern +shallows, decking the rocks and sands with their graceful and many colored +tufts of animal foliage." + +Mr. Hill summarizes the general appearance of the island, thus: "Santiago +de Cuba (now called Oriente) is predominantly a mountainous region of high +relief, especially along the coasts, with many interior valleys. Puerto +Principe (now Camaguey) and Santa 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 +notable elevations of the island are the Cordilleras de los Organos, or +Organ Mountains, in Pinar del Rio, of which an eastward extension appears +in the Tetas de Managua, the Arcas de Canasi, the Escalera de Jaruco, +the Pan de Matanzas, and other minor elevations in Havana and Matanzas +Provinces. In Santa Clara and Camaguey, the range is represented by crest +lines and plateaus along the north shore, and finally runs into the hill +and mountain maze of Oriente. In the south-central section of the island, a +somewhat isolated group of elevations appears, culminating in El Potrerillo +at a height of nearly 3,000 feet. In Oriente, immediately along the south +coast line, is the precipitous Sierra Maestra, reaching its greatest +altitude in the Pico del Turquino, with an elevation of approximately +8,500 feet. Another elevation, near Santiago, known as La Gran Piedra, is +estimated at 5,200 feet. All these heights are densely wooded. From the +tops of some of them, east, west, and central, the views are marvellously +beautiful, but the summits of most are reached only with considerable +difficulty. One of the most notable of these view points, and one of the +most easily reached, is the height immediately behind the city of Matanzas, +overlooking the famous Yumuri valley. The valley is a broad, shallow bowl, +some five or six miles in diameter, enclosed by steeply sloping walls of +five to six hundred feet in height. Through it winds the Yumuri River. It +is best seen in the early forenoon, or the late afternoon, when there come +the shadows and the lights that are largely killed by the more vertical +rays of a midday sun. At those hours, it is a scene of entrancing +loveliness. There are views, elsewhere, covering wider expanses, but none, +I think, of equal beauty. + +The vicinity of Matanzas affords a spectacle of almost enchantment for the +sight-seer, and of deep interest for the geologist. Somewhat more than +fifty years ago, an accident revealed the beautiful caves of Bellamar, two +or three miles from the city, and easily reached by carriage. Caves ought +to be cool. These are not, but they are well worth all the perspiration it +costs to see them. They are a show place, and guides are always available. +In size, the caverns are not comparable with the caves of Kentucky and +Virginia, but they far excel in beauty. They are about three miles in +extent, and their lower levels are said to be about five hundred feet +from the surface. The rock is white limestone, in which are chambers and +passage-ways, stalactites and stalagmites innumerable. These have their +somewhat fantastic but not unfitting names, such as the Gothic Temple, the +Altar, the Guardian Spirit, the Fountain of Snow, and Columbus' Mantle. +The place has been called "a dream of fairyland," a fairly appropriate +description. The colors are snow-white, pink, and shades of yellow, and +many of the forms are wonderfully beautiful. There are many other caves in +the island, like Cotilla, in the Guines region not far from Havana, others +in the Cubitas Mountains in Camaguey Province, and still others in Oriente, +but in comparison with Bellamar they are little else than holes in the +ground. The trip through these remarkable aisles and chambers occupies some +three or four hours. + +Cuba is not big enough for rivers of size. There are innumerable streams, +for the island generally is well-watered. The only river of real importance +is the Cauto, in Oriente Province. This is the longest and the largest +river in the island. It rises in the hills north of Santiago, and winds a +devious way westward for about a hundred and fifty miles, emptying at last +into the Gulf of Buena Esperanza, north of the city of Manzanillo. It +is navigable for small boats, according to the stage of the water, from +seventy-five to a hundred miles from its mouth. Numerous smaller streams +flow to the coast on both north and south. Some, that are really estuaries, +are called rivers. Very few of them serve any commercial purposes. There +are a few water areas called lakes, but they are really little other than +ponds. On the south coast, directly opposite Matanzas, lies a vast swamp +known as the Cienega de Zapata. It occupies an area of about seventy-five +miles in length and about thirty miles in width, almost a dead flat, and +practically at sea-level. Here and there are open spaces of water or +clusters of trees, but most of it is bog and quagmire and dense mangrove +thickets. Along the coast are numerous harbors, large and small, that are +or, by dredging, could be made available for commercial purposes. Among +these, on the north coast, from west to east, are Bahia Honda, Mariel, +Havana, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Nipe Bay, and Baracoa. On the south, from east +to west, are Guantanamo, Santiago, Manzanillo, Cienfuegos, and Batabano. At +all of these, there are now cities or towns with trade either by steamers +or small sailing vessels. Among the interesting physical curiosities of +the island are the numerous "disappearing rivers." Doubtless the action +of water on limestone has left, in many places, underground chambers and +tunnels into which the streams have found an opening and in which they +disappear, perhaps to emerge again and perhaps to find their way to the sea +without reappearance. This seems to explain numerous fresh-water springs +among the keys and off-shore. The Rio San Antonio quite disappears near San +Antonio de los Banos. Near Guantanamo, a cascade drops three hundred feet +into a cavern and reappears a short distance away. Such disappearing rivers +are not unknown elsewhere but Cuba has several of them. + + * * * * * + +The Census Report of 1907, prepared under American auspices, states that +"the climate of Cuba is tropical and insular. There are no extremes of +heat, and there is no cold weather." This is quite true if the records of a +thermometer are the standard; quite untrue if measured by the sensations of +the human body. It is true that, in Havana, for instance, the thermometer +seldom exceeds 90 deg. in the hottest months, and rarely if ever goes below 50 deg. +in the coldest. But a day with the thermometer anywhere in the 80s may seem +to a northern body very hot, and a day with the thermometer in the 50s +is cold for anyone, whether a native or a visitor. There is doubtless a +physical reason for the fact that a hot day in the north seems hotter than +the same temperature in the south, while a day that seems, in the north, +only pleasantly cool, seems bitterly cold in the tropics. When the +thermometer drops below 60 deg. in Havana, the coachmen blanket their horses, +the people put on all the clothes they have, and all visitors who are +at all sensitive to low temperature go about shivering. Steam heat and +furnaces are unknown, and fireplaces are a rarity. Yet, in general, the +variations are not wide, either from day to day or when measured by +seasons. The extremes are the infrequent exceptions. Nor is there wide +difference between day and night. Taking the island as a whole, the average +mean temperature for July, the hottest month, is about 82 deg., and for +January, the coolest month, about 71 deg.. The mean for the year is about 77 deg., +as compared with 52 deg. for New York, 48 deg. for Chicago, 62 deg. for Los Angeles, +and 68 deg. for New Orleans. There are places that, by reason of exposure to +prevailing winds, or distance from the coast, are hotter or cooler than +other places. Havana is one of the cool spots, that is, relatively cool. +But no one goes there in search of cold. The yearly range in Havana, from +maximum to minimum, rarely if ever exceeds fifty degrees, and is usually +somewhat below that, while the range in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis +is usually from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five degrees. The +particular cause of discomfort for those unused to it, is the humidity that +prevails throughout the greater part of the year. The worst season for +this, however, is the mid-year months when few people visit the island. The +winter months, locally known as the "_invierno_," a term to be associated +with our word "vernal" and not with "infernal," are almost invariably +delightful, bringing to northern systems a pleasurable physical laziness +that is attended by a mental indifference to, or satisfaction with, the +sensation. + +[Illustration: WATERING HERD OF CATTLE _Luyano River near Havana_] + +The rainfall varies so widely in different parts of the island, and from +year to year, that exact information is difficult. Taken as a whole, it is +little if at all greater than it is in most places in the United States. We +have our arid spots, like El Paso, Fresno, Boise, Phoenix, and Winnemucca, +where only a few inches fall in a year, just as Cuba has a few places where +the fall may reach sixty-five or seventy inches in a year. But the average +fall in Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and Santiago, is little if any +greater than in Boston, New York, or Washington. A difference appears in +the fact that about three-quarters of Cuba's precipitation comes between +the first of May and the first of October. But the term "wet season" does +not mean that it rains all the time, or every day, any more than the term +"dry season" means that during those months it does not rain at all. At +times during the winter, or dry season, there come storms that are due to +unusual cold in the United States. These are known in Cuba, as they are in +Texas, as "northers." High winds sweep furiously across the Gulf of Mexico, +piling up huge seas on the Cuban coast, and bringing what, in the island, +is the substitute for cold weather, usually attended by rain and sometimes +by a torrent of it. The prevailing wind in Cuba is the northeast +trade-wind. In summer when the sun is directly overhead this wind is +nearly east, while in winter it is northeast. The proper way to avoid such +discomfort as attends humidity accompanying a thermometer in the 80s, is to +avoid haste in movement, to saunter instead of hurrying, to ride instead of +walking, to eat and drink in moderation, and where-ever possible, to keep +in the shade. Many of those who eat heartily and hurry always, will, +after a few days, be quite sure that they have yellow fever or some +other tropical disorder, but will be entirely mistaken about it. Modern +sanitation in Cuba has made yellow fever a remote possibility, and the +drinking water in Havana is as pure as any in the world. + +Most of the official descriptions of the flora of Cuba appear to be copied +from Robert T. Hill's book, published in 1898. As nothing better is +available, it may be used here. He says: "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 addition +to those introduced from abroad, over 3,350 native plants have been +catalogued. The flora includes nearly all characteristic forms of the +other West Indies, the southern part of Florida, and the Central American +seaboard. 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, occur, +while the pine trees, elsewhere characteristic of the temperate zone and +the high altitudes of the tropics, are found associated with palms and +mahoganies in the province of Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Pines, both +of which take their name from this tree. Among other woods are the +lignum-vitae, granadilla, the coco-wood, and the _Cedrela Odorata_ +(fragrant cedar) which is used for cigar boxes and the lining of cabinet +work." + +In quoting the number of native plants, Mr. Hill uses a report somewhat +antiquated. Later estimates place the number as between five and six +thousand. Flowers are abundant, flowers on vines, plants, shrubs, and +trees, tall stalks with massive heads, and dainty little blossoms by the +wayside. Brilliant flowering trees are planted to line the roadsides. Among +all the tree-growths, the royal palm is notable. Scoffers have likened it +to "a feather duster stood on end," but it is the prominent feature in most +of Cuba's landscape, and it serves many purposes other than that of mere +decoration. From its stem the Cuban peasant builds his little cottage which +he roofs with its leaves. Medicinal qualities are claimed for its roots. +From different parts of the tree, a wide variety of useful articles is +made, plates, buckets, basins, and even a kettle in which water may be +boiled. The huge clusters of seeds are excellent food for animals, and I +have heard it said, though without proper confirmation, that "a royal palm +will keep a hog." Almost invariably, its presence indicates a rich soil, as +it rarely grows in areas of poor land. The forest area of the island is not +known with exactness, and is variously estimated at from about six thousand +square miles to about sixteen thousand. The difference probably represents +the opinion of individual investigators as to what is forest. About +one-third of the total is reported as in Oriente, another third in +Camaguey, and the remainder scattered through the four remaining provinces. +A part of it is "public land," that is, owned by the central government, +but a greater part is of private ownership under old Spanish grants. Much +of it is dense jungle through which a way can be made only by hacking, +almost foot by foot. A good deal of it has already been cut over for its +most valuable timber. Most of the woods bear names entirely unfamiliar to +us. Some are used as cabinet woods, and some for tanning, for oils, dyes, +gums, or fibres. + +Cuba has few four-footed native wild animals. There are rabbits, but their +nativity is not quite certain. There are deer, but it is known that their +ancestors were brought from some other country. There are wild dogs, wild +cats, and wild pigs, but all are only domestic animals run wild. + +Perhaps the only animal of the kind known to be native is the _jutia_, +sometimes spelled, as pronounced, _hutia_. Some observers have referred to +it as a rat, but it climbs trees and grows to the size of a woodchuck, +or groundhog. It is sometimes eaten and is said to be quite palatable. +Reptiles are fairly common, but none of them is dangerous. The best known +is the _maja_, a snake that grows to a length, sometimes, of twelve or +fifteen feet. The country people not infrequently make of it a kind of +house pet. When that is done, the reptile often makes its home in the +cottage thatch, living on birds and mice. They are dull and sluggish in +motion. While visiting a sugar plantation a few years ago one of the hands +asked if I should be interested by their _maja_. He dipped his hand into a +nearby water-barrel in the bottom of which two of them were closely coiled. +He dragged out one of perhaps ten or twelve feet in length and four or five +inches in diameter, handling it as he would the same length of hawser. He +hung it over the limb of a tree so that I could have a good chance for +a picture of it. The thing squirmed slowly to the ground and crawled +sluggishly away to the place from which it had been taken. Of bird-life +there is a large representation, both native and migratory. Among them +are some fifty species of "waders." In some parts of the island, the very +unpleasant land-crab, about the size of a soup-plate, seems to exist in +millions, although thousands is probably nearer the actual. The American +soldiers made their acquaintance in large numbers at the time of the +Santiago campaign. They are not a proper article of food. They have a +salt-water relative that is most excellent eating, as is also the lobster +_(langosta)_ of Cuban waters. In the swamp known as the Cienega de Zapata +are both alligators and crocodiles, some of them of quite imposing +dimensions. + +[Illustration: ROYAL PALMS] + +The insect life of the island is extensive. From personal experience, +particularly behind the search-light of an automobile that drew them +in swarms, I, should say that the island would be a rich field for the +entomologist. There are mosquitos, gnats, beetles, moths, butterflies, +spiders, and scorpions. The bites of some of the spiders and the stings of +the scorpions are, of course, uncomfortable, but they are neither fatal nor +dangerous. With the exception of an occasional mosquito, and a perhaps more +than occasional flea, the visitor to cities only is likely to encounter +few of the members of these branches of Cuban zoology. There is one of +the beetle family, however, that is extremely interesting. That is +the _cucullo_, which Mr. Hazard, in his book on Cuba, calls a "bright +peripatetic candle-bearer, by whose brilliant light one can not only walk, +but even read." They are really a kind of glorified firefly, much larger +than ours, and with a much more brilliant light. I do not know their +candle-power, but Mr. Hazard exaggerates little if at all in the matter of +their brilliancy. + +While those referred to in the foregoing are the most notable features +in this particular part of the Cuban field, there are others, though of +perhaps less importance, to which reference might be made. Among them would +be the sponge fisheries of the coast in the neighborhood of Batabano, +and the numerous mineral springs, some of them really having, and others +supposed to have, remarkable curative qualities. A half century or so ago, +a number of places not far from Havana were resorts to which rich and +poor went to drink or to bathe in springs hot or cold or sulphurous or +otherwise, for their healing. Among these were the baths at San Diego, near +the Organ Mountains in Pinar del Rio; Santa Rita, near Guanabacoa in Havana +Province; others near Marianao, on the outskirts of the city; and San +Antonio, also in Havana Province. Most of these places now appear to have +lost their popularity if not their medicinal virtues. Some, like those +at Madruga, not far from Havana, still have a considerable patronage. +Something may also be said of earthquakes and hurricanes. The former +occur, on a small scale, more or less frequently in Oriente, and much less +frequently and of less severity in Havana. The latter come from time +to time to work disaster to Cuban industries and, sometimes but not +frequently, to cause loss of life and the destruction of buildings. They +rarely occur except in the late summer and the autumn. + +Nearly a hundred years ago, Alexander Humboldt, a traveller and a +scientist, wrote thus of the island of Cuba: "Notwithstanding the absence +of deep rivers and the unequal fertility of the soil, the island of Cuba +presents on every hand a most varied and agreeable country from its +undulating character, its ever-springing verdure, and the variety of its +vegetable formations." + + + + +IV + +_THE OLD HAVANA_ + + +Among the many pictures, stored away in the album of my memory, there are +two that stand out more vividly than any others. The subjects are separated +by half the world's circumference. One is the sunsets at Jolo, in the +southern Philippines. There the sun sank into the western sea in a blaze +of cloud-glory, between the low-lying islands on either hand with the rich +green of their foliage turned to purple shadows. The other is the sunrise +at Havana, seen from the deck of a steamer in the harbor. The long, soft +shadows and the mellow light fell on the blue and gray and green of the +buildings of the city, and on the red-tiled roofs, with the hills for a +background in one-half of the picture, and the gleaming water of the gulf +in the background of the other half. I had seen the long stretch of the +southern coast of the island, from Cape Antonio to Cape Maisi, while on an +excursion with a part of the army of occupation sent to Porto Rico in the +summer of 1898, and had set foot on Cuban soil at Daiquiri, but Havana in +the morning light, on January 2, 1899, was my first real Cuban experience. +It remains an ineffaceable memory. Of my surroundings and experiences aside +from that, I have no distinct recollection. All was submerged by that one +picture, and quickly buried by the activities into which I was immediately +plunged. I do not recall the length of time we were held on board for +medical inspection, nor whether the customs inspection was on board or +ashore. I recall the trip from the ship to the wharf, in one of the little +sailboats then used for the purpose, rather because of later experiences +than because of the first one. I have no purpose here to write a history +of those busy days, filled as they were with absorbing interest, with much +that was pathetic and not a little that was amusing. I have seen that +morning picture many times since, but never less beautiful, never less +impressive. Nowadays, it is lost to most travellers because the crossing +from Key West is made in the daytime, the boat reaching Havana in the +late-afternoon. Sometimes there is a partial compensation in the sunset +picture, but I have never seen that when it really rivalled the picture at +the beginning of the day. + +The visitor to Cuba, unfamiliar with the island, should take it leisurely. +It is not a place through which the tourist may rush, guide book in hand, +making snapshots with a camera, and checking off places of interest as they +are visited. Picturesqueness and quaintness are not at all lacking, but +there are no noble cathedrals, no vast museums of art and antiquity, no +snow-clad mountains. There is a charm of light and shade and color that +is to be absorbed slowly rather than swallowed at a single gulp. It is +emphatically a place in which to dawdle. Let those who are obliged to do +so, work and hurry; the visitor and the traveller should take it without +haste. It is far better to see Havana and its vicinity slowly and +enjoyably, and look at pictures of the rest of the country, than it is to +rush through the island merely for the sake of doing so. In his essay on +_The Moral of Landscape_, Mr. Ruskin said that "all travelling becomes dull +in exact proportion to its rapidity." Nowhere is that more true than it +is in Cuba. There is very little in all the island that cannot be seen in +Havana and its immediate vicinity. It is well to see the other places if +one has ample time, but they should not be seen at the expense of a proper +enjoyment of Havana and its neighborhood. In Havana are buildings as old +and buildings as beautiful as any in the island. In its vicinity are sugar +plantations, tobacco fields, pineapples, cocoanuts, mangoes, royal palms, +ceibas, peasants' homes, typical towns and villages, all the life of the +people in the city and country. The common American desire to "see it all" +in a few days, is fatal to the greatest enjoyment, and productive mainly +of physical fatigue and mental confusion. It is the misfortune of most +travellers that they carry with them only the vaguest of ideas of what they +want to see. They have heard of Cuba, of Havana, the Morro, the Prado, of a +sunny island in the midst of a sapphire sea. While it is true that almost +everything in Cuba is worth seeing, it is best to acquire, before going, +some idea of the exhibition. That saves time and many steps. The old city +wall, La Fuerza, and La Punta, are mere piles of masonry, more or less dull +and uninteresting unless one knows something of their history. The manners +and customs of any country become increasingly interesting if one knows +something about them, the reason for them. + +It is only a short trip to the Castillo del Principe, the fortress that +crowns the hill to the west of the city. From that height, the city and the +harbor are seen below, to the eastward. Across the bay, on the heights at +the entrance, are the frowning walls of Morro Castle surmounted by the +towering light-house, and the no less grim walls of La Cabana. The +bay itself is a sprawling, shapeless body of water with a narrow neck +connecting it with the Florida Straits. Into the western side of the bay +the city thrusts itself in a shape that, on a large map, suggests more than +anything else the head and neck of an over-fed bulldog. Into this bay, in +1508, came Sebastian Ocampo, said to be the first white man to visit the +spot. He entered for the purpose of careening his little vessels in order +to remove the barnacles and accumulated weed-growth. It is possible that +the spot was discovered earlier, but there is no record of the discovery +if such was made. Ocampo gave it the name of Puerto de Carenas. The next +record is of its occupation, in 1519. Four years earlier, Diego Velasquez +had left a little colony near what is now called Batabano, on the south +coast. He gave the place the name of San Cristobal de la Habana, in memory +of the illustrious navigator and discoverer. Habana, or Havana, is a term +of aboriginal origin. It proved to be an uncomfortable place of residence, +and in 1519 the people moved across the island to the Puerto de Carenas, +taking with them the name given to the earlier settlement, and substituting +it for the name given by Ocampo. After a time, all was dropped except the +present title, Habana, or more commonly by English-speaking people, Havana. +It was not much of a place for a number of years, but in 1538 it was sacked +and burned by a French pirate, one of the many, of different nations, who +carried on a very lively buccaneering business in those and in later years +in West Indian waters. Hernando de Soto was then governor of the island, +with headquarters at the then capital city, Santiago de Cuba. He proceeded +at once to the scene of destruction. On his arrival, he ordered the +erection of a fortress. Some of the work then done still remains in the +old structure near the Palace, at the foot of Calle O'Reilly, known as La +Fuerza. A few years before this time, Hernan Cortes had conquered Mexico, +then called New Spain, and a business between Old Spain and New Spain soon +developed. The harbor of Havana made a convenient halting-place on the +voyages between the two, and the settlement assumed a steadily increasing +importance. A new governor, Gonzales Perez de Angulo, who arrived in 1549, +decided to make it his place of residence. The year 1552 is generally given +as the time of the creation of Havana as the capital city. It was at that +time made the residence city of the Governors, by their own choice, but +it was not officially established as the capital until 1589. The fortress +erected by order of de Soto proved somewhat ineffective. In 1554, another +French marauder attacked and destroyed the town. The principal industry of +those early days was cattle-raising, a considerable market being developed +for export to Mexico, and for the supply of vessels that entered the harbor +for food and water. + +The continuance of incursions by pirates made necessary some further +provision for the defence of the city. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged and +strengthened, and the construction of Morro Castle was begun. To this +work was added La Punta, the little fortress on the western shore of +the entrance, at the point of the angle now formed by the Prado and the +Malecon. These ancient structures, of practically no value whatever in +modern warfare, are now among the most picturesque points of interest in +the neighborhood. Another, in the same class, of which only a little now +remains, is of a later time. This is the old city wall, the construction +of which was begun in 1671. Following the simile of the bull-dog's head, +a tract of land, formerly known as the Arsenal yard, and now the central +railway station, lies tucked away immediately under the animal's jaw. From +there to a point on the north shore, near La Punta, in a slightly curving +line, a high wall was erected for the purpose of defence on the western +or landward side. The old city lay entirely in the area defined by this +western wall and the shore of the harbor. At intervals, gates afforded exit +to the country beyond, heavy gates that could be closed to exclude any +possible attacking party. The fortifications erected from time to time were +supposed to afford a system of effective defence for the city. They are now +little else than picturesque features in the landscape, points of interest +for visitors. Taking the chain in its order, El Morro stands on the point +on the eastern side of the entrance to the harbor. Just beyond it is La +Cabana. About a half a mile to the east of this was the stone fort on the +hill of San Diego. Three miles east of the Morro, on the shore at Cojimar, +is a small and somewhat ancient fortification. This group constituted the +defence system on the east. At the head of the bay, on an elevation a +little to the south of the city, stands El Castillo de Atares, begun in +1763, immediately after the capture and occupation of the city by the +British. This is supposed to protect the city on the south, as Castillo del +Principe is supposed to defend it on the west. This stands on a hill on +the western outskirts, a somewhat extensive structure, begun in 1774 and +completed about twenty years later. A little further to the west, at the +mouth of the Almendares river, stands a little fort, or tower, called +Chorrera, serving as a western outpost as Cojimar serves as an eastern +outpost. Both were erected about the year 1650. On the shore generally +north of Principe was the Santa Clara battery, and between that and La +Punta, at the foot of the Calzada de Belascoain, stood the Queen's battery. +From any modern point of view, the system is little more than military +junk, better fitted for its present use as barracks, asylums, and prisons +than for military defence. But it is all highly picturesque. + +In the beginning, most of the buildings of the city were doubtless of wood, +with palm-thatched roofs. In time, these gave place to rows of abutting +stone buildings with tiled roofs. Most of them were of one story, some were +of two stories, and a few "palaces" had three. The city within the wall +is today very much as it was a century and more ago. Its streets run, +generally but not accurately, at right angles, one set almost due east and +west, from the harbor front to the line of the old wall, and the other set +runs southward from the shore of the entrance channel to the shore of the +inner harbor. Several of these streets are practically continuous +from north to south or from east to west. But most of them are rather +passage-ways than streets. The houses come to their very edges, except +for a narrow strip hardly to be classed as a sidewalk, originally left, +presumably, only for the purpose of preventing the scraping of the front of +the building by the wheels of passing carts and carriages. It is a somewhat +inconvenient system nowadays, but one gets quite used to it after a little, +threads the narrow walk a part of his way, takes to the street the rest +of the way, and steps aside to avoid passing vehicles quite as did the +carriageless in the old days. One excellent way to avoid the trouble is to +take a carriage and let the other fellow step aside. Riding in the _coche_ +is still one of the cheapest forms of convenience and entertainment in the +city, excepting the afternoon drive around the Prado and the Malecon. That +is not cheap. We used to pay a dollar an hour. My last experience cost me +three times that. + +[Illustration: CUSTOM HOUSE, HAVANA _Formerly Franciscan Convent Begun_ +1574, _finished_ 1591] + +Much of the old city is now devoted to business purposes, wholesale, +retail, and professional. But there are also residences, old churches, and +old public buildings. On the immediate water-front, and for many years used +as the custom house, stands the old Franciscan convent, erected during the +last quarter of the 16th Century. It is a somewhat imposing pile, dominated +by a high tower. I have not visited it for a number of years and do not +know if its interior is available for visitors without some special +introduction, but there is much worth seeing inside its walls, the flying +buttresses of the super-structure, some old and interesting frescoes, and +a system of dome construction that is quite remarkable. To the latter, my +attention was first called by General Ludlow, a distinguished engineer +officer of the United States Army, then acting as governor of the city. To +him belongs, although it is very rarely given, the credit for the cleansing +of Havana during the First Intervention. He frequently visited the old +convent just to see and study that interior dome construction. Immediately +behind the Palace is the old convent of the Dominicans, less imposing but +of about the same period as the Franciscan structure. It is now used as +a high-school building. The Cathedral, a block to the northward of the +Dominican convent building, is of a much later date, having been begun as +recently as 1742. It was originally the convent of the Jesuits, but became +the Cathedral in 1789. Many have believed, on what seems to be acceptable +evidence, that here for more than a hundred years rested the bones of +Christopher Columbus. He died in Valladolid in 1506, and was buried there. +His remains were removed to the Carthusian Monastery, in Seville, in 1513. +From there they are said to have been taken, in 1536, to the city of Santo +Domingo, where they remained until 1796, when they were brought to Havana +and placed in a niche in the walls of the old Cathedral, there to remain +until they were taken back to Spain in 1898. There is still an active +dispute as to whether the bones removed from Santo Domingo to Havana were +or were not those of Columbus. At all events, the urn supposed to contain +them was in this building for a hundred years, below a marble slab showing +a carving of the voyager holding a globe, with a finger pointing to the +Caribbean. Beneath this was a legend that has been thus translated: + + OH! REST THOU, IMAGE OF THE GREAT COLON, + THOUSAND CENTURIES REMAIN, GUARDED IN THE URN, + AND IN THE REMEMBRANCE OF OUR NATION. + +In this neighborhood, to the east of the Plaza de Armas, on which the +Palace fronts, is a structure known as _El Templete_. It has the appearance +of the portico of an unfinished building, but it is a finished memorial, +erected in 1828. The tradition is that on this spot there stood, in 1519, +an old ceiba tree under which the newly arrived settlers celebrated their +first mass. The yellow Palace, for many years the official headquarters and +the residence of successive Governors-General, stands opposite, and speaks +for itself. In this building, somewhat devoid of architectural merit, much +of Cuba's history, for the last three-quarters of a century, has been +written. The best time to see all this and much more that is to be seen, +is the early morning, before the wheels begin to go around. The lights and +shadows are then the best, and the streets are quieter and less crowded. +The different points of interest are easily located by the various guide +books obtainable, and the distances are not great. A cup of _cafe con +leche_ should precede the excursion. If one feels lazy, as one is quite +apt to feel in the tropics and the sub-tropics, fairly comfortable open +carriages are at all times available. With them, of course, a greater +area can be covered and more places seen, though perhaps seen less +satisfactorily. There is much to be seen in the early morning that is best +seen in those hours, and much that is not seen later in the day. In all +cities there is an early morning life and Havana is no exception. I confess +to only a limited personal knowledge of it, but I have seen enough of it, +and heard enough about it, to know that the waking-up of cities, including +Havana, is an interesting process. I have, at least, had enough personal +experience to be sure that the early morning air is delicious, the best of +the day. I am not speaking of the unholy hours preceding daybreak, but +of six to eight o'clock, which for those of us who are inclined to long +evenings is also the best time to be in bed. The early morning church bells +are a disturbance to which visitors do not readily adjust their morning +naps. Mr. Samuel Hazard, who visited Cuba about the year 1870, and wrote +quite entertainingly about it, left the following description of his +experience in Havana: + +"Hardly has the day begun to break when the newly arrived traveller is +startled from his delightful morning doze by the alarming sound of bells +ringing from every part of the town. Without any particular concert of +action, and with very different sounds, they ring out on the still morning +air, as though for a general conflagration, and the unfortunate traveller +rushes frantically from his bed to inquire if there is any hope of safety +from the flames which he imagines, from the noise made, must threaten the +whole town. Imagine, O reader! in thy native town, every square with its +church, every church with its tower, or maybe two or three of them, and +in each particular tower a half-dozen large bells, no two of which sound +alike; place the bell-ropes in the hands of some frantic man who pulls +away, first with one hand and then the other, and you will get a very faint +idea of your first awakening in Havana. Without apparent rhyme or reason, +ding, dong, ding they go, every bell-ringer at each different church +striving to see how much noise he can make, under the plea of bringing the +faithful to their prayers at the early morning mass." + +[Illustration: BALCONIES IN OLD HAVANA STREET IN HAVANA] + +The only conceivable advantage of these early bells is the fact that they +turn out many a traveller at the hour when Havana is really at its best. +Yet, as I read the descriptive tales left by those who wrote forty, fifty, +and sixty years ago, I am struck by the fact, that, after all, the old +Havana has changed but little. There are trolley lines, electric lights, +and a few other so-called modern improvements, but there is still much of +the old custom, the old atmosphere. The old wall, with its soldier-guarded +gates, is gone, and there are a few modern buildings, but only a few, for +which fact I always feel thankful, but the old city is much what it was +when Mr. Ballou, and Mr. Dana, and Mr. Kimball, and numerous others wrote +about it soon after 1850, and when Mr. Hazard wrote about it in 1870. The +automobile is there now in large numbers, in place of the old volante, and +there are asphalted streets in place of cobble-stones. The band plays in +the evening in the Parque Central or at the Glorieta, instead of in the +Plaza de Armas, but the band plays. The restaurants are still a prominent +feature in Havana life, as they were then. The ladies wear hats instead +of _mantillas_, but they buy hats on Calle Obispo just as and where their +mothers and grandmothers bought _mantillas_. Bull-fighting is gone, +presumably forever, but crowds flock to the baseball grounds. The midday +suspension of business continues, generally, and the afternoon parade, on +foot and in carriages, remains one of the important functions of the day. +There are many who know Havana, and love it, who pray diligently that it +may be many years before the city is Americanized as, for instance, New +Orleans has been. + +Most of the life of the city, as it is seen by most visitors, is outside +the old city, and probably few know that any distinction is made, yet the +line is drawn with fair clearness. There is a different appearance in both +streets and buildings. While there are shops on San Rafael and Galiano and +elsewhere, the principal shopping district is in the old city, with Calle +Obispo as its centre. They have tried officially, to change the name of the +street, but the old familiar name sticks and seems likely to stick for a +long time yet. Far be it from a mere man to attempt analysis or description +of such a place. He might tell another mere man where to buy a hat, a pair +of shoes, or eyeglasses, or a necktie, or where to find a lawyer, but the +finer points of shopping, there or elsewhere, are not properly for any +masculine description. The ladies may be trusted to learn for themselves, +and very quickly, all that they need or want to know about that phase of +Havana's commerce. I am leaving much to the guide books that can afford +space for all necessary information about churches, statues, and other +objects of interest for visitors. Havana's retail merchants have their own +way of trading, much as they do in many foreign countries, and in not a few +stores in our own country. Prices are usually a question of the customer's +ability to match the commercial shrewdness of the dealer. Much of the trade +of visitors is now confined to the purchase of such articles as may be +immediately needed and to a few souvenirs. One of the charms of the place +is the cheap transportation. If you are tired, or in a hurry, there is +always a coach near at hand that will take you where you wish to go, for a +peseta, or a quarter, if within certain officially prescribed bounds. If +you desire to go beyond those bounds, make a bargain with your driver or +be prepared for trouble. Down in the old city are to be found several +restaurants that are well worth visiting, for those who want good food. I +shall not advertise the particular places, but they are well known. As the +early morning is the best time to see the old city, the forenoon is the +best time for shopping. Such an expedition may well be followed by the +_almuerzo_, the midday breakfast or lunch, whichever one sees fit to call +it, at one of these restaurants. After that, it is well to enjoy a midday +_siesta_, in preparation for the afternoon function on the Prado and the +Malecon. + + + + +V + +THE NEW HAVANA + + +The new Havana, the city outside the old wall, is about as old as Chicago +but not nearly as tall. There is no reason why it should be. Here are wide +streets and broad avenues, and real sidewalks, some of them about as wide +as the entire street in the old city. About 1830, the region beyond the +wall was held largely by Spaniards to whom grants of land had been made +for one reason or another. These tracts were plantations, pastures, or +unimproved lands, according to the fancy of the proprietor who usually +lived in the city and enjoyed himself after the manner of his kind. Here +and there, a straggling village of palm-leaf huts sprang up. The roads were +rough tracks. To Governor-General Tacon seems due much of the credit for +the improvement beyond the walls. During his somewhat iron-handed rule +several notable buildings were erected, some of them by his authority. +The most notable feature of the district is the renowned Prado, a broad +boulevard with a park between two drive-ways, running from the water-front, +at the entrance to the harbor, southward for about a mile. A few years ago, +rows of trees shaded the central parkway, but they were almost entirely +wrecked by the hurricanes in 1906 and 1910. + +A half mile or so from its northern end, the Prado runs along the west side +of the Parque Central, the most notable of the numerous little squares of +walks and trees and flowers. A block or two further on is a little park +with an excellent statue, known as La India. Opposite that is another +really beautiful park, from the western side of which runs a broad street +that leads to the Paseo de Carlos Tercero, formerly the Paseo de Tacon, one +of the monuments left to his own memory by one of Cuba's most noted Spanish +rulers. The Paseo runs westward to El Castillo del Principe, originally a +fortress but now a penitentiary. The Prado stops just beyond the companion +parks, La India and Colon. These originally formed the Campo de Marte, laid +out by General Tacon and, in his time, used as a military parade ground. +In a way, the Parque Central is the centre of the city. It is almost that, +geographically, and perhaps quite that, socially. In its immediate vicinity +are some of the leading hotels and the principal theatres. One of the +latter, facing the park on its western side, across the Prado, is now known +as the Nacional. Formerly it was the Tacon, a monument to that notable man. +There is quite a story about that structure. It is somewhat too long for +inclusion here, but it seems worth telling. The following is an abridgment +of the tale as it is told in Mr. Ballou's _History of Cuba_, published in +1854. Tacon was the Governor of the island from 1834 to 1838. At that time, +a certain man named Marti was eminent in the smuggling and piracy business, +an industry in which many others were engaged. But Marti seems to have +stood at the top of his profession, a man of skill and daring and evidently +well supplied with brains. Tacon's efforts to capture him, or to break up +his business, were entirely unsuccessful, and a large reward was offered +for his body, alive or dead. Mr. Ballou tells the story in somewhat +dramatic manner: + +"It was a dark, cloudy night in Havana, a few months after the announcement +of the reward, when two sentinels were pacing backward and forward before +the main entrance to the Governor's palace. A little before midnight, a man +was watching them from behind a statue in the park, and after observing +that the sentinels paced their brief walk so as to meet each other, and +then turned their backs as they separated, leaving a brief moment in the +interval when the eyes of both were turned away from the entrance, seemed +to calculate upon passing them unobserved. It was an exceedingly delicate +manoeuvre, and required great care and dexterity to effect it; but, at +last, it was adroitly done, and the stranger sprang lightly through the +entrance, secreting himself behind one of the pillars of the inner court. +The sentinels paced on undisturbed. The figure which had thus stealthily +effected an entrance, now sought the broad stairs that led to the +Governor's suite, with a confidence that evinced a perfect knowledge of the +place. A second guard-post was to be passed at the head of the stairs; but, +assuming an air of authority, the stranger offered a cold military salute +and passed forward, as though there was not the most distant question of +his right to do so; and thus avoiding all suspicion in the guard's mind, he +boldly entered the Governor's reception room unchallenged, and closed the +door behind him." + +In his office, alone, the stranger found Tacon, who was naturally surprised +at the appearance of an unannounced caller. He demanded to know who the +visitor was, but a direct answer was evaded. After referring to the matter +of the reward offered for the discovery of Marti, and the pledge of +immunity to the discoverer, the caller demanded and obtained a verbal +endorsement of the promise of immunity, under the Governor's word of honor, +whatever might be the circumstances of his revelation. He then announced +himself as the much-sought pirate and smuggler, Marti. Tacon was somewhat +astounded, but he kept his word. Marti was held overnight, but "on the +following day," the Ballou account proceeds, "one of the men-of-war that +lay idly beneath the guns of Morro Castle suddenly became the scene of the +utmost activity, and, before noon, had weighed her anchor, and was standing +out into the gulf stream. Marti the smuggler was on board as her pilot; +and faithfully did he guide the ship on the discharge of his treacherous +business, revealing every haunt of the rovers, exposing their most valuable +depots; and many a smuggling craft was taken and destroyed. The amount of +money and property thus secured was very great." The contemptible job +of betraying his former companions and followers being successfully +accomplished, Marti returned with the ships, and claimed his reward from +Tacon. The General, according to his word of honor, gave Marti a full +and unconditional pardon for all his past offences, and an order on the +treasury for the amount of the reward offered. The latter was declined but, +in lieu of the sum, Marti asked for and obtained a monopoly of the right +to sell fish in Havana. He offered to build, at his own expense, a public +market of stone, that should, after a specified term of years, revert to +the government, "with all right and the title to the fishery." This +struck Tacon as a good business proposition; he saved to his treasury +the important sum of the reward and, after a time, the city would own a +valuable fish-market. He agreed to the plan. Marti thereupon went into +the fish business, made huge profits, and became, so the story goes, the +richest man in the island. After a time, being burdened with wealth, he +looked about for means of increasing his income. So he asked for and +obtained a monopoly of the theatre business in Havana, promising to build +one of the largest and finest theatres in the world. The result of the +enterprise was the present Nacional theatre, for many years regarded as +second only to the Grand theatre in Milan. But it was named the Tacon. Its +special attraction was internal; its exterior was far from imposing. It has +recently been considerably glorified. Having thus halted for the story of +the theatre, we may return to the Prado on which it fronts. Here, Havana +society used to gather every afternoon to drive, walk, and talk. The +afternoon _paseo_ was and still is the great event of the day, the great +social function of the city. At the time of my first visit, in 1899, there +was no Malecon drive along the shore to the westward. That enterprise +was begun during the First Intervention, and continued by succeeding +administrations. In the earlier days, the route for driving was down the +east side of the Prado, between the Parque Central and the _Carcel_, and +up the west side, around and around, up and down, with bows and smiles to +acquaintances met or passed, and, probably, gossip about the strangers. +Many horsemen appeared in the procession, and the central promenade was +thronged with those who walked, either because they preferred to or because +they could not afford to ride around and around. In the Parque Central were +other walkers, chatting groups, and lookers-on. Some days the band played. +Then the Prado was extended to the water-front; the _glorieta_ was erected; +and that became another centre for chatterers and watchers. The building of +the Malecon extended the range of the driveway. This afternoon function is +an old established institution and a good one. It may not compare favorably +with the drive in some of our parks in this country, but it is the best +substitute possible in Havana. Indulgence in ices, cooling drinks, +chocolate, or other refections, during this daily ceremony, is fairly +common but by no means a general practice. The afternoon tea habit has not +yet seized upon Havana. The ices are almost invariably excellent. Some of +them are prepared from native fruit flavors that are quite unknown here. +The _guanabana_ ice is particularly to be recommended. All such matters are +quite individual, but a decoction called _chocolate Espanol_ is also to be +recommended. It is served hot, too thick to drink, and is to be taken with +a spoon, to the accompaniment of cake. It is highly nourishing as well as +palatable. There is a wide variety of "soft drinks," made with oranges, +limes, or other fruits, and the _orchata_, made from almonds, and the +products of American soda fountains, but there is little use of the +high-ball or the cocktail except by Americans. + +[Illustration: STREET AND CHURCH OF THE ANGELS _Havana_] + +The Cubans are an exceedingly temperate people. Wine is used by all +classes, and _aguadiente_, the native rum, is consumed in considerable +quantity, but the Cuban rarely drinks to excess. I recall an experience +during the earlier years. I was asked to write a series of articles on the +use of intoxicants in the island, for a temperance publication in this +country. My first article so offended the publishers that they declined +to print it, and cancelled the order for the rest of the series. It was +perhaps somewhat improper, but in that article I summed up the situation +by stating that "the temperance question in Cuba is only a question of how +soon we succeed in converting them into a nation of drunkards." Beer is +used, both imported and of local manufacture. Gin, brandy, and anisette, +cordials and liqueurs are all used to some but moderate extent, but +intoxication is quite rare. One fluid extract I particularly recommend, +that is the milk of the cocoanut, the green nut. Much, however, depends +upon the cocoanut. Properly ripened, the "milk" is delicious, cooling and +wholesome, more so perhaps on a country journey than in the city. The nut +not fully ripened gives the milk, or what is locally called the "water," an +unpleasant, woody taste. I have experimented with it in different parts of +the world, in the Philippines, Ceylon, and elsewhere, and have found it +wholesome and refreshing in all places. + +The houses in the new Havana are, on the whole, vastly more cheerful +than are the dwellings in the old city. They are of the same general +architectural type, but because of the wider streets, more air and sunshine +gets into them. Some of the best and most costly are along the Prado. +A Cuban house interior generally impresses an American as lacking in +home-like quality. Some of the best are richly adorned, but there is a +certain bareness and an absence of color. As is usual with customs unlike +our own, and which we are therefore prone to regard as inferior to ours, +there are excellent reasons for Cuban interior decoration, or rather the +lack of it. A little experience, or even a little reflection, shows clearly +the impossibility of anything resembling American house decoration in +such a climate as that of Cuba. Our warm colors, hangings, upholstered +furniture, rugs, and much else that we regard as essential in northern +latitudes, would be utterly unendurable in Cuba. There, the marble or tiled +floors, the cool tones of wall and ceiling, and the furniture of wood and +cane, are not only altogether fitting but as well altogether necessary. Our +glass windows would only serve to increase heat and shut out air. As some +barrier is necessary to keep passers, even Americans, from intrusive +entrance by the windows whose bottoms are at floor level, the system of +iron bars or elaborate grille work is adopted. Few Americans see much, if +anything, of Cuban home life except as they see it through these barriers +as they pass. It is not the custom of the country to invite promiscuous or +casual acquaintances to call. It is even less the custom there than it is +with us. A book about Cuba, published a few years ago, gives a somewhat +extended account of what is called "home life," but it is the home life of +workmen and people who do laundry work to eke out a meagre living. It is +not even the life of fairly paid artisans, or of people of modest but +comfortable income. It is no more a proper description of the domestic life +of the island than would be a presentation of the life in the palaces of +the wealthy. Such attempts at description are almost invariably a mistake, +conveying, whether from purpose or from indifference to truth, a false +impression. Domestic economy and household management vary in Cuba as +they vary in the United States, in France, England, Japan, or Mexico. The +selection of an individual home, or of several, as a basis for description, +in Cuba or anywhere else, can only result in a picture badly out of drawing +and quite misleading. + +There are Cuban homes, as there are American homes, that are slatternly and +badly managed, and there are Cuban homes that are as spick and span and as +orderly in their administration as any home in this country. Their customs, +as are ours, are the result of environment and tradition. To some of us, a +rectangle of six or eight rocking-chairs, placed in the centre of a room, +in which family and visitors sit and rock while they talk, may seem +curious, but it is a custom that we may not criticize either with fairness +or common decency. The same may be said of the not uncommon custom of using +a part of the street floor of the house as a stable. It is an old custom, +brought from Spain. But I have wandered from description to incident. I +have no intention to attempt a description of Cuban home life, beyond +saying that I have been a guest in costly homes in the city and in the +little palm-leaf "shacks" of peasants, and have invariably found in both, +and in the homes of intermediate classes, only cordial hospitality and +gracious courtesy. Those who have found anything different have carried it +with them in their own attitude toward their hosts. Many of us, probably +most of us, in the United States, make a sort of fetich of the privacy of +what we call our home life. We are encased in walls of wood or masonry, +with blinds, curtains, or shades at our windows. It might be supposed that +we wanted to hide, that there was something of which to be ashamed. It +might at least be so interpreted by one unfamiliar with our ways. It is +only, like the open domestic life in Cuba, a custom, a habit of long +standing. Certainly, much of the domestic life of Cuba is open. The +mistress of the house chides a servant, rebukes or comforts a child, sits +with her embroidery, chaffers with an itinerant merchant or with the +clerk from a store, all in plain sight and hearing of the passer-by. What +everyone does, no one notices. The customs of any country are curious only +to those from other countries where customs are different. Our ways of life +are quite as curious to others as are their ways to us. We are quite +blind to that fact chiefly because of an absurd conviction of the +immense superiority of our ways. We do not stop to consider reasons for +differences. A cup of coffee on an American breakfast table usually +consists of about four parts coffee and one part milk or cream. Most Cubans +usually reverse these percentages. There is a good reason for it. In +our climate, we do not need the large open doors and windows, the high +ceilings, and the full and free ventilation that make life endurable +in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Their system here would be as +impossible as would be our system there. Houses in Cuba like those of an +American city or town would make life a miserable burden. The publicity, or +semi-publicity, of Cuban home life is a necessary result of conditions. +It is, naturally, more in evidence in the city proper, where the houses, +abutting immediately on the street, as do most of our city houses, are +built, as ours are, in solid rows. We avoid a good deal of publicity by +piling our homes on top of each other, and by elevators and stair-climbing. + +The location of a residence in Havana gives no special idea of the wealth +or the social standing of those who occupy it. Not a few well-to-do people +still live in the old city, where the streets are narrow and where business +is trying to crowd out everything except itself. The home in that quarter +may be in a block in which a number of buildings are residences, or it +may stand with a warehouse on one side and a workshop on the other. A few +people, of unquestionable social position still live in buildings in which +the street floor is a store or an office. There is nothing curious about +this. In many American cities, old families have clung to old homes, and +not a few new families have, from one reason or another, occupied similar +quarters. Such a residence may not conform to modern social ideas and +standards, but there are Americans in this country, as well as Cubans and +Spaniards in Havana, who can afford to ignore those standards. The same is +true of many who live in the newer city, outside the old walls. There as +here, business encroaches on many streets formerly strictly residential. +This holds in the newer part of the city as well as in the old part. A +number of streets there are, for a part of their length, quite given over +to business. Even the Prado itself is the victim of commercial invasion. +What was once one of the finest residences in the city, the old Aldama +place fronting on the Campo de Marte, is now a cigar factory. A little +beyond it is the Tacon market, occupying an entire block. Stores and shops +surround it. The old avenue leading to the once fashionable Cerro, and +to the only less fashionable Jesus del Monte, is now a business street. +Another business street leads out of the Parque Central, alongside the +former Tacon theatre. The broad Calzada de Galiano, once a fashionable +residence street, is now largely commercial. While less picturesque than +some parts of the old city within the walls, the most attractive part of +Havana is undoubtedly the section of El Vedado, the westward extension +along the shore. Here are broad streets, trees, gardens, and many beautiful +and costly dwellings. This is really the modern Havana. A part of it is +only a little above sea-level, and behind that strip is a hill. A few years +ago, only a small number of houses were on the hillside or the hilltop. +Now, it is well built over with modern houses. The architectural type is +generally retained, and it is rather a pity that there should be even +what variation there is. El Vedado is the region of the wealthy and the +well-to-do, with a large percentage of foreigners. It has its social ways, +very much as other places have, in this country, in France, Hong Kong, or +Honolulu. They are not quite our ways, but they are a result of conditions, +just as ours are. + +On the hill, a little back of El Vedado, are two "points of interest" for +visitors; the old fortress, el Castillo del Principe, and the cemetery. +In the latter are some notable monuments. One is known as the Firemen's +Monument. For many years, Havana has had, supplementary to its municipal +organization, a volunteer firemen's corps. In various ways the latter +resembles a number of military organizations in the United States. It is at +once a somewhat exclusive social club and a practical force. Membership +is a social distinction. If you are in Havana and see men in admirably +tailored, uniforms and fire helmets, rushing in a particular direction in +cabs, carriages or automobiles, you may know that they are members of the +_Bomberos del Comercio_ on their way to a conflagration. Most excellent +real work they have done again and again in time of fire and flood. On +parade, they look exceedingly dapper with their helmets, uniforms, boots +and equipment, somewhat too dandified even to suggest any smoke other than +that of cigars or cigarettes. But they are the "real thing in smoke-eaters" +when they get to work. They have a long list of heroic deeds on their +records. The monument in Colon Cemetery commemorates one of those deeds. +In an extensive and dangerous fire, in May, 1890, thirty of these men +lost their lives. A few years later, this beautiful and costly shaft was +erected, by private subscription, as a tribute to their valor and devotion. +Another shaft, perhaps no less notable, commemorates a deplorable and +unpardonable event. A number of medical students, mere boys, in the +University of Havana, were charged with defacing the tomb of a Spanish +officer who had been killed by a Cuban in a political quarrel. At +its worst, it was a boyish prank, demanding rebuke or even some mild +punishment. Later evidence indicates that while there was a demonstration +there was no defacement of the vault. Forty-two students were arrested as +participants, tried by court-martial, and sentenced to be shot. Eight of +them were shot at La Punta, at the foot of the Prado near the sea-front, +and the remainder sentenced to imprisonment for life. All of these, I +believe, were afterward released. The Students' Monument expresses the +feeling of the Cubans in the matter, a noble memorial. There are numerous +other shafts and memorials that are notable and interesting. A number of +Cuba's leaders, Maximo Gomez, Calixto Garcia, and others, are buried in +this cemetery. + +[Illustration: A RESIDENCE IN EL VEDADO] + +Further on, to the southeast, are other sections of the new Havana, the +districts of Cerro and Jesus del Monte. El Vedado has largely supplanted +these neighborhoods as the "court end" of the city. Many of the fine old +residences of forty or fifty years ago still remain, but most of them are +now closely surrounded by the more modest homes of a less aristocratic +group. A few gardens remain to suggest what they were in the earlier days. +Still further out, in the west-and-south quarter-circle, are little towns, +villages, and hamlets, typically Cuban, with here and there the more +imposing estate of planter or proprietor. But, far the greater number of +visitors, perhaps with greater reason, find more of charm and interest +in the city itself than in the suburbs or the surrounding country. The +enjoyment of unfamiliar places is altogether personal. There are many who +really see nothing; they come away from a brief visit with only a confusion +of vague recollections of sights and sounds, of brief inspection of +buildings about which they knew nothing, of the big, yellow Palace, of this +church and that, of the Morro and the harbor, of sunny days, and of late +afternoons along the Prado and the Malecon. To me, Havana is losing its +greatest charm through an excess of Americanization, slowly but steadily +taking from the place much of the individuality that made it most +attractive. It will be a long time before that is entirely lost, but +five-story office buildings, automobiles in the afternoon parade, steaks +or ham and eggs at an eight or nine o'clock breakfast, and all kinds of +indescribable hats in place of dainty and graceful _mantillas_, seem to +me a detraction, like bay-windows and porticos added to an old colonial +mansion. + + + + +VI + +_AROUND THE ISLAND_ + + +A hundred years ago, the Cubans travelled from place to place about the +island, just as our ancestors did in this country, by water and over rough +trails few of which could, with any approach to correctness, be described +as roads. It was not until about a hundred years ago that we, in this +country, began to build anything even remotely resembling a modern highway. +Our towns and cities were on the seaboard or on the banks of rivers +navigable for vessels of size sufficient for their purposes. Commodities +carried to or brought from places not so located were dragged in stoutly +built wagons over routes the best of which was worse than the worst to be +found anywhere today. Because real road-making in Cuba is quite a modern +institution, an enterprise to which, in their phrase, the Spanish +Government did not "dedicate" itself, the Cuban wagons and carts of today +are chiefly those of the older time. They are heavy, cumbrous affairs with +large wheels, a diameter necessitated by the deep ruts through which a +passage was made. A smaller wheel would soon have been "hub-deep" and +hopelessly stuck. So, too, with the carriages of the nabobs. The poorer +people, when they travelled at all, went on foot or on horseback, as our +ancestors did. The nabobs had their _volantes_, still occasionally, but +with increasing rarity, seen in some parts of the island. Forty years ago, +such vehicles, only a little changed from the original type, were common +enough in Havana itself. About that time, or a few years earlier, the +four-wheeler began to supplant them for city use. + +There is a technical difference between the original type of _volante_ and +its successor which, though still called a _volante_ was properly called a +_quitrin_. The only real difference was that the top of the _quitrin_ was +collapsible, and could be lowered when desirable, while the top of +the _volante_ was not. I have ridden in these affairs, I cannot say +comfortably, over roads that would have been quite impossible for any other +wheeled vehicle. At the back, and somewhat behind the body were two wheels, +six feet in diameter. From, the axle, two shafts projected for a distance, +if memory serves me, of some twelve or fifteen feet. A little forward of +the axle, the body, not unlike the old-fashioned American chaise, was +suspended on stout leather straps serving as springs. Away off in front, at +the end of the shafts, was a horse on which the driver rode in a heavy and +clumsy saddle. For long-distance travel, or for particularly rough roads, +a second horse was added, alongside the shaft horse, and sometimes a third +animal. The motion was pleasant enough over the occasional smooth places, +but the usual motion was much like that of a cork in a whirlpool, or of a +small boat in a choppy sea. Little attention was paid to rocks or ruts; it +was almost impossible to capsize the thing. One wheel might be two feet or +more higher than the other, whereupon the rider on the upper side would be +piled on top of the rider or riders on the lower side, but there was always +a fair distribution of this favor. The rocks and ruts were not always on +the same side of the road. The safety from overturn was in the long shafts +which allowed free play. In the older days, say sixty or seventy years +ago, the _volante_ or the _quitrin_ was an outward and visible sign of a +well-lined pocket-book. It indicated the possessor as a man of wealth, +probably a rich planter who needed such a vehicle to carry him and his +family from their mansion in the city to their perhaps quite as costly home +on the plantation. The _calisero_, or driver, was dressed in a costume +truly gorgeous, the horses were of the best, and the vehicle itself +may have cost two thousand dollars or more. The operation of such a +contrivance, extending, from the rear of the wheels to the horse's nose, +for twenty feet or more, in the narrow streets of the old city, was a +scientific problem, particularly in turning corners. + +Cuba was early in the field with a railway. In 1830, the United States +had only thirty-two miles of line, the beginning of its present enormous +system. Cuba's first railway was opened to traffic in November, 1837. It +was a forty-five mile line connecting Havana with the town of Guines, +southeast of the city. While official permission was, of course, necessary +before the work could be undertaken, it was in fact a Cuban enterprise, due +to the activity of the _Junta de Fomento_, or Society for Improvement. It +was built with capital obtained in London, the construction being in charge +of Mr. Alfred Cruger, an American engineer. Ten years later there were +nearly three hundred miles of line. At the beginning of the American +occupation, in 1899, there were about nine-hundred and fifty miles. There +are now more than 2,000 miles of public service line in operation, and in +addition there are many hundreds of miles of private lines on the sugar +estates. Several cities have trolley lines. For some years after the +American occupation, as before that experience, there was only a +water-and-rail connection, or an all-water route, between the eastern and +western sections of the island. The usual route from Havana to Santiago +was by rail to Batabano or to Cienfuegos, and thence by steamer. The +alternative was an all-water route, consuming several days, by steamer +along the north coast, with halts at different ports, and around the +eastern end of the island to the destination. It is now an all-rail run of +twenty-four hours. The project for a "spinal railway" from one end of +the island to the other had been under consideration for many years. The +configuration lent itself excellently to such a system, and not at all +well to any other. A railway map of such a system shows a line, generally, +through the middle of the island along its length, with numerous branch +lines running north and south to the various cities and ports on the coast. +The plan, broadly, is being carried out. A combination of existing lines +afforded a route to the city of Santa Clara. From these eastward, the Cuba +Company, commonly known as the Van Home road, completed a through line in +1902. In its beginning, it was a highly ambitious scheme, involving the +building of many towns along the way, the erection of many sugar mills, and +the creation of a commercial city, at Nipe Bay, that would leave Havana in +the back-number class. All that called for a sum of money not then and not +now available. But the "spinal railroad" was built, and from it a number of +radiating lines have been built, to Sancti Spiritus, Manzanillo, Nipe +Bay, and to Guantanamo. About the only places on the island, really worth +seeing, with the exception of Trinidad and Baracoa, can now be reached by a +fairly comfortable railway journey. + +[Illustration: THE VOLANTE _Now quite rare_] + +In most of the larger cities of the island, a half dozen or so of them, the +traveller is made fairly comfortable and is almost invariably well fed. But +any question of physical comfort in hotels, more particularly in country +hotels, raises a question of standards. As Touchstone remarked, when in the +forest of Arden, "Travellers must be content." Those who are not ready to +make themselves so, no matter what the surroundings, should stay at home, +which, Touchstone also remarked, "is a better place." If the standard is +the ostentatious structure of the larger cities of this country, with its +elaborate menu and its systematized service, there will doubtless be cause +for complaint. So will there be if the standard is the quiet, cleanly inn +of many towns in this country and in parts of Europe. The larger towns and +villages of the island have a _posada_ in which food and lodging may be +obtained; the smaller places may or may not have "a place to stay." Cuba +is not a land in which commercial travellers swarm everywhere, demanding +comfort and willing to pay a reasonable price for it. However, few +travellers and fewer tourists have any inclination to depart from known +and beaten paths, or any reason for doing so. Nor does a fairly thorough +inspection of the island necessitate any halting in out-of-the-way places +where there is not even an imitation of an inn. All that one needs to see, +and all that most care to see, can be seen in little tours, for a day, from +the larger cities. Yet if one wants to wander a little in the by-paths, it +is easy enough to do so. + +What one sees or does in Cuba will depend mainly upon the purpose of the +visit, and upon the violence of the individual mania for seeing as many +places as possible. If the object is merely an excursion or an escape from +the rigors of a northern winter, there is no occasion for wandering out of +sight of the capital city. There is more to see and more to do in Havana +than there is in all the rest of the island. Nor is there much to be seen +elsewhere that cannot be seen in the immediate vicinity of that city. This, +of course, does not cover the matter of scenery. There are no mountains, +no forest jungles in that neighborhood, but forests in Cuba are not +particularly interesting, and even the mountains of Oriente are no more +beautiful or majestic than are our own summits, our own White Hills of New +Hampshire, the Adirondacks, the Blue Ridge, the Alleghenies, the Rockies, +and the Sierras. The charm of Cuba, and it is extremely charming, is not +its special "points of interest." It is rather a general impression, a +combination of soft and genial climate with varying lights and shades and +colors. Even after much experience there, I am not yet quite ready either +to admit or to deny that the island, taken as a whole, is either beautiful +or picturesque, and yet there is much of both. Attention is rarely +challenged by the sublime or the majestic, but is often arrested by +some play of light and shade. Cuban villages, with few exceptions, are +unattractive, although there is not infrequently some particular building, +usually a church, that calls for a second look or a careful examination. +Most of these little communities consist of a row of low and ungraceful +structures bordering the highway. They are usually extended by building on +at the ends. If the town street gets undesirably long, a second street or a +third will be made, on one or both sides of the main street, and thus the +town acquires breadth as well as length. The houses are built immediately +upon the roadside, and sidewalks are quite unusual. Nor, until the place +becomes a large town or a small city, is there, in most cases, any attempt +at decoration by means of shade trees. A tree may be left if there happened +to be one when the village was born, but rarely do the inhabitants turn +their streets into tree-shaded avenues. There would be an excellent +opportunity for the activities of Village Improvement Societies in Cuba, if +it were not for the fact that such tree-planting would involve pushing all +the houses ten or fifteen feet back from the roadside. + +I have never studied the system of town building in the island, yet it is +presumable that there was some such system. In the larger places, there is +usually a central park around which are arranged the church, the public +buildings, and the stores. Whether these were so constructed from an +original plan, or whether they are an evolution, along a general plan, from +the long, single street, I do not know. I am inclined to believe that the +former was the case, and that it followed the location of a church. The +custom is, of course, of Spanish origin, and is common throughout the +greater part of Latin America. It finds a fair parallel in our own country +custom, by no means infrequent, of an open "green" or common in front +of the village church and the town hall. Tree-setting along the Cuban +highways, more particularly in the neighborhood of the cities, is not at +all unusual, and some of these shaded roads are exceedingly charming. Some +are entirely over-arched by laurel trees and the gorgeous _flamboyan_, +making long tunnels of shade "through whose broken roof the sky looks in." +Evidently the Spanish authorities were too much interested in making money +and enjoying themselves in the cities to care very much for what happened +to the Cubans in the villages, as long as they paid the money that filled +the official pocket and paid for the official entertainment, and the Cubans +were too busy getting that money to have much time for village improvement. +The Spaniards, following their home custom, might decorate a military +highway to some extent, but the rough trail over which the peasant carried +his little crop did not concern them. That was quite the business of the +peasant who had neither the time nor money to do anything about it. + +The question of good roads in Cuba is very much what it is in this country. +Cuba needs more good roads than its people can afford to build; so does the +United States. At the time of the American occupation, in 1899, there were +only 160 miles of improved highway in the entire island. Of this, 85 miles +were in Havana Province, and 75 miles in Pinar del Rio. The remainder of +the island had none. Some work was done during the First Intervention +and more was done under the Palma government. At the time of the Second +Intervention, there were about 380 miles. That is, the United States and +the Cuban Republic built, in six years, nearly 40 per cent, more highway +than the Spanish authorities built in four hundred years. During the Palma +regime, plans were drawn for an extensive road system, to be carried out +as rapidly as the financial resources permitted. Not unlike similar +proceedings in this country, in river and harbor work and public +buildings, politics came into the matter and, like our own under similar +circumstances, each Congressman insisted that some of such work as could +immediately be undertaken, some of the money that could be immediately +spent, should benefit his particular district. The result was that what was +done by the Cubans was somewhat scattered, short stretches built here and +there, new bridges built when there might or might not be a usable road to +them. The Cuban plan involved, for its completion, a period of years and +a large appropriation. It called for comparatively small yearly +appropriations for many roads, for more than four hundred different +projects. Then came the Second Intervention, in 1906, with what has seemed +to many of us an utterly unwise and unwarranted expenditure for the +completion of certain selected projects included in the Cuban plan. It may +be granted that the roads were needed, some of them very much needed, but +there are thousands of miles of unconstructed but much needed roads in +the United States. Yet, in this country, Federal, State, county, and town +treasuries are not drained to their last dollar, and their credit strained, +to build those roads. From the drain on its financial resources, the island +will recover, but the misfortune appears in the setting of a standard for +Federal expenditure, in its total for all purposes amounting to about +$40,000,000 a year, far beyond the reasonable or proper bearing power of +the island. But the work was done, the money spent, and the Cubans were +committed to more work and to further expenditure. I find no data showing +with exactness the mileage completed by the Magoon government, which came +to an end in January, 1909, but a Cuban official report made at the end of +1910 shows that the combined activities of the respective administrations, +Spanish, American, and Cuban, had given the island, at that time, +practically a thousand miles of improved highway, distributed throughout +the island. + +To see the real Cuba, one must get into the country. Havana is the +principal city, and for many it is the most interesting place on the +island, but it is no more Cuba than Paris is France or than New York is the +United States. The real Cuba is rural; the real Cuban is a countryman, a +man of the soil. If he is rich, he desires to measure his possessions in +_caballerias_ of 33-1/3 acres; if poor, in _hectareas_ of 2-1/2 acres. I do +not recall any Cuban cartoon representing the Cuban people that was not a +picture of the peasant, the _guajiro_. Cuba, as a political organism, is +shown as a quite charming _senorita_, but _el pueblo Cubano_, the Cuban +people, are shown as the man of the fields. With the present equipment +of railroads, trolley lines, automobile busses, and highways, little +excursions are easily made in a day. The railways, trolleys, and automobile +busses are unsatisfactory means of locomotion for sight-seeing. The +passenger is rushed past the very sights that would be of the greatest +interest. To most of us, a private hired automobile is open to the very +serious objection of its expensiveness, an item that may sometimes be +reduced by division. It has been my good fortune in more recent years to be +whirled around in cars belonging to friends but my favorite trip in earlier +days is, I presume, still open to those who may care to make it. I have +recommended it to many, and have taken a number with me over the route. + +It is an easy one-day excursion of about sixty miles, by rail to Guanajay, +by carriage to Marianao, and return to Havana by rail. Morning trains +run to Guanajay, through a region generally attractive and certainly +interesting to the novice, by way of Rincon and San Antonio de los Banos, a +somewhat roundabout route, but giving a very good idea of the country, its +plantations, villages, and peasant homes. At Guanajay, an early lunch, or a +late breakfast, may be obtained at the hotel, before or after an inspection +of the town itself, a typical place with its little central park, its old +church, and typical residences. Inquiry regarding the transportation to +Marianao by carriage should not be too direct. It should be treated as a +mere possibility depending upon a reasonable charge. I have sometimes spent +a very pleasant hour in intermittent bargaining with the competitors for +the job, although knowing very well what I would pay and what they would +finally accept. Amiably conducted, as such discussions should be in +Cuba, the chaffering becomes a matter of mutual entertainment. A bargain +concluded, a start may be made about noon for a drive over a good road, +through a series of typical villages, to Marianao, in time for a late +afternoon train to Havana, reaching there in ample time for dinner. Along +the road from Guanajay to Marianao, Maceo swept with ruthless hand in +1896, destroying Spanish property. Here the Spaniards, no less ruthless, +destroyed the property of Cubans. It is now a region of peaceful industry, +and little or nothing remains to indicate its condition when I first saw +it. The little villages along the way were in ruins, the fields were +uncultivated, and there were no cattle. At intervals there stood the walls +of what had been beautiful country estates. Only one of many was left +standing. At intervals, also, stood the Spanish blockhouses. All along that +route, in 1906, were the insurrectos of the unfortunate experience of that +year. In the village of Caimito, a short distance from Guanajay, along that +road, I visited Pino Guerra at his then headquarters when he and his +forces so menaced Havana that Secretary Taft, in his capacity of Peace +Commissioner, ordered their withdrawal to a greater distance. The trip by +rail and road, exhibits most of Cuba's special characteristics. There are +fields of sugar cane and fields of tobacco, country villages and peasant +homes, fruits and vegetables, ceiba trees, royal palms, cocoanut palms, and +mango trees. There is no other trip, as easily made, where so much can be +seen. But there are other excursions in the vicinity, for many reasons best +made by carriage or by private hired automobile. Within fifteen miles or so +of the city, are places like Calvario, Bejucal, and Managua, all reached +by good highways through interesting and typical country, and all well +illustrating the real life of the real Cubans. It was in the vicinity of +those places that Maximo Gomez operated in 1895 and 1896, terrorizing +Havana by menacing it from the south and the east while Maceo threatened it +from the west. Another short and pleasant trip can be made around the head +of the harbor to Guanabacoa, and thence to Cojimar. Another interesting and +easily reached point is Guines, a good example of places of its size and +class. + +Of Cuba's larger cities, there are a score that would demand attention in a +guide-book. Just as there is a certain similarity in most American cities, +in that they are collections of business and residence buildings of +generally similar architecture, so is there a certain sameness in most of +Cuba's cities. To see two or three of them is to get a general idea of all, +although each has its particular features, some particular building, or +some special charm of surroundings. The most difficult of access are +Baracoa, the oldest city of the island, and Trinidad, founded only a few +years later. Glancing at some of these places, in their order from west +to east, the first is Pinar del Rio, a comparatively modern city, dating +really from the second half of the 18th Century. It owes its past and its +present importance to its location as a centre of the tobacco region of the +_Vuelta Abajo_. From comfortable headquarters here, excursions can be made, +by rail or road, through what is perhaps the most attractive, and not +the least interesting section of the island. To the north are the Organ +Mountains and the picturesque town of Vinales, one of the most charming +spots, in point of scenery, in Cuba. To the west, by rail, is Guane, the +oldest settlement in western Cuba, and all around are beautiful hills and +cultivated valleys. Eastward from Havana, the first city of importance is +Matanzas. Here is much to interest and much to charm, the city itself, its +harbor, its two rivers, the famous valley of the Yumuri, and the caves of +Bellamar. The city, founded in 1693, lies along the shore of the bay and +rises to the higher ground of the hills behind it. It lies about sixty +miles from Havana, and is easily reached by rail or by automobile. The +next city in order, also on the north coast, is Cardenas, a modern place, +settled in 1828, and owing its importance to its convenience as a shipping +port for the numerous sugar estates in its vicinity, an importance now +somewhat modified by the facilities for rail shipment to other harbors. +Seventy-five miles or so further eastward is Sagua la Grande, another point +of former convenience as a shipping point for sugar. The city itself is +located on a river, or estuary, some ten or twelve miles from its mouth. +Forty miles or so further on are Remedies and Caibarien, a few miles apart, +the latter on the coast and the former a few miles inland. Caibarien, like +Cardenas and Sagua, is chiefly notable as a sugar port, while Remedios is +the centre of one of the great tobacco districts, producing a leaf of good +quality but generally inferior to the _Partidos_ of Havana Province, and +quite inferior to the famous _Vuelta Abajo_. Southward of this region, and +about midway the width of the island, somewhat more than two hundred miles +eastward of Havana, is the city of Santa Clara, better known in the island +as Villa Clara. The city dates its existence from 1689. It lies surrounded +by rolling hills and expansive valleys, but in the absence of extensive +plantations in its immediate environs, one is led to wonder just why so +pleasant a place should be there, and why it should have reached its +present proportions. For the tourist who wants to "see it all," it is an +excellent and most comfortable central headquarters. + +[Illustration: A VILLAGE STREET _Calvario, Havana Province_] + +From Villa Clara it is only a short run to Cienfuegos, the "city of a +hundred fires," a modern place, only about a hundred years old. There is +every probability that Columbus entered the harbor in 1494, and perhaps +no less probability that Ocampo entered in 1508, on his voyage around the +island. The harbor extends inland for several miles, with an irregular +shore line, behind which rises a border line of hills. The city itself +is some four or five miles from the entrance to the harbor. It came into +existence, and still exists, chiefly by reason of the sugar business. It +is an important outlet for that industry, and many estates are in its near +vicinity. The old city of Trinidad is reached, by boat, from Cienfuegos, or +rather its port city, Casilda, is so reached. Presumably, it was the port +city that Velasquez founded in 1514, a location a few miles inland +being chosen later, as being less exposed to attacks by the pirates and +freebooters who infested the Caribbean Sea for many years. It is said that +Cortes landed here and recruited his forces on his way to Mexico, in 1518. +The city itself stands on the lower slopes of the hills that form its +highly effective background. Its streets are narrow and tortuous. Like most +of the cities of the island, and most of the cities of the world, it has +its humble homes of the poor, and its mansions of the rich. Immediately +behind it stands a hill with an elevation of about nine hundred feet above +sea-level. Its name indicates the reason for its application, _La Vigia_, +the "lookout," or the "watch-tower." From its summit, we may assume that +the people of earlier times scanned the horizon for any sign of approaching +pirates by whom they might be attacked. It serves a more satisfactory +purpose nowadays in that it affords one of the loveliest panoramic views to +be found anywhere in Cuba. Not far away, and accessible from the city, is +the Pico de Potrerillo, about 3,000 feet elevation, the highest point in +Central Cuba. Northeast of Trinidad, and reached by rail from Villa Clara, +is Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad's rival in antiquity, both having been +founded, by Velasquez, in the same year. Here also are narrow, crooked +streets in a city of no mean attractions, although it lacks the picturesque +charm of its rival in age. It is an inland city, about twenty-five miles +from the coast, but even that did not protect it from attack by the +pirates. It was several times the victim of their depredations. + + + + +VII + +_AROUND THE ISLAND: Continued_ + + +The next city, eastward, is Camaguey, in many ways doubtless the best +worth a visit, next to Havana, of any city on the island. It is a place +of interesting history and, for me personally, a place of somewhat mixed +recollections. The history may wait until I have told my story. I think +it must have been on my third visit to the island, early in 1902. On my +arrival in Havana, I met my friend Charles M. Pepper, a fellow laborer in +the newspaper field. He at once informed me that he and I were to start the +next morning for a three or four weeks' journey around the island. It was +news to me, and the fact that my baggage, excepting the suitcase that I +carried, had failed to come on the boat that brought me, led me to demur. +My objections were overruled on the ground that we could carry little +baggage anyway, and all that was needed could be bought before starting, or +along the way. The next morning saw us on the early train for Matanzas. We +spent a week or ten days in that city, in Cardenas, Sagua, Santa Clara, and +Cienfuegos, renewing former acquaintance and noting the changes effected by +the restoration from the war period. That was before the completion of the +Cuba Railway. To get to Camaguey, then known as Puerto Principe, we took +the steamer at Cienfuegos and journeyed along the coast to Jucaro. There, +because of shallow water, we were dropped into a shore boat some four or +five miles from the coast, and there our troubles began. Fortunately, it +was early morning. We got something to eat and some coffee, which is almost +invariably good in Cuba, but when we meet nowadays we have a laugh over +that breakfast at Jucaro. I don't know, and really don't care, what the +place is now. After some hours of waiting, we secured passage in an +antiquated little car attached to a freight train carrying supplies and +structural material to Ciego de Avila, for use by the railway then being +built in both directions, eastward and westward from that point. The line +that there crosses the island from north to south was built in the time +of the Ten Years' War (1868-1878) as a barrier against the revolutionists +operating in eastern Cuba. It was restored for use in the revolution of +1895, but its blockhouses at every kilometre, and its barbed wire tangles, +were entirely ineffective against Gomez and Maceo and other leaders, all of +whom crossed it at their own sweet will, although not without an occasional +vicious little contest. We reached Ciego de Avila soon after noon, and had +to wait there over night for a further advance. The place is now a thriving +little city, but it was then a somewhat sprawling village with a building +that was called a hotel. But we got food and drink and beds, all that is +really necessary for experienced campaigners. For the next two days, Old +Man Trouble made himself our personal companion and did not lose sight of +us for a single minute. + +Through personal acquaintance with the railway officials, we obtained +permission to travel over the line, on any and all trains, as far as it was +then built, some forty miles or so toward Camaguey. Through them, also, we +arranged for saddle horses to meet us at railhead for the remainder of the +journey. There were no trains except construction trains carrying rails, +ties, lumber, and other materials. We boarded the first one out in the +morning. We had our choice of riding on any of those commodities that we +might select. There was not even a caboose. We chose a car of lumber as the +most promising. For four or five hours we crawled through that country, +roasting and broiling on that pile of planks, but the ties and the rails +were even hotter. The only way we could keep a place cool enough to sit on +was by sitting on it. I once occupied a stateroom next to the steamer's +funnel. I have seen, day after day, the pitch bubble between the planks of +a steamer's deck in the Indian Ocean. I have been in other places that I +thought plenty hot enough, but never have I been so thoroughly cooked as +were my companion and I perched on the lumber pile. On top of that, or +rather on top of us, there poured a constant rain of cinders from the +locomotive puffing away a few cars ahead of us. The road-bed was rough, and +at times we had to hang on for our very lives. We can laugh about it now, +but, at the time, it was no joke. At last we reached the end of the line, +somewhere in a hot Cuban forest, but there were no horses. We watched the +operation of railway building, and took turns in anathematizing, in every +language of which we had any knowledge, the abandoned ruffian who failed to +appear with those horses. Before night, we were almost ready to wish that +he had died on the way. At last he came. Our baggage was loaded on a +pack-horse; we mounted and rode gallantly on our way. We had about thirty +miles to cover by that or some other means of locomotion. Before we had +gone a mile, we developed a clear understanding of the reasons for the sale +of those horses by the Government of the United States, but why the United +States Army ever bought them for cavalry mounts we could not even imagine. +There was no road. Most of the way we followed the partly constructed +road-bed for the new railway, making frequent detours, through field or +jungle, to get around gaps or places of impossible roughness. Before we had +covered two miles, we began to wish that the man who sent those horses, a +Spaniard, by the way, might be doomed to ride them through all eternity +under the saddles with which they were equipped. We were sorry enough for +the poor brutes, but sorrier still for ourselves. For several days, I +limped in misery from a long row of savage blisters raised on my leg +by rawhide knots with which my saddle had been repaired. An hour after +starting, we were overtaken by a heavy thunder-shower. At nightfall, after +having covered about fifteen wretched miles, we reached a construction camp +where an American nobleman, disguised as a section-boss, gave us food and +lodging in the little palm-leaf shack that served as his temporary home. It +was barely big enough for one, but he made it do for three. + +[Illustration: STREET AND CHURCH _Camaguey_] + +Early in the morning, we resumed our journey, plodding along as best we +could over a half-graded "right-of-way." A couple of hours brought us to +a larger construction camp where we halted for such relief as we could +secure. We then were some twelve or fourteen miles from our destination. We +discussed the wisdom of making the rest of the way on foot, as preferable +to that particular kind of saddle-work, leaving our baggage to come along +with the horses when it might. But fortune smiled, or it may have been just +a grimace. Word came that a team, two horses and a wagon, would go to the +city that afternoon, and there would be room for us. We told our pilot, +the man with the horses, just what we thought of him and all his miserable +ancestors, gave him a couple of _pesos_, and rejoiced over our prospects of +better fortune. But it proved to be only an escape from the fire into +the frying-pan. I have driven over many miles of South African _veldt_, +straight "across lots," in all comfort, but while the general topography of +Camaguey puts it somewhat into the _veldt_ class, its immediate surface +did not in the least remind me of the South African plateau. The trip was +little short of wonderful for its bumpiness. We got to Camaguey sore and +bruised but, as far as we could discover, physically intact, and, having +arrived, may now return to its history and description. May no "gentle +reader" who scans these pages repeat our experience in getting there. It +is supposed that here, or immediately here-about, was the place of "fifty +houses and a thousand people" encountered by the messengers of Columbus, +when he sent them inland to deliver official letters of introduction to the +gorgeous ruler of the country in which he thought he was. Different writers +tell different stories about the settlement of the place, but there is no +doubt that it was among the earliest to be settled. Columbus gave to a +harbor in that vicinity, in all probability the Bay of Nuevitas, the name +Puerto del Principe, or Port of the Prince. He called the islands of the +neighborhood the Gardens of the King. On that bay, about 1514, Diego +Velasquez founded a city, probably the present Nuevitas, which he is said +to have called Santa Maria. Somewhere from two to ten years later, an +inland settlement was made. This developed into the city that was afterward +given the name of Santa Maria del Puerto del Principe, now very properly +changed to the old Indian name of Camaguey. + +If the idea of an inland location was, as it is said to have been, +protection against pirates and buccaneers, it was not altogether a +success. The distinguished pirate, Mr. Henry Morgan, raided the place very +effectively in 1668, securing much loot. In his book, published in 1871, +Mr. Hazard says: "Puerto Principe (the present Camaguey) is, probably, the +oldest, quaintest town on the island,--in fact, it may be said to be a +finished town, as the world has gone on so fast that the place seems a +million years old, and from its style of dress, a visitor might think he +was put back almost to the days of Columbus." There have been changes +since that time, but the old charm is still there, the narrow and crooked +streets, forming almost a labyrinth, the old buildings, and much else that +I earnestly hope may never be changed. There is now an up-to-date hotel, +connected with the railway company, but if I were to go there again and the +old hotel was habitable, I know I should go where I first stayed, and where +we occupied a huge barrack-like room charged on our bill as "_habitaciones +preferentes_," the state chamber. It had a dirty tiled floor, and was the +home of many fleas, but there was something about it that I liked. I do not +mean to say that all of Camaguey, "the city of the plain," is lovely, or +picturesque or even interesting. No more is all of Paris, or Budapest, +or Amsterdam, or Washington. They are only so in some of their component +parts, but it is those parts that remain in the memory. The country around +the city is a vast plain, for many years, and still, a grazing country, a +land of horses and cattle. The charm is in the city itself. If I could see +only one place outside of Havana, I would see Camaguey. A little less than +fifty miles to the north is Nuevitas, reached by one of the first railways +built in Cuba, now if ever little more than the port city for its larger +neighbor. Columbus became somewhat ecstatic over the region. Perhaps it was +then more charming, or the season more favorable, than when I saw it. I +do not recall any feeling of special enthusiasm about its scenic charms. +Perhaps I should have discovered them had I stayed longer. Perhaps I should +have been more impressed had it not been for the impressions of Camaguey. I +saw Nuevitas only briefly on my way eastward on that memorable excursion by +construction train and saddle. The only route then available was by boat +along the north shore, and it was there that we caught the steamer for +Santiago. + +That sail along the coast would have afforded greater pleasure had it +lacked the noisy presence of an itinerant opera company whose members +persisted, day and night, in exercising their lungs to the accompaniment of +an alleged piano in the cabin. I have a far more pleasant recollection, or +rather a memory because it stays with me, of music in those waters. The +transport on which I went to Porto Rico, in the summer of 1898, carried, +among other troops, a battery of light artillery. It had an unusually good +bugler, and his sounding of "taps" on those soft, starlit nights remains +with me as one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. The shrieks, +squalls, and roars of those opera people were in a wholly different class. +About seventy-five miles east of Nuevitas is Gibara, merely a shipping port +for the inland city of Holguin. The former is only one of a number of such +places found along the coast. Most of them are attractive in point of +surrounding scenery, but little or not at all attractive in themselves, +being mere groups of uninteresting structures of the conventional type. +Holguin is perhaps two hundred years old, quite pleasantly situated, but +affording no special points of interest for the tourist. The city is now +easily reached by a branch of the Cuba Railway. It is worth the visit of +those who "want to see it all." Beyond Gibara is Nipe Bay, not improbably +the first Cuban harbor entered by Columbus. Nipe Bay and its near neighbor, +Banes Bay, are the centres of what is now the greatest industrial activity +of any part of the island. Here, recent American investment is measured in +scores of millions of dollars. Here, in the immediate neighborhood, are +some of the largest sugar plantations and mills on the island, the Boston +and the Preston. A little to the west of Gibara are two others, Chaparra +and Delicias. Hitherto, the western half of the island has been, the great +producing district, but present indications point to a not distant time +when the eastern district will rival and, it may be, outstrip the section +of older development. The foundation is already laid for an extensive +enterprise. Nature has afforded one of the finest land-locked harbors in +the world at Nipe, and another, though smaller, a few miles away, at Banes. +The region now has railroad connection with practically all parts of the +island. Around those bays are sugar lands, tobacco lands, fruit lands, and +a few miles inland are the vast iron ore beds that, as they are developed, +will afford employment for an army of workmen. Nipe Bay is the natural +commercial outlet for a vast area of richly productive soil. At present, +the region affords nothing of special interest except its industrial +activities, its miles and miles of sugar cane, its huge mills, and the +villages built to house its thousands of workmen. + +Seventy-five miles or so eastward of Nipe, lies one of the most charming +and interesting spots on the island. This is old Baracoa, the oldest +settlement on the island, now to be reached only by water or by the +roughest of journeys over mountain trails. The town itself does not amount +to much, but the bay is a gem, a little, circular basin, forest-shaded to +its border, its waters clear as crystal. Behind it rise the forest-clad +hills, step on step, culminating in _el Yunque_, "the anvil," with an +elevation of about eighteen hundred feet. Baracoa is supposed to be the +place about which Columbus wrote one of his most glowing and extravagant +eulogies. Whether it is really worth the time and the discomfort of a +special trip to see it, is perhaps somewhat doubtful. It is a place of +scenery and sentiment, and little else. There is an old fort on a hilltop, +not particularly picturesque, and an old church in which is a cross quite +doubtfully reported as having been furnished by Columbus. Sometime, years +hence, there will be easier communication, and the fertile hillsides and +still more fertile valleys will supply various produces for consumption in +the United States. About twenty-five miles east of Baracoa is the end of +the island, Cape Maisi. Swinging around that, the coasting steamers turn +due west along the shore to Santiago, passing the harbor of Guantanamo, +with its United States naval station. That place is reached by rail from +Santiago, a highly picturesque route through the Guantanamo valley. Besides +the naval station, the place is a shipping port, affording nothing of +special interest to the traveller who has seen other and more easily +accessible cities of its type. It always seems to me that Santiago, or more +properly Santiago de Cuba, would be more engaging if we could forget the +more recent history of this city, known to most Cubans as Cuba (pronounced +Cooba). No doubt, it is a much better place in which to live than it was +twenty years ago, and much of its old charm remains. Its setting cannot +be changed. It is itself a hillside town, surrounded by hills, with real +mountains on its horizon. The old cathedral, a dominant structure, has +been quite a little patched up in recent years, and shows the patches. The +houses, big and little, are still painted in nearly all the shades of the +spectrum. But there is a seeming change, doubtless psychological rather +than physical. One sees, in imagination, Cervera's squadron "bottled up" in +the beautiful harbor, while Sampson's ships lie outside waiting for it to +come out. It is difficult to forget San Juan Hill and El Caney, a few +miles behind the city, and remember only its older stories. A good deal of +history has been made here in the last four hundred years. Its pages +show such names as Velasquez, Grijalva, Hernan Cortes, and Narvaez, and +centuries later, Cespedes, Marti, and Palma. Here was enacted the grim +tragedy of the _Virginius_, and here was the conflict that terminated +Spain's once vast dominion in the western world. My own impression is +that most of its history has already been written, that it will have no +important future. As a port of shipment, I think it must yield to the new +port, Nipe Bay, on the north coast. It is merely a bit of commercial logic, +the question of a sixty-mile rail-haul as compared with a voyage around the +end of the island. Santiago will not be wiped from the map, but I doubt its +long continuance as the leading commercial centre of eastern Cuba. It is +also a fairly safe prediction that the same laws of commercial logic will +some day operate to drain northward the products of the fertile valley of +the Cauto, and the region behind old Manzanillo and around the still older +Bayamo. + +[Illustration: COBRE _Oriente Province_] + +Except the places earlier mentioned, Jucaro, Trinidad and Cienfuegos, there +are no southern ports to the west until Batabano is reached, immediately +south of, and only a few miles from, the city of Havana. It is a shallow +harbor, of no commercial importance. It serves mainly as the centre of a +sponge-fishing industry, and as a point of departure for the Isle of Pines, +and for ports on the south coast. The Isle of Pines is of interest for a +number of reasons, among which are its history, its mineral springs, its +delightful climate, and an American colony that has made much trouble +in Washington. Columbus landed there in 1494, and gave it the name _La +Evangelista_. It lies about sixty miles off the coast, almost due south +from Havana. Between the island and the mainland lies a labyrinth of islets +and keys, many of them verdure-clad. Its area is officially given as 1,180 +square miles. There seems no doubt that, at some earlier time, it formed a +part of the main island, with which it compares in geologic structure and +configuration. It is now, in effect, two islands connected by a marsh; the +northern part being broken and hilly, and the southern part low, flat, and +sandy, probably a comparatively recently reclaimed coralline plain. The +island has been, at various times, the headquarters of bands of pirates, a +military hospital, a penal institution, and a source of political trouble. +It is now a Cuban island the larger part of which is owned by Americans. It +is a part of the province of Havana, and will probably so remain as long as +Cuba is Cuba. My personal investigations of the disputed question of the +political ownership of the island began early in 1899. I then reached a +conclusion from which I have not since seen any reason to depart. The +island was then, had always been, and is now, as much a part of Cuba as +Long Island and Key West have been and are parts of the United States. + +Just who it was that first raised the question of ownership, none of us who +investigated the matter at the time of its particular acuteness, was +able to determine satisfactorily, although some of us had a well-defined +suspicion. The man is now dead, and I shall not give his name. Article I, +of the Treaty of Paris, of December 10, 1898, presumably disposes of the +Cuban area; Article II refers to Porto Rico; and Article III refers to the +Philippines. The issue regarding the Isle of Pines was raised under +Article II, presumably referring only to Porto Rico. A slight but possibly +important difference appears in the Spanish and the English versions. The +English text reads that "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and other +islands now under Spanish sovereignty" etc. The Spanish text, literally +translated runs: "Spain cedes ... the island of Porto Rico and the others +that are now under its sovereignty." The obvious reference of the article +is to Mona, Viequez, and Culebra, all small islands in Porto Rican waters. +But the question was raised and was vigorously discussed. An official map +was issued showing the island as American territory. Americans jumped +in, bought up large tracts, and started a lively real estate boom. They +advertised it widely as American territory, and many put their little +collections of dollars into it. The claim of Spanish cession was afterward +denied in the very document that served to keep the issue alive for a +number of years. Article VI of the Platt Amendment, which the Cubans +accepted with marked reluctance, declared that the island was omitted from +the boundaries of Cuba, and that the title and ownership should be left to +future adjustment by treaty. But no alternative appears between cession and +no cession. Had the island become definitely American territory by cession, +its alienation, by such a step, would not have been possible. When we left +Cuba, in 1902, the official instructions from Washington were that the Isle +of Pines would remain under a _de facto_ American government. President +Palma, accepting the transfer, expressed his understanding that it would +"continue _de facto_ under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Cuba." In +some way, the departing American authority failed to leave any agent or +representative of the _de facto_ government of the United States, and the +Cubans included the island in their new administration, very properly. When +the treaty proposed by the Platt Amendment came before the United States +Senate, it hung fire, and finally found lodgment in one of the many +pigeon-holes generously provided for the use of that august body. There it +may probably be found today, a record and nothing more. Why? For the very +simple reason that some of the resident claimants for American ownership +sent up a consignment of cigars made on the island from tobacco grown on +the island, and refused to pay duty on them. The ground of refusal was that +they were a domestic product, sent from one port in the United States to +another port in the same country, and therefore not dutiable. The case of +Pearcy _vs_ Stranahan, the former representing the shippers, and the latter +being the Collector of the Port of New York, came before the Supreme Court +of the United States, and that final authority decided and declared that +the Isle of Pines was Cuban territory and a part of Cuba. The question is +settled, and the Isle of Pines can become territory of the United States +only by purchase, conquest, or some other form of territorial transfer. + +While the American settlers in the Isle of Pines, and the several +real-estate companies who seek purchasers for their holdings, own a large +part of the territory, they still constitute a minority of the population. +Many of the settlers, probably most of them, are industrious and persistent +in their various productive activities. Their specialty is citrus fruits, +but their products are not limited to that line. More than a few have tried +their little experiment in pioneering, and have returned to their home land +more or less disgusted with their experience. Those who have remained, +and have worked faithfully and intelligently, have probably done a little +better than they would have done at home. The great wealth for which all, +doubtless, earnestly hoped, and in which many, doubtless, really believed, +has not come. This settlement is only one of many speculative exploitations +in Cuba. Some of these have been fairly honest, but many of them have been +little better than rank swindles. Many have been entirely abandoned, the +buyers losing the hard-earned dollars they had invested. Others, better +located, have been developed, by patience, persistence, and thrift, into +fairly prosperous colonies. I do not know how many victims have been +caught by unscrupulous and ignorant promoters in the last fifteen years, +principally in the United States and in Canada, but they are certainly +many, so many that the speculative industry has declined in recent years. +Many of the settlers who have remained have learned the game, have +discovered that prosperity in Cuba is purchased by hard work just as it is +elsewhere. In different parts of the island, east, west, and centre, there +are now thrifty and contented colonists who have fought their battle, and +have learned the rules that nature has formulated as the condition of +success in such countries. Whether these people have really done any better +than they would have done had they stayed at home and followed the rules +there laid down, is perhaps another question. At all events, there are +hundreds of very comfortable and happy American homes in Cuba, even in the +Isle of Pines, where they persist in growling because it is Cuba and not +the United States. + +In a review of a country including forty-four thousand square miles of +territory, condensed into two chapters, it is quite impossible to include +all that is worth telling. Moreover, there is much in the island of which +no adequate description can be given. There is much that must be seen if it +if to be fairly understood and appreciated. + + + + +VIII + +_THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA_ + + +IN his message to Congress, on December 5, 1898, President McKinley +declared that "the new Cuba yet to arise from the ashes of the past must +needs be bound to us by ties of singular intimacy and strength if its +enduring welfare is to be assured." + +Probably to many of the people of the United States, the story of our +relations with Cuba had its beginning with the Spanish-American war. +That is quite like a notion that the history of an apple begins with its +separation from the tree on which it grew. The general history of the +island is reviewed in other chapters in this volume. The story of our +active relations with Cuba and its affairs runs back for more than a +hundred years, at least to the days of President Thomas Jefferson who, +in 1808, wrote thus to Albert Gallatin: "I shall sincerely lament Cuba's +falling into any other hands but those of its present owners." Several +other references to the island appear at about that time. Two great +movements were then going on. Europe was in the throes of the Napoleonic +disturbance, and for more than twenty-five years both France and England +schemed, sometimes openly and sometimes secretly, for the possession of +Cuba. The other movement was the revolution in Spain's colonies in the +Western Hemisphere, a movement that cost Spain all of its possessions in +that area, with the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico. The influence of the +revolutionary activities naturally extended to Cuba, but it was not until +after 1820 that matters became dangerously critical. From that time until +the present, the question of Cuba's political fate, and the question of our +relations with the island, form an interesting and highly important chapter +in the history of the United States as well as in the history of Cuba. + +In his book on the war with Spain, Henry Cabot Lodge makes a statement that +may seem curious to some and amazing to others. It is, however, the opinion +of a competent and thoroughly trained student of history. He writes thus: + +"The expulsion of Spain from the Antilles is merely the last and final step +of the inexorable movement in which the United States has been engaged for +nearly a century. By influence and by example, or more directly, by arms +and by the pressure of ever-advancing settlements, the United States drove +Spain from all her continental possessions in the Western Hemisphere, until +nothing was left to the successors of Charles and Philip but Cuba and Porto +Rico. How did it happen that this great movement stopped when it came to +the ocean's edge? The movement against Spain was at once national +and organic, while the pause on the sea-coast was artificial and in +contravention of the laws of political evolution in the Americas. The +conditions in Cuba and Porto Rico did not differ from those which had gone +down in ruin wherever the flag of Spain waved on the mainland. The Cubans +desired freedom, and Bolivar would fain have gone to their aid. Mexico and +Colombia, in 1825, planned to invade the island, and at that time invasion +was sure to be successful. What power stayed the oncoming tide which had +swept over a continent? Not Cuban loyalty, for the expression 'Faithful +Cuba' was a lie from the beginning. The power which prevented the +liberation of Cuba was the United States, and more than seventy years later +this republic has had to fight a war because at the appointed time she set +herself against her own teachings, and brought to a halt the movement she +had herself started to free the New World from the oppression of the Old. +The United States held back Mexico and Colombia and Bolivar, used +her influence at home and abroad to that end, and, in the opinion of +contemporary mankind, succeeded, according to her desires, in keeping Cuba +under the dominion of Spain." + +For a number of years, Cuba's destiny was a subject of the gravest concern +in Washington. Four solutions presented themselves; first, the acquisition +of Cuba by the United States; second, its retention by Spain; third, +its transfer to some power other than Spain; fourth, its political +independence. That the issue was decided by the United States is shown by +all the history of the time. While other factors had their influence in the +determination, it is entirely clear that the issue turned on the question +of slavery. In his book on _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan +summarizes his review of the official proceedings by saying that "the South +did not want to see Cuba independent _without_ slavery, while the North did +not want to annex it _with_ slavery." In his work on the _Rise and Fall of +the Slave Power in America_, Mr. Henry Wilson declares that "thus clearly +and unequivocally did this Republic step forth the champion of slavery, and +boldly insist that these islands should remain under the hateful despotism +of Spain, rather than gain their independence by means that should inure to +the detriment of its cherished system. Indeed, it (the United States) would +fight to fasten more securely the double bondage on Cuba and the slave." + +From this point of view, unquestionably correct, it is altogether evident +that the United States assumed responsibility for Cuba's welfare, not by +the intervention of 1898, but by its acts more than seventy years earlier. +The diplomatic records of those years are filled with communications +regarding the island, and it was again and again the subject of legislation +or proposed legislation. President after President dealt with it in +messages to Congress. The acquisition of the island, by purchase or +otherwise, was again and again discussed. Popular interest was again and +again excited; the Spanish colonial policy was denounced; and the burdens +and sufferings of the Cubans were depicted in many harrowing tales. For the +policy that led to the imposition of a restraining hand on proposals to +free Cuba, in those early days, the people of the United States today must +blush. The independence movement in the States of Spanish-America may be +said to have had its definite beginning in 1806, when Francisco Miranda, +a Venezuelan, sailed from New York with three ships manned by American +filibusters, although the first land battle was fought in Bolivia, in 1809, +and the last was fought in the same country, in 1825. But the great wave +swept from the northern border of Mexico to the southernmost point of +Spanish possession. When these States declared their independence, they +wrote into their Constitutions that all men should be free, that human +slavery should be abolished forever from their soil. The attitude of the +United States in the matter of Cuba was determined by the objection to the +existence of an anti-slavery State so near our border. The experience of +Haiti and Santo Domingo was, of course, clearly in mind, but the objection +went deeper than that. Those who are interested may read with profit the +debates in the Congress of the United States, in 1826, on the subject of +the despatch of delegates to the so-called Panama Congress-of that year. On +the whole, it is not pleasant reading from any present point of view. + +Our cherished Monroe Doctrine was one of the fruits of this period, and in +the enunciation of that policy the affairs of Cuba were a prominent if not +the dominant force. The language of this doctrine is said to have been +written by Secretary Adams, but it is embodied in the message of President +Monroe, in December, 1823, and so bears his name. In April, of that year, +Secretary Adams sent a long communication to Mr. Nelson, then the American +Minister to Spain. For their bearing on the Cuban question, and for the +presentation of a view that runs through many years of American policy, +extracts from that letter may be included here. + + DEPARTMENT OF STATE, + WASHINGTON, April 28, 1823. + +"In the war between France and Spain, now commencing, other interests, +peculiarly ours, will, in all probability, be deeply involved. Whatever may +be the issue of this war, as between these two European powers, it may be +taken for granted that the dominion of Spain upon the American continent, +north and south, is irrecoverably gone. But the islands of Cuba and Porto +Rico still remain nominally, and so far really, dependent upon her, that +she possesses the power of transferring her own dominion over them, +together with the possession of them, to others. These islands, from their +local position are natural appendages to the North American continent, +and one of them, Cuba, almost in sight of our shores, from a multitude of +considerations, has become an object of transcendant importance to the +commercial and political interests of our Union. Its commanding position, +with reference to the Gulf of Mexico and the West India seas; the character +of its population; its situation midway between our southern coast and +the island of St. Domingo; its safe and capacious harbor of the Havana, +fronting a long line of our shores destitute of the same advantage; the +nature of its productions and of its wants, furnishing the supplies and +needing the returns of a commerce immensely profitable and mutually +beneficial,--give it an importance in the sum of our national interests +with which that of no other foreign territory can be compared, and little +inferior to that which binds the different members of this Union together. +Such, indeed, are the interests of that island and of this country, the +geographical, commercial, moral, and political relations, that, in looking +forward to the probable course of events, for the short period of half +a century, it is scarcely possible to resist the conviction that the +annexation of Cuba to our federal republic will be indispensable to the +continuance and integrity of the Union itself." + +The communication proceeds to relate the knowledge of the Department that +both Great Britain and France were desirous of securing possession and +control of the island, and to disclaim, on the part of the United States, +all disposition to obtain possession of either Cuba or Porto Rico. +The complications of the situation became increasingly serious, more +particularly with regard to Cuba, and on December 2, of that year (1823), +President Monroe issued his message carrying the "doctrine," which may be +given thus: + +"In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we +have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do so. +It is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent +injuries or make preparations for our defense. With the movements in this +hemisphere we are of necessity more immediately connected. We owe it, +therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the +United States and those powers (of Europe) to declare that we should +consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion +of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing +colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and +shall not interfere. But with the Governments that have declared their +independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have recognized, +we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or +controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power in any +other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward +the United States." + +From this time onward, Cuba appears as an almost continuous object of +special interest to both the people and the officials of the United States. +Notwithstanding this disclaimer of President Monroe's message, the idea +of the acquisition of the island, by the United States, soon arose. It +persisted through all the years down to the time of the Teller amendment, +in 1898, and there are many who even now regard annexation as inevitable at +some future time, more or less distant. The plan appears as a suggestion +in a communication, under date of November 30, 1825, from Alexander +H. Everett, then Minister to Madrid, to President Adams. It crops up +repeatedly in various quarters in later years. It would be a difficult and +tedious undertaking to chase through all the diplomatic records of seventy +years the references to Cuba and its affairs. + +From that period until the present time, the affairs of the island have +been a matter of constant interest and frequent anxiety in Washington. Fear +of British acquisition of the island appears to have subsided about 1860, +but there were in the island two groups, both relatively small, one of +them working for independence, and the other for annexation to the +United States. The great majority, however, desired some fair measure of +self-government, and relief from economic and financial burdens, under the +Spanish flag. The purchase of the island by the United States was proposed +by President Polk, in 1848; by President Pierce, in 1854; and by President +Buchanan, in his time. Crises appeared from time to time. Among them was +the incident of the _Black Warrior_, in 1854. Mr. Rhodes thus describes the +affair, in his _History of the United States_: + +"_The Black Warrior_ was an American merchant steamer, plying between +Mobile and New York, stopping at Havana for passengers and mail. She had +made thirty-six such voyages, almost always having a cargo for the American +port, and never being permitted to bring freight into Havana. The custom +of her agent was to clear her 'in ballast' the day before her arrival. The +practice, while contrary to the regulations of Cuban ports, had always +been winked at by the authorities. It was well understood that the _Black +Warrior_ generally had a cargo aboard, but a detailed manifest of her load +had never been required. She had always been permitted to sail unmolested +until, when bound from Mobile to New York, she was stopped on the 28th of +February, 1854, by order of the royal exchequer, for having violated +the regulations of the port. The agent, finding that the cause of this +proceeding was the failure to manifest the cargo 'in transit,' offered to +amend the manifest, which under the rules he had a right to do; but this +the collector, on a flimsy pretext, refused to permit. The agent was at the +same time informed that the cargo was confiscated and the captain fined, in +pursuance of the custom-house regulations. The cargo was cotton, valued +at one hundred thousand dollars; and the captain was fined six thousand +dollars. The United States consul applied to the captain-general for +redress, but no satisfaction was obtained. A gang of men with lighters were +sent to the ship under the charge of the _commandante_, who ordered the +captain of the _Black Warrior_ to discharge her cargo. This he refused to +do. The _commandante_ then had the hatches opened, and his men began +to take out the bales of cotton. The captain hauled down his flag and +abandoned the vessel to the Spanish authorities." + +The news of the incident created great excitement in Washington. President +Pierce sent a message to Congress, stating that demand had been made on +Spain for indemnity, and suggesting provisional legislation that would +enable him, if negotiations failed, "to insure the observance of our just +rights, to obtain redress for injuries received, and to vindicate the honor +of our flag." + +Mr. Soule, then the American Minister to Madrid, was the official through +whom the negotiations were conducted. He was a man of somewhat impetuous +temperament, and an ardent advocate of Cuba's annexation. He quite +overstepped both the bounds of propriety and of his authority in his +submission, under instructions, of a demand for three hundred thousand +dollars indemnity. This, and Spanish diplomatic methods, led to delay, and +the excitement died out. In the meantime, Spain released the vessel and its +cargo, disavowed and disapproved the conduct of the local officials, paid +the indemnity claimed by the owners of the vessel, and the ship resumed its +regular trips, being treated with every courtesy when visiting Havana. But +the incident gave rise to active discussion, and for a time threatened +serious results. It followed on the heels of another experience, the Lopez +expeditions, to which reference is made in another chapter, and came at a +time when Cuba and Cuban affairs were topics of a lively public interest. +The subject of acquisition was under general public discussion and occupied +a large share of public attention. Some wanted war with Spain, and others +proposed the purchase of the island from Spain. But the immediate cause +of complaint having been removed by the release of the ship, Soule was +instructed to take no further steps in the matter, and the excitement +gradually passed away. + +Immediately following this experience, and growing out of it, came the +incident of the "Ostend Manifesto." At that time, James Buchanan was +Minister to England. John Y. Mason was Minister to France, and Pierre Soule +was Minister to Spain. Secretary of State Marcy suggested a conference +between these three officials. They met at Ostend, but afterward +transferred their deliberations to Aix la Chapelle. The meeting attracted +general attention in Europe. The result of what they reported as "a full +and unreserved interchange of views and sentiments," was a recommendation +that an earnest effort be made immediately to purchase Cuba. They were of +opinion that the sum of one hundred and twenty million dollars be offered. +The report proceeded thus: "After we shall have offered Spain a price for +Cuba far beyond its present value, and this shall have been refused, it +will then be time to consider the question, does Cuba in the possession +of Spain seriously endanger our internal peace and the existence of our +cherished Union? Should this question be answered in the affirmative, then, +by every law, human and divine, we shall be justified in wresting it from +Spain if we possess the power; and this upon the very same principle that +would justify an individual in tearing down the burning house of his +neighbor if there were no other means of preventing the flame from +destroying his own home." It is evident that Soule dominated the meeting, +and only less evident that he, in some way, cajoled his associates +into signing the report. No action was taken on the matter by the +Administration, and the incident has passed into history somewhat, perhaps, +as one of the curiosities of diplomacy. At all events, all historians note +it, and some give it considerable attention. + +The next serious complication arose out of the Ten Years' War, in Cuba, +in 1868, to which reference is made in a chapter on Cuba's revolutions. +Spain's leaders seemed quite incapable of grasping the Cuban situation, of +seeing it in its proper light. It is more than probable that, even then, +the Cubans would have remained loyal if the Spanish authorities had paid +attention to their just and reasonable demands. As stated by Mr. Pepper, +in his _Tomorrow in Cuba_, "The machete and the torch then gained what +peaceful agitation had not been able to achieve." The demands of the +Cubans are thus stated by Senor Cabrera, in his _Cuba and the Cubans_: "A +constitutional system in place of the autocracy of the Captain-General, +freedom of the press, the right of petition, cessation of the exclusion of +Cubans from public office, unrestricted industrial liberty, abolition of +restrictions on the transfer of landed property, the right of assembly and +of association, representation in the Cortes, and local self-government," +all reasonable and just demands from every point of view of modern +civilization. Spain refused all, and on October 10, 1868, an actual +revolution began, the first in the history of the island to be properly +classed as a revolution. The United States soon became concerned and +involved. In his message to Congress on December 6, 1869, President Grant +said: "For more than a year, a valuable province of Spain, and a near +neighbor of ours, in whom all our people cannot but feel a deep interest, +has been struggling for independence and freedom. The people and the +Government of the United States entertain the same warm feelings and +sympathies for the people of Cuba in their pending struggle that they have +manifested throughout the previous struggles between Spain and her former +colonies (Mexico, Central America and South America) in behalf of the +latter. But the contest has at no time assumed the conditions which amount +to a war in the sense of international law, or which would show the +existence of a _de facto_ political organization of the insurgents +sufficient to justify a recognition of belligerency." On June 13, 1870, +President Grant sent a special message to Congress, in which he reviewed +the Cuban situation. Another reference appears in his message of December +5, 1870. In his message of December 4, 1871, he stated that "it is to be +regretted that the disturbed condition of the island of Cuba continues +to be a source of annoyance and anxiety. The existence of a protracted +struggle in such close proximity to our own territory, without apparent +prospect of an early termination, cannot be other than an object of concern +to a people who, while abstaining from interference in the affairs of other +powers, naturally desire to see every other country in the undisturbed +enjoyment of peace, liberty, and the blessings of free institutions." In +the message of December 2, 1872, he said: "It is with regret that I have +again to announce a continuance of the disturbed condition in the island of +Cuba. The contest has now lasted for more than four years. Were its scene +at a distance from our neighborhood, we might be indifferent to its result, +although humanity could not be unmoved by many of its incidents wherever +they might occur. It is, however, at out door." Reference was made to it in +all following annual messages, until President Hayes, in 1878, announced +its termination, ten years after its beginning. The contest had become +practically a deadlock, and a compromise was arranged by General Maximo +Gomez, for the Cubans, and General Martinez Campos, for Spain. + +[Illustration: HOISTING THE CUBAN FLAG OVER THE PALACE, MAY 20, 1902 +_Senate building on the right_] + +The entanglements that grew out of the experiences of this period are too +long and too complicated for detailed review here. This country had no +desire for war with Spain, but approval of the Spanish policy in Cuba was +impossible. The sympathies of the American people were with the Cubans, as +they had been for fifty years, and as they continued to be until the end of +Spanish occupation in the West Indies. Rumors of all kinds were afloat, and +again and again the situation seemed to have reached a crisis that could be +ended only by war. A particularly aggravating incident appeared in what is +known as the _Virginius_ case. This was described as follows, in President +Grant's message to Congress on December 1, 1873. + +"The steamer _Virginius_ was on the 26th day of September, 1870, duly +registered at the port of New York as a part of the commercial marine +of the United States. On the 4th of October, 1870, having received the +certificate of her register in the usual legal form, she sailed from +the port of New York, and has not since been within the territorial +jurisdiction of the United States. On the 31st day of October last (1873), +while sailing under the flag of the United States on the high seas, she was +forcibly seized by the Spanish gunboat _Tornado_, and was carried into the +port of Santiago de Cuba, where fifty-three of her passengers and crew were +inhumanly, and, so far at least as related to those who were citizens of +the United States, without due process of law, put to death." + +Only for the timely arrival of the British man-of-war _Niobe_, and the +prompt and decisive action of her commander, there is no doubt that +ninety-three others would have shared the fate of their companions. Some +were Americans and some were British. The excitement in this country was +intense, and war with Spain was widely demanded. Further investigation +revealed the fact that the American registry was dishonest, that the ship +really belonged to or was chartered by Cubans, that it was engaged in +carrying supplies and munitions of war to the insurgents, and that its +right to fly the American flag was more than doubtful. The ship was seized +by the American authorities under a charge of violation of the maritime +laws of the United States, and was ordered to New York, for a trial of the +case. American naval officers were placed in command, but she was in bad +condition, and foundered in a gale near Cape Fear. As far as the vessel +was concerned, the incident was closed. There remained the question of +indemnity for what Caleb Cushing, then the American Minister to Spain, in +his communication to the Spanish authorities, denounced as "a dreadful, +a savage act, the inhuman slaughter in cold blood, of fifty-three human +beings, a large number of them citizens of the United States, shot without +lawful trial, without any valid pretension of authority, and to the horror +of the whole civilized world." England also filed its claim for the loss +of British subjects, and payment was soon after made "for the purpose of +relief of the families or persons of the ship's company and passengers." In +his _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan says: "The catalogue +of irritating affairs in relation to Cuba, of which the _Virginius_ was +only the culmination, might have been urged as sufficient to justify a +policy of intervention to stop the stubborn war of extermination which had +been tolerated by peaceful neighbors for five years. Some would have been +ready to advocate intervention as a duty. The relations of Cuba to the +United States, the Spanish commercial restrictions which placed Cuba at +the mercy of Spanish monopolists, and the character of the Spanish rule, +pointed to the conclusion that if Spain should not voluntarily grant +reforms and guarantee pacification of the island, the United States might +be compelled, especially for future security, temporarily to occupy it and +assist in the organization of a liberal government based upon modern views. +Such action might have led to annexation, but not necessarily; it might +have led to a restoration of Spanish possession under restrictions as to +the character of Spanish rule, and as to the size of the Spanish army and +naval force in the vicinity; more likely it would have resulted in the +independence of Cuba under American protection." + +These are only some of the more prominent features in fifty years of +American interest in Cuba. Throughout the entire period, the sympathies +of the American people were strongly pro-Cuban. Money and supplies were +contributed from time to time to assist the Cubans in their efforts to +effect a change in their conditions, either through modification of Spanish +laws, or by the road of independence. Only a minority of the Cubans sought +to follow that road at that time. The movement for independence was not +national until it was made so in 1895. What would have happened had we, +at the time of the Ten Years' War, granted to the Cubans the rights of +belligerents, is altogether a matter of speculation. Such a course was then +deemed politically inexpedient. + + + + +IX + +_CUBA'S REVOLUTIONS_ + + +Only by magnifying protests into revolts, and riots into revolutions, is it +possible to show Cuba as the "land of revolutions" that many have declared +it to be. The truth is that from the settlement of the island in 1512 until +the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1898, there were only two experiences +that can, by any proper use of the term, be called revolutions. This +statement, of course, disputes a widely accepted notion, but many notions +become widely accepted because of assertions that are not contradicted. +That a strong undercurrent of discontent runs through all Cuba's history +from 1820 to 1895, is true. That there were numerous manifestations of that +discontent, and occasional attempts at revolution, is also true. But none +of these experiences, prior to 1868, reached a stage that would properly +warrant its description as a revolution. The term is very loosely applied +to a wide range of experiences. It is customary to class as revolution all +disorders from riots to rebellions. This is particularly the case where +the disorder occurs in some country other than our own. The _Standard +Dictionary_ defines the essential idea of revolution as "a change in the +form of government, or the constitution, or rulers, otherwise than +as provided by the laws of succession, election, etc." The _Century +Dictionary_ defines such proceedings as "a radical change in social or +governmental conditions; the overthrow of an established political system." +Many exceedingly interesting parallels may be drawn between the experience +of the American colonies prior to their revolution, in 1775, and the +experience of Cuba during the 19th Century. In fact, it may perhaps be +said that there is no experience in Cuba's history that cannot be fairly +paralleled in our own. In his _History of the United States_, Mr. Edward +Channing says: "The governing classes of the old country wished to exploit +the American colonists for their own use and behoof." Change the word +"American" to "Spanish," and the Cuban situation is exactly defined. The +situation in America in the 18th Century was almost identical with the +situation in Cuba in the 19th Century. Both, in those respective periods, +suffered from oppressive and restrictive trade laws and from burdensome +taxation, from subordination of their interests to the interests of the +people of a mother-country three thousand miles away. Unfortunately for the +Cubans, Spain was better able to enforce its exactions than England +was. Cuba's area was limited, its available harbors few in number, its +population small. + +Not until the years immediately preceding the revolutions by which the +United States and Cuba secured their independence, was there any general +demand for definite separation from the mother-country. The desire in both +was a fuller measure of economic and commercial opportunity. One striking +parallel may be noted. The Tories, or "loyalists," in this country have +their counterpart in the Cuban _Autonomistas_. Referring to conditions in +1763, Mr. Channing states that "never had the colonists felt a greater +pride in their connection with the British empire." Among the great figures +of the pre-revolutionary period in this country, none stands out more +clearly than James Otis, of Boston, and Patrick Henry, of Virginia. In an +impassioned address, in 1763, Otis declared that "every British subject in +America is of common right, by acts of Parliament, and by the laws of God +and nature, entitled to all the essential privileges of Britons. What God +in his Providence has united let no man dare attempt to pull asunder." +Thirteen years later, the sundering blow was struck. Patrick Henry's +resolutions submitted to the Virginia House of Burgesses, in 1765, set +that colony afire, but at that time neither he nor his associates desired +separation and independence if their natural rights were recognized. It was +not until the revolution of 1895 that the independence of Cuba became a +national demand, a movement based on realization of the hopelessness of +further dependence upon Spain for the desired economic and fiscal relief. +As in the American colonies there appeared, from time to time, individuals +or isolated groups who demanded drastic action on the part of the +colonists, so were there Cubans who, from time to time, appeared with +similar demands. Nathaniel Bacon headed a formidable revolution in Virginia +in 1676. Massachusetts rebelled against Andros and Dudley in 1689. From the +passage of the Navigation Acts, in the middle of the 17th Century, until +the culmination in 1775, there was an undercurrent of friction and a +succession of protests. The Cuban condition was quite the same excepting +the fact of burdens more grievous and more frequent open outbreaks. + +The records of many of the disorders are fragmentary. Spain had no desire +to give them publicity, and the Cubans had few means for doing so. The +_Report on the Census of Cuba_, prepared by the War Department of the +United States, in 1899, contains a summary of the various disorders in +the island. The first is the rioting in 1717, when Captain-General Roja +enforced the decree establishing a government monopoly in tobacco. The +disturbances in Haiti and Santo Domingo (1791-1800) resulting in the +establishment of independence in Haiti, under Toussaint, excited +unimportant uprisings on the part of negroes in Cuba, but they were quickly +suppressed. The first movement worthy of note came in 1823. It was +a consequence of the general movement that extended throughout +Spanish-America and resulted in the independence of all Spain's former +colonies, excepting Cuba and Porto Rico. That the influence of so vast a +movement should have been felt in Cuba was almost inevitable. As disorder +continued throughout much of the time, the period 1820-1830 is best +considered collectively. The same influences were active, and the same +forces were operative for the greater part of the term. The accounts of +it all are greatly confused, and several nations were involved, including +Spain, the United States, France, England, Mexico, and Colombia. The +slavery question was involved, as was the question of the transfer of the +island to some Power other than Spain. Independence was the aim of some, +though probably no very great number. Practically all of Cuba's later +experiences have their roots in this period. During these ten years, the +issue between Cubans who sought a larger national and economic life, +and the Spanish element that insisted upon the continuance of Spanish +absolutism, had its definite beginning, to remain a cause of almost +constant friction for three-quarters of a century. The Spanish Constitution +of 1812, abrogated in 1814, was again proclaimed in 1820, and again +abrogated in 1823. The effort of Captain-General Vives, acting under +orders from Ferdinand VII, to restore absolutism encountered both vigorous +opposition and strong support. Secret societies were organized, whose exact +purposes do not appear to be well known. Some have asserted that it was a +Masonic movement, while others have held that the organizations were +more in the nature of the _Carbonari_. One of them, called the _Soles de +Bolivar_, in some way gave its name to the immediate activities. It was +charged with having planned a rebellion against the government, but the +plans were discovered and the leaders were arrested. The movement appears +to have been widespread, with its headquarters in Matanzas. An uprising was +planned to take place on August 16, 1823, but on that day Jose Francisco +Lemus, the leader, and a number of his associates were arrested and +imprisoned. Among them was Jose Maria Heredia, the Cuban poet, who was, +for this offence, condemned, in 1824, to perpetual exile for the crime of +treason. + +Others engaged in the conspiracy fled the country. Some were officially +deported. But the punishments imposed on these people served to excite +the animosity of many more, and a period of agitation followed, marked by +occasional outbreaks and rioting. To meet the situation, an army intended +to be employed in reconquering some of the colonies that had already +declared and established their independence, was retained on the island. +In 1825, a royal decree conferred on the Spanish Governor in Cuba a power +practically absolute. This excited still further the anger of the Cuban +element and led to other manifestations of discontent. There was a +combination of political agitation with revolutionary demonstrations. +In 1826, there was a local uprising in Puerto Principe, directed more +particularly against the Spanish garrison, whose conduct was regarded as +highly offensive. A year or two later, Cuban exiles in Mexico and Colombia, +with support from the people of those countries, organized a secret society +known as the "Black Eagle," having for its purpose a Cuban revolution. Its +headquarters were in Mexico, and its activities were fruitless. Many +were arrested and tried and sentenced to death or deportation. But Vives +realized the folly of adding more fuel to the flames, and the sentences +were in all cases either mitigated or revoked. This seems to have brought +that particular series of conspiracies to an end. It was a time of active +political agitation and conspiracy, with occasional local riots that were +quickly suppressed. While much of it was revolutionary in its aims and +purposes, none of it may with any fitness be called a revolution, unless +a prevalence of a lively spirit of opposition and rebellion is to be so +classed. The agitation settled down for a number of years, but broke out in +local spasms occasionally. There were riots and disorders, but that is not +revolution. It is to be remembered that the cause of all this disturbance +was, in the main, an entirely creditable sentiment, quite as creditable +as that which led the American colonists to resist the Stamp taxes and to +destroy tea. It was a natural and righteous protest against oppression, a +movement lasting for seventy-five years, for which Americans, particularly, +should award praise rather than blame or carping criticism. Having done, in +our own way, very much what the Cubans have done, in their way, we are not +free to condemn them. The only real difference is that their methods were, +on the whole, a little more strenuous than ours. Cuban blood was stirred +by the successful revolutions in Mexico and in Spanish South America, and +conditions in the island were contrasted with those in the then somewhat +new United States. Something of the part played by this country in the +experiences of the time is presented in another chapter, on the relations +of the two countries. + +The next movement worthy of note came in 1849, if we omit the quarrel, in +1837, between General Tacon and his subordinate, General Lorenzo, and the +alleged proposal of the slaves in the neighborhood of Matanzas to rise +and slaughter all the whites. Neither of these quite belongs in the +revolutionary class. In 1847, a conspiracy was organized in the vicinity +of Cienfuegos. Its leader was General Narciso Lopez. The movement was +discovered, and some of the participants were imprisoned. Lopez escaped to +the United States where he associated himself with a group of Cuban exiles, +and opened correspondence with sympathizers in the island. They were joined +by a considerable number of adventurous Americans, inspired by a variety +of motives. The declared purpose of the enterprise was independence as the +alternative of reform in Spanish laws. An expedition was organized, but +the plans became known and President Taylor, on August 11, 1849, issued +a proclamation in which he declared that "an enterprise to invade the +territories of a friendly nation, set on foot and prosecuted within the +limits of the United States, is in the highest degree criminal." He +therefore warned all citizens of the United States who might participate in +such an enterprise that they would be subject to heavy penalties, and would +forfeit the protection of their country. He also called on "every officer +of this Government, civil or military, to use all efforts in his power to +arrest for trial and punishment every such offender against the laws." The +party was captured as it was leaving New York. The best evidence of the +time is to the effect that there was in Cuba neither demand for nor support +of such a movement, but Lopez and his associates, many of them Americans, +persisted. A second expedition was arranged, and a party of more than six +hundred men, many of them American citizens, assembled on the island of +Contoy, off the Yucatan coast, and on May 19, 1850, landed at Cardenas. But +there was no uprising on the part of the people. The Spanish authorities, +informed of the expedition, sent ships by sea and troops by land. After +a sharp skirmish, the invaders fled for their lives. Lopez and those who +escaped with him succeeded in reaching Key West. He went to Savannah, where +he was arrested but promptly liberated in response to public clamor. But +even this did not satisfy the enthusiastic liberator of a people who did +not want to be liberated in that way. He tried again in the following +year. On August 3, 1851, he sailed from near New Orleans, on the steamer +_Pampero_, in command of a force of about four hundred, largely composed +of young Americans who had been lured into the enterprise by assurance of +thrilling adventure and large pay. They landed near Bahia Honda, about +fifty miles west of Havana. Here, again, the Cubans refused to rise and +join the invaders. Here, again, they encountered the Spanish forces by whom +they were beaten and routed. Many were killed, some were captured, and +others escaped into the surrounding country and were captured afterward. +Lopez was among the captured. He was taken to Havana, and died by _garrote_ +in the little fortress La Punta. His first officer, Colonel Crittenden, and +some fifty Americans were captured and taken to Atares, the fortress at the +head of Havana harbor, where they were shot. For that somewhat brutal act, +the United States could ask no indemnity. In violation of the laws of the +United States, they had invaded the territory of a nation with which the +country was at peace. In the initial issue of the _New York Times_, on +October 18, 1851, there appeared a review of the incident, presenting a +contemporaneous opinion of the experience. It was, in part, as follows: + +"Nothing can be clearer than the fact that, for the present, at least, +the inhabitants of Cuba do not desire their freedom. The opinion has very +widely prevailed that the Cubans were grievously oppressed by their Spanish +rulers, and that the severity of their oppression alone prevented them from +making some effort to throw it off. The presence of an armed force in their +midst, however small, it was supposed would summon them by thousands to the +standard of revolt, and convert the colony into a free republic. Men high +in office, men who had lived in Cuba and were supposed to be familiar with +the sentiments of its people, have uniformly represented that they were +ripe for revolt, and desired only the presence of a small military band to +serve as a nucleus for their force. Believing that the Cuban population +would aid them, American adventurers enlisted and were ruined. They found +no aid. Not a Cuban joined them. They were treated as pirates and robbers +from the first moment of their landing. Nor could they expect any other +treatment in case of failure. They ceased to be American citizens the +moment they set out, as invaders, for the shores of Cuba." + +[Illustration: A SPANISH BLOCK HOUSE] + +The excitement of the Lopez incident was passing when it was revived, +in 1854, by the _Black Warrior_ experience, to which reference is made +elsewhere. Another invasion was projected by exuberant and adventurous +Americans. It was to sail from New Orleans under command of General +Quitman, a former Governor of the State of Mississippi. No secret was +made of the expedition, and Quitman openly boasted of his purposes, in +Washington. The reports having reached the White House, President Pierce +issued a proclamation warning "all persons, citizens of the United States +and others residing therein" that the General Government would not fail to +prosecute with due energy all those who presumed to disregard the laws of +the land and our treaty obligations. He charged all officers of the United +States to exert all their lawful power to maintain the authority and +preserve the peace of the country. Quitman was arrested, and put under +bonds to respect the neutrality laws. There was a limited uprising in +Puerto Principe, in 1851, and a conspiracy was revealed, in Pinar del Rio, +in 1852. A few years later the Liberal Club in Havana and the Cuban Junta +in New York were reported as raising money and organizing expeditions. Some +sailed, but they accomplished little, except as the activities appear as a +manifestation of the persistent opposition on the part of what was probably +only a small minority of the Cuban people. For several years, the unrest +and the agitation continued. Spain's blindness to the situation is +puzzling. In his _Cuba and International Relations_, Mr. Callahan says: +"Spain, after squandering a continent, had still clung tenaciously to Cuba; +and the changing governments which had been born (in Spain) only to be +strangled, held her with a taxing hand. While England had allowed her +colonies to rule themselves, Spain had persisted in keeping Cuba in the +same state of tutelage that existed when she was the greatest power in +the world, and when the idea of colonial rights had not developed." In +_Tomorrow in Cuba_, Mr. Pepper notes that "though the conception of +colonial home rule for Cuba was non-existent among the Spanish statesmen of +that day, the perception of it was clear on the part of the thinking +people of the island. The educated and wealthy Cubans who in 1865 formed +themselves into a national party and urged administrative and economic +changes upon Madrid felt the lack of understanding among Spanish statesmen. +The concessions asked were not a broad application of civil liberties. When +their programme was rejected in its entirety they ceased to ask favors. +They inaugurated the Ten Years' War." Regarding this action by the Cubans, +Dr. Enrique Jose Varona, a distinguished Cuban and a former deputy to the +Cortes, has stated that "before the insurrection of 1868, the reform party +which included the most enlightened, wealthy, and influential Cubans, +exhausted all the resources within their reach to induce Spain to initiate +a healthy change in her Cuban policy. The party started the publication of +periodicals in Madrid and in the island, addressed petitions, maintained a +great agitation throughout the country, and having succeeded in leading the +Spanish Government to make an inquiry into the economic, political, and +social conditions in Cuba, they presented a complete plan of government +which satisfied public requirements as well as the aspirations of the +people. The Spanish Government disdainfully cast aside the proposition as +useless, increased taxation, and proceeded to its exaction with extreme +severity." Here not seek its independence; the object was reform in +oppressive laws and in burdensome taxation, a measure of self-government, +under Spain, and a greater industrial and commercial freedom. It is most +difficult to understand the short-sightedness of the Spanish authorities. +The war soon followed the refusal of these entirely reasonable demands, and +the course of the Cubans is entirely to their credit. An acceptance of the +situation and a further submission would have shown them as contemptible. + +The details of a conflict that lasted for ten years are quite impossible +of presentation in a few pages. Nor are they of value or interest to any +except special students who can find them elaborately set forth in many +volumes, some in Spanish and a few in English. Having tried once before to +cover this period as briefly and as adequately as possible, I can do no +better here than to repeat the story as told in an earlier work (_Cuba, and +the Intervention_). On the 10th of October, 1868, Carlos Manuel Cespedes +and his associates raised the cry of Cuban independence at Yara, in the +Province of Puerto Principe (now Camaguey). On the 10th of April, 1869, +there was proclaimed the Constitution of the Cuban Republic. During the +intervening months, there was considerable fighting, though it was largely +in the nature of guerrilla skirmishing. The Spanish Minister of State +asserted in a memorandum issued to Spain's representatives in other +countries, under date of February 3, 1876, that at the outbreak of the +insurrection Spain had 7,500 troops, all told, in Cuba. According to +General Sickels, at that time the American Minister to Spain, this number +was increased by reinforcements of 34,500 within the first year of the war. +The accuracy of this information, however, has been questioned. Prior +to the establishment of the so-called Republic, the affairs of the +insurrection were in the hands of an Assembly of Representatives. On +February 26, this body issued a decree proclaiming the abolition of slavery +throughout the island, and calling upon those who thus received their +freedom to "contribute their efforts to the independence of Cuba." During +the opening days of April, 1869, the Assembly met at Guiamaro. On the tenth +of that month a government was organized, with a president, vice-president, +general-in-chief of the army, secretaries of departments, and a parliament +or congress. Carlos Manuel Cespedes was chosen as President, and Manuel +de Quesada as General-in-Chief. A Constitution was adopted. Senor Morales +Lemus was appointed as minister to the United States, to represent the new +Republic, and to ask official recognition by the American Government. The +government which the United States was asked to recognize was a somewhat +vague institution. The insurrection, or revolution, if it may be so +called, at this time consisted of a nominal central government, chiefly +self-organized and self-elected, and various roving bands, probably +numbering some thousands in their aggregate, of men rudely and +incompetently armed, and showing little or nothing of military organization +or method. + +Like all Cuban-Spanish wars and warfare, the destruction of property was a +common procedure. Some of the methods employed for the suppression of the +insurrection were not unlike those adopted by General Weyler in the later +war. At Bayamo, on April 4, 1869, Count Valmaseda, the Spanish Commandant +of that district, issued the following proclamation: + +1. Every man, from the age of fifteen years upward, found away from his +place of habitation, who does not prove a justified reason therefor, will +be shot. + +2. Every unoccupied habitation will be burned by the troops. + +3. Every habitation from which no white flag floats, as a signal that its +occupants desire peace, will be reduced to ashes. + +In the summer of 1869, the United States essayed a reconciliation and +an adjustment of the differences between the contestants. To this Spain +replied that the mediation of any nation in a purely domestic question was +wholly incompatible with the honor of Spain, and that the independence of +Cuba was inadmissible as a basis of negotiation. Heavy reinforcements were +sent from Spain, and the strife continued. The commerce of the island +was not greatly disturbed, for the reason that the great producing and +commercial centres lay to the westward, and the military activities were +confined, almost exclusively, to the eastern and central areas. In April, +1874, Mr. Fish, then Secretary of State, reported that "it is now more than +five years since the uprising (in Cuba) and it has been announced with +apparent authority, that Spain has lost upward of 80,000 men, and has +expended upward of $100,000,000, in efforts to suppress it; yet the +insurrection seems today as active and as powerful as it has ever been." +Spain's losses among her troops were not due so much to the casualties of +war as they were to the ravages of disease, especially yellow fever. The +process, in which both parties would appear to be about equally culpable, +of destroying property and taking life when occasion offered, proceedings +which are hardly to be dignified by the name of war, continued until the +beginning of 1878. Throughout the entire period of the war, the American +officials labored diligently for its termination on a basis that would give +fair promise of an enduring peace. Many questions arose concerning the +arrest of American citizens and the destruction of property of American +ownership. Proposals to grant the Cubans the rights of belligerents were +dismissed as not properly warranted by the conditions, and questions +arose regarding the supply of arms and ammunition, from this country, by +filibustering expeditions. References to Cuban affairs appear in many +presidential messages, and the matter was a subject of much discussion and +numerous measures in Congress. Diplomatic communication was constantly +active. In his message of December 7, 1875, President Grant said: "The past +year has furnished no evidence of an approaching termination of the ruinous +conflict which has been raging for seven years in the neighboring island +of Cuba. While conscious that the insurrection has shown a strength and +endurance which make it at least doubtful whether it be in the power of +Spain to subdue it, it seems unquestionable that no such civil organization +exists which may be recognized as an independent government capable of +performing its international obligations and entitled to be treated as one +of the powers of the earth." Nor did he then deem the grant of belligerent +rights to the Cubans as either expedient or properly warranted by the +circumstances. + +In 1878, Martinez Campos was Governor-General of Cuba, and Maximo Gomez +was Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban forces. Both parties were weary of +the prolonged hostilities, and neither was able to compel the other to +surrender. Spain, however, professed a willingness to yield an important +part of the demands of her rebellious subjects. Martinez Campos and Gomez +met at Zanjon and, on February 10, 1878, mutually agreed to what has been +variously called a peace pact, a treaty, and a capitulation. The agreement +was based on provisions for a redress of Cuban grievances through greater +civil, political, and administrative privileges for the Cubans, with +forgetfulness of the past and amnesty for all then under sentence for +political offences. Delay in carrying these provisions into effect gave +rise to an attempt to renew the struggle two years later, but the effort +was a failure. + +Matters then quieted down for a number of years. The Cubans waited to see +what would be done. The Spanish Governor-General still remained the supreme +power and, aside from the abolition of slavery, the application of the +Spanish Constitution and Spanish laws to Cuba, and Cuban representation +in the Cortes, much of which was rather form than fact, the island gained +little by the new conditions. Discontent and protest continued and, at +last, broke again into open rebellion in 1895. + +The story of that experience is told in another chapter. In 1906, there +came one of the most deplorable experiences in the history of the island, +the first and only discreditable revolution. The causes of the experience +are not open to our criticism. Our own records show too much of precisely +the same kind of work, illegal registration, ballot box stuffing, threats +and bribery. The first election in the new Republic was carried with only +a limited and somewhat perfunctory opposition to the candidacy of Estrada +Palma. Before the second election came, in 1905, he allied himself +definitely with an organization then known as the Moderate party. The +opposition was known as the Liberal party. Responsibility for the +disgraceful campaign that followed rests on both, almost equally. The +particular difference lies in the fact that, the principal offices having +been given to adherents of the Moderates, they were able to control both +registration and election proceedings. But the methods employed by the +opposition were no less censurable. Realizing defeat, the Liberals withdrew +from the field, by concerted action, on the day of the election, and the +Moderates elected every one of their candidates. Naturally, a feeling of +bitter resentment was created, and there came, in the spring of 1906, +rumors of armed revolt. In August, an actual insurrection was begun. +Disgruntled political leaders gathered formidable bands in Pinar del Rio +and in Santa Clara provinces. President Palma became seriously alarmed, +even actually frightened. Through the United States Consul-General in +Havana, he sent urgent appeals to Washington for naval and military aid. +Mr. Taft, then Secretary of War, and Mr. Bacon, the Assistant Secretary of +State, were sent to Havana to investigate and report on the situation. They +arrived in Havana on September 19. After ten days of careful and thorough +study, and earnest effort to effect an adjustment, a proclamation was +issued declaring the creation of a provisional government. This was +accepted by both parties and the insurgent bands dispersed. Charles E. +Magoon was sent down as Provisional Governor. Americans who are disposed to +censure the Cubans for this experience in their history, may perhaps turn +with profit to some little experiences in the history of their own country +in its political infancy, in 1786 and 1794. Those incidents do not relieve +the Cubans of the censure to which they are open, but they make it a +little difficult for us to condemn them with proper grace and dignity. The +provisional government continued until January 28, 1909, when control was +turned over to the duly elected officials, they being the same who withdrew +from the polls, acknowledging defeat, in the election of 1905. + + + + +X + +_INDEPENDENCE_ + + +Cuba's final movement for independence began on February 24, 1895. Under +the treaty of Zanjon, executed in 1878, Spain agreed to grant to the Cubans +such reforms as would remove their grounds of complaint, long continued. +The Cubans denied that the terms of the agreement had been kept. Those +terms are indicated in a statement submitted by Tomas Estrada y Palma to +Richard Olney, then Secretary of State of the United States. It bore the +date of December 7, 1895. The communication sets forth, from the Cuban +point of view, of course, the causes of the revolution of 1895. It says: + +"These causes are substantially the same as those of the former revolution, +lasting from 1868 to 1878, and terminating only on the representation of +the Spanish Government that Cuba would be granted such reforms as +would remove the grounds of complaint on the part of the Cuban people. +Unfortunately the hopes thus held out have never been realized. The +representation which was to be given the Cubans has proved to be absolutely +without character; taxes have been levied anew on everything conceivable; +the offices in the island have increased, but the officers are all +Spaniards; the native Cubans have been left with no public duties +whatsoever to perform, except the payment of taxes to the Government and +blackmail to the officials, without privilege even to move from place to +place in the island except on the permission of government authority. + +"Spain has framed laws so that the natives have substantially been deprived +of the right of suffrage. The taxes levied have been almost entirely +devoted to support the army and navy in Cuba, to pay interest on the debt +that Spain has saddled on the island, and to pay the salaries of the vast +number of Spanish office holders, devoting only $746,000 for internal +improvements out of the $26,000,000 collected by tax. No public schools are +in reach of the masses for their education. All the principal industries +of the island are hampered by excessive imposts. Her commerce with every +country but Spain has been crippled in every possible manner, as can +readily be seen by the frequent protests of shipowners and merchants. + +"The Cubans have no security of person or property. The judiciary are +instruments of the military authorities. Trial by military tribunals can be +ordered at any time at the will of the Captain-General. There is, besides, +no freedom of speech, press, or religion. In point of fact, the causes of +the Revolution of 1775 in this country were not nearly as grave as those +that have driven the Cuban people to the various insurrections which +culminated in the present revolution." + +Spain, of course, denied these charges, and asserted that the agreement had +been kept in good faith. The Spanish Government may have been technically +correct in its claim that all laws necessary to the fulfillment of its +promises had been enacted. But it seems entirely certain that they had not +been made effective. The conditions of the Cubans were in no way improved +and, some time before the outbreak, they began preparations for armed +resistance. In _Cuba and the Intervention_ (published in 1905) I have +already written an outline review of the experience of the revolution, and +I shall here make use of extracts from that volume. The notable leader +and instigator of the movement was Jose Marti, a patriot, a poet, and a +dreamer, but a man of action. He visited General Maximo Gomez at his home +in Santo Domingo, where that doughty old warrior had betaken himself after +the conclusion of the Ten Years' War. Gomez accepted the command of the +proposed army of Cuban liberation. Antonio Maceo also accepted a command. +He was a mulatto, an able and daring fighter, whose motives were perhaps a +compound of patriotism, hatred of Spain, and a love for the excitement of +warfare. Others whose names are written large in Cuba's history soon joined +the movement. A _junta_, or committee, was organized with headquarters in +New York. After the death of Marti, this was placed in charge of Tomas +Estrada y Palma, who afterward became the first President of the new +Republic. Its work was to raise funds, obtain and forward supplies and +ammunition, and to advance the cause in all possible ways. There were legal +battles to be fought by and through this organization, and Mr. Horatio S. +Rubens, a New York lawyer, was placed in charge of that department. The +twenty-fourth of February was set for the beginning of activities, but arms +were lacking, and while the movement was actually begun on that day, the +operations of the first six weeks or so were limited to numerous local +uprisings of little moment. But the local authorities became alarmed, and +martial law was proclaimed in Santa Clara and Matanzas provinces on the +27th. Spain became alarmed also, and immediately despatched General +Martinez Campos as Governor-General of the island, to succeed General +Calleja. He assumed command on April 16. Maceo and his associates, among +them his brother Jose, also a fighter of note, landed from Costa Rica +on April 1. Marti, Gomez, and others, reached the island on the 11th. +Meanwhile, Bartolome Maso, an influential planter in Oriente, had been in +command of the forces in his vicinity. Many joined, and others stood ready +to join as soon as they could be equipped. Engagements with the Spanish +troops soon became a matter of daily occurrence, and Martinez Campos +realized that a formidable movement was on. Spain hurried thousands of +soldiers to the island. + +For the first five months, the insurgents kept their opponents busy with an +almost uninterrupted series of little engagements, a guerrilla warfare. In +one of these, on May 19, Jose Marti was killed. His death was a severe blow +to the patriots, but it served rather to inspire a greater activity than +to check the movement. His death came in the effort of a small band of +insurgents to pass the Spanish cordon designed to confine activities to +Oriente Province. Immediately after the death of Marti, Maximo Gomez +crossed that barrier and organized an army in Camaguey. The first +engagement properly to be regarded as a battle occurred at Peralejo, near +Bayamo, in Oriente, about the middle of July. The respective leaders were +Antonio Maceo and General Martinez Campos, in person. The victory fell to +Maceo, and Martinez Campos barely eluded capture. The engagements of the +Ten Years' War were confined to the then sparsely settled eastern half of +the island. Those of the revolution of 1895 covered the greater part of the +island, sweeping gradually but steadily from east to west. During my first +visit to Cuba, I was frequently puzzled by references to "the invasion." +"What invasion?" I asked, "Who invaded the country?" I found that it meant +the westward sweep of the liberating army under Gomez and Maceo. It +covered a period of more than two years of frequent fighting and general +destruction of property. Early in the operations Gomez issued the following +proclamation: + + +GENERAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION + +Najasa, Camaguey, July 1, 1895. + +To THE PLANTERS AND OWNERS OF CATTLE RANCHES: + +_In accord with the great interests of the revolution for the independence +of the country, and for which we are in arms_: + +WHEREAS, _all exploitations of any product whatsoever are aids and +resources to the Government that we are fighting, it is resolved by the +general-in-chief to issue this general order throughout the island, that +the introduction of articles of commerce, as well as beef and cattle, +into the towns occupied by the enemy, is absolutely prohibited. The sugar +plantations will stop their labors, and those who shall attempt to grind +the crop notwithstanding this order, will have their cane burned and their +buildings demolished. The person who, disobeying this order, shall try to +profit from the present situation of affairs, will show by his conduct +little respect for the rights of the revolution of redemption, and +therefore shall be considered as an enemy, treated as a traitor, and tried +as such in case of his capture_. + + (_Signed_) MAXIMO GOMEZ, + The General-in-Chief. + +This proved only partially effective, and it was followed by a circular to +commanding officers, a few months later, reading thus: + + +HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF LIBERATION + +Territory of Sancti Spiritus, November 6, 1895. + +_Animated by the spirit of unchangeable resolution in defence of the rights +of the revolution of redemption of this country of colonists, humiliated +and despised by Spain, and in harmony with what has been decreed concerning +the subject in the circular dated the 1st of July, I have ordered the +following_: + +ARTICLE I. _That all plantations shall be totally destroyed, their cane and +outbuildings burned, and railroad connections destroyed_. + +ARTICLE II. _All laborers who shall aid the sugar factories--these sources +of supplies that we must deprive the enemy of--shall be considered as +traitors to their country_. + +ARTICLE III. _All who are caught in the act, or whose violation of Article +II shall be proven, shall be shot. Let all chiefs of operations of the army +of liberty comply with this order, determined to furl triumphantly, even +over ruin and ashes, the flag of the Republic of Cuba_. + +_In regard to the manner of waging the war, follow the private instructions +that I have already given_. + +_For the sake of the honor of our arms and your well-known courage and +patriotism, it is expected that you will strictly comply with the above +orders_. + + _(Signed)_ MAXIMO GOMEZ, + General-in-Chief. + +To peace-loving souls, all this sounds very brutal, but all war is brutal +and barbarous. In our strife in the Philippines, from 1899 to 1902, many of +us were proud to be told that we were conducting a "humane war." There is +no such thing. The very terms are contradictory. Gomez had declared that +if Spain would not give up Cuba to the Cubans, the Cubans would themselves +render the island so worthless and desolate a possession that Spain could +not afford to hold it. Short of further submission to a rule that was, very +rightly, regarded as no longer endurable, no other course was open to them. +Another proclamation appeared a few days later. + + + HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF + LIBERATION + + Sancti Spiritus, November 11 1895. + +To HONEST MEN, VICTIMS OF THE TORCH: + +_The painful measure made necessary by the revolution of redemption +drenched in innocent blood from Hatuey to our own times by cruel and +merciless Spain will plunge you in misery. As general-in-chief of the army +of liberation, it is my duty to lead it to victory, without permitting +myself to be restrained or terrified, by any means necessary to place Cuba +in the shortest time in possession of her dearest ideal. I therefore place +the responsibility for so great a ruin on those who look on impassively and +force us to those extreme measures which they then condemn like dolts and +hypocrites as they are. After so many years of supplication, humiliation, +contumely, banishment, and death, when this people, of its own will, has +arisen in arms, there remains no solution but to triumph, it matters not +what means are employed to accomplish it_. + +_This people cannot hesitate between the wealth of Spain and the liberty +of Cuba. Its greatest crime would be to stain the land with blood without +effecting its purposes because of puerile scruples and fears which do not +concur with the character of the men who are in the field, challenging the +fury of an army which is one of the bravest in the world, but which in this +war is without enthusiasm or faith, ill-fed and unpaid. The war did not +begin February 24; it is about to begin now_. + +_The war had to be organized; it was necessary to calm and lead into +the proper channels the revolutionary spirit always exaggerated in the +beginning by wild enthusiasm. The struggle ought to begin in obedience to a +plan and method more or less studied, as the result of the peculiarities of +this war. This has already been done. Let Spain now send her soldiers to +rivet the chains on her slaves; the children of this land are in the field, +armed with the weapons of liberty. The struggle will be terrible, but +success will crown the revolution and the efforts of the oppressed_. + +(_Signed_) MAXIMO GOMEZ, +General-in-Chief. + +Such an address doubtless savors of bombast to many Americans, but in the +history of political and military oratory in their own land they can find +an endless number of speeches that, in that particular quality, rival if +they do not surpass it. The Cuban situation was desperate, and the Cuban +attitude was one of fixed determination. Productive industry was generally +suppressed, and much property was destroyed, by both Cubans and Spaniards. +This necessarily threw many out of employment, and drove them into the +insurgent ranks. The Cubans are a peaceful people. All desired relief from +oppressive conditions, but many did not want war. While many entered the +army from patriotic motives, many others were brought into it only as a +consequence of conditions created by the conflict. The measures adopted +were severe, but decision of the contest by pitched battles was quite +impossible. The quoted figures are somewhat unreliable, but the Spanish +forces outnumbered the Cubans by at least five to one, and they could +obtain freely the supplies and ammunition that the Cubans could obtain only +by filibustering expeditions. The Cubans, therefore, adopted a policy, the +only policy that afforded promise of success. Spain poured in fresh troops +until, by the close of 1895, its army is reported as numbering 200,000 men. + +The Cubans carried the contest westward from Oriente and Camaguey, through +Santa Clara, and into the provinces of Matanzas, Havana, and Pinar del Rio. + +[Illustration: ALONG THE HARBOR WALL _Havana_] + +The _trocha_ across the island, from Jucaro on the south to Moron on the +north, originally constructed during the Ten Years' War, was a line of +blockhouses, connected by barbed wire tangles, along a railway. This +obstructed but did not stop the Cuban advance. The authorities declared +martial law in the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Rio on January 2, +1896. Gomez advanced to Marianao, at Havana's very door, and that city was +terrified. Maceo was operating immediately beyond him in Pinar del Rio, +through the most important part of which he swept with torch and machete. +The Spaniards built a _trocha_ there from Mariel southward. Maceo crossed +it and continued his work of destruction, in which large numbers of the +people of the region joined. He burned and destroyed Spanish property; +the Spaniards, in retaliation, burned and destroyed property belonging to +Cubans. Along the highway from Marianao to Guanajay, out of many stately +country residences, only one was left standing. Villages were destroyed and +hamlets were wrecked. On one of his expeditions in December, 1896, Maceo +was killed near Punta Brava, within fifteen miles of Havana. Gomez planned +this westward sweep, from Oriente, six hundred miles away, but to Antonio +Maceo belongs a large part of the credit for its execution. The weakness of +the Ten Years' War was that it did not extend beyond the thinly populated +region of the east; Gomez and Maceo carried their war to the very gates of +the Spanish strongholds. There were occasional conflicts that might well be +called battles, but much of it was carried on by the Cubans by sudden and +unexpected dashes into Spanish camps or moving columns, brief but sometimes +bloody encounters from which the attacking force melted away after +inflicting such damage as it could. Guerrilla warfare is not perhaps a +respectable method of fighting. It involves much of what is commonly +regarded as outlawry, of pillage and of plunder, of destruction and +devastation. These results become respectable only when attained through +conventional processes, and are in some way supposed to be ennobled by +those processes. But they sometimes become the only means by which the weak +can meet the strong. Such they seemed to be in the Cuban revolt against +the Spaniards, when Maximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo made guerrilla warfare +almost a military science. Gomez formulated his plan of campaign, but, with +the means at his disposal, its successful execution was possible only by +the methods adopted. At all events, it succeeded. The Cubans were not +strong enough to drive Spain out of the island by force of arms, but they +showed themselves unconquerable by the Spanish troops. They had once +carried on a war for ten years in a limited area; by the methods adopted, +they could repeat that experience practically throughout the island. They +could at least keep insurrection alive until Spain should yield to their +terms, or until the United States should be compelled to intervene. No +great movements, but constant irritation, and the suspension of all +industry, was the policy adopted and pursued for the year 1897. + +But there was another side to it all, a different line of activity. +Immediately after his arrival on the island, on April 11, 1895, Marti +had issued a call for the selection of representatives to form a civil +government. He was killed before this was effected. An assembly met, at +Jimaguayu, in Camaguey, on September 13, 1895. It consisted of twenty +members, representing nearly all parts of the island. Its purpose was the +organization of a Cuban Republic. On the 16th, it adopted a Constitution +and, on the 18th, elected, as President, Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, and +as Vice-President, Bartolome Maso. Secretaries and sub-secretaries were +duly chosen, and all were formally installed. Maximo Gomez was officially +appointed as General-in-Chief of the army, with Antonio Maceo as Lieutenant +General. Tomas Estrada y Palma was chosen as delegate plenipotentiary +and general agent abroad, with headquarters in New York. Both civil and +military organizations were, for a time, crude and somewhat incoherent. It +could not be otherwise. They were engaged in a movement that could only +succeed by success. Arms and money were lacking. The civil government was +desirable in a field that the military arm could not cover. Action lay with +the military and with the Cuban Junta in the United States. The latter +organization immediately became active. Calls were made for financial +assistance and liberal responses were made, chiefly by Cubans. In 1896 +and 1897, bonds were issued and sold, or were exchanged for supplies and +munitions of war. For a number of years scandalous stories were afloat +declaring that these bonds were printed by the acre, and issued, purely for +speculative purposes, to the extent of millions upon millions of dollars. +The truth is that every bond printed, whether issued or unissued, has been +fully accounted for, the actual issue being about $2,200,000. Provision was +made in Cuba's Constitution for the recognition of this indebtedness, and +it has since been discharged, while the plates and the unused bonds have +been destroyed. There may have been speculation in the bonds, as there was +in the bonds issued by the United States during the Civil War, but Cuba's +conduct in the whole matter has been honest and most honorable. In that +matter certainly, its detractors have been confounded. The principal +difficulty encountered by the _junta_ was the despatch to Cuba of the men +and the munitions so greatly needed by those in the field. That, however, +is a story that I shall endeavor to tell, in part, in another chapter. It +cannot now, if ever, be told in full. + +Meanwhile, a complicated political situation developed. The story is too +long and too complicated for review in detail. It may be given in general +outline. The Peace of 1878 was followed by the organization of political +parties, the Liberal and the Union Constitutional. At first, there was +comparatively little difference in the essence of their respective +platforms, but the lines diverged as the situation developed. The Liberal +party became, and remained, the Cuban party, and the Union Constitutional +became the Spanish party. Later on, the Liberals became the Autonomists. +Their object, for twenty years, was reform in conditions under the rule of +Spain. There was no independence party. That was organized, in 1895, by +Marti, Gomez, Maceo, Maso, and their associates. It had only one plank in +its platform--_Cuba Libre y Independiente_--whatever the cost to the island +and its people. "The Autonomist group," says Mr. Pepper, in his _Tomorrow +in Cuba_, "became as much a political party as it could become under +Spanish institutions." It grew in strength and influence, and continued its +agitation persistently and stubbornly. The Spanish Cortes busied itself +with discussion of Cuban affairs, but reached no conclusions, produced no +results. In 1893, there came the definite organization of the Reformist +party, with aims not differing greatly from those of the _Autonomistas_. +But Spain delayed until Marti and his followers struck their blow. Official +efforts to placate them failed utterly, as did efforts to intimidate them +or to conquer them. The Autonomists declared their support of the existing +Government, and rebuked the insurgents in a _manifesto_ issued on April 4, +1895, six weeks after the outbreak. They only succeeded in antagonizing +both sides, the Spanish authorities and the revolutionists. Spain, greatly +alarmed, recalled Martinez Campos and sent out Weyler to succeed him. +Had Spain followed the advice of Martinez Campos, the failure of the +insurrection would have been little short of certain. It sent out Weyler, +on whom the Cubans, twenty years earlier, had conferred the title of +"Butcher." This step threw to the side of the insurgents the great mass +of the middle class Cubans who had previously wavered in uncertainty, +questioning the success of revolution while adhering to its general +object. Weyler instituted the brutal policy that came to be known as +reconcentration. It may be said, in a way, that the Cuban forces themselves +instituted this policy. To clear the country in which they were operating, +they had ordered all Spaniards and Spanish sympathizers to betake +themselves to the cities and towns occupied by Spanish garrisons. This was +inconvenient for its victims, but its purpose was humane. Gomez also sought +to concentrate the Cubans, particularly the women and children, in the +recesses of the hills where they would be less exposed to danger than they +would be in their homes. This also was a humane purpose. + +Weyler's application of this policy was utterly brutal. The people of the +country were herded in prison camps, in settlements surrounded by stockades +or trenches beyond which they might not pass. No provision was made for +their food or maintenance. The victims were non-combatants, women, and +children. In his message of December, 1897, President McKinley said of +this system, as applied by Weyler, "It was not civilized warfare; it was +extermination. The only peace it could beget was that of the wilderness +and the grave." In my experience as a campaign correspondent in several +conflicts, I have necessarily seen more or less of gruesome sights, +the result of disease and wounds, but I have seen nothing in any way +comparable, in horror and pitifulness, to the victims of this abominable +system. To describe their condition in detail would be little short of +offensive, those groups of hopeless, helpless sufferers who lingered only +until death came and kindly put them out of their misery and pain. But by +this time, two forces had come into active operation, dire alarm in Spain +and wrath and indignation in the United States. Weyler had failed as +Martinez Campos, when leaving the island, predicted. He was recalled, and +was succeeded, on October 31, 1897, by General Blanco. The new incumbent +tried conciliation, but it failed. The work had gone too far. The party in +the field had become the dominant party, not to be suppressed either by +force of arms or by promises of political and economic reform. At last, +Spain yielded. Outside pressure on Madrid, chiefly from the United States, +prevailed. A scheme for Cuban autonomy was devised and, on January 1, +1898, was put into effect. But it came too late. It was welcomed by many +non-participants in the war, and a form of government was organized under +it. But the party then dominant, the army in the field, distrusted the +arrangement and would have none of it. All overtures were rejected and +the struggle continued. On February 15, 1898, came the disaster to the +battleship _Maine_, in the harbor of Havana. On April 11th, President +McKinley's historic message went to Congress, declaring that "the only hope +of relief and repose from a condition which can no longer be endured is the +enforced pacification of Cuba," and asking for power and authority to use +the military and naval forces of the United States to effect a termination +of the strife in Cuba. Such, in the briefest possible outline, is the +record of this eventful period, eventful alike for Cuba and for the United +States. + +During this struggle, the people of the United States became deeply +interested in the affairs of the island, and the Administration in +Washington became gravely concerned by them. A preceding chapter, on the +United States and Cuba, dropped the matter of the relations of this country +to the island at the end of the Ten Years' War, but the relations were by +no means dropped, nor were they even suspended. The affairs of the island +appear again and again in diplomatic correspondence and in presidential +messages. The platform of the Republican party, adopted at the national +convention in St. Louis, on June 18, 1896, contained the following: "From +the hour of achieving their own independence, the people of the United +States have regarded with sympathy the struggles of other American peoples +to free themselves from European domination. We watch with deep and abiding +interest the heroic battle of the Cuban patriots against cruelty and +oppression, and our best hopes go out for the full success of their +determined contest for liberty. The Government of Spain having lost control +of Cuba and being unable to protect the property or lives of resident +American citizens, or to comply with its treaty obligations, we believe +that the Government of the United States should actively use its influence +and good offices to restore peace and give independence to the island." +The Democratic party platform of the same year stated that "we extend our +sympathy to the people of Cuba in their heroic struggle for liberty and +independence." The platform of the People's party likewise expressed +sympathy, and declared the belief that the time had come when "the United +States should recognize that Cuba is and of right ought to be a free and +independent State." This may be regarded as the almost unanimous opinion of +the people of this country at that time. In 1896 and 1897 many resolutions +were introduced in the Congress urging action for the recognition of Cuban +independence. There was frequent and prolonged debate on the question, but +no final action was taken. In his message of December, 1897, President +McKinley said: "Of the untried measures (regarding Cuba) there remain +only: Recognition of the insurgents as belligerents; recognition of the +independence of Cuba; neutral intervention to end the war by imposing a +rational compromise between the contestants; and intervention in favor of +one or the other party. I speak not of forcible annexation, for that +cannot be thought of. That, by our code of morality, would be criminal +aggression." + +[Illustration: COUNTRY ROAD _Havana Province_] + +Recognition of the Cubans as belligerents would have effected a radical +change in the situation. It would have given the Cubans the right to buy in +the American market the arms and supplies that they could then only obtain +surreptitiously, that they could only ship by "filibustering expeditions," +by blockade-runners. In law, the propriety of granting belligerent rights +depends upon the establishment of certain facts, upon the proof of the +existence of certain conditions. Those conditions did then exist in Cuba. +An unanswerable argument was submitted by Horatio S. Rubens, Esq., the +able counsel of the Cuban _junta_ in New York. The Cubans never asked for +intervention by the United States; they did, with full justification, ask +for recognition as belligerents. The consent of this country was deemed +inexpedient on political rather than on moral grounds. Had it suited the +purposes of this country to grant that right, very much the same arguments +would have been made in support of the course as those that were used to +support the denial of Cuba's requests. Recognition of Cuban independence, +or intervention in favor of the Cubans, would have been the equivalent of +the grant of belligerent rights. But the policy adopted, and the course +pursued, did not serve to avert war with Spain. The story of that war has +been written by many, and is not for inclusion here. The treaty of peace +was signed, in Paris, on December 10, 1898, duly ratified by both parties +in the following months, and was finally proclaimed on April 11, 1899. The +war was over, but its definite termination was officially declared on the +anniversary of the issuance of President McKinley's war message. On January +1, 1899, the American flag was hoisted throughout the island, as a signal +of full authority, but subject to the provisions of the Teller Amendment to +the Joint Resolution of Congress, of April 20, 1898, thus: + +"That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to +exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said Island except +for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is +accomplished, to leave the government and control of the Island to its +people." + +At twelve o'clock, noon, on the 20th of May, 1902, there was gathered +in the State Apartment of the Palace occupied by many Spanish +Governors-General, the officials of the United States, the elected +officials of the new Cuban Republic, and a limited number of guests. In +that same apartment, General Castellanos signed the abdication of Spanish +authority. In its turn, pursuant to its pledges, the United States +transferred authority to the President of the Cuban Republic. Four +centuries of subjection, and a century of protest and struggle, were there +and then ended, and Cuba joined the sisterhood of independent nations. + + + + +XI + +_FILIBUSTERING_ + + +The term "filibuster" affords an interesting example of the way in which +words and their uses become twisted into something altogether different +from their original meaning. It comes from a Dutch word, several centuries +old, _vrijbuiter_, or free vessel or boat. It got somehow into English as +"freebooter," and into Spanish as _filibustero_. The original referred +to piracy. Two or three centuries later, it meant an engagement in +unauthorized and illegal warfare against foreign States, in effect, +piratical invasions. In time, it came into use to describe the supply +of military material to revolutionists, and finally to obstruction in +legislative proceedings. In his message of June 13, 1870, President Grant +said that "the duty of opposition to filibustering has been admitted by +every President. Washington encountered the efforts of Genet and the French +revolutionists; John Adams, the projects of Miranda; Jefferson, the schemes +of Aaron Burr. Madison and subsequent Presidents had to deal with the +question of foreign enlistment and equipment in the United States, and +since the days of John Quincy Adams it has been one of the constant cares +of the Government in the United States to prevent piratical expeditions +against the feeble Spanish American Republics from leaving our shores." + +In 1806, Francisco Miranda, a Venezuelan patriot whose revolutionary +activities preceded those of Simon Bolivar, sailed from New York on what +would have been called, some years later, a filibustering expedition. His +three vessels were manned chiefly by Americans. There are always those +whose love of excitement and adventure, sometimes mixed with an active +sympathy for an under dog, leads them to engage in such an enterprise. This +one was productive of no important results. There were plenty of American +pirates and privateers in earlier days, but I have found no record of any +earlier actual expedition whose purpose was the creation of a new republic. +But during the next hundred years, including the considerable number +of Americans who have engaged in the present disorder in Mexico, such +enterprises have been numerous. Among the most notable are the several +Lopez expeditions to Cuba, about 1850, and the Walker expeditions to +Lower California, Nicaragua, and Honduras, a few years later. The steamer +_Virginius_, to which reference is made in another chapter, was engaged +in filibustering when she was captured, in 1873, and many of her crew and +passengers unlawfully executed, by Spanish authority, in Santiago. But that +was only one of many similar enterprises during the Ten Years' War in Cuba. +It is very doubtful if the war could have continued as it did without them. +During our own Civil War, we called such industries "blockade-running," but +it was all quite the same sort of thing. The Confederate army needed arms, +ammunition, medicine, and supplies of many kinds. On April 19, 1861, +President Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of the ports of the seceded States, +with a supplementary proclamation on the 27th that completed the line, and +thus tied the South hand and foot. In his _History of the United States_, +Elson notes that raw cotton could be bought in Southern ports for four +cents a pound while it was worth $2.50 a pound in Liverpool, and that a ton +of salt worth seven or eight dollars in Nassau, a few miles off the coast, +was worth $1700 in gold in Richmond before the close of the war, all +because of the blockade. + +There is, naturally, a lack of detail regarding the many expeditions, large +and small, of the Ten Years' War, but they began soon after the opening of +hostilities. In his _Diary_, Gideon Welles notes, under date of April 7, +1869, the prevalence of "rumors of illegal expeditions fitting out in our +country to aid the Cuban insurgents," and states that "our countrymen are +in sympathy with them." In December, of that year, President Grant reported +that a number of illegal expeditions had been broken up, but did not +refer to those that had succeeded. In October, 1870, he issued a general +proclamation, without specific reference to Cuba, warning all persons +against engagement in such expeditions. During the years of the war, +Spanish warships, at different times, seized American vessels, a proceeding +which led to some active diplomatic negotiation, and which, on several +occasions, threatened to involve this country in war with Spain. The +problem of the industry variously known as filibustering, blockade-running, +gun-running, and the shipment of contraband, has two ends. There is, first, +the task of getting the shipment out of one country, and, second, the task +of getting it into another country. While it is generally classed as an +unlawful enterprise, there frequently arises a difficulty in proving +violation of law, even when goods are seized and the participants arrested. +There is, perhaps, a moral question involved also. Such shipments may be a +violation of the law. They are generally so regarded. But they may be, +as in the case of the struggling Cubans, struggling against actual +and generally admitted wrongs, the only means of serving a worthy and +commendable end. There is no doubt that, in Cuba's revolution of 1895, +Americans who knew about the work were prone to regard a successful +expedition to the island with satisfaction if not with glee. They were +inclined to regard those engaged as worthy patriots rather than as +law-breakers. + +Under date of February 23, 1898, the House of Representatives requested +the Secretary of the Treasury to inform that body "at the earliest date +practicable, if not incompatible with the public service, what has been +done by the United States to prevent the conveyance to the Cubans +of articles produced in the United States, and what to prevent +'filibustering,' and with what results, giving particulars, and at what +expense to the United States." A reply was sent on the 28th. It makes a +very good showing for the activities of the officials responsible for the +prevention of such expeditions, but from all I can learn about the matter, +it is quite incomplete. There were a number of excursions not set down in +the official records. Sailing dates and time and place of arrival were not +advertised in the daily papers. + +The official statement shows that sixty reports of alleged filibustering +expeditions were brought to the attention of the Treasury Department; that +twenty-eight of them were frustrated through efforts of the Department; +that five were frustrated by the United States Navy; four by Spain; two +wrecked; one driven back by storm; one failed through a combination of +causes; and seventeen that may be regarded as successful expeditions. The +records of the Cuban _junta_ very materially increase the number in the +latter class. The despatch of these expeditions was a three-cornered battle +of wits. The groups engaged were the officials of the United States, the +representatives of Spain, and the agents of the revolution. The United +States employed the revenue service and the navy, aided on land by the +Customs Service, the Secret Service, and other Federal officers. The +official representatives of Spain employed scores of detectives and Spanish +spies. The Cuban group sought to outwit them all, and succeeded remarkably +well in doing so. A part of the story has been told, with general +correctness, in a little volume entitled _A Captain Unafraid_, described +as _The Strange Adventures of Dynamite Johnny O'Brien_. This man, really a +remarkable man in his special line, was born in New York, in 1837, and, at +the time this is written, is still living. He was born and grew to boyhood +in the shadow of the numerous shipyards then in active operation along the +East River. The yards were his playground. At thirteen years of age, he ran +away and went to see as cook on a fishing sloop. He admits that he could +not then "cook a pot of water without burning it," but claims that he +could catch cod-fish where no one else could find them. From fisherman, +sailing-master on private yachts, schooner captain, and officer in the +United States Navy in the Civil War, he became a licensed East River pilot +in New York. He became what might be called a professional filibuster +at the time of the revolution in Colombia, in 1885, following that with +similar experience in a revolt in Honduras two years later. The Cubans +landed a few expeditions in 1895, but a greater number were blocked. +In March, 1896, they applied to O'Brien and engaged him to command the +_Bermuda_, then lying in New York and ready to sail. Captain O'Brien +reports that her cargo included "2,500 rifles, a 12-pounder Hotchkiss +field-gun, 1,500 revolvers, 200 short carbines, 1000 pounds of dynamite, +1,200 _machetes_, and an abundance of ammunition." All was packed in boxes +marked "codfish," and "medicines." + +The _Bermuda_ sailed the next morning, March 15, with O'Brien in command, +cleared for Vera Cruz. The Cubans, including General Calixto Garcia, who +were to go on the expedition, were sent to Atlantic City, there to engage a +fishing sloop to take them off-shore where they would be picked up by the +_Bermuda_ on her way. The ship was under suspicion, and was followed down +the bay by tugboats carrying United States marshals, customs officers, and +newspaper reporters. O'Brien says: "They hung on to us down through the +lower bay and out past Sandy Hook, without getting enough to pay for a +pound of the coal they were furiously burning to keep up with us. I don't +know how far they might have followed us, but when we were well clear of +the Hook, a kind fortune sent along a blinding snow-storm, which soon +chased them back home." General Garcia and his companions were picked up as +planned, and that part of the enterprise was completed. The vessel was +on its way. A somewhat roundabout route was taken in order to avoid any +possible overhauling by naval or revenue ships. The point selected for the +landing was a little harbor on the north coast about thirty miles from the +eastern end of the island. The party included two Cuban pilots, supposed to +know the coast where they were to land. One of them proved to be a traitor +and the other, O'Brien says, "was at best an ignoramus." The traitor, who, +after the landing, paid for his offence with his life, tried to take them +into the harbor of Baracoa, where lay five Spanish warships. But O'Brien +knew the difference, as shown by his official charts, between the Cape +Maisi light, visible for eighteen miles, and the Baracoa light, visible +for only eight miles, and kicked the pilot off the bridge. The landing was +begun at half-past ten at night, and completed about three o'clock in the +morning, with five Spanish warships barely more than five miles away. The +United States Treasury Department reported this expedition as "successful." +The vessel then proceeded to Honduras, where it took on a cargo of bananas, +and returned, under orders, to Philadelphia, the home city of its owner, +Mr. John D. Hart. Arrests were made soon after the arrival, including Hart, +the owner of the vessel, O'Brien, and his mate, and General Emilio Nunez +who accompanied the expedition as the representative of the _junta_. The +case was transferred from the courts in Philadelphia to New York, and there +duly heard. The alleged offenders were defended by Horatio Rubens, Esq., of +New York, the official counsel of the _junta_. One of the grounds of the +defence was that the defendants might be guilty of smuggling arms into +Cuba, but with that offence the courts of the United States had nothing to +do. The jury disagreed. The indictments were held over the heads of the +members of the group, but no further action was taken, and two or three +years later the case was dismissed by order of the Attorney General of the +United States. + +This expedition fairly illustrates the science of filibustering in its +elementary form, a clearance with some attendant risk; a voyage with +possibility of interference at any time; and a landing made with still +greater risk and danger of capture. The trip had been made so successfully +and with such full satisfaction to the promoters that the _junta_ urged +O'Brien to remain with them as long as there should be need for his +services, and he agreed to do so. A department of expeditions was organized +under the general control of Emilio Nunez, with O'Brien as navigator. +Credit for the numerous successful expeditions that followed lies in +differing degrees with Nunez, Palma, Rubens, O'Brien, Hart, Cartaya, and +others less well known in connection with the enterprises. But for the work +they did, the risks they ran, Cuba's revolution must have failed. All of +them risked jail sentences, and some of them risked their lives in ways +perhaps even more dangerous than fighting in the field. The success of the +_Bermuda_ expedition, carried out by what may be called direct evasion, +quite seriously disturbed the authorities in this country, and excited them +to greater precautions and wider activity. Whatever may have been their +personal feelings in the matter, it was their duty to see that the laws of +the country were enforced as far as they could be. The players of the game +for the Cubans met the new activities with complicated moves, many of +which puzzled the watching officials, and landed a number of expeditions. +Meanwhile, minor expeditions continued. The official report notes that on +March 12, 1896, the _Commodore_, a 100-ton steamer, sailed from Charleston +with men, arms, and ammunition, and landed them in Cuba. The _Laurada_, a +900-ton steamer, was reported by the Spanish Legation as having sailed on +May 9, meeting three tugs and two lighters, off the coast, from which were +transferred men and arms. The report states that "some of the men landed in +Cuba, but the larger part of the arms and ammunition was thrown into the +sea," which may or may not have been the case. On May 23, the tug _Three +Friends_ left Jacksonville, took on men and arms from two small vessels +waiting outside, and landed all in Cuba. A month later, and again two +months later, the _Three Friends_ repeated the trip from Florida ports. On +June 17, the _Commodore_ made another successful trip from Charleston. + +While these and other minor expeditions were going on, the department of +expeditions in New York was busy with a more extensive enterprise. An order +was placed for 3000 rifles, 3,000,000 rounds of ammunition, 3 12-pound +Hotchkiss field-guns and 600 shells, _machetes_, and several tons of +dynamite. The steamer _Laurada_ was chartered, and the ocean-going tug +_Dauntless_ was bought in Brunswick, Georgia. A part of the purchased +munitions was ordered to New York, and the remainder, two car loads, +shipped to Jacksonville by express. Ostensibly, the _Laurada_ was to sail +from Philadelphia to Jamaica for a cargo of fruit, a business in which +she had at times engaged. Her actual instructions were to proceed to the +vicinity of Barnegat, about forty miles from New York, and there, at sea, +await orders. The arms and ammunition came down from Bridgeport on the +regular boat from that city, and were left on board until night. There was +no particular secrecy about the shipment, and detectives followed it. But +when, at dark, the big gates of the dock were closed and locked and all +seemed over for the day, the watchers assumed that nothing would be done +until the next day, and went away. But, immediately after their departure, +a big lighter slipped quietly into the dock across the wharf from the +Bridgeport boat, a swarm of men appeared and, behind the closed gates, in +the semi-darkness of the wharf, rushed boxes from steamer to lighter. The +work was finished at midnight; a tug slipped up and attached a hawser to +the lighter; and the cargo was on its way to Cuba. Johnny O'Brien was on +the tug. The _Laurada_ was met off Barnegat, as arranged, and the cargo and +about fifty Cubans put on board of her. She was ordered to proceed slowly +to Navassa Island where the _Dauntless_ would meet her. General Nunez and +O'Brien returned to New York on the tug, and while the detectives suspected +that something had been done, they had no clue whatever to guide them. +Nunez and O'Brien started immediately for Charleston, with detectives at +their heels. The _Commodore_, a tug then owned by the Cubans, lay in the +harbor of that city, with a revenue cutter standing guard over her. She was +ordered to get up steam and to go through all the motions of an immediate +departure. But this was a ruse to draw attention away from the actual +operations. Rubens, meanwhile, had gone to Jacksonville where he busied +himself in convincing the authorities that the tug _Three Friends_ was +about to get away with an expedition. With one revenue cutter watching the +_Commodore_ in Charleston, the other cutter in the neighborhood was engaged +in watching the _Three Friends_ in Jacksonville, thus leaving a clear coast +between those cities. In Charleston were about seventy-five Cubans waiting +a chance to get to the island. O'Brien states that about twenty-five +detectives were following their party. Late in the afternoon of August +13, while the smoke was pouring from the funnels of the _Commodore_, the +regular south-bound train pulled out of the city. Its rear car was a +reserved coach carrying the Cuban party, numbering a hundred or so. +Detectives tried to enter, but were told that it was a private car, which +it was. They went along in the forward cars. At ten o'clock that night, the +train reached Callahan, where the Coast Line crossed the Seaboard Air Line. +While the train was halted for the crossing, that rear car was quietly +uncoupled. The train went on, detectives and all. The railroad arrangements +were effected through the invaluable assistance of Mr. Alphonso Fritot, a +local railway man whose authority enabled him to do with trains and train +movement whatever he saw fit. He was himself of Cuban birth, though of +French-American parentage, with ample reason, both personal and patriotic, +for serving his Cuban friends, and his services were beyond measure. By his +orders, when that train with its band of detectives had pulled away for +Jacksonville, an engine picked up the detached car and ran it over to the +Coast Line. A few miles away, it collected from a blind siding the two cars +of arms and ammunition shipped some days before, from Bridgeport. A little +further on, the line crossed the Satilla River. There lay the _Dauntless_, +purchased by Rubens. Steam was up, and a quick job was made of transferring +cargo and men from train to boat. Another tug brought a supply of coal, and +soon after sunrise another expedition was on its way to Cuba. All this may +be very immoral, but some who were on the expedition have told me that it +was at least tremendously exciting. + +On August 17, the passengers and cargo were landed on the Cuban coast near +Nuevitas. The tug then proceeded to Navassa Island to meet the _Laurada_. +Half of the men and half of the cargo of the steamer were transferred to +the tug, and all were safely landed in a little cove a few miles west of +Santiago. The landing was made in broad daylight. There were a number of +Spanish naval vessels in Santiago harbor, and the city itself was filled +with Spanish troops. The tug then returned for the remainder of the +_Laurada's_ passengers and cargo, all of which were landed a few days later +at the place of the earlier landing. The _Laurada_ went on to Jamaica and +loaded with bananas, with which she sailed for Charleston. Arrests were +made as a result of the expedition, and the owner of the ship, Mr. John D. +Hart, was convicted and sentenced to sixteen months in the penitentiary. +After serving four months of his term, a pardon was secured. He is said to +be the only one, out of all those engaged in the many expeditions, who was +actually convicted, and his only offence was the chartering of his ships +to the Cuban revolutionists. The _Dauntless_ was seized on her return to +Jacksonville, but was soon released. An effort was made to indict O'Brien, +but there was too much sympathy for the Cubans in Florida, where the effort +was made. A number of minor expeditions were carried out in the next few +months, by the _Dauntless_, the _Three Friends_, and the _Commodore_, the +latter being wrecked in the last week in December. + +In February, 1897, another complicated manoeuvre was successfully executed. +This involved the use of the _Bermuda_, the _Laurada_, and no less than +seven smaller auxilliary vessels, tugs, lighters, and schooners. Rut the +_Laurada_ landed the cargo on the north-eastern coast of the island. +As O'Brien tells the story, this successful expedition so angered +Captain-General Weyler, then the ruler of the island, that he sent a +message to the daring filibuster, through an American newspaper man, +somewhat as follows: "Tell O'Brien that we will get him, sooner or later, +and when we do, instead of having him shot along with his Cuban companions, +I am going to have him ignominiously hanged from the flag-pole at Cabana, +in full view of the city." Cabana is the old fortress across the bay, +visible from nearly all parts of Havana. To this, O'Brien sent reply +saying: "To show my contempt for you and all who take orders from you, I +will make a landing within plain sight of Havana on my next trip to Cuba. +I may even land an expedition inside of the harbor and take you away a +prisoner. If we should capture you, which is much more likely than that you +will ever capture me, I will have you chopped up into small pieces and fed +to the fires of the _Dauntless_." A few months later, this little Irishman, +whom Weyler denounced as a "bloodthirsty, dare-devil," and who may have +been a dare-devil but was not bloodthirsty, actually carried out a part of +this seemingly reckless threat. He landed a cargo within a mile and a half +of Morro Castle. + +By this time, vessels of the United States navy were employed, +supplementing the work of the Revenue Service. This, of course, added both +difficulty and danger to the work. In March and April, several expeditions +were interrupted. For the Spanish blockade of the Cuban coast, there was +only contempt. Captain O'Brien told a naval officer that if the navy and +the revenue cutters would let him alone he would "advertise the time and +place of departure, carry excursions on every trip, and guarantee that +every expedition would be landed on time." In May, 1897, two carloads of +arms and ammunition were shipped from New York to Jacksonville, but, by +the authority of Mr. Fritot, they were quietly dropped from the train at +a junction point, and sent to Wilmington, N.C. Their contents were +transferred to the tug _Alexander Jones_, and that boat proceeded +nonchalantly down the river. Soon afterward, an old schooner, the _John +D. Long_, loaded with coal, followed the tug. Two revenue cutters were on +hand, but there was nothing in the movements of these vessels to excite +their interest. Off shore, the tug attached a towline to the schooner that +was carrying its coal supply, its own bunkers being crammed with guns and +cartridges. Off Palm Beach, General Nunez and some sixty Cubans were taken +from a fishing boat, according to a prearranged plan. Two days later, at an +agreed upon place, they were joined by the _Dauntless_ which had slipped +out of Jacksonville. The excursion was then complete. About half the cargo +of the _Jones_ was transferred to the _Dauntless_ and was landed, May 21, a +few miles east of Nuevitas. A second trip took the remainder of the cargo +of the _Jones_ and most of the Cuban passengers, and landed the lot under +the very guns, such as they were, of Morro Castle, and within about three +miles of the Palace of Captain-General Weyler. All that time, a force of +insurgents under Rodriguez and Aurenguren was operating in that immediate +vicinity, and was in great need of the supplies thus obtained. Some of the +dynamite then landed was used the next day to blow up a train on which +Weyler was supposed to be travelling, but in their haste the Cubans got one +train ahead of that carrying the official party. The row that Weyler made +about this landing will probably never be forgotten by the subordinates who +were the immediate victims of his rage. + +These are only a few of the many expeditions, successful and unsuccessful, +made during those three eventful years. The Treasury Department report of +February 28, 1898, gives seventeen successful operations. As a matter of +fact, more than forty landings were made, although in a few cases a single +expedition accounted for two, and in one or two instances for three +landings. The experiences run through the entire gamut of human emotions, +from absurdity to tragedy. The former is illustrated by the case of the +_Dauntless_ when she was held up by a vessel of the United States navy, and +boarded by one of the officers of the ship. He examined the tug from stem +to stern, sat on boxes of ammunition which seemed to him to be boxes of +sardines, stumbled over packages of rifles from which butts and muzzles +protruded; and failed utterly to find anything that could be regarded as +contraband. The mere fact that a vessel is engaged in transporting arms and +ammunition does not, of necessity, bring it within reach of the law. But +that particular vessel was a good deal more than under suspicion; it was +under the closest surveillance and open to the sharpest scrutiny. The +temporary myopia of that particular lieutenant of the United States navy +was no more than an outward and visible sign of a well-developed sense of +humor, and an indication of at least a personal sympathy for the Cubans +in their struggle. Tragedy is illustrated by the disaster to the steamer +_Tillie_. One day, late in January, 1898, this vessel, lying off the end +of Long Island, took on one of the largest cargoes ever started on a +filibustering expedition to Cuba. The cause is not known, but soon after +starting a leak developed, beyond the capacity of the pumps. A heavy +sea was running, and disaster was soon inevitable. The cargo was thrown +overboard to lighten the ship and the vessel was headed for the shore on +the chance that it might float until it could be beached. The water in the +ship increased rapidly, and extinguished the fires under the boilers; the +wind, blowing a high gale, swung into the northwest, thus driving the now +helpless hulk out to sea. Huge combing waves swept the decks from end to +end. O'Brien tells the story: "We looked in vain for another craft of any +kind, and by the middle of the afternoon it seemed as though it was all up +with us, for there was not much daylight left, and with her deck almost +awash it was impossible that the _Tillie_ should keep afloat all night. The +gale had swept us rapidly out to sea. The wind, which was filled with icy +needles, had kicked up a wild cross-sea, and it was more comfortable to go +down with the ship than even to think of trying to escape in the boats." At +last, when there seemed no longer any hope of rescue, the big five-masted +schooner _Governor Ames_ came plunging through the heaving seas, and, +by masterly seamanship and good fortune, backed by the heroism of her +commander and crew, succeeded in taking off all except four, who went down +with the ship. But the work went on. There is not space here to tell of the +several vessels whose names, through the engagement of the craft in these +enterprises, became as familiar to newspaper readers as are the names of +ocean liners today. A few months later, the United States Government +sent its ships and its men to help those who, for three hard years, had +struggled for national independence. + + + + +XII + +_THE STORY OF SUGAR_ + + +Chemically, sugar is a compound belonging to the group of carbohydrates, or +organic compounds of carbon with oxygen and hydrogen. The group includes +sugars, starches, gums, and celluloses. Sugar is a product of the vegetable +kingdom, of plants, trees, root crops, etc. It is found in and is +producible from many growths. As a laboratory process, it is obtainable +from many sources, but, commercially, it is derived from only two, the +sugar cane and the beet root. This statement, however, has a certain +limitation in that it omits such products as maple sugar, malt sugar, milk +sugar, and others having commercial or chemical uses on a limited scale. +But it is only with the crystallized sucrose, the familiar sugar of the +market and the household, that we are dealing here. The output of the other +sugars is measurable in hundreds or even thousands of pounds, but the +output of the sugar of commerce is measured in millions of tons. Long +experience proves that the desired substance is most readily, most +abundantly, and most cheaply, obtained from the juices of the plant +commonly known as sugar cane, and from the vegetable known as the sugar +beet. + +The mechanical processes employed in producing sugar from cane and from +beets, are practically the same. They are, broadly, the extraction or +expression of the juices, their clarification and evaporation, and +crystallization. These processes produce what is called "raw sugar," of +varying percentages of sucrose content. Following them, there comes, +for American uses, the process of refining, of removing the so-called +impurities and foreign substances, and the final production of sugar in +the shape of white crystals of different size, of sugar as powdered, cube, +loaf, or other form. In the case of cane sugar, this is usually a secondary +operation not conducted in the original mill. In the case of beet sugar, +production is not infrequently a continuous operation in the same mill, +from the beet root to the bagged or barrelled sugar ready for the market. +The final product from both cane and beet is practically the same. Pure +sugar is pure sugar, whatever its source. In the commercial production, on +large scale, there remains a small fraction of molasses or other harmless +substances, indistinguishable by sight, taste, or smell. With that fraction +removed and an absolute 100 per cent. secured, there would be no way +by which the particular origin could be determined. For all practical +purposes, the sugar of commerce, whether from cane or beet, is pure sugar. +It is doubtful if an adulterated sugar can be found in the United States, +notwithstanding the tales of the grocer who "sands" his sugar, and of the +producer who adds _terra alba_ or some other adulterant. In some countries +of Europe and elsewhere, there are sugars of inferior grades, of 85 or 90 +or more degrees of sugar purity, but they are known as such and are sold at +prices adjusted to their quality. Sugars of that class are obtainable +in this country, but they are wanted almost exclusively for particular +industrial purposes, for their glucose rather than their sucrose content. +The American household, whether the home of the rich or of the poor, +demands the well-known white sugar of established purity. + +There is still obtainable, in this country, but in limited quantity, a +sugar very pleasantly remembered by many who have reached or passed middle +age. It was variously known as "Muscovado" sugar, or as "plantation sugar," +sometimes as "coffee" or "coffee crushed." It was a sugar somewhat +sweeter to the taste than the white sugar, by reason of the presence of +a percentage of molasses. It was a superior sugar for certain kitchen +products, for pies, certain kinds of cake, etc. It has many times been +urged in Congress that the employment of what is known as the Dutch +Standard, now abolished, excluded this sugar from our market. This is not +at all the fact. The disappearance of the commodity is due solely to change +in the mechanical methods of sugar production. It would be quite impossible +to supply the world's sugar demand by the old "open kettle" process by +which that sugar was made. The quality of sugar is easily tested by any one +who has a spoonful of sugar and a glass of water. If the sugar dissolves +entirely, and dissolves without discoloring the water, it may be accepted +as a pure sugar. + +In his book on _The World's Cane Sugar Industry--Past and Present_, Mr. +H.C. Prinsen Geerligs, a recognized expert authority on the subject, gives +an elaborate history of the origin and development of the industry. His +chapters on those branches are much too long for inclusion in full, but the +following extracts tell the story in general outline. He states that the +probability that sugar cane originally came from India is very strong, "as +only the ancient literature of that country mentions sugar cane, while we +know for certain that it was conveyed (from there) to other countries by +travellers and sailors." The plant appears in Hindu mythology. A certain +prince expressed a desire to be translated to heaven during his lifetime, +but Indra, the monarch of the celestial regions, refused to admit him. A +famous Hindu hermit, Vishva Mitra, prepared a temporary paradise for the +prince, and for his use created the sugar cane as a heavenly food during +his occupation of the place. The abode was afterward demolished, but the +delectable plant, and a few other luxuries, were "spread all over the land +of mortals as a permanent memorial of Vishva Mitra's miraculous deeds." In +the time of Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) there appear tales of "a +reed growing in India which produced honey without the aid of bees." + +The early references are to sugar cane and not to cane sugar. While there +may have been earlier experiences, the history of sugar, as such, seems to +begin in the 7th century (A.D.). There is a story that the Chinese Emperor, +Tai Tsung (627-650 A.D.) sent people to Behar, in India, to learn the art +of sugar manufacture. The Arabs and the Egyptians soon learned how to +purify sugar by re-crystallization, and to manufacture sweetmeats from the +purified sugar. Marco Polo, who visited China during the last quarter of +the 13th Century, refers to "a great many sugar factories in South China, +where sugar could be freely bought at low prices." The Mohammedan records +of that period also show the manufacture, in India, of crystallized sugar +and candy. The area of production at that time covered, generally, the +entire Mediterranean coast. The crusaders found extensive plantations in +Tripoli, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Syria, and elsewhere. The plant is said to +have been introduced in Spain as early as the year 755. Its cultivation is +said to have been a flourishing industry there in the year 1150. Through +China, it was early extended to Japan, Formosa, and the Philippines. The +records of the 14th Century show the production and distribution of sugar +as an important commercial enterprise in the Mediterranean region. The +Portuguese discoveries of the 15th Century carried the plant to the Azores, +the Cape Verde islands, and to possessions in the Gulf of Guinea. The +Spaniards took it to the Western Hemisphere in the early years of the 16th +Century. The Portuguese took it to Brazil at about the same time. While a +Chinese traveller, visiting Java in 424, reports the cultivation of sugar +cane, it was not until more than twelve hundred years later that the +island, now an important source of sugar supply, began the production of +sugar as a commercial enterprise. By the end of the 18th Century there +was what might be called a sugar belt, girdling the globe and extending, +roughly, from thirty-five degrees north of the equator to thirty-five +degrees south of that line. It was then a product of many of the countries +within those limits. The supply of that time was obtained entirely from +cane. + +The early years of the 19th Century brought a new experience in the sugar +business. That was the production of sugar, in commercial quantities, +from beets. From that time until now, the commodity has been a political +shuttlecock, the object of government bounties and the subject of taxation. +In 1747, Herr Marggraf, of the Academy of Sciences, in Berlin, discovered +the existence of crystallizable sugar in the juice of the beet and other +roots. No practical use was made of the discovery until 1801 when a factory +was established near Breslau, in Silesia. The European beet-sugar industry, +that has since attained enormous proportions, had its actual beginning in +the early years of the 19th Century. It was a result of the Napoleonic wars +of that period. When the wars were ended, and the blockades raised, the +industry was continued in France by the aid of premiums, differentials, and +practically prohibitory tariffs. The activities in other European countries +under similar conditions of governmental aid, came a little later. The +total world supply of sugar, including cane and beet, less than 1,500,000 +tons, even as recently as 1850, seems small in comparison with the world's +requirement of about twelve times that quantity at the present time. The +output of beet sugar was then only about 200,000 tons, as compared with a +present production of approximately 8,000,000 tons. But sugar was then a +costly luxury while it is today a cheaply supplied household necessity. As +recently as 1870, the wholesale price of granulated sugar in New York +was thirteen and a half cents a pound, or about three times the present +average. + +Cane sugar is produced in large or small quantities in some fifty +different countries and islands. In many, the output is only for domestic +consumption, or in quantity too small to warrant inclusion in the list of +sources of commercial supply. Sixteen countries are included in the list of +beet-sugar producers. Of these, all are in Europe with the exception of the +United States and Canada. Only two countries, the United States and +Spain, produce sugar from both beet and cane. British India leads in the +production of cane sugar, with Cuba a close second on the list, and Java +the third. In their total, these three countries supply about two-thirds +of the world's total output of cane sugar. Hawaii and Porto Rico, in that +order, stand next on the list of producers. Under normal conditions, +Germany leads in beet-sugar production, with Russia second, Austria-Hungary +third, France fourth, and the United States fifth, with Belgium, the +Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark following. The island of Cuba is +the most important source of commercial cane sugar. Immediately before +the revolution of 1895, its output a little exceeded a million tons. The +derangement caused by that experience covered several years, and it was not +until 1903 that so large a crop was again made. Since that time, the output +has more than doubled. The increase is attributable to the large increase +in demand in the United States, and to the advantage given Cuban sugar in +this market by the reciprocity treaty of 1903. Practically all of Cuba's +export product is in the class commonly known as 96 degree centrifugals, +that is, raw sugar of 96 per cent, or thereabout, of sugar content. Under +normal conditions, nearly all of Cuba's shipments are to the United States. +The sugar industry was introduced in Cuba very soon after the permanent +settlement of the island, by Spaniards, in the early years of the 16th +Century, but it was not until two hundred and fifty years later that +Spain's restrictive and oppressive colonial policy made even its fair +extension possible. In 1760, two and a half centuries after the first +settlement, the sugar exports of the island were a little less than 4,400 +tons. In 1790, they were a little more than 14,000 tons. Some relaxation of +the laws regulating production and exportation, made possible an increase +to 41,000 tons in 1802, and further relaxation made possible, in 1850, an +output somewhat unreliably reported as 223,000 tons. It reached 632,000 +tons in 1890, and the stimulus of the "free sugar" schedule of the United +States brought it, in the next few years, to more than a million tons. +Production in recent years has averaged about 2,500,000 tons. + +In forty years, only a little more than a single generation, the world's +supply of sugar has been multiplied by five, from a little more than three +million tons a year to nearly eighteen million tons. The total world output +in 1875 would not today supply the demand of the United States alone. +This increase in production has been made possible by improvements in the +methods and the machinery of manufacture. Until quite recently, primitive +methods were employed, much like those used in the production of maple +sugar on the farm, although on larger scale. More attention has been paid +to varieties of the plant and some, though no very great, change has been +made in field processes. In Cuba, the cane is planted in vast areas, in +thousands of acres. Some of the estates plant and cultivate their +own fields, and grind the cane in their own mills. Others, known as +"_colonos_," are planters only, the crop being sold to the mills commonly +called "_centrales_." In its general appearance, a field of sugar-cane +looks quite like a field of corn, but the method of cultivation is somewhat +different. The slow oxen are still commonly used for plowing and for +carts. This is not because of any lack of progressive spirit, but because +experience has shown that, under all conditions of the industry, the ox +makes the most satisfactory and economical motive power, notwithstanding +his lack of pace. + +The Encyclopaedia describes sugar-cane as "a member of the grass family, +known botanically as _Saccbarum officinarum_. It is a tall, perennial +grass-like plant, giving off numerous erect stems 6 to 12 feet or more in +height, from a thick solid jointed root-stalk." The ground is plowed +in rows in which, not seed, but a stalk of cane is lightly buried. The +rootlets and the new cane spring from the joints of the planted stalk which +is laid flat and lengthwise of the row. It takes from a year to a year +and a half for the stalk to mature sufficiently for cutting and grinding. +Several cuttings, and sometimes many, are made from a single planting. +There are tales of fields on which cane has grown for forty years without +re-planting. A few years ago, ten or fifteen years was not an unusual +period. The present tendency is toward more frequent planting, but not +annual, as offering a better chance for stronger cane with a larger sugar +content. The whole process of cultivation and field treatment is hard, +heavy work, most of it very hard work. Probably the hardest and heaviest is +the cutting. This is done with a long, heavy-bladed knife, the _machete_. +The stalk, from an inch to two inches in thickness, is chopped down near +the root, the heavy knife swung with cut after cut, under a burning sun. +Only the strongest can stand it, a wearying, back-breaking task. After +cutting, the stalk is trimmed and loaded on carts to be hauled, according +to distance, either directly to the mill or to the railway running thereto. +The large estates have their own railway systems running to all the fields +of the plantation. These are private lines operated only for economy +in cane transportation. Most of the crushing mills measure their daily +consumption of cane in thousands of tons. While every precaution is taken, +there are occasional fires. In planting, wide "fire lanes," or uncultivated +strips are left to prevent the spread of fire if it occurs. + +Mill installations vary on the different plantations, but the general +principle of operation is the same on all. The first process is the +extraction of the juice that carries the sugar. It is probable that this +was originally done in hand mortars. Next came the passing of the cane +between wooden rollers turned by ox power, the rollers standing upright and +connected with a projecting shaft or beam to the outer end of which the +animal was attached, to plod around and around while the cane was fed +between the rollers. The present system is merely an expansion of that old +principle. At the mill, the stalks are dumped, by carload or by cartload, +into a channel through which they are mechanically conveyed to huge +rollers, placed horizontally, arranged in pairs or in sets of three, and +slowly turned by powerful engines. The larger mills have a series of these +rollers, two, three, or even four sets, the stalks passing from one to +another for the expression of every possible drop of the juice, up to the +point where the cost of juice extraction exceeds the value of the juice +obtained. The expressed juices are collected in troughs through which they +are run to the next operation. The crushed stalks, then known as _bagasse_, +are conveyed to the huge boilers where they are used as fuel for the +generation of the steam required in the various operations, from the +feeding and the turning of the rollers, to the device from which the final +product, the crystallized sugar, is poured into bags ready for shipment. +All this is a seasonal enterprise. The cane grows throughout the year, but +it begins to ripen in December. Then the mills start up and run until the +rains of the next May or June suspend further operations. It then becomes +impossible to haul the cane over the heavily mired roads from the muddy +fields. Usually, only a few mills begin their work in December, and early +June usually sees most of them shut down. The beginning of the rainy season +is not uniform, and there are mills in eastern Cuba that sometimes run into +July and even into August. But the general grinding season may be given as +of about five months duration, and busy months they are. The work goes on +night and day. + +The next step is the treatment of the juices expressed by the rollers and +collected in the troughs that carry it onward. The operations are highly +technical, and different methods are employed in different mills. The first +operation is one of purification. The juice, as it comes from the rollers, +carries such materials as glucose, salts, organic acids, and other +impurities, that must be removed. For this, lime is the principal agent. +The details of it all would be as tedious here as they are complicated +in the mill. The percentages of the different impurities vary with the +variation of the soils in which the cane is grown. The next step, following +clarification, is evaporation, the boiling out of a large percentage of +the water carried in the juice. For this purpose, a vacuum system is used, +making possible a more rapid evaporation with a smaller expenditure of +fuel. These two operations, clarification and evaporation by the use of the +vacuum, are merely improved methods for doing, on a large scale, what was +formerly done by boiling in pans or kettles, on a small scale. That method +is still used in many parts of the world, and even in the United States, in +a small way. For special reasons, it is still used on some of the Louisiana +plantations; it is common in the farm production of sorghum molasses in the +South; and in the manufacture of maple sugar in the North. In those places, +the juices are boiled in open pans or kettles, the impurities skimmed off +as they rise, and the boiling, for evaporation, is continued until a +proper consistency is reached, for molasses in the case of sorghum and for +crystallization in the case of plantation and maple sugars. There is an old +story of an erratic New England trader, in Newburyport, who called himself +Lord Timothy Dexter. In one of his shipments to the West Indies, a hundred +and fifty years ago, this picturesque individual included a consignment of +"warming pans," shallow metal basins with a cover and a long wooden handle, +used for warming beds on cold winter nights. The basin was filled with +coals from the fireplace, and then moved about between the sheets to take +off the chill. He was not a little ridiculed by his acquaintances for +sending such merchandise where it could not possibly be needed, but it is +said that he made considerable money out of his enterprise. With the covers +removed, the long-handled, shallow basins proved admirably adapted for use +in skimming the sugar in the boiling-pans. But the old-fashioned method +would be impossible today. + +The different operations are too complicated and too technical for more +than a reference to the purpose of the successive processes. Clarification +and evaporation having been completed, the next step is crystallization, +also a complicated operation. When this is done, there remains a dark brown +mass consisting of sugar crystals and molasses, and the next step is +the removal of all except a small percentage of the molasses. This +is accomplished by what are called the centrifugals, deep bowls with +perforated walls, whirled at two or three thousand revolutions a minute. +This expels the greater part of the molasses, and leaves a mass of +yellow-brown crystals, the coloring being due to the molasses remaining. +This is the raw sugar of commerce. Most of Cuba's raw product is classed +as "96 degree centrifugals," that is, the raw sugar, as it comes from the +centrifugal machines and is bagged for shipment, is of 96 degrees of sugar +purity. This is shipped to market, usually in full cargo lots. There it +goes to the refineries, where it is melted, clarified, evaporated, and +crystallized. This second clarification removes practically everything +except the pure crystallized sugar of the market and the table. It is then +an article of daily use in every household, and a subject of everlasting +debate in Congress. + + + + +XIII + +_VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES_ + + +The Encyclopaedia Britannica states that "although the fact has been +controverted, there cannot be a doubt that the knowledge of tobacco and +its uses came to the rest of the world from America. As the continent was +opened up and explored, it became evident that the consumption of tobacco, +especially by smoking, was a universal and immemorial usage, in many cases +bound up with the most significant and solemn tribal ceremonials." The name +"tobacco" was originally the name of the appliance in which it was smoked +and not of the plant itself, just as the term "chowder" comes from the +vessel (_chaudiere_) in which the compound was prepared. The tobacco plant +was first taken to Europe in 1558, by Francisco Fernandez, a physician who +had been sent to Mexico by Philip II to investigate the products of that +country. The English, however, appear to have been the first Europeans +to adopt the smoking habit, and Sir Walter Raleigh was notable for his +indulgence in the weed. He is said to have called for a solacing pipe just +before his execution. Very soon after their arrival, in 1607, the Virginia +settlers engaged in the cultivation of tobacco, and it soon became the most +important commercial product of the colony. Smoking, as practiced in this +country, appears to have been largely, and perhaps only, by means of pipes +generally similar to those now in use. The contents of ancient Indian +mounds, or tumuli, opened in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, show the +use of pipes by the aborigines probably centuries before the discoveries +by Columbus. Many were elaborately carved in porphyry or some other hard +stone, while others were made of baked clay. Others, many of them also +elaborately carved and ornamented, have been found in Mexico. Roman +antiquities show many pipes, but they do not show the use of tobacco. It +is assumed that they were used for burning incense, or for smoking some +aromatic herb or hemp. + +The first knowledge of the use of the plant in Cuba was in November, 1492, +when Columbus, on landing near Nuevitas, sent his messengers inland to +greet the supposed ruler of a supposed great Asiatic empire. Washington +Irving thus reports the story as it was told by Navarete, the Spanish +historian. Referring to those messengers, he says: "They beheld several of +the natives going about with firebrands in their hands, and certain dried +herbs which they rolled up in a leaf, and lighting one end, put the other +in their mouths, and continued exhaling and puffing out the smoke. A roll +of this kind they called a tobacco, a name since transferred to the plant +of which the rolls were made. The Spaniards, although prepared to meet with +wonders, were struck with astonishment at this singular and apparently +nauseous indulgence." A few years later, a different method was reported, +by Columbus, as employed in Hispaniola. This consisted of inhaling the +fumes of the leaf through a Y-shaped device applied to the nostrils. This +operation is said to have produced intoxication and stupefaction, which +appears to have been the desired result. The old name still continues +in Cuba, and if a smoker wants a cigar, he will get it by calling for a +"tobacco." The production of the plant is, next to sugar, Cuba's most +important commercial industry. Its early history is only imperfectly known. +There was probably very little commercial production during the 16th +Century, for the reason that there was then no demand for it. The demand +came in the first half of the 17th Century, and by the middle of that +period tobacco was known and used in practically all civilized countries. +The demand for it spread very rapidly, in spite of papal fulminations and +penal enactments. For a time, in Russia, the noses of smokers were cut off. +The early part of the 18th Century saw Cuba actively engaged in production +and shipment. In 1717, Cuba's tobacco was made a monopoly of the Spanish +Government. Under that system, production was regulated and prices were +fixed by the agents of the government, in utter disregard of the welfare +of the producers. As a result, several serious riots occurred. In 1723, +a large number of planters refused to accept the terms offered by the +officials, and destroyed the crops of those who did accept, a condition +repeated in the State of Kentucky a few years ago, the only difference +being that in the Cuban experience the monopolist was the Government, and +in Kentucky it was a corporation. A few years later, in 1734, the Cuban +monopoly was sold to Don Jose Tallapiedra who contracted to ship to Spain, +annually, three million pounds of tobacco. The contract was afterward given +to another, but control was resumed by the Crown, in 1760. Finally, in +1817, cultivation and trade were declared to be free, subject only to +taxation. + +[Illustration: STREET IN CAMAGUEY] + +In time, it became known that the choicest tobacco in the market came from +the western end of Cuba, from the Province of Pinar del Rio. It was given a +distinct name, _Vuelta Abajo_, a term variously translated but referring +to the downward bend of the section of the island in which that grade is +produced. Here is grown a tobacco that, thus far, has been impossible of +production elsewhere. Many experiments have been tried, in Cuba and in +other countries. Soils have been analyzed by chemists; seeds from the +_Vuelta Abajo_ have been planted; and localities have been sought where +climatic conditions corresponded. No success has been attained. Nor is the +crop of that region produced on an extensive scale, that is, the choicer +leaf. Not all of the tobacco is of the finest grade, although most of it is +of high quality. There are what may be called "patches" of ground, known +to the experts, on which the best is produced, for reasons not yet clearly +determined. The fact is well known, but the causes are somewhat mysterious. +Nor does the plant of this region appear to be susceptible of improvement +through any modern, scientific systems of cultivation. The quality +deteriorates rather than improves as a result of artificial fertilizers. +The people of the region, cultivating this special product through +generation after generation, seem to have developed a peculiar instinct for +its treatment. It is not impossible that a time may come when scientific +soil selection, seed selection, special cultivation, irrigation, and other +systems, singly or in combination, will make possible the production of a +standardized high-grade leaf in much greater quantity than heretofore, but +it seems little probable that anything so produced will excel or even equal +the best produced by these expert _vegueros_ by their indefinable but +thorough knowledge of the minutest peculiarities of this peculiar plant. +Thus far, it has not even been possible to produce it elsewhere in the +island. It has been tried outside of the fairly defined area of its +production, tried by men who knew it thoroughly within that area, tried +from the same seed, from soils that seem quite the same. But all failed. +Science may some day definitely locate the reasons, just as it may find the +reason for deterioration in the quality of Cuban tobacco eastward from that +area. The tobacco of Havana Province is excellent, but inferior to that of +Pinar del Rio. The growth of Santa Clara Province is of good quality, but +inferior to that of Havana Province, while the tobacco of eastern Cuba is +little short of an offence to a discriminating taste. + +Tobacco is grown from seeds, planted in specially prepared seed beds. +Seeding is begun in the early autumn. When the young plant has attained a +proper height, about eight or ten inches, it is removed to, and planted +in, the field of its final growth. This preliminary process demands skill, +knowledge, and careful attention equal, perhaps, to the requirements of the +later stages. Experiments have been made with mechanical appliances, but +most of the work is still done by hand, particularly in the area producing +the better qualities of leaf. From the time of transplanting, it is watched +with the greatest care. A constant battle is waged with weeds and insect +life, and water must be brought if the season is too dry. If rains are +excessive, as they sometimes are, the crop may be partly or wholly +destroyed, as it was in the autumn of 1914. The plant matures in January, +after four months of constant watchfulness and labor, in cultivation, +pruning, and protection from worms and insects. When the leaves are +properly ripened, the stalks are cut in sections, two leaves to a section. +These are hung on poles and taken to the drying sheds where they are +suspended for three or more weeks. The time of this process, and its +results, depend upon moisture, temperature, and treatment. All this is +again an operation demanding expert knowledge and constant care. When +properly cured, the leaves are packed in bales of about 110 pounds each, +and are then ready for the market. Because of the varying conditions under +which the leaf is produced, from year to year, it is somewhat difficult +to determine with any accuracy the increase in the industry. Broadly, the +output appears to have been practically doubled in the last twenty years, +a growth attributed to the new economic conditions, to the extension of +transportation facilities that have made possible the opening of new areas +to cultivation, and to the investment of capital, largely American capital. +The exports show, generally, a material increase in sales of leaf tobacco +and some decline in sales of cigars. The principal market for the leaf, for +about 85 per cent of it, is in the United States where it is made, with +more or less honesty, into "all-Havana" cigars. This country, however, +takes only about a third of Cuba's cigar output. The United Kingdom takes +about as much of that product as we do, and Germany, in normal times, takes +about half as much. The remainder is widely scattered, and genuine imported +Havana cigars are obtainable in all countries throughout the world. +The total value of Cuba's yearly tobacco crop is from $40,000,000 to +$50,000,000, including domestic consumption and foreign trade. + +The story that all Cubans, men and women alike, are habitual and constant +smokers, is not and never was true. Whatever it may have been in the past, +I am inclined to think that smoking by women is more common in this country +than it is in Cuba, particularly among the middle and upper social classes. +I have seen many American and English women smoke in public, but never a +Cuban woman. Nor is smoking by men without its exceptions. I doubt if the +percentage of non-smokers in this country is any greater than it is in +the island. There are many Cubans who do smoke, just as there are many +Americans, Englishmen, Germans, and Russians. Those who watch on the +street for a respectable Cuban woman with a cigar in her mouth, or even a +cigarette, will be disappointed. Cuba's tobacco is known by the name of the +region in which it is produced; the _Vuelta Abajo_ of Pinar del Rio; the +_Partidos_ of Havana Province; the _Manicaragua_ and the _Remedios_ of +Santa Clara; and the _Mayari_ of Oriente. Until quite recently, when +American organized capital secured control of many of the leading factories +in Cuba, it was possible to identify a cigar, in size and shape, by some +commonly employed name, such as _perfectos, conchas, panetelas, imperiales, +londres_, etc. The old names still appear, but to them there has been added +an almost interminable list in which the old distinction is almost +lost. Lost, too, or submerged, are many of the old well-known names of +manufacturers, names that were a guarantee of quality. There were also +names for different qualities, almost invariably reliable, and for color +that was supposed to mark the strength of the cigar. An accomplished smoker +may still follow the old system and call for a cigar to his liking, by the +use of the old terms and names made familiar by years of experience, but +the general run of smokers can only select, from a hundred or more boxes +bearing names and words that are unfamiliar or unknown, a cigar that +he thinks looks like one that he wants. It may be a "_superba_" an +"_imperial_" a "Wilson's Cabinet," or a "Havana Kid." + +There is a wide difference in the dates given as the time of the +introduction of the coffee plant in Cuba. One writer gives the year 1720, +another gives 1748, and still another gives 1769. Others give various years +near the end of the century. It was doubtless a minor industry for fifty +years or more before that time, but it was given an impetus and began to +assume commercial proportions during the closing years of the 18th Century. +During that century, the industry was somewhat extensively carried on in +the neighboring island of Santo Domingo. In 1790, a revolution broke out +in that island, including Haiti, and lasted, with more or less violent +activity, for nearly ten years. One result was the emigration to Cuba of +a considerable number of refugees, many of them French. They settled in +eastern Cuba, where conditions for coffee-growing are highly favorable. +Knowing that industry from their experience with it in the adjacent island, +these people naturally took it up in their new home. The cultivation of +coffee in Cuba, prior to that time, was largely in the neighborhood of +Havana, the region then of the greater settlement and development. For +the next forty years or so, the industry developed and coffee assumed a +considerable importance as an export commodity, in addition to the domestic +supply. In 1840, there were more than two thousand coffee plantations, +large and small, producing more than seventy million pounds of coffee, the +greater part of which was exported. From about the middle of the century, +the industry declined, in part because of lower prices due to increase in +the world-supply through increased production in other countries, and in +part, because of the larger chance of profit in the growing of sugar, an +industry then showing an increased importance. Coffee culture has never +been entirely suspended in the island, and efforts are made from time to +time to revive it, but for many years Cuba has imported most of its coffee +supply, the larger share being purchased from Porto Rico. It would be +easily possible for Cuba to produce its entire requirement. There are few +more beautiful sights in all the world than a field of coffee trees in +blossom. One writer has likened it to "millions of snow drops scattered +over a sea of green." They blossom, in Cuba, about the end of February or +early in March, the fruit season and picking coming in the autumn. Coffee +culture is an industry requiring great care and some knowledge, and the +preparation of the berry for the market involves no less of care and +knowledge. The quality of the Cuban berry is of the best. It is the +misfortune of the people of the United States that very few of them really +know anything about coffee and its qualities, notwithstanding the fact that +they consume about a billion pounds a year, all except a small percentage +of it being coffee of really inferior quality. But coffee, like cigars, +pickles, or music, is largely a matter of individual preference. + +Cuba produces a variety of vegetables, chiefly for domestic consumption, +and many fruits, some of which are exported. There is also a limited +production of grains. Among the tubers produced are sweet potatoes, white +potatoes, yams, the arum and the yucca. From the latter is made starch and +the cassava bread. The legumes are represented by varieties of beans and +peas. The most extensively used food of the island people is rice, only a +little of which is locally grown. The imports are valued at five or six +million dollars yearly. Corn is grown in some quantity, but nearly two +million dollars worth is imported yearly from the United States. There are +fruits of many kinds. The banana is the most important of the group, and is +grown throughout the island. It appears on the table of all, rich and +poor, sometimes _au naturel_ but more frequently cooked. There are many +varieties, some of which are exported while others are practically unknown +here. The Cuban mango is not of the best, but they are locally consumed by +the million. Only a few of the best are produced and those command a fancy +price even when they are obtainable. The aguacate, or alligator pear, is +produced in abundance. Cocoanuts are a product largely of the eastern end +of the island, although produced in fair supply elsewhere. The trees are +victims of a disastrous bud disease that has attacked them in recent years +causing heavy loss to growers. + +[Illustration: PALM-THATCHED ROOFS A PEASANT'S HOME] + +Since the American occupation, considerable attention has been given, +mainly by Americans, to the production of oranges, grape-fruit, and +pineapples, in which a considerable industry has been developed. There are +several varieties. The guava of Cuba makes a jelly that is superior to that +produced from the fruit in any other land of my experience. If there is a +better guava jelly produced anywhere, I should be pleased to sample it, +more pleased to obtain a supply. But there is a difference in the product +even there, just as there is a difference in currant or grape jelly +produced here. It depends a good deal on the maker. Some of the best of my +experience is made in the neighborhood of Santa Clara, but I have tried no +Cuban _jalea de guayaba_ that was not better than any I have had in the +Far East or elsewhere. The _guanabana_ is eaten in its natural state, but +serves its best purpose as a flavor for ices or cooling drinks. There are +a number of others, like the _anon_, the _zapote_, the _granadilla_, the +_mamey_, etc., with which visitors may experiment or not as they see fit. +Some like some of them and others like none of them. An excellent grade of +cacao, the basis of chocolate and cocoa, is produced in somewhat limited +quantity. The industry could easily be extended. In fact, there are many +soil products not now grown in the island but which might be grown there, +and many others now produced on small scale that could be produced in +important quantities. That they are not now so produced is due to lack of +both labor and capital. The industries of Cuba are, and always have been, +specialized. Sugar, tobacco, and at a time coffee, have absorbed the +capital and have afforded occupation for the greater number of the island +people. The lack of transportation facilities in earlier years, and +the system of land tenure, have made difficult if not impossible the +establishment of any large number of independent small farmers. The day +laborers in the tobacco fields and on sugar plantations have been unable to +save enough money to buy a little farm and equip it even if the land could +be purchased at all. Yet only a very small percentage of the area is +actually under cultivation. Cuba now imports nearly $40,000,000 worth of +alimentary substances, altogether too much for a country of its productive +possibilities. It is true that a part of this, such as wheat flour for +instance, cannot be produced on the island successfully, and that other +commodities, such as rice, hog products, and some other articles, can be +imported more cheaply than they can be produced locally. But the imports of +foodstuffs are undoubtedly excessive, although there are good reasons for +the present situation. It is a matter that will find adjustment in time. + +The island has mineral resources of considerable value, although the number +of products is limited. The Spanish discoverers did not find the precious +metals for which they were seeking, and while gold has since been found, +it has never appeared in quantity sufficient to warrant its exploitation. +Silver discoveries have been reported, but not in quantity to pay for its +extraction. Nothing is ever certain in those industries, but it is quite +safe to assume that Cuba is not a land of precious metals. Copper was +discovered in eastern Cuba as early as about the year 1530, and the mines +near Santiago were operated as a Government monopoly for some two hundred +years, when they were abandoned. They were idle for about a hundred years +when, in 1830, an English company with a capital of $2,400,000 reopened +them. It is officially reported that in the next forty years copper of a +value of more than $50,000,000 was extracted and shipped. During that +time, the mines were among the most notable in the world. In the meantime, +ownership was transferred to a Spanish corporation organized in Havana. +This concern became involved in litigation with the railway concerning +freight charges, and this experience was followed by the Ten Years' War, in +the early course of which the plant was destroyed and the mines flooded. In +1902, an American company was organized. It acquired practically all the +copper property in the Cobre field and began operations on an extensive and +expensive scale. A huge sum was spent in pumping thousands of tons of +water from a depth of hundreds of feet, in new equipment for the mining +operations, and in the construction of a smelter. The best that can be done +is to hope that the investors will some day get their money back. Without +any doubt, there is a large amount of copper there, and more in other parts +of Oriente. So is there copper in Camaguey, Santa Clara, and Matanzas +provinces. There are holes in the ground near the city of Camaguey that +indicate profitable operations in earlier years. The metal is spread over +a wide area in Pinar del Rio, and venturous spirits have spent many good +Spanish pesos and still better American dollars in efforts to locate +deposits big enough to pay for its excavation. Some of that class are at it +even now, and one concern is reported as doing a profitable business. + +The bitumens are represented in the island by asphalt, a low-grade coal, +and seepages of petroleum. At least, several writers tell of coal in the +vicinity of Havana, but the substance is probably only a particularly hard +asphaltum. The only real coal property of which I have any knowledge is a +quite recent discovery. The story was told me by the man whose money was +sought to develop it. It was, by the way, an anthracite property. In +response to an urgent invitation from a presumably reliable acquaintance, +my friend took his car and journeyed westward into Pinar del Rio, through a +charming country that he and I have many times enjoyed together. He picked +up his coal-discovering friend in the city of Pinar del Rio, and proceeded +into the country to inspect the coal-vein. At a number of points +immediately alongside the highway, his companion alighted to scrape away +a little of the surface of the earth and to return with a little lump of +really high-grade anthracite. Such a substance had no proper business +there, did not belong there geologically or otherwise. The explanation +soon dawned upon my friend. They were following the line of an abandoned +narrow-gauge railway, abandoned twenty years ago, along which had been +dumped, at intervals, little piles of perfectly good anthracite, imported +from Pennsylvania, for use by the portable engine used in the construction +of the road. My friend declares that he is entirely ready at any time to +swear that there are deposits of anthracite in Cuba. A very good quality +of asphalt is obtained in different parts of the island, and considerable +quantities have been shipped to the United States. Signs of petroleum +deposits have been strong enough to induce investigation and expenditure. +An American company is now at work drilling in Matanzas Province. The most +extensive and promising mineral industry is iron, especially in eastern +Cuba. Millions of tons of ore have been taken from the mountains along +the shore between Santiago and Guantanamo, and the supply appears to be +inexhaustible. The product is shipped to the United States, to a value of +several millions of dollars yearly. A few years ago, other and apparently +more extensive deposits were discovered in the northern section of Oriente, +The field bought by the Pennsylvania Steel Company is estimated to contain +600,000,000 tons of ore. The Bethlehem Steel Company is the owner of +another vast tract. The quality of these ores is excellent. In Oriente +Province also are deposits of manganese of which considerable shipments +have been made. + +It is not possible in so brief a survey of Cuba's resources and industries +to include all its present activities, to say nothing of its future +possibilities. At the present time, the island is practically an extensive +but only partly cultivated farm, producing mainly sugar and tobacco, with +fruits and vegetables as a side line. The metal deposits supplement this, +with promise of becoming increasingly valuable. The forest resources, +commercially, are not great, although there are, and will continue to be, +sales of mahogany and other fine hardwoods. Local manufacturing is on a +comparatively limited scale. All cities and many towns have their artisans, +the bakers, tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, and others. Cigar making +is, of course, classed as a manufacturing enterprise, and so, for census +purposes, is the conversion of the juice of the sugar-cane into sugar. +A number of cities have breweries, ice factories, match factories, soap +works, and other establishments large or small. All these, however, are +incidental to the great industries of the soil, and the greater part of +Cuba's requirements in the line of mill and factory products is imported. +While little is done in the shipment of cattle or beef, Cuba is a natural +cattle country. Water and nutritious grasses are abundant, and there are +vast areas, now idle, that might well be utilized for stock-raising. There +are, of course, just as there are elsewhere, various difficulties to be +met, but they are met and overcome. There are insects and diseases, but +these are controlled by properly applied scientific methods. There is open +feeding throughout the entire year, so there is no need of barns or hay. +The local cattle industry makes possible the shipment of some $2,500,000 +worth of hides and skins annually. Other lines of industry worthy of +mention, but not possible of detailed description here, include sponges, +tortoise shell, honey, wax, molasses, and henequen or sisal. All these +represent their individual thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, +and their employment of scores or hundreds of wage-earners. Those who start +for Cuba with a notion that the Cubans are an idle and lazy people, will +do well to revise that notion. There is not the hustle that may be seen +further north, but the results of Cuban activity, measured in dollars or in +tons, fairly dispute the notion of any national indolence. When two and a +half million people produce what is produced in Cuba, somebody has to work. + + + + +XIV + +_POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND COMMERCE_ + + +The British colonists in America were in large measure self-governing. This +is notably true in their local affairs. The Spanish colonists were +governed almost absolutely by the mother-country. A United States official +publication reports that "all government control centred in the Council of +the Indies and the King, and local self government, which was developed at +an early stage in the English colonies, became practically impossible in +the Spanish colonies, no matter to what extent it may have existed in +theory. Special regulations, decrees, etc., modifying the application of +the laws to the colonies or promulgating new laws were frequent, and their +compilation in 1680 was published as Law of the Indies. This and the _Siete +Partidas_, on which they were largely based, comprised the code under which +the Spanish-American colonies were governed." There was a paper provision, +during the greater part of the time, for a municipal electorate, the +franchise being limited to a few of the largest tax-payers. In its +practical operation, the system was nullified by the power vested in the +appointed ruler. It was a highly effective centralized organization in +which no man held office, high or low, who was not a mere instrument in the +hands of the Governor-General. Under such an institution the Cubans had, of +course, absolutely no experience in self-government. The rulers made laws +and the people obeyed them; they imposed taxes and spent the money as they +saw fit; many of them enriched themselves and their personally appointed +official household throughout the island, at the expense of the tax-payers. + +A competent observer has noted that such terms as "meeting," +"mass-meeting," "self-government," and "home-rule," had no equivalent in +the Spanish language. The first of these terms, distorted into "_mitin_," +is now in common use, and its origin is obvious. Of theories, ideals, and +intellectual conceptions, there was an abundance, but government based +on beautiful dreams does not succeed in this practical world. Denied +opportunity for free discussion of practical methods, the Cubans discussed +theories in lyceums. Under the military government of the United States, +from January 1, 1899, to May 20, 1902, there was freedom of speech and +freedom of organization. The Cubans began to hold "_mitins_," but visions +and beautiful theories characterized the addresses. Prior to the Ten Years' +War (1868-1878), there were organizations more or less political in their +nature, but the authorities were alert in preventing discussions of too +practical a character. In 1865, a number of influential Cubans organized +what has been somewhat inappropriately termed a "national party." It was +not at all a party in our use of that term. Its purpose was to suggest and +urge administrative and economic changes from the Cuban point of view. The +suggestions were ignored and, a few years later, revolution was adopted as +a means of emphasizing their importance. The result of the Ten Years' War +was an assortment of pledges of greater political and economic freedom. +Much was promised but little if anything was really granted. There was, +however, a relaxation of the earlier absolutism, and under that there +appeared a semblance of party organization, in the form of a Liberal party +and a Union Constitutional party. There was no special difference in what +might be called their platforms. Both focussed, in a somewhat general way, +the political aspirations and the economic desires of the Cuban people, +much the same aspirations and desires that had been manifested by +complaint, protest, and occasional outbreak, for fifty years. National +independence had no place in either. That came later, when an army in the +field declared that if Spain would not grant independence, the island would +be made so worthless a possession that Spain could not afford to hold it. +A few years after their organization, the Liberals became the Cuban party, +and so remained, and the Union Constitutionals became the Spanish party, +the party of the immediate administration. Later on, the Liberal party +became the Autonomist party, but Spain's concession of the demands of that +group came too late, forced, not by the Autonomists but by the party of the +Revolution that swept the island with fire and sword from Oriente to +Pinar del Rio. The Autonomists sought what their name indicates; the +Revolutionists demanded and secured national independence. + +Shortly before the final dispersion of the Army of the Revolution, +there was organized a body with the imposing title of _La Asamblea de +Representantes del Ejercito Cubano_, or the Assembly of Representatives +of the Cuban Army. It was composed of leaders of the different military +divisions of that army, and included, as I recall it, thirty-one members. +This group made no little trouble in the early days of the American +occupation. It gathered in Havana, held meetings, declared itself the +duly chosen and representative agent of the Cuban people, and demanded +recognition as such by the American authorities. Some of its members even +asserted that it constituted a _de facto_ government, and held that the +Americans should turn the whole affair over to them and promptly sail away. +But their recognition was flatly refused by the authorities. At the time, I +supported the authorities in this refusal, but afterward I felt less sure +of the wisdom of the course. As a recognized body, it might have been +useful; rejected, it made no little trouble. Transfer of control to its +hands was quite out of the question, but recognition and co-operation +might have proved helpful. That the body had a considerable representative +quality, there is no doubt. Later, I found many of its members as members +of the Constitutional Convention, and, still later, many of them have +served in high official positions, as governors of provinces, members of +Congress, in cabinet and in diplomatic positions. I am inclined to regard +the group broadly, as the origin of the present much divided Liberal party +that has, from the beginning of definite party organization, included a +considerable numerical majority of the Cuban voters. In the first national +election, held December 31, 1901, this group, the military group, appeared +as the National party, supporting Tomas Estrada y Palma as its candidate. +Its opponent was called the Republican party. Realizing its overwhelming +defeat, the latter withdrew on the day of the election, alleging all manner +of fraud and unfairness on the part of the Nationals. It is useless to +follow in detail the history of Cuba's political parties since that time. +In the election of 1905, the former National party appeared as the Liberal +party, supporting Jose Miguel Gomez, while its opponents appeared as the +Moderate party, supporting Estrada Palma who, first elected on what he +declared to be a non-partisan basis, had definitely affiliated himself with +the so-called Moderates. The election was a game of political crookedness +on both sides, and the Liberals withdrew on election day. The result +was the revolution of 1906. The Liberals split into factions, not yet +harmonized, and the Moderate party became the Conservative party. By the +fusion of some of the Liberal groups, that party carried the election of +1908, held under American auspices. A renewal of internal disorders, a +quarrel among leaders, and much discontent with their administrative +methods, resulted in the defeat of the Liberals in the campaign of 1912 +and in the election of General Mario Menocal, the head of the Conservative +ticket, and the present incumbent. + +A fair presentation of political conditions in Cuba is exceedingly +difficult, or rather it is difficult so to present them that they will be +fairly understood. I have always regarded the establishment of the Cuban +Republic in 1902 as premature, though probably unavoidable. A few years of +experience with an autonomous government under American auspices, civil and +not military, as a prologue to full independence, might have been the wiser +course, but such a plan seemed impossible. The Cubans in the field had +forced from Spain concessions that were satisfactory to many. Whether they +could have forced more than that, without the physical assistance given +by the United States, is perhaps doubtful. The matter might have been +determined by the grant of the belligerent rights for which they repeatedly +appealed to the United States. At no time in the entire experience did they +ask for intervention. That came as the result of a combination of American +wrath and American sympathy, and more in the interest of the United States +than because of concern for the Cubans. But, their victory won and Spain +expelled, the triumphant Cubans naturally desired immediate enjoyment of +the fruits of victory. They desired to exercise the independence for which +they had fought. Many protests and not a few threats of trouble attended +even the brief period of American occupation. There was, moreover, an acute +political issue in the United States. The peace and order declared as the +purpose of American intervention had been established. The amendment to +the Joint Resolution of April 20, 1898, disclaimed "any disposition or +intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said +Island except for the pacification thereof," etc. The island was pacified. +The amendment asserted, further, the determination of the United States, +pacification having been accomplished, "to leave the government and control +of the island to its people." There was no pledge of any prolonged course +of education in principles and methods of self-government. Nor did such +education play any appreciable part in the experience of the American +military government. The work of the interventors had been done in +accordance with the specifications, and the Cubans were increasingly +restless under a control that many of them, with no little reason, declared +to be as autocratic as any ever exercised by Spain. Transfer and departure +seemed to be the politic if not the only course, and we transferred and +departed. + +That these people, entirely without experience or training in +self-government, should make mistakes was quite as inevitable as it is that +a child in learning to walk will tumble down and bump its little nose. In +addition to the inevitable mistakes, there have been occasional instances +of deplorable misconduct on the part of individuals and of political +parties. For neither mistakes nor misconduct can we criticize or condemn +them without a similar criticism or condemnation of various experiences in +our own history. We should, at least, regard them with charity. There are, +moreover, incidents in the two experiences of American control of the +island that, at least, border on the unwise and the discreditable. The only +issue yet developed in Cuba is between good government and bad politics. +The first President started admirably along the line of the former, and +ended in a wretched tangle of the latter, though not at all by his own +choice or direction. Official pre-eminence and a "government job" make +quite the same appeal to the Cubans that they do to many thousands +of Americans. So do raids on the national treasury, and profitable +concessions. We see these motes in Cuban eyes somewhat more clearly than +we see the beams in our own eyes. A necessarily slow process of political +education is going on among the people, but in the meantime the +situation has afforded opportunity for exploitation by an assortment +of self-constituted political leaders who have adopted politics as a +profession and a means of livelihood. Cuba's gravest danger lies in the +political domination of men in this class. The present President, General +Mario Menocal, is not in that group. The office sought him; he did not seek +the office. Some of these self-constituted leaders have displayed a notable +aptitude for political organization, and it is largely by means of the +many little local organizations that the Cuban political game is played. +Although, I believe, somewhat less now than formerly, the little groups +follow and support individual leaders rather than parties or principles. +Parties and their minor divisions are known by the names of their leaders. +Thus, while both men are nominally of the same party, the Liberal, the +adherents of Jose Miguel Gomez, are known as Miguelistas, and the adherents +of Alfredo Zayas are known as Zayistas. Were either to announce himself +as a Conservative, or to start a new party and call it Reformist or +Progressive or any other title, he could count on being followed by most +of those who supported him as a Liberal. This is a condition that will, in +time, correct itself. What the Cuban really wants is what all people want, +an orderly, honest, and economical government, under which he may live in +peace and quiet, enjoying the fruits of his labor without paying an undue +share of the fruits to maintain his government. For that the Cuban people +took up arms against Spain. For a time they may be blinded by the idea of +mere political independence, but to that same issue they will yet return +by the route of the ballot-box. The game of politics for individual +preferment, or for personal profit, cannot long be successfully played +in Cuba, if I have rightly interpreted Cuban character and Cuban +characteristics. + +"We, the delegates of the people of Cuba, having met in constitutional +convention for the purpose of preparing and adopting the fundamental law of +their organization as an independent and sovereign people, establishing a +government capable of fulfilling its international obligations, maintaining +public peace, ensuring liberty, justice, and promoting the general welfare, +do hereby agree upon and adopt the following constitution, invoking the +protection of the Almighty. Article I. The people of Cuba are hereby +constituted a sovereign and independent State and adopt a republican form +of government." Thus opens the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba. + +I recall an intensely dramatic moment connected with the closing phrase of +the preamble. I have used a translation published by a distinguished Cuban. +That phrase, in the original, is "_invocando el favor de Dios_," perhaps +more exactly translated as "invoking the favor (or blessing) of God." When +the Constitution had been drafted and broadly approved, it was submitted +to the convention for suggestion of minor changes in verbiage. One of the +oldest and most distinguished members of the body proposed that this phrase +be left out. Another member, distinguished for his power as an orator and +for his cynicism, in a speech of considerable length set forth his opinion +that it made little difference whether it was included or excluded. There +was no benefit in its inclusion, and no advantage in excluding it. It would +hurt none and might please some to have it left in. Immediately across +the semi-circle of desks, and facing these two speakers, sat Senor Pedro +Llorente, a man of small stature, long, snow-white hair and beard, and a +nervous and alert manner. At times, his nervous energy made him almost +grotesque. At times, his absorbed earnestness made him, despite his +stature, a figure of commanding dignity. Through the preceding addresses he +waited with evident impatience. Obtaining recognition from the chairman, +he rose and stood with upraised hand his voice tremulous with emotion, to +protest against the proposed measure, declaring "as one not far from the +close of life, that the body there assembled did not represent an atheistic +people." The motion to strike out was lost, and the invocation remains. + +The result of the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention is a +highly creditable instrument. It contains a well-devised Bill of Rights, +and makes all necessary provision for governmental organization and +conduct. One feature, however, seems open to criticism. In their desire to +avoid that form of centralized control, of which they had somewhat too much +under Spanish power, the new institution provides, perhaps, for too much +local government, for a too extensive provincial and municipal system. It +has already fallen down in some respects, and it has become necessary to +centralize certain functions, quite as it has become desirable in several +of our own matters. Cuba has, perhaps, an undue overload of officialdom, +somewhat too many public officers, and quite too many people on its +pay-rolls. The feature of Cuba's Constitution that is of greatest interest +and importance to the United States is what is known as the Platt +Amendment. The provision for a Constitutional Convention in Cuba was made +in what was known as Civil Order No. 301, issued by the Military Governor, +on July 25, 1900. It provided for an election of delegates to meet in +Havana on the first Monday in November, following. The convention was to +frame and adopt a Constitution and "as a part thereof, to provide for and +agree with the Government of the United States upon the relations to exist +between that Government and the Government of Cuba," etc. Against this, the +Cubans protested vigorously. The United States had declared that "Cuba +is and of right ought to be free and independent." The Cubans held, very +properly, that definition of international relations had no fitting place +in a Constitution "as a part thereof." Their point was recognized and, +under date of November 5, Civil Order No. 310 was modified by Civil Order +No. 455. That was issued to the delegates at the time of their assembly. +It declared as follows: "It will be your duty, first, to frame and adopt a +Constitution for Cuba, and, when that has been done, to formulate what, +in your opinion, ought to be the relations between Cuba and the United +States." Taking this as their programme, the delegates proceeded to draft +a Constitution, leaving the matter of "relations" in abeyance for +consideration at the proper time. Yet, before its work was done, the +Convention was savagely criticized in the United States for its failure +to include in the Constitution what it had been authorized, and virtually +instructed, to leave out. The Constitution was completed on February 11, +1901, and was duly signed by the delegates, on February 21. A committee +was appointed, on February 11, to prepare and submit plans and proposals +regarding the matter of "relations." Prior to that, however, the matter had +been frequently but informally discussed by the delegates. Suggestions had +been made in the local press, and individual members of the Convention had +expressed their views with considerable freedom. Had the United States kept +its hands off at that time, a serious and critical situation, as well as +a sense of injustice that has not yet entirely died out, would have been +averted. + +Before the Cubans had time to put their "opinion of what ought to be +the relations" between the two countries into definite form, there was +presented to them, in a manner as needless as it was tactless, a statement +of what the American authorities thought those relations should be. The +Cubans, who were faithfully observing their earlier instructions, were +deeply offended by this interference, and by the way in which the +interference came. The measures known as the Platt Amendment was submitted +to the United States Senate, as an amendment to the Army Appropriation +bill, on February 25, 1901 The Senate passed the bill, and the House +concurred A storm of indignant protest swept over the island The Cubans +believed, and not without reason, that the instrument abridged the +independence of which they had been assured by those who now sought to +limit that independence. Public opinion in the United States was divided. +Some approved and some denounced the proceeding in bitter terms. The +division was not at all on party lines. The situation in Cuba was entirely +changed. Instead of formulating an opinion in accordance with their earlier +instructions, the members of the Convention were confronted by a choice of +what they then regarded as evils, acceptance of unacceptable terms or an +indefinite continuance of a military government then no less unacceptable. +A commission was sent to Washington to urge changes and modifications. It +was given dinners, lunches, and receptions, but nothing more. At last the +Cubans shrugged their shoulders. The desire for an immediate withdrawal of +American authority, and for Cuban assumption of the reins of government, +outweighed the objection to the terms imposed. A Cuban leader said: "There +is no use in objecting to the inevitable. It is either annexation or a +Republic with the Amendment. I prefer the latter." After four months of +stubborn opposition, the Cubans yielded, by a vote of sixteen to eleven, +with four absentees. + +In many ways, the Cuban Government is like our own. The President and +Vice-President are elected, through an electoral college, for a term of +four years. A "third term" is specifically prohibited by the Constitution. +Senators, four from each Province, are chosen, for a term of eight years, +by an electoral board. Elections for one half of the body occur every four +years. The House is chosen, by direct vote, for terms of four years, one +half being elected every two years. The Cabinet, selected and appointed by +the President, consists of eight Secretaries of Departments as follows: +Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor; State; Government; Treasury (_Hacienda_); +Public Instruction; Justice; Public Works; and Health and Charities. There +is a Supreme Court, and there are the usual minor courts. The Constitution +also makes provision for the organization and the powers of the Provincial +and Municipal Governments. To the Constitution, the Platt Amendment is +attached as an appendix, by treaty arrangement. As far as governmental +system is concerned, Cuba is fairly well equipped; a possible source of +danger is its over-equipment. Its laws permit, rather than require, an +overburden of officials, high and low. But Cuba's governmental problem +is essentially one of administration. Its particular obstacle in that +department is professional politics. + +The whole situation in Cuba is somewhat peculiar. The business of the +island, that is, the commercial business, the purchase and sale of +merchandise wholesale and retail, is almost entirely in the hands of +Spaniards. The Cuban youths seldom become clerks in stores. Most of the +so-called "_dependientes_" come out as boys from Spain. It is an old +established system. These lads, almost invariably hard workers, usually eat +and sleep in the place of their employment. The wage is small but board and +lodging, such as the latter is, are furnished. They are well fed, and the +whole system is quite paternal. For their recreation, education, and care +in case of illness, there are organizations, half club and half mutual +protective association, to which practically all belong. The fee is small +and the benefits many. Some of these are based on a regional plan, that is, +the _Centro de Asturianos_ is composed of those who come from the Spanish +province of Asturia, and those from other regions have their societies. +There is also a general society of "_dependientes_." Some of these groups +are rich, with large membership including not only the clerks of today but +those of the last thirty or forty years, men who by diligence and thrift +have risen to the top in Cuba's commercial life. Most of Cuba's business +men continue their membership in these organizations, and many contribute +liberally toward their maintenance. + +This system more or less effectively bars Cuban youths from commercial +life. Nor does commercial life seem attractive to more than a very limited +number. This leaves to them, practically, only three lines of possible +activity, the ownership and operation of a plantation, a profession, or +manual labor. The greater number there, as elsewhere, are laborers, either +on some little bit of ground they call their own or rent from its owner, +or they are employed by the proprietors of the larger estates. Such +proprietorship is, of course, open to only a few. The problem, which is +both social and political, appears in a class that cannot or will not +engage in manual labor, the well-educated or fairly-educated sons of men +of fair income and a social position. Many of these take some professional +course. But there is not room for so many in so small a country, and the +professions are greatly overcrowded. The surplus either loafs and lives by +its wits or at the expense of the family, or turns to the Government for +a "job." It constitutes a considerable element on which the aspiring +professional politician can draw for support. Having such "jobs," it +constitutes a heavy burden on the tax-payers; deprived of its places on the +Government pay-roll, it becomes a social and political menace. If a Liberal +administration throws them out of their comfortable posts, they become +noisy and perhaps violent Conservatives; if discharged by an economical +Conservative administration, they become no less noisy and no less +potentially violent Liberals. But we may not criticize. The American +control that followed the insurrection of 1906 set no example in +administrative economy for the Cubans to follow. + +The productive industries of the island have already been reviewed in other +chapters. The development of Cuba's commerce since the withdrawal of Spain, +and the substitution of a modern fiscal policy for an antiquated and +indefensible system, has been notable. It is, however, a mistake to +contrast the present condition with the condition existing at the time +of the American occupation, in 1899. The exact accuracy of the record is +questionable, but the returns for the year 1894, the year preceding the +revolution, show the total imports of the island as $77,000,000, and the +total exports as $99,000,000. The probability is that a proper valuation +would show a considerable advance in the value of the imports. The +statement of export values may be accepted. It may be assumed that had +there been no disorder, the trade of the island, by natural growth, would +have reached $90,000,000 for imports and $120,000,000, for exports, in +1900. That may be regarded as a fair normal. As it was, the imports of that +year were $72,000,000, and the exports, by reason of the general wreck of +the sugar business, were only $45,000,000. With peace and order fairly +assured, recovery came quickly. The exports of 1905, at $99,000,000, +equalled those of 1894, while the imports materially exceeded those of the +earlier year. In 1913, the exports reached $165,207,000, and the imports +$132,290,000. This growth of Cuba's commerce and industry is due mainly to +the economic requirements of the American people. We need Cuba's sugar and +we want its tobacco. These two commodities represent about 90 per cent, +of the total exports of the island. We buy nearly all of its sugar, under +normal conditions, and about 60 per cent, of its tobacco and cigars. On the +basis of the total commerce of the island, the records of recent years show +this country as the source of supply for about 53 per cent, of Cuba's +total imports, and as the market for about 83 per cent, of its exports. A +comparison of the years 1903 and 1913 shows a gain of about $87,000,000 in +Cuba's total exports. Of this, about $75,000,000 is represented by sugar. +The crop of 1894 a little exceeded a million tons. Such a quantity was +not again produced until 1903. With yearly variations, due to weather +conditions, later years show an enormous and unprecedented increase. The +crops of 1913 and 1914 were, approximately, 2,500,000 tons each. The +tobacco industry shows only a modest gain. The average value of the exports +of that commodity has risen, in ten years, from about $25,000,000 to about +$30,000,000. The increase in the industry appears largely in the shipment +of leaf tobacco. The cigar business shows practically no change, in that +time, as far as values are concerned. This resume affords a fair idea of +Cuba's trade expansion under the conditions established through the change +in government. That event opened new and larger doors of opportunity, and +the Cubans and others have been prompt in taking advantage of them. Toward +the great increase shown, two forces have operated effectively. One is the +treaty by which the provisions of the so-called Platt Amendment to the +Cuban Constitution are made permanently effective. The other is the +reciprocity treaty of 1903. + +By the operation of the former of these instruments the United States +virtually underwrites the political stability and the financial +responsibility of the Cuban Government. That Government cannot borrow any +important sums without the consent of the United States, and it has agreed +that this country "may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation +of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the +protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for discharging +the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of Paris on the +United States." This assumption of responsibility by the United States +inspired confidence on the part of capital, and large sums have been +invested in Cuban bonds, and in numerous public and private enterprises. +Railways and trolley lines have been built and many other works of public +utility have been undertaken. The activities of old sugar plantations have +been extended under improved conditions, and many new estates with costly +modern equipment have been created. The cultivation of large areas, +previously lying waste and idle, afforded both directly and indirectly +employment for an increased population, as did the numerous public works. +The other force, perhaps no less effective, appears in the reciprocity +treaty of 1903. This gave to Cuba's most important crop a large though by +no means absolute control of the constantly increasing sugar market of +the United States, as far as competition from other foreign countries +was concerned. The sugar industry of the island may be said to have been +restored to its normal proportions in 1903. Our imports for the five-year +period 1904-1908 averaged 1,200,000 tons a year. For the five-year period +1910-1914 they averaged 1,720,000 tons. In 1914, they were 2,200,000 tons +as compared with 1,260,000 tons in 1904. It is doubtful if the treaty had +any appreciable influence on the exports of Cuban tobacco to this country. +We buy Cuba's special tobacco irrespective of a custom-house advantage +that affects the box price only a little, and the price of a single cigar +probably not at all. On the other side of the account, that of our sales +to Cuba, there also appears a large increase since the application of the +reciprocity treaty. Using the figures showing exports from the United +States to Cuba, instead of Cuba's records showing imports from this +country, it appears that our sales to the island in the fiscal year 1903, +immediately preceding the operation of the treaty, amounted to $21,761,638. +In the fiscal year 1913 they were $70,581,000, and in 1914 were +$68,884,000. + +Not all of this quite remarkable gain may properly be credited to the +influence of the reciprocity treaty. The purchases of the island are +determined, broadly, by its sales. As the latter increase, so do the +former. Almost invariably, a year of large export sales is followed by a +year of heavy import purchases. The fact that our imports from Cuba are +double our sales to Cuba, in the total of a period of years, has given rise +to some foolish criticism of the Cubans on the ground that, we buying so +heavily from them, they should purchase from us a much larger percentage of +their import requirements. No such obligation is held to exist in regard +to our trade with other lands, and it should have no place in any +consideration of our trade with Cuba. There are many markets, like Brazil, +British India, Japan, China, Mexico, and Egypt, in which our purchases +exceed our sales. There are more, like the United Kingdom, France, Germany, +Italy, Canada, Central America, and numerous others, in which our sales +considerably or greatly exceed our purchases. We do not buy from them +simply because they buy from us. We buy what we need or want in that market +in which we can buy to the greatest advantage. The Cuban merchants, who are +nearly all Spaniards, do the same. The notion held by some that, because +of our service to Cuba in the time of her struggle for national life, the +Cubans should buy from us is both foolish and altogether unworthy. Any +notion of Cuba's obligation to pay us for what we may have done for her +should be promptly dismissed and forgotten. There are commodities, such as +lumber, pork products, coal, wheat flour, and mineral oil produces, +that Cuba can buy in our markets on terms better than those obtainable +elsewhere. Other commodities, such as textiles, leather goods, sugar mill +equipment, railway equipment, drugs, chemicals, and much else, must be +sold by American dealers in sharp competition with the merchants of other +countries, with such assistance as may be afforded by the reciprocity +treaty. That instrument gives us a custom-house advantage of 20, 25, 30, +and 40 per cent, in the tariff rates. It is enough in some cases to give +us a fair equality with European sellers, and in a few cases to give us a +narrow margin of advantage over them. It does not give us enough to compel +Cuban buyers to trade with us because of lower delivered prices. + +Cuba's economic future can be safely predicted on the basis of its past. +The pace of its development will depend mainly upon a further influx of +capital and an increase in its working population. Its political future +is less certain. There is ample ground for both hope and belief that the +little clouds that hang on the political horizon will be dissipated, that +there will come, year by year, a sane adjustment to the new institutions. +But full assurance of peace and order will come only when the people of the +island, whether planters or peasants, see clearly the difference between a +government conducted in their interest and a government conducted by Cubans +along Spanish lines. + + + + +INDEX + + +A + +Adams, President John, 127 +Angulo, Governor de, 59 +Animals, wild, 50 +Asphalt, 232, 233 +Autonomy, 143, 178 + + +B + +Babeque, 6, 7 +Bacon, Hon. Robert, 160 +Bacon's Rebellion, 144 +Ballou, M.M., 31, 32, 71 +Banes, 113 +Baracoa, 12, 91, 100, 114 +Batabano, 12, 116 +Baths, 52 +Bellamar, Caves of, 42,110 +Belligerent rights, 136, 140, 157, 158, 181 +_Bermuda_, 189, 197 +Bertram, Luis, 14 +Betancourt, Salvador Cisneros, 174 +Black Eagle conspiracy, 147 +_Black Warrior_, 131 +Blanco, General Ramon, 178 +Bolivia, 126 +Bolivar, Simon, 124, 185 +Bonds, Cuban, 175 +Boston sugar plantation, 113 +Buchanan, President, 130 + + +C + +Cabana, 57, 60 +Cabinet, Cuban, 250 +Cabrera, Raimundo, 135 +Cadiz, 20 +Caibarien, 102 +Callahan, James M., 125, 139, 152 +Camaguey, city, 105, 110, 111 +Camaguey, province, 40, 109 +Cardenas, 101 +Casa de Beneficencia, 24 +Castillo del Principe, 57, 60, 71, 83 +Cathay, 3 +Cathedral, Havana, 63 +Cattle, 17, 235 +Cauto river, 43 +Caves, 42 +Cemetery, Colon, 83 +Census Reports, United States, 27, 35, 44, 144, 236 +Cespedes, Carlos Manuel,154, 155 +Channing, Edward, 142, 143 +Chaparra sugar plantation, 113 +Ciego de Avila, 106 +Cienaga de Zapata, 43, 51 +Cienfuegos, 102 +Cigars, 224, 225, 254 +Cipango, 2, 5 +Clerks' Associations, 251 +Climate, 45 et seq. +Coal, 232 +Coffee, 23, 36, 226, et seq. +Colonies, American in Cuba, 12, 120 +Colonies, British, 19, 236 +Colonies, Spanish, 19, 21, 123, 126 +Columbia, 124, 145 +Columbus, Christopher + Death and remains, 63 + Describes Cuba, 3, 4, 7 + Discovers Cuba, 2 + Extract from journal, 2 + Letter to Sanchez, 3 + Memorial to, 64 + Mistaken belief, 2, 3, 5, 8 + Report to Spanish sovereigns, 7 + Second expedition, 7 +Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257 +_Commodore_, 193, 195, 197 +Constitutional Convention, 247 +Constitution, Cuban, 154, 245, 246 +Constitution, Spanish, 29, 145, 159 +Copper, 231, 232 +Cordoba, de, 12 +Cortes, Hernan, 13, 58 +Cortes, Spanish, 29, 176 +Crittenden, Col., 150 +Cuba: + Aborigines, 14, 15. + Advice to visitors, 55. + American attitude toward, 135, 137, 140. + Annexation proposed, 125 et seq. + Animals, wild, 49. + Area, 37. + Climate and temperature, 45 et seq. + Colonized, 12. + Commerce, 21, 22, 35, 36, 156, 253, 254, 257. + Conquest by Velasquez, II. + Described by Columbus, 3, 4, 7. + Description, general, 37 et seq. + Discovered, 2. + Expeditions from, 13, 14. + Flora, 48. + Forests, 49. + Future of, 258. + Insects, 51. + Intervention by United States, 25, 160, 182, 242. + Mineral springs, 52. + Monopolies in, 20, 144, 220, 231. + Monroe Doctrine, 127. + Nineteenth Century, 142. + Population, 17, 23, 34. + Railways, 89, 91. + Relations with United States, 122 et seq., 247, 248. + Republic of, 182. + Revolutions, 141 et seq. + Roads, 87, 95, 96. + Self-government, 243. + Slavery in, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155. + Spanish Governors, 24, 32. + Spanish policy in, 17, 19 et seq. 24, 31. + Trade restrictions, 20, 21, 24, 25, 30. + Taxation, Spanish, 24, 27, 28, 30. + Villages, 85, 93, 94, 100 +_Cuba and the Intervention_, 154, 164 +Cushing, Caleb, 138 +Custom house, 62 + + +D + +_Dauntless_, 193, 194, 197, 199, 200 +Delicias sugar plantation, 113 +Dexter, Lord Timothy, 216 +Domestic life, 80 + + +E + +EARTHQUAKES, 53 +Elections, 240, 250 +Elson, Henry William, 186 +England, 19, 128, 130, 139, 145 +Everett, Alexander H., 130 + + +F + +FILIBUSTERING expeditions, 148 et seq., 184 et seq. +Firemen, 83 +Fish, Secretary, 157 +Flora, 48 +Florida, 13 +Forests, 48, 49 +Fortifications, 59, 60 +France, 128, 145 +Fritot, Alphonso, 196, 199 +Fruits, 5, 229 +Fuerza, la, 17, 58, 59 + + +G + +Garcia, General Calixto, 84, 190 +Geerligs, H.C. Prinsen, 206 +Gibara, 112 +Gold, 2, 6, 231 +Gomez, General Maximo, 84, 158, 164, 172, 174. Proclamations, 167 et seq. +Government, 250 +Grant, President, 135 et seq. +Guane, 101 +Guantanamo, 91, 115 +Guines, 90 + + +H + +Haiti, 9, 10, 144 +Harbors, 44 +Hart, John D., 191, 197 +Hatuey, 8 et seq. +Havana: + Bells, church, 65. + British occupation, 20. + Capital, 20, 59. + Cathedral, 63. + Changes in, 66, 67, 82, 85. + Commerce limited to, 20. + Destroyed, 17, 58, 59. + Discovered, 12, 57. + Early conditions, 61. + Excursions from, 97 et seq. + Firemen, 83. + Fortifications, 59, 60. + Homes in, 77 et seq. + Las Casas as governor, 24. + Market, fish, 74. + Name, origin of, 58. + New City, 70 et seq. + Old city, 54 et seq. + Parks, 70, 71. + _Paseo_, 75. + Public buildings, 62 et seq. + Sanitation of, 63. + Settled 12, 58. + Shopping in, 68. + Streets 61, 71. + Suburbs, 85. + Sunrise in harbor, 54. + Theatre, Nacional, 71 et seq. +Havana, province, 38, 41 +Hayes, President, 136 +Hazard, Samuel, 33, 65, 111 +Henry, Patrick, 143 +Heredia, Jose Maria, 146 +Hill, Robert T., 39, 48 +Holguin, 113 +Hotels, 91, 111 +Homes, 77 et seq. +Humboldt, Baron Alexander, 8, 14, 15, 16, 35, 53 +Hurricanes, 53 + + +I + +Imports and Exports, 253, 256 +Independence, 162 et seq. +Insect life, 51 +Intervention, First, 25, 182, 242 +Intervention, Second, 160 +Iron ore, 233, 234 +Irving, Washington, 4, 5, 6 +Isle of Pines, 8, 116, 117 et seq. + + +J + +Jefferson, Thomas, 122 +Joint Resolution of 1898, 242 +Jolo, 54 +Juana, 2, 4 +Jucaro, 106 +Junta, 164, 174, 188 + + +K + +Kimball, R.B. 32 + + +L + +Las Casas, Bartolome, 9, 14 +Las Casas, Governor Luis de, 24 +_Laurada_, 193 et seq. +Lemus, Jose Francisco, 146 +Llorente, Pedro, 246 +Lodge, Henry Cabot, 123 +Lopez, Narciso, 148 et seq. +Ludlow, General William, 63 + + +M + +Maceo, General Antonio, 99, 164, 172, 174 +McKinley, President, 122, 178, 179 +Magoon, Charles E., 160 +_Maine_, battleship, 179 +Maisi, Cape, 7, 8, 38, 115 +Malecon, 75 +Manufactures, 234 +Marti, Jose, 164, 166 +Marti, the smuggler, 72 et seq. +Martinez Campos, General, 158, 165, 166, 177. +Maso, Bartolome, 165, 174 +Massachusetts rebellion, 144 +Matanzas, city, 41, 101 +Matanzas, province, 41 +Menocal, General Mario, 241, 244 +Mexico, 13, 58, 124, 145 +Minerals, 231 et seq. +Mineral springs, 52 +Miranda, Francisco, 126, 185 +Monopolies, 20, 144, 220, 231. +Monroe Doctrine, 127 +Monroe, President, 129 +Monuments: + Firemen's, 83, 84 + Students', 84 +Moret law, 16 +Morgan, Henry, no +Morro Castle, 17, 57, 59, 60 +Mountains, 5, 41, 93 +Murielo, 13 + + +N + +NARVAEZ, 13 +Navigation acts, British, 19, 144 +Nelson, Hugh, 127 +Nipe Bay, 2, 91, 113, 114 +Nuevitas, 2, 3, 110, 111, 112 +Nunez, General Emilio, 191, 192, 199 + + +O + +O'BRIEN, "Dynamite Johnny," 189, et seq. +Ocampo, Sebastian de, 8, 12, 57 +Oriente, province, 40, 41 +Ostend Manifesto, 133 +Otis, James, 143 + + +P + +PALACE, Governor's, 64 +Palma, Tomas Estrada y, 162, 174, 192 +Palms, 5, 7, 48, 49 +Panama Congress (1826), 126 +Parks, Havana, 70, 71 +Parties, Political, 159, 176, 237, 238, 240, 244 +Pearcy _v_. Stranahan, 120 +Pepper, Charles M., 105, 134, 152, 176 +Petroleum, 233 +Pierce, President, 130, 132, 151 +Pinar del Rio, city, 101 +Pinar del Rio, province, 41 +Platt Amendment, 118, 247 et seq., 255 +Politics, 252 +Polk, President, 130 +Ponce de Leon, 13 +Population, 14, 17, 23, 34 +Porto Rico, 118 +Prado, 71, 75 +Preston sugar plantation, 113 +Puerto de Carenas, 12, 57 +Puerto Principe, see Camaguey +Punta, la, 17 + + +Q + +QUITMAN expedition, 151 + + +R + +RAILWAYS, 89, 91 +Rainfall, 46 +Real estate speculation, 120 +Reciprocity treaty, 255, 258 +Reconcentration, 177 +"Relations," question of, 247, 248 +Remedios, 102 +Revolutions, 19, 141 et seq. + of 1868, 153 et seq. + of 1895, 162 et seq. + of 1906, 159, 160 +Rhodes, James Ford, 131 +Rivers, 43 44 +Roads, 87, 95, 96 +Rubens, Horatio, S., 165, 181, 191, 192, 195 +Ruskin, John, 56 + + +S + +Saco, Antonio, 31 +Sagua la Grande, 101 +Sanchez, Rafael, 3 +Sancti Spiritus, 12, 91, 104 +Santa Clara, city, 102 +Santa Clara, province, 40 +Santangel, Luis de, 4 +Santiago de Cuba, 12, 13, 20, 115, 116 +Santo Domingo, 7 +Seville, 20 +Slavery, 15, 16, 23, 125, 145, 155 +Smuggling, 21, 26 +Snakes, 50 +Sociedad Economica, 24 +Sociedad Patriotica, 24 +Soles de Bolivar, 146 +Soto, Hernando de, 13, 14, 17, 58 +Soule, Pierre, 132, 133 +Spain, 17, 19, 24, 29, 123 et seq., 145, 236 +Spanish-American independence, 126 +Sugar, 113, 203 et seq. + Beet sugar, 208 + Countries producing, 209 + History, 207 + In Cuba, 210 + Manufacture of, 204, 213 + Muscovado, 205 + Origin of, 206 + Planting and cutting, 213 et seq. + Production of, 209, 254, 256 +Supreme Court, United States, 120 + + +T + +Tacon, Governor Miguel, 32, 33, 70, 71 et seq. +Taft, Hon. William H., 99, 160 +Tariff, Spanish, 21, 25 +Taxes, 24, 27, 30, 163 +Taylor, President, 148 +Teller Amendment, 182 +Temperance question, 76 +Temperature, 45 et seq. +Templete, el, 64 +Ten Years' War, 16, 134, 135 et seq., 153 et seq. +Thrasher, J.S., 15, 29 +_Three Friends_, 193 et seq. +_Tillie_, wreck of the, 210 +Times, New York, 150 +Tobacco, 36, 102, 221, 222 + Cultivation in Cuba, 223 + History, 219 et seq. + Origin, 218 + Use in Cuba, 225 +Trade restricted, 20, 24, 25, 30 +Transportation, 90 +Treaty of Paris, 118, 182 +Trinidad, 12, 91, 100, 103 +Turnbull, David, 25 + + +U + +UNITED STATES: + Diplomatic correspondence, 125 et seq. + Mediation offered, 156 + Presidential messages, 125, 135, 136, 137, 158, 178, 179, 180, 184 + Relations with Cuba, 122 et seq., 179 + + +V + +Valmaseda proclamation, 156 +Varona, Enrique Jose, 153 +Vedado, el, 82 +Vegetable products, 228 et seq. +Velasquez, 8, 58 +Villages, 85, 93 +_Virginius_ affair, 116, 137, 185 +Volantes, 88 + + +W + +Welles, Gideon, 186 +Weyler, General Valeriano, 177, 198 +Wilson, Henry, 125 + + +Y + +Yumuri valley, 41 + + +Z + +Zanjon, treaty of, 158 + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Cuba, Old and New, by Albert Gardner Robinson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CUBA, OLD AND NEW *** + +***** This file should be named 11464.txt or 11464.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/4/6/11464/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Leonard D Johnson and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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