Morning journal and courier., 1894-06-16
TALES OF TEN TRAVELLERS,
The Gasket of Manaca Isnaga.
BY EDGAR L. wAKKMAN.

[Copyright, 1894 All rights reserved.l
 The ancient glories of the city of Trini dad, on the southeastern coast of Cuba, seem beyond belief. But the magnifcencs of her almost deserted structures of to- day attest their former splendor and reali- ty. Many are palaces beside which the s,oried edihces of the Riviera are plain and commonplace.
 Rising gradually from its enchanted shores, the city spread downward like 6 glesming satin fan from the apex of 6 pic turssque height, Is one vast and brilliant garden, broken only by eplendid edihce, dresmful plszs and quaint old fountains
 To the east sweeps the broad bay of Ma sio. To the south stretches the dresmful sea, from which lspguorous breezss end lessly come. Behind, as if In terrace on terrace, are forests and wales of ind. scrib- able luxuriauce. and, a score of miles away, the famous vslls del Aguscste, where lie the olden coffee lands of Cuba, thousands of feet above the sea. The val ley's grand upland sweep reaches to pie turesque foot hills; and beyond are the grim mountains, the Andes of Cuba, like walls of purple bronze in the wondrous tropic air.
 Only quarter of a century ago the fab ulous riches still derived from the coffee lsnds of the glorious region, gave the bril- liant city the title of Paris Chiquito, "the little Psris." Its former princely mssters it's surroundings still eloquent with un- equsied natural beauty; Its old slave times. when every city mansion was filled with scores of bondsmen and bondswomen and every plantation and even rsspauero beast. | ed an army of half-naked African se.fs; have left the locality rife with weird legend. and fearful tales, surpasslpg in horrible memories even that pandemonium of aw ful imagery depleted throughout the psgtt of the little known Bug Jargal of Victor Hugo.
 Half way between Trinidad and ih, Vslle del Aguacate rises the mighty forti | fed tower of Msnses Isnags. With oui host, the venerable Don Misusl, we had | come thus far from the white city by ths | sea on our way to his old plantation home Our montere and vauguero companioni | taking charge of our horses, VIC ascendec the lofty structure and came at last to it' colonnsded and bsitlsmented top, fou hundred feet from its base.
 We were travellers in all civilized lsBds but he'd never previously behsld So hug, and lofty @ pile of modern masonry. was built upon the summit of a rocky em thence several hundred feet in height, anc
 In its massive crowning apex one stoos
 fully thousand feet above the surround
 ing terrsced valleys, more than twice tha
 altitude above the sea, which lay like
 misty mass of emerald half Q score o
 miles below, while the eye, sweeping acros
 the magnificent vale of laurels, palms sn,
 flowers, dotted with the red roofs of grea
 plantation homes, seemed from the yer
 height, to draw the northern mountain
 bases almost to Msnaca Isnsga's side.
 With a glass every object to the east sn'
 west of Trinidad along the Caribbea
 shore, every mountain and valley stream
 every lonely old Cuban road, every mon , tero's hut, every planters village of hom ) and outbuildings, every waving field c , coffee or cane, every group of laurels Q , palms, every struggling hedge of the ferc i Spanish bsyonet, and every herd of cattle half buried in the luxuriant grasses of th [ llanos, could be discsrned with startlin
 clearuess in the brilliant Cuban air. sI As we asoended the don had remsins