The times., 1898-07-10
PICTURESQUE SANTIAGO
Sights That Meet the Stranger
Entering the Harbor.
MATCHLESS ROADSTEAD
The Hidden Channel and the Ro-
mantle Norr0-Foreign Enterprise
Tint Saved the Town From Ruin.
Spanish Apathy to the Public Wei
fare-sufferings of the People.

Once within the land-iocked harbor of
Santiago de Cuba one is well disposed to
Join in the chorus of praise which has
been awarded to il. Sailors and others
do not hesitate - describe it as one of the
finest in the wo-:1, ar certainly ii has
many admirable points which one real
ICES only from the in:,de. The entrance
is so difficult - d::cern that the indi-
vidual VINO "entured to insinuate that
Columbus, when on his second voyage of
discovery, .nul1 il by a mere accident
may not be so very far wrong. However
that may be, 1t was certainly a lucky hit.
The old Spaniard FeIasquez was not slow
TO seize Gpon ne e. eat natural advan-
tages which the harbor presented and in
founding The city there in 1914 he dispIav-
ed a prescIence Which has not always
been shown ty his eountrymen in recent
times.
coming in from the sea 1t is utterly i'm
possible TO see the mouth of the harbor
channel even from comparatively close
quarters. Looking in the direction of the
iaha holhlng can be seen but high noun
'alhs' presenting an apparently impene-
trabie front. But, continuing to steam
toward the coast, two mountains seem
suddenly TO part asunder disclosing a
passage only $50 yards wide but of good
depth.
Like Havana and San Juan. Santiago
has its Castle MORO, built by the old
Spanish warrior, Pedro de la Rocca then
governor of the province about the wear
1910, on the mountain TO the right of the
entrance. MORO means ''overhangine
lip and all three castles mentioned
are erected on the extreme points of
land commanding the harbor approaches.
That at Santiago is certainly the most
picturesque; but, looking at it one would
scarcely credit 1t as possessing much eff
fectiveness when pitted against modern
men-of-war. From the point of view
of the artist however, it is perfect A
fight Of well-worn steps wind from the
waters edge up the side Of the grim old
brown and yellow walls, all covered with
moss and ivy, to the battiements on top.
while the moat drawbridge and other
surroundings make up a charming pie
ture. suggestive of the days of gallant
knights and imprisoned maidens On the
mountain 10 the left is Castle La Socapa,
also presenting a very picturesque ap-
pearance, while further inland on the
same side as MORO, is a small fortifica-
tion resembling a star in shape and fO-
that reason called the Batteria de la Es-
treila- Though the guns are chiefly of
an oid-fashioned type. pointing directly
toward the sea, they are capable of be
ing used with considerable effect against
vessels attempting 10 force an entrance.
Still further in. TO the left is a little
island, on the hillside of which is built
the hamlet of Cayo Smith. In the olden
days of colonial conquest il was taken
and held for some time by the British.
OF late years 1t has been much patron
lied by the best families of Santiago as
watering place. Still a narrow neck
of the bay, about a mile in length, has TO
be traversed, the mountain sides on either
hand covered with tropical vegetation.
palms, cact, oranges, etc, until at last
the bay Of Santiago proper is entered
Its width varies from two 20 two and a
nalf miles and from end 70 end il is six
miles, af1ording ample room for the
anchorage Of several fleets. AS the last
curve IS made the vessel Is confronted
from the right shore by the guns OF
Punta Gorda battery and the defenses
nave further been strengthened by a
number of masked batteries instructed
during the last few months at other
points along the harbor shores
There is d small island with a name de-
noting in English the Isle OF rats. at the
beginning of the bay on which the Span
ish government has built q magazine.
where il was customary 10 store arms
and ammunition for the naval and mill
tary forces. together with anv large
quantities OF explosives needed by the
various mining companies. The neigh
borhood of Santiago is particularly rich
in minerals especially iron and copper:
but the Spanlards have themselves done
little TO develop the mining industry
This has been left 20 American enter
prise.
From Punta de Sol. little to the left
or the magazine a million and half of
copper ore was annually shipped to the
United States, as far back as the thir-
ties, from the celebrated Cobra mines.
But the mines have been closed for some
time, owing chiefly TO differences between
the corporation which laid the railroad to
the mines and that owning the mining
concession. While these contending par
ties were haggling over freight rates.
the mines filed with water and had to
be abandoned, and now the works are
rapidly falling into ruin.
A far more satisfactory evidence of
American enterprise and engineering
skill is afforded by the immense iron
pier of the Juruqua Company This cost
S20o,0oO 10 construct, and has facilities
to load two 3,000-ton steamers with ore
in less than ten hours. The ore. which
is brought down from the mines. some
hfteen miles away, on railroad trucks
is very rich. containing from 60 TO 6S per
cent OF pure iron. Nest of it has been
sent to the Bethlehem, Steelton, and
Sparrow Point Companies, and a con-
siderable quantity is now off Santiago in
the shape of armor plates on our war
ships. Just before the war broke out
trial shipments of ore had been sent
over 10 England. and strong hopes were
entertained of establishing an extensive
trade. The Spanish-American iron com
pany, whose mines are at Daquiri, a few
miles TO the east of Juruqua, also ex-
ported large quantities of ore. and its
wharf along the eastern coast may prove
of service to the army OF invasion in con-
junction with the railway line which con-
meets with the Juruqua pier
ON the right side of the bay toward
the mouth. is a place used by the gov
ernment-aS a coaling station, and known
as Cnico RealeS. 1t is not at all unlikely
that the Spanish fleet found a fair sup
ply of coal awaiting them, as. during the
writer's stay in Santiago in March, sew
eral colliers were said to be on their way
to the port.
On the opposite side of the bay near a
mangrove swamp was a building used as
a convaleScents' hospital for the Span
ish soldiers. This. with the exception of
number of pretty villa residences on
the hillside near La Cruz. brings to a
close the list of objects that would en-
gage the visitors attention on first en-
tering the harbor, of course excepting
the ancient capital itself. Houses with
blue and yellow walls are piled up the
hillside here and there a quaint tower
and turret showing or a stately palm
AS a background the magnificent heights
of the Sierra Maestro appear, assuming
in the early morning the peculiar purple