Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-06-09
CUBA'S SECOND CITY.
SOME FEATURES OF SANTIAGO AND
THE PROVINCE.

Story High = Largest Cathedral In the
Island Is In Santiago-Population Num-
bers 45, oOO-Products of the Country.
The town of Santiago de Cuba, where
our troops will land, is situated at one
side of the harbor and about six miles
from it's entrance and overlooks it at
the widest part. The entrance to the
harbor is very narrow, not more than
about $50 feet wide, and the channel is
winding until it reaches Punta Gorda,
after which it widens into beautiful
harbor. At one side of the entrance is
Moro Castle, very old fort. MORO"
is a typical name given to all these
coast fortresses. On the opposite side of
the harbor is Socapa. The town of San
tiago is low, but rises as the ground
slopes up from the coast toward some
ranges of hills. It was quite business
town before the war, and there are
three companies there that have han
died great deal of ore, one of them as
much as 1000 tons day
The houses are mostly one story high
on account of the liability to earth
quakes, but there are some of two sto-
ries. The dwelling houses are surround
ed by spacious verandas, which look on
beautiful gardens filled with wealth
of gorgeous tropical flowers. The poin-
settia, with its heads Of brilliant scar
let leaves which people in the north
cherish in little fowerpots and in green
houses, is there large tree, and other
trees with their clusters of gaudy fra
grant flowers make these gardens fairy
scene.
There are various insects among the
flowers and mosquitoes innumerable,
but none of the insects are poisonous
There is large spider about the size of
ones fist, whose bite produces swell
ing and a slight fever, and scorpion
whose bite causes some irritation, but
is not deadly. There are no venomous
reptiles in the island. There is one
enormous variety of boa, called the ma
ia, of immense strength. It is perfectly
black, as thick as ones arm and capa-
BILE Of swelling itself out to nearly five
times its natural size and has blood
red mouth-all of which sounds very
alarming until you find out that he is
lazy fellow and does not trouble himself
about human beings, being satisfied
with pigs and goats and even small
game. There is a small snake called the
| jubO, and some other varieties, but they
are not venomous
&c
turbed by the rush of cable or trolley
cars. The usual conveyance, the vo-
lante, is long bodied vehicle on two
wheels. The town of Santiago is the see
Of the archbishop and contains the
largest cathedral in the island, the Ca
thedral of Nuestra Sonora de la Carload
del Cobre. Here is also the theological
seminary of San Basilio.
In this region is the highest land in
Cuba A mountain range called the
Montanos de Maestro or Cobre extends
| from the Punta de Maisi, on the eastern
extremity, to Cape Cruz, on the opposite
side, Pico de Turquino, the highest
elevation, rises 1910 feet above the
| ocean. These mountains are very rich
in ore, and the Cobre copper mines,
some IL miles distant from the city,
have yielded so tons day, the higher
grades being shipped to Europe and the
inferior grades smelted at the mines.
All this work has stopped since the war
became serious These mines were
worked as early as the seventeenth CEN
tuIy and were then abandoned for more
than 100 years. Iron is also found there,
and gold and silver have been taken out,
but not in sufficient quantities to make
| it profitable However none Of these
mines has yet been fully developed.
Bituminous coal is found which gives
out high degree of heat and leaves
scarcely any ashes or cinders. Near the
coast it is often found in semiliquid
masses resembling petroleum or naph-
tina. There are some very extensive
caves in these mountains which have
never been thoroughly explored.
| There arc forests of mahogany, Gu
ban ebony, cedar and other hard woods
in this province, among them one called
the quebra hacha, or AK breaker, and the
| jucero, which does not even decay after
long submersion. The marqueterie work
in the room occupied by Philip II Of
Spain, in the. Escurial, was made from
these woods, Of which the Spaniards
know the value, and they are exported
from the island in large quantities.
There are no wild animals properly
speaking, except wild dogs which play
havoc in the poultry yards. small
animal called jutia that resembles a
coon and probably belongs to the same
family is found in great numbers and
has furnished many good meal to the
..:ungrv Cuban soldiers. who tran it.bv