Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-11-12

miles. An ent@rprising American open
ed a mine about 20 miles from Santi-
ago., at a place called Ponupo, and built
a railroad to it. The mine was found
productive, the ore yielding 50 per cent
of metal of superior quality, but after
one cargo of manganese had been shipped
to the United States further operations
were stopped by the insurgents.
As a power that will guarantee Sc
curity now holds sway in southern Gu
ba, the work in this nine will doubt
less be resumed before long. Nearly all
the gan used in the United
States comes from the Black sea region
of Europe, and a small quantity is also
procured from the northern part OF
South America. 1t is but reasonable to
that the nearby mines in Cuba
will be in great demand when the state
of public affairs is such that they can
be operated in safety.
The mineral resources of the island
are still very imperfectly known, and
valuable deposits of other metals may
vet be discovered, as also new deposits
of metals now being mined. Bituminous
coal in extensive layers has been report
ed as existing in various localities.
(, Mines of alum and copperas were once
worked in the mountains of Juragua,
but were soon abandoned. Natural salt
! mines also exist, but salt was a Spanish
government monopoly, and the mines
were not worked. This commodity is
collected in considerable quantities
along the coast.
The timber of Cuba are
probably unsurpassed in any other part
of the world, and have only been util-
lied to a very trifling extent. 1t is
stated that the II, 900, 900 acres OF forest
lands furnished 40 varieties of fine cab
met woods, among them mahogany and
cedar. The wood of some Of the trees is
as hard as iron, and one of them nota'
BILE for this quality is called quiebra
haacha, or the AK breaker.
For fine furniture the wood Of Cuba
is unrivalled. The marquetry work O.
the apartment in the Escurial used by
Philip II was made of these woods
Few Of these varieties are found except
in the West Indies. Their value was
appreciated at an early period by the
Spanish government and led to the es
adjustment of s%hipbuilding in the is
land. From 1924 to 1896 Havana was
the great nursery of the Spanish navy
but the work was finally abandoned.
Lignum vitae and various kinds o
dye woods, ebony, rosewood, mahogany
cedar, Lakewood and many woods suit
able for building purposes, such a
acana, jocuma, ETC., abound PLENTIFUL.
in the forests. The cedar furnishes tn
material used for making cigar boxes
The c%ocoanut palm, the palma real
African palm, sour orange and lemol
trees are indigenous.
In the rural districts the native Gu
|, bans, especially the negroes, use tn
trees of the island for a variety Of dc
! nestle purposes. Receptacles made 9
the stem of the royal palm serve thel
for holding almost anything, from tn
, mornings milk to the boiled dinner
and sections of the wild bamboo serv
:, q buckets for bringing water from tn
= wells or rivers. Even the cups an
saucers and spoons they use are ful
> nished by the calabash tree, who's
. gourdlike fruit is easily prepared in Vi
) rious shapes for this purpose. The mi
with which they grind their sugar Cal
y is prepared from the hard wood pr
. cured from a neighboring forest. The
also use the products Of their woods
o a variety OF other ways, but rarely
" the shape Of furniture. Of that they r
quire but little, and that Of the simple
y possible character.
u Regarded from a commercial stan'
IL point these forests Of Cuba cannot ia
10 to become great sources Of revenue
70 the government Of the island as we'll
!. means Of profit to those that will engal