Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1898-05-31
SANTIAGO De CUBA.
Description of the City, Its De
lenses and Harbor,
BATTERIES ARE WELL TRAINED

| MALTA of Vice and Crime-Its Importanc.
\ In History MORO Castle waits Ar,
/ From Fifteen to Forty Feet Thick.
Santiago de Cuba bay, which, is SAID
| TO harbor the Spanish admiral, Ger
vera, Is equally impregnable TO as
| saults from enemies on the sea as il
| Havana. Two hills that look as i
| nature had intended they should meet
| precipitately end within 800 feet of each
| other at the entrance to the harbor. One
| may stand on one side of the channel
| and converse with another on the other
| side 1t is of narrower width than the
entrance to Havana bay. The points
widen gradually for 800 yards, and then
| the eye gets full sweep of the blue bay
that seems to sleep like a tired child.
Just how many guns there are at the
entrance no one but those in Spain s IA
val employ have accurate knowledge In
1895 two immense krupp guns were
landed and added to MORO Castle. AT
the time Consul Hyatt informed a re-
porter that there We're as many cannon
inside the fort then as Grant used i'll
Smelling Vicksburg Many of them are
of ancient make, however.
MORO Castle guards the sea. A tower
$50 feet high sits back of the fortifica-
tions, in which there are always observ
ers with farreaching glasses. Just
across the channel from MORO is an I'M
finished castle that in an emergency
could be utilized Blanca battery is To-
Gated inside the bay and has something
like 20 cannon. This battery was placed
there in 1868, and intende' for use in
the event of local uprising against
the crown. Its numerical strength in
the way of officers and men is about
1000 Military camps are just to the
north of Blanca battery, where at most
seasons a body of from 5000 to s, 900
troops Is always stationed.
The city of Santiago de Cuba is some
six or seven miles from the entrance TO
the bay 1t is built on hillsides and is
laid out in irregular style. Narrow
streets wind in and about, seeming to
start from nowhere and ending abrupt
~ at similar places. OF all spots on the
island Santiago is the most to be de-
spised by persons fearing unhealthy eli
mate, lazy men, insulting soldiers and
treacherous stilettos. Such conditions
abound throughout all the cisy's ram
ifications.
Looking out toward the sea from one
of the most prominent eminences in the
city, MIR. Hyatt remarked one day, CAS-
DR.. Ben Jonson once said, God Al
mighty III his infinite wisdom and SUI
perlative strength might have made
better berry than the strawberry, but
he never did, which reminds me that
the same power that makes straw berries
might have, if he wished, made a more
veritable saturnalia of vice and crime
than Santiago, but / haven't heard of
his doing it. =
For an American feet to lombard
the city it would first have to silence
the guns OF Moro, which could only be
done by the demolition Of the castle.
And this would be difficult. The castle
is made Of stone dug from the noun
tains thereabout. The thickness of the
walls protecting the guns vary from )
TO 40 feet. Some of the cannons are sup
piled with disappearing apparatus. The
big ones are stationary
1t was said by a member OF Consul
Hyatt's stuff that 90 shots could be
thrown q distance of ~
miles The guns are SO arranged that
seaward. The castle resembles some an
tlquated church cathedral. 1t rises up so
feet above the earth. and its interior
mechanical arrangements are such that
guns may be lifted to the roof, where
better range is obtained
The castle contains subterranean cells,
narrow and gloomy passageways, where
sounds of ever dripping water never |
leave the ears of those imprisoned there |
The capacity of the prison is about |
1000 The full complement Of naval |
officers, military commandments and men
Is about 200. Communication between |
the governors Office. which is located !
some distance away, is Of hourly occur
renee even during times of peace. |
There may be political as we'll as mill |
tary prisoners. Passes to the fortifica-
tions are never given TO those not di-
rectly connected with the crowns sery-
ice.
The bay spreads out, making Y like
to the land. The waters are al
ways calm and placid They are too far
away from the convulsive sea to be af-
fected- The aristocracy of the city some
times sail about in the basin in dingy
colored yachts and go home with empty
stomachs- The aroma from the accumu-
lated filth that daily finds its way to the
bottom of the bay is sickening.
An American feet sailing toward San
tiago could not observe the fort or the
surrounding them until
within rife shot distance The atmos-
phere is always heavy and hard for the
eye to penetrate. Indeed it is difficult
% distinguish objects 100 yards away.
A sickly green haziness pervades the
iir- Sound travels until it is lost far
away, but the lines of vision are cir
1t is supposed that nature
Intended this as a wise provision that
the rascality of one could not be observ-
ID by his neighbor.
Historically, Santiago de Cuba cuts
IN important part in the affairs of the
stand The city was Incorporated as far
back as 1922 and for many years was
The capital Of Cuba II is now the can
tai Of the province of the same name.
and the governor controlling the affairs
u the two eastern provinces lives there |
The population does not exceed SO.
700 and Is made mp Of q heterooenous
aass OF negroes. Cubans. Spaniards
lhlnese. French, Germans Yucatarians
nd Italians The natives seem TO 20 on
he theory that in oblivion there is hap
'iness They get in such condition
y frequent visits TO rurnshops The
treets are poorly lighted. the air al =
vays hot and heavy. the houses built of
tome dried brick and WOOD Two |