The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-05-16
CUBA and The PHILIPPINES
ENGLISH VIEW OF SPANS
COLONIES
Natures Assistance In Blocl1Gding
Cuba-Impression of Havana
Havana's Beautiful HarbOr-The
Philippines a Large and Unex-
plored Country - spafn's Most
Valuable Colony.

TnH1ppAnes Large ana Unex-
| plOred Country - spafn's Most
! Valuable Colony.
From the Pail Mall Gazette.
The American blockade Of Cuba, from
| Cardenas westward round to Glen
| fuegos, cuts off from outside inter-
course most Of the principal ports Of
! the island, including, of course, the
capital, which Is the main object Of at
tack. The coastline. as you approach
from the north or northeast, shows fiat
and somewhat bare, these being the
| characteristics at most points, with
the exception only of the southeastern
extremity behind Santiago de Cuba$
where the land rises to a considerable
| height and is forest-clad. 1t will be
remembered that it was in this noun
| famous part that Gomez and the Ma
| ceoS first raised the flag Of insurrection.
| Eastward from Cardenas, almost as far
as Cape Maysi, there is long success
| sion of dangerous keys or reefs, which
make approach to the shore practically
impossible for large vessels, save at
one or two points Along a good por-
ton Of the south coast, eastward as
we'll as westward from Cienfuegos, the
same conditions prevail, and If Amer
lea decides to blockade the whole island
1T will only have to place another cor
don of vessels round from Manzanillo
past Santiago de Cuba and Guantan-
amo as far as Point Maysi, which is
the easternmost extremity Of the isl
and. Ships of large burden could not
navigate the intricate channels, with
their strange currents between the
keys, and a few patrol vessels would
be sufficient to prevent small schoon-
ers from trying their luck. Seeing that
fully two-thirds of the whole coastline
iy irfy io1 1xy1 nhoJN ~
apparent that in their efforts to prevent
communication the Americans have ma
ture with them.
CardenaS Is not entirely free from
the disadvantages associated with ugly
reefs. 1t lies on the southwest of
bay Of nine miles, the entrance to which
is so blocked up by small keys and
shoals that Gaken with the shallowness
of the bay ITSELF it is only navigahle
for vessels of about eleven feet. Never
theless, it is a considerable city, and
in times of peace enjoys a large trade,
mostly with Havana and other ports
round about 1t stands on a swamp,
and is one of the unhealthiest places
in Cuba. 1t has a railway. and it's
architectural features are those of all
Spanish american towns = mOuldy
churches, adobe houses (Which are
houses faced with sun-dried mud,
painted in gaudy colors to kill the
glare of the hot sunshine; couple of
plazas, where the town band discourses
music of light kind without much re-
gard for tempo; and unpaved streets
along which wend blacks half dressed
in dirty cottons, half breeds with mucn
show Of superiority and villanous faces
and the true Spaniard, putting the mild
cigarro and scorning everything with
a suspicion Of black blood in it. Save
for the protection afforded by the chain
of keys and the narrow channel, the
town is quite unfortified. The Span
iards have erected some rude defenses
on the Landslide to keep the insurgents
out of the town, but not a stone wall
or an antiquated gun faces the seafront
to give even a show of resistance. On
the same bay is the town Of Siguapa,
which is in reality only village.
There are several other ports be-
tween Cardenas and Havana. Matan-
zas is situated on tongue which sep
afates the rivers Yumurf and San
Juan, and boasts something like sixty
thousand inhabitants, dock and (haH
a mile inland some caves which rank
among the minor wonders of the world.
Its principal fertilization is San Sever
iEo castle, which, has no modern guns,
ard which, by reason Of it's raised po-
sition, offers fine mark for six
FOUNDER. Inside the FORT are several
shoals. and between these and. the
is shallow. From the entrance right
to the shoals, however, there is plenty
of depth for the largest vessels. Ar
chitecturally, it is Cardenas writ
trif1e larger. Between it and Havana
the ccastlne is marked by keys cev-.
cred with mangroves, and lying very
low.
HAVANAS BEAUTIFUL HARBOR.
Havana shows herself very beautiful
as you enter the harbor in the morn
ing after the mists have RISEN. The
most conspicuous features are the Mor-
70 Castle and the long line of fortidca-
tions on the cliffs, which overlook the
city to the eastward, at a height of
about one hundred and fifty feet. The
harbor takes a magnificent sweep of
several miles, and is one of the finest
in the world. But the entrance is rar-
row, and if the Notifications were ade-
quate it would be an impossible task
for a hostile fleet to pass them. 1t Is
notorious, however, that the fortifica-
tons are not adequate. Gen. Weyler
placed four guns at Punta Castle,
across the channel from Moro: but.
four guns, every cannon on the walls
of Havana and every Cuban coast fort
could be dismounted and the walls
knocked to pieces by hostile warships
while still out of range of any cannon
trained by a Spanish gunner. There
are the submarine mines, but their
value cannot be regarded as great,
when the forts themselves might be
reduced to rubbish heaps by modern
warships standing out at sea. The
first impression of pleasure at the sight
of the city is somewhat discounted by
the vile smell which comes from the
stagnant water of the harbor when
once you are we'll inside the entrance
And when you land, after infinite trou-
Bile with the customs authorities, you
find yourself surrounded by crowds Of
dirty natives, begging, or offering CT
garros or flowers or fruits or birds for
sale, or Solieitous for you to purchase.
a lucky number in the forthcoming lot
terry. There are trans side by side
with bullock carts, and here and there
one sees evidences of the electric light.
The houses here, as elsewhere, are Of
adobe, mostly one stored and flat
ter. round which the thick-walled
rooms range themselves. In the court
yard are trees, under the shade of
which the duennas sit to take the air
or to indulge in mild firtations
The better class houses have also
fountain, which adds to the impression
Of coolness-a condition that is very
desirable and very grateful in this eli
mate. There are an almost uncounted
number Of churches, rather insignifi-
cant-looking and falling to pieces; but
the cathedral is a magnificent build
ing, which takes up the whole of one
side of plaza. Open squares are plen-
tiful, and here the whole city turns out
of an evening to hear the bands play
or to lounge or promenade for a good
and completely lazy hair hour or two.