The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-06-10
Features
Of
Santiago

The town Of Santiago dc Cuba. vrO
our troops will land, is situated at ,,o
side of the harbor and about six lii'es
from its entrances and ovcisooks II az
the widest part. The entrance to tho
harbor is very na,-o.r. not more than
about 100 feet wioe, ard the channel II
winding until it reaches Punta Gordn,
after which il widens into beautiful
harbor At ono si6o &. tee entrance II
Mcrro Castle. very old fort. "Morro'
Is n typical name given to all these
coast fortresses. On the opposite side nt
the harbor is Socapa. The town Of SAN
lingo Is low. but rises as tho ground
slopes up from the coast toward some
ranges of hills. 1t was quite business
town before the war, and there aro
three companies there that have han-
died great deal Of ore, one Of them ae
much as /, 900 tons day.
The houses are mostly one story high
on account of the liability to Garth
qual1es, but there are some Of two sto-
ries. The dwelling houses are surround
ed by spacious verandas, which look on
beautiful gardens filed 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 dowerpots and in green
houses, is there large tree, and other
trees with their clusters of gaudy fra
grant flowers make these gardens fairy
scene.
u Ions ss,c 20 t1n
flowers and mosquitoes innumerable.
but mono of the insects are poisonous.
There is a large spider about the size Of
ones fist, whose bite produces SWELL
ing and O 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. 1t 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 ID small snake called the
jubo, and some other varieties. but they
are not venomous.
The repose of the streets is not dis
turbed by the rush Of cable or trolley
cars. The usual conveyance the vo-
lante, is a 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 Ia Carload
del Cobre. Here is also the theological
seminary Of San Basilio
In this region IL 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 1870 feet above the
ocean. These mountains are very rich
in ore, and the Cobre copper mineS,
some l2 miles distant from the city,
have yielded 80 tons day, the higher
grades being shipped to Europe and the
inferior grades smelted at the minen
All this work has stopped since the was
became serious. These mines were
worked as early as the seventeenth GEN.
tury 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
il profitable. However, none OF thess
mines has yet been fully developed.
Bituminous coal is found which gives
ont 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 III Of
Spain, in the Escurial, was made from
these woods. of which the Spaniardi
know the value, and they are exported
lfOlu tHt iSiUuu III iai 30 QuuutitiSc-
There are no wild animals, properly
speaking, except wild dogs, which play
havoc in tho poultry yards. A small
animal called jutia that resembles q
coon and probably belongs TO tie same
family is found in great numbers and
has furnished many a good meal to the
hungry Cuban soldiers. who trap it by
the dozen. When eaten with n relish "
garlic and onion, il is delicious-to
those who like garlic.
The city of Bayamo, In tho western
part Of the province, was very important
u century or more ago. aud o greas
stronghold Of the insurgcnts-for there
have always been insurgents in Cuba
But Of late years business has moved to
Santiago and other coast cities, and Sam
tiago now has about 45, 600 inhabitanta
while Bayamo has only 10000. 1t was
a lawyer Of Bayamo, Charles M. do Ces-
pedes, who in 1858. at tho head OF 1873
wrctchedly armed men rose in rebol-