The times., 1898-07-28
OUR CAPTURED TERRITORY.

siders its marvellous fertility as a sugar
and coffee district and it's inexhaustible
deposits of iron ore and manganese iron.
The harbor of Santiago de Cuba is one
of the largest in the West Indies. Its extent
and beauty are too well known to require
any new description Its Importance
from naval and military standpoint is
of the highest order Whoever holds that
harbor commands eastern Cuba The
harbor is to eastern Cuba what the har-
Dor of Havana is TO western Cuba. 1t is
the key to the district at all times. The
Moro and La Socapa forts. if modern
ized, can make for any feet the entrance
to its harbor an impossibiity AS coal
ing station, as a refuge iii the hurricane
season, its perfectly landlocked harbor
holds first rank. That old-time city, prop
erly fortified. could bid defiance to many
a modern power. Its value and future
will depend on who possesses it. If left
in the hands of the laisseZ faire Cubans,
it will be, as ii was up to today. the
land of manana, or of tomorrow Its
geographical position makes the harbor
an absolute essential TO the province for
six or seven months of the year. when
the soft and imperfect roads of the in
terror and coast sections are wholly or
tropical downpours.
The city of Santiago during tie rains is
almost cut off from the interior, save by
a short and unimportan. section OF rail
way. 1t communicates By sea with neigh
boring ports on the island and ships To
the outer world sugar, coffee. dye and
other woods. iron ore, manganese and
fruits. To that outer world she looks for
her daily bread. her food stuffs. canned
goods and the articles Of everyday life
and commerce They come to her by water
and have so come for nearly four cen
turies. Until railways develop the in
terror and communicate with other ports
the highway to Santiago will still be by
the open sea.
Santiago before the var had an estl-
mated population of II 1000, of whom more
than three-fourths were Spanish negroes
and their descendants, the whole being
the descendants of the African slaves sold
in Cuba, the last of whom were freed
about twelve years ago. The black ele
ment in eastern Cuba is in a vast major
erto have been Spanish officers and SOL
dieIs. naval officers and sailors and the
rest merchants and planners. While the
majority are of Spanish or Cuban de-
scent. many are English. French. Ger
mans and Americans. Many Spanish Off
GERS married Cuban wives. and many
upon retiring on their pensions settled In
Cuba and became landowners and plant
ers.
II. ,,,e. t,,-s.a,. - g.. o,j,ar -,or+. nv
haIDoTs. proceeding in an easterly direc-
ton b. water. some Jhirty miles away,
the Bay OF Guantanamo is reached. The
mere hamlet facing the bay is named
Caimauera. the port and terminus Of the
railway leading TO the interior city Of
Guantanamo. The city Is on an inland
Plateau. situated in the center of the
Chest sugar district in the world. The
old-tame csty is quaint. and essentially
Spanish. IT is the supply center for the
many sugar and coffee estates Il in
turn receives their crops and ships them
by rail- TO the port already described.
Many OF the vast estates belong 10 for
eigners. The Messrs. BroOkes. Of San
tiago. own several of the largest sugar
properties. Mr.. Mckinley a Scotchman.
owns one; Dr. Wilson, an American, an
other: Mr. Ramsden a coffee estate. His
father. F. W Ramsden. a partner of
Santiago Mr.. Robert Mason, of the same
firm. was vice consul for the United
States before the war. Many Of the es-
tateS are owned by Spaniards, CubanS
and Frenchmen.
The rich alluvial soil Of eastern Cuba
has made it the chief sugar producing
center IN Cubs. The black soil has
varying depth of from twelve to sixteen
feet Sugar cane has been growing there
fo
ears and two yearly crops of the fine
cane are raised with minimum of labor
and expense. Coffee does very well. 4
plantation natures in six years. Once
producing it is a small gold mine TO its
owner, Cattle Go well and have proved
very profitable. The many possibilities
with such a soil and climate do not need
description. The province needs intelH-
gent enterprise and push, and II will
blossom with crops and prove one of the
richest and most productive spots on
earth-a new klondike
The forests OF eastern Cuba are almost
unexplored They cover its mountain
sides, and abound in the choicest of trop-
iCal mahogany, hard cedar. lignum vitae
and dyewoods. The minerals of eastern
Cuba deserve special mention In the
olden days much copper was got not far
from the city of Santiago That indus
try seems TO have been abandoned for
the more profitable one of iron ore and
manganese iron, the first existing in prac-
tically inexhaustible quantities. The CAP
ital invested in the mines is largely
American. Strangely enough, much of
that manganese iron today will be found
in the armor plating of our men-of-war
now on the Cuban station.
But to return to the bay of Guanta-
namo and continue in one trip around
the eastern end of the island The ex-
treme eastern point is Cape Maysi. The
well-known lighthouse station facing the
Windward Passage. The terraCfng of the
island there is very noticeable The land
rises in steps or terraces from the sea
until it reaches the foothills Back of
the latter are the lofty mountain ranges
for which all eastern Cuba is noted
Leaving Cape Maysi on our left. having
rounded the point. we are on the north
ern coast of Cuba or that facing the
United States. a number of minor har-
bors are passed and BaracOa is sighted
1t is large fruit exporting center and
the outlet for that section of eastern
Cuba. The sea outlet seems TO be ma
ture's only one so far. When American
enterprise develops the interior by rail-
ways like Jamaica's, then productiveness
will be quadrupled
The next and last coast town in the dis
bI.Nl SuiIeiutTeu Is SdSua ue IanalnO on
the river and bay of that name. A line
On the map from Sagua de Tanamo to
Santiago de Cuba represents the western
boundary Of our newly-acquired territory.
It's area is over 10000 square miles. with
about 130 600 inhabitants
A few words in conclusion on the cli-
mate of eastern Cuba The old-time
Spanish discoverers divided climates in
mountainous sections in the tropics into
three classes: First, the TERRA caliente,
or hot lands-all lands on the coast and
extending about 1000 feet above the sea