The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-06-07
Santiago de Cuba,


The town Of Santiago de Cuba Is SIT
uated at one side Of the harbor and about
SIX miles from its entrance and overlooks
II at the widest part The entrance 10 he
haroor IS very narrow, not more than
about l50 feet wide, and the channel is
winding until II reaches Punta Gorda,
after which Il wfdens into beautiful hcr-
Dor. At one side Of the entrance is Nor
TO Castle, very old fort. MORO" Is a
typical name given to all these coast fort
resses. On the opposite side Of the har-
Dor is Socapa-
The town of Santiago is low. but rises as
the ground slopes up from the coast to-
wards some ranges of hills. 1t was quite
business town before the war, and there
are three companies there that have han
died great deaf OF ore. one of them as
much as thousand tons day.
The houses are mostly one story high On
account Of the liability to earthquakes.
but there are some Of two stories. The
dwelling houses are surrounded by spac-
ious verandas, which look on beautiful
gardens filed with a wealth OF gorgeous
tropical flowers. The pionsettia, with It's
heads OF brilliant scarlet leaves which
people in the north cherish IN little flower
pots and in green houses. IS there a
large tree, and other trees with their
clusters Of gaudy fragrant flowers make
lLtSc SdIuC4lS d larry StClCs
There are various insects among the
flowers and Mosquitoes innumerable, but
none of the insects are poisonous. There
IS a large spider about the size or one
fist, whose bite produces swelling and a
Slight fever, and q scorpin whose plte
causes some irritation, but IS not deaoly.
There are no venomous reptiles IN the
island. There IS one enormous variety
OF boa, called the Maja- Of immense
strength. 1t is perfectly black. as thick
as ones arm. and capable of swelling it
self out to nearly five times its natural
size, and has a blood red mouth-ail Of
which sounds very alarming until you
find out that he IS a lazy fellow and does
not trouble himself about human beings.
being satisfied with pigs and goats and
even small game. There is a small snake
called the JUDO, 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 volante, is a
long bodied vehicle on two wheels
The town Of Santiago is the see of the
Archbishop, and contains the largest ca
thedral in the island-the Cathedral Of
Nuestra Sonora de Ia Carload del Cobre
Here Is also the Theological Seminary Of
San Basilio.
In this region is the highest land in
Cuba A mountain range called the Mon
tanos de Maestro or Cobre extends from
the Punta de Maisl on the eastern extre-
nifty 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 u miles dis
tant from the CITY, have yielded 90 tons
a day, the higher grades being shipped to
Europe, and the inferior grades smelted
at the mines. All this work has stop
ped since the war became serious These
mines were worked as early as the
seventeenth century, and were then aban-
doned 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 1t profitable. How
ever, none Of these mines have yet been
fully developed. Bituninous coal is
found which gives out a high degree of
heat and leaves scarcely any ashes or
cinders Near the coast it is often found
in semi-hQuid masses resembling pc
troleum or naphtha. There are some very
extensive caves in these mountains. which
have never been thoroughly explored.
There are forests of mahogany, Cuban
ebony, cedar. and other hard woods in
this province, among them one called the
quebra hacha or axe breaker, and the
J "
long submersion. The marqueterie work
in the room occupied by Philip II. Of
Spain, in the .Escurial, was made from
these woods, at which the Spaniards
know the value, and they are exported
from the island in large quantities.
There are no Wild animals, properly
speaking, except wild dogs, which play
havoc in the poultry yards. A small ami
NAL called juria that resembles coon and
mr. 40 haInOoS RI "a TIiiN- is
found in great numbers, and has fur
nished many a good meal to the hungry
Cuban soldiers, who trap it by the dozen.
When eaten with relish of garlic and
onion it is dehcious-to those who like
garlic.
The city of Bayamo. in the western part
of the province, was very important a CEN
fury or more ago. and great stronghold
Of the insurgents-for there have always
been insurgents in Cuba. But of late
years business has moved in Santiago and
other coast cities, and Santiago now has
about 5000 inhabitants, while Bayamo
has only COCO. 1t was a lawyer of Ba-
yamo, Charles NJ. de Cespedes, who in
1868, at the head of 12S wretchedly armed
men, rose in rebellion at Yara, and in
a few weeks was at the head of 10 600
resolute though badly armed fighters
The HymnO sde Bayamo, the revolutionary
nyfnH Oh the CuOdH patriots originated IN
Bayamo. This was the MarsciHaise to
whose music Maceo marched. Santiago
de Cuba was the birthplace of the bro
theirs Maceo.
on the opposite side OF the province
from the town Of Santiago is the Bay Of
Nipe. The Bay of Cienfuegos is said TO be
one of the most magnificent harbors in
the world, both for area and depth Of
water; but it is surpassed by the harbor
Of Nipe. which embraces 65 square miles
of deep water