The Republican., 1899-10-05

or bungalow built thereon and near
ly everything the blessed hermit
would need to sustain life he might
raise in his dooryard, assisted by Ma
lures bounty in the way of wild
fruits, fish, etcetera. There are
neither snakes nor wild animals to be
feared, the climatesis absolute perfec-
ton, epidemic diseases are unknown,
and-protected by the long Cayos de
los Doce Leguas on one hand and the
mainland on the other-hurricanes
and severe storms never visit the
enchanted locality.
As everybody knows, the entire cir
cult of Cuba, following the coast line
as nearly as possible, is about 1920
miles. In all this distance there are
fifty-four ports, fifteen of which are
open to commerce, and only nineteen
lighthouses. Some of the noble har-
bOrs are tolerably well fortified, so far
as stone walls go, but their prominent
features, according to war experts,
are source of weakness rather than
strength, the forts almost invariably
occupying high elevations and the
walls, carried high up, affording
splendid targets for bombardment by
the shells of modern war vessels, the
ships themselves remaining safely
nf nf tho in tho
forts. By the way, one is struck by
the number of MORO Castles in
this island, and wonder why the
Spaniards did not exercise their Gus
tOmary verbosity in naming their
defenses. The explanation is simple.
The word Moro means 'promotory."
The old Spanish idea was to set all
their forts on hills. after the fashion
of the buccaneers, so that a sharp
lookout for enemies might be main
tasned. Most of Cuba's harbOrs are
curiously landlocked bays, opening
to the sea through long and narrow
channels. They have been well com
pared to the shape of a mans hand,
with the fingers spread and wrist
reduced in size The wrist is marked
with warts of bold, rocky headlands,
where the channel enters the sea, one
side generally much lower than the
other; and on the higher and sleeper
angle of the shore, between the har-
Dor entrance on one side andl. the
ocean on the'other, stanus the 'I99rro,
1.-The castle on the promotory"-for-
midable enough at the time it was
erected.
At Cienfuegos, the most important
commercial harbor on the southern
coast, there is no such fort, although
its beautiful and commodious bay
presents the usual features. Proba-
bly, the reason why a MORO Castle is
lacking here may be found in the
fact that Cienfuegos is couple OF
centuries younger than Havana, San
tiago, Trinidad and Matanzas. Spain
had fallen into her days of decadence
before the comparatively new city
came into prominence and the era
had gone by when she considered it
worth while to fortify her American
possessions with the massive and pic
turesque castles of medieval times,
which would go down like so many
egg-shells before modern artillery.
Back of Cienfuegos there is a hump,
which Cubans dignity as a mountain,
though it is nothing more than a
respectable hill, just big enough to
break the monotony of the flat coun-
try surrounding it. The harbor is so
well hidden among the keys that its
shipping can be seen only at close
view. You remember how Commo-
dore Schley, when he came this way
in quest of the Spanish fleet, thought
he saw the masts of Cervera's ships
! in Cienfuegos' sheltered harbor, and
was about to enter in hot pursuit,
when the insurgents brought him
! WOTu Illdb lDo lcCb was l1l w ohO
eastward. The three large rivers
that enter into Cienfuegos' bay enrich
it past computing, being navigable
for small craft a long distance inland
"a matter of enormous consequence
in a roadless country. The Cuato is
the most important river in Cuba
being navigable sixty miles above
the sea and penetrating the richest
sugar-producing district. During
the late war the Spanish General
Pando held the rivers mouth; but
the great water highway to the in
terror was practically controlled by
Garcia, who had his camp only few
miles above.
Next comes the Bay of Trinidad
with its trinity of ports and its white
walled city clinging like a collection
of birds-nests to the side of La Vijii
Mountain, a thousand feet above the
sea, that glistens in front. The love
ly harbor is almost land-locked, bu
so shallow as to debar vessels drawing
more than ten feet of water. Casilda
the worst port of the three, is gener
1 ! =, g Il,