The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1899-08-17

Having rounded Punta de los Ne
grOs-the long, narrow bluff which
defines Trinidad Bay ON the south
weSt-you see a white walled city
glistening i'll the golden light, away
| up on the sunset slope of La Villa
lookout Mountain), Il thousand feet
above sea level. Trinidad is blessed
with a trinity of ports, but at present
only one is used, Casilda, the worst of
the three, IL small village at the head of
the inlet. The lovely harbor is almost
land-locked, but so shallow that YES
sells drawing only ten feet OF water
are liable to run aground with the
least deviation from the tortuous
channel. All vessels must be loaded
by means of lighters and put to sea
as quickly as possible, to avoid stick
ing fast on the sandy bottom. The
landing place at Casilda is lined with
whaFves and warehouses, for in pros
porous days a great deal of sugar and
honey was exported from the place
There is also handsome depot for
the railway, which runs north twen-
ty five miles or So connecting several
villages and bringing the products
of neighboring plantations down for
shipment. Less than "a mile to the
westward Guarabo River empties into
the sea, navigable for small boats q
considerable distance inland. Masio
Bay. four miles east of Casilda. really
ought to be the port of Trinidad, be-
ing deep enough to accommodate
vessels of largest tonnage
AS the cars do not run regularly on
the little narrow-guage road, but only
when there are full loads of freight
to be carried, you will do well to
avoid tedious time of waiting in the
flea-infested port by taking a volante
to Trinidad-though the charge for
the latter is $500, and the cars will
take you for twenty cents. Trinidad
is only three miles inland, or rather
upland, and the drive thereto, along
the green slopes of Lookout Noun
tain. is delightful. The city of the
Holy Trinity is one of the oldest in
Cuba, founded less than a year after
Santiago, and within twenty years of
Santo Domingo, the first on the
! Western Hemisphere. Centuries ago
the now almost forgotten place had
its stirring and romantic history.
Columbus sailed into its bay and
named the three peaks of the over
shadOwing mountains, "El Trinidad;"
! Diego de NelaZques founded the town
! Tin 1913: Don Luis Bassecourt achiev-
ed here his famous victory over three
| British men-of-war, after three davs
of hard fighting, and the English
cOrsair, Grant, drove out all other
pirates, in the year 1902. For two
hundred years the locality suffered
continuously from piratical attacks,
and countless bloody traditions are
connected with the vale of the Holy
Trinity. Indeed, it is said that the
richest citizens Of the place are de
scendants of the old sea-robbers and
cut-throats, who turned respectable
when piracy went out of fashion.
With their ill-gotten gains they
bought lands and built manor houses,
gave large sums to the priests for
absolution and became pillars Of
Church and State.
One who does not mind hard climb
ing finds Trinidad the most charming
of cities with its antique casas and
palm-shaded gardens, its rambling,
uphill streets and the glorious views
over the valley of golden cane on one
hand, and the Caribbean. dotted
with palm-fringed islands, on the
other. The population is now about
$4,000 though time was when it
counted twice that number. Swept
by both mountain and ocean breezes,
with neither excessive heat nor cold
from year to year, the climate is as
near perfection as one can hope to
li1I Oh tlllS III utlltldIlc I)IltTe. IuOuRn
sanitary measures of any kind are
unknown in Trinidad it is by all odds
the healthiest town in Cuba, being
so situated that the harder the rains.
the clearer it becomes. Yellow Jack
has never yet climbed La Villa, and
the highest death rate is Officially
| stated nc u in 10OO
The streets of Trinidad are as mar
row as the narrowest in Spanish
America, but extremely picturesque,
with their low-walled, rough-tiled
houses, and high-sounding titles over
the doors. Like those of Habana,
some of them have awnings stretched
across from side to side, affording
complete protection from sun and
rain. In the aristocratic quarter the
casas are mostly of stone, and some
of them are very imposing, with
arched entrances and much-bestuc-
coed facades. Interiorly they differ
from those of Habana by having no
dividing walls between the rooms,