The times., 1899-08-13
THE CITY OF TRINIDAD
A Charming Town of Antique Casas
and Palm Gardens.

A Charming Town OF Antique Casas
and Palm Gardens.
Narrow But Picturesque Streets.
Its Loyv-WaIIed, Rough-TfIcd
Observation-Disclosures the Main Draw
bncIs-YelIow Jack Stranger i'm
Trinidad de Cuba, July 1S.-Thanks to
American newspapers, the world has lately
become well acquainted with Havana in
the west, Santiago in the east, Cienfuegos
and Matanzas in the middle-the New
York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and
Chicago of Cuba-but to this day few peo-
pie know much about the country between
! those widely separated cities. 1t is hard
to realize that the Pearl of the Antilles
stretches over three and half degrees of
latitude-farther than the distance be-
tween New York and st. Louis, Philadel-
phia and New Orleans, San Francisco and
Denver. Harder yet is 1t to realize the
difficulties of travelling through the inte-
rior-the impossibility of making the en-
tire journey overland from one end of the
island to the other. Spaniards and Cubans
seem to have considered the waterways OF
their forefathers good enough for all time
| to come, and there has never been any
connection, except by boat, between the
eastern and western portions of the coun-
try. In ali this rich territory there are
! but four good roads, and they lead only
few miles out of Havana The eastern
half of the island, with its rugged noun
| tains full of minerals, extensive forests
and painless jungles, has no public high
ways worthy the name, the few country
ward routes being mere mule trails, and
poor ones at that. Since the war, how
ever, an American syndicate has investi-
gated the feasibility of a railway line be-
tween Santiago and Havana and reported
| favorably; therefore the time is at hand,
maybe, when locomotives will rush Shrek
ing from end to end OF this sleepy land,
connecting forgotten towns and villages,
like the beads of a rosary on strings OF
! steel.
AS yet the greater part of Cuba resembles
/ the Heart of Africa" In one particular
/ that 1t remains a terra incognita, concern
| ing which any wild story, well told, gains
! credence. Even during the war, when the
eyes Of all nations were turned this way,
| only occasional scraps of information found
| their way from the southern ports, leaving
| the whole vast interior, with It's tragedies
| Of murder, starvation, and wanton de-
struction, buried In impenetrable silence.
| In this region of gloom and mystery, OF
| which Trinidad is the southern outlet and
Sagua la Grande the northern, ! have been
| spending the last few weeks for the pur-
pose of telling The Times all about IT..
Santa Clara province is the very heart of
Cuba, and was once the garden spot Of the
world, before those destructive patriots" !"
Gomez and Maceo overran 1t with their
negro rabble al machete, and converted
$50, 0,000,00 worth of growing cane into
drifting ashes. Today little is left but the
royal palms. standing like. plumed sentinels
amid the dead. In hundred miles of the
richest territory, not house nor human
being is TO be seen. Plantations, ranches,
farms, were all destroyed by one army or
the other, villages wiped out, sugar mills a
thing of the past, expensive machinery
broken up and rusting in the fields wait
ing purchaser as old junk-nothing to
speak of former population but heaps OF
melancholy ruins.
The 600 miles or so between Havana and
the railroad which ends at Santa Clara,
sending out branches to Sagua and Glen
fuegos. If you insist on an all-land route,
the remaining 300 miles must be made over
robber-infested trails, in the saddle, in OK
carts, on foot, according to circumstances
and locality. 1t is not to be thought OF
without a strong escort and IT, after great
expense danger. toll, and privation, you
arrive at the end OF the journey with whole
skin and purse in your own possession,
you have been exceptionally fortunate. No
native undertakes such hazardous thing
without saying seven Ave Marias at every
mile, to bring himself good luck-and even
then the reverse is likely TO be his portion
Hardly one person in 900 comes to Trini-
dad except by water-usually by coasting
steamer from Cienfuegos, forty miles to
the westward. You will go all the way by
water from Havana, rounding the western
tips Of the island; or by rail TO Bataba-
mao, the southern port of Havana province
and thence sailing eastward 40 miles
among innumerable wooded islets; or by
railway to Cienfuegos and thence by
; steamer; or from Santiago, sailing in q
, northwesterly direction, past the darl
mountains of the Maestro range, Cape
Cruz, the historic banks of Buena Esperan-
"a columbus Good Hope') and the
| beautiful green Gays of Doce Leguas.
Having rounded Punta de los Negros-
: the long, narrow bluff which defines Trim
, idad Bay on the southwestern see
white walled city glistening in the colder
light, away up on the sunset slope O
: La Vijia," lookout mountain), a thou
e sand feet above sea level. Trinidad il
2 blessed with trinity of ports, but th
t present only one is used-Casilda-th
o worst of the three, a small village at tn
!. head of the inlet. The lovely harbor i
q almost land-loeked, but so shallow tha
n vessels drawing ten feet of water are II
e able to run aground with the least devi
d alton of the tortuous channel All YES
e sells must be loaded by means Of lighters
i and put to sea as quickly as possible, t
II avoid sticking fast on the sandy bottom
g The landing place at Casilda is lined wit
: wharyes and warehouses, for In prosperou
d days great deal of sugar and honey wa
d exported from the place. There is also
IS handsome depot for the railway, Whic
= runs north twenty-five miles or so, con
Meeting several villages and bringing th
Is products of neighboring plantations dow
Is for shipment Less than a mile to th
a. westward Guarabo River empties into th
l. sea, nayigable for small boats consider
d able distance inland. Masio Bay, fou
i miles east of Casilda, really ought to /
sr the port of Trinidad, being deep enough
II accommodate vessels of largest tonnage
II AS the cars do not run regularly on th
le little narrow-g gauge road, but only whe
1t there are full loads of freight TO be carrie,
y you will DO well to avoid tedious time {
g waiting in the iea-infested port by takin
he a voante to Trinidad-though the chars
tba fa,t e. rn opd ,I,n o..- Ill, ,