The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-10-19


no such substance, but instead {
creamy film, hardly thicker than {
thumb nail, which is scraped off will
spoon when eaten.
Immediately west of Nuevitas the
, Gays begin, which stretch in close sue
cession all the way to Havana, no few
err than one hundred and eighty Of
them, by actual count between the tive
points named. They are of varying
sizes, from a few yards to miles in ex-
tent, but uniformly long and narrow,
with beeches of silvery sand fringed
With mangrove bushes and cocoa
palms. Cayo Romano, the largest Is
land on the north coast, contains one
hundred and seventy-two square miles,
but Is yet entirely unoccupied. Next in
size Is Cayo Sal (salt island), whereon
are primitive salt-works, which supply
half of Cuba A few of these islets
have excellent anchorage, but the MAJ
Jority are environed by inaccessible
reefs, the work of coral builders. Moth
ing more delightful can pe imagined
than a leisurely cruise in this tropical
archipelago. Not a ripple disturbs the
mlrror-like surface of the sea, and
through the crystal water you may
trace burrows on the bottom, formed by
| currents in the sand. Far below on the
ocean floor you see coral in globe-like
formations, with myriad branches and
their world of zoophytes, standing mo-
tionless amid thousand marine
groWths; sponges with concave tops,
like Neptune's punch bowls; star-flsh,
a foot in diameter; strange denizens Of
the deep, startled by the boat passing
over, darling away, their brilliant col
ors showing in prismatic flashes and
occasionally an enormous turtle,
aroused from his mapping, padding for
dear life amid milky cloud Of coral
sand.
The next westward port of call is Sa-
| qua la Grande, situated several miles UP
| the Sagua river. The rivers mouth is
thickly strewn with islets, all covered
with mangrove thickets, and the intri-
cate, shallow channels between them
are marked by stakes to which flutter-
| ing rags are tied. Another "Boca"
(mouth), opens out beyond danger
| Gus bar and forms large and safe, but
shallow bay, which cannot float vessels
drawing more than sixteen feet. 1t is
lined with wooden warehouses for de-
posting sugar by vessels drawing not
more than eight feet. The river is nav
igable some twenty miles above, but
only for yachts, lighters and similar
small craft, and so narrow is the water
way, between cane-fields stretching to
the horizon on every side, that you
seem to be sailing on land. This is a
noted producing region, the av-
erage annual shipment from Sagua be-
fore the war being seven hundred thou
sand bags, besides quantities of mo-
lasses and rum. Sagua city, with
its population of twenty-five thousand
including the suburban hanlets of Is
abella Titiccito and Chinchilla, Is one
of the healthiest and cleanest, as 1t
was once among the most prosperous
cities of Cuba. 1t is yet the flower of
Santa Clara province, though nearly
ruined by RECOMMENDATION, and much
smaller than Santa Clara city and CT
enfuegos The streets are well paved
with stone, covered with carget and
sand from the river, and there is toll
cradle system of sewerage-a very rare |
thing, indeed, in Cuba. Education was
formerly at high ebb here, the muni |
cipality maintaining twenty-five schools. |
There are three big orphan asylums be- |
sides, wherein several hundred children |
are taught several useful trades to- |
gether with the rudiments of book-lore.
A cigarette mandatory and box fac
tory have been established in connec-
ton with the asylums, which render
the older boys and girls almost self
supporting. There Is large hospital,
capable of caring for three hundred pa
tients; also a lazaretto for smallpox
that by which Texans make
parents are living, and soup-kitchen
which dispenses food to the adult poor.
The recontrado element was unusually
strong here and it's dire result will be
felt through more than one generation.
1t is estimated that to this day upwards
Of two thousand adults are fed in the
soup-kitchen and five hundred chill
dren every day receive broth, milk and
medicine, If necessary, at the dispense
ry. The schools OF Sagua have hlther-
to been maintained on the queer Span
sh plan, from taxes collected by the
Spanish bank and handed over to the
provincial board Of public instruction,
which hired and paid the teachers. The
otal expense of the twenty-five schools,
salaries and all, is reckoned at about
thirteen thousand dollars per annum.
Since Spain's rule is ended, the Spanish {
bank collects no more taxes; and the
is that for many months
he teachers have been paid no salaries, {
ind some of them are actually in a ]
starving condition. The great hospital,
90, is just now in sad strait for mon {
~ It's running expenses used to be '
,aid by the various towns Of the judi
ial district, according to the number Of {
PATIENTS each contributed, but all are
low so poor that for a long time moth /
ng has been paid in and the hospital +
inds itself in debt over ten thousand | t
ollars to outsiders, and seven thou t
and dollars more to it's employees for {
eventeen months back salaries. All
hese misfortunes are the direct result +
f. the war, and the brave little city is C
ding it's best to recover it's financial t.
landing. Sagua was unwillingly COM r
elled to expend upwards of seven e
1ousand dollars in Notifications for p
efense against it's friends, the insur b
ents, and to maintain horde of its
atural enemies, the Spanish soldiers. il
, the listing detriment of home insti- a
ltions. h
The city has both gas and electric