The times., 1899-09-24


| them settling down comfortably in your
| hair ears, nostrils, while you are catching
| forty winks" Of troubled slumber in in
| tervas of the eternal warfare you are ex-
| ceptionally fortunate. Even Eden had its
serpent, you know, and doubtless a more
| advanced state of civilization here will
| evolve some means of diminishing the
plague of vermin. Expenses at this resort
are very moderate. There are many charm
| ing walks and drives in the neighboring
hills, and interesting all-day excursions
| may be made to sugar estates and pineap-
| pie plantations. The natives of Isla de
| Pinos seem TO be simple, kind hearted folk,
who find their greatest pleasure in chatting
with strangers and listening to accounts OF
| the outer world. To them, all beyond the
! horizons rim, or, at most, beyond the linn
its of Cuba, is terra ineognita, of more
| than Munchausen wonders The young
! children go about entirely naked and the
universal innocence, combined with the ut
I most dignity and punctilious courtesy. is
i charming to behold.
Nueva Corona, on the River Casas.
backed by green hills and fronted by an
| emerald plain dotted with royal palms, is
delightfully."- situated and beautiful to be-
| hold from distance, either app oschel by
sea or by the excellent natural road to
Santa Fe. But it is another illustration of
Tis distance lends enchantment to the
view. Though the capital of the is and
| and the seat of what little government
/ there is, its population has never exceede /
three hundred, not inclu,iing the Spanish
! garrison which in times past he ped to
make some third-rate gaiety. 1t is a
| healthy place, however, all the water used
coming from magnesium spring, said to
| be very beneficial in cases of stomach trou-
| BILE. Baths have been butt, into which
water from the spring is conducted. The
| barracks occupy an open plateau, Just out
| side the town limits and are large stone
| buildings with interior courts, capable OF
accommodating three hundred soldiers.
/ EvanEeiina Cfsneros, Birthplace.
| Nueva Corona was the birthplace of
Evangelina Cisneros, the Cuban hero ne SO
States, and here her life was spent until
the age of nineteen. when the prosecutions
Of would be Spanish lover sent her to
the dreadful Recoaidas prison of Havana
/ from which, as all the world knows she
was subsequently rescued by an American
journalist, assisted by several young Gu
| bans Among the latter was Caros Car
! bonell, wealthy bachelor banker of Ha-
vana. He drove the carriage in which the
escaped damsel was conducted from prison.
and he drove ii direct to his own kou e. in
a crowded quarter of the city, right under
! the nose of the Spanish officials. There
| the fair Evangelina remained several days,
until the time came for her TO board an
| American steamer, disguised as a boy.
| Everybody knows the rest The pretty ro-
nance ended (or ought we to say it be-
gun?) in her marriage to Senor Carbone l.,
some months later, in Washington, D. c.,
| and now Mr.. and Mrs Carbonell at home
| in Havana, are the proud parents of a
| bouncing boy. who was lately christened
"Fitzhugh Lee" The Cisneros family,
| though eminently respectable, was poor
| and obscure; therefore in Cuba. the alli-
| ance of the daughter with an aristocrat is
| considered a long step upward for the
| young lady.
The natural resources of the Isle of
Pines are just now attracting considerable
| attention, and not long ago our Assistant
| Secretary of War made public yoluni-
nous report concerning them. from Colonel
| Bliss, the United States collector of Gus
| toms at Havana, Ssfe soil is extremely
fertile, but only small portion of the
island is under cultivation. few OF the
| green valleys are used as cattle ranges.
| Tobacco and sugar are grown to limited
extent and pineapples are perhaps the staple
product. There has been some trade in
woods mahogany, pine. and cedar, and
might be a great deal more. Spirits of
turpentine, pitch, tar, sulphur, tortoise
| shell and crystals are also among the
possible exports. Silver, quicksilver and
iron exist in the hills, and the marble
| quarries are practically exhaustless.
| beautiful Mountain Ranges.
The mountain ranges that cross the ISL
| and in several directions are almost en-
tirely composed of beautiful marbles, ot
every variety known and in all the colors
of the rainbow, piled as by art in contrast
ing strata varying from black, brown and
grey to palest tints of pink, blue, and
green Another low mountain, called Los
Cristalas, is even more curious, its steer
sides being literally coated with rock
crystal of exquisite sea green tint. Though
none OF these mountains are OF great
height, all are very Wild and impressive
with dark ravines and sheer precipices
some of them zee feet in height
Half a century ago the marble quarries
near Nueya Corona were extensively
worked and a good deal of Cuban money
went into the enterprise, which promised
well. But for some unknown reason the
Spanish Government looked on it with dis
favor, and in order TO kill the business lev
led such an outrageous tax on the sand
used in saving that its promoters had to
give it up. Thus has the mother country
always encouraged home industries in her
| colonies All the taxes formerly collected
in the Isle of Pines by the Bank of Spain
went to Havana, from which one-fourth
was afterward remitted to the inhabitants.
The only dues directly colieotible by the
authorities were those for slaughtering cat
tie and selling beef These taxes no longer
exist, as there are practically no cattle left
on the island. There was also an export
duty of IL cents on each sack of charcoal
and cents on cord OF wood.
Vast quantities of mangrove and other
soft, scrubby wood make this fine har-
vest field for the charcoal burner. Last
year about 5000 bales OF tobacco, l0C
pounds TO the bale, were exported from the
island and sold in Havana for $40 bale
That was an unusual tobacco year in
Pinos, because many workers came ovei
from Vuelto Abajo to escape the war. They
have now returned to their former homes
where conditions are better, and this year
the island crop will fall TO less than 200(
bales. But the fact remains that it might
grow here TO obsoute perfection, if there
were anybody TO cultivate it. Rich land
may be bought as low as 80 cents an acre
That suitable for tobacco is not found in
large tracts, but in scattered patches
among the hills, where the settlers great
est drawback would be isolation from the
world. FANNIE BRIGHAM WARD.
SALARY OF LETTER CARRIERS
Amos Cummings to Ask Congress fOI
More Money.
Representative Amos Cummings, of New
I