The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-02-22

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naman who owns the land surrounding
their only known entrance; and during
the war the Spanish authorities kept ut
closed and guarded lest the caves be-
came an insurgent rendezvous. There
are tales, however, to the effect that in
spite of Spanish sentries posted at the
mouth Of the caverns, the hebels ,actu-
| ally did burroW a tunnel into them
from the sea and used them as mag
azine for arms and food supplies. 1t is
also said that since time out of mind
smugglers and buccaneers have hidden
their plumber in the seward chambers,
reached by passages known only to
themselves, while the brigands and BAN
ditta Of the hills had their secret store
houses in other parts Of the vast sub
terranean honeycomb and that regular
Captain Kid treasures will some day be
| found by fortunate explorers. Be that
as it may, it is worth taking a good
deal of trouble to get a glimpse of these
cayerns.
1t would seem an easy matter to go
only three miles from Cubas second
city, find the man who claims to own the
caverns and persuade him for mon
| eyed consideration to take you down
through the passages he has opened.
But he or she who expects to do easily
anything the least little bit out Of the
common in Cuba has clearly reckoned
without the host! In the first place it
is well-nigh impossible nowadays to Sc
cure any sort of conveyance for the
short trip. Most of the horses that were
not taken possession of by one army or
the other and worked to death, died of
starvation or were eaten for meat dur
ing the war; and the few cabmen Of
Matanzas find plenty of employment
within city limits without risking their
decripit vehicles over the stony country
roads. To go on foot, or without ample
escort, is not to be thought of in these
unsettled times of desperate poverty and
numerous foot-pads. Finally, thanks to
the governor of the province, who lent
us his own volante and borrowed sad
dle-horses from his personal friends. our
party were enabled to visit the caves in
tolerable comfort
We chose what is known as Belle Wis.,
ia beautiful View way to Bella Mar,
instead of the shorter cut up the steep
hillside. The road is lined for some dis
lance by once handsome residences,
Grecian, Moorish and italian in archi-
lecture, all with imposing facades orna-
mented with verandas and colonnades
in marble, stone and wrought iron But
most Of these former abodes of wealth
are now deserted, their titled owners
dead or returned to Spain, and silence
and decay hangs over all. The melan-
choly impression produced by 50 much
departed grandeur Is happily dispeled
when the boulevard abruptly ends at
the shore of the bay and wide marine
view is suddenly unfolded. After
swinging along for some time close to
the gentle surf that washes silvery
beach, on the other hand green banks
Swallowed by graceful palms and grad
ually sloping to the verdure-clad hills,
the road takes sharp turn to the
eastward And such road, the dry
bed of a mountain torrent, winding and
stony, to the top of the plateau.
At last the Cave House is reached-a
ram -shackle frame building erected over
hole in the ground, and there we
found waiting the Chinese proprietor
and two of his servants who act as
guides. The former explained, in ex-
cellent Castilian, that his men discov-
cred the caves about thirty years ago
while clearing yam patch Tumbling
a boulder out of the way, they We're as
tonished to see it slide through thicket
and disappear with strange reverbera-
tions into the depths of the earth. They
fled in alright calling upon the saints
to protect them, imagining that the gate
to the Internal regions had been broken
open. Curiosity led the landowner to
investigate, and he followed the path
made by the rolling stone to an i'm
mense circular chamber, out of which
mary narrow passages led to unknown
regions in total darkness beyond. Eve
ry subsequent exploration has disclosed
fresh wonders Many miles of tunnels,
in and out among the coral
of the island, have been
marked in some manner known to the
guides, (but the uninitiated would sure
ly get lost in the labyrinth) and there
is reason to believe that only small
part of the chain of caves has yet been
seen by mortal eyes.
Before going down into the bowels of
the earth you should divest yourself of
superfluous clothing, coats, shawls
vests, ETC., because it is excessively
warm in the inner depths; and on COM
ing out, unless you have some extra
garments to put on, the great change of
is likely to produce chill,
which may end in tedious calentura, the |
local fever which is worse than 'seven-
year ague." Through narrow open
ing down you climb as into well by |
steps cut into the porous rock, the CT |
merriam darkness relieved a few feet |
ahead by the guides, each carrying two |
Lallow dips, while the proprietor, SINH |
arly equipped, brings up the rear of |
the procession. Formerly lanterns were |
set at intervals along the winding pas
sages, but these disappeared during the |
'our, years when nobody was allowed to |
anter. When some enterprising Ameri |
IAN has developed" this curiosity shop
If nature, and the world comes trooping
his way to see it, electric lights will
llumine the whole Interior disclosing
The wonders of stalactites and stalag-
mites, crystal lichens, sheets of deli
cate tracery like the finest lace, mag
nificent columns and arches, and other
strange formations. At the foot of the
stairs you cross a wooden bridge, over
what abysses can only be imagined in
he darkness and presently you enter
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