The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-07-09
CIENFUEGOS is MODERN
THE MOST IMPORTANT CITY on THE
SOUTHERN COAST OF CUBA.
A Rich Sugar and Tobacco-Growfng
Resjon-Knfghfs OF the Road Who
Need to he Gathered In.

Special Correspondence Of the Journal
CIENFUEGOS. June This newest city
OF Cuba, founded during the present
century, is much more Americanized than
any other on the island. 1t was created BY
the sugar trade and includes a large num-
Der Of American and English planters, mer-
chants and shippers. 1 think ii was In the
year 1918 that its name was bestowed, not.
as is generally stated. because Of Column
bus's remark when he sailed this way and
saw many Indian fires along shore, Mira.
Glen fuegosl" look. a hundred fresD, but
in honor Of Senior Don Jose Cienfuegos. q
Spanish hidalgo who was then the governor
general of Cuba. Instead of the narrow.
crooked, ill-paved cow paths that distin-
guish its three-century-and-odd neigh
bors, Havana, Matanzas, Santiago and
Trinidad, Cienfuegoss streets are broad.
level and well paved, laid out at right
angles with the regularity OF checker
board and Illuminated with gas and cleo
tricity. To tell the truth, the very new
ness OF the town, its freshly painted two
story houses and commonplace, modern
improvements are somewhat disappointing
to the traveller, who feels that he did not
come so far to see what he has everywhere
at home, and considers himself defrauded
OF the musty picturesqueness of Nueva
Bright, clean and progressive, with its pop
ulation now reckoned at 1900, the seaward
outlet OF the finest sugar-producing
province Of Cuba and the terminus of the
most important railway line. it is by all
odds the best business town in southern
Cuba, and is therefore bound to attract the
greatest number Of Americans. Its har-
bora deep inlet behind the sheltering Gays
of Doce Leguas, innumerabie wooded islets
stretching along the south coast, which
Columbus named the Queens Gardens
Is the safest, deepest and cleanest, II not
the largest, that indents Cuba. 1t is one
Of the few in Spanish America which per-
NIT vessels of largest tonnage to come up
to a wharf and land passengers over q
gangpank as in New York without the aid
of the troublesome but omnipresent small
boats. All the steamship lines that ply the
Caribbean sea and Spanish main make this
a frequent port of call. and the wonder il
why Spain left It so comparatively unde-
Tended while ports Of far less consequence
and more difficult of access have their
morros and long lines of Notifications.
suppose the reason was because flush days
were over in the mother country before
Cienfuegos was born, and, being short OF
cash. she adopted her usual manana plan
of thinking about securing the stable door
after the steed had been stolen.
RICH SUGAR PLANTATIONS.
La Opinion, the leading local newspaper
asserts that before the war the annual ex-
port OF sugar from Cienfuegos was 100000
hogsheads, and that tobacco was not far be-
hind. Some of the richest plantations Of the
island lie little way back Of the port. and
connected with Ii by rail or water, and
what it will become in the radiant futuIes
under American fostering and with album
dant capital to develop the Incompatible
resources OF the surrounding country, IL re-
quires neither a prophet nor the son OF q
prophet to foretell. The three considerable
rivers that empty into Cienfuegos bay-the
Canudo, Saludc and Danaje. each navigable
some distance inland-are of great conse-
quence in land so destitute of good roads.
Bride paths run Off in all observation-disclosures
| Santiago or the east, Trinidad on the west
and villa Clara on the north, conn Getting
| with the robber-infested trails of the central
mountains 1t is matter OF history. too fire.
quent,y stated to need repetition here, that
| since time out of mind banditti have made
| these trails useless for any business pur-
| pose but their own. Even since the war and
| American occupation travellers have been
captured by knights of the road and held for
| ransom, and few years ago 1t was so
common an occurrence as hardly TO cause
| comment. Terrible tales told OF tor
| lures inflicted by the robbers upon those
whose friends failed to pay promptly the
| sums demanded. Perhaps a finger, an eye.
| or an ear of the captive would arrive by
| special post as a gentle hint TO his rela-
/ tives Of what might be expected 20 happen
| next unless the money was quickly forth
| coming, followed by other portions OF the
| victim, until II was known beyond doubt
that there was not enough left of him to be
| worth paying for. The last authenticated
case Of this sort was that OF Senior Manuel
/ De Alvarez, merchant of Villa Clara. who
/ started for Cienfuegos with small escort
| presumably to buy goods. Not one Of the
/ party lived to reach his destination. Most
| Of the escort were killed in the first brush
| with the robbers and the others deliberately
| murdered. being poor men, from whose rela-
/ tives no ransom could be obtained, as even
these gentry recognize the truth or the old
| saying that blood cannot be squeezed from
| turnip. After few days Senior AIvarez's
| family received written demand for 5000
| pesas, embellished with drawings OF skulls
and crossbones worthy the Kuklux Khan.
accompanied by the assurance that unless
| the money was deposited in specified place
before a given date his life would pay the
forfeit.
HORRIBLE WARNINGS.
A week later a stranger knocked at the
| door of the casa De Alvarez, in Villa Clara,
delivered to the wife Of the prisoner a small
box and galloped away. Opening the pack
age. with her baby in her arms, what was
| the lady's horror to find inside two toes and
| five bloody finger nails. evidently torn from
their roots, and a note signed by her hus-
bands name. begging her. for Gods sake.
| 10 rescue him at any cost. The distracted
| woman did her best TO sell the store and all
she possessed, but nobody was buying prop
| erty in those troubled times. She begged on
| her knees OF the alcalde AID everybody she
| knew. but the people were all so poor that
her frantic appeals could not raise a 1.-THE
of the sum demanded. Meanwhile every day
or two brought home another gruesome re-
minder OF the unfortunate husband and
father-maybe found in the morning, mys-
teriously tied to the doorknocker or tossed
through the window bars the family sat
at dinner. An eye arrived in this manner. a
foot an arm; and when at length a CHASTITY
human head, propped UP on stick against
the open window, greeted her with rep-oach-
fui eyes the wife went into convusiors
which ended in death. leaving a family OF.
orphans to the charity OF the town.
To get good general idea OF Cienfuesos