The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-21
HIDDEN WEALTH IN CUBA.
LOUD CALI ron THE NAN WITH THE
DIvISING ROD.

All Over the Island and Look to
Yankee Ingenuity to Flint 1t Teus
Strike OF Two Sailormen-Mineral Riches.
SANTA CLARA, Cuba. Jan, l7-Should .
magician be out Of q lob at present he might do .
land Once business, II. armed with that useful
weapon Of his trade. a divining rod. he came 10 this
Pearl Of the Antilles for the purpose 81 AndinG
buried treasure. few days ago a native friend
showed an American here a clipping from q Span
ish newspaper published in Havana. soberly
alleging the existence Of men and machinery In
the United States capable OF discovering buried
wealth. lie was greatly excited. and full OF .
project whereby great riches might be his at the
cost Of little labor. He cited Merlin, Cagiiostro
and the res, very seriously to uphold his opinion
In the matter, and proposed 10 write to the news
paper to ascertain the address Of n manufactures
Of treasure finding machinery.
When the Spaniards we're here" he said, Be
fore the Ten Years War, and after. every Cuban
had money; the country was rich. and boards Of
hard cash abounded. With the recurrence Of
wars timid possessors Of wealth buried II. chiefly
In OUT OF the way localities. Not ell, or nenrly
all, Of this buried wealth was again disturbed;
the owners died or were killed, and the plans they
had probably drawn TO mark the locations we're
lost or destroyed, SO that at this time 1, Is safe TO
say that there are enough riches buried on the
island 70 make a dozen millionaires II the hiding
Places are eve. discovered. More gold, actually.
has been buried in the times ! speak of than in the
days when the Spanish Main was the worlds
treasure ground, and The despoilers by day landed
by night to secrcte their gains, II even a mall
part Of these riches migh ut become ours how happy
We should be-" His eyes sparkled with greed.
and he was kcenly disappointed when finally
convinced that not even Yankee ingenuity could
produce treasure finding machinery.
From this II would seem that the divining rod
genius, Yankee or otherwise. who Is first on the
ground with a good line Of finding machinery
should reap a plenteous reward, In regard to
the existence OF hidden treasure. the Cuban here
quoted is not alone in his belief. The country
round about Is beginning to resemble the Long
Island foreshore during an epidemic Of the re-
curing treasure hunting mania. 1t Is dug up In
all directions, with an industry that. properly
employed In agriculture. would be worthy Of all
praise, but as yet none Of the senrchers has he.
come rich. which is very likely due to their lack Of
improved divining machinery.
Not alone in its aruilcially buried wealth Is
this part Of the island inviting TO the merry deliver.
Though partly p%roblematc, its natural resources
's'' ptSh uthNfNh EFHitbt W uluNu
speculation as well as toll and expense, as vet
uhrewarded, to native. and foreigner. Especially
has exploration proved expensive TO the latter. A
German company, organizfd for the purpose in
the year before the war. Is said to have expended
$4,000 In q fruiuess exploration OF the River
Arimas, before the enterprise was abandoned.
rms uvor, Using In the province OF Santa Clara
and flowing into the sea 20 the eest of Cierfuegus,
has always yielded gold moderately 10 The natve
miners, and Is being constantly worked. The
known conditions are apparently attractive
enough. Tor wandering American prospectors are
becoming more and more numerous,
A spot well favored by local tradition is the
Arroyo Blanco, thirty. odd miles 70 the northeast
Do,s sSsep n.S SSi,i,ss, va. Her, sD,n 4 re 5spc q. i b true rseDi q
In the world who would have been picked out for
the task. Two years before the war, two seamen,
az unknown Dane and an American named
Of a Norwegian lumber bark for misconduct
aboard the vessel. They were left for discipline
In q Spanish prison. until such time as he should
call Tor them OH his return trip. He never saw
them ngain, for there being no regular pnsou at
Casilda. they were confined at the military post
in Trnadad, Hero, not being really wanted
which they gladly. took advantage, and wholly
undaunted, like children Uit on a holiday, they
set oil for the interior They knew nothing Of
Me country. and cared nothing OF their chances.
They dnfted 10 the neighborhood Il the Arroyo
bianco and wcre lost for upward Of a year. How
they existed Is not known, but during this time.
with undiscovered facilities they worked the
placer deposits therein. and blind chance favonng.
they arrived one morning in Cienfuegos with
sao,ooo apiece IN geld dust, bound 10Y their re-
specuve coHntries, This IL the story told Of their
ten strike, which, II not true, deserves 10 be. Then
the war put stop 10 further en- ter prise, aud though
the people Of the district frequently discuss tho
story, the solitude OF the Arroyo has not since
been invaded,
A cock-sure prospector declares that he has
located a lovely asbestos deposit, only a few miles
from town, and IS talking asbestos TO all has ac-
quaintances. "A most beautiful prospect" he
states. with utter conviction. -Four seams,
six feet apart, that are sure TO unite below ground,
and the slut: glossy as spun silver, strips eight
But he has no money to back UP his conviction
and II goes for nothing. Meanwhile the Spanish
merchants, mistakenly supposed by some 10 be
behind the times, but really forehanded 10 a degree
anu az versatile as q Yankee storek eeper, betray
no uneastness. and merely smile gently when
unwisely reproachcd for their lack Of push Ia
falling 10 open up tho country's resources &c
ahead, open up" their attitude seems to say.
ana at the same time 1t appears TO point TO the
failure Of. tho BONANZA,
The following will serve TO show the prevalent
interest in everything geological Boring i,
proceeding here ftr an ~artesian well intended
70 supply the garrs.r with pure water All
the o@ficrrs, from the c lionel down, make daily
q strata. formation and kindred topics fer hours
Meanwhile the hole Is more than 800 feet deep
and no adequate flow has been reached. Thi,
being no disconcerting feature a Q Government,
enterprise, where money. IL no object the dura.
tion Of boring probably depends upon the
lenet tn OF the hempen rope. or the ~permancncy
Of tholmilitary establl shment here OF course
this is no unusual depth 10 bore fruitlessly. The
mechanic employed here ank a Govrrnmen,
hole 1000 feet in Pennsylvania without result
and recently abandoned one in Mofanzas after
sinking 500 feet or more. But then boring ID
regarded by the officers as an unrivalled means
Of geological research.
< valuable depoeit n the finest hematite ore
Is known 10 exist half a dozen Leagues from town,
but IL cannot proGtsbly he worked until trans.
| portafion becomes chea per. Coal cannot be found
and black diamonds that retail In Cienfuegoe
for IS a ton are unobtsinAble here at q lower "a N
than $50 q ton Cienfuecos Is about forty miles
by the gas company for a paltry sl2 a ton. Mid.
way betw cen here and Esperanza a tract NJ 10. 00O
acres. rich In asphaltrm, has been leased by an
| English company, but no work will ba done until
rates have been lowered and facilities improved
Another possible souror Of income In apparen,
Only four or Ave cities Of the island er Joy This
benefit. all others ere dependent upon wells and
~cisterns. The ~cisterns, fed by rain water from
the roofs. are, Of course, dry In the time Of the
greatest need, when no rain falls. During this
lime the towns are supplied by vendors. who haul
generally In the outskirts. and deliver for q fixed
payment the very small quantities that are deemed
necessary. For, strange as II may seem "A marke,
for water will first have to BE- made by the coming
corporations; people have learned 20 manage
with the minimum amount A w~aterworEs,
financed with German capital, which for some
years has furnished water to the city OF Maianzas
did not discover the want Of a marxet,u until toe
late. and has been impoverished In con sequencr
It's franchise was granted on condition that II
should supply 2 million gallons Of water .,
bought privileges and had The pipes laid to cor
venient corners in their neighborhoods; TO thesa
came all In need Of water, as to q public fountain,