The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-03-05

between May and October; the
rainfall on the southern slopes is less,
hut sufficient for most crops. The
mein annual temperature at IIabana
Is n degrees. The higher temlera-
ture lasts a long time, but on the
northern slopes of the island the
nights, even in summer, are cool.
The six provinces, from west to east,
Pinar del Rio, Habana, Matanzas,
Santa Clara, Puerto Principe, Santiago,
are divided into 1872 municipal districts,
or terminus mu%nicipales, including the
Isle of Pines, and are subdivided into
about 1900 barrios, including those
constituting the cities. Cities, as or
ganized in u sense, do not exist in
Cuba. Habana has no legal limits, but
comprises most of the municipal dis
trlct of that lame.
Columbus landed at Nuevitas on the
north coast of Puerto Principe on DC
with 300 men, founded the town of
Barracoa near the eastern end of the
island. and two years later Santiago and
Trinidad, both on the southern coast.
Habana was founded in 1919 and be-
zane the capital in 1862. In 1915 the
European population numbered Ill.,
G20. The English held Habana and a
part of Matanzas for some months in
1862. Instructions occurred in 1717,
1912, 1926, 1868, aud finally in 1895,
the last resulting In the REIMBURSEMENT
by Spain of her sovereignty TO the
| United States on December 10, 1898.
The aboriginal inhabitants of Cuba
have been estimated from 100000 to
F! 1 900 600. They were enslaved, put to
work, and destroyed by the European
settlers long before the end of the six
teen century. African slaves were
thon introduced, and the African slave
trade remained a most profitable one
up TO the abolition of slavery IN 1883.
The Spanish census of 1887 gave the
population as 1,G31,GS7 +; the censu
taken under the direction of the United
States War Department in 1899 gave
the population as 1872, 707, or nearly
$4,000 less. Allowing for probable in
crease of population between 1887 and
1896, the date of the beginning of the
instruction, the loss of life due to the
war, as indicated by these two census,
may be estimated at nearly 200 900 and
fell entirely upon the three western
provinces, Pinar del Rio, Habana and
Matanzas. The density Of population,
taking the island as a whole, was 35 Z
inhabitants TO the square mile, and
varied from 1853 per square mile in
Habana to 8 in Puerto Principe. The
urban population of Cuba, including
cities of 1000 each, is All per cent.
tho oorno On that &c Tho II,skol C1oAo.
AS to sex, the proportions were, SIS
per cent. males and 1872 per cent. fe.
males, the excess of males being prob
ably due to immigration. AS to race,
there were G9 per cent. white and 80
per cent. cOlored, and the colorod pop
ulation has for many years been dimin-
ishing. The for ign.born formed o per
cent. of the total population, which
leaves 60 per cent. as native whites.
Ihree-fourths of the foreign-born came
from Spain, the remainder chiefly from
the United States, China and Africa.
Nearly one-thlrd of the foreign.born
element was found in Habana. The
proportion of those married was "a per
cent. of the population, and of this
proportion about two-thirds we're legal
ly married and one-third were living
together without marriage. The legally
married constituted only about one-half
the proportion to the population that
they Go in the United States. OF the
total population Sd per cent. were able
to read, illiteracy being greater among
the colored than among the whites, and
greater In the rural districts than in
the cities. The number of Cubans re-
ported as having gainful occupations
was 40 per cent. of the total popula-
ton, a larger percentage than in either
The United States or in Porto Rico. or
the males, 6S per cent. were wage earn
ers OF the females, 8 per cent. OF
the wage-earners, 48 per cent. were
employed in agriculture, fisheries, and
mining % per CEN in domestic and
personal service 15 per cent. in man.
ufactories ; ID per cent. in trade and
transportation ; and 1 per cent. in the
professions.
There were, in 1899, GO,711 farms,
having an average size of 143 acres.
and an average cultivated area per
farm of ID acres. Only 10 per cent. of
the farm area and only 3 per cent. of
the total area of the island was under
cultivation. Matanzas and Habana
provinces arc the most highly cultiyat,
ed parts of the island. OF the cult
waited area, less than so per cent. was
owned by its occupants, the rest being
rented ; and 80 per cent. was occupied
by whites, ms owners Or renters, only
IL per cent. by colored, the remainder
being unknown. Measured by the areas
under cultivation, sugar cane occupied
az per cent. Of the cultivated lands
sweet potatoes Upper cent !; tobacco 8
per cent bananas a little less than 0
per cent, and other crops in smaller
proportions. Santa Clara and Matanzas
produced nearly three-fourths of the
sugar crop, Santiago about one-sixth.
md Habana about one-sixteenth.
rhree-fourths of the entire tobacco
crop came from Pinar del Rio, and
aearly all The remainder from Habana
md Santa Clara provinces. There were
Cuba, in 1899, 207 g mills. or
'entrals, producing daily 81 .4O7 bags
IT sugar. There were also So stilIs.
With a daily capacity of 161 ,751 gall