AMERICAN COLONIES IN CUBA
American soldiers returning to the United States at the conclusion of
her little war with Spain, in the summer of 1898, brought wonderful
stories of Cuba, with glowing accounts of her climate, her rainfall, her
rich soil and natural advantages. Schemes for the colonization of the
Island were immediately formed and some of them put into effect during
the early days of the Government of Intervention.
Unfortunately, most of these enterprises originated with speculators,
and so-called land-sharks, who sought only to secure large tracts of
territory, at the smallest possible cost, and with the assistance of
attractive literature place them on the market in the United States, at
prices which would enable them, even when sold on the installment plan
to make a thousand percent or more profit on the capital invested.
This method of settling up the country would not have been so
objectionable had the promoters of the schemes taken the pains to locate
their colonies in those sections of the Island where transportation
facilities, if not immediately available, could at least be reasonably
sure in the near future.
Up to the present, a logical, common sense plan in the colonization in
this Island has in no instance been carried out. On the contrary, every
American colony that has yet been established in Cuba, and her adjacent
Islands, has been located with disregard to the first essentials of
success. These hapless experiments have met with a fate that was
inevitable and in most instances can be described with one word
“Failure.”
The first American Colony in Cuba was started on Broadway, New York
City, by a land speculator, who, through correspondence, learned of a
large property that could be had in Cuba with a small cash payment, at
what seemed to be a ridiculously low price; in other words at about 80
cents an acre. An option was secured on several thousand acres, the
larger part of which, perhaps, was available for general agricultural
purposes. But the location with reference to transportation facilities
was one of the most unfortunate that could have been selected. This
colony was called La Gloria, and while La Gloria has not been a failure,
nothing in the world has saved it but the pluck, and persistent and
intelligent effort of a courageous and most commendable community of
Americans.
Some 800 of these, not knowing where they were going, other than that it
was somewhere in Cuba, were dumped by a chartered steamer in the harbor
of Nuevitas, 40 miles from their destination. This they afterwards
reached with the aid of light draft schooners, or shallow, flat-bottom
boats, pushed through a muddy ditch some three or four miles, and as
many more over sand shoals, where the passengers were compelled to get
out and wade. Worse than all, when finally landed on the south shore of
Guajaba Bay, they were obliged to wade through a swamp for another five
miles, in mud knee-deep, or more, in order to reach the high ground on
which they were to make their future homes in a foreign land.
Many of these colonists, disappointed and deceived, failed to stand the
strain, and those who had the necessary funds, or could borrow, returned
disgusted to their homes in the United States. Others, after studying
the soil and noting the splendid growth of forest and vegetation, lulled
into resignation by soft, cool breezes from the Atlantic Ocean, and the
bright sunshine that seldom missed a day, made up their minds to stick
to the game and to see it out, which they did.
Their efforts in the end were crowned with a certain degree of success,
and the near future holds out to them the promise of fairly satisfactory
transportation for their fruit, vegetables and other products, to
profitable markets, both in Cuba and the United States.
The colony of La Gloria in the fall of 1918 contained about 75 families
and comprised, all told, probably 500 people. This estimate includes the
little nearby settlements of Guanaja, Punta Pelota, Columbia, Canasi,
The Garden, and other little suburbs or groups of families, scattered
throughout the district.
With the Cubans, the people of La Gloria have always maintained the most
friendly relations, while mutual esteem and respect is the rule of the
district. The Mayor of La Gloria, a Cuban, was elected by popular vote,
and is highly esteemed in the community as a man who has been always an
enthusiastic and efficient supporter of the interests of the colony.
Seventy per cent of the population is American. La Gloria has always
been fortunate in having a good school in which both Spanish and English
are taught.
The town itself is located on the northern edge of the plateau, or rise
of ground overlooking the savanna that separates it from the bay. A
fairly good road some five miles in length, built at Government expense,
connects the town with the wharf, whence, up to the winter of 1918, all
produce was sent for shipment to the harbor of Nuevitas some forty miles
east by launch.
The streets are very wide, shaded with beautiful flowering flamboyans,
and the houses, many of them two stories in height, are built of native
woods, cedar, mahogany, etc., products of the saw mills of the
neighborhood. These, as a rule, are kept painted, and the general
appearance of the town, although not bustling with business, is one of
comfort, cleanliness and thrift.
It is not an exaggeration to state that there is no little town in
conservative New England where less of waste, or disfiguring material,
even in back yards, or rear of houses, can be found, than in the little
town of La Gloria. The furnishing of most of the houses consists of a
strange mingling of articles of comfort brought from home, combined with
other things that have been improvised and dug out of their tropical
surroundings.
A mistake, made in the early days of La Gloria, and one common to every
American colony in the West Indies, has been the exclusive dedication of
energy, effort and capital to the growth of citrus fruit. The first
essential factor to the success of a colony in any climate is food, and
forage for animals. This, in nearly every American town in Cuba, has
been ignored, every effort being expended on the planting and promotion
of a citrus grove from which no yield could be expected inside of five
or six years, and during which time, many a well meaning farmer has
become discouraged or has exhausted his capital, leaving his grove in
the end to be choked up with weeds and ruined by the various enemies of
the citrus family. However, the people of La Gloria planted and stuck to
their orange trees and many of these, today, are yielding very
satisfactory returns, in spite of the serious lack of transportation.
The best land belonging to the colony is located in the district known
as Canasi, some three miles south of the town, in the direction of the
Cubitas Mountains. There are 600 acres in this section devoted to
oranges and grape fruit, all of which have been well cared for and are
increasing in value each year.
The citizens of the colony have joined forces and built a well equipped
packing plant, 100 feet in length by 30 feet in width, from which, last
year, were shipped 432,000 loose oranges, and 9,200 boxes of grape
fruit, the latter going to the United States by the way of Nuevitas. All
of this fruit at the present time is hauled by wagon, some eight or nine
miles to the wharf, on the bay, whence it is conveyed to the harbor of
Nuevitas for sale and shipment.
La Gloria’s hope of really satisfactory transportation facilities is
vested in the North Shore Railroad of Cuba, and her dream of suitable
connections with the outside world of trade will soon be realized. La
Gloria has many things to commend it, aside from soil and climate. One
of these is excellent drinking water, found at an average depth of
twenty feet. The soil on which the town is built is largely impregnated
with iron ore, which forms a splendid roadbed, and enables the
population to escape the seas of mud that are rather common throughout
the interior, excepting along macadamized roads.
Most vegetables, with the exception of potatoes, may be grown throughout
the entire year in La Gloria, and a variety of potato adapted to that
peculiar soil will probably be found in the near future. A serious
mistake common not only in La Gloria but in nearly all other colonies in
Cuba has been neglect in sowing forage plants and thus providing for
live stock, so essential to the success of any farming district.
That which is most to be admired in La Gloria, is the class of people
who form the backbone of the colony, and who certainly came from
excellent stock, proved by their successful efforts in overcoming
difficulties that would have discouraged a less persevering community.
The colony supports a weekly newspaper, and holds annual agricultural
fairs that are a credit to the district.
The second and most serious experiment in colonization in Cuba was
staged in the Isle of Pines. In the year 1900 this intrepid storm
sentinel of the Caribbean offered several advantages for a successful
exploitation of the American public. In spite of the fact that this
Island had always formed an integral part of Cuba, it was advertised
throughout the United States as American property, and the flag raised
by the Government of Intervention was pointed to as a permanent asset of
that particular section.
Again the promoters of this pretentious colonization scheme absolutely
ignored the basic principles of success in colony work. In other words
they did not take into account that not only was the Isle of Pines
devoid of a first-class harbor, but that the chances of securing direct
transportation between that section and the United States was decidedly
remote.
Through the hypnotic influence of beautifully worded advertisements and
attractive pictures, large numbers of settlers from the United States
and Canada, especially from Minnesota and the Dakotas, were tempted to
locate in the Isle of Pines, or to purchase property, usually on the
installment plan, which they had never seen, and for which they paid
exorbitant prices.
Tracts that cost from 90¢ to $1.20 per acre, were divided into 10, 20
and 40 acre farms, and sold at prices ranging from $25 in the beginning
up to $75 and even $100 per acre in 1918. These prices have always been
out of proportion to the quality of the soil, and the location of the
land, since lands far more fertile, and within easy reach of steamers
leaving Havana daily, might have been found on the mainland of Cuba,
that would give the prospect of a fair chance of success in almost any
agricultural undertaking.
Here again the prospective settler was advised to start citrus fruit
groves, to the exclusion of forage and other crops from which immediate
returns would have encouraged the farmer, and permitted him to live
economically while making up his mind as to the advisability of citrus
fruit culture, which is a specialized form of horticulture, requiring
much technical knowledge, and a great deal of experience to insure
satisfactory results.
In the Isle of Pines, as in La Gloria, while many men have been
disappointed, and many families have left the country in despair, there
still remains a nucleus of hard working, intelligent and enterprising
men who, in spite of the disadvantages that will surround them, have
made for themselves comfortable homes, and who enjoy the quiet, dreamy
life that soon becomes essential to the man who remains long in the
tropics.
The Isle of Pines ships a considerable amount of fruit and vegetables
each year, through Havana, to markets in the United States. How often
the balance may be found on the profit side of the ledger, however, is
open to question. The Isle of Pines undoubtedly offers an excellent
retreat for those who have become tired of the strenuous life of cities,
and who prefer to pass the remainder of their days in pleasant,
healthful surroundings. To do this, of course, requires an income that
will insure them against any little petty annoyance that might come from
a disturbing cyclone, or a low price for grape fruit in northern
markets.
The enterprising promoters connected with the early colonization of the
Isle of Pines made a second experiment at Herradura, in the Province of
Pinar del Rio, 90 miles from the city of Havana by rail. Here they
purchased some 22,000 acres of land in 1902, paying, it is said, an
average price of a dollar an acre, and started the third American colony
in Cuba under the name of Herradura.
In the colonization work, the old La Gloria and Isle of Pines method of
advertising was faithfully followed, and with results eminently
satisfactory to the promoters, most of whom have acquired comfortable
fortunes, at the expense of Americans and Canadians in the United States
who were anxious to find homes where they could enjoy life and perhaps
prosper in the Tropics.
The larger part of the Herradura tract, especially that which lay along
the Western Railroad, was a light sandy soil, used by the natives in the
olden days for grazing cattle, and burned over every winter, thus
destroying nearly all of the humus in the land. This property was
divided into 40-acre tracts and sold at $20 per acre. As soon as the
settlers from the United States began to arrive in any numbers, the
price was advanced to $40. Citrus fruit was held out to prospective home
seekers as the surest means of securing an easy life and a fortune after
the first four or five years.
Under favorable conditions, where all the essential elements to success
are combined, this is possible. But Herradura did not combine all of the
required features, hence hundreds of acres of abandoned groves can be
seen along the railroad track for miles, as one enters the Herradura
district. The cyclone of 1917 which added the last straw to the
proverbial camel’s back, in the Isle of Pines, swept across the western
end of Pinar del Rio Province also, and only those groves that had been
provided with wind-breaks escaped from blight and ruin in the hurricane.
Today there are about 25 families, with perhaps 100 inhabitants,
remaining in the colony of Herradura. Some of these settlers, men of
experience, who came from the citrus grove districts of Florida, and
others who took up general farming on the better lands, some two or
three miles north of the railroad, have succeeded, and have built for
themselves comfortable homes where rural life is enjoyed to the utmost.
Some of them have their machines with which they can motor over a
splendid automobile drive to Havana, and spend a few days in the
capital, during the opera season. Nearly all of them have a few saddle
horses that furnish splendid exercise and amusement for the younger
members of the colony. One of the successful old timers of Herradura is
Mr. Earle, formerly chief of the Government Experimental Station at
Santiago de Las Vegas, a scientific farmer and a good business man. Mr.
Earle located on good land in a little valley well back from the road,
planted 40 acres in citrus fruit and has succeeded where others failed.
On all lands where irrigation is possible, the growing of vegetables,
especially peppers and egg plants, has proven very satisfactory. The
average number of crates per acre is 350, and a dollar per crate net is
the estimated average profit. The irrigation comes either from wells or
little streams.
The raising of pigs and poultry has helped greatly all those farmers of
Herradura who had the foresight not to neglect the live stock and
poultry end in their farming enterprises.
The price of fairly good land in Herradura today is from $25 to $50 per
acre. The successful owner of a well cared for citrus grove in this
colony values it at $1,500 per acre. The freight on fruit and vegetables
from Herradura to the city of Havana over the Western Road, is ten cents
per box.
The colony boasts of a very comfortable school house, which also serves
as a church and town hall. The old standbys, as they call themselves,
seldom complain of their lot, and could hardly be induced to change or
seek homes in other localities.
There are some half dozen American and Canadian colonies in the Province
of Oriente, most of them scattered along the line of the Cuba Company’s
railroad that has brought the interior of that province into contact
with the seaports of Antilla, on the north coast, and Santiago de Cuba
on the south. The colony of Bartle is the westernmost, located about
fifty miles from the borderline between that province and Oriente.
The Bartle tract consisted originally of 5,000 acres, 3,000 of which lie
north of the railroad and the remainder extending toward the south. Most
of the land is covered with a heavy forest of hard woods and the work of
clearing is a serious proposition, although the soil, once freed from
stumps, is exceptionally rich and productive. Less than 2,000 acres have
been cleared up to the present, and some three or four hundred have been
planted in citrus fruit. Good water is found at a depth of 25 feet.
There are approximately 200 permanent residents in this little
settlement, which has been laid out to advantage with its Plantation
House, hotel, church, stores, etc., and a very neat railway station. The
buildings are nearly all frame, painted white with green trimmings. In
Bartle, as in all colonial settlements in Cuba up to the present, the
planting of citrus fruit seems to have been the aim and ambition of the
settlers, who are about evenly divided between Canadians and Americans.
Just south of Bartle are a number of small estates on land that belonged
to the late Sir Wm. Van Horne, father of the Cuba Company Railroad.
Twenty miles further east a colony has been established at Victoria de
las Tunas, one of the storm centers of the various revolutionary
movements on the part of the Cubans against Spanish control. There are
some 800 or 900 acres of citrus fruit groves, in various stages of
production, within a radius of fifteen miles surrounding the town of
Victoria de las Tunas. In nearly all of the American and Canadian
colonies in the Province of Oriente, settlers have learned, at times
through bitter experience, that it was an economical mistake to devote
all of their energies to the production of citrus groves that could give
them no returns inside of five years, and that, with the exception of
the local markets of Camaguey, Manzanillo and Santiago de Cuba, neither
oranges nor lemons would bring a sufficient price to pay for the cost of
packing, transportation and sale. Grape fruit usually yielded a profit,
if the market happened to be just right; or in other words, if competing
shipments from Florida and California did not lower the price below the
margin of profit.
Twenty-two miles still further east we find the colony of Omaja,
boasting a population of nearly 300 people, most of whom are Americans,
although a number are from England and Canada. A small group of hard
working Finlanders, too, have joined their fortunes with the settlers of
Omaja. The surrounding country is quite attractive, and was at one time
a huge cattle ranch, covering some 50,000 acres of land, divided between
heavy forests and open savannas.
Omaja has the usual complement of post-office, school-house, churches
and stores, with a sufficient variety of creeds to satisfy almost any
community. Some 700 or 800 acres of citrus fruit have been planted in
Omaja, about one-half of which is grape-fruit and Valencia oranges.
Omaja has an encouraging amount of social and musical activity which
lightens the more serious burdens of life in the colony.
Some 30 miles north of Santiago de Cuba, and 50 miles south of Antilla,
the shipping point on Nipe Bay, are two small colonies only a few miles
apart known as Paso Estancia and Bayate. There are some 40 or 50
permanent settlers in Paso Estancia, Americans, Canadians and English.
They have made clearings in the thick virgin forests and made for
themselves comfortable and rather artistic little homes; frame buildings
covered with zinc roofs, perched on hillsides, convenient to swift
running streams.
The “Royal Palm” Hotel, a cement building, furnishes accommodations for
newcomers and guests. The view from the hotel, looking across a
delightful panorama of forest covered hills and valleys, gives a certain
lasting charm to the vicinity.
The settlers of this section evidently were advised of the mistakes made
in other parts of the Island, and while the growing of citrus fruits
seems to have been the main object, food products, corn, vegetables,
coffee, cacao, cattle, hogs and forage were not neglected.
A few miles south is the colony of Bayate, settled very largely by
Swedish Americans, whose programme has been quite a departure from that
of other colonists in Cuba. Their children are being taught Spanish in
the schools so that they may bring their parents more closely in contact
with their Spanish speaking neighbors. There are approximately 200
settlers in this community, most of whom have devoted their energies to
growing sugar cane, for which the land in the neighborhood is
excellently adapted. The Auza mill, twelve miles further down the
railroad, buys all of the cane they can raise, giving them in exchange
5-1/2 lbs. of sugar for every 100 pounds of cane. There is a very decent
little hotel, built of mahogany and cedar, furnishing accommodations to
guests who may happen to stop.
Bayate has its school house, for which the Cuban Government furnishes
two teachers, one of whom teaches in Spanish and the other in English.
Most of the settlers have their own cows, pigs and an abundance of
chickens. Some of them are planting coffee and cacao on the hill sides.
Two crops of corn may be easily grown in this section, and nothing
perhaps in Cuba, brings a better price, especially in the western end of
the Island.
It would seem quite probable that general farming will eventually take
the place of the citrus fruit grove in Cuba, as a source of permanent
income and profit. The demand for sugar, brought about by the European
War, greatly increased the acreage of cane, and has undoubtedly saved
many American colonies, especially those of Oriente, from economical
disaster.
It is to be hoped that the Cuban Government, in the future, may be
induced to provide some kind of supervision over projected colonies in
regard to the selection of localities, the character of soil, and the
election of agricultural undertakings which will insure success. It is
the desire of the Government that all homeseekers, if possible, may find
life in Cuba both pleasant and profitable, and only in some such way can
the mistakes of colonization in the past be avoided.
INDEX
AGRAMONTE, General Eugenio Sanchez, Secretary of Agriculture, 154.
AGRICULTURE, 144;
typical rural home view, 145;
natural advantages of soil and climate, 145;
Department of Agriculture, 148;
Division of Agriculture, 148; of Commerce, 149;
of Veterinary Science and Animal Industry, 149;
of Forestry and Mines, 149;
of Trade Marks and Patents, 150;
of Meteorology, 150;
of Immigration, Colonization and Labor, 150;
of Game and Bird Protection, 151;
of Publicity and Exchanges, 152;
Experiment Station, 153;
breeding live stock, 155;
fruits and vegetables, 156;
combatting insects and diseases, 157;
“black fly,” 157.
See GRAINS, GRASS, FRUIT, VEGETABLES, STOCK-RAISING.
AMERICAN COLONISTS, 80, 103, 390;
deluded by speculators, 391;
ill-chosen sites, 391;
La Gloria, 392;
relations with the Cubans, 392;
increasing and assured prosperity for those who persevere, 393;
Isle of Pines, 394;
Herradura, Pinar del Rio, 396;
Bartle, 398;
Victoria de las Tunas, 399;
Omaja, 399;
Paso Estancia and Bayate, 400.
American Legation at Havana, 298.
ANIMALS, Indigenous, 257;
the hutia, 257;
sandhill crane, 258;
guinea fowl, 258;
turkey, 259;
quail, 259;
buzzard, 259;
sparrow hawk, 259;
mocking bird, 259;
pigeons, 259;
parrots, 260;
tody, 260;
orioles, 260;
lizard cuckoo, 261;
trogon, 261;
flamingo, 262;
Sevilla, 262;
ani, 262.
See POULTRY, STOCK RAISING, BEES.
ASPHALT AND PETROLEUM:, 126;
early discovery of pitch, 126;
observations of Alexander von Humboldt, 127;
in Havana Province, 128;
in Matanzas, 128;
in Pinar del Rio, 129;
many wells sunk, 130, et seq.
Atkins, Edward F., Sugar promoter, 177.
BANKING. See MONEY AND BANKING.
BEES, for honey and wax, 280;
exceptional facilities for culture, 281;
trade in wax, 282.
Birds. See ANIMALS.
Botanic Gardens, 301.
CACAO, 233;
for food and drink, 234;
varieties, 236;
culture, 236.
CAMAGUEY Province, 71;
history, 71;
topography, 74;
harbor of Nuevitas, 78;
resources and industries, 79;
American colonies, 80;
Camaguey City, 82;
chrome deposits, 116.
Canning, opportunity for industry, in pineapples, 226.
CARDENAS, City, 56;
City Hall and Plaza, scene, 56;
Industries, 57;
mines, 58.
Cauto River, 85.
Chocolate. See CACAO.
Chrome. Sec MINES AND MINING.
CIENAGA DE ZAPATA, 67; plans for draining, 165.
Cienfuegos, 65.
Clay and Cement, 27.
CLIMATE, 19;
equable temperature, 19;
rainfall, 20;
at Havana, 31.
Cocoa. See CACAO.
COFFEE, 197;
origin of Cuban plantations, 197;
many abandoned groves, 198;
methods of culture, 199;
profits of crop, 199; marketing, 200; encouragement for the industry, 201.
Commerce. See OCEAN TRANSPORTATION, and RAILROADS.
Cork Palm, 38.
Customs. See OCEAN TRANSPORTATION.
DRIVES: A Paradise of Palm-shaded automobile highways, 326;
roads radiating from Havana, 327;
to Matanzas, 328;
to Artemisa, 328;
to Candelaria, 329;
San Cristobal, 329;
Bahia Honda, 320;
San Diego de los Banos, 330;
Pinar del Rio, 331;
Valley of Vinales, 331;
Mariel, 333;
radiating from Matanzas, 335;
Cardenas, 336;
Cienfuegos, 336;
Trinidad, 336;
radiating from Santa Clara, 337;
Camaguey, 337;
Santiago, 337;
among Mountains of Oriente, 338.
FORESTRY, 135;
great number and variety of trees, 135;
alphabetical list of sixty leading kinds, with characteristics of each, 136, et seq.;
location of timber lands, 142;
extent, 143.
FRUITS: Aguacate, 228;
varieties, 229;
for salads, 230.
Anon, or sugar apple, 226.
Bananas, the world’s greatest fruit, 219;
methods of use, 219;
grown for commerce, 220;
soil and cultivation, 221;
varieties, 222;
possibilities of the crop, 223.
Chirimoya, 226.
Citrus fruits, 211;
orange groves, 212;
discretion and care needed in culture, 214;
varieties of oranges, 215;
grape fruit, 217;
limes, 217.
Figs, 228. Grapes, 232;
experiments with various kinds, 233;
wine-making, 233.
Guava, 228.
Mamey, 227.
Mamoncillo, 228.
Mango, foremost fruit of Cuba, 203;
the Manga, 204;
varieties and characteristics, 204, et seq.;
for both fruit and shade, 209;
fruit vender in Havana, scene, 209.
Pineapples, 224;
soil and culture, 224;
profits of crop, 225;
varieties, 225;
for canning, 226.
Sapodilla, see Zapote.
Tamarind, 227.
Zapote, 226.
GRAIN: Indian corn, 248;
Kaffir corn, 249;
millet, 249;
wheat, 249;
rice, 250;
opportunities for rice culture, 251.
GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS: Parana grass, 253;
Bermuda grass, 253;
alfalfa, 253; cow peas, 254;
beans, 255;
peanuts, 255.
Guantanamo, 89.
HARBORS: Havana, 28, 342;
Mariel, 41, 341;
Cabanas, 42, 341;
Bahia Honda, 42, 341;
Cienfuegos, 65, 349;
Nuevitas, 78, 345;
Nipe, 87, 346;
Guantanamo, 89, 347;
Santiago, 87, 348;
Matanzas, 343;
Cardenas, 344;
Sagua, 344;
Caibarien, 344;
Manati, 345;
Puerto Padre, 346;
Banes, 346;
Cabonico and Levisa, 347;
Sagua de Tanamo, 347;
Baracoa, 347;
Manzanillo, 349;
Batabano, 350.
Minor
harbors, 350, et seq.
Hawley, Robert B., Sugar promoter, 175.
HAVANA, City: history, 303;
famous streets and buildings, 304 et seq.;
modern development of city and suburbs, 307;
El Vedado, 308;
places of Interest, 309;
National Theatre, 310;
the Prado, 310;
parks, 211;
Colon Cemetery, 311;
Municipal Band and other musical organizations, 312;
Conservatory of Music, 312;
drives, 313;
bathing beaches, 313, 314;
Havana Yacht Club, 314;
fishing, 314;
Jai Alai, 315;
baseball, 316;
horse racing, 317;
golf, 317;
the Templete, 317;
the Maestranza, 318;
Department of Sanitation, 318;
La Hacienda, 319;
old Governor-General’s palace, 319;
Senate Chamber, 320;
“General Wood Laboratory,” 321;
School of Industrial Arts and Sciences, 322;
Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts, 322;
President’s Palace, 322;
new Capitol, 324;
National Hospital 325.
See PLACES OF HISTORICAL INTEREST.
HAVANA, Province: topography, 21;
Valley of the Guines, 23;
tobacco region, 24;
forests, 25;
agriculture and horticulture, 26;
industries, 27;
harbor of Havana, 28;
water supply, 30;
climate, 31.
HENEQUEN: world-wide importance, 53;
brought from Yucatan, 190;
first plantation, 191;
International Harvester Company’s plantation, 191;
possibilities of extension of the industry, 192;
advantages of soil and climate, 193;
estimates of cost and profit, 195.
Himely, H. A., estimates Sugar crop, 166.
Holguin, 93.
IRON. See MINES AND MINING.
MAGOTES, 14.
Manganese. See MINES AND MINING.
Manzanillo, 92.
MATANZAS Province: Topography, 49;
drainage system, 49;
Yumuri River and Valley, 51;
resources, 52;
henequen and sisal, 53;
Matanzas City, 54;
Caves of Bellamar, 55;
Cardenas, 56;
mines, 58;
sugar, 58;
chrome, 116.
Menocal, Mario G., Sugar promoter, 175.
MINES AND MINING: Pinar del Rio, 47;
Matanzas, 58;
Oriente, 96;
early search for gold, 104.
Copper: El Cobre mines, 105;
near Havana, 106;
Bayamo, 107;
Matanzas, 108;
Santa Clara, 108;
Camaguey, 108;
Pinar del Rio, 109;
American interests in, 109;
Matahambre mines, 110.
Iron, in Oriente, 111;
Camaguey, 112;
Pinar del Rio, 112;
nickeliferous ores, 112;
statistics of shipments of iron and copper ores, 112.
Manganese, in Oriente, Pinar del Rio and Santa Clara, 115, 120, 121, 122;
analysis of ore, 123; output, 124.
Chrome, in Havana, Matanzas, Camaguey and Oriente, 115;
United States Geological Survey’s prospects, 114, 117;
many rich deposits, 117 et seq.
MONEY AND BANKING: Early monetary systems, 361;
double standard adopted, 363;
stabilization under American occupation, 363;
present standard and unit, 364;
statistics, 364;
list of principal banks of Cuba, 366.
OCEAN TRANSPORTATION: United Fruit Company, origin of, 376;
Lorenzo D. Baker and Andrew D. Preston, 377;
Minor C. Keith’s Costa Rica railroad, 378;
development of world’s greatest agricultural transportation company, 379;
magnitude of its fleet, 379.
New York and Cuba Mail Company, origin and development of, 380;
Ward, Alexandria and other lines merged, 381;
extent of service, 381 et seq.;
its fleet, 382.
Munson Steamship Line, 383;
extent of its service, 383.
Peninsular and Occidental Steamship Company, 383;
its great ocean and railroad ferry from Havana to Key West, 384.
Pinillos Izquiendo Line, between Cuba and Spain, 384;
its large fleet, 385.
Southern Pacific, formerly Morgan, Line, 385.
French Line, 385;
its fleet, 386.
Japanese Line, Osaka Shosen Kaisha, 386.
Customs regulations, 387;
invoices, 387;
consular fees, 389;
Cuban consulates in United States and its territories, 389.
ORGAN Mountains, 13.
ORIENTE Province: Topography, 83;
picture of mountain road, 84;
rivers, 85;
sugar, 86;
Guantanamo, 89;
Santiago, 89;
resources and industries, 95;
mines, 96;
iron, 110;
chrome and manganese, 117.
PACKING HOUSES, opportunity for, 273.
“Paradise of Palm Drives,” 326.
PEOPLE OF CUBA: Their hospitality and other traits, 1;
domestic habits, 2;
racial descent, 3;
Gallegos and Catalans, 5;
English, 5;
Irish, 6;
Italians, 6;
Germans, 7;
Americans, 7.
Petroleum. See ASPHALT.
PINAR DEL RIO Province: Topography, 34;
Valley of Vinales, 36;
harbors, 41;
Pinar del Rio City, 45;
Vuelta Abajo tobacco region, 45;
mines, 47.
PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST, 284-302:
Atares Fort, 300;
Bayamo, 92;
Belen Convent and College, 298;
Bellamar Caves, 55;
Cabanas, la, 286;
history, 286;
prison and place of execution, 287;
“Road without Hope,” 287;
present condition, 289.
Cathedral, Havana, 294;
Castillo del Principe, 300;
Chorrera, la, fort, 299;
City Wall of Havana, 291;
Cojimar fort, 299;
Echarte mansion, 298;
Fuerza, la, 292;
Institute of Havana, 294;
Jesus del Monte church, 297;
Merced, la, convent, 296;
Morro Castle, Havana, 284;
Punta, la, 290;
Quinto de Molinos, 301;
San Augustin convent 296;
San Francisco church and convent, 295;
Santa Catalina convent, 296;
Santa Clara convent, 297;
Santa Teresa church, 297;
Santo Angel church, 297;
Santo Domingo church and convent, 293;
Torreon de la Playa, 299;
Torreon de la San Lazaro, 300;
“Twelve Apostles,” at El Morro, 286.
POULTRY: Varieties, 278;
Turkeys, 279;
Guinea hens, 279.
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION: Backward state under Spanish rule, 367;
progress under American occupation, 368;
Alexis E. Frye, Superintendent, 368;
Lincoln de Zayas, 368;
great aid from Harvard University, 369;
schools placed under National government, 370;
Miss Abbie Phillips, General Superintendent of English, 370;
Dr. Dominguez Roldan, Secretary of Public Instruction, 371;
increase in schools and school attendance during President Menocal’s administration, 371;
“School of the Home,” 372;
Institute of Havana, 372;
National University, 373;
National School of Languages, 373;
National Public Library, 374.
Puerto Principe. See CAMAGUEY.
RAILROADS: First railroad on Spanish soil in Cuba, 353;
United Railways of Havana, 353;
Matanzas Railway, 354;
extension of system, 354;
electric lines, 354.
Sir William Van Horne’s great work, 355;
Cuba Company’s line and branches, 356 et seq.;
work of R. G. Ward in building and equipping Cuba Company’s lines, 358.
Cuba Central road and branches, 359.
North Shore road, 360.
Rionda, Don Manuel, Sugar promoter, 173.
SANTA CLARA Province:
History, 60;
mountains, 62;
rivers, 64;
Cienfuegos, 65;
Sancti Spiritus, 66;
Cienaga de Zapata,67;
resources and industries, 68;
coffee, 69.
Santiago, 89.
Schools. See PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
Shipping. See OCEAN TRANSPORTATION.
Sisal. See HENEQUEN.
Sponges, extent of industry, 283.
SPORTS: Automobiling, 326 et seq.;
bathing beaches, 313;
yachting, 314; fishing, 314;
Jai Alai, 315;
baseball, 316;
horse racing, 317;
golf, 317.
STOCK RAISING: Horses introduced into Cuba, 263;
recent importations from the United States, 263;
breeds and numbers, 264;
mules, 265.
Cattle, 265;
importations, 266;
choice breeding, 267;
crossing with the zebu, 267;
advantages of Cuba for stock raising, 268.
Swine, 269;
advantages for hog raising, 270;
palmiche and yuca for hog food, 271;
varieties of swine, 272;
opportunity for packing plants in hog products, 273.
Sheep, for food, 273.
Goats, for meat, skins and hair, 274;
Angoras, 275;
profits, 276.
SUGAR: In Matanzas, 58;
Santa Clara, 68;
Camaguey, 79;
Oriente, 86;
El Chaparra and Las Delicias, 86;
Bay of Nipe, 87;
magnitude of crop, 160;
favorable natural conditions, 161;
reports and estimates of available lands, 161 et seq.;
possible output, 164;
plans for draining swamp lands, 164;
Cienaga de Zapata, 165;
Mr. R. G. Ward’s projects, 166;
Mr. H. A. Himely’s estimates of crop, 166;
methods of planting and cultivation, 167;
the labor problem, 168;
“Administration” and “Colono” systems, 170;
Cuba Cane Sugar Corporation, 173;
Cuban-American Sugar Company, 175;
Rionda Sugar Properties, 176;
United Fruit Company’s Sugar Properties, 177;
Atkins Sugar Properties, 177;
Poté Rodriguez Sugar Properties, 178;
West Indies Sugar Finance Corporation, 178;
Gomez-Mena Properties, 179;
Cuba Company Properties, 180;
Mendoza-Cunaga Properties, 180;
Cuba’s relation to the world’s supply of sugar, 181.
TOBACCO: Tumbadero, in Havana, 24;
Vuelta Abajo, Pinar del Rio, 45;
early history, 183;
profits of crop, 184;
method of growing, 184;
various regions of growth, 186;
insect pests, 186;
growing under cheesecloth, 187;
magnitude of industry, 188.
TOPOGRAPHY, of Cuba: Mountain systems, 10;
Sierra Maestra, 11;
El Yunque, 11;
Sierras Cristal and Nipe, 12;
Najassa Hills, 12;
Sierra Cubitas, 13;
Sierra del Escambray, 13;
Sierras Morena, and de Bamburano, 13;
Sierra de los Organos, 13;
Vinales Valley, 14;
Magotes, 14;
plains, 16.
VANILLA, 237;
growth and preparation for market, 238.
VEGETABLES: Beans, Lima and string, 244;
Egg plant, 243;
Okra, 244;
Peppers, 242;
Potatoes, 242;
Pumpkins, 245;
Squashes, 245;
Tomatoes, 243.
WARD, R. G., plans for draining Cienaga de Zapata, 166;
railroad construction and equipment, 358.
YUMURI River and Valley, 51.
[Illustration: Map of Cuba]
* * * * *
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
so that it can product=> so that it can produce {pg vii}
The shores of Mariel are beautfiul=> The shores of Mariel are beautiful
{pg 41}
at the southern end of the Bat=> at the southern end of the Bay {pg 41}
aferwards was led=> afterwards was led {pg 61}
on the party of=> on the part of {pg 80}
Mexican revoultions=> Mexican revolutions {pg 191}
they should fear=> they should bear {pg 207}
any woman whose chose to devote=> any woman who chose to devote {pg 297}
the installment plant=> the installment plan {pg 395}