Seeking information with reference to distances while in Cuba will be
found an adventurous enterprise. The answer you receive is, "Far as the
voice of a countryman, or the crowing of a cock," which you find after
traveling two or three leagues just beyond. The following are the
correct distances across the island by railway: From Cienfuegos to
Cruces, nineteen miles; from Cruces to Santo Domingo, twenty-four miles;
from Santo Domingo to Matanzas, eighty miles; from Matanzas to Havana,
sixty-six miles. Many suppose Cuba has no railroads, except some on
which an attempt to ride would imperil their safety, which is a great
mistake. The roads are in the hands of the Government, being well built,
and the speed all that could be desired. Three kinds of passenger-cars
are placed at the disposal of travelers--first, second, and third class.
The first class are not cushioned, but have willow-wrought backs and
seats to make them cool. Few, except foreigners, ride in them. The
second class have cushioned seats, and more passengers. The soldiers
also ride in these. The third class cars have seats without backs or
cushions on them. The majority of Cubans have no pride in regard to
their mode of traveling. These uncomfortable cars are literally packed.
Here we see the elegantly-dressed lady, with her crape shawl and
embroidered veil--gentlemen-planters, coolies, the blackest slaves on
the island--all listening to the blind musician playing on his guitar,
while his wife and he are singing their Spanish melodies and gathering
up the _dinero_ which the kind-hearted people give them.
The smell of garlic and tobacco are two odorous substances with which
travelers in Cuba must become accustomed. Passengers all smoke in every
car--the interrogation never being used, Is smoking offensive? Everybody
seems trying to pull the greatest possible amount of pleasure from the
Havana weed. A vast number of cigars and cigarettes vanish in a short
space of time.
As the train started from Cruces, a quiet shower distilled itself. It
rains in Cuba without threatening skies or any visible preparation.
There is no rolling up of squadrons into threatening ranks, the moisture
appearing to come from nowhere. The shower was like beauty blushing
through tears, the skies were so lovely, and the rain-drops very gentle.
It is harvest-time now on the island. Every thing is hurry and rush,
while both men and beasts are, many of them, driven to death. When we
stopped at the first station it was early in the morning, and day was
breaking. Carts, drawn by oxen and loaded with sugar-hogsheads which had
come from miles away, were standing there. Poor brutes! What a look of
subjugation they all have, with an immense ring through their noses, and
no yoke around their necks but a small one fastened to their heads and
horns, by which the loads are drawn! These oxen are of immense size,
with tremendously long horns. They are not the Florida stock of cattle,
but brought from Mexico. They drive them with goads, or sharpened pieces
of iron, which are very severe. Nothing is treated so badly here as the
patient ox, the mortality among them being greater than all the other
animals combined. Acres of sugar-hogsheads now cover the grounds around
the depots. The wealth of the country--that before which all other
products sink into insignificance--is the rich sugar-cane, supplying
more than half the world with its saccharine deposits. The cane raised
here is three per cent. richer than that raised in the Southern States.
It grows from four to eight feet in height, according to the fertility
of the soil. It is now March, and the summit of the cane is crowned with
its useful blooms, which are gathered and dried for upholstering
purposes, while the leaves are cut and used for the sustenance of stock,
which are herded, watched, and fed, night and day, when not working. In
passing through the country we frequently see, remote from any dwelling,
small tents stretched over a cot-bed. Here is where the coolie
cattle-herder sleeps. The heavy dews, with the hot sunshine at midday,
to which they are exposed, must finish out the existence of these poor
wretches very soon.
The mornings being a little airy now, the agents come out, on the
arrival of the train, dressed in the _capa parada_, or long brown cloth
cloaks, with capes which hang over their shoulders. Below is seen a
pair of legs dressed in white, supported by a pair of feet covered with
their birthday stockings and leather sandals. This constitutes the
uniform of both agents and loafers, worn by them when making their
_début_ from a hasty morning toilet. Travelers, in going through the
country now, pass the day in varied vicissitudes of thought and
feelings. It is no secret that a war is progressing in Cuba which may
end in a Santo Domingo massacre, or, like the Kilkenny cats, continue
fighting until they destroy each other. More soldiers are traveling on
the trains than citizens--their uniforms being made of light-blue
striped linen, with scarlet cuffs, and their hats of Panama, turned up
on the left side, on which is fastened a red and yellow cockade. This
style of dress seems to be intended as a mark of loyalty to the Spanish
Government, used more for a badge of their principles than a uniform
designed for those in actual service, as it is worn by men too old for
duty, and boys too young for enlistment. The men are all armed with
guns, knives, and pistols, until they look like moving arsenals,
Barracks are stationed on the railroad at every town of any size, while
cavalry soldiers, armed with carbines, go dashing about in all
directions. The Cuban saddle-horses are evidently related to the Arabian
stock brought from Spain; they are pretty, graceful, docile, easy-gaited
creatures. The cavalry braid their horses' tails, then tie them to the
saddles with red and yellow ribbons. When they ride up to a store or
hotel, they hitch them under the front veranda. A Spaniard told me "that
it was because they were too lazy to walk, and they rode into the
house."
The insurgents are more to be dreaded, in the adoption of their present
tactics, than regularly organized troops. They are acquainted with every
portion of the country--all its defiles and elevations--with their
methods and places for secure retreat always selected. They dart about
like sunbeams, dealing destruction to every thing in their reach with
the celerity of hurricanes. The regular vocations of life are
interrupted--all the energies of the nation being expended on arms, and
not on arts, which has already sounded the death-knell to their national
prosperity. Many Spaniards are now nursing the delusion of peace, but it
is only a shadow, evanescent as the gorgeous hues which deck their
evening skies. Foreigners, as they pass through the country, feel some
anxiety for their safety when they approach the track of the insurgents
so close as to see the smoking ruins of burning sugar-houses. Strangers
who visit here now, with proper passports and correct deportment, will
be protected. Persons who either cannot or will not give any account of
themselves are regarded with suspicion, which is the same in all
countries that are in a state of insurrection.
In traveling two hundred miles we change cars four times. On the trains
we have none of those insinuating, untiring, vigilant, prize-candy boys,
to thrust their wares in our faces, just as our nerves are settling from
the last jolt, to worry us until we have to make an investment in their
sweet flour-paste and brass jewelry, to be rid of them. The coolies
seem to do the peddling at the stopping-places. They have for sale
sponge-cakes, peeled oranges, bananas, goat's-milk cheese, and
guava-jelly. What a medley of all nations is seen when we halt! There is
something in the atmosphere opposed to silence, yet everybody keeps in a
good humor. When the train stops there is no hurry or bustle--all the
ladies sit down, while the men walk up to the bar for a drink. The
favorite beverage is made from the _penalis_, or "_long kiss_"--a
hollow-shaped banana, molded from sugar, mixed with wine and water.
There is no drinking behind screens--it is all public, in a large room,
with seats for passengers to sit on. The Cubans drink small quantities
each time, yet no one gets drunk, the wines being so light and pure.
Each departure of the train is announced by the ringing of a large
dinner-bell held in the hands of a negro. The coolies are employed on
the cars, both as firemen and brakemen. Our coolie brakeman went to
sleep between each stopping-place, but never was behind time when the
engine whistled down brakes. The depots are not large; but each one has
a flower-yard, or garden, attached, arranged with taste, where the
scarlet hibiscus blooms with its showy petals, that flame like "mimic
suns." They gave us flowers freely when we motioned for them; but they
gave us looks too, as the inhabitants in the center of the island are
not much accustomed to seeing foreigners. Although it is only the first
day of March, every thing has on a midsummer dress--all the flowers,
like the national colors, are of the grandest hues. The favorite
shade-tree is the orange, of which nearly every cabin, however humble,
has a few. One arbor had tomato-vines trained over it, hanging full of
scarlet fruit, forming a fine contrast with the green leaves. Miles of
banana-trees are passed on every side, maturing rapidly. Immense fields
of corn give promise of an abundant harvest. The plantations are
inclosed by hedges of Campeachy and Brazil wood, besides sessile hemp,
Spanish bayonet, and cactus, while some have rock walls. The hedges
formed from vegetation are constantly clothed with verdure and flowers:
any attempt to penetrate them would be a hazardous enterprise for man or
beast, as well as a damaging encounter for all fleshly or furry
coverings. The tropical atmosphere which pervades this island is
favorable to the growth of plants of various species from all parts of
the world. The royal palm, with its curling plumes, rearing its lofty
head two hundred feet in the air, stands in rows on each side of the
avenues that lead to the dwellings. Its leaves are used in thatching
houses, its fruit in fattening hogs, and its stately trunk for troughs.
By means of ropes these immense trees are climbed by the natives, with
the celerity of monkeys. The acacia-tree also sheds its fragrance in the
woods and cultured gardens. The virgin forests are teeming with such a
superabundance of vegetation, it has no room for development. The trunks
of the trees are covered with moss, ferns, and parasitic plants, which
perfume the air, and delight us with the most exquisite odors, while
above
[Illustration: NATIVES GATHERING PALM-FRUIT.]
all climbs the convolvulus to dizzy heights, interweaving and forming
arches to crown the rank growth with its perpetual-blooming,
campanulated flowers. Here the cactus family, with its collaterals,
assume immense proportions, armed with weapons, the appearance of which
is sufficient to fill the mind of any explorer with terror. The old
man's beard, with its swinging pendants hanging from the tall trees at
the mercy of the winds, flourishes as though its resting-place was
something more substantial than the caprice of every fickle breeze.
There are no large streams of water flowing through the country; but
springs abound, some of which are supposed to possess curative
properties. The most airy tales emanating from the pen of the wildest
romancer have never equaled the real beauties of this modern Eden. It
seems to have been designed as a haunt for the Muses, or a resting-place
for ethereal messengers, where they could meet and hold converse before
proceeding on their missions of mercy, in administering comfort to the
afflicted. The residents of such a land, instead of destroying each
other, and manifesting the unfeeling, restless disposition which we see
here, should be as contented as crickets, to feed upon dew-drops and
bask in sunbeams.
That slave-labor is employed here, and slavery exists, we have
sufficient proof in traveling through the country. Negroes being
naturally a discontented race, they run away whenever an opportunity
presents itself. One planter left us with a black slave at Colon. She
had a rope tied around her waist, with which her master was leading her.
She was well dressed, had some bundles in her arms, and looked very
indifferent, generally. The laws forbid their being whipped; but the
plantation-drivers all have huge lashes, which, when popped, sound like
the distant report of fire-arms. The slaves are formed into ranks when
they go to and return from their work; sometimes a hundred are seen in
a drove, composed of both sexes. They are now employed in cutting cane,
and load from thirty to fifty wagons at once before they move them to
the mills for grinding and boiling. The mules grind the cane with veiled
faces and sour looks for such sweet work. Cane only requires renewing
here once in five or ten years; consequently, but few are planting or
plowing. We visited one plantation for the purpose of seeing them work.
Every thing was in a rush. Some had on chains for bad conduct; but their
tasks had to be performed all the same. One coolie was pointed out as
having been run away two years, hidden out at work with the colliers in
the mountains. He was kept in the stocks at night, and made to work with
his chains on during the day, of which he complained to the overseer's
wife. She replied, "If they give you liberty you will go away again." He
responded, "I will." The slaves were never treated with half the
severity in the States which they receive here. Their quarters are
miserable thatched huts, with earth floors, furnished with only an
inclined plank for a bed, sick or well. Their principal food is rice and
cassava-root, ground and baked in thin cakes. Slave-property has
depreciated very much in Cuba since the insurrectionary movements, and
at present none appear anxious to make investments in such precarious
property. The importation of more coolies has been forbidden. Negroes
from Africa have been landed here this winter. The coolies cannot learn
to speak English well, but catch the Spanish language directly. Small
negroes are plentiful; they all come around us, with their rude, naked,
black bodies and woolly heads, to steal a sly glance at the strangers,
and then run away. Many traveling monkeys look brighter, and manifest
more signs of intelligence, than these creatures. As soon as they can
walk they receive about the same attention as puppies--upon which they
thrive very well. There is no Sunday on sugar-plantations, and all the
slaves look as though they did not have sense to comprehend it, if any
one should tell them they had a soul. They are only taught to work, and
if they refuse, the stocks and chains are ready for them, and other
punishments too, although the laws make a pretense of redressing their
wrongs and ameliorating their condition.
Chicken-fighting is practiced in Cuba as a means of subsistence. When a
young man forsakes the paternal roof in the States, to engage in games
of chance, he usually carries a pack of playing-cards in his pocket,
which are not seen. The young Cuban leaves home attired in his best
clothes, with a thorough-bred fighting-cock under his arm, from the body
of which all the feathers have been plucked, his wings and tail-plumage
only remaining. These chickens are carried with an evident feeling of
pride, and for the purpose of display, as an American jockey would show
a fine horse. The owners have an ear of corn in their pocket, with which
they feed them. When the cars stop they always crow, as if trying to
challenge a champion for fight. These fights are not considered
disgraceful here, as in other countries, and hundreds of dollars are bet
on a single chicken. The Cubans laugh when any thing is said about
cruelty to chickens, and reply, "No law has yet been passed here for the
prevention of cruelty to animals." When Bergh visits Cuba, no doubt, his
first and warmest sympathies will be enlisted in behalf of the poor
chickens, with their bare backs deprived of the natural covering to
prevent others with which they fight from holding them by their
feathers. The Spaniards, being a nation of strong passions, require
something more than mental exhilaration to stimulate and satisfy
them--hence the resort to chicken and bull-fights.
Matanzas is situated on the north-west coast of Cuba, latitude 23°
north, and sixty-six miles from Havana. The sea-approach to Matanzas Bay
is indicated by two singularly shaped hills, called The Pan of Matanzas,
which appear to stand like sentinels guarding the entrance. The harbor
is fine, affording protection from all winds but the north-east. The
surrounding elevations of land give the city the appearance of an
amphitheater, or half circle. The soil in the vicinity is the richest in
Cuba. The range of mountains here evidences marks of convulsions in
nature, and they have, no doubt, been the seat of volcanic action. The
rocks forming the basis of these mountains are limestone--some of them
containing caves, one of which is said to extend under the town. As we
approach the depot, what a medley we see! A regular Pentecostal
illustration of olden times, where every one hears his own tongue
spoken! We noticed an official on duty whose services are much needed in
many places. It was a man with a moderate-sized rod, which he used in
clearing the car-shed of idle boys and lazy servants--making porters,
carrying bundles, move with accelerated velocity. A subordinate race
here has no show for the development of their slothful proclivities; the
authorities arrest them when discovered, and, without any appeal, send
them to work, miles away, on the sugar-plantations--vagrancy and
vagabondism being dangerous experiments in Cuban cities.
I am unable to explain the cause, but all the Cuban men wear visages as
though their bodies were the abode of numerous pains, which distorted
their facial nerves, while their attenuated limbs look like the home of
rheumatics, whose frequent twitchings had absorbed the flesh, leaving
only a little parchment-covered bone and muscle, resembling a has-been
foundation of an aristocratic family. No smile sleeps or wakes on their
faces; if one should, perchance, light on them, it soon leaves, for want
of encouragement. The ladies all look plump and well kept as any scions
of royal blood. Care rests lightly on them as their clothing, which
entire outfit resembles the lace and gauzy drapery for the more
substantial ornamenting of an American lady's toilet.
Here we see the coolies engaged in all kinds of servitude--cooking,
waiting on tables, attending in sleeping-apartments--always moving in
that snail-pace which, apparently, nothing less than a tornado would
cause them to vary. What a sad, solitary, sullen-looking race they are,
with a cloud of discontent always hanging over their faces, rarely, if
ever, engaging in pleasantries with their companions but always
creeping around with a shadowy frown, which resembles a
graveyard-parting more than any thing with which we are familiar! A
pleasant look on their features would be as foreign to them as a ray of
sunshine to their hearts.
When we pass the gateway through which all passengers are required to
enter and surrender their tickets, how reviving the prospect to
strangers the notice, "English and French spoken," which enables them
again to hold intelligent communication with the outside world, after
spending a whole day in a crowd, with only their own thoughts and
suppositions on subjects and novel sights, surrounded by a Babel of
unmeaning sounds! The above direction, designating the languages spoken,
is the only requisite sign for a hotel. As we enter, a reception is
given us by the proprietor, who is a keen, sharp, smiling French Creole,
with the clearest of ideas in regard to the amount of funds he can
extract from every guest. A lovely and refreshing breeze passes through
the house, coming from both mountains and sea. Here it meets us like a
welcome friend, to fan the warm and refresh the weary traveler with its
combined influences. Let all the contracts of those who come to Cuba be
made in advance; it will save much unpleasantness, as the proprietors
charge in proportion to their avarice, if no previous terms have been
agreed upon by both parties. Four dollars per day, in gold, will give a
guest the full benefit of all accommodations furnished, including wine
for dinner. You can receive your attentions in Spanish, French, or
English. Dinner commences at 4 P.M., of which we will now avail
ourselves at a later hour. The table is spread with a white linen cloth
and damask napkins. The little ants have been inspecting the premises,
and many of them are still exploring the precincts. Some have selected
the caster as the most prominent point for reconnoitering, where they
are still taking observations. These are all soon brushed away by the
waiter without ceremony, and then comes the repast. The cooking is on
the French restaurant order. The savory odor of onions and garlic
exhales from soup and meat on every side--chickens cooked in all styles
that a connoisseur could invent--beef, mutton, Irish potatoes, tomatoes,
and squashes, besides other vegetables of all kinds. After having our
plate changed ten times, the meats are all removed for dessert, which
consists of cheese, guava jelly, cocoa-nut grated and cooked in
sirup--the meal concluding with a cup of _café noir_. The Cubans laugh
at the Americans for mixing flour and sugar into pies and sweet-cakes.
After dinner we went to visit some friends on the bark Adelaide,
anchored in Matanzas Bay. The process of being pulled on board from a
small boat would be a hazardous experiment for those whose arms were not
well fastened. It makes a consequential person feel very diminutive, as
though he were about the same size and importance as any other fish,
dangling at the end of a line, previous to being taken in and served up
for chowder.
Over eighty vessels are anchored in the bay--all waiting for cargoes of
sugar and molasses. The captains are complaining on account of the low
bids made for freights. Every day fifty of them can be seen in the
consigning-office of Mr. Sanchez. They all have an anxious, care-worn
look, and some of them so old, seasoned, and toughened, by hardships and
exposure, that, if they were to fall overboard, the shark that would
have the temerity or skill to seize them, would never survive a similar
experiment, unless a Jonah miracle were wrought in him. Each captain, as
he arrives, gives the morning salutation by asking his companions in
turn, "Is your vessel entered?" "Are you chartered?" "Where you going to
sail for?" Most of the vessels are from Maine and Massachusetts. Strange
as it may appear, many of these captains have their entire families with
them. The ladies, while in port, extract some sweets, despite the rough
life they lead, in making calls, visits, and even giving dinners and
concerts--all the invitations being limited to their maritime
acquaintances from the four quarters of the globe. Then they take little
excursions, in their long-boats, up the beautiful and historic valley of
Yumori, or walk to the city in crowds of fifteen or twenty, accompanied
by all the children who are not too small to go with them. Batteries of
black eyes are leveled at them, as they pass, from every side. No
hippodrome, in making its grand entree, was ever scrutinized more
closely. Clerks leave their counters to gaze at them; servants forget
their business; pack-mules endanger the wares of their owners; coolies
drop their cakes of ice in the river when unloading vessels, as the
foreigners cross the bridge, while idle boys and girls follow them, to
take a good look! The gratification is mutual--each gazer is happy, and,
apparently, satisfied in the enjoyment of sight-seeing. Some of these
ladies have sailed with their husbands for years, under stormy skies, or
crossing polar seas. A few of them have learned how to compute latitude
and longitude by the quadrant. They speak of wrecks as we would heavy
thunder-showers on land.
The time for leaving the bay soon arrived. Nature had veiled her face,
like the Cuban beauties, with a tissue so transparent that, instead of
concealing her charms, they were only increased. The darkness seemed
like a mist, produced by the enchanting movements of some invisible
spirit, more than the shades of night in other places. The lights beamed
from the shore in the distance. All the ships had their signals, of
varied hues, burning brightly, while the stars shone with, the same
unfading, brilliant luster as when their first song echoed through the
ethereal vaults of heaven, and "all the sons of God shouted for joy."
The process of being returned into the little boat, at night, appears
like a leap in the dark, as I stepped backward down a rope-ladder until
the pilot says, "Let go," when my hands unclasp; at the same instant a
very uncertain hold is taken, with my feet on something that moves, but
I am safe. Before us lies a scene in which our imagination has reached
its culminating point, where enthusiasm gains the ascendency, when an
approach is made toward extravagance in the use of language--the barge
of Cleopatra, borne on the placid Cydnus--which, in musical cadence,
echoed no more sweetly than the plash of our oars with the brilliant
phosphorescent light by which each stroke was followed, and the train of
silvery waves that marked our movements through the illumined waters of
Matanzas Bay. Near the wharf we obtained a carriage, without difficulty,
that conveyed us to the plaza, and, afterward, to the hotel. The plaza
resembled a panoramic view, drafted from the imagination by some skilled
artist--the beautiful señoritas, with no dull, meditative moods in their
eyes, but merry flashes of the sunshine, in which they spend their
lives, reflected back to beautify the world in which they live. Decked
in their pink and creamy robes, floating through the avenues among
gorgeous flowering plants, they resembled a festival in fairy-land more
than the enjoyments incident to real life.
Our hotel is soon reached, where quiet rules the hour, all the inmates
having gone to the plaza, or slumbering in the arms of tired repose, but
the majoral and a few of his assistants. A tall, ebony-colored servant
conducts us to our apartments, and turns on the gas, which, in the
jail-like rooms, is much needed. I commenced speaking English to the
_valet de chambre_, when he looked at me as if in distress, and said,
"_Pourquoi ne vous me parlais en Francais!_" "_Vous parlez Francais!_" I
relieved his anxiety by giving all our orders in French, to which he
responded with much alacrity. The bolting of blinds and doors, combined
with the high, substantial brick and mortar walls which surround us,
savors very much of captivity--all the oxygen we have at night passing
through a small square made in the apertures of the blinds. The
canvas-framed stretchers, designed for reclining, and the accommodation
of only one person, are canopied over with beautifully-wrought lace,
looking both clean, cool, and inviting, to our weary frames. The
atmosphere at this place is said to be conducive of sleep. Every thing
sleeps, no difference when or where. The driver nods on his cabriolet,
which might be attended with direful consequences, but the poor brutes
are so jaded they are sleepy too. The salesman snores on his stall,
sometimes stretched out full length. The cooly nods over his chopsticks
and rice, after he has eaten his dinner, while the more elegant matron
inclines her head gracefully, saying, _Siesta_. Morning dawns, leaving
no marks of intervening space, but every thing is full of life and
business. The butler's voice is heard above the din of dishes and
kettles, giving orders, while his busy hands are preparing delicate
loin-steaks, mutton-chops, and veal-cutlets, for broiling, and 9 o'clock
train from Havana. The coffee is prepared on a separate range near the
dining-tables, close to the call of every new applicant for the
delightful beverage; it comes steaming out into the big China cups, the
servant holding in one hand a kettle of boiling milk, and one of coffee
in the other, furnishing us milk and coffee, or _vice versa_. "_Mi
café_," at six or seven in the morning, accompanied with a small French
roll, fortifies the inhabitants for any movements which they wish to
make until breakfast-time. While drinking our coffee the porter, hat in
hand, announces _El Volante_, which we had ordered the night before for
the purpose of visiting the cave. All efforts to describe that curious
conveyance must fail, when compared to the reality of riding in one--it
being a vehicle of Cuban origin, not in general use on the island now,
except in the country. It is drawn by two horses, one placed between the
shafts, the other on the left in rear of the first, upon which a booted,
liveried postilion, called a _calesero_, is seated in a diminutive
saddle. The center of gravity is nowhere in a _volante_, while it swings
and vibrates along softly as a boat on smooth water. When the wheels
strike a rock it is accompanied with no unpleasant jolts, like our
American carriages. Fancy could not conceive of spirits borne on the
wings of an ethereal messenger being wafted more gently. As I was
carried through clouds, illumined by the morning sun, which ascended
sweetly as incense from the altar of devotion, I was seized with
indescribable sensations, elevating emotions, comparable to
nothing--partaking of no other event of which history has any record,
except the transit of a perfect man, who passed beyond the realms of
space, and never returned. It is materialized enjoyment, the realization
of momentary happiness, at peace with all the world; our feelings are
pure like the air that surrounds us, which comes direct from its
heavenly home on cloud-like wings. If permitted to live longer, I feel
prepared to tread paths of life with fortified strength, meeting ing
its exigencies "with a more calm and virtuous majesty." If the angel of
death were to come, he would find me ready in feelings--the mowing-blade
of Time could cut me down and swing me off without a pang. Every sound
appears harmonious, from the bird-orchestra, tuned by the voice of God,
to the cricket that chirps from the rock-wall as we pass.
That remarkable cavern of _El Cueva de Bellamar_ was discovered over
twenty years since, under the following circumstances: A slave, having
been engaged in the preparation of a lime-kiln, accidentally dropped one
of his tools in a cavity near the place where he had been collecting
rock. Hoping soon to recover it, for fear of punishment, he commenced
reaching where he had last seen it. All his efforts proved useless. He
then threw in rocks, which were a long time finding soundings. The next
day excavations were made, which revealed a cave over two hundred feet
perpendicular below the surface of the earth, and a mile in length. This
remarkable subterranean passage has, no doubt, been the work of
centuries, the water dripping on the lime-rock, which dissolved it--all
these beautiful transformations taking place in midnight darkness, under
the guidance of the great Architect whose omnipotent hand formed all
things, whether above or under the earth. While descending the steps
which lead into the cave, a singular phenomenon is observable. It is an
intense, stifling heat, which increases as we advance, and oppresses us
until we become accustomed to it. This descent may be compared to an
approach into the lower regions--the torches in the hands of our guides
flickering and snapping like fiery serpents. Any fears of having found
the realm of his Satanic majesty are soon dispelled by the prismatic
view presented to us. As we enter the cave two avenues describing a
triangle are seen, it being the commencement of an apex with converging
lines, which terminate not in regions _inferno_, but the "Devil's
Gorge," near which stands _El Organ_, with its silent pipes reaching to
the dome. We come in contact with rough edges on every side, while
narrow passes almost obstruct our progress, when suddenly we are ushered
into _El Cathedro_, forty feet in height, and nearly the same in length,
with a variable width of twenty feet. Here is found the basin of holy
water, blessed by no earthly priest, fed by a fountain whose innermost
recesses have never been penetrated, or measureless depths fathomed. The
palace halls of princely dwellings, decked with costly gems of priceless
value, shine with no more dazzling luster than the icicle-shaped
pendants of snowy whiteness hanging from the arch and sides of this
remarkable underground temple. The stalactites in many places form solid
columns of transparent crystals, which meet the stalagmites, and extend
to the earth. Oyster-shells and sea-urchins of immense size are found
imbedded in the rocks, which demonstrate that this has been the home of
the restless sea, where old Neptune combed his "hoary locks," and beat
his foaming billows. To enter this subterranean cavern seems like
standing on the brink of a volcano, our only hope of escape, being a
fickle flame extinguished by a breath, looking into the domains of
futurity, not knowing how soon we might be called upon to try its
realities. No one can conceive the period of time which has been
consumed in the production of this remarkable formation--a drop of
water, containing the fractional part of a grain of lime, leaving an
imperceptible deposit in its downward course, thus forming the
stalactites and stalagmites of fantastic forms and delicate proportions,
which the ingenuity of no human hand, however skillful, can imitate. A
kind of awe-inspiring sensation seizes our minds while surrounded by the
oppressive stillness in these depths, where mighty forces are fulfilling
their great purposes in producing mountains by infinitesimal accessions.
As we approach the lake, the atmosphere becomes cooler, when a virgin
sheet of water presents itself, on whose surface no heavenly zephyr has
ever danced, or rude winds plunged into maddening strife. Here,
stretched before us, is a body of water nearly two hundred feet long,
thirty feet in width, and eighteen feet in depth; while firmly attached
to its bed are blooms perennial as the plants of paradise, resembling
double dahlias, not less than eight inches in circumference, with
variegated petals of delicate pink, violet, and straw color--the
coloring attributable, no doubt, to the mineral deposit contained in the
waters which trickle from above. As we gaze into its pearly depths, we
are impressed with the thought that here all is peace. Many visitors
who come here have the grasping relic-hunting propensity so strongly
developed for wanting every thing attractive which they see, that they
can only be restrained from breaking the finest stalactites by the
guides threatening to extinguish the lights, which is sufficient to
terrify into submission the stoutest sea captain that ever walked the
quarter-deck of a vessel, or any of his _attachés_. As in other explored
caverns, names have been given by the natives to the different
formations found here, which so nearly resemble English that they can be
readily translated. The resemblance of these curious figures to the
objects indicated by the names they bear are sufficiently striking to
produce an increased emotion of admiration:
"Cathedral de San Pablo."
"Manto de la Virgen."
"La Sagua bordado."
"El Organ."
"El baño de la Americana."
"Los Apostles."
"El Altar de la Virgen."
"El Confessionario."
"La Boca del Diablo."
The almost overpowering glare of sunshine, accompanied with other
unpleasant sensations, resulting from a return to the outside world, was
a disagreeable reminder that I had not been translated, or presented
with a new body which never ached, or a heart that always beat in
harmonic measures to the tasks imposed on it. Persons must never imagine
that no rough places are to be gone over, or fatigue endured, when
exploring the recesses of this wonderful cavern; but all slight
obstacles overcome will amply repay those who make this cave a visit. It
is about a league distant from Matanzas, accessible by land or water.
We will now have to descend upon our light wings of ecstatic admiration
and delight to the plainer realities of earth. The bay, like a restless
spirit, always in motion, rolls up its deposits of seaweed and shells
almost under the _volante_ wheels as we pass, while the golden waves of
borrowed brightness, reflected from the shining orb of day, rise to
recede again, and keep time to the evolutions of the great universe, of
which they form a part.
[Illustration: text decoration]