GENERAL VIEW OF THE ISLAND OF CUBA, ITS CITIES, TOWNS, RESOURCES,
GOVERNMENT, ETC.
Its political importance.--Coveted by the Nations.--National
Robbery and Injustice.--Climate of Cuba.--Its Forests and
Fruits.--Its great staples, Sugar and Coffee.--Copper
mines.--Population.--Extent and surface.--Principal
cities.--Matanzas.--Cardenas.--Puerto del
Principe.--Santiago de Cuba.--Bayamo.--Trinidad de
Cuba.--Espiritu Santo.--Government of the Island.--Count
Villa Nueva.--Character and Services of Tacon.--Commerce of
Cuba.--Relations to the United States.--Our causes of
complaint.--The true interests of Cuba.--State of
Education.--Discovery and early history of the Island.
Cuba is the largest, richest, most flourishing, and most important of the
West India Islands. In a political point of view, its importance cannot be
rated too high. Its geographical position, its immense resources, the
peculiar situation, impregnable strength, and capacious harbor of its
capital, give to it the complete command of the whole Gulf of Mexico, to
which it is the key. It is certainly an anomaly in the political history of
the world, that so weak a power as that of Spain, should be allowed to hold
so important a post, by the all-grasping, ambitious thrones of Europe--to
say nothing of the United States, where decided symptoms of relationship to
old England begin to appear. It has often been found easy, where no just
cause of quarrel exists, to make one; and it is a matter of marvel that the
same profound wisdom and far-reaching benevolence, that found means to
justify an aggressive war upon China, because, in the simplicity of her
semi-barbarism, she would not consent to have the untold millions of her
children drugged to death with English opium--cannot now make slavery, or
the slave trade, or piracy, or something else of the kind, a divinely
sanctioned apology for pouncing upon Cuba. That she has long coveted it,
and often laid plots to secure it, there is no doubt. That it would be the
richest jewel in her crown, and help greatly to lessen the enormous burdens
under which her tax-ridden population is groaning, there can be no
question. But, the science of politics is deep and full of mysteries. It
has many problems which even time cannot solve.
And then, as to these United States--how conveniently might Cuba be
annexed! How nicely it would hook on to the spoon-bill of Florida, and
protect the passage to our southern metropolis, and the trade of the Gulf.
We can claim it by an excellent logic, on the ground that it was once bound
closely to Florida, the celebrated de Soto being governor of both; and
Spain had no more right to separate them, in the sale and cession of
Florida, than she or her provinces had, afterwards, to separate Texas from
Louisiana. It is a good principle in national politics, to take an ell
where an inch is given, especially when the giver is too weak to resist
the encroachment--and it has been so often practised upon, that there is
scarcely a nation on earth that can consistently gainsay it. The annexation
fever is up now, and I suggest the propriety of taking all we intend to, or
all we want, at a sweep--lest the people should grow conscientious, and
conclude to respect the rights of their weaker neighbors.
But, to be serious, let us take warning from the past, and learn to be
just, and moderate, in order that we may be prosperous and happy. The
epitaph of more than one of the republics of antiquity, might be written
thus--_ruit sua mole_.
Much as has been said, and that with great justice and propriety, of the
delightful climate of Cuba, it is subject to no inconsiderable changes, and
the invalid, who resorts thither in quest of health, must be on his guard
against those changes. The "wet northers," that sometimes sweep down upon
the coast, are often quite too severe for a delicate constitution to bear;
and a retreat to the interior becomes necessary. During the prevalence of
these winds, the southern side of the island is the favorite resort.
Fortunately, these chilly visitors are few and far between, seldom
continuing more than three or four days, with as many hours of rain. In the
absence of these, the climate is as perfect as heart can desire,
resembling, for the most part, that of the south of France.
Notwithstanding the large tracts of cultivated plantations and farms, which
make this beautiful island a perfect garden, it has extensive forests of
great beauty and value. The palm, whether found in clusters or alone, is
always a magnificent tree, and is useful for a variety of purposes--its
trunk for building, its leaves for thatching, and several kinds of
convenient manufactures, and its seeds for food. Mahogany abounds in some
parts, and other kinds of hard wood suitable for ship building, a business
which has been carried on very extensively in the island. The vine attains
to a luxuriant growth, so as often to destroy the largest trees in its
parasitical embrace. The orange and the pine-apple, both of a delicious
flavor, abound on all sides. Indian corn, the sweet potatoe, rice, and a
great variety of other important edibles are extensively cultivated, giving
wealth to some, and sustenance to thousands.
The great staples of Cuba, however, and the principle sources of her
immense wealth, are sugar and coffee. These are produced in the greatest
abundance. The annual exports amount to about six hundred and fifty
millions pounds of sugar, and eighty-four millions of coffee. The exports
of tobacco are about ten millions pounds in the leaf, besides three hundred
and ten millions of manufactured cigars. There are also large exports of
molasses, honey, wax, etc.
There are copper mines of great value in the south east part of the island,
in the neighborhood of Santiago. They were worked a long time, but for some
reason were abandoned for more than a century. More recently they have been
re-opened, and are now esteemed the richest copper mines in the world. They
are worked principally by an English company, and the ore is sent to
England to be smelted. The annual amount is not far from a million and a
half of quintals.
The whole population of Cuba is estimated at a little over a million,
420,000 whites, 440,000 slaves, and 150,000 free colored persons. The
annual revenue of the island, obtained from heavy taxes upon the sales of
every species of property, and from duties export as well as import, is
twelve millions of dollars. This is all drawn from its 420,000 whites,
averaging nearly thirty dollars a head. Of this amount, but very little is
expended in the island, except for the purpose of holding the people in
subjection. Four millions go into the coffers of the mother country.
The island of Cuba is nearly eight hundred miles in length, from east to
west, varying in breadth from twenty-five to one hundred and thirty miles.
Its coast is very irregular, deeply indented with bays and inlets, and
surrounded with numerous islands and reefs, making a difficult and
dangerous navigation. It has many excellent harbors, that of Havana being,
as has already been said, one of the best in the world. A range of
mountains, rising into the region of perpetual barrenness, traverses the
entire length of the island, dividing it into two unequal parts, the area
of the southern portion being rather the larger of the two. There are also
many other isolated mountain peaks and lofty hills, in different parts of
the island, some of them beautifully wooded to their very summits, and
others craggy, barren, precipitious, and full of dark caverns and frightful
ravines.
The principal places, after Havana, are Matanzas, Cardenas, Puerto del
Principe, Santiago, St. Salvador, Trinidad, and Espiritu Santo. Besides
these there are some half a dozen smaller cities, twelve considerable
towns, and about two hundred villages. The principal seaports are all
strongly fortified.
Matanzas is situated on the northern shore, about sixty miles east of the
capital. It contains, including its suburbs, about twenty thousand
inhabitants, of whom rather more than half are whites, and about one sixth
are free blacks. It commands the resources of a rich and extensive valley,
and its exports of coffee, sugar, and molasses, are very large. The bay of
Matanzas is deep and broad, and is defended by the castle of San Severino.
The harbor at the head of this bay, is curiously protected against the
swell of the sea, during the prevalence of the north-east winds, by a ledge
of rocks extending nearly across it, leaving a narrow channel on each side,
for the admission of vessels. The city is built upon a low point of land
between two small rivers, which empty themselves into the bay, and from
which so heavy a deposit of mud has been made, as materially to lessen the
capacity of the harbor. The anchorage ground for vessels is, consequently,
about half a mile from the shore, and cargoes are discharged and received
by means of lighters.
Cardenas is comparatively a new place, the first settlement having been
made less than twenty years ago. It now numbers about two thousand
inhabitants. It is finely situated at the head of a beautiful bay, fifty
miles eastward of Matanzas. This bay was once a famous resort for pirates,
who, secure from observation, or winked at by the well-feed officials,
brought in the vessels they had seized, drove them ashore on the rocks, and
then claimed their cargoes as wreckers, the murdered crews not being able
to claim even a salvage for their rightful owners. In the exhibition of
scenes like this, the bay of Cardenas was not alone, or singular. Many an
over-hanging cliff, and dark inlet of that blood-stained shore, could tell
a similar tale.
The rail-road from this place to Bemba, eighteen miles distant, passes
through a beautiful tract of country, and affords to the traveller a view
of some of the most picturesque scenery that is to be found in the island.
Owing to its fine harbor, and its facilities of communication with the rich
tract of country lying behind it, this place will become a formidable rival
to Matanzas, when its port shall be thrown open to foreign commerce. At
present, there is no custom house here, and all the produce is transported
in lighters to Matanzas or Havana, to be sold. It has not depth of water
for the largest class of vessels, but the greater part of those usually
employed in the West India trade, can be well accommodated.
Puerto del Principe, situated in the interior of the island, about midway
between its northern and southern shores, and more than four hundred miles
eastward from Havana, contains a population of twenty-four
thousand--fourteen thousand being whites, and about six thousand slaves.
This district is celebrated for the excellent flavor of its cigars. It is a
place of considerable importance, and the residence of a
lieutenant-governor.
Santiago de Cuba, is on the southern coast, about one hundred miles from
the eastern extremity of the island, and nearly seven hundred south-east of
Havana. Its population is twenty-five thousand, of whom nearly ten thousand
are whites, and eight thousand slaves. It has a fine, capacious harbor,
scarcely second to that of Havana, and strongly defended by a castle, and
several inferior batteries. It has a large trade in sugar, coffee, and
molasses. About twelve miles from the city, westward, is the town of
Santiago del Prade, near which the rich copper mines, before mentioned, are
situated, giving employment in one way or another, to nearly all of its two
thousand inhabitants.
Bayamo, or St. Salvador,--sixty miles west of Santiago, numbers nearly ten
thousand souls. Manzanilla, thirty miles south from this, has three
thousand.
Trinidad de Cuba, two hundred miles further west, and about two hundred and
fifty from Havana, has a population of thirteen thousand, of whom six
thousand are whites, and four thousand five hundred, free colored.
Espiritu Santo, thirty-five miles eastward from Trinidad, has less than ten
thousand inhabitants in the city, and thirty-four thousand in the whole
district, of whom twenty-two thousand are whites, a very unusual proportion
in these islands.
In their general features, in the style of the buildings, in the character
of the people, their occupations, modes of living, customs of society,
etc., etc., all these places bear a close resemblance to each other,
varying only in location, and the lay of the land, and the forms of the
rivers and bays about them.
The government of Cuba is a military despotism, whose edicts are enforced
by an armed body of more than twelve thousand soldiers. The Captain General
is appointed by the crown of Spain, and is a kind of vice-roy, exercising
the functions of commander-in-chief of the army, Governor of the western
province of the island, President of the provincial assembly, etc. The
present incumbent, Don Leopold O'Donnell, enjoys a great share of
popularity. He holds no civil jurisdiction over the eastern province, of
which Santiago is the capital. The governor of that province is entirely
independent of the Captain General, except in military matters, and is
amenable only to the court of Madrid.
The Intendente, Count Villa Nueva, recently re-instated in that office, is
said to be very desirous to ameliorate the burdens of the planting
interest; and in his efforts to secure this result, he has evinced the good
sense and prudence, which are usually followed with success. His integrity
and talents, together with the fact that he is the only "native" who was
ever exalted to high official rank, have secured for him the unbounded
confidence and affection of the people. His power is distinct from that of
the Governor, and is in no way dependent upon it. He exercises certain
legal rights, such as the entire control of the imports and exports, and
is, in fact, the sole manager of all the financial concerns of the colony.
By this arrangement, the purse and the sword are entirely separated, and
the dangers to be apprehended from the abuse of power, greatly diminished.
No attempt to illustrate the position, resources, and character of Cuba, at
the present time, would do justice to its subject, or to the feelings of
its author, without an honorable and grateful mention of the name of Tacon.
And no one who has visited the island, or who feels any interest in its
welfare, or any regard for the lives and fortunes of those who hold
commercial intercourse with its inhabitants, can withhold from the memory
of that truly great and good man, the well-earned tribute of admiration
and gratitude. He was a rare example of wisdom and benevolence, firmness
and moderation, and seems to have been raised up by Providence, and
qualified for the peculiar exigency of his time. He has, no doubt, been
eminently useful in other stations in his native land; else he would never
have been known to his monarch, as fitted for the difficult task assigned
him here. But, if he had never acted any other part on the stage of
life--if the term of his public and private usefulness had been limited to
the brief period of his chief magistracy in Cuba, he had won a fame nobler
than that of princes, fairer, worthier, and more enduring than that of the
proudest conquerors earth ever saw. The memorial of such a man can never be
found in marble, or in epitaph. It is written in the prosperity of a
people, and of the nations with whom they hold commercial intercourse. It
lives, and should for ever live, in the gratitude, admiration and reverence
of mankind.
When General Tacon was appointed Governor General of Cuba, Havana was
literally a den of thieves, a nursery of the foulest crimes, a school where
the blackest conceptions of which the human heart is capable, and the most
diabolical inventions of mischief, were not only seen to escape punishment,
but were officially tolerated and encouraged. A spirit of venality and
almost incredible corruption prevailed in the judicial and financial
departments; and the subaltern magistrates, if not actual partakers, by
receiving their share of the booty, connived at every variety of robbery
and plunder. No natural or civil rights were regarded--no one's life or
property was held sacred. Murders in the open street, and under the broad
blaze of a sunlit sky, were fearlessly committed; slaves and pirates
unblushingly perambulated the streets, discussing their fiendish
machinations, and perpetrating deeds of darkness, over which humanity
should weep. Specie transported from one part of the city to another,
required the protection of an armed force. Such was the aspect, and such
the lamentable state of affairs, both public and private, in Havana, at the
time that Tacon came into power. The measures adopted by him for the
introduction of order and the purification of the whole political system,
were no less wise and judicious, than his fearlessness, promptness and
perserverance in enforcing them, were deserving of the highest
commendation. His labors were truly Herculean, and his success in cleansing
this Augean stable most signal.
During his elevation to power, which continued four years, the aspect of
things in Havana was completely changed. Order supplanted confusion, and
wholesome authority succeeded to anarchy and misrule. Individuals became
secure in the possession of life and property; strangers and foreigners no
longer felt themselves surrounded by lawless bandits, and compelled, by the
absence of law, order and discipline, to take the law into their own hands,
or abandon, at the first appearance of violence, the protection of their
rights, property and life. The man who formerly walked abroad in Havana,
was forced to feel, and to act accordingly: that "his hand was against
every man, and every man's against him."
This Solon of Cuba was the originator and promoter of most of the principal
improvements which now adorn the city and surrounding country, many of
which bear his name. This bloodless revolution was accomplished without any
additional public expense or burdensome tax upon the people, by a wise
administration and righteous application of the ordinary resources of the
government. Such, and more, were the blessings bestowed upon Cuba by Tacon.
Such are the glorious results of the public career of one whose highest
ambition and whose proudest aim seemed to be, the elevation of his
countrymen--the welfare, security and happiness of mankind. As we honor and
revere the names of Washington and La Fayette, so should the dwellers on
that island ever love and cherish the name of the illustrious Tacon. At the
expiration of four years, he voluntarily retired to Spain, and was
succeeded in the government by General Espeleta. "May the shadow of Tacon
never be less;" or, as they say in his own native tongue, "_viva usted
muchos anos_."
The commerce of Cuba is with the world; yet its importance as a trading
mart is chiefly realized by its nearest neighbor, the United States. Its
annual imports and exports, which nearly balance each other, amount to
about twenty-five millions of dollars each. Of the imports, during the last
year, which may be taken as a fair average, it received five millions two
hundred and forty thousand dollars, or more than one-fifth, from the United
States. Of the exports, during the same period, we received nine millions
nine hundred and thirty thousand dollars, within a fraction of two-fifths.
In addition to this, its commerce with the different ports of Europe, South
America, and other parts of the world, furnished profitable freights to a
large number of our carrying ships, and employment to our hardy seamen. We
are in duty bound, therefore, to regard this miniature continent, hanging
on our southern border, with a favorable eye, and to cultivate with it the
most neighborly relations.
It is true, we have had some cause of complaint in our intercourse
hitherto, and we may not soon look for its entire removal. The imposts upon
our productions are severe and disproportionate, the port-charges onerous,
and the incidental exactions unreasonable and vexatious. We are often
subjected to frivolous delays, and unjust impositions, in the adjustment of
difficulties at the custom house, and in the recovery of debts in the
courts of law. We have also, in times past, been severe sufferers from the
depredations of well known and almost licensed pirates, who, in open day,
and under the walls of the castle, have plundered our property, and
butchered our seamen. Still, with all the offsets which the most ingenious
grumbler could array, we owe much to the "Queen of the Antilles," and
_might_ have more occasion for regret, than for gratulation, should she
ever be transferred to the crown of England, or annexed to the territories
of the United States. If her people were prepared for self-government--if
the incongruous elements of society there could, by any possibility,
amalgamate and harmonize, the establishment of an independent government
would doubtless promote her own happiness, and benefit us and the world.
The luxuriant plains, and valleys, and hill-sides of this beautiful isle,
have capacities amply sufficient to sustain a population ten times as large
as that which it now contains. Burdened, and almost crashed under the
weight of their own taxes, ruled with a rod of iron, and held in almost
slavish subjection by the bristling bayonets of a mercenary foreign
soldiery, who, under the pretence of defending them from invasion or
insurrection, eat out their substance, and rivet their chains--the million
who now reside there, with the exception of a few overgrown estates among
the planters and merchants, find, for the most part, a miserable
subsistence. There is probably no class of people in any portion of the
United States, so miserably poor and degraded, as the mass of the Monteros
and free blacks of Cuba. Give them a fostering government, and free
institutions, educate them, make men of them, and throw wide open to all
the avenues to comfort, wealth and distinction--and there is no spot on the
face of the globe that would sustain a denser population than this.
The exports from the United States to Cuba consist of lumber of various
kinds, codfish, rice, bacon, lard, candles, butter, cheese. The first two
articles are almost exclusively from the Northern States, the third from
the Southern, the remainder from all. The imports hence are of all the
productions of the island.
The cause of education in this lovely land is lamentably low. In the large
cities and towns, respectable provision is made for the wants of the young
in this respect. The Royal University at Havana, embracing among its
advantages, schools of medicine and law, offers very considerable
facilities to the industrious student. There are also several other lesser
institutions in the city, with schools, public and private, for teaching
the elementary branches of a common education. Some of these are tolerably
well sustained; but the range they afford, and the talent they command, is
comparatively so limited, that most of those who are able to bear the
expense, prefer sending their sons to the United States or Europe, to
complete their education.
No other place in the island is so well provided in this respect as the
capital. Arrangements are made, in most of the towns and interior
districts, for gratuitous instruction. In some cases, this provision is
wholly inadequate. In others, it is regarded with indifference by the class
for whose benefit it is designed. Their abject poverty and destitution of
the common comforts of life, seems to cramp all their energies, and
dishearten them from any attempt to better the condition of their children.
And, indeed, under their present civil and political institutions, but few
advances could be made, even if the people were ambitious to improve. For
the government, like all despotisms, is jealous of the intelligence of its
subjects, well knowing that a reading, thinking people must and will be
free.
Cuba was the fifth of the great discoveries of Columbus, and by far the
most important of the islands he visited. San Salvador, Conception, Exuma
and Isabella, which he had already seen and named, were comparatively small
and of little note, though so rich and beautiful, that they seemed to the
delighted imagination of the discoverer, the archipelago of Paradise, or
the "islands of the blest." It is very remarkable, that, though he skirted
the whole of the southern, and more than half the northern coast of Cuba,
following its windings and indentations more than twelve hundred miles,
till he was fully convinced that it was a part of a great continent, and
not an island; yet he made no attempt to occupy it, or to plant a colony
there. It was not even visited during his life-time, and he died in the
full conviction that it was not an island. He gave it the name of Juana, in
honor of the young prince John, heir to the crowns of Castile and Leon. It
afterwards received the name of Fernandina, by order of the king in whose
name it was occupied and held. But the original designation of the natives
finally prevailed over both the Spanish ones, which were long since laid
aside. It is understood to be derived from the Indian name of a tree, which
abounded in the island.
In 1511, about five years after the death of Columbus, his son and
successor, Diego, in the hope of obtaining large quantities of gold, which
was then growing scarce in Hispaniola, sent Don Diego Velasquez, an
experienced and able commander, of high rank and fortune, to take
possession of Cuba. Panfilo de Narvaez was the second in command in this
expedition. The names of both these knights are conspicuous in the
subsequent history of Spanish discovery and conquest, in the islands, and
on the continent, but more especially in their relation to Cortes, the
great conqueror of Mexico.
The inhabitants of Cuba, like those of Hispaniola, and some of the other
islands, were a peaceful effeminate race, having no knowledge of the arts
of war, and fearing and reverencing the Spaniards as a superior race of
beings descended from above. They submitted, without opposition, to the
yoke imposed upon them. It was for the most part, a bloodless conquest,
yielding few laurels to the proud spirits who conducted it, but rich in
the spoils of spiritual warfare to the kind-hearted and devoted Las Casas,
subsequently Bishop of Chiapa, who accompanied the army in all its marches,
the messenger of peace and salvation to the subjugated Indians. According
to the record of this good father, the indefatigable missionary of the
cross, only one chief residing on the eastern part of the island, offered
any resistance to the invaders; and _he_ was not a native, but an emigrant
from Hispaniola, whence he had recently escaped, with a few followers, from
the cruel oppression of their new masters, to find repose on the peaceful
shores of Cuba. Alarmed and excited by the appearance of the Spanish ships
approaching his new found retreat, Hatuey called his men together, and in
an eloquent and animated speech, urged them to a desperate resistance, in
defence of their homes and their liberty. With scornful irony, he assured
them that they would not be able successfully to defend themselves, if they
did not first propitiate the god of their their enemies. "Behold him here,"
said he, pointing to a vessel filled with gold, "behold the mighty
divinity, whom the white man adores, in whose service he ravages our
country, enslaves us, our wives and our children, and destroys our lives at
his pleasure. Behold the god of your cruel enemies, and invoke his aid to
resist them." After some slight ceremonies of invocation, in imitation of
the rites of Christian worship, which they had learned from their
oppressors, they cast the gold into the sea, that the Spaniards might not
quarrel about it, and prepared for their defence. They fought desperately,
resolved rather to die in battle, than submit to the cruel domination of
the invaders. They were nearly all destroyed. The Cacique Hatuey was taken
prisoner, and condemned to be burned alive, in order to strike terror into
the minds of the other chiefs and their people. In vain did the benevolent
missionary protest against the cruel, unchristian sacrifice. He labored
diligently to convert the poor cacique to the Christian faith, urging him
most affectionately to receive baptism, as the indispensable requisite for
admission to heaven. His reply is one of the most eloquent and bitterly
taunting invectives on record. Enquiring if the white men would go to
heaven, and being answered in the affirmative, he replied--"then I will not
be a christian, for I would not willingly go where I should find men so
cruel." He then met his death with heroic fortitude, or rather with that
stoical indifference, which is a common characteristic of the aborigines of
America; preferring even a death of torture to a life of servitude,
especially under the hated Spaniards, who had shown themselves as incapable
of gratitude, as they were destitute of pity, and the most common
principles of justice.
The army met with no further opposition. The whole island submitted quietly
to their sway, and the unresisting inhabitants toiled, and died, and wasted
away under the withering hand of oppression. It is probable, from all
accounts, that the population, at the time of the conquest, was nearly, if
not quite as great, as it is at the present time; though some of the
Spanish chroniclers, to cover the cruelty of so dreadful a sacrifice,
greatly reduce the estimate. Whatever were their numbers, however, they
disappeared like flowers before the chilling blasts of winter. Unaccustomed
to any kind of labor, they fainted under the heavy exactions of their
cruel and avaricious task-masters. Diseases, hitherto unknown among them,
were introduced by their intercourse with the strangers; and, in a few
years, their fair and beautiful inheritance was depopulated, and left to
the undisputed possession of the merciless intruders.
In four years after the subjugation, Velasques had laid the foundation of
seven cities, the sites of which were so well selected, that they still
remain the principal places in the colony, with the exception of Havana,
which was originally located on the southern shore, near Batabano, but
afterwards abandoned on account of its supposed unhealthiness. Its present
site, then called the port of Carenas, was selected and occupied in 1519.
So much has been said of the impregnable strength of Havana, that I shall
venture, at some risk of repetition, as well of being out of place with my
remarks, to say a few words more on that point. The position of the Moro,
the Cabanas, and the fortress on the opposite eminence, has been
sufficiently illustrated. I know not that any thing could be added to these
fortifications, to make them more perfect, in any respect, than they are.
They confer upon Havana a just claim to be called, as it has been, "The
Gibraltar of America." In effecting this, nature has combined with art, in
a beautiful and masterly manner, so that the stranger is struck, at the
first glance, with the immense strength of the place, and the thought of
surprising or storming it, would seem to be little short of madness.
But let it be remembered that the _impregnable_ Gibraltar was successfully
attacked, and is now in possession of the conquerors. The _inaccessible_
heights of Abraham were scaled in a night, and Quebec still remains to show
what seeming impossibilities courage and skill united can achieve.
With the exception of the Moro, all the great fortifications at Havana, are
of comparatively recent construction. They have been erected since the
memorable seige of 1762, when, after one of the most desperate and
sanguinary conflicts on record, the English fleet and army succeeded in
capturing the city. The Spaniards say, that the final and successful sortie
was made in the afternoon, while their generals was taking their
_siesta_--a cover for the shame of defeat, about as transparent as that of
the Roman sentinels at the tomb of Christ, whom the wily priests induced to
declare, that "his disciples stole him away while they slept." There is no
question, however, that, notwithstanding the great strength of this place,
and its entire safety from any attack by sea, it could be assailed with
effect, by the landing of efficient forces in the rear, in the same manner
as these other places, just mentioned, were taken, and as the French have
recently succeeded in capturing Algiers.