Show NORTHERN COAST OF CUBA july 1898 continuing our journey around the edges of aba about twelve hours sailing bailing northwesterly from baracca baracoa Bara Baxa coa brought us to gibara albara another port of leeal consequence though comparative ly unknown to the world at large no ather island of its size has so many ports and sheltered landings as cuba more than all told half of them ug are accessible to vessels of eight hundred and a thousand tons and several to ships of any size though gibara is in wy only fifty miles from point faial at the iha eastern end following the undulating shore line it is a f ull full degree farther north owing to the lay of the 1 I land by the way many people find it hard to understand how cuba stretching long and narrow between the mexican gulf and the caribbean sea can present such differences of climate why tor for example santiago on the south shore can be so much hotter than havana on the north when the island Is nowhere more than forty miles wide they fall to take into account that thai cuba to is almost crescent shaped ana that a curved line miles long drawn through its center extends through three and a halt half degress of latitude the difference between havana aha ad santiago being about the same as between boston and M memphis emphis gibara is often begun with a 3 but in either case is pronounced as it if spelled he bah rah it is the port or of the important interior town of holguin connected therewith by the old camino real or royal road built by the early spaniards and all around holguin lie rich sugar coffee and tobacco lands the steamers that make this circuit or the island irl im time of peace stop here a whole dayi day taking on cargo so that the tourist has ample time to inspect all its points of interest most historians tor to rians lans you know mention this as the first landing place of columbus in cuba and it t is not unlikely owing to its relative position to the island of the mid bahamas whence he came the approach to gibara is most picturesque with detached mountains looming dam above green forests and low hills the open bayl is partially sheltered by sand muffs bluffs from the white crested waves that break outside and off the harbor rise the four tall peaks which columbus mentioned in his journey as conspicuous landmarks though very capacious Pix fous the bay is not deep enough vj ic allow vessels to approach its wharves so ao they have to anchor some distance bitt outside dide and be loaded by lighters the entrance is guarded by a tiny tori fort whose two or three antiquated gun keep up a brave show of defiance but which looks as if a good strong breeze to say nothing of a cannonball cannon ball would scatter it over the adjacent country the town presents that desolate halt ruined mined aspect common to so many outlying settlements of cuba which since fame out of mind have been harrasser harr assed equally by mountain robbers and insurgent bands A high wall has been built around the inside of gibara fox foi defense against the patriots but it cloea 8 not noi seem to have been much more effective than the cardboard fort in front there is a little plaza with a few palm trees in it a quaint olo ola church a new caal casino noa a theates and a dozen shops but the dwella dwelling ng houses bouses are few and shabby and the gan eral aral aspect of the place to is decidedly down doh at heel at the time of m m three months montha ago the ci citizens looked hungry and discouraged enough and heaven knows how they may be fairing today shut off by land and sea from communication with the world at albara the connoisseur in canes may indulge his fancy in some odd specimens one variety in particular eular is worth orth see seeking laing far and wide it is made from the skin of that strange gregarious squat in animal the manati sea cow or sea lion as he is variously called which frequents these shores as nowhere else in the west indies any daylou day you may see a herd of them floundering clumsily in the marshes around gibara point at first glance the sea cow looks like a chesapeake day bay porpoise only it Is much too large then you think li it must be a whale but who ever saw a whale eating grass and then noticing the hand shaped flippers or rore bore alne and the queer projections curved like horns over the eyes you recognize the far famed manatee whose species are extremely rare on this side of the globe but abound in the indian ocean and on the shores of africa in the east they are hunted for their food and fat and here their tough hides serve as many useful purposes as the papier mache of china and japan in some way known only to the naives daives manati skins are converted into canes beautifully mottled trans barnet as glass and strong as steel when mounted in gold or silver they cost at gibara from 10 to 20 gold but in havana if you find them at all they will be as high as 50 another beautiful cane is made in the coast villages of eastern cuba from the shells of a very large turtle the shell is boiled to a thin liquid into which a strong straight stick of proper length is dipped after being allowed to harden the process is repeated again and again until the required thickness is attained then the outer coating is sand papered to a brilliant polish headed and is ready for market it has the appearance of solid tor tolse toise shell and readily sells for five dollars and upward the planters in the grassy plains beyond holguin raise many cattle and usually while waiting in gibara bay for the taking on of cargo you art are treated to a spectacle which rivals the spanish bullfight bull fight in cruelty it is the cuban method of loading animals A lighter filled with cattle comets alongside along side the steamer and makes fast a rope is thrown down one end or which is attached to the steamers hoisting and at the other in a running noose the noose is thrown over t the e horns of an unfortunate animal the he winch is started to tighten the knot and then with sudden jerk goes ahead at full speed hoisting the unhappy beast high in the air sometimes there are two animals in the same noose frantically pawing each other and the tortures they undergo can only be dimly imagined a as the cruel rope tightens around their horns homa and cuts into the flesh by the terrible strain of their wel weight glit often the horne horna are actually pulled from their sockets and the poor beast drops into the sea otherwise hoisting to a sufficient height they ivre afre swung up over the deck spinning round and round like tuge huge tops until dropped heavily upon uhe the deck where they lie awhile stunned and motionless though so ghastly a spectacle it Is characteristic of the native taste that women and children lean over the taff rall in high glee enjoying every detail as at the bullfight bull fight AL A few hours 18 after the headlands bead badlands lands of gibara had faded fron from sight eight we oame into the historic bay of Nue nuevitas vitas its entrance is through a river with uni banks like a winding canyon fy four ur r five miles long which widens out its course into two bays the e first at Is named MaY acebo the second nae vitas and into each two rivers em enmity what a glorious morning tt it was waa we awoke to find yur our ship sw inglIng anchor in the superb inner bayl bay I 1 yf was waa the very perfection of sprint weather but an april day as nor eyes have seldom seen with the boils darful blue of the sky the brighon of the verdure the purity ot the e a aninos phere the nearness of the watery speaking of this place irving says tbt athali columbus was struck witto with thie grandeur of erf its features its ita lu mountains which reminded hirn him dil sicily its fertile valleys and 10 ans promontories and stretching headlands headean 1 which melted away into remo remotest teat dd adte the inner bay is no less t thair 57 square miles in extent and the fore the discoverer named it p Pi ieria principe principal port not draag tt ing that there were several grauds grands ones along the coasts of cuba he H annj up a cross upon the nel neighboring boring be bei rand in token of possession and in i diego Vales ques and founded a aws t which he named santa maria alu w nuevitas Nue vitas now stands stand S the sad PO port rt at the extreme southern enid end rec the immense sheet olf of water aftel wards owning to the savages of a sc loial local ca lectura the dihe spaniards mi on to the indian village cabo later to Ca maguey now puerto P 45 miles inland cipe the orie rial santa maria however was never am deserted though in course of alm took on several aliases and Is ila known as san Fre frenando nandia de nuee seen from afar its white walled it hamu shining in the sun against the ge S slope lope of a palm crowned h hill it im lord like the city of a dream but ill others in neglected cula cuba tl 78 1 1 dl tance lends enchantment binl er view discloses abound abounding ing flit 1 I poverty its population number iu bern nd haps and its only 1 mpr tanAe a on the port of f entry lr fir puerto p arla alpe and the place of shipment large quantities of hides sugar ac molasses A 45 mile railway milway connee eonni the two places when roving band banaag patriots do not tear it up as chey hai done dolie a dozen times within the M three years puerto princlee cIpe pe ca caiet of the province of the same iame na nanu in the heart of the cattle field one the richest and most interesting 0 oft o of cuba as wen as tha fi farthest behind the tomps within old tempus to have forgot fugl ting and been stat standing tiding sa sm a columbus day wun with a or more it has never blaa boaster a hotel nothing better than vo posa as poor as that in which jseph mary found refuge however the i bans are so hospitably inclined 1 i they never allow a friend to put t qi public house and even str inge rs be sure of entertainment the crooked streets are mostly u and the low houses of ant architecture and shabby in the there are several old churchek churchea a num number berof of convents a thea theater ter a 1 ring and a group of more vj mo buildings tor for government offices on the whole you are inclined to that its high sounding ti titter marle marie del puerto principe la 1 rl re misfit being too large for the e f immediately west of nue the coys cays begin of them oy by count stretching all the way it Xue vitas and havana uniformly long and n glistening silver allver sands bands fri feln cocoa palms and man mangrove they are of all sizes troya froma a to in extent thel the li roman a second long ir yz latono square squaire miles but as yet t un S and entirely unused cayo calo y aasal sal the next in size supplies half cuba with its primitive saltworks salt works A few of the hie islets have an ex excellent cellen t while others axe are surrounded va inaccessible reefs not a ripple dis r the mirror like surf aice gice of the sea flea and through the crystal water the made by currents bottom atom with furrows oh the sand can be distinctly seen over the bows the boat seems to be suspended as by magic above 7 the pellucid fluid the sea garden below s illuminated by sunbeams in prismatic colors and A nd the living creatures in the vat gardens the concho with their deft openings upwards extending long leeders to catch the p passing sing prey fish et various forms and colors startled vy aw the boat from their repose among tufts of weeds and sometimes an overgrown turtle amused from his capping paddling away amid a milky of coral sand there are star aali too a foot in diameter lying mo ioto less on the bottom sponges with ic cave tops like big bowls coral in klobe like forms with myriad branchy AV B and their world of zoophytes inter ig persed amid a thousand marine standing erect on the ocean y JS what is called the boea boca mouth 3 bagua sagua s Is four leagues distant from le be real mouth of the river strewn N k with islets on some of them 6 fis fl shermen hermens touts buts with their nets ng on long poles in the sun and i r 1 b boats ats at anchor near the beach channel through the shoal water g lu i gricate and marked by si takes stakes the dot important of the latter surmount tf with a broken bottle or a fluttering V WS tied to it finally the doca boca I 1 prop er is reached amid a dense man rove av e swamp a dangerous bar is 1 4 alsed d and you emerge into what ems a a continuous canefield cane field far as ra ie eye can see with the narrow river W inning nf ning tb through rough saara saua a Is the best place I 1 know of in eh to study the prospects of cuba has bas a prosperous past a depressed eased besent nt and unbounded possibilities for ae future before the war sagua bagua frish its inhabitants was called Z I 1 ana most progressive town on the A asand and its streets axe are wider and bet afef paved its buildings fresher and ettere Ct tere re Is less the air of decay than in 7 fier r cuban cities moat of the sugar raised in santa asara province provan ce was exported from the r fiort at a t the mouth of the river twelve al t 9 dia distant tant time was not so long ab when tats was the stronghold of loyal spanish sentiment when its lAtte exis eos declared that they would rath af aae f the ted cred and yellow standard of castile tile and arragon floating over an i heap than have the island given aver to independence americans were f bently insulted here and at times 1 ss consulate barely escaped mobbing ji f t all this to is changed now the flow flaw lai ar of f families are in the r agent army and if loyalists rethey have the good sense to keep t PANNIE FANNIE BRIGHAM WARD |