Our War with Spain for Cuba's Freedom

by Trumbull White

CHAPTER VI.

BEAUTIES OF A TROPICAL ISLAND.

A Delightful Climate—Grand Scenic Surprises—The Caves of
Bellamar—The Valley of the Yumuri—Under Nature's Dome—Gorgeous
Sunsets—The Palm Tree Groves—The Home of Fruits and Flowers—
The Zodiacal Light.

When the little island of Cuba, "The Pearl of the Antilles," was assigned a place upon the terrestrial globe, Nature must have been in her most generous mood. Certainly no land beneath the skies was given a more perfect combination of mountains and rivers, forests and plains. Situated within and near the border of the northern tropical zone, the temperature of the low coast lands is that of the torrid zone, but the high interior of the island enjoys a delightful climate, and the verdure-clad hills, with the graceful palm and cocoa tree clear against the pure blue sky, may be seen at all seasons of the year.

As in other countries on the borders of the tropics, the year is divided between a hot and wet season, corresponding to the northern declination of the sun, and a cool and dry period. The months from the beginning of May to October are called the wet season, though some rain falls in every month of the year.

With May, spring begins in the island, rain and thunder are of almost daily occurrence, and the temperature rises high, with little daily variation. The period from November to April is called the dry season by contrast.

On a mean of seven years the rain-fall at Havana in the wet season has been observed to be 27.8 inches, of the dry months, 12.7, or 40.5 inches for the year.

July and August are the warmest months, and during this period the average temperature at Havana is 82 F, fluctuating between a maximum of 88 and a minimum of 76. In the cooler months of December and January the thermometer averages 72, the maximum being 78, and minimum 58. The average temperature of the year at Havana on a mean of seven years is 77.

But in the interior, at elevations of over 300 feet above the level of the sea, the thermometer occasionally falls to the freezing point in winter. Frost is not uncommon, and during north winds, thin ice may form, though snow is unknown in any part of the island.

The prevailing wind is the easterly trade breeze, but from November to February, cool north winds, rarely lasting more than forty-eight hours, are experienced in the western part of the island, to which they add a third seasonal change. Hurricanes may occur from August to October, but they are rare and sometimes five or six years pass without such a storm.

GRAND SCENIC SURPRISES.

Many "globe-trotters" who have never included this little corner of the world in their itinerary, do not appreciate the fact that nowhere under the sun can be found a more perfect climate, grander mountain scenery, more charming valleys, more picturesque ruins, and fertile fields than Cuba offers to their view.

In another portion of this work will be found descriptions of the cities of Cuba, and brief mention here of some of the beauties of the country may not be amiss.

One of the grandest bits of scenery in the known world is to be found in the valley of the Yumuri, rivaling in sublimity the far-famed Lookout Mountain view and the Yosemite of the Sierra Nevadas. The journey leads over a winding trail, easily traversed by the native horses, up a steep hill, until, after a continuous climb of an hour and a half, the road turns around the edge of a grassy precipice, and the beautiful valley, with its patches of green and gold, spreads away in the distance. The little river of Yumuri winds its way through its flower-decked banks until it reaches the bay beyond, while in the distance rise the mighty mountains, clod in their coats of evergreen, and over all the fleecy clouds, and the sky of azure blue.

In this vicinity an opportunity is given the sight-seer to visit a sugar house and gain an idea of the sugar-making process, though on a very small scale, and enjoy a half an hour in the study of the natives, and their home life.

A traveler, in writing of this place, says:

"Our interview with the little black 'ninos' was highly amusing. On entering the court yard of the negro quarters, a dozen little black imps, of all ages and sexes and sizes, perfectly naked, rushed towards us, and crossing their arms upon their breasts, fell upon their knees before us, and jabbered and muttered, out of which could be distinguished, 'Master, master, give us thy blessing,' which we interpreted to mean 'tin;' whereupon we scattered sundry 'medios' among them! Hey! presto! what a change! The little black devils fell over one another, fought, tugged, and scrambled to secure a prize, while anyone who had been lucky enough to obtain a coin, marched off in a state of dignified delight, his distended little stomach going before him like a small beer barrel, while the owner of it kept shouting out, 'Medio, yo tengo medio' (five cents, I have five cents)."

THE CAVES OF BELLAMAR.

One of the most interesting trips that can be made is to the "Caves of Bellamar," which may be found about two and a half miles southeast of the city of Matanzas.

The journey takes the traveler up a winding and rugged road to the top of a hill, where the "Cave house" is reached, a large frame structure built over the entrance, and containing, among other objects of interest, a large collection of beautiful crystal formations found in the cave.

Here the tourist enters his name in the visitors' register, pays his dollar, and follows the boy guide down the stairs into the cave. About one hundred and fifty feet from the entrance a small bridge is crossed, and the "Gothic Temple" is reached. The only light comes from a few scattered lanterns, and is consequently very obscure, but one can see the millions of crystals, the thousand weird forms, and realize that it is surpassingly beautiful. The temple is about two hundred feet in length and seventy feet in width, and while it does not equal in size or solemn grandeur the temple of the same name in the Mammoth cave of Kentucky, it greatly excels it in the richness and splendor of its crystal formations and beautiful effects.

The spectator possessed of strongly developed imaginative powers cannot fail to feel himself in fairy land. From the gloomy corners come gnomes and demons, and in the crystal shadows he sees sprites and lovely fairies, keeping gay revel to dreamy airs, played on invisible strings by spirit hands.

One of the most beautiful objects in the cave is the "Fountain of
Snow," a name given to one of the great pillars, called by the
natives the "Cloak of the Virgin." Others are known as "Columbus
Mantle," "The Altar," and "The Guardian Spirit."

"Who has not seen the Caves of Bellamar has not seen Cuba."

UNDER NATURE'S DOME.

One of the most vivid pieces of descriptive writing, referring to the beauties of Cuban skies, is from the pen of James M. Phillippo:

"The splendor of the early dawn in Cuba, as in the tropical islands in its vicinity, has been referred to. The whole sky is often so resplendent that it is difficult to determine where the orb of day will appear. Small fleecy clouds are often seen floating on the north wind, and as they hover over the mountains and meet the rays of the sun, are changed into liquid gold and a hundred intensely beautiful dyes more splendid than the tints of the rainbow. During the cooler months, the mornings are delightful till about ten o'clock, the air soon after dawn becoming agreeably elastic, and so transparent that distant objects appear as if delineated upon the bright surface of the air; the scenery everywhere, especially when viewed from an eminence, is indescribably rich and glowing; the tops of the rising grounds and the summits of the mountains are radiant with a flood of light, while the vapor is seen creeping along the valleys, here concealing the entrance to some beautiful glen, and there wreathing itself fantastically around a tall spire or groves of palm trees that mark the site of a populous village.

"The finest and most gorgeous sunsets occur in the West Indian Archipelago during the rainy seasons. The sky is then sublimely mantled with gigantic masses of cloud, glowing with a thousand gorgeous dyes, and seeming to collect at the close of day as though to form a couch for the sun's repose. In these he sinks, flooding them with glory, touching both heavens and earth with gold and amber brightness long after he has flung his beams across the other hemisphere, or perhaps half revealing himself through gauze-like clouds, a crimson sphere, at once rayless and of portentous size.

"The azure arch, which by an optical illusion limits our view on every side, seems here, and in the tropics generally, higher than in England, even higher than in Italy. Here is seen, in a perfection compared to which even Italian skies are vapid and uninteresting, that pure, serene, boundless sky, that atmosphere of clear blue, or vivid red, which so much contributes to enrich the pencil of Claude Lorraine. The atmosphere of Cuba, as everywhere within the tropics, except when the high winds prevail, is so unpolluted, so thin, so elastic, so dry, so serene, and so almost inconceivably transparent and brilliant, that every object is distinct and clearly defined as if cut out of the clear blue sky. All travelers agree in praising the calm depths of the intensely blue and gloriously bright skies of inter-tropical latitudes. In the temperate zone, it is estimated that about 1,000 stars are visible to the naked eye at one time; but here, from the increased elevation and wider extent of the vault, owing to the clearness of the atmosphere, especially as seen from a high mountain chain, the number is greatly augmented. If, however, these luminaries may not be seen here in greater numbers, they certainly shine with greater brilliancy. The different constellations are indeed so greatly magnified as to give the impression that the power of the eye is increased. Venus rises like a little moon, and in the absence of the greater casts a distinguishable shadow.

"The Milky Way, which in the temperate zone has the appearance of a luminous phosphorescent cloud, and, as is well known, derives its brightness from the diffused light of myriads of stars condensed into so small space that fifty thousand of them are estimated to pass across the disc of the telescope in an hour, is here seen divided into constellations, and the whole galaxy is of so dazzling a whiteness as to make it resemble a pure flame of silvery light thrown across the heavens, turning the atmosphere into a kind of green transparency. Besides this, there are vast masses of stellar nebulae of indefinite diversity and form, oval, oblate, elliptical, as well as of different degrees of density, diffused over the firmament, and discoverable through a common telescope, all novel to an inhabitant of temperate climes, and recalling the exclamation of the psalmist: 'The heavens declare the glory of God, … the firmament showeth forth His handiwork.'

"'The stars
Are elder scripture, writ of God's own hand,
Scripture authentic, uncorrupt by man.'

"An interesting phenomenon sometimes occurs here, as in other islands of the West Indies, which was long supposed to be seen only in the eastern hemisphere. A short time before sunrise or sunset, a flush of strong, white light, like that of the Aurora Borealis, extends from the horizon a considerable way up the zenith, and so resembles the dawn as to prove greatly deceptive to a stranger. As he watches the luminous track he sees it decrease instead of becoming more vivid, and at length totally disappear, leaving the heavens nearly as dark as previous to its appearance. This is the zodiacal light."