That which is most to be admired in La Gloria, is the class of people who form the backbone of the colony, and who certainly came from excellent stock, proved by their successful efforts in overcoming difficulties that would have discouraged a less persevering community. The colony supports a weekly newspaper, and holds annual agricultural fairs that are a credit to the district.
The second and most serious experiment in colonization in Cuba was staged in the Isle of Pines. In the year 1900 this intrepid storm sentinel of the Caribbean offered several advantages for a successful exploitation of the American public. In spite of the fact that this Island had always formed an integral part of Cuba, it was advertised throughout the United States as American property, and the flag raised by the Government of Intervention was pointed to as a permanent asset of that particular section.
Again the promoters of this pretentious colonization scheme absolutely ignored the basic principles of success in colony work. In other words they did not take into account that not only was the Isle of Pines devoid of a first-class harbor, but that the chances of securing direct transportation between that section and the United States was decidedly remote.
Through the hypnotic influence of beautifully worded advertisements and attractive pictures, large numbers of settlers from the United States and Canada, especially from Minnesota and the Dakotas, were tempted to locate in the Isle of Pines, or to purchase property, usually on the installment plan, which they had never seen, and for which they paid exorbitant prices.
Tracts that cost from 90¢ to $1.20 per acre, were divided into 10, 20 and 40 acre farms, and sold at prices ranging from $25 in the beginning up to $75 and even $100 per acre in 1918. These prices have always been out of proportion to the quality of the soil, and the location of the land, since lands far more fertile, and within easy reach of steamers leaving Havana daily, might have been found on the mainland of Cuba, that would give the prospect of a fair chance of success in almost any agricultural undertaking.
Here again the prospective settler was advised to start citrus fruit groves, to the exclusion of forage and other crops from which immediate returns would have encouraged the farmer, and permitted him to live economically while making up his mind as to the advisability of citrus fruit culture, which is a specialized form of horticulture, requiring much technical knowledge, and a great deal of experience to insure satisfactory results.
In the Isle of Pines, as in La Gloria, while many men have been disappointed, and many families have left the country in despair, there still remains a nucleus of hard working, intelligent and enterprising men who, in spite of the disadvantages that will surround them, have made for themselves comfortable homes, and who enjoy the quiet, dreamy life that soon becomes essential to the man who remains long in the tropics.
The Isle of Pines ships a considerable amount of fruit and vegetables each year, through Havana, to markets in the United States. How often the balance may be found on the profit side of the ledger, however, is open to question. The Isle of Pines undoubtedly offers an excellent retreat for those who have become tired of the strenuous life of cities, and who prefer to pass the remainder of their days in pleasant, healthful surroundings. To do this, of course, requires an income that will insure them against any little petty annoyance that might come from a disturbing cyclone, or a low price for grape fruit in northern markets.
The enterprising promoters connected with the early colonization of the Isle of Pines made a second experiment at Herradura, in the Province of Pinar del Rio, 90 miles from the city of Havana by rail. Here they purchased some 22,000 acres of land in 1902, paying, it is said, an average price of a dollar an acre, and started the third American colony in Cuba under the name of Herradura.
In the colonization work, the old La Gloria and Isle of Pines method of advertising was faithfully followed, and with results eminently satisfactory to the promoters, most of whom have acquired comfortable fortunes, at the expense of Americans and Canadians in the United States who were anxious to find homes where they could enjoy life and perhaps prosper in the Tropics.