The History of Cuba, vol. 5

by Willis Fletcher Johnson

The rich, narrow, deep soiled vales among the tangled mountains that cover the eastern extremity of the province are especially adapted to the growth of cacao, but in spite of most satisfactory returns most of the farmers of Cuba seem to prefer life in the open potreros, with its cultivation of sugar cane and care of live stock, to that of comparative retirement, imposed upon those who devote themselves to coffee and cacao in the mountainous districts. Cacao, nevertheless, owing to the more extensive manufacture of chocolate in all parts of the world, is in increasing demand, and it is practically certain that the near future will bring immigrants from mountainous countries, who will find the cultivation of both coffee and cacao to their liking, as well as to their permanent profit.

But very little tobacco is grown in Oriente, aside from that which has long been cultivated on the banks of the Mayari River. In the neighborhood of the little village bearing that name, considerable tobacco of an inferior grade has been grown for many years, The German Government up to the blockading of her ports in 1914, consumed almost the entire Mayari crop, the soldiers of that country seeming to prefer it to any other tobacco.

More valuable timber grows in the interior of Oriente than in any other part of Cuba, and much of it will probably remain standing until more economical methods are introduced by which logs can be conveyed to the coast for shipment. Large amounts of cedar and mahogany are exported every year from Oriente, especially from the valley of Sagua de Tanamo, which empties into Tanamo Bay on the north coast.

Several American colonies have been located in the different parts of this province, most of them devoting their energies to the growing of fruits and vegetables that are shipped to northern markets from the terminus of the railroad at Antilla, on Nipe Bay. Some of them, too, have built up stock farms that are giving splendid results.

Owing to the size of the province, and its comparatively few inhabitants, greater opportunities for colonization are found here than in the western end of the Island. Thousands of acres of magnificent lands, at present owned in huge tracts, are still available for purchase and division into small farms. These would furnish homes for families that might be brought from Italy and the Canary Islands greatly to the profit of the Republic itself as well as to the immigrants. People of this class are especially desired in Oriente, and every effort is being made by the Government to encourage their immigration, since energy, combined with a fair degree of intelligence, on the rich lands of this section of Cuba, can result only in success.

The mineral wealth of Oriente is undoubtedly greater than that of any of the other provinces. Although both iron and copper have been mined here for many years, the mineral zones of the Island have never been fully exploited, or even intelligently prospected, by men familiar with the mining industry. Copper was discovered by the early Spanish conquerors and mined at El Cobre, in the early years of the 16th century. The ore deposits of this mine have never been exhausted, and are still worked with profit. The same mineral has been discovered in other sections of the province, but owing to lack of transportation facilities, but little effort has been made towards mining it. The Spanish Iron Company, for more than a half century, has been taking iron ore from the sides of the mountains on the coast, just east of the city of Santiago de Cuba, and shipping it from the port of Daquiri.

These mines are in the form of terraces, that are cut into the sides of the mountains, so that the ore can be easily withdrawn and shipped to the United States for smelting purposes. These properties have recently changed hands, and with the investment of greater capital will soon be put into a still higher state of production.

Perhaps the most profitable iron mines in the Republic are those owned by the Bethlehem Steel Company, in the Valley of the Mayari, some eighteen or twenty miles back from the coast. The mineral here is easily removed from the surface, and sent by gravity down to the large reducing mills on the shore of the Bay, where most of the waste material is washed out with water. The iron ore of Oriente is of a very high grade and is impregnated with a sufficient amount of nickel to add greatly to its value.

The recent demand for chrome, brought about by the enormous increase in the consumption of steel in the United States, brought the chrome districts of the world, including those of Cuba, into considerable prominence. The great shortage of tonnage, too, made it inconvenient to bring chrome from Brazil. Recent investigations made in Cuba, however, demonstrated the fact that this Province alone, with the investment of a few hundred thousand dollars in road building, can supply the mills of the United States with all the chrome and manganese needed for the development of the steel industries. Several manganese mines are being worked at the present time, most of them on the northern slope of the Sierra Maestra, whence the ore is conveyed by rail to Santiago de Cuba and shipped to Atlantic ports, where the demand is greatest.

The development of the mining industry in Oriente has hardly begun, but with the enormous amount of iron and copper that will be needed for building purposes throughout the world in the near future, there is every reason to believe that this province will have an opportunity to open up and to work many of her mines, with very satisfactory returns on the capital invested.