CUBA AND HER PEOPLE OF TO-DAY

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L. C. PAGE & COMPANY 53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass.

A CUBAN COURTSHIP.

([See page 92.])

CUBA AND HER
PEOPLE OF
TO-DAY

AN ACCOUNT OF THE
HISTORY AND PROGRESS OF THE ISLAND
PREVIOUS TO ITS INDEPENDENCE; A DESCRIPTION
OF ITS PHYSICAL FEATURES;
A STUDY OF ITS PEOPLE; AND, IN PARTICULAR,
AN EXAMINATION OF ITS PRESENT
POLITICAL CONDITIONS, ITS INDUSTRIES,
NATURAL RESOURCES, AND PROSPECTS;
TOGETHER WITH INFORMATION
AND SUGGESTIONS DESIGNED TO AID
THE PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR OR SETTLER
BY
FORBES LINDSAY
Author of “Panama and the Canal,” etc.
ILLUSTRATED FROM ORIGINAL AND SELECTED
PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR

BOSTON L. C. PAGE
AND COMPANY MDCCCCXI

Copyright, 1911
By L. C. Page & Company
(INCORPORATED)
All rights reserved
First Impression, November, 1911
Electrotyped and Printed by
THE COLONIAL PRESS
C. H. Simonds & Co., Boston, U.S.A.

TO
Henry M. Flagler, Esquire,
WHOSE INDOMITABLE ENERGY AND SPLENDID ENTERPRISE WILL
SHORTLY BRING CUBA INTO RAILROAD COMMUNICATION
WITH THE UNITED STATES, THIS VOLUME IS
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, AS A
SLIGHT TOKEN OF THE
ADMIRATION OF THE
AUTHOR.

PREFACE

So many volumes have been devoted to accounts of the history and descriptions of the physical features of Cuba, that an adequate excuse could hardly be found for an addition to them. On the other hand, the more important considerations of the Island’s natural resources, industrial development and present condition of its people, have had but scanty attention at the hands of writers.

During the past decade there has been a great increase in American emigration to Cuba and in the investment of American money there, with the result that the interest of our people in the country, which was formerly of an abstract character, has become practical and specific. There exists in the United States a wide-spread desire for information regarding the progress, prospects and present-day conditions of Cuba, which it has been my chief design to supply.

In the following pages the history and geography of the country have been sketched with special reference to their essential influence upon its development. Aside from this necessary introduction to an understanding of Cuban affairs, I have given my attention mainly to the established and prospective industries of the Island and to the fields offered by them to American capital and American settlers.

Forbes Lindsay.

Santiago de Cuba, August, 1911.

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

CUBA AND HER PEOPLE
OF TO-DAY

CHAPTER I
THE ISLAND OF CUBA

If a line were drawn directly south from Pittsburg it would almost pass through the middle of Cuba. The Island, which is the largest of the Antillean group, lies about fifty miles distant from Santo Domingo and somewhat more than eighty miles from Jamaica. Its western end nuzzles into the opening between the peninsulas of Florida and Yucatan, Key West being ninety miles from, and the nearest point of Campeche within one hundred and thirty miles of Cape San Antonio. This situation gives to Cuba a commanding position in relation to the Gulf of Mexico, the only passages to that body of water lying on either side of the Island. The strategic advantage of the location is highly important, but of less consideration than the commercial advantage. Cuba lies directly in the line of the trade routes converging upon the Tehuantepec Railroad and the Panama Canal.

The Island is a narrow strip of land, little more than one hundred miles across in its broadest portion and only about twenty miles at its narrowest. From Cape Maisi to Cape San Antonio the length of the outer coast line is seven hundred and thirty miles. In the absence of a precise survey, figures are uncertain, and estimates vary, but it is probable that the territory of the Republic, which includes the Isle of Pines and a number of outlying cayos, is somewhat less than forty-five thousand square miles in extent; an area slightly greater than that of the State of Pennsylvania.

The upper side of the Island forms a broad converse curve, with a northerly trend. It is broken by few marked irregularities. The southern coast takes a corresponding curve and in general parallels the other shore. It differs, however, in having several pronounced indentations, the largest of which are the Golfo de Buena Esperanza and the Golfo de la Broa. Along this periphery are found four or five of those peculiar pouch-like harbors which,

RIVER SCENE, ISLE OF PINES.

together with numerous coral reefs and islands of varying dimensions that fringe the shore line, are the most notable features of the Cuban coast. These cayos, or keys, fall into four distinct groups and number about one thousand three hundred. The principal line of these low lying islands extends from the Ensenado de Cardenas to the vicinity of Nuevitas, and includes Cayo Romano, seventy-four miles in length. The second line runs from Bahia Honda to Cape San Antonio. The third, which is the most numerous, forms a scattered group between the Isle of Pines and the mainland. The fourth, known as Cayos de las Doce Leguas, lies off the coast of Camaguey.

The Isle of Pines is distant sixty miles from Batabano, which is the point of communication with the mainland. Its area is about twelve hundred square miles. The northern shores of Cuba are generally characterized by rocky bluffs, which frequently rise to a height of several hundred feet. The littoral of the western bend is low, and this feature prevails along the south to Cape Cruz, with the exception of a rugged stretch of about fifty miles to the east of Cienfuegos. Save for this strip, the shore from Cape San Antonio to the mouth of the Cauto is lined with marsh of varying depth. The protuberant piece of land between the bight of the Broa and Bahia de Cochinos is entirely occupied by the great Zapata swamp, which has an area of more than two hundred square miles. It is an almost impenetrable tropical jungle of the densest vegetation, teeming with animal life. This wilderness has often afforded a safe refuge to defeated and harassed bands of insurrectos. Along the eastern butt of the island the coast is mountainous.

Topographically, the territory of Cuba comprises five distinct divisions, three of them distinctly mountainous, and two in which the surface is low, or of moderate relief. The easternmost of these divisions coincides closely to the boundaries of the Province of Oriente and is for the greater part mountainous. The second, corresponding approximately with the Province of Camaguey, is made up of plains or open rolling country, relieved by occasional hills. The third division includes the mountainous and hilly sections of Santa Clara. The fourth consists of a long stretch of flat or undulating country, accentuated here and there by elevations of several hundred feet; it includes the western portion of Santa Clara Province and the whole of the Provinces of Matanzas and Habana, as well as about one-fourth of the Province of Pinar del Rio at its eastern end. The fifth division takes in the greater part of the last-named Province, and is characterized by a well defined mountain range, with numerous detached hills and mesas. A clearer conception of the surface conformation of Cuba may be gained by a more detailed survey of its mountains and plains, without regard to the natural topographic divisions described.

The Province of Oriente contains a greater mountainous area than is to be found in all the rest of the Island. The system consists of several groups having diverse constructures, but more or less closely connected with one another. Here many peaks exceed five thousand feet and one, Pico Turquino, rises to an altitude of over eight thousand feet. The principal range is the Sierra Maestra, extending from Cape Cruz to Guantanamo Bay. Along its western end, this chain rises abruptly out of the seas, but as it approaches Santiago, recedes somewhat from the shore, leaving a narrow coastal plain. East of Guantanamo there is a range, much less unbroken and uniform than the Sierra Madre, which continues to Cape Maisi and thence along the north coast until it meets the rugged Cuchillas at Baracoa. Extending westward from this mountain mass are strings of high plateaus and mesas, forming the northern wall of the great amphitheatre which drains into Guantanamo Bay. In this northern section the most prominent feature of the system is the range comprising the Sierras Cristal and Nipe, whose general trend is east and west. To the south is a country having the character of a deeply dissected plateau. The broad, flat topped summits of so many elevations in the eastern part of Cuba lead to the belief that all the mountains in this section have been carved from a huge lofty plateau. Considered as a whole, therefore, the mountains of Oriente form two marginal ranges which merge at the east end of the Province and diverge toward the west. Between these divergent ranges lies the broad, undulating expanse famous as the valley of the Cauto, which widens as it stretches westward and ultimately merges with the more extensive plains of Camaguey.

The central mountainous region of Cuba is situated in the Province of Santa Clara. This system consists of four groups having a general direction toward north and south and at

THE FAMOUS PALMS OF CAMAGUEY.

points reaching both coasts. In the area between Cienfuegos, Trinidad and Sancti Spiritus is an extensive cluster of rounded hills, dominated by Potrerillo, nearly three thousand feet high, and interspersed with the most beautiful and fertile valleys.

The Cordillera de los Organos, or Organ Mountains, run almost along the middle line of the Province of Pinar del Rio, paralleling the northern coast. The range commences about twenty miles to the west of the boundary of Habana Province and extends to the estuary of the Colorado, thus traversing three-fourths of Pinar del Rio.

The greater part of the Province of Camaguey is free from hills. The principal elevations are found in the north-eastern portion, where the Sierra de Cubitas is situated.

Aside from the mountains and hills described, the general surface of Cuba is a low, gently undulating plain. The elevations of some of the principal interior cities are as follows: Pinar del Rio, one hundred and three feet above sea level; Cuevitas, ninety-eight feet; Camaguey, three hundred and twenty-four feet; Santa Clara, three hundred and forty feet.

Except in the southeast corner of Oriente, the streams of Cuba all follow a normal course to the coast. Owing to the shape of the Island, therefore, none of them has any considerable length or volume, nor are any navigable with the exception of the Cauto, which permits of the passage of light draft boats to a distance of fifty miles from its mouth.

Cuba is noted for its spacious land-locked harbors. Their extraordinary lake-like formation has been the subject of many more or less fanciful explanations. The following statement of Dr. C. W. Hayes, of the U. S. Geological Survey, seems to fully account for the phenomenon:

“The depressions occupied by the water forming these harbors appear to be due to erosion by streams flowing into the sea during a recent geologic period when the land stood somewhat higher than now. In other words, drowned drainage basins. Their peculiar shape, a narrow seaward channel and a broad landward expansion, is due to the relation of hard and soft rocks which generally prevail along the coast. Wherever the conditions are favorable for the growth of corals, a fringing reef is built upon whatever rocks happen to be at sea level, and as the land rises or sinks this rock reef forms a veneer of varying thickness upon the seaward land surface. The rocks on which this veneer rests are generally limestones and marls, much softer and more easily eroded than coral rock. Hence several small streams, instead of each flowing directly to the sea by its own channel, are diverted to a single narrow channel through the hard coral rock, while they excavate a basin of greater or less extent in the softer rocks back from the coast.

“The fact that the land has recently stood at a sufficiently higher level to enable the streams to excavate such basins is proven by the sandfilled channel in the Habana harbor entrance and by borings made near the mouth of the Rio San Juan at Santiago, showing that the present rock floor lies below the level of the sea. Doubtless similar filled channels would be discovered in the other harbors of this class if they were properly sounded.

“It is interesting to note that along the Cuban coast precisely similar basins are now being excavated which would form pouch-shaped harbors if the land should be slightly depressed. Several such basins were observed eastward from Santiago. If the coast at Matanzas were to sink thirty feet or more, a portion of the Yumuri valley would be flooded, forming a broad basin connected with the sea by a narrow entrance, the present Yumuri Gorge.”

The chief harbors of the type in question are those of Habana, Cienfuegos, and Santiago de Cuba. Other important harbors, more or less of the same formation, are Bahia Honda, Nuevitas, Gibara, Nipe Bay and Baracoa. Matanzas and Cardenas are exceptions. By far the greater number of good harbors are on the north coast. On the south, aside from those which have already been mentioned, Guantanamo Bay is the only one of consequence. Other harbors on this side of the Island, such as Manzanillo and Batabano are merely open roadsteads, generally lacking in depth, and securing more or less shelter from outlying keys and reefs.

Cuba was reclaimed from the sea by a great mountain-making movement in late tertiary time. During the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs the Island underwent a series of subsidences and elevations which affected the coastal borders, and the margin of elevated rock-reef which borders the coast in parts, as

A STREET IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA.

in the vicinities of Habana and Baracoa. So far as its geologic history is known, the Island was never connected with the American mainland, although the contrary assertion has frequently been made.

No thorough geological survey of Cuba has ever been made, but there is every evidence of its containing rich deposits of minerals, including gold, silver, copper, iron, manganese, and asphalt. Traces of minerals are found extensively throughout the Island. Oriente Province is the first in mineral wealth, followed by Camaguey. In Santa Clara, indications of copper are seen on every hand. The ore is commonly turned up by the plow upon the hillsides. Asphalt is found in widely scattered localities all over the Island. The northern coast of the Province of Matanzas appears to be entirely underlaid with it, and the Bay of Cardenas is bottomed by a deposit which used to be worked by vessels anchored over it. The Cuban asphalt is of a high grade, a considerable proportion of it containing as much as seventy per cent. bitumen. Grahamite, a mineral of the same species as asphalt, but classed as pure bitumen, is found in Habana Province and other parts of the Island. The only mineral resource that is at all adequately exploited is iron. The mines of Oriente, which are famous, will be referred to more extensively in a later portion of the book.

Vegetation is superlatively abundant in Cuba. The flora includes three thousand three hundred and fifty native plants, not to mention the considerable number that have been naturalized. The trees embrace a variety of hardwoods. Over thirty species of palm are found in the Island, and the pine of the temperate zone grows in proximity to the mahogany of the tropics. The forest has been recklessly exploited or destroyed, but it is estimated that thirteen million acres of it remain.

Practically all the fruits and vegetables of the tropics flourish in the Island and many of those characteristic of the temperate regions. Various kinds of fodder grasses grow throughout the valley lands.

The only distinctive animal of Cuba is the jutia, a black animal having the appearance of a large rat. It grows to a length of eighteen inches, including the tail. The country people eat this creature, as they do all other animals and reptiles that come in their way.

Deer and rabbits are abundant wherever

“OVER THIRTY SPECIES OF PALM ARE FOUND IN THE ISLAND.”

cover exists. Swine, dogs and cats have become wild and are numerous in that condition. There is a variety of game birds, some migratory, but most permanent denizens of the Island. The principal kinds are wild fowl of different species, pheasants, quail, snipe, turkey, perdiz, tijasas, rabiches, and quanaros. The native birds include many of the most beautiful plumage, but songsters are rare among them.

In swampy localities crocodiles and alligators are found. Diminutive silurians, such as chameleons and small lizards, swarm everywhere, and occasionally iguanas and the larger lizards are seen. It is frequently claimed that no poisonous reptiles or insects exist in Cuba, but this statement admits of some qualifications. There is no doubt that certain scorpions and spiders, as well probably as a few other insects, are venomous. The snakes, of which there are but few varieties, appear to be harmless to mankind. One of these, the maja, which grows to about twelve feet, is almost tame and frequents small villages and farmhouses, its favorite dwelling place being the palm-thatch roofs of abandoned buildings. The climate of Cuba is chiefly characterized by great humidity, abundant rainfall, and comparative uniformity of temperature. The range between the mean of the hottest month and that of the coolest is from 82 degrees to 71 degrees Fahrenheit. While this statement applies precisely to Habana it is approximately true of other parts of the Island. It is a little warmer along the south coast than upon the north, which is swept by the trade winds throughout the year. The mean humidity is 75 degrees and is nearly uniform throughout the year. This makes the climate enervating, especially to foreigners. There is no great difference between the “summer” and the “winter” seasons, but during the latter, which embraces the six months following the first of November, the weather is delightful and the heat seldom oppressive. The mean annual rainfall upon the northern coast is fifty-two inches. Inland and through the southern portion of the Island it is somewhat less. About two-thirds of the precipitation occurs between May and October. During this season intermittent showers fall from about ten o’clock until sunset. The nights are usually cool and clear at all times of the year.

In strict meteorological sense Cuba is not within the hurricane zone, which lies somewhat to the east of it. Nevertheless, the Island has been not infrequently visited by such storms and some of them have occasioned great damage. The worst visitation of this sort happened in 1846, when more than one-fourth of the city of Habana was destroyed and upwards of one thousand persons killed or severely injured. Although in a region subject to severe earthquakes, and itself not infrequently visited by shocks of alarming violence, the Island has never been seriously damaged by seismic disturbances. In winter, when the trades take a southerly sweep, “northers,” bred in the great storms of the United States, are apt to strike the Island, sometimes lowering the temperature suddenly to 50 degrees, or thereabouts. The result is keen, if brief, suffering, for the people make little provision in their clothing or surroundings for such low temperature.

Immense improvement has been made in the health of the cities since the beginning of the American occupation. Yellow fever, at one time endemic, has been eradicated and can never occur again, except in the form of a sporadic outbreak due to importation of the virus. Malaria has been measurably reduced, but much more might be done toward stamping it out, or minimizing it.

The mortality in Habana is 18.80 per thousand, and that of the Island in general, 12.69. The former is considerably lower than the prevalent rates of the large cities of the United States. Of all the countries of the world, Australia is the only one whose death rate (12.60) is lower than that of Cuba. It may be of interest to add the figures of some of the other leading nations; Uruguay 13.40; United States 15.00; Belgium 15.20; Norway and Sweden 15.85; Denmark 16.40; England 17.70; Germany 17.80; Switzerland 18.20; France 20.60; Austria 24.40; Japan 28.80; Italy 29.20; Spain 29.70.

The population of Cuba is a trifle in excess of two millions, giving about forty-five inhabitants to the square mile, a density much greater than that enjoyed by any other Latin-American country. Even though the population should remain chiefly agrarian, as at present, the extent and resources of the country are ample to support three times the existing number of inhabitants in comfort and prosperity. If manufacturing centres of magnitude should grow up in response to conditions favorable to their development, Cuba will easily afford homes and occupation to ten millions of people.

Seventy per cent. of the population live in the country or in centres of fewer than eight thousand inhabitants. The sexes are almost equally divided and, according to the census, the colored race represents no more than one-third of the whole. The national government of the Republic of Cuba is patterned on that of the United States, as is the case in most countries of Latin-America. It is divided into three coördinate branches, the legislative, the executive and judicial. The legislative power is vested in the Congress, consisting of two branches, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The former consists of sixty-four members—one for every twenty-five thousand inhabitants, or fractions thereof—who are elected for four years. The latter is composed of four senators from each province, elected for a period of four years by a board of electors, chosen by popular vote. The Congress has two regular sessions annually, one convening on the first Monday of April and the other on the first Monday of November.

The executive power is vested in the President, who is elected by electors and may not serve more than two consecutive terms. The Chief Executive is assisted by a cabinet, consisting of six members, who are known as the secretaries of the following departments: State; Justice; Public Instruction; Agriculture; Industry and Commerce; and Public Works. These positions are subject to appointment by the President. There is also a Vice-President elected in the same manner and for a like period as the President.

The judicial power is exercised by a supreme court; six superior courts, one for each province; seven courts of the first instance, devoted to civil cases; six courts of instruction, presided over by criminal judges; twenty-six judges of the first instance and instruction; who have a combined jurisdiction; six correctional courts, in which minor civil suits and misdemeanors are tried. There is in each province a governor and a provisional council, elected by direct suffrage. The provinces are divided into municipal districts, each presided over by a mayor, assisted by a council.

The commercial code in force is that of Spain, with some modifications that were effected by the provisional government during the intervention of the United States. The

PRESIDENT’S PALACE, HABANA.

laws concerning contracts, debts, and other matters of general business, are full and explicit, and give all necessary protection to foreigners dealing with natives of the country. Those relating to land, titles, and taxes, will be more fully noticed elsewhere in this volume.

The regular army of Cuba, known as the “Ejercito Permanente,” consists of three thousand two hundred enlisted men and one hundred and seventy-two commissioned officers. This force comprises infantry, coast artillery, field artillery, and a machine gun corps. Its general headquarters is at Camp Columbia, near Habana.

The maintenance of law and order in the country districts, and safety on the public highways, is entrusted to an exceptionally fine body of mounted police, called the “Rural Guard,” numbering five thousand two hundred and ninety-five men and officers. These men constantly patrol their respective districts and render excellent service.

The so-called Cuban “Navy” consists of a few vessels of revenue cutter type. It must be many years before the Republic can afford even the smallest fleet of war-ships. Without such protection it is difficult to see the value of her army, unless it be in the suppression of revolution and, perhaps, the repression of popular will.

The mail system of the Island is fairly good, the distribution being effected by railroad, coastwise steamers, automobiles and, in remote districts, by horses. In Habana, motor cars are employed in making collections. Deliveries are made by carriers in the same manner as in the cities of the United States. Cuba has postal conventions with the United States, Mexico, the Panama Canal Zone, Hawaii, and the Philippines. The letter rate between Cuba and any one of these countries is two cents and package postage the same as in the States. The Republic has parcel-post treaties with France and Germany only, but it extends to the United States the privileges enjoyed by those countries under their formal agreements.

The Government maintains and operates the telegraph system, which extends throughout its territory. The rates are twenty cents for all messages of ten words or less which traverse no more than three provinces, and two cents for each additional word, the address and signature being charged for. If four provinces are touched in the transmission, the rate is thirty cents, and three cents for each additional word; if five provinces, it is forty cents, and four cents for excess words; and if the telegram is sent from one end of the Island to the other, or enters the limits of the six provinces, the rate is fifty cents, and five cents for each additional word.

CHAPTER II
THE HISTORY OF CUBA

Strangely enough, in view of the number of books that have been written about Cuba, there is no adequate history of the Island in the English language—none that may be justly deemed comprehensive and trustworthy. Many important events in the life of the country have never been properly recorded and much that is of great interest still reposes undisturbed in scattered documents. A candid account could hardly be expected of a Spaniard or a Cuban, but it might be supposed that an American would treat the subject with impartial fairness. None however has done so, thus far. A recent effort by a prominent educator is typical of the books on Cuba which are designed for the use of students in our schools and elsewhere. By the author in question the Spaniards are unstintingly condemned and the Americans unqualifiedly praised. The Cubans are portrayed as heroic embodiments of all the virtues. Our successes in the Spanish American War are described as brilliant victories. In short, the most distorted impression of the facts is conveyed.

This condition is regrettable because a true understanding of any people and their country must be based upon intelligent knowledge of their history, and this is peculiarly so in the case of Cuba and the Cubans.

Even though he had the ability to remedy the defect, the limits and design of the present volume would preclude the writer from making the attempt in its pages. The brief historical sketch given here, must be made entirely secondary to the main purpose of presenting a picture of the Island and its inhabitants as they are to-day, and of taking a survey of the economic conditions affecting them. The following account is restricted mainly to such phases of the country’s history as have had permanent influence on the character, customs and welfare of the people.

Upon discovering the Island of Cuba, Columbus named it Juana, in honor of Prince Juan, the son of Ferdinand and Isabella. On the death of Ferdinand, Velasquez substituted the name Ferdinandina. The Island was subsequently called Santiago, after the patron saint of Spain, and still later, Ave Maria. Through all these changes of official style the natives retained the name Cuba, by which their country had been known before the advent of white men, and the Indian appellation was soon adopted by the aliens.

The Indians whom Columbus found upon the Island were of gentle disposition and peaceful by inclination and practice. The nine divisions of the country were governed without friction by as many caciques, independent of one another and equal in rank. The people rendered them unquestioned obedience and were accustomed to an autocratic rule. Hospitality was an universal trait and the invaders were made free of the land without the slightest opposition. Furthermore, these Indians accepted baptism and the doctrines of Christianity more readily than any others with whom the Spaniards came into contact.

But for one condition, the factors were present for the peaceful subjugation and government of the aborigines. The obstructive element was found in the constitutional aversion of the natives to physical exertion in any unnecessary degree. Their soil responded generously to the slightest appeal in the form of casual cultivation, and the materials for their scanty clothing might be gathered without trouble. They had never experienced any need to work and their climate was conducive to careless indolence. No doubt their habit of life had produced weakness and lack of stamina. Thus disinclination grew into disability. Flaccid muscles and unused limbs caused apparently strong and robust men to faint and fall under tasks which we would consider an ordinary day’s labor.

The Spanish adventurers, who found the natives in possession of nuggets of gold and rude ornaments fashioned from the precious metal, set them the onerous task of mining. They perceived the aversion of the Indians to labor, but could not comprehend their inability. El execrable sed d’ore prompted them to the commission of pitiless barbarities in the effort to force the slaves to increased exertion.

Under this treatment the natives died in great numbers. A few feeble attempts at armed resistance hastened the end. In an incredibly short time, if we are to accept the most reliable estimates of the number of the aboriginal population, the male Indians were completely exterminated.

It is impossible to say with any degree of precision how many inhabitants the Island of Cuba contained at the time of its discovery. Las Casas and Peter Martyr are led into exaggeration by their righteous indignation at the cruelties of their countrymen. Their figures are highly improbable. If the native population at the time the Spaniards first settled in the country is estimated at half a million there is little likelihood of undershooting the mark.

Oviado declares that in 1535—less than fifty years after the discovery—there were fewer than five hundred Indians left within the borders of the Island. Among this remnant females were largely in predominence. They had not been subjected to the same extremes of hardships and cruelty as had the males, and many of the Spaniards had taken native women under their protection as concubines. This condition led to the perpetuation of the Indian blood after the last of the pure bred aborigines had disappeared. To-day, one meets, on rare occasions, a Cuban peasant whose appearance suggests Indian ancestry, but the strain practically died out long ago, and has left no impression on the Cuban character or customs.

Cases in which the aboriginal stock is suggested are more frequently encountered at the eastern end of the Island than elsewhere, and a plausible explanation might be found in the fact that its wild mountainous recesses would have afforded safe retreat to such of the Indians who may have fled there from the persecutions of the whites. In this way it is possible that a small number of the natives may have survived for a considerable period after official knowledge of their existence had ceased.

Some years ago, at Holguin, a youth was pointed out to me, who exhibited in features, skull formation, and complexion, marked resemblance to an Indian type. The padre, who had drawn my attention to the young man, scoffed at my suggestion of accident, and declared his conviction that it was a pronounced case of atavism.

The first permanent settlement of the Spaniards upon the Island of Cuba was made at Baracoa, in 1512. At its head was Captain Diego Velasquez, who, until his death in 1524, continued to rule Cuba, as Adelantado, under direct responsibility to the Governor and Andencia of Hispaniola, or Santo Domingo. He had five successors in this office. The first governor, appointed by and immediately answerable to the Crown, was Hernando de Soto. The line of captains-general began with Don Gabriel de Lujan, who assumed the post in 1581.

In 1514, Velasquez founded the towns of Trinidad and Santiago, for the purpose of facilitating communication with Jamaica, and established settlements at Remedios, Bayamo, Puerto Principe, Sancti-Spiritus, and San Cristobal de la Habana, the last named being located where the town of Batabano now stands. Five years later, the name of Habana was transferred to a small settlement on the spot where the capital now stands.

Baracoa was the first bishopric and seat of government. In 1522 Santiago became the centre of both civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and in 1552 the capital was established at Habana.

The settlement of Cuba proceeded slowly. During the hundred years following its discovery, only two towns were founded in addition to those which have been mentioned, namely, Guanabacoa and El Cobre. In the seventeenth century but two more of any importance came

BAYAMO.

into existence, these being Matanzas and Santa Clara. Nine more were created in the course of the next century. At the close of this period the Island contained about two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, while the development of its natural resources can scarcely be said to have begun.

The backwardness of the colony was not due to lack of energy on the part of the Spaniards, who in the days of the conquistadores displayed that quality in a remarkable degree. A combination of conditions, some of them entirely beyond the control of the settlers, retarded the development of the Island. A large proportion of the first comers were transients, staying for a while, but responding ultimately to the greater allurements of the mainland. Their object was gold, and in this respect Cuba proved disappointing. After a while the large landed proprietors, who had received royal grants, began to raise cattle and to breed horses. For some time large quantities of meat and mounts for the troops were shipped to Terra Firma. But this source of profit expired toward the close of the sixteenth century, when the continental settlements became able to supply their own needs in these respects. At this period the cultivation of tobacco and sugar-cane was introduced. At the outset these industries suffered from a paucity of labor, and a royal license was obtained for the importation of negroes from Africa. The shipment of the blacks in large numbers to the Island continued until, toward the middle of the nineteenth century, their proportional place in the population became a source of grave anxiety to the authorities. The successful revolt of their race in Haiti and the abolitionary agitation throughout the civilized world created unrest among the slaves in Cuba. Although there was no organized uprising, frequent mutinies occurred in different parts of the Island. The most cruel measures of repression were put into force, with the result of cowing the negroes for a while. It is probable however, that only the growth of the revolutionary movement prevented a general uprising of the blacks in Cuba before their emancipation, which was officially decreed in 1887.

The population of the Island in 1846 was about nine hundred thousand. More than half of the number were negroes, three-fourths of them slaves. According to the latest official figures, less than thirty per cent. of the present population are colored. How has the proportion sunk so greatly in sixty-five years? Where have the negroes gone? What has become of their children?

A writer in a volume on “Cuba,” issued by the United States Bureau of the Census, states: “The diminution of the proportion of colored inhabitants during the last half century is doubtless but another illustration of the inability of the colored race to hold its own in competition with the whites, a truth which is being demonstrated on a much larger scale in the United States.”

This is not at all convincing. The negroes have not been to any appreciable degree subjected to competition in Cuba. The climate and latter-day conditions are altogether favorable to their survival and increase. Two official reports indicate that they held their own under the more arduous life of slavery.

We must look for an explanation elsewhere, and the most plausible seems to be that there is a much greater distribution of negro blood in Cuba than the statistics indicate. The enumerators who took the census under our military occupation acknowledged the difficulty of distinguishing among a people whose prevailing physical characteristics are dark skin and black hair, and expressed their suspicion that a large number of those who returned themselves as “whites” had negro blood in their veins. Those who have lived long and travelled extensively in Cuba, generally entertain the opinion that the proportion of pure whites in population is considerably less than seventy per cent.

The unqualified terms of condemnation in which most of our writers refer to the Spanish rule of Cuba, can only be accounted for on the assumption of ignorance of the history of the Island and the general conditions of the times. Spain had an admirable code of laws for the government of her colonies. This code, called Las Leyes de Indias, was formulated during the reign of Philip the second. It was designed to insure the humane and equitable treatment of the native subjects and, considering the times, was a highly enlightened measure. The laws were frequently violated by colonial governors, but it was hardly in the power of the home government to prevent such abuses. In those days of long distances and slow communication, it was necessary that viceroys should be invested with practically unlimited powers and undivided authority. The only alternative would have been the adoption of some form of popular government, which no nation had at that period dreamed of applying to its distant possessions. As a matter of fact, a liberal policy prevailed in Cuba during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Public assemblies of citizens were held to elect the members of municipal corporations; no taxation was permitted without the sanction of these bodies;[1] charges were freely lodged and sustained against governors. During the same period, the British colonies in the West Indies were not so well governed as was Cuba and some of their governors were more flagrantly tyrannical and dishonest than the worst of Cuba’s captains-general. Spain’s chief fault and the cause of her downfall as a colonial power, lay in failure to respond to the growth of sentiment in favor of popular rights. She became more autocratic as other nations became more liberal. In truth, she had ineptitude for colonial government, but her sovereigns generally evinced a sincere concern for the welfare of their foreign subjects.

Cuba entered upon an era of development and prosperity following the restoration of the Island to Spain by the British in 1763. For eighty years following the event it was governed by a line of captains-general, almost all of whom were able and well-intentioned. The first of these, Count O’Reilly, devoted his five-year term of office to the organization of a militia force and the execution of other much needed military measures. Don Antonio Bucarely paid special attention to the administration of justice throughout the Island and redressed many popular grievances. Of him was recorded the unparalleled fact that during his administration not a single complaint against him had reached the Court of Madrid. His successor, the Marques de la Torre, gained the affection and esteem of all classes. The benign and talented Las Casas arrived in 1790, and the period of his governorship is recognized by all Spanish writers as one of the most brilliant in the history of the Island. He effected many public improvements and introduced means for the increase of the industrial and commercial prosperity of Cuba. He it was, who founded the institution of Sociedad Patriotica, which became so important an agency in the promotion of agriculture, trade, education, literature, and the fine arts. The recognition of the popular principle in this institution, and the promotion of liberal ideas by it, have been highly influential factors in the development of the people and their country.

To Las Casas, also, the Island is indebted for the establishment of the Casa de Beneficencia, for its first public library, and its first newspaper.

It is frequently stated that under the rule of Spain education among the natives was discouraged. Such was not the case. The facilities of the masses in the country districts for acquiring such education as their classes usually enjoyed at the same period in Europe was, at least, equally as great. The priests maintained parish schools throughout the Island, and received pupils free without the distinction of classes or color. In the capital the opportunities for learning were unusually good. The Jesuits, Dominicans, and other orders, provided thorough classical education and instruction in foreign languages. Almost every religious institution had some sort of college or attached to it. The University of Habana was established in 1721. It became the object of special favor by Las Casas. He increased the endowment and extended the scope of its utility by creating several new professorial chairs, notably one of medicine. He also lent aid and encouragement to the Jesuits, in improving their colleges.

Following Las Casas came several other benevolent governors, of whom the Conde de Santa Clara, the Marques de Someruelos, and the Espeletas, especially left records of wise and useful administration.

The chief features of the history of the Island previous to the opening of the eighteenth century, were the settlements created by the first governor, the usual repartimientos, or distribution of the territory and its inhabitants among the Spanish adventurers who led the early expeditions of the Indians, the introduction of negro slaves, the attacks by buccaneers, and the capture of Habana by the English. The century closed with a notable advance in commerce and industry, and a period of excellent government. This, though essentially despotic, was benevolent and well adapted to the conditions of the time. Under it the Cubans

THE PRADO, HABANA.

enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity, despite the short-sighted commercial policy to which they were subjected. That they were generally contented, and well affected towards the mother country can not be questioned. The French and American revolutions impressed them greatly, but did not shake their loyalty. When the news of the abduction of the royal family of Spain by Napoleon reached Habana, the colonial government declared war against France, and the populace approved the act with enthusiasm. The revolt of the colonies on the mainland, and their disseverance from Spain, left Cuba still attached to the Crown with a constancy that gained for her the sobriquet, “ever faithful.”

The political changes which took place in Spain in the first quarter of the nineteenth century were productive of similar changes in Cuba. What was called a constitutional government was given to the Island. The sudden introduction of a democratic system of rule to a population composed of the most discordant elements, and accustomed to autocracy, could not fail of producing something like the disquieting conditions that followed the premature establishment of ultra-free institutions in the countries which had formerly been dependencies of Spain in America. The masonic societies came into vogue in Cuba, as they did in the peninsula. From the discussion of religious and political matters, these associations soon proceeded to the advocacy of revolution. The radical doctrines which were thus disseminated, readily took root in the minds of the educated, among whom translations of the works of Voltaire, Rousseau, and their Italian disciples, were widely distributed at this time. In 1823 a conspiracy, which extended throughout the Island, was set on foot by a secret society named “the Sotes de Bolivar.” The drastic measures that were adopted for its suppression created deep and widespread resentment against the government.

Upon the restoration of Ferdinand the Seventh, another sudden swing of the pendulum brought the Cubans again under autocratic rule. Extreme means were resorted to with a view to stamping out the growing revolutionary spirit and reducing the people to their former state of ready submission to authority. None of these measures was so ill-judged, or so lasting in its evil effects, as the Royal Order of 1825. This conferred on the captains-general “the whole extent of power which by the royal ordinance is granted to the governors of besieged towns ... most amply and unrestrictedly authorizes Your Excellency not only to remove from the Island such persons, holding offices from government or not, whatever their rank, class, occupation, or situation in life may be, whose residence there you may deem prejudicial, or whose private or public conduct may appear suspicious to you, employing in their stead faithful servants of His Majesty, who shall fully deserve Your Excellency’s confidence; but also to suspend the execution of whatever royal orders or general decrees in all the different branches of the administration, or in any part of them, as Your Excellency may think conducive to the royal service; it being in any case required that these measures be temporary, and that Your Excellency make report of them for His Majesty’s sovereign approval.”

This order was intended to be observed under the most strict responsibility, “le mas estrecta responsibilidad,” and to be only temporarily in effect. It remained in force, however, and its terrible powers later became the scourge of the land, although they were not immediately felt. The Captain-General upon whom they were first conferred, General Vives, refrained from exercising them, and under the judicious administration of Count Villanueva, as Intendant, the people had no cause to remember the fearful instrument for oppression which their rulers had at command.

The term of General Tacon (1834-1838) ushered in the era of tyranny, spoliation and incapacity that marked the government of Cuba in the remaining period of Spanish domination, during which the revolutionary spark that was ignited earlier in the century grew into an inextinguishable flame.

Long before this period the Spaniards and Cubans had drifted apart. There was nothing essential in common between the latter and the official class or the soldiers, unless we allow for some degree of common origin. The natives had gradually learned to entertain hatred for the Spaniards, who, in their turn, felt the greatest contempt for the Cubans. Neither side took the least pain to dissemble their feelings, except that in Habana friendly relations were, as a rule, maintained between the two classes, and this even during revolutionary periods. The relations and sentiments of the governing class and the people to one another were much like those which existed between Norman and Saxon in the century following the Conquest.

The first Spanish immigration to Cuba commenced early in the sixteenth century, and consisted mainly of adventurers who accompanied the early expeditions, and who settled permanently in the country, after returning to Spain and transplanting their families. These first settlers were mostly of Castilian or Andalusian origin and their descendants furnished the best native blood of the Island. Shortly after, emigrants from the Basque Provinces and from Catalonia began to come in. These belonged to the peasant class, and from them the guajiro, or poor white, of the country districts has sprung. After the abolition of slavery a number of Galegos came over to seek employment in the houses of the wealthy.

Aside from a handful of French refugees, the white population of the Island was almost exclusively composed of Spaniards or people of Spanish descent until a late day. Under such circumstances of racial, religious and political affinity, a practical government might have maintained peace continuously but for conditions which gradually moulded the Cubans into absolute antagonism to the Spaniards.

CHAPTER III
THE HISTORY OF CUBA (CONTINUED)

From the outset the two chief conditions that militated against the development of Cuba and the prosperity of her people were trade restriction and the appropriation of land.

In the early days of the colony large tracts of land were granted by the Crown to Castilians of noble family. These never made permanent residence on the Island, but entrusted their affairs to an agent. The wealthy land owner often had a palace on the Cerro, and occasionally paid a brief winter visit to the capital, and made a still briefer excursion to his hacienda, where his appearance in all the dignity and state of aristocratic wealth had an irritating effect upon his poor neighbors. The money produced by his sugar plantation or his cattle ranch he dissipated in the fashionable pleasures of Madrid and Paris.

This system of absentee landlordism acted like a blight upon the country until the abolition of slavery necessitated the cutting up of large estates, or their transfer to corporations, possessed of the means of paying for the labor necessary to work them.

Not a few of the large properties were in the hands of Cubans, but in these cases the tenure was not so harmful to the country, nor as odious to the common people. The Cuban planters, most of whom were ruined during the protracted period of insurrection, invariably made their homes on the haciendas, where one generation followed another in possession. The sons usually remained with the father, each taking some particular share in the management of the estate. Thus several families were often found living under one roof and generally in perfect amity, for the Cubans are distinctly domestic people, affectionate in disposition and clannish in habit.

There were comparatively few holdings in the hands of peasant proprietors, or small farmers, and this absence of a home and land owning population was an obviously weak element in the foundation of the government.

The greater part of the productive soil was in the hands of a few grandees, and the wealth extracted from it was withheld from general circulation, which had, among other harmful consequences, that of retarding the extension of agriculture and general industrial advancement.

Judged by our present conceptions of justice and policy, the commercial regulations imposed upon Cuba by Spain appear to have been extremely foolish and iniquitous, but we must bear in mind that they were quite consistent with the prevailing idea at that time that the interests of colonies should be made subservient to those of the parent country. In other words, the commercial and industrial restrictions which were imposed on Cuba, while they had the effect of exploiting the Island for the benefit of Spain, originated not so much from disregard of the colony’s welfare as from the peculiar views of political economy generally entertained in that age. Great Britain’s American possessions were subjected to similar treatment. Spain’s fatal error lay in the tenacity with which she clung to her misguided policy. A little judicious reform at the beginning of the last century, when other powers were granting to their colonies a measurable degree of freedom in trade and self-government, would probably have sufficed to keep Cuba under the flag of Spain.

The restrictions on the commerce of the Island began with the royal decree of 1497, which granted to the port of Seville the conclusive privilege of trade with the colonies, these being prohibited from any commercial intercourse with any foreign countries. In 1707 this monopoly was transferred from Seville to the port of Cadiz. While it was the capital of the Island, Santiago was the sole port of entry, and after Habana became the capital, all shipments passed through it. This restricted traffic between Spain and its insular colony was jealously guarded. Trading vessels were required to assemble in flotas, or fleets, and to make the double voyage under the escort of war-ships. This arrangement was designed hardly as much for protection as for the prevention of illicit dealings with the intermediate countries. During certain periods trade with foreigners was prohibited under the most severe penalties, and it was never permissible except by special authorization. Commercial intercourse between the colonies was even forbidden. With the exception of a brief term, during which the English occupied the Island, these hampering

THE WATER-FRONT, HABANA.

conditions obtained until 1778, when Habana was opened to free trade. The decree authorized traffic between several ports of Cuba. Others were included in this privilege, from time to time, until, in 1803, practically all the ports of the Island enjoyed it.

For two hundred years or more, such action upon the part of the sovereign government was looked upon by all nations as good policy. In 1714 Spain and the Dutch Confederation effected a convention by the terms of which each party was bound to refrain from every form of trade with the American possessions of the other. A similar agreement was reached between England and Spain about fifty years later. Towards the close of the eighteenth century, however, these treaties were abrogated and a royal cedula set forth that no foreign ship should be allowed to enter a Cuban port under any conditions.

The peninsular war reduced the trade of Cuba to such an extent that the Ayuntamiento and the Consulado of Habana seriously debated the expediency of throwing the port entirely open and admitting foreign goods on a parity with those of the home country. In consideration of the emergency the restraints on trade were substantially released during the first decade of the nineteenth century. Shortly afterwards, the Government sought to reëstablish them, but was induced to refrain by the protestations of Captain-General Marques de Someruelos, who made a forcible representation of the economic necessities of the colony and the impossibility of their being met under the restricting policy.

The least concession was wrung from the Council of the Indies with the utmost difficulty. They remained convinced that the limitations of the commerce of the colonies to the mother country was the best course for the latter, at least, and secured a virtual resumption of the condition by indirect means. By excessive duties, discriminating tariffs, and the heavy port dues, foreign trade was placed at such a great disadvantage that the Cubans, although ostensibly free in the matter, found themselves again restricted for the most part to commerce with Spain.

The first tariff of Cuba, enforced in 1818, imposed a duty of forty-three per cent. ad valorem on all foreign merchandise, except agricultural implements and machinery, which were taxed twenty-six and one-half per cent. These rates were somewhat reduced a few years later. Similar importations from Spain were granted a preferential reduction of one-third from these rates. But, as Spain produced a very small proportion of the articles that comprised Cuba’s imports, her merchants secured them from various foreign sources, and, of course, the consumers were compelled to pay higher prices than if they had been allowed to deal directly with the producers under an impartial system of duties.

In 1828 an export tariff was imposed on sugar and coffee, which, by this time, had become important products. Four-fifths of a cent per pound was levied on the former, and two-fifths on the latter. A form of shipping bounty added to the weight of these exactions. In case the exports were carried in foreign bottoms the duty on sugar was doubled and that on coffee increased to one cent a pound.

This tariff was maintained without material change until a reciprocal commercial agreement was effected by the United States and Spain in 1891. For the first time in its history, Cuba found itself in a position to trade on favorable terms with its nearest and best market. As a result the trade of the Island was soon transferred, almost in its entirety, to the United States, and its people enjoyed a term of prosperity transcending anything in their former experience. The change was, however, short lived. In 1894 the termination of the agreement and the reëstablishment of the old regulations forced compulsory traffic with Spain upon the Cubans.

But the burdens entailed upon the people by trade restrictions were by no means all that they were called on to bear. A system of heavy and vexatious taxation prevailed during the entire period of Spain’s dominance over the Island. Taxes were levied on all kinds of property and on every form of industry. Every profession and occupation was taxed. Legal papers, petitions and business documents were required to be stamped.

There was a “consumption tax” on the killing of cattle which, of course, increased the price of meat to the consumer. There was an impost of twenty ducats, called the derecho de averia, collected upon every person who arrived on the Island. This was established in the earliest years of the colony and maintained until near the close of the eighteenth century. During the last hundred years of its enforcement, the amount was increased from sixteen dollars to twenty-two dollars. It is needless to say that this tax seriously impeded immigration of the peasant class most needed by the country.

There was a lottery tax, and a “cedula,” or head tax. The latter proved very burdensome to the poorest of the people who, when in arrears of it, were debarred from the exercise of most rights and privileges involving civil and ecclesiastical authorization. Thus, they could not make contracts, enter into marriages, or secure baptism for their children until the overdue tax had been paid.

Obviously such a system of taxation worked the utmost discouragement to the acquisition of property and the pursuit of industries. Had the design of the Peninsular Government been to ruin the Island and to suppress all development, no more effective measures for the purpose could have been devised. None but a country superlatively rich in natural resources could have carried such a burden. Like the other American colonies of Spain, Cuba received contributions, or situados, from Mexico. During the forty years following 1766, these amounted to 108,150,504 pesos fuertes. The worst of it was that the large revenue derived from these heavy impositions upon the people and the trade of Cuba was either absorbed in the excessive cost of administering the Island, or diverted to the royal treasury. Comparatively little of it was spent on local public improvements, unless we should include works of a military nature. Aside from the calzada, or military highway, road-making was neglected. Harbors lacked improvements and cities were deficient in water supply, sewers and paving. In the country districts, public buildings and schoolhouses were far short of the necessities of the population. Even in late years the annual appropriation for educational purposes was no more than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

Aside from the riots resulting from the enforcement of the tobacco monopoly, during the term of Captain-General Roja, there was no active opposition to the Government previous to 1823. In that year an abortive insurrection followed the attempt to abrogate the liberal constitution of 1812, and reëstablish the old-time absolutism. Political agitation and revolutionary outbreaks continued from that time, stimulated by the secret societies, whose

MOUNTAIN ROAD IN THE PROVINCE OF ORIENTE.

branches were scattered all over the country. Under these circumstances the veiled antipathy, which had been growing between the Cubans and Spaniards, rapidly assumed the nature of a wide breach. On the one side were ranged the official class, the clerics, the beneficiaries of monopolies, and persons who derived profit in various ways from connection with the administration. On the other, were the native whites who sought independence, or at least autonomy. The latter had the sympathy and support of practically all the blacks, and of a large proportion of the colored population.

In 1836 the constitution of 1812 was reëstablished in Spain, but Cuba was deprived of the most important privileges that should have been secured to her by the change. The deputies who were sent to the constitutional convention at Madrid from Cuba were arbitrarily excluded. It was announced that the Island should be governed by special laws, but these were never published and, if definitely framed at all, must have been communicated to the officials in a semi-confidential manner.

This totally unjust and fatally unwise action on the part of the Crown stirred the existing discontent to boiling point and thereafter the revolutionary movement assumed a much more menacing aspect. During the succeeding decade a number of uprisings occurred in such widely separated parts of the country as to clearly indicate that the entire Island was disaffected. The lack of connection between these outbreaks and their quick subsidence also showed an absence of organization or concerted plan. In 1847, however, a more serious revolutionary conspiracy, and one which was destined to have far-reaching effect, was set on foot by Narcisco Lopez. The movement was intelligently planned and contemplated the annexation of Cuba to the United States.

The conspiracy was betrayed to the Spanish authorities—no uncommon occurrence in the early revolutionary period—and Lopez, with the chief figures in the affair, fled to America. In 1850 Lopez with six hundred men landed at Cardenas and captured the fortress. Failing, however, to receive expected support, he immediately sailed to Key West. The following year Lopez landed another expedition in Cuba near Bahia Honda. This occasion was memorable on account of the fact that the force included one hundred and fifty men under Colonel Crittenden of Kentucky. Disaster quickly overtook this attempt. The mistake was made of immediately dividing the force after landing. Lopez with one body of men advanced on Las Pozas, leaving Colonel Crittenden, with the remainder, in El Morilla. A detachment of Spanish troops overtook and defeated Lopez, after a gallant fight. The leader was captured, carried to Habana, and promptly garroted. Crittenden and his men attempted to escape by sea but were surrounded and forced to surrender. All were subsequently shot at the Castle of Atares.

This incident aroused among the people of the United States an interest in Cuban affairs, out of which there grew a sympathy for the insurgents that never abated.

Several futile efforts followed the Lopez affair, and then came the revolution of 1868, which had its inception at Yara, in the Province of Camaguey. It is generally referred to by the Cubans as the “Ten Years War,” although no battles were fought. There were, however, many deaths from disease, especially among the Spanish troops, and the cost of the contest was three hundred million dollars, which amount was charged to the Cuban debt.

In February, 1878, the treaty of Zanjon was entered into by the representatives of Spain and those of the independent government which the insurgents had created on paper and had affected to maintain in the field. Under this convention the Crown agreed to substantial civil and political concessions in favor of the people of Cuba. These undertakings, the Cubans declare, were never fulfilled. Spanish officials, on the other hand, maintain that the mother country actually granted more than her obligation demanded of her. The truth will be found in the fact that while laws were promulgated in accordance with the promises given at Zanjon, they were not carried out. Thus although documentary evidence might be adduced to show that the Cubans enjoyed a liberal government after 1878, their condition, in reality, remained virtually unchanged.

The hopes that had been inspired by the treaty of Zanjon quickly waned and the spirit of discontent revived. This was greatly increased by the economic troubles resulting from the depression of the sugar trade, which began in 1884, and the total abolition of slavery in 1887.

Meanwhile Spain continued to regulate the financial affairs of the Island with the old-time reckless mismanagement. From 1893 to 1898 the revenues of Cuba derived from excessive taxation, heavy duties and the Habana lottery, averaged about $25,000,000 per annum. Of this amount, $10,500,000 was appropriated to the payment of the Cuban debt, which by 1897 had swelled to the enormous aggregate of $400,000,000, or $283.54 per capita, a ratio more than three times as great as the per capita debt of Spain. For the support of the army, navy, administration and church in Cuba, $12,000,000 was allotted. The remaining $2,500,000 was allowed for public works, education and general improvements in Cuba, independent of municipal expenditures. It may be added that when, as in better times, the revenues had been very much larger, the demands of the home Government were proportionally increased.

At the close of the eighties, the price of sugar rose to an abnormal height and Cuba entered upon a brief period of prosperity. Political agitation abated and the Island sank into a more peaceful condition than it had known for many years. It was, however, but the lull before the storm. The repeal of the Blaine reciprocity agreement dealt a deadly blow to the Cuban sugar industry. At once conditions changed. Quiescence gave place to agitation. The revolutionary spirit awoke with greater determination than ever, fanned by the thought that Cuba, independent or annexed to the United States could always rely upon a favorable market for her principal product.

Plot and conspiracy soon became rife and received the support of a number of influential men, who had hitherto held aloof, but who now despaired of permanent prosperity for the Island under Spanish rule. Men who had taken part in the Ten Years War began to organize in secret, and several of their former leaders, Gomez, Garcia, Maceo, and others, returned to Cuba from their voluntary exile.

In 1895 was launched the insurrection which culminated in the freedom of Cuba. The leaders of the movement entered upon it with the deliberate design of involving the United States and their success in doing so brought about a result which they could not have attained otherwise.

A friendly feeling for Cuba not unmixed with interest considerations, had existed in the United States for many years. Annexation had been discussed during the presidency of John Quincy Adams, and President Polk made a proposition to the Spanish Government for the purchase of the Island. In 1854, the search of several American merchant ships by Spanish cruisers led to the issuance of the “Ostend Manifesto,” a protest on the part of the United States. In this document it was declared that “the possession of Cuba by a foreign power was a menace to the peace of the United States, and that Spain be offered the alternative of accepting $200,000,000 for her sovereignty over the Island, or having it taken from her by force.” During the Ten Years War President Grant expressed to the Spanish Government his belief that only independence and emancipation could settle the Cuban question, and that intervention might be necessary to end the war. He repeatedly proffered the good offices of the United States in reëstablishing peace. Meanwhile the capture of the Virginius, in 1873, and the summary execution of fifty-three of her passengers and crew, by order of the Spanish authorities, came very near to involving the countries in war.

From the outbreak of the rebellion of 1895, the people of the United States evinced a strong sympathy for the Cubans. This was reflected by the action of Congress in directing President Cleveland to proffer the good offices of the United States to Spain with a view to ending the war and securing the independence of the Island. In 1896 both Republican and Democratic national conventions passed resolutions of sympathy for the Cubans and demanded that the Government should take action.

At the close of the same year, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations reported a resolution recognizing the republic of Cuba, but it was never taken from the calendar. Meanwhile reports of outrages and indignities to American citizens in Cuba led to official protest and the appointment of Judge William R. Day to investigate conditions. Popular indignation in the United States was further aroused by the press reports of the dreadful effects of General Weyler’s plan of reconcentration.

In May, 1897, Congress voted $50,000 for the purchase of supplies to relieve the needs of the reconcentrados, on the ground that many of them were reported to be American citizens. Shortly afterwards, the United States requested the Spanish Government to put an end to the reconcentration system and to recall Captain General Weyler. Spain received the requests with professed favor, but, after months had elapsed, without any action being taken, the battleship Maine was sent to Habana for the protection of American citizens.

On the night of February 15th, the Maine was blown up and two hundred and sixty-six of her complement lost their lives. President McKinley appointed a board of naval officers to investigate the circumstances. The resultant report, which was submitted to Congress, declared that the ship had been destroyed by an external explosion.

The condition of affairs aroused serious apprehensions on the part of the Spanish Government and at the same time exhilarated the insurgent leaders. Both parties realized that the intervention of the United States was imminent. The former proposed a suspension of hostilities, pending an agreement upon terms of peace, and offered to appropriate $600,000 for the benefit of the reconcentrados. These overtures were promptly rejected by the insurgent leaders.

Early in April, the President sent a message to Congress requesting authority to end the war and to secure in Cuba the establishment of a stable government, capable of fulfilling its international obligations and maintaining peace. This was, in effect, a request to enter upon war with Spain.

A few days later, Congress passed joint resolutions demanding the withdrawal of Spain from Cuba and empowering the President to use the naval and military forces of the United States to carry the resolutions into effect. This was virtually a declaration of war.

CHAPTER IV
CUBA IN TRANSITION

A circumstantial account of the war of liberation would make anything but pleasant reading. Aside from the fact that on one side was a down-trodden people struggling to throw off the yoke of the oppressor, there was little in the conflict to excite admiration, or even interest. Barbarities of the worst kind were practised by the insurgents as well as by the Spaniards, and it would be profitless to enquire where the balance of blame lay when both were so deeply guilty. From the technical point of view the protracted hostilities hardly deserved to be termed war. Until the participation of the United States there was not an engagement which might be justly described as a battle. Neither side displayed any extraordinary military capacity, but the plans and movements of the rebels were characterized by greater intelligence and purpose than those of their opponents. During the entire war one manœuvre alone was of a high order of strategy. That was the brilliant operation in which Antonio Maceo, the mulatto, swept from end to end of the Island, and lighted the flame of rebellion throughout its length. One of the most important features of the war was the prominent part taken in it by the black and colored elements of the population. They formed the backbone of the insurgent army, and furnished several of its most able leaders. As a result the “race of color” has secured a standing and influence in Cuba which it does not enjoy in any other country where the Caucasian is dominant.

On one of the closing days of 1895, the constitutional guarantees were suspended in Cuba by proclamation. The Government had suddenly awakened to the fact that a mine had been quietly laid beneath its feet. For months a wide-spread conspiracy, having its fountainhead in the United States, had been in existence. The Cuban Junta in New York had, during this time, energetically collected money and arms for the purpose of promoting a rebellion with greater determination and upon better organized lines than ever before. With some of the leaders the object entertained was autonomy; with others, complete independence; and with a third element, annexation to the United States. All were united, however, in a burning desire to terminate the rule of Spain over their native land.

For some time previous to the proclamation of the Governor-General, arms and ammunition had been shipped to Cuba from various American ports and were secreted in different parts of the Island. Several local outbreaks had presaged the approaching storm, which burst in March. Before the close of April, the brothers Maceo, Jose Marti, and Maximo Gomez had returned to Cuba and resumed their respective places at the head of the rebel ranks. Close upon their heels arrived Martinez Campos, who had effected the peace at Zanjon, to take the part of Governor-General.

Without delay, the insurgent generals set about carrying out the shrewd design of spreading the rebellion over every part of the Island. Their object was not only to increase the difficulties of the Spaniards, but also to give the uprising as formidable an aspect as possible, in the hope of securing the recognition, if not the intervention, of the United States.

General Campos entered upon his task with the hope of bringing about a cessation of the insurrection by means of conciliatory measures. One of his first acts was to issue a manifesto to the rebels, offering pardon to all such as should lay down their arms and resume their allegiance to the Crown of Spain. In his proclamation of martial law he enjoined upon his troops the observance of the recognized principles of humane warfare.

Within a week of his arrival, General Campos took command of the troops in the field. A period of desultory fighting ensued and, at length, in the middle of July, the first serious action of the war took place. The Spaniards in force met a body of insurgents near Bayamo. Probably there were about three thousand on either side. The insurgents had the better of the engagement, which was hotly contested, and General Campos narrowly escaped the loss of his life.

Followed months of skirmishing, in which the rebels attacked isolated garrisons with considerable success, but avoided encounters with large bodies of troops. Meanwhile, numerous filibustering expeditions disembarked with recruits and munitions of war, greatly strengthening the revolutionary movement. By the end

VIEW OF BAIRE, NEAR BAYAMO, FROM THE CUBAN TRENCHES.

of the summer, eighty thousand Spanish regulars, besides a number of volunteers and guerrillas, were in the field. The insurgent forces did not exceed twenty thousand men, a considerable proportion of whom were armed only with machetes. But the Spaniards shortly learned to dread this weapon more than the rifle.

Before the close of the year dynamite and the torch were brought into play. The revolutionists began, at first with discrimination, to burn plantations and to blow up bridges. On the other side the Spaniards commenced to execute insurgent chiefs who were captured.

In December the march to the west was vigorously pushed by Gomez and Maceo, whilst Campos employed all his resources in the effort to intercept it. The result was a series of technical movements in which the Spanish troops, although led by generals of experience, were usually worsted. Detached bodies of insurgents harassed the royalist commands, and diverted their attention, while Maceo steadily pushed westward, gathering recruits in his progress and leaving a train of active rebellion in his wake. The trochas, or trenches, strung with fortlets, to which the Spaniards resorted as a means of stemming the tide, proved of little efficacy. The insurgents, in large bodies, crossed them time and again. With one hundred thousand troops at his command, Campos found it impossible to check or circumscribe the rebel movements.

As time went on the insurgents became more and more unrestrained in the destruction of property. Cane-fields, sugar mills, residences, were given to the flames wherever they could be reached. This was done in pursuance of a definite policy which Gomez had repeatedly announced in his proclamations. He declared that the readiest means of inducing the Spaniards to leave the Island was to make it worthless to them. If this theory was somewhat farfetched, there could be no question of the practical effect of the destruction of the sugar crop in curtailing the resources of the administration.

Early in 1896, the insurgents had penetrated within a few miles of Habana and the proclamation of martial law was extended to embrace the whole Island. The Governor-General returned to the capital, which was in a state of turmoil and panic.

Gomez, however, did not for an instant entertain the idea of so rash an enterprise as an attack upon the City. His purpose was to make a spectacular demonstration for the sake of its moral effect and to concentrate the attention of the Spanish commanders upon himself in order that Maceo might push on to Pinar del Rio with less opposition. In both respects he was eminently successful.

Maceo traversed the entire length of Pinar del Rio, and that Province, in which rebellion had never before reared its head, was soon in open revolt from end to end. During January and February, Maceo ranged through Pinar del Rio and the southern portion of Habana, constantly engaged with one or another of the many detachments that were sent against him. For a brief space he transferred his operations to Matanzas, but returned to Pinar del Rio and for eight months withstood the numerous strong bodies of troops which General Weyler threw against him. Toward the close of the year 1896, Maceo began a march eastward and was killed in a chance encounter with a small force of Spanish soldiers.

In the execution of the plan for the invasion of the western portion of Cuba, which was conceived by Gomez, Antonio Maceo performed a splendid service for the insurgent cause. Although inferior in intellect to his chief and some other rebel leaders, Maceo was the most capable captain of them all, and his prestige among friends and foes was greater than that of any of his associates.

When General Campos returned to Habana, at the close of the year 1895, it was to find popular discontent and political conspiracy directed against him. Already discouraged by the failure of his military campaign, and of his effort to break up the insurrection by conciliation, the disaffection at the capital completely disheartened the old soldier, who had conscientiously endeavored to do his duty according to his lights. He tendered his resignation, and the home Government appointed General Weyler, Marquis of Tenerife, to succeed him.

This man, who amply earned his sobriquet of “Butcher,” was the unwitting instrument of Cuba’s freedom. His atrocious barbarities, rather than the destruction of the Maine, were the cause of the United States declaring war against Spain. Although, at the outset, it appeared as though his succession to Campos was a dire blow to the insurgents, the event proved it to be a blessing in disguise. The retiring General believed that Spain should grant to the Cubans the most liberal administrative and political reforms, even to the extent of autonomy. It is possible that he might have brought the authorities at Madrid to his way of thinking and, in that case, quite probable that the rebellion would have been brought to a peaceful termination.

Weyler lost no time in instituting his concentration system. It was a measure in which he and Canovas, the premier of Spain, had great faith as a means of subduing the insurrection, but it utterly failed in its object and had a result of which its originators little dreamed. They excused it on the ground of military necessity, but it contravened the principles of civilized warfare in important particulars. It involved making prisoners of peaceful noncombatants, and went farther in neglecting to afford them the treatment which the least humane nation concedes to military captives. Indeed its brutality was such as savages would rarely be guilty of.

The people of the country districts, men, women, and children, were segregated within certain restricted bounds, sometimes defined by stockades, or trenches, and always guarded by troops. Sometimes they were permitted to enter neighboring towns, but, even in such cases, their movements were limited by military circumspection.

If this measure had gone no farther it might have been condoned. The British, in the Boer War, resorted to such an expedient, but they made their detention camps as comfortable as possible, they fed and clothed the inmates sufficiently, and afforded them medical attention. Weyler’s wretched reconcentrados were simply herded together and left to their own resources. They were reduced to begging of a people only one degree less impoverished than themselves. The townsman who gave a tortilla to a starving pacifico was usually depriving his own family. Disease, unchecked, ran riot in the concentration camps.

The mortality was fearful and those who survived were unfitted for years, the men to work, the women to bear healthy children. Cuba has not yet passed from the effects of Weyler’s barbaric measure.

After General Weyler’s arrival, Spain continued to send steady reënforcements to Cuba to fill the ranks thinned by disease. He never had fewer than one hundred thousand men under his command. With these he entered upon vigorous military operations, at first concentrating his forces upon Pinar del Rio with the object of crushing Maceo. He endeavored to isolate the leader at the western end of the Island by constructing a trocha, from coast to coast, across its narrowest part. The measure failed in its purpose. Maceo crossed the barrier and met his death near Habana in an otherwise trivial skirmish.

Weyler now directed his efforts against Gomez and Garcia, but his task was even a more difficult one than that of Campos had been. After spreading the rebellion over the entire Island, Gomez changed his tactics. It now became the practice of the insurgents to move stealthily about in the manigua, burning and destroying wherever they could find anything upon which to lay their hands, but avoiding contact with the Spanish troops. Thus Weyler’s soldiers were kept constantly chasing back and forth in endless and futile pursuit of an intangible enemy. By his orders such property as had escaped destruction by the rebels was ruined by the royalists.

By the middle of 1897, the Island was a mass of blackened ruins, an expanse of homeless waste. And the flood of insurrection had not been stayed in the slightest degree. Weyler had failed more utterly than Campos. But he had done more; he had aroused in the public mind of America a realization of the stubborn opposition of the Cubans to Spanish rule and the hopelessness of Spain’s effort to reassert it, combined with indignation at her methods. At length, but all too late, Spain awoke to the futility of longer attempting repression, and the necessity of conceding to the Cubans a liberal measure of justice and independence. Weyler was recalled, and General Blanco came to Cuba, bearing in his hand the olive branch of autonomy. He arrived in November and immediately set about reversing the policy of his predecessor. Amnesty was offered to all revolutionists; harsh decrees were annulled or suspended; political prisoners were released; the rigors of reconcentration were relaxed; the officials appointed by Weyler throughout the Island were removed and Cubans invited to take their places; a cabinet was actually installed at Habana and the machinery of home rule put in motion.

It was all of no avail. The insurgent leaders in the field positively refused to accept any

STREET SCENE, SANTIAGO DE CUBA.

terms short of independence. In this attitude they were encouraged by the Junta in New York who, by the beginning of 1898, felt confident of the early active interposition of the United States. Such a consummation was rendered more probable by the movement, started at the close of the previous year on the part of the Cuban sugar planters, to secretly apprise the United States of their desire for its intervention.

The first overt act in the war with Spain was the President’s call for volunteers, issued April 23rd, 1898. Four days later, Admiral Dewey left Hongkong for Manila, where, on the first day of May, he captured or destroyed the Spanish fleet stationed there. June 14th, the first detachment of American troops left for Cuba under General Shafter, and landed in the vicinity of Santiago de Cuba. On the first and second days of July the Spaniards were defeated in the engagement of San Juan, and on the third, Admiral Cervera’s ships were totally destroyed by the American fleet under the command of Captain Sampson.

August 12th, a protocol provided for a cessation of hostilities, and on December 10th, a treaty of peace between the United States and Spain was signed at Paris, securing to Cuba absolute freedom on the single condition of establishing “a stable government capable of maintaining order and observing international obligations.”

Thus closed the final war of independence, which cost Cuba at least twelve per cent. of her population and two-thirds of her wealth. She emerged from it weak and impoverished, with political and economic structures shaken to their bases, and helpless but for the supporting hand of the United States.

Under the military government instituted by the United States pending the creation of such conditions as would be favorable to the assumption of full civil rights by the Cubans, many beneficial works were carried out aside from the laying of a political foundation for the future administration of the country. The most extensive reformative measures were vigorously applied to the affairs of the Island. The most thorough sanitation was planned and, to a great extent, carried out; a public school system was instituted; many miles of highway were improved or constructed; agriculture and commerce were resuscitated. A period of prosperity resulted, which was proof alike of the effectiveness of the American administration and of the wonderful recuperative power of the country.

In its relation to the United States, Cuba was in a position different from that of any other Latin-American republic. This unique condition was due to the fact that the Cubans had adopted as a part of their constitution a law enacted by the Congress of the United States and known as the Platt Amendment, which had later been incorporated in a permanent treaty between the countries. This constitution requirement and treaty obligation bound the Republic of Cuba not to enter into any compact with any foreign power which might tend to impair the independence of the Republic: nor to contract any public debt to the service of which it could not properly attend; to lease coaling stations to the United States; and to execute and extend plans for the sanitation of the cities of the Island. It expressed the consent of Cuba to the exercise by the United States of the right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence and maintenance of a government capable of protecting life, property and individual liberty, and of discharging such obligations imposed by the Treaty of Paris on the United States as were now to be assumed and undertaken by the Government of Cuba.

Under its first President, Dr. Estrada Palma, the young republic progressed in a manner gratifying to its sponsors, but as the presidential term grew to a close political dissensions arose and, in the middle of 1906, an open revolt against the Government broke out, and uprisings occurred all over the country. The ostensible cause of the disaffection was undue interference with the national elections by administrative officials, but there is no doubt that the majority of the insurrectos were moved by no higher sentiment than a love of disturbance and the hope of loot.

The Government was quite unprepared to cope with the situation. It had no army, very little artillery, and an entirely inadequate force of rural constabulary. Efforts to organize militia met with such poor success that they were soon abandoned.

President Palma appealed to the United States to exercise its right and obligation of intervention, and announced his intention of resigning in order to save the country from anarchy. President Roosevelt desired, and hoped, that the difficulty might be overcome without a resort to extreme measures. He begged the Cuban Chief Executive to retain his post, and despatched Mr. Taft, Secretary of War, and Mr. Bacon, Assistant Secretary of State, to Habana in the capacity of special envoys to render all possible aid in securing an amicable entente between the administrative party and the insurgents.

The commissioners entered upon this extremely difficult task in the middle of September, 1906. They decided that the use of force or even a show of it, would be calculated to precipitate guerrilla warfare, and wisely determined to rely upon diplomacy. Prominent citizens, irrespective of party affiliations, were invited to meet the Commission and to express their views of the situation freely. Many conferences were held with the leaders of the different political parties, and their suggestions for a settlement of the differences were given careful and impartial consideration.

A compromise arrangement, which contemplated the resignation of all the administrative officials, except the President, and the holding of a fresh election, was formulated and presented to the leaders of the three parties, but it failed to meet with the necessary unanimous acceptance. The Liberal party assented to the proposition without reserve. The Independent Nationalists approved of the general plan, but stipulated for certain modifications. The party in power, the Moderates, were irreconcilably opposed to the conditions.

President Palma called a special session of Congress, in order to tender to it his resignation, which was accompanied by that of the Vice President. The Congress accepted the resignations and immediately adjourned without taking further action in the matter, so that the principal executive offices of the Republic were left vacant, and the country was without a government.

At this juncture Secretary Taft issued the following proclamation, establishing the Provisional Government in Cuba:

“To the people of Cuba:

“The failure of Congress to act on the irrevocable resignation of the President of Cuba, or to elect a successor, leaves this country without a government at a time when great disorder prevails, and requires that, pursuant to a request of President Palma, the necessary steps be taken in the name and by the authority of the President of the United States, to restore order, protect life and property in the Island of Cuba and Islands and Keys adjacent thereto, and for this purpose to establish therein a provisional government.

“The provisional government hereby established by direction and in the name of the President of the United States will be retained only long enough to restore order and peace and public confidence, and then to hold such elections as may be necessary to determine those persons upon whom the permanent government of the Republic should be devolved.

“In so far as is consistent with the nature of a provisional government established under the authority of the United States, this will be a Cuban government conforming as far as possible to the Constitution of Cuba.

“I ask all citizens and residents of Cuba to assist in the work of restoring order, tranquillity and public confidence.”

The attitude of the Peace Commission met with general public approval. Although the insurgents had thousands of men under arms, and the only American force landed was a squad of marines to protect the Treasury, the Provisional Government was installed without the faintest show of opposition. A general amnesty was proclaimed, and the disarmament of the insurgents and newly raised militia was carried through without difficulty.

Hon. Charles E. Magoon was appointed Provisional Governor, and officers of the United States army were detailed as advisers to the acting secretaries of the Cuban executive departments.

A new electoral law, recommended by the Provisional Governor, was adopted, and under it a general election was held in November, 1908, without the least disturbance, although it had been preceded by a vigorous political campaign. The Liberal candidates, General Jose Miguel Gomez, for President, and Senor Alfredo Zayas, for Vice-President, were returned by a substantial majority and inaugurated January 28th, 1909.

MORRO CASTLE FROM CENTRAL PARK, HABANA.

CHAPTER V
THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY

Notwithstanding the intimacy of our relations with the Cubans for many years past, our people entertain the most hazy and confused ideas about them. It is difficult to make an American understand that there is any essential difference between a Cuban and a Spaniard. He generally imagines that the distinction is nominal, or, if actual, that it rests entirely upon political status. Of the Americans who go to Cuba only a small proportion travel farther from Habana than the caves of Bellamar, and they imagine that they see the typical native in the men and women of the city. In this conclusion they fall very short of the mark. The Habanero is not the best and truest representative of his country. He must be sought in the rural districts and will most readily be found in Camaguey, where the percentage of pure whites is even greater than in the capital. The Cuban is fond of calling himself a Camagueyeno, and this because the purest native blood of the Island has been found in that Province since the old days when it was a famous cattle-raising country.

The Cuban is a Spaniard to the same extent as the American is English, and no more. Although the compositive mixture is greater in one type than in the other, they exhibit equal divergence from the parent stock, both in the matter of physical and mental characteristics. This, without reference to the native who is tinged with negro blood—the mulatto. He may conform closely to the traits and appearance of the creole, but then, again, he may differ from him in the widest degree.

The Spaniard, and especially the peasant of the provinces, from whom the Cuban is most often descended, is usually round-headed, broad-chested, and stocky. The Cuban is lanky, lean and slack limbed. His drooping shoulders, languid air, and listless gait, give the impression of weak physique and lack of energy, an impression which is confirmed by a study of his habits. It might be supposed that, with the advantage of acclimatization, he would be able to hold his own against the foreign settler, but such is very far from being the case.

Immigrants of any race, but particularly those from Spain, appear to have no difficulty in competing successfully with the Cuban upon his native heath. This can not be altogether due to physical weakness and want of energy, and certainly not to deficiency of intelligence. Perhaps the chief reason of the Cuban’s backwardness is to be found in a constitutional absence of ambition. For generations he has had no incentive to effort and the laissez faire state of mind has gradually become ingrained. Whether, with improved opportunity, his character will undergo a change in this respect is beyond the range of safe prediction. The opportunity has not yet been extended to him, despite superficial appearances.

Critics of the Cubans are prone to speak of them contemptuously for the lack of certain qualities which we prize and the possession of certain defects which we despise. The charges are generally true, but the condemnation unjust, nevertheless. No people were ever more handicapped in their formative development. Numerous conditions, over which they had little, if any, control, have affected the Cubans physically, morally, politically, and economically,—and the influences have, in the majority of instances and in the most respects, been maleficent. Only since yesterday have the Cubans been free agents, and even to-day their freedom is qualified, the conduct of their Government subject to a critical supervision, and their independence liable to sudden interruption. They have had no more control of their making than a child has of its. They have always been treated as irresponsible and incapable beings. They have never had fair scope for initiative, nor a free field for endeavor. There has always been a pressure from above, crushing growth, independence, enterprise, and hope.

Under the circumstances is it to be wondered at that the Cuban is deficient in backbone; that he is vacillating and morally wobbly; that his somewhat effeminate, often handsome, and never coarse features bear a stamp of weakness which the most fiery pair of eyes will not suffice to counteract? Would it not be surprising if he displayed any marked capacity for hard work, or facility for business?

Pleasure loving, inclined to frivolity, cheery, and apparently philosophical, the Cuban yields to difficulties and sinks under reverses. It is his habit, fostered by temperament and environment, to follow the lines of least resistance, and the way leads him ultimately into a cul de sac,—a slough of stagnation. He has a quick intelligence and a lively imagination. He can plan shrewdly and with nice calculation, but he has neither the force nor the executive ability to carry out his designs. For a full century he has conspired to throw off the galling yoke of Spain, and he would never have done it but for the intervention of the United States.

As a young man he is apt to be foppish, libidinous and indolent, in striking contrast to the sturdy little Spanish apprentice, of Habana. Cuban children are too often spoilt by fond and over indulgent parents. The effect upon the girls is modified by the restricted home life to which they are subjected. In the boys it shows in selfwilfulness, lack of principle and utter absence of respect for things that the Anglo Saxon is apt to reverence.

The Cuban usually marries early, and he makes a good father, if, often, a questionable husband. Despite the fact that he can depend upon the continence of his wife, or, perhaps because of it, he is frequently guilty of infidelity to her. This, if she discovers it, she is likely to treat with a complacency that an American woman could not understand. It is a common boast of Cubans that no Cuban woman ever became a public prostitute. Whether or not this is true, there is a marked difference in the standard of marital virtue maintained by the sexes among them. In this, and other respects, the less said about the Cuban of Habana, the better.

It is not on short acquaintance that a true gauge of the Cuban’s character may be made. His surface air is one of self-respect and geniality, that hides the underlying egotistic selfishness and flaccidity. If educated, he has a courteous manner and polished address, while the poorest peasant displays a certain refinement and decided intelligence. I never remember to have seen a dull or stupid looking Cuban, but, perhaps, that is due less to mental quality than to the universal endowment of remarkably fine eyes.

At first sight, you will like the Cuban, and you may continue to do so after you have learned to know him for a weak-minded brother, without any stable qualities in his composition. He has a subtle attractiveness which you will find it difficult to analyze. Perhaps it is his natural bonhomie and genuine affectionateness

COUNTRY HOMES OF WEALTHY CUBANS.

that draws you, and the undercurrent of naïve childishness that blinds you to his faults. Unlike his arrogant cousin, the Spaniard, he is pathetically conscious of his shortcomings. Often a comic assertiveness will thinly cloak an uneasy realization of inferiority.

And withal you will conclude that he is not a bad fellow at the bottom; that with half a chance he might have developed into a very different man. This idea will be strengthened when you come to know the guajiro. Meanwhile you can not fail to speculate with misgiving on the future of the country if its Government is to remain in the hands of the white and parti-colored Cubans. You may base some hope on the recollection that the soil of this Island has bred not a few men of noble character and great talent,—but we will consider the subject more fully later on.

The younger generation of the present upper class of Cubans is a source of hope and may perhaps prove to be the seed-bed of a different race. Their fathers were born to riches and enjoyed lives of ease and pleasure. Reckless extravagance and loss due to war, and the consequent commercial depressions, have reduced most of the wealthy families to ruin, or comparative poverty. It is as much as they can do to afford their sons good educations. After leaving college they are compelled to earn their livelihood. The result of this changed condition is already apparent in the display of more manly qualities and better principles. Of the many Cuban youths in our educational institutions, a large proportion give promise of leading useful lives.

What the Cuban seems to need more than anything else is to develop virility and hard common sense. If he should do this in combination with the better application of some of his natural talents, he will present himself to the world as a very admirable man. Meanwhile, it is always to be remembered that he was freed from his swaddling clothes but yesterday. He never before had a fair chance to grow, to stretch his limbs, to think and act for himself. We do not know what he can do or what he may become until he has been tested through two generations, at least.

The foregoing is written, in the main, with the Cubans of the cities and towns in mind—the men of what are commonly called the “better class.” The guajiro, the white Cuban peasant of the rural districts, is in several respects a different fellow. But, before we proceed to a description of him, let us take a view of la hija del pais, the daughter of the country.

From the time that she first begins to walk, until she is handed over, too often against her inclination, to a husband, the Cuban girl is under surveillance. Whether this close guardianship is prompted by fear of the evil designs of the young men of her acquaintance, by anxiety about her own tendencies to go astray, or both, is not clear. Perhaps the old Spanish custom is unnecessary and is maintained merely because it is an established practice. Be that as it may, the Cuban girl is not allowed any kind of intercourse with the other sex, except for the members of her own family, until she leaves her father’s house for that of her husband, unless it be under supervision. Occasionally lovers contrive to exchange a few words privately through the bars of a ground floor window, but the proceeding is not countenanced by the maiden’s mother, and may entail a penance in expiation of the bold defiance of the laws of etiquette and modesty.

The little Cubana is escorted to school and thence home again. Her little brother goes to a separate institution. It would not be at all proper for boys and girls to read their primers upon the same benches, or even in the same room. Later on, when she has grown to be a big girl and of an age at which an American miss is supposed to take care of herself, the Cuban is still treated as if it were not safe to leave her alone for a moment. She goes to the theatre or plaza with her mother, and young men of her acquaintance cast languishing glances at her from the foyer, or the benches along the walk. One of them may be particularly favored by her parents and he may be permitted to call upon her, but he will never be permitted to see her, except in the presence of a sister, or a less sympathetic dueña. Their courtship is carried on without any of the sweet tête-à-têtes that are as essential to Anglo Saxon love-making as mustard is to ham. I presume, although I have made no precise enquiry on the subject, that most Cuban girls of good families do not kiss the men to whom they are married until after the priestly benediction has been pronounced upon the union.

No nation can boast women more comely than the daughters of Cuba. Often their features are strikingly attractive and sometimes extremely beautiful, despite the disfiguring cascarilla, or powdered egg-shell, which is plastered on the face with ghastly effect. If the Cubana had vivacity, or even expression, she would be irresistibly charming. But her countenance, though not lacking in intelligence, is apt to be placid to the point of dulness. This is the more remarkable because her Spanish grandmother was probably a woman of verve and sparkle, with flashing, big black eyes, which in her descendant are just as big and black, but languid and unresponsive. Though blondes are not extremely rare among the Cuban women, the prevailing type is dark, with blue-black hair in abundant quantity. The cubana matures early and fades correspondingly soon. A fully developed woman at thirteen, she is often married at that age, or shortly after, and is probably the mother of several children before she has passed out of her teens. Her good looks wane and her figure becomes embonpoint, if not corpulent, at an age when the Anglo-Saxon woman still presents the appearance of youth.

One who had only known la senorita might be disposed to think that Cuban women have little character or individuality. It is as mothers that they display their best traits. From the day of her marriage, La Cubana devotes her life to her home and family. She is a willing slave to her husband and children, often with bad effect upon him and them. A little more independence, a little less self-sacrifice, on her part, would be better for all parties concerned. But every Cuban girl is taught that her sole mission in life is to fulfill her duty as wife and mother to the best of her ability. She has been schooled to consider herself the absolute property of her husband and to render him unquestioned obedience.

She is prone to jealousy but slow to resent neglect and unfaithfulness. Sad to say, this devoted creature too often loses the love of her husband with the decline of her beauty. She seldom has the strength of character or the intellectual attractions necessary to hold him when the physical charm has lost its force.

Religion is the only other interest of the Cuban lady, and she has a monopoly of it, for the men of her class are almost universally irreligious. During the revolutionary period, when free-thought doctrines were rife in Europe and America, the Cubans of the cities became addicted to reading the works of Voltaire, Rousseau, and their Italian disciples. The result was a deterioration of religious belief, from which the Cubans have never recovered. Although they are sometimes apparently zealous in the observance of the rites and ceremonies of the Church, it is probably more from a love of music and of pageantry than from devotional motives. The most regular attendant of mass is apt to speak lightly of his faith and its representatives and to laugh at the scurrilous cartoons, caricaturing the Church and its ministers, which frequently appear in the newspapers and the shop-windows. No doubt the conduct of some of the clergy in Cuba, as in other Latin-American countries, has done much toward destroying respect for the cloth and devotion to the faith. Then again the fact that the Church was allied with the official oppressors, although many priests sympathized with the natives, had its effect for alienation. Were it not for its female adherents, the Church in Cuba would cease to be a national institution to-morrow. La cubana, however, is a fervent devotée, constant in her attendance at mass and confession.

The Cuban woman is the most conservative of beings and a stickler for the proprieties. She is very matter of fact, very serious, and utterly destitute of humor. Her life is passed in a narrow groove, with little but birth, marriage, and death, to vary it. Her world is contained in the town of which she is resident, and perhaps within a few squares of it. What happens outside these boundaries is nothing to her. She seldom cares for reading, her sole accomplishments are embroidering and piano-playing, her chief diversion, gossiping with her neighbors. She is never taught to take an interest in household work and knows nothing about cooking.

But withal she is womanly, warm-hearted, hospitable, and often extremely charming.

The Cubans are the most democratic of people. The ragged peasant maintains a dignified attitude toward all men, which conveys the impression of a nicely balanced respect for himself and for his fellow. His landlord, or his employer, meets him upon his own ground and the relations between them are frequently characterized by friendly familiarity. The revolutionary period, with its levelling processes and its common interests, tended to make this condition more pronounced. It also had the effect of almost obliterating the color-line, which had previously been but faint. The right of the

“HER WORLD IS CONTAINED IN THE TOWN OF WHICH SHE IS RESIDENT.”

black and mulatto to call themselves “cubanos” could hardly be disputed in a country which owes its freedom in so great a degree to their efforts.

The lowest Cuban of the country will welcome you with dignified self-possession to the hut in which his naked children are tumbling about among the pigs and the chickens. You will have no difficulty in realizing that you may not pity nor patronize him, however miserable his condition may appear to be. He will be glad to do you a service for pay, and will overcharge you if you permit, but you can not offer him a gratuity without risk of offence. His air of independence is not without a basis of fact for its justification. His simple needs are supplied with little labor. He works when he wants to, and loafs when he pleases.

The guajiro, or white peasant of Cuba, is first cousin to the gibaro of Puerto Rico, whom I have described in a former volume.[2] They are much alike in character and in manner of living, but the former is the better man. He has not had to contend against the hookworm, which has played havoc with the Puerto Rican campesino, and he has gained something in fibre and backbone from his hard experience as combatant or reconcentrado in the rebellions of late years.

The ancestors of the guajiro came mainly from Catalonia and Andalusia, and were a good, hardy stock. Time was when he occasionally owned slaves and a fair extent of land, but nowadays he is more often than not a squatter in a little corner of that no-man’s-land which seems to be so extensive in the central and eastern portions of the Island. In comparatively few instances he has title to a few acres, lives in a passably comfortable cabana, possesses a yoke of oxen, a good horse, half a dozen pigs, and plenty of poultry. Much more often he lives in a ramshackle bohio, the one apartment of which affords indifferent shelter to a large family and is fairly shared by a lean hog and a few scrawny chickens. There is nothing deserving the name of furniture in the house, and the clothing of the family is of the scantiest. A nag of some sort, usually a sorry specimen of its kind, is almost always owned by the guajiro, who loves a horse and rides like the gaucho of the Argentine pampas.

The guajiros are handsome, manly fellows. While they have frequently become tinged with African blood, a majority probably have maintained the purity of their origin, and this is conspicuously the case with the peasantry about Cienfuegos. They speak a patois which is a mixture of Spanish and negro dialect, picked up from the blacks, with whom their intercourse has always been more or less close, and with whom they live on the best of terms.

The guajiro is totally lacking ambition and his chief desire is to be left alone to live his life in his own way. If he is frugal, it is from necessity. Of thrift he has no understanding. What he earns to-day he carelessly spends to-morrow. Indeed he knows no reason for earning except to spend. It would be strange if his characteristics were otherwise. He has never had any opportunity to improve his condition, nor any incentive to accumulate property. He has become accustomed to living from hand to mouth with indifferent regard to the future. He works when he must and ceases as soon as he may. In that respect he is merely giving full play to an inclination that is strong in all of us.

The guajiro lives chiefly on bananas and other fruit. Aside from an occasional iguana, or jutea, pork is the only meat he eats. This, contrary to our idea of the fitness of things in the tropics, is a frequent and favorite dish with all classes of Cubans. He sometimes varies his bill of fare with a fish or a bull-frog.

The one trait of his Spanish forefathers which the guajiro retains in undiminished strength, is love of gambling. He is supported through a week of loathsome labor by the prospect of wagering his wages at the cock-pit or bull-ring on Sunday. He enjoys music and dancing with the whole-hearted delight of a child. As most of the observances of the Church have something of a gala character they attract him, and he finds a pious excuse for attending them. Weddings, christenings, funerals, are so many holidays in which it is a religious duty to take part. Of course all the fiestas are holy days and if he worked on all the days which are in no manner signalized by the Church, he would hardly labor half the time.

The guajira does all the chores about the place, except for looking after the cattle. If these and the cooking leave any surplus time it is occupied in attending to the numerous brood of guajiritos, who are to be seen tumbling

YOUNG CANE-FIELD, WITH BANANA GROVE IN THE DISTANCE.

about every cabin of the Island in a state of unhampered nature. The guajira is the working member of the family, but she gets her full share of the holidays, for her husband usually takes all his dependents with him when he goes to town to attend mass and patronize the cockfight. Females are debarred from that delectable entertainment and while it is in progress the guajira will foregather with others of her kind outside the village fonda and gossip over a glass of tamarind water.

There used to be more saints’ days than Sundays in the calendar, but the number is not so generally observed as formerly. In fact, the country population seems to be beginning to take a more serious view of life and to regard work as a somewhat essential part of it, rather than a necessary evil of intermittent character. As he has come into closer touch with civilization in latter days, the guajiro has become sensibly discontented with his simple lot and desirous of many things of which he formerly knew nothing or toward which he was indifferent.

CHAPTER VI
THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY (CONTINUED)

Among those best acquainted with Cuba and the Cubans, opinion differs widely as to the negroes. There are those who go so far as to believe that they will be a retarding factor in the development of the country, while others consider them the most promising element of the laboring population. Both these views are extreme, and, as a matter of fact, any prediction as to the future of the Cuban negro must include a great degree of pure surmise. What he has been is not a safe basis for inference of what he will be under entirely different conditions.

Mr. Charles M. Pepper, who has had exceptional opportunities for judging, declares that “the negro of Cuba is not an idler, nor a clog on the industrial progress. He will do his part toward rebuilding the industries of the Island, and no capitalist need fear to engage in enterprises because of an indefinite fear regarding negro labor. In the country, for a time, the black laborers may be in a majority. On its political side the black population of Cuba has its definite status. Social equality does not exist, but there is no color line. Social tolerance prevails.... The part taken in the insurrection by the blacks has undoubtedly strengthened their future influence.... The race has far more than its proportion of criminals. Some tendencies toward retrogression have to be watched.... With common-school education the negro will do better. At present he is doing very well.”