Chapter I: Preface

The public favor accorded to a late volume by the author of these pages, entitled "Due West; or Round the World in Ten Months," has suggested both the publication and the title of the volume in hand, which consists of notes of a voyage to the tropics, and a sojourn in Cuba during the last winter. The endeavor has been to present a comprehensive view of the island, past and present, and to depict the political and moral darkness which have so long enshrouded it. A view of its interesting inhabitants, with a glance at its beautiful flora and vegetation generally, has been a source of such hearty enjoyment to the author that he desires to share the pleasure with the appreciative reader. The great importance of the geographical position of the island, its present critical condition, and the proposed treaty of commerce with this country, together render it at present of unusual interest in the eyes of the world. If possible, Cuba is more Castilian than peninsular Spain, and both are so Moorish as to present a fascinating study of national characteristics.

M. M. B.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Departure. -- On Board Ship. -- Arrival at Nassau. -- Capital
of the Bahamas. -- Climate. -- Soil. -- Fruits and Flowers.
-- Magic Fertility. -- Colored Population. -- The Blockade
Runners. -- Population. -- Products. -- A Picturesque Local
Scene. -- Superstition. -- Fish Story. -- The Silk-Cotton
Tree. -- Remarkable Vegetation. -- The Sea Gardens. -- Marine
Animal Life. -- The Bahama Banks. -- Burial at Sea. -- Venal
Officials. -- Historical Characters. -- The Early Buccaneers.
-- Diving for Drinking-Water. 1

CHAPTER II.

Among the Islands. -- San Salvador. -- A Glimpse at the
Stars. -- Hayti. -- The Gulf Stream. -- The Caribbean Sea. --
Latitude and Longitude. -- The Southern Coast of Cuba. -- A
Famous Old Fortress. -- Fate of Political Prisoners. -- The
Oldest City in Cuba. -- The Aborigines. -- Cuban Cathedrals.
-- Drinking Saloons. -- Dogs, Horses, and Coolies. -- Scenes
in Santiago de Cuba. -- Devoured by Sharks. -- Lying at
Anchor. -- Wreck of a Historic Ship. -- Cuban Circulating
Medium. -- Tropical Temperature. 24

CHAPTER III.

Doubling Cape Cruz. -- Trinidad. -- Cienfuegos. -- The Plaza.
-- Beggars. -- Visit to a Sugar Plantation. -- Something
about Sugar. -- An Original Character. -- A Tropical Fruit
Garden. -- Cuban Hospitality. -- The Banana. -- Lottery
Tickets. -- Chinese Coolies. -- Blindness in Cuba. -- Birds
and Poultry. -- The Cock-Pit. -- Negro Slavery, To-Day. --
Spanish Slaveholders. -- A Slave Mutiny. -- A Pleasant
Journey across the Island. -- Pictures of the Interior. --
Scenery about Matanzas. -- The Tropics and the North
contrasted. 46

CHAPTER IV.

The Great Genoese Pilot. -- Discovery of Cuba. -- Its Various
Names. -- Treatment of the Natives. -- Tobacco! -- Flora of
the Island. -- Strange Idols. -- Antiquity. -- Habits of the
Aborigines. -- Remarkable Speech of an Indian King. -- A
Native Entertainment. -- Paying Tribute. -- Ancient Remains.
-- Wrong Impression of Columbus. -- First Attempt at
Colonization. -- Battle with the Indians. -- First Governor
of Cuba. -- Founding Cities. -- Emigration from Spain. --
Conquest of Mexico. 70

CHAPTER V.

Baracoa, the First Capital. -- West Indian Buccaneers. --
Military Despotism. -- A Perpetual State of Siege. -- A
Patriotic Son of Cuba. -- Political Condition of the Island.
-- Education of Cuban Youths. -- Attempts at Revolution. --
Fate of General Narciso Lopez. -- The Late Civil War and its
Leader. -- Terrible Slaughter of Spanish Troops. --
Stronghold of the Insurgents. -- Guerrillas. -- Want of
Self-Reliance. -- Spanish Art, Literature, and Conquest. --
What Spain was. -- What Spain is. -- Rise and Fall of an
Empire. 88

CHAPTER VI.

Geographical. -- A Remarkable Weed. -- Turtle-Hunting. --
Turtle-Steaks in Olden Times. -- The Gulf Stream. -- Deep-Sea
Soundings. -- Mountain Range of Cuba. -- Curious Geological
Facts. -- Subterranean Caverns. -- Wild Animals. -- The
Rivers of the Island. -- Fine Harbors. -- Historic Memories
of the Caribbean Sea. -- Sentinel of the Gulf. -- Importance
of the Position. -- Climate. -- Hints for Invalids. --
Matanzas. -- Execution of a Patriot. -- Valley of Yumuri;
Caves of Bellamar; Puerto Principe; Cardenas. 102

CHAPTER VII.

City of Havana. -- First Impressions. -- The Harbor. --
Institutions. -- Lack of Educational Facilities. -- Cuban
Women. -- Street Etiquette. -- Architecture. -- Domestic
Arrangements. -- Barred Windows and Bullet-Proof Doors. --
Public Vehicles. -- Uncleanliness of the Streets. -- Spanish
or African! -- The Church Bells. -- Home-Keeping Habits of
Ladies. -- Their Patriotism. -- Personal Characteristics. --
Low Ebb of Social Life. -- Priestcraft. -- Female Virtue. --
Domestic Ties. -- A Festive Population. -- Cosmetics. --
Sea-Bathing. 125

CHAPTER VIII.

Sabbath Scenes in Havana. -- Thimble-Riggers and Mountebanks.
-- City Squares and their Ornamentation. -- The Cathedral. --
Tomb of Columbus. -- Plaza de Armas. -- Out-Door Concerts. --
Habitués of Paseo de Isabella. -- Superbly Appointed Cafés.
-- Gambling. -- Lottery Tickets. -- Fast Life. -- Masquerade
Balls. -- Carnival Days. -- The Famous Tacon Theatre. -- The
Havana Casino. -- Public Statues. -- Beauties of the
Governor's Garden. -- The Alameda. -- The Old Bell-Ringer. --
Military Mass. 144

CHAPTER IX.

Political Inquisition. -- Fashionable Streets of the City. --
Tradesmen's Signs. -- Bankrupt Condition of Traders. -- The
Spanish Army. -- Exiled Patriots. -- Arrival of Recruits. --
The Garrote. -- A Military Execution. -- Cuban Milk Dealers.
-- Exposure of Domestic Life. -- Living in the Open Air. --
The Campo Santo of Havana. -- A Funeral Cortége. -- Punishing
Slaves. -- Campo de Marte. -- Hotel Telegrafo. -- Environs of
the City. -- Bishop's Garden. -- Consul-General Williams. --
Mineral Springs. 166

CHAPTER X.

The Fish-Market of Havana. -- The Dying Dolphin. -- Tax upon
the Trade. -- Extraordinary Monopoly. -- Harbor Boats. -- A
Story about Marti, the Ex-Smuggler. -- King of the Isle of
Pines. -- The Offered Reward. -- Sentinels in the Plaza de
Armas. -- The Governor-General and the Intruder. -- "I am
Captain Marti!" -- The Betrayal. -- The Ex-Smuggler as Pilot.
-- The Pardon and the Reward. -- Tacon's Stewardship and
Official Career. -- Monopoly of Theatricals. -- A Negro
Festival. 184

CHAPTER XI.

The Havana Lottery. -- Its Influence. -- Hospitality of the
Cubans. -- About Bonnets. -- The Creole Lady's Face. -- Love
of Flowers. -- An Atmospheric Narcotic. -- The Treacherous
Indian Fig. -- How the Cocoanut is propagated. -- Cost of
Living in Cuba. -- Spurious Liquors. -- A Pleasant Health
Resort. -- The Cock-Pit. -- Game-Birds. -- Their Management.
-- A Cuban Cock-Fight. -- Garden of the World. -- About
Birds. -- Stewed Owl! -- Slaughter of the Innocents. -- The
Various Fruits. 200

CHAPTER XII.

Traveling by Volante. -- Want of Inland Communication. --
Americans Profitable Customers. -- The Cruel National Game.
-- The Plaza de Toros. -- Description of a Bull-Fight. -- The
Infection of Cruelty. -- The Romans and Spaniards compared.
-- Cry of the Spanish Mob: "Bread and Bulls!" -- Women at the
Fight. -- The Nobility of the Island. -- The Monteros. --
Ignorance of the Common People. -- Scenes in the Central
Market, Havana. -- Odd Ideas of Cuban Beggars. -- An Original
Style of Dude. -- A Mendicant Prince. 219

CHAPTER XIII.

Introduction of Sugar-Cane. -- Sugar Plantations. -- Mode of
Manufacture. -- Slaves on the Plantations. -- African
Amusements. -- The Grinding Season. -- The Coffee
Plantations. -- A Floral Paradise. -- Refugees from San
Domingo. -- Interesting Experiments with a Mimosa. -- Three
Staple Productions of Cuba. -- Raising Coffee and Tobacco. --
Best Soils for the Tobacco. -- Agricultural Possibilities. --
The Cuban Fire-Fly. -- A Much-Dreaded Insect. -- The Ceiba
Tree. -- About Horses and Oxen. 236

CHAPTER XIV.

Consumption of Tobacco. -- The Delicious Fruits of the
Tropics. -- Individual Characteristics of Cuban Fruits. --
The Royal Palm. -- The Mulberry Tree. -- Silk Culture. -- The
Island once covered by Forests. -- No Poisonous Reptiles. --
The Cuban Bloodhound. -- Hotbed of African Slavery. --
Spain's Disregard of Solemn Treaties. -- The Coolie System of
Slavery. -- Ah-Lee draws a Prize. -- Native African Races. --
Negroes buying their Freedom. -- Laws favoring the Slaves. --
Example of San Domingo. -- General Emancipation. 260

CHAPTER XV.

Slave Trade with Africa. -- Where the Slavers made their
Landing. -- An Early Morning Ride. -- Slaves marching to
Daily Labor. -- Fragrance of the Early Day. -- Mist upon the
Waters. -- A Slave Ship. -- A Beautiful but Guilty
Brigantine. -- A French Cruiser. -- Cunning Seamanship. -- A
Wild Goose Chase. -- A Cuban Posada. -- Visit to a Coffee
Estate. -- Landing a Slave Cargo. -- A Sight to challenge
Sympathy and Indignation. -- Half-Starved Victims. --
Destruction of the Slave Ship. 282

CHAPTER XVI.

Antique Appearance of Everything. -- The Yeomen of Cuba. -- A
Montero's Home. -- Personal Experience. -- The Soil of the
Island. -- Oppression by the Government. -- Spanish Justice
in Havana. -- Tax upon the Necessities of Life. -- The
Proposed Treaty with Spain. -- A One-Sided Proposition. -- A
Much Taxed People. -- Some of the Items of Taxation. -- Fraud
and Bankruptcy. -- The Boasted Strength of Moro Castle. --
Destiny of Cuba. -- A Heavy Annual Cost to Spain. --
Political Condition. -- Pictures of Memory. 300

DUE SOUTH.