OTHER CUBAN CITIES 129 



its interior end, is bordered by steep mountain-sides cov- 

 ered with tropical vegetation. 



The bay itself is a magnificent body of water, capable, as 

 has been shown in the present warfare, of harboring a 

 whole fleet. As a background, the magnificent heights of 

 the Sierra Maestra appear, assuming in the early morning 

 the peculiar purple color seen to such effect in the Blue 

 Mountains of Jamaica. Not only to the north, but east 

 and west also, tall mountains raise their heads around the 

 harbor, forming a vast amphitheater of nature, with the 

 blue waters of the bay as a foreground. On the right side 

 of the bay, toward its mouth, is a place used by the govern- 

 ment as a coaling-station, known as Cinco Reales. 



To the right of the city, toward La Cruz, is a small fort 

 called Punta Blanca, which takes its name from the bank 

 of white sand on which it rests. On the hills above are 

 several small blockhouse forts. A large building, used as 

 a convalescent hospital for the Spanish soldiers, is a con- 

 spicuous object on the left-hand side of the bay, while on 

 the hillside near the suburban village of La Cruz are many 

 beautiful houses with blue-and-yellow walls, a quaint tur- 

 ret or tower projecting here and there through the matrix 

 of royal palms. 



The town of Santiago itself lies at the extreme northeast 

 indentation of the bay, upon a sloping hillside about six miles 

 from the sea. It is a quaint and peculiar city of the character- 

 istic Moorish architecture, with roofs of red tile. Many of the 

 houses are only one story high, but there are larger struc- 

 tures. The dwelling-houses are surrounded by spacious 

 verandas, which give upon beautiful gardens filled with a 

 wealth of gorgeous tropical flowers; orange-, lime-, poin- 

 settia-, and hibiscus-trees give a variety of color. One of the 

 best features of the place is the Alameda, the road extend- 

 in g along the water-front for about half a mile, with a good 

 surface for cycling, and shaded by waving palms and other 

 trees. At its eastern end is a very pretty botanical garden, 

 and about midway in its course is a charming rustic pavil- 



