16 THECUBAREVIEW 



The inhabitants of the Gran Tierra de Maya live in a manner which can only be compared 

 to that of the patriarchs of old. Each finca (farm) is self-supporting, and it is but seldom that 

 the proprietor seeks the busier marts of Baracoa. Where a lavish nature provides palms, which 

 supply not only wood for the house, but also roof covering, food, and clothing, and calabash- 

 trees, which go far toward filling a want for kitchen utensils; where guinea grass grows like 

 weeds and furnishes a never-failing supply of fodder for cattle and horses; where fruits are found 

 in wild lavLshness and the smallest cultivated patch will sustain a large family, and where 

 lastly, a half acre of coffee bushes will keep a Cuban supplied with enough pocket money to have 

 funds to lose on the outcome of a cockfight— the favorite outdoor sport of Cuba in general and 

 of the region in particular— it is no wonder that the inhabitant of the Gran Tierra de Maya does 

 not wander far from his native heath. The only wonder is that the land is so sparsely settled, 

 where it could sustain so many people. 



In pre-Columbian days there is no doubt but that this plateau was the abode of a large tribe 

 of aborigines. Thanks to the researches of Dr. Montane of the University of Havana,who was the 

 first scientist to point out the importance of the archeology of this region, of Mr. M. B. Harring- 

 ton of the Museum of the American Indien-Heye Foundation of New York City, who made a sys- 

 tematic survey of the caves and the kitchen-middens of Jauco andMaisi, after a preliminary sur- 

 vey by the writer in 1914, a great deal more is known of the arts and crafts of the Cuban Indian 

 than formerly. Caves abound near Cape Maisi and on the south coast between Maisi and 

 J uaco where the Indians placed their dead and left artifacts to bear mute testimony of their 

 advancement in the crafts; large deposits, known as kitchen-middens, which in reality are noth- 

 ing but refuse heaps where the Indian threw his empty shells, broken implements, pottery, 

 etc., testify to the extent of the pre-Columbian occupation. It would be impossible to estimate 

 the number of aboriginal inhabitants; that it was larger than the present-day population is cer- 

 tain. Of these Indians, no pure-blooded specimen remains to-day. 



Nevertheless, while the aborigine is no more, his influence can be extensively seen throughout 

 the Gran Tierra de Maya. The very shacks of the poorer class of natives are fashioned in a man- 

 ner recalling the drawings of Indian houses in the early Spanish historians. Many of the words 

 used have an Indian origin. Their sandals are pleated after the Indian fashion, and the dress 

 of their children at times resembles the Indian simphcity. 



As has been stated, the tableland terminates in three distinct terraces near Cape Maisi. 

 From the summit, the mountain ranges of the Island of Haiti can distinctly be seen and recall 

 to one's mind the ill-fated Indian cacique Hatuey who ruled not only over part of Haiti, but 

 over the eastern part of Cuba as well. Pre-Columbian canoe navigation must have been ex- 

 tensively carried on and the pottery and other aboriginal specimens from eastern Cuba resemble 

 greatly the artifacts from the western part of Haiti. As the written records of the early 

 Spanish settlers and discoverers are vague and frequently inaccurate, it will be understood what 

 importance is attached to the archeological investigations that have been carried on. 



Beside Sabana Grande, the even smaller village of Monte Christi or Guiniao is found on 

 the plateau of the Gran Tierra de Maya. This village is only about half the size of Sabana and is 

 no more than a collection of native shacks. Many of the larger fincas have a larger number of 

 laborers and other dependents than Monte Christi and the only reason for the existence of this 

 settlement is that it serves as a sort of half-way house between Sabana and Juaco on the south 

 coast. One passes Monte Christi and shortly afterward comes to the edge of the tableland 

 ao-ain. Thedried-up bed of the Galeta River serves as a descent in order to reach the sea level 

 and to follow the beach to Jauco. This descent is even more precipitous than the descent near 

 the Yumuri River and the road at times becomes almost lost in the mass of stones which forms 

 the river bed. Here again is a treasure-land for the zoologist and more particularly for the 

 conchologist, as this is the home of the wonderful Helix {Polymita) picta, "of which land snail 

 nearly 1,000 color variations are known, each vying with its neighbor in beauty." One reaches 

 Jauco a settlement of greater importance than Sabana, Maisi or Yumuri, and a port of call for 

 some of the large coastal schooners saiUng from Santiago de Cuba. Inhabited mostly by 

 fishermen Jauco nevertheless exports a considerable amount of the produce from the table- 

 land above. The Jauco River waters the large pasturage directly under the plateau and is 

 responsible for the luxuriant herbage upon which the cattle exist. 



It is between Jauco and Cape Maisi to the east that the larger number of caves are found. 



