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THE CUBA REVIEW 



Harbor of Baracoa. 



Baracoa is the oldest existing settlement in Cuba, and it was in 1512, two years before the 

 first building was erected in Santiago de Cuba, that the conquistadores laid out the plans for the 

 present town. That Columbus visited the harbor of Baracoa when he coasted the northern 

 shore of Cuba on his first voyage is almost certain, and the admiral undoubtedly observed the 

 prominent table mountain, El Yunque (the an\al), which dominates the harbor and can be 

 seen for miles. It is claimed, in fact, that it was Columbus himself who named this peak El 

 Yunque from its strong resemblance to an anvil, but this is more a matter of .local legend than 

 of accurate historical record. Rising to a height of over 1,800 feet, the "An\'il" is easily 

 \'isible for 30 or more miles and forms an excellent landmark for mariners approaching this 

 part of the Cuban coast. Zoologically^, El Yunque offers one of the best fields in Cuba and one 

 which has remained practically unexplored; since the days of the noted Cuban naturalist 

 Gundlach, who explored the summit in 1859, we do not believe that this i^eak has been inves- 

 tigated. 



The town of Baracoa itself is situated on the shores of one of the most picturesque bays in 

 Cuba. While the harbor offers a safe shelter to vessels during the greater part of the year, it is 

 exposed to northeasterly gales and in consequence has a bad reputation with masters of sailing 

 vessels. No tugboat being available, craft which have to depend on sails alone have consider- 

 able difficulty in leaving the harbor, owing to its narrow mouth and wdth strong northeasterly- 

 winds their departure becomes an impossibilitj'. Baracoa has a population of about 6,000 

 people and judging from the stately buildings which can still be found, must undoubtedly have 

 lost a great deal of its former importance. 



A direct fine of small fruit steamers connects Baracoa and the neighboring coastal banana 

 depots with New York. Several banana plantations are found between Baracoa and Cape 

 Maisi on the north coast, and a not inconsiderable amount of fruit is exported. Of late years, 

 however, due to various causes, the fruit trade has fallen off and the plantations do not seem to 

 be so productive as formerly. Perhaps the most important industry of Baracoa itself is a coco- 

 nut-oil factory where the coconuts from the neighboring plantations are crushed in order to 

 extract the oil from the kernels. This valuable product serv^es as a base for the better kind of 



