24 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



ISLE OF PINES NOTES. 



From Batabano to Nueva Gerona. 



Forty miles l)y "Rail." south from Ha- 

 vana, is the little shipping port of Bata- 

 bano, noted for its great sponge industry. 

 From this port the small steamer 'Cris- 

 tobal Colon sails for the Isle of Pines 

 and a twelve-hour night sail I)rings you 

 into port. About 5 a.m. jou are out of 

 the Caribbean sea and are meandering — 

 it doesn't seem like sailing — in the small 

 rivers, the most picturesque sail you ever 

 experienced. Some places you can jump 

 ashore. The water's so clear you can see 

 the bottom nearly all the way. You sail 

 90 miles to get 60. The rivers are so 

 narrow and winding and shallow that 

 the boat creeps along. You look out 

 sharply and see only bushes and it looks 

 to you that you are going smack into 

 them. The little steamer ports a little, 

 sticks her nose to the left, you see an 

 opening, and soon Xueva Gerona comes 

 in view. It looks now as though you 

 were back in Havana, the little low stone 

 houses vou saw a> \-ou took a last look 



greet you. This is the business center, 

 the Capital of the Island. 



The cottages thev call shacks here. 

 They are made from the rough green 

 pine lutiiber, something like our sea- 

 shore cottages, onl}- rougher and more 

 primitive. Very few are painted, none 

 of them have a pane of glass. Instead 

 of glass the frames are covered with 

 screen cloth. Each window has a shut- 

 ter. When the wind is too fresh, close 

 the window on the windward side. 

 Practically you are living out of doors 

 all the time. 



All over the Island they are busy, and 

 it will not be many years before this 

 island will be a little paradise of Ameri- 

 can speaking people. — Correspondence of 

 the Canton (Mass.) Journal. 



The wireless station at Xueva Gerona, 

 Isle of Pines, thrown down in the recent 

 storm, has been restored and is again in 

 working order. 



Risers of Cuba. The Maximo. From tlie sbripe and formation of Cuba, it is obvious that th» 

 rivers, while they may be great in numbers, cannot be so in length. Yet, from the large amount of 

 rainfall in the wet season, the streams at that time carry great volumes of water. The rivers of 

 Cuba are many, rather than large. Some few are navigable for short distances for vessels of very 

 light draught. Among the more impovtant rivers may be named the Mantau. Pan de .\zucar ancl 

 the Maximo, emptying into Sabinal Bav. which is historically interesting because it is supposed 

 that at Its mouth Columbus disembarked October 27, 1492. — L'ieut. Rowan in "Tlie Island of Cuba." 



