THE CUBA REVIEW And Bulletin. 



19 



General notes 



TWO WEEKS ON THE ISLE OF PINES. 



We left Batabanoa Sunday at 10 a. m., on 

 the "Campbell," a small side-wheel steamer 

 with a rather picturesque crew of Ameri- 

 cans, Cubans and negroes. All day the 

 little boat headed south and it was late in 

 the evening when the island was seen on 

 the horizon. Flocks of sea-birds and por- 

 poises playing in the water were interesting- 

 sights, and we passed a large fleet of sponge 

 boats. 



The boat steaming three miles up the 

 Sante Fe River landed us at Jucaro. Here 

 is a wharf, a brick warehouse and one lone 

 residence, occupied by an ex-American 

 soldier and his Cuban wife. After unload- 

 ing, the boat steamed around to iNiueva Ger- 

 ona, a distance of fifteen miles. This ended 

 the sea voyage. We spent the rest of the 

 night on board and the next morning reg- 

 istered at the American Hotel. 



Nueva Gerona, the capital of the island, 

 is on the Rio Cassas. East and west are 

 mountains which form a valley about thre2 

 miles wide. Through the center flows the 

 river with water as clear as cystal, but 

 man's works do not equal N?ture's, for the 

 buildings are decaying, the streets are dirtv 

 and everything has a desolate run-down np- 

 pearance. Santa Fe, on the river of that 

 name, is the only other Spanish town in the 

 island. With its Cuban shacks and mas- 

 sive stone buildings of Spanish style, it is a 

 quaint place. There are many Americans 

 in the town and I am told they own most 

 of the real estate. The Santa Fe Hotel, 



VERAXDA DUNNING HOTEL, McKIN- 

 NEY, ISLE OF PINES. Has bathrooms, cement 

 floors, gas and running water. 



El ortico abierto del Hotel Dunning, McKinley, 

 Isla de Pinos. Este hotel tiene cuartos de bafio, 

 pisos de cemento, gas y agua corriente. 



run by an American, is good and clean. 

 Santa Fe has been patronized by Cubans 

 for years as a health resort. There are hot 

 water and magnesia springs, also a fine 

 stone bathhouse. 



The Isle of Pines, the fourth island in 



^ 





Batabano fishermen gathering sponges. About 1500 men are engaged in the industry. There are 

 more than 150 boats in the service. The fishing grounds are 30 miles off the coast. About one-half 

 of the Cuban sponges are marketed in the United States, the balance to England, France and Germany. 



Los Pescadores de Batabano recogiendo esponjas. 1500 hombres mas 6 menos estan empleados en 

 esta industi-ia y hay mas de 150 botes dedicados a su servicio. El lugar en donde se ocupa de la 

 pesca se encuentra a la distancia de mas 6 menos 30 millas de la costa. La mitad de las esponjas 

 cubanas se manda a los mercados de los Estados Unidos y el resto a Inglaterra, Francia y Aleniania. 



