THE CUBA REVIEW And Bulletin. 



17 



A MOUNTAIN OF MARBLE IN THE ISLE OF PINES.* 



How a Search for Gold Disclosed Marble and a Search for Flowers a Gold Vein. 



Specially zvritten for The Cuba Review By S. G. Keenai 



The immense marble deposits of the Isle 

 of Pines have remained practically un- 

 touched, owdng, chiefly, to political condi- 

 tions. 



It was not until 1834, three hundred and 

 forty years after Columbus discovered the 

 Isle, that a French chemist and geologist, 

 M. Chueaux, exploring the West Indies in 

 quest of gold found here instead a mountain 

 of marble. This is the Sierra de Caballos, 

 1600 feet in height, situated at nearly equal 

 distance (about two miles) from Columho 

 Bay on the east, the little port of Nueva 

 Gerona, the capital, on the north, and the 

 las Casas river on the west, at the point 

 where it is joined by the Brazo Fuerte. 



Caballos, like all the other mountains of 

 the Isle, rises abruptly from an almost level 

 plain. It is honeycombed with curious 

 caverns, which have been only partially ex- 

 plored, and covered with a great variety of 

 tropical trees and plants, except a cliff, near 



its western summit, about a hundred feet 

 in height. 



The first blow of the geologist's hammer 

 disclosed the fact that the dark gray sur- 

 face was the weather-stain of ages upon 

 pure white marble, such as is to be found 

 without and within the famous quarries 

 of Carrara. 



Abandoning the quest for gold, M. 

 Chueaux at once took steps to secure 

 from the Spanish government the right 

 to work the quarry. In this connection 

 he obtained, besides, the land on both 

 sides of the Brazo Fuerte to its mouth, 

 in order to avail himself of its water 

 power in working up the rough blocks 

 into marketable shapes. The Brazo 

 Fuerte (Strong Arm) is a stream of 

 crystal water, less than a mile in length, 

 which gushes from a spring, the over- 

 flow from a subterranean lake directly 

 beneath A/fount Caballos, and runs swift- 

 ly into las Casas river. All lay ready 



See October cover page for illustration of this marble mountain. 



A distant view of tlie Mountain of Marble on the Isle of Pines. 



