TOPOGRAPHY OF CUBA. 377 



In the basin of the Cauto the chief place is Bayamo, which was founded on a 

 southern affluent of the main stream during the first years of the conquest. It 

 was at Yara, a little south-west of this place, that the great republican rising took 

 place in 1868. Next year, when the Spanish troops made their appearance, the 

 inhabitants themselves set fire to their houses. Hohjuin, Las Tunas (" the 

 Nopals"), Guaimaro, and all the other towns of this region, were taken and re- 

 taken during the war, and it was at Guaimaro that the federal republic and the 

 emancipation of the slaves were proclaimed in 1869. Most of the plantations 

 were ruined, and the whole country was wasted and depopulated, so that the 

 western and eastern sections of the island became separated by an intervening 

 manigna, or wilderness. 



But many of the towns have already been rebuilt, and much of the land 

 has again been cleared. The port of JIuiizainl/o, south of the Cauto delta, is the 

 natural outlet of the whole region ; since the restoration of peace it continues to do 

 an increasing trade in tobacco, sugar, wax, honey, and other agricultural produce. 



Santiago de Cuba, or simply Cuba, is the capital of the eastern department, as 

 well as its largest city and most flourishing seaport. It stands on one of these 

 admirable havens on the Cuban seaboard which communicate with the sea through 

 narrow passages in the fringing reefs. At its narrowest part the Santiago 

 passage is only 180 yards wide, but it gives access to a magnificent basin, disposed 

 in secondary creeks and inlets large enough to accommodate all the shipping of 

 the island. The city, which is defended by strong fortifications, lies in a circular 

 cove at the north-east extremity of the basin, where its houses rise in tiers on the 

 slopes of the encircling hills. Its many-coloured structures, its promenades, 

 gardens, and superb prospects over the neighbouring uplands, make Santiago one 

 of the most marvellous cities in the Antilles. But the oppressive heat and 

 insalubrity of the stagnant atmosphere, pent up between the surrounding moun- 

 tains, have diverted much of its traffic, and Santiago now ranks only as the third 

 seaport of Cuba. 



Moreover, the steep cliffs of the Sierra Maestra, separating the city from the 

 rest of the island, greatly impede communication with the interior. Hence, 

 Santiago has not yet been connected with the general railway system, and has 

 only a few local lines, amongst others, one running from the little port of Julian, 

 on the opposite side of the harbour, to the town of Cobrc, a noted place of 

 pilgrimage and centre of the copper-mines in the Sierra Maestra. 



In this monotonous region is also situated the ancient Indian village of Caney, 

 or the " Grave," round which the wealthy merchants have built their country 

 seats. The neighbouring iron-mines of Jurayua are actively worked by their 

 owners, a community of miners from Pennsylvania. The most productive, which 

 employ 1,200 hands, lie 16 miles east of Santiago, with which they are connected 

 by rail. 



Santiago is a telegraphic centre, whence radiate the submarine cables for the 

 western department and Mexico, for Jamaica, South America, Haiti, Puerto Pico, 

 and the Lesser Antilles, 



