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The National Geographic Magazine 



north, east, south, and west respectively. 

 Habana is distant from Tampa, Florida, 

 306 miles ; from New Orleans, 597 miles ; 

 from New York City, 1,227 miles; from 

 Plymouth, England, 3,527 miles, and 

 from Gibraltar, 4,323 miles. 



The island is divided into six provinces, 

 each extending entirely across the width 

 of the island. Beginning at the west and 

 proceeding in order toward the east, 

 these provinces are named as follows : 

 Pinar del Rio, Habana, Matanzas, Santa 

 Clara, Camaguey (known as Puerto Prin- 

 cipe until recently changed by vote of the 

 people), and Oriente (formerly known as 

 Santiago de Cuba). The "backbone" of 

 the island consists of a range of hills or 

 mountains, attaining an elevation of 2,500 

 feet in Pinar del Rio, and 5,000 feet, with 

 an extreme instance of about 8,300 feet, 

 in Oriente, but much lower altitudes in 

 the other four provinces. -Except in 

 Oriente, these hills or mountains are in no 

 case formidable or unavailable for culti- 

 vation, and the greater part of the island 

 consists of broad, rolling plains or gently 

 undulating hills, interspersed with stream- 

 drained valleys, and already proved to 

 be susceptible of a high degree of cultiva- 

 tion. 



The soil in the main, and except in the 

 most marsh}' and most mountainous re- 

 gions, is rich and easily cultivable. It is 

 principally of the best varieties of the 

 Tertiary and Secondary geological for- 

 mations and adapted to the production of 

 bountiful crops of many valuable staples. 

 Certain sections of the land that are not 

 particularly suitable for arable purposes 

 are nevertheless, admirably adapted for 

 grazing uses, and the more elevated 

 tracts, if in some localities unfitted for 

 either cultivation or grazing, are still rich 

 in mineral wealth, so that it may be said 

 with truth that practically the whole 

 island is overflowing with natural riches. 



Furthermore, most of the higher lands 

 are covered with a virgin forest contain- 

 ing immense quantities of valuable tim- 

 ber. The list of the native flora of the 

 island includes more than 3,350 plants, 

 including many of the best and most use- 



ful species of wood known to mankind- 

 Game is abundant, such as deer, rabbits,, 

 wild boars, wild turkeys, pheasants, snipe,, 

 etc., and there are more than 200 species 

 of native birds, many of them wearing- 

 gorgeous plumage. As usual in tropical 

 countries, there are some unwelcome in- 

 habitants, such as crocodiles, snakes,, 

 tarantulas, scorpions, and various annoy- 

 ing insects, but none of the snakes are- 

 venomous and there are no dangerous- 

 wild beasts. 



The rivers are short, small, and mainly 

 unnavigable, but they are quite numerous 

 and all-sufficient for the purposes of 

 drainage and irrigation, and in some 

 cases for water power. 



So richly endowed with natural advan- 

 tages, Cuba, not without reason, has 

 been entitled the "Pearl of the Antilles"' 

 and the "Gem of the Seas." 



The original Indian inative race of 

 Cuba has entirely disappeared. The 

 exact number of inhabitants at the time- 

 of the appropriation of the island by 

 Spain is of course not known, even ap- 

 proximately ; they may have numbered 

 several hundred thousand ; but they met 

 the usual fate of the weaker race in the- 

 onward march of the stronger. 



In the course of a century or there- 

 about the place of the natives had been 

 filled by imported negro slaves. The- 

 present colored inhabitants of Cuba are, 

 in general, the descendants of these- 

 slaves. They are now free, slavery hav- 

 ing been abolished in 1880. 



The white Cubans, or Cubans proper, 

 are mainly the descendants of the original' 

 Spanish settlers from Spain, Haiti, Flor- 

 ida, and Louisiana, and of the French- 

 settlers who fled to Cuba from Haiti dur- 

 ing the race wars in that island a century 

 ago. The Spanish Cubans remained de- 

 votedly loyal to Spain during many dec- 

 ades of oppressive misrule, enduring all' 

 their injuries and sacrifices with a noble 

 patience which has become proverbial' 

 and which won for Cuba the sobriquet 

 of "the ever-faithful isle." At last the 

 time came when even this patience was- 

 exhausted, and the isle was lost to Spain. 



