Among the Mahogany Forests of Cuba 491 



scent of countless blossoms. The maja- 

 gua tree, famous for its green wood and 

 fibrous bark, from which the strongest 

 ropes are plaited, is brilliant with tulip- 

 like blossoms of fiery red color ; the baria 

 is hung with masses of white, and the 

 roble, the so-called Cuban oak, is adorned 

 with clusters of delicate pink and white 

 flowers, resembling the mountain rhodo- 

 dendron. The dull hum of honey-bees 

 tells of the harvest of nectar, and at this 

 season the natives are kept busy pressing 

 honey and melting wax. 



The variety of birds is very great at 

 this period, as the Florida species, driven 

 south by the cold of winter, have not as 

 yet returned to the north, and the native 

 birds are singing and mating. The Cuban 

 crows call one another with a great va- 

 riety of peculiar sounds and modulations, 

 which one could easily fancy to be a 

 kind of conversation among themselves. 

 and the parrots come in noisy flocks of 

 several hundreds and drive away by 

 their loud chattering all thought of sleep 

 after the earliest trace of dawn. 



Emerald-colored humming birds dart 

 from flower to flower on the gaudy 

 hibiscus bushes or poise in midair amid 

 the pink clusters of the coral vine. Many 

 of the wild birds are sociable, and I have 

 seen four or five different kinds at one 

 time on or near the verandas of the 

 house. 



MISERABLE POVERTY OF THE FEW NATIVES 



The natives of this region are a mixed 

 race, rather dark in color and with a 

 probable mixture of considerable negro 

 blood. They live in miserable houses 

 thatched with palm leaves, generally 

 without windows or other protection 

 from insects and weather. They are ex- 

 cellent woodsmen, handling the axe and 

 machete with great skill. They think 

 nothing of walking ten or fifteen miles 

 on the most trifling errand. Many have 

 small clearings where they raise bananas, 

 yucca, and a kind of sweet potato. These 

 fruits and vegetables, together with their 

 live stock and beehives, eked out by the 

 results of hunting and fishing, give them 

 an uncertain and miserable diet. When 



they are fortunate enough to get work, 

 they buy provisions; but a little stock in 

 the cupboard is a temptation to quit 

 working at once. It would be difficult to 

 find a lower standard of diet and general 

 living outside of savage tribes. 



From lack of care and cleanliness, the 

 teeth of these people decay and fall out 

 before middle age, and their monotonous 

 diet causes suffering from digestive trou- 

 bles. Like all Cubans, they are very fond 

 of pets, and it is no uncommon thing to 

 see all the ordinary animals of the barn 

 yard — goats, pigs, turkeys, chickens,, 

 etc. — wandering at will inside their 

 houses. On an iron hoop suspended 

 from a rafter a tame parrot may usually 

 be seen', while many nouses have a kind 

 of rat-like animal, called the "jutia.'' 

 which lives in the forest trees, tied up as 

 a half wild and treacherous pet. Naked 

 children sprawl about on the floor and 

 many dogs, in a state of extreme emacia- 

 tion from continued starvation, howl at 

 every passer-by and add to the general 

 misery. Were it not for the balmy tem- 

 perature and the continued sunshine and 

 general cheerfulness of the Cuban cli- 

 mate, these people would rapidly become 

 extinct. In such hovels, abounding in 

 filth and squalor, one meets with evi- 

 dences of genuine hospitality in marked 

 contrast to the surroundings. The 

 stranger is invited to enter, offered the 

 best chair, and coffee is prepared at once. 

 Cuban coffee is roasted in small quanti- 

 ties and ground just before making. A 

 cloth bag holds the ground coffee while 

 hot water is filtered through it several 

 times. The resulting coffee, while strong 

 and excessively roasted, has a very fine 

 aroma and flavor. Rather than be de- 

 prived of his coffee and cigarettes, a 

 Cuban would prefer to go several days 

 with little or no food. 



In the huts of these humble people 

 great formality, an inheritance from the 

 Spanish, is observed on arriving and de- 

 parting. Withal there is general igno- 

 rance, few being able to read or write, and 

 their life is woefully monotonous, though 

 they seem light-hearted and happy, prat- 

 tling for hours about the most trifling 



