49 6 



The National Geographic Magazine 



The afternoon thunder-storms, at- 

 tended by a sudden fall of fifteen or 

 twenty degrees in temperature, are fol- 

 lowed by sunsets of marvelous splendor. 

 The glories of tropical sunsets depend 

 on an arrangement of clouds and an as- 

 sociation of colors quite unknown to the 

 temperate regions. The sun is sur- 

 rounded by a soft and rosy glow, the en- 

 tire heavens, even to the eastern horizon, 

 is illuminated by pink clouds, and the 

 western sky becomes an inspiring picture, 

 built up of reddish brown and purple 

 colors, warm in tone and typical of the 

 tropics. The effects are kaleidoscopic 

 and marvelous beyond description. Great 

 masses of cumulus clouds, still showing 

 the distant glimmer of lightning, are 

 sometimes thinly veiled by intervening 

 light showers of rain, through which 

 their gorgeous colors are softened and 

 transformed into visions of pearl and 

 opal. 



HURRICANES 



Hurricanes are most frequent in Sep- 

 tember and October. The last hurricane 

 occurred October 17, 1906, the center 

 passing not far west of the Bay of Co- 

 chinos. After a slow fall of the barom- 

 eter for five days previous, the morning 

 of the 17th was heavily overcast, with 

 the wind southeast and occasional squalls 

 of rain. About sunset the barometer be- 

 gan to fall rapidly and alarmingly. Five 

 or six schooners took shelter within the 

 Caleta, their captains wisely suspecting 

 foul weather. The wind increased in 

 force, till at nine o'clock the crash of 

 broken branches and falling trees could 

 be heard above the roar of surf on the 

 bay, which was a mass of phosphorescent 

 foam in the darkness. The barometer 

 foretold an approaching climax, and 

 though the house was very low and sur- 

 rounded by forests, it seemed best, about 

 midnight, to put out all lights and seek 

 shelter among some rocks near the 

 Caleta. 



Fortunately the rain had ceased, it be- 

 ing a "dry-" cyclone, which the natives had 

 told us were the most severe, and the only 

 danger was from flying branches and 



falling trees. Meanwhile the gusts came 

 in ever-increasing fury, the forest roared 

 in a subdued monotone and the trees 

 were dancing wildly, waving their 

 branches like angry demons in the fury 

 of the gale. About one o'clock the ba- 

 rometer suddenly began to rise, a few 

 stars appeared amid wisps of flying scud, 

 and we knew that the center of the storm 

 had passed, but nearly a hundred, trees 

 were uprooted around my house. This 

 hurricane did the most damage in Hav- 

 ana and at Batabano, where it drove sixty 

 schooners and steamers on shore. Such 

 severe cyclonic disturbances are less fre- 

 quent in Cuba than in other islands of 

 the West Indies and are only expected 

 once in five or six years. 



Generally speaking, navigation is quite 

 safe on this coast, though the forty miles 

 between the bay and Cienfuegos is an 

 unprotected shore, against which the 

 heavy surges of the Caribbean thunder 

 terribly in southerly gales. Westward 

 toward Batabano and the Isle of Pines 

 the presence of innumerable islands gives 

 ample protection at all times. 



Such in general are the more impor- 

 tant features of the Bay of Cochinos. 

 From five to ten schooners arrive and 

 depart every week, engaged in the trans- 

 portation of timber products and char- 

 coal. The future depends entirely on 

 railroad connection with the interior. 

 Less than twenty miles separates the bay 

 from railroads already constructed, and 

 if this intervening stretch, which is only 

 partly swamp land, can be traversed, the 

 prospects for a considerable commerce is 

 assured for Cochinos Bay. These swamps 

 could probably be drained by a canal 3 

 miles long, 6 feet deep, and 180 feet 

 wide. Cheaper freight and better dock- 

 ing facilities than in the shallow waters 

 of Cienfuegos harbor would induce large 

 shipments of sugar from the southern 

 parts of Matanzas province. If, in addi- 

 tion, a canal to drain the swamps is con- 

 structed, a vast extent of fertile land 

 will be uncovered and the rapid growth 

 of a port is assured. 



Notwithstanding the general flat and 

 swampy nature of the region to the west 



