176 



humboldt's cuba. 



between Cape Cruz and Cay Romano, where it is 

 barely five or six leagues wide. The shoalest part 

 of the Great Bahama Banks is also in this vicinity. 

 The islands and parts of this bank not covered by 

 water (Long Island, Eleuthera, &c), are very exten- 

 sive ; and, should the level of the ocean fall twenty 

 or thirty feet, an island larger than Haiti would 

 appear here upon its surface. The chain of cays 

 and reefs that lines the shore of Cuba is so broken 

 that it affords small but clear channels to the 

 harbors of Guanaja, Moron, and Remedios. 



Passing through the old Bahama Channel, or, 

 more properly speaking, through San Nicholas 5 

 Channel, between Cruz del Padre and the cays of 

 Cay Sal-bank, many of which have springs of fresh 

 water, we again find a safe coast from Point Hicacos 

 to Cabanas bay, with the harbors of Matanzas, Puerto 

 Escondido, Havana, and Mariel. Further west, 

 beyond the harbor of Bahia Honda, the possession 

 of which might well tempt any maritime power at 

 war with Spain, the chain of shoals and reefs (Santa 

 Isabel and Colorados), again commences, and con- 

 tinues, without interruption, to Cape San Antonio. 



On the south side, the shore from this cape to 

 Point Piedras and the Bay of Cortes is very bold, 

 and gives no soundings; but between Point Piedras 

 and Cape Cruz, nearly all of the coast is covered 



