Physical Aspects-Geological Formations. stone, one of clayey sandstone, and another The secondary formations, east of Havana, are pierced by syenitic and euphotide rocks, united in groups. The syenite strata are intercolated with serpentine, and incline to the northwest. Near Regla and Guanabacoa the syenite disappears, and the whole surface is serpentine, rising into hills from thirty to forty toises high, and running from east to west. This serpentine, (a specimen of which we have now before us,) is of an asparagus green, filled with veins of asbestos. In some places petroleum runs out of rents in the serpentine. Abundant springs of petroleum are also found in the eastern part of the island, between Holguin and Majari, and on the coast of Santiago de Cuba. The islet called Siguassa, near Punta Icacos, is composed entirely of solid earthy bitumen. Springs of water are frequent, containing sulphuretted hydrogen, and depositing oxide of iron.** 97 There is no climate in the world more delightful, in winter and spring, or the dry season, as it is called, than that of Cuba. The summer rains cease about the first of November, and the regular trade-winds from the east set in. The sun during the dry season is warm enough to admit of summer clothing; but the nights are so cool that a woolen coverlet is necessary. A fresh breeze blows daily from 8 A. M., till sunset. Hail and frost are not uncommon in the winter season; and, at an elevation of 300 or 400 feet above the sea, ice is often seen several lines in thickness during the prevalence of north winds. The northers are violent and chilling, but seldom attended with rain after January. During the dry season the trees drop their leaves, and the herbage is parched, affording a scanty supply to cattle, which now require to be fed on the guinea-grass and sugar-canes that remain verdant all the year. The soil becomes dried to a great depth, but the dews are very heavy, and prevent the entire destruction of vegetation, which otherwise would follow from the burning heat of an almost vertical sun. Hurricanes are not so frequent in Cuba as in Hayti and the other West India islands, and seldom do much damage on shore. They occur during the summer, from August to October. The CLIMATE, HEALTH.-The climate of the western half of the island presents many inequalities, attributed to that portion of the island being situated Many fruits ripen towards the close of along the northern limit of the torrid the dry season. The orange is in its zone, and to the near neighborhood of greatest perfection about the end of the continent. It will be observed that the tropic of Cancer just touches the most northern point of the island a little to the east of Havana. The seasons are divided into the rainy and the dry, a division given generally to the seasons of the torrid zone by travelers, but in Cuba and elsewhere the line of demarcation is not very clearly defined. The warmest months are July and August, when the mean temperature is from 820 to 840 of Fahrenheit's thermometer. December and January are the coldest months, when the mean temperature is nearly 10 Fah. less than at the equator, or about 78 Fah. During the rainy season the heat would be insupportable but for the regular alternation of the land and sea breezes. The mean annual temperature of Havana is about 73.5° Fah. April. The gardens thrive best during Summer being thus commenced, the trade-winds are less frequent, and the southwest winds are refreshing. The. mornings until ten o'clock are sultry, but the mid-day and evenings are cool. The sun generally rises in a clear sky; but • Humboldt: Essai sur l'Isle de Cuba-pp. 43-60. about nine o'clock clouds form in every quarter of the horizon, and unite into have been introduced from the conti large dark masses, some of which are nent. They are the same as those of stationary, while others rise against the Florida. The woods are full of wild breeze that now blows daily from dif- dogs and cats, derived from those which ferent points. About two o'clock the belonged to the French settlers who rain descends in torrents, the thunder were suddenly expelled from the island. rolls and lightnings flash fearfully. Although these animals have continued The wind, in a single squall, often wild for many years, they differ from changes to all points of the compass. the domestic only in habits and size. The rain sometimes falls perpendicular- These wild cats are very destructive to ly, unaccompanied by wind or thunder. No idea can be formed of the quantity that falls in a very short time, from the amount that descends in our latitude. Between four and five o'clock the rain ceases, the sky becomes clear, a delightful freshness is given to the air, and the evening is ushered in with a gorgeous sunset. The summer nights are often so cool that it is necessary to close the windows. During the summer the dry beds of the rivers become full to overflowing, and the highways are here and there converted into deep and impassable quag mires. poultry, and prowl about the thickets on the borders of woods. They are described as beautiful animals. The wild dog resembles the wolf in form, having the peculiar drawn-up belly of the latter, a deep, narrow chest, and a light, agile form. They are also very destructive to poultry and cattle, even when they are domesticated. They are generally of a dark liver color, with black patches. They are short-lived, very remarkable for their scent, and are always chased by the domestic dog. There are no venomous animals in large spider resembling the tarantula, of Cuba, if we except the scorpion and a neither of which is the sting at all danlarge, are all harmless. Alligators are The snakes of the island, though found mostly in extensive lagunes; and not a single ferocious animal is found in gerous. In connection with this account of the climate of Cuba, it may be proper to make some observations on the health of the island. All the maritime towns are subject to the yellow or other malignant the forests. fevers from June till November. The troublesome insects. There are also but few interior of the island is as healthy as any are chiefly confined to the low grounds; The musquitoes part of the United States; fevers, chiefly and the geegex, an insect about the intermittent, prevailing only along the size and shape of the flea, that burrows streams and swamps. The red lands beneath the outer skin, and there forms are the most healthy, sickness being there produced only by careless expoa nest, seldom attacks the feet when sure. During the dry season cattle frequently die of gangrene, the pustule maligne of the French; and the negroes are often attacked with it from handling the dead bodies of the animals.* ANIMAL KINGDOM.-The only indigenous quadruped known in the isle of Cuba is the jutia, or hutia, an animal shaped like a rat, and from 12 to 18 inches in length, exclusive of the tail. It is of a clear black color, inhabits the hollows and clefts of trees, and feeds on leaves and fruits. Its flesh is insipid, but is sometimes eaten. A few deer are found about the swamps; but as they are not mentioned by the earlier writers on Cuba, they are supposed to protected by shoes and stockings. The Cuban horse and ox are said to be valuable to those engaged in raising stock. The oxen are employed in drawing heavy wagons. They are managed by a rope passed through the septum of their nostrils. Their yokes are fastened to the horns. They are extremely well broken. The Cuban blood-hound is a peculiar breed of dogs, and somewhat of the build of the mastiff. He is used for tracing runaway slaves, for which he is trained. Besides the above animals, the Cubans have cows, hogs, sheep, goats and asses. The ornithology of Cuba is exceedingly rich. The subject is quite too extensive for our pages, and we can only pass cursorily over it. The latest ornithologists enumerate more than 200 species of birds common in Cuba. The Inost complete work on the subject is Animal and Vegetable Kingdoms-Uses of the Cocuyo. that of Don Felipe S. Poey, of Havana. Without giving names, it is sufficient to say there are in Cuba all the birds known in this country, and others quite too numerous to mention. Many of the birds of Cuba are remarkable for the brilliancy of their plumage, though not for their song. Wild pigeons are very numerous.* The rivers, bays and inlets of Cuba are well supplied with fish. Oysters and other shell-fish are abundant, but of inferior quality. The honey-bee is very common, and honey and wax are articles of export. The insects of Cuba, of the phosphorescent tribes, are very remarkable. Humboldt observes that nowhere between the tropics had he seen such an innumerable quantity of phosphorescent insects (Cocuyo, elater noctilucus) as in Cuba. The grass that covers the ground, and the branches and foliage of the trees, often are seen shining with their reddish movable light of varying intensity, according to the will of the animal. "It seemed," says Humboldt, describing them, "as if the starry firmament reposed on the savanna!" 99 Large droves of crabs on their way across the island are often witnessed in Cuba. They migrate over the land every spring, when the rains commence, from the sea on the north to the Caribbean sea on the south of the island, and are then taken in great numbers by the Creoles, who feed them for a week or two on hominy, until they lose the poisonous properties which they are supposed to have imbibed from feeding on the manzanillo. They resemble our common stone crabs, and have one large and one small claw, and a body about nine inches in circumference. They are of various hues, the dun colored being preferred for food. Vast armies of these crabs traverse the island from north to south, but never from south to north. The author of "Notes on Cuba," 1844, relates that on his way from Cardenas on the rail-road, he found the track literally covered with them; and that "so many had been crushed by the wheels of the engine the previous day that the iron rail become coated with their fat, and the cars made only a slow progress." He adds, that "they formed In the huts of the poorest inhabitants à close line for several miles in the of the country, fifteen or twenty of these ditches alongside the road, all moving fire-flies, confined in a calabash, pierced in one direction, with distended open with holes, serve as a lantern for search- claws.".* ing objects during the night. To cause them to give out a more intense light, and to prevent them from withholding their luminosity, which they have the power of doing, a slight shaking of the calabash is all that is necessary. While confined in the calabash, the insects are fed with sugar-cane. It is a saying among the common people, that "calabashes filled with cocuyos are lanterns always lighted." Humboldt relates, that on his voyage from Cuba to the Orinoco, the captain of the vessel would allow no other lights on board, these being sufficiently luminous for all ordinary purposes about the ship, and yet not sufficiently so to be visible to the pirates at a distance, who then infested the seas.† *See a catalogue of Cuban birds, in "Notes on Cuba," p. 301. + The author of " Notes on Cuba" thus describes the cocuyos of Cuba: "I passed one dark night through fields, where my path for a mile was in a sheet of tremulous phosphoric fire, spread over the ground more than a hundred yards wide. The air was also alive with them, darting in all directions like so many meteors; and the trees filled with them glowed as with ten thousand gems in perpetual motion, and emitting a lurid halo; while on the ground about me there swept by large patches of light from the bellies of the insects, that in the VEGETABLE KINGDOM.-The forests of Cuba are of vast extent, and rich in all the vegetable productions of the tropics. Mahogany and other hard woods are indigenous, and several sorts are well adapted to ship-building. The trees of the palm species are as remarkable for their beauty as for their utility. "Wine, oil, flax, flour, sugar and salt," says dark were themselves invisible, and mysteriously Humboldt: Essai, etc., pp. 332-3. "Notes on Cuba," by a Physician, pp. 278, 301 and 312. The author of this work was the late Dr. Wurdman, of Charleston. Humboldt, "are the product of this species of tree:" to which Von Martius adds thread, utensils, food, weapons and habitations. The most common species is the cocoa-nut. Sago is a product of nearly all of them. Linnæus calls the palm the prince of the vegetable kingdom, from its noble and stately appearance. It is the queen of the Cuban forests and the most valuable tree on the island. It is from fifty to eighty feet high, with a straight smooth trunk from one to two feet in diameter. The top is six feet long, and composed of the foot-stalks of the leaves, and inclosing the embryo foliage. Each tree has twenty leaves, one of which is shed about every three weeks, leaving a circle of gum on the trunk, which remains indelible, and by the number of which the age of the tree can be calculated. It bears fruit when eighteen years old, and lives about two hundred years. The leaf stems are about fourteen feet long. The species here described is the Palma real, (oreodoxia regia,) and is the most common species of Cuba. There are several other varieties of palm indigenous to the island. The cocoa tree and the African palm are found in all parts. The granadillo (brya abenus) grows to the height of twelve feet, and is remarkable for the hardness and beautiful color of its wood. The manzanillo grows on the sea-coast to the height of twenty feet. Its fruit is used to poison dogs, "poisoned sausages" being unknown to the Cubans. The jucaro bravo prieto is a favorite wood for building, on account of its hardness and durability. It resembles our live oak, and attains the height of forty feet and a diameter of three feet. The flowers are very fragrant. The quiebra hacha is the celebrated break-axe tree, noted for its durability. It grows in the low grounds and flowers in May. The ebano real (dyos piros) is found in all parts of the island, having a diameter of one foot and a height of sixteen. It is a blacker wood than the ebano carbonero and more desirable. The lignum vitæ is also common. The majagua (hibiscus tiliaceus) is a fine wide-spreading tree, thirty-five feet high, with dull red flowers. It is remarkable for the strength of its bark, it being stronger than hemp. It is stripped from the tree, and without preparation, twisted into ropes. The caoba tree The has a height of thirty feet and a diameter of five. The cedro (cedrela odorata) is fifty feet high, and six in diameter. It is very common, and much used in building. The jaguey macho (ficus indica) is the most remarkable tree in Cuba. author of "Notes on Cuba" says, "it is a parasite at first, and frequently sends from the topmost branches of the giant ceyba, or cotton tree, a small string down to the soil, which, as it approaches the earth, divides into numerous threads, each taking root. When about the thickness of a man's arm, although sometimes 20 feet from the trunk of the ceyba, it sends off a great many horizontal side suckers or roots, nearly fifty feet from the ground, all pointing towards the trunk of its foster parent. They at length reach it, encircle it on all sides, and increasing in strength and size, destroy it in their close embrace. The ceyba decays, and not a vestige of it is left; while the jaguey macho, with its multiplied arms and roots, soldered at every point into a curiously wrought trunk, and its irregular branches high in air, forms the most hideously shaped tree of the forest. When once it takes root no tree can resist its destructive grasp." It bears a fruit in May. The forests of Cuba are so dense as to be almost impenetrable. Our pages will not admit of a description of the half of its valuable and curious trees. Cuba abounds in medicinal plants. The trees of Cuba, as everywhere in the torrid zone, are of very rapid growth. The fruits of Cuba are those common to the tropics. The pine-apple and orange are the most esteemed. Of the alimentary plants, the platano, or plantain, is by far the most important. Next in order comes the sweet and bitter yuca; the sweet root being eaten as a vegetable, and the bitter converted into bread after its poisonous juice has been extracted. The sweet potato, and other farinaceous fruits, are also common. We may also mention the yam, with its mammoth root, the mangroves, mameys, caimitos and rose apples. Cuba is the very paradise for a lazy farmer. The plaintain, which alone yields him food all the year, requires to be planted only once. The stem bears at the end of eight months. Sweet potatoes, when once planted, require care only to prevent their too great luxuriance; this is done by destroying the surplus vines with a plow. Indian Gold, Silver, Iron, and Copper Mines-Mineral Waters. 101 corn is indigenous. Rice is extensively copper mines, formerly abandoned, have cultivated.* been discovered MINERAL KINGDOM.-The pursuit of In consequence of the above-menthe precious metals was the great object tioned ores being discovered by the of the Spaniards who first visited Cuba; English to be so rich in copper, they but if gold was found at all, it was prob- have explored the old mines near Sanably in washings of the sands of some tiago, and formed three distinct comof the rivers, as no traces of the sup- panies for working them. One of these, posed mining operations are now to be called the English Company, has been found. The western part of the island highly successful, employing 900 miners is granitic, and "it is probable," says and laborers; some of them slaves, Humboldt, "that the alluvial deposits of some emigrants from the Canaries, and auriferous sand, which were explored some "articled" servants, from Cornwith so much ardor at the beginning of wall. They employ two steam engines the conquest, to the great misfortune of in preparing the ore for exportation, and the natives, came from those granitic 500 horses, mules, and camels, in transformations. Traces of that sand are porting it to the port of Santiago. still to be found in the rivers Holguin and Escawbray, known in general in the vicinity of Villa Clara, Santo Espiritu, Puerto de Principe, de Bayamo, and the Bahia de Nisse."+" At the time of the conquest auriferous sands were worked at Cubanacan, in the interior of the island, near Jagua and Trinidad. Martyn d'Anghiera, the most intelligent writer on the conquest says: "Cuba is richer in gold than Hayti; and at the moment I am writing (1533) 180,000 castellanos of ore have been collected at Cuba." Humboldt is of the opinion that Cuba formerly yielded gold in considerable quantities. The copper mines, near Santiago, in the eastern part of the island, were wrought with some success during the 17th century; but were abandoned about 100 years ago from a want of a proper knowledge of the art of extracting the metal from the ore. When the mines were abandoned a great quantity of the mineral, amounting to several hundred tons, was left on the spot as worthless; but having been subjected to analysis a few years ago, says Mr. McCulloch, by the English, it was found to be so rich in metal as amply to repay the expense of sending it to England for smelting. The copper mines of Cuba are acknowledged to be among the richest in the world. The most extensive works are in the neighborhood of Santiago de Cuba. They were far richer formerly than now. Near Villa Clara several Humboldt: Essai sur l'Isle de Cuba, p. 47. Essai, p. 11. "Notes on Cuba," pp. 312-316. Humboldt: Oviedo y Valdes, in his Los Indias, islas y tierra firme del mar oceano, 1547, says that Alonzo de Castillo extracted three quintals of copper from five quintals of the ore. In the neighborhood of Santa Clara another copper mine has been opened by an American Company; but its greater distance from the sea, and the less rich character of the ore, have rendered it less successful. The ore of the Santa Clara mines is shipped to England, and smelted in the great smelting houses of Wales. The mineral wealth of Cuba is not yet fully developed, nor will it be until a more enlightened gov ernment rules its soil. It is probably much richer in minerals than is generally supposed. We take from the Diario de la Marina, for Jan. 1, 1852, the following statement of the exportation of copper ore from Cuba since 1841: From this it will be seen that copper mining in Cuba is declining. Coal is also abundant in Cuba. It is highly bituminous, and in some places degenerates into a form resembling the asphaltum which is found in the pitch lake of Trinidad, and in various parts of Europe. The ships of the Spanish discoverers of Cuba were careened with this bitumen, which is often found near the coast in a semi-liquid state, like petroleum or naphtha.* Marbles and jaspers of various colors, and susceptible of a high polish, are found in many parts of Cuba, and in its chief dependency, the Isle of Pines. Mineral waters also abound. Those of * Humboldt: Essai, &c., p. 57. |