Cuba by G. H. Baber

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Jul 28, 1904

Cuba

By G. H. Baber

G. H. BABER

With a prayerful desire not to deceive any one in regard to the merits or demerits of Cuba, I will give the readers of the REVIEW AND HERALD a few facts concerning this famous island. History states that it was discovered by Christopher Columbus, Oct. 28, 1492. He landed in or near the present bay of Nuevitas, on the north coast of the province of Puerto Principe, and gave it the name of Juana, in honor of Prince John. Later it was called Fernandina, then Ave Maria, and finally it took the name Cuba, which was given it by the natives before the time of Columbus.

In 1511, Diego Columbus, a son of Christopher, and Diego Velasquez, with three hundred men, landed at Baracoa, on the northeast coast, and began the first permanent settlement of the island. It is well to note that in age it has advantage over the United States of about one hundred years.

The early settlers of the island engaged in cattle raising, also in the culture of tobacco and sugar-cane. These three enterprises are still the principal ones of the island. The soil and the climate seem to be especially adapted to them. But these, with every other enterprise, were almost entirely destroyed by the almost constant wars carried on by the revolutionists against Spain. It would be difficult to describe the desolation of the country brought about by the policy of destruction carried on by both sides in the struggle. But now, thanks to the strong arm of the United States, there are appearances of a new life. Many sugar-mills are being started up again, so that, during the present year they hope to produce about one million tons of sugar.

Cattle are being shipped into the island from Colombia and Mexico, and in a very short time they bear a living testimony to the nutritious quality of the grasses with which the island is largely covered. The provinces of Santa Clara and Puerto Principe are especially adapted to cattle-raising.

The province of Pinar del Rio is the famous tobacco-producing region; however, Habana, Santa Clara, and Santiago also produce a commercial quality of this indigenous weed. The tobacco industry is second in importance only to that of sugar. The plant went to Europe through Spain, but the habit of smoking it was introduced into England by Ralph Lane, the first governor of Virginia. How much of human suffering that introduction will be responsible for, statistics will never show.

The most serious impediment to the development of the island is the lack of good roads. During the rainy season it is almost impossible to travel the roads, except on horseback, and the lack of bridges makes this dangerous.

The climate seems to be surpassingly fine. The thermometer rarely rises higher than ninety degrees. The highest on record in Habana is one hundred and six tenths degrees, and the lowest forty-nine and six tenths degrees. The mean annual temperature is seventy-seven degrees. “The range of temperature between the mean of the hottest month and that of the coldest month is from eighty-two degrees to seventy-one degrees, or only eleven degrees.” A constant breeze makes the summer months less oppressive than they are in the United States. The mean annual rainfall is about fifty-two inches.

There are what they call the wet and dry seasons. The former begins with May, and continues until October, during which time about two thirds of the annual rainfall is received. Scarcely so much as a month ever passes without rain.

With good soil and such a climate, one would naturally expect a great variety of vegetation. There are said to be more than 3,350 different kinds of native plants in the island. There are many kinds of precious wood, such as the mahogany, ebony, cedar, walnut, ceiba, lignum-vitae, pal, etc. About thirteen million acres,—nearly half of the entire area,—are still clothed with the original forest.

There are many other items of interest which will be considered in future articles.

To those who would like to make investments with a view to living here, it will probably be sufficient for the present to say that the land can be bought at very low rates only in large tracts. If any desire to correspond with me, address me, enclosing postage, until August 1, as follows: Calle C, entre 21 y 23, Vedado, Habana, Cuba.