I SANTIAGO DE CUBA. 1
fl| Features of the City and the Province. |||
The town of Santiago de Cuba is situ
ated at one side of the harbor and
about six miles from its entrance and
overlooks it at the widest part. The
entrance to the harbor is very narrow,
not more than about 150 feet wide, and
the channel is winding until it reaches
Punta Gorda, after which it widens in
to a beautiful harbor. At one side of
the entrance is Morro Castle, a very
old fort. "Morro" is a typical name
given t,o all these coast fortresses. On
—— ■
THE FAMOUS SANTIAGO SLAUGHTER HOUSE WHERE THE VIRGINIUS CREW
WERE SHOT BY THE SPANIARDS.
the opposite side of the harbor is So
capa.
The town of Santiago is low, but
rises as the ground slopes up from the
coast towards some ranges of bills. It
was quite a business town before the
war, and there are three companies
there that have handled a great deal of
ore, one of them as much as a thousand
tons a day.
The houses are mostly one story
high 011 account of the liability to earth
quakes, but there are some of two
stories. The dwelling-houses are sur
rounded by spacious verandas, which
look ou beautiful gardens filled with a
wealth of gorgeous tropical flowers.
The poiusettia, with its heads of bril
liant scarlet leaves which people in the
North cherish in little flower-pots and
in greenhouses, is there a large tree,
and other trees with their clusters ot
gaudy fragrant flowers make these gar
dens a fairy scene.
There are various insects among the
flowers and mosquitoes innumerable,
but none of the insects are poisonous.
There is a large spider about the size
of one's fist, whose bite produces a
swelling and a slight fever, and a scor
pion whose bite causes some irritation,
but is not deadly. There are no veno
mous reptiles in the island. There is
one enormous variety of boa, called the
Maja, of immense strength. It is per
fectly black, as thick as one's arm, and
capable of swelling itself out to nearly
five times its natural size, and has a
blood-red mouth —all of which sounds
very alarming until you find out that
lie is a lazy fellow and does not trou
ble himself about human beings, being
satisfied with pigs and goats and even
small game. There is a small snake
sailed the jubo, and some other varie
ties, but they are not venomous.
The repose of the streets is not
disturbed by the rush of cable or
trolley cars. The usual conveyance,
STREET SCENE XX SANTIAGO.
the volante, is a long-bodied vehicle
on two wheels.
The town of Santiago is the see of
the Archbishop, and contains the
largest cathedral in the island—the
Cathedral of Nuestra Senora de la
Caridad del Cobre. Here is also the
Theological Seminary of San Basilio.
In this region is the highest land in
Cuba. A mountain range called the
Montanos de Maestra or Cobre ex
tends from the Punta de Maisi on the
eastern extremity to Cape Cruz on the
opposite side. Pico de Turquino, the
highest elevation, rises 7070 feet above
the ocean. These mountains are very
rich in ore, and the Cobre copper
THE MARKET PLACE IN SANTIAGO.
nes, some twelve miles distant from
e city, have yielded fifty tons a day,
e higher grades being shipped to
tircpe, and the inferior grades
aelted at the mines. All this work
is stopped since the war became
nous. These mines were worked
early as the seventeenth century,
d were then abandoned for more
~ian a hundred years. Iron is also
)und there, and Bold and silver have
been taken oat, but not in sufficient
quantities to make it profitable. How
ever, none of these mines have yet been
fully developed. Bituminous coal is
found which gives out a high degree
of heat and leaves scarcely any ashes
or cinders. Near the coast it is often
found in semi-liquid masses resembling
petroleum or naphtha. There are
some very extensive caves in these
mountains, which have never been
thoroughly explored.
There are forests of mahogany,
Cuban ebony, cedar, and other hard
woods in this provirce, among them
one called the quebra hacha or axe
breaker, and the jucero, which does
not even decay after lung submersion.
The marqueterie work in the room
occupied by Philip 11. of Spain, in the
Escarial, was made from these woods,
of which the Spaniards l;now the value,
and they are exported from the island
in large quantities.
There are 110 wild animals, properly
speaking, except wild dogs, which
play havoc in the poultry yards. A
small animal called jutia that resem
bles a coon and probably belongs to
the same family is found in great
JABAYO BLOCKIIOUSE, ONE OF SANTI
AGO'S DEFENSES.
numbers, aud has furnished many a
good meal to the hungry Cuban sol
diers, who trap it by the dozen.
When eaten with a relish of garlio
and onion it is delicious—to those who
like garlic.
The city of Bayamo, in the western
part of the province, was very impor
tant a century or more ago, and a
great stroughold of the insurgents—
for there have always been insurgents
in Cuba. But of late years business
has moved to Santiago and other
coast cities, and Santiago now has
about 45,000 inhabitants, while Bay
amo has only 10,000. It was a law
yer of Bayamo, Charles M.de Ces
pedes, who, in 1808, at the head of
128 wretchedly armed men, rose in re
bellion at Yara, few weeks
was at the resolute
though badly The
Hymno de Bayamo, the revolutionary
hymn of the Cuban patriots, origin
ated in Bayamo. This was the Mar
seillaise to which music Maceo
me :ched. Santiago de Cuba was the
bivthplace of the brothers Maceo.
On the opposite side of the prov
ince from the town of Santiago is the
Bay of Nipe. The Bay of Cienfuegos
is said to be one of the most magnifi
cent harbors in the world, both for
area and depth of water; but it is sur
passed by the harbor of Nipe, which
embraces sixty-five miles of deep
water.
A New llange-Flnder.
An Italian artist in London is said
to have just perfected a new range
finder, which, it is claimed, will be of
immense service both in peace arid
war. It is said to be a grf.it improve
ment on all rang j-flnders now in use.
The distance of any object can be as
certained by a mere glance through
the instrument, it being sho-vu on a
little dial the moment the object is
focused. ;
True love is not so common as to
swell locksmiths up with the idea that
they are tunny men.—Pack.
THE CHINESE IN MANILA
THEY ARE INFLUENTIAL AND THERE
FORE DISLIKED.
K*he American and English Houses in the
Philippines Prefer to Deal With Theut
Rather Than With the Haughty Dons-
Chinese Who Have Become Savages.
Forming as they do a very large
proportion of the population, nearly
equal to that of the natives them
selves, and, having by their industry
»nd business ability sustained the
iarne of Manila as a commercial port,
the Chinese are a thorn in the side of
the Spanish mercantile class, aside
from the conventional dislike extended
ay the latter toward all foreigners.
Being commercial by nature, and hav
ing realized the good policy of keep
lug their word in business matters, iu
jontrast with the everlasting procras
tinating and "manana"-ing of the
Spaniards, they have built up a large
jusiness with the English and Aineri
•an houses, in the Philippines who
.nfinitely prefer to deal with them
rather than with the owners of the
toil. Their thrifty ways and tend
ency to save money and send it home
to China rather than to spend it where
shey are is another source of griev
ance to the haughty "Espanoles."
Then their ability and willingness
;o perform every kind of manual
,abor, from carpentering, shoemaking,
jtc., to coolie work, from morning to
aight at the lowest of wages, is a
?ause of envious irritation to the in
iolent native "Filipinos," and a con
stant feud is waa;ed between the two
races, which has been handed down
for generations. In a street fight,
aowqyer, I have noticed that the
''Filipino" is very apt to come out
iliead, although many of the coolies
lave the most superb muscular devel
aieut vhich I have ever seen.
Long ago, according to history, a
3eet of Cliine.se junks, under the fa
mous pirate chief Li Ma Hong, bore
down on Mauila with the intention of
capturing it and its many treasures.
The little garrison in the fort defended
tt with a gallantry such as Spaniards
;au aud will display when in despera
tion, and Li Ma Hong, possessing no
"petroleum shells," and a storm com
ing up providentially, the fleet was iu
gloriously defeated. Some of the
junks went ashore on the northern
ioast of the island, and there is today
* curious race of so-called Chinese
"Igorotes," or savages, living iu
the fastnesses of the mountains,
lud supposed to be the descendants
jf the shipwrecked pirates. A certain
3ny iu January is the anniversary of
the fight, aud on that day hardly a
Chinaman in Mauila dares show him
self out of doors, for every small boy,
native or Spaniard, feels iu duty bound
to "heave a rock" at him.
Whenever thore is a big fire iu the
town, it is always assumed that the
Chinese have set it, aud they are very
scarce in the streets while the confla
gration lasts, for tacit instructions
would seem to have been given on
•,liese occasions to the efi'ect that "if
you see a Chinaman bit him."
Early in the spring of 1893 the
Spauish iron steamer Sau Juan sailed
from Hong Kong for Mauila with a
sargo largely composed of kerosene,
which had been carefully stowed as
near the boilers as possible, and on
deck, where the some three hundred
Chinese coolies who composed the
passenger list could sit on the cases
ind knock theembersfrom their pipes
against them. It is not surprising
that the ship took tiro when just
within sight of Luzon, and the Span
ish captain, with most of his officers,
promptly took to the boats and pulled
for the shore, leaving a raging, fren
zied mass of Chinese shrieking at tlieiu
from the doomed vessel, for no pro
vision is made on these steamers for
the safety of the coolies in case of
accident. In a few minutes the San
Juan was afire from stem to stern. As
many as could climbed the masts, only
to fall back suffocated iuto the blaz
ing furnace below. Even the more
merciful death of drowning was de
nied them, for the sea was alive with
sharks, attracted by the glare, swarm
ing around the ship as mackerel swarm
arouud a bucketful of "gurry."
Thirty-six hours later another
steamer sighted the wreck and bore
down to the rescue. Out of the
original three hundred, some eighty
wretched creatures were found alive,
clinging to the big gangway which
hung over the side and to the stern
davits and boat tackle, with the iron
hull of the steamer redhot in places,
aud the sharks leaping at them. The
rescuing boats had literally to fight
their way through the ravenous brutes.
I saw the survivors as they wero
lauded, a:id a discouraged-looking lot
they were. The San Juan, an empty,
scorched hull, was towed iu and an
chored in tbe mouth of the river to
cool off until tilt seventy thousand
Mexican dollars iu her bottom could
be dug out of the debris, a melted
mass. And not an expression of regret
did I hear from any of my "Chino"
friends over the disaster to their coun
trymen. "Pah! coolies!" was all they
said.
Tlio Mont Antique Military Order.
The order that claims the greatest
amount of antiquity is the Military
Order of St. Constantine, which used
to be bestowed by the king of the two
Sicilies. This order, if its historians
are to be believed, was founded A. D.
317, by Constantino the Great. Eight
hundrefl and seventy-four years later,
in 11911 the Emperor Isaac Comnenus
renewal it. One of the Palieologi
confir Jed it in 1261; in 1637 the last
Palie<m>gus gave the order to the
Dukel of Parma, and the Emperor
LeofMd confirmed it in 1691. Un
fortufttely, the iconoclastic Victor
annexed the kingdom of
the Sicilies, and left this aged
Mil v.
THOMAS JEFFERSON'S DAY.
Wl Name Is Inseparably Linked With the
Glorious Fourth.
Thomas Jefferson, as near as any
one man, may be called the patron
saint of the Fourth of July because he
wrote the instrument whose adoption
signalizes that holiday, and his name
is further associated with the date
because on this day in 1826 he died.
The briefest summary of the events in
his life is as follows:
"Thomas Jefferson was born at
Shadwell, Albem&u-le County, Va.,
April 13, 1743. On his tomb at
Monticello is, 'Born April 2d, 1743,
O. S.' He died at Monticello, near
Charlottesville, Va., at 1 o'clock p. m.,
July 4,1826, at more than eighty-three
years of age.
"Before 1766, in Virginia, he began
to agitate against tbe misrule of King
George, and joined Patrick Henry,
George Wythe and others in deter
mined opposition to tyranny.
"He advocated common schools and
the abolishment of slavery. He caused
the passage of a law prohibiting the
importation of slaves into Virginia.
"With George Wythe and James Mad
ison in the Virginia Legislature after
September, 1776, he spent three years
in revising and adapting the laws of
Virginia to the new conditions under
liberty.
"He drew and caused to be enacted
the statute for religious liberty in Vir
ginia—the first one ever enacted by
Legislature, and the first by any gov
ernment.
THE PATRIOTIC SUMMER GIRL OF *9B.
"He suggested the dollar as the
unit of value.
"Ho was largely responsible for the
location of the capital at Washington.
"In Congress in 1783-1784,he voted
to ratify the treaty of peace with Great
Britain—settling the war his Declara
tion of Independence had helped to
make, and presented to Congress the
Virginia deed of cession of her lands
northwest of the Biver Ohio to the
United States for public domain.
"March 1, 1784, in Congress, he re
ported from a committee aud all in his
handwriting a plan for the temporary
THOMAS JEFFERSON, AGED FIFTY-EIGHT.
government of the Northwestern Ter
ritory, with a clause prohibiting slavery
within. This plan became the basis,
and was, in fact, embraced in the
ordinance of July 13,1787, for the Gov
ernment of the Territory of the United
States northwest of the Biver Ohio.
"After he retired from public life,
in 18J9, he founded the University of
Virginia, at, Charlottesville, Va., was
Its rector aud devoted his remainiug
years to its development.
"Iu 1821 Mr. Jefferson wrote: 'I
have sometimes asked myself whether
my country is the better for my hav
ing lived at all. Ido uot know that it
is. I have been the instrument of
doiag the following things, bat thqy
would have been done by others, soma
of them, perhaps, a little better.'
Then follows his account of what he
did. Abridged they c-e:
THE HOUSE IN WHICH THOMAS JEFFER*
SON WROTE THE DECLARATION OF IN
DEPENDENCE.
"He improved the navigation of the
Bivanna Biver.
"He wrote the Declaration of Inde
pendence.
"He disestablished the Established
Church in Virginia and secured the
freedom of religion.
"He was the father of the act put
ting an end to entails, of the act pro
hibiting the importation of slaves, of
the act concerning citizens, and estab
lishing the natural right of man to ex
patriate himself at will, of the act
changing the course of descents and
giving the inheritance to all children
equally, aud of the act for apportioning
crimes and punishments. He intro
duced the olive tree into South Caro
lina from France in 1789-1790, and
brought upland rice into South Caro
lina from Africa in 1790. He makes
no mention of his service in Congress
or his acts while President and does
not mention having founded the Uni
versity of Virginia. He was a modest
man in respect to his public acts.
While President he purchased the pro
vince of Louisana from France in 1803.
"Heseui Lewis and Clark and Pike
to explore the Western country. Ha
tried to enforce national rights by em
bargo instead of by war. He reduced
the public debt, aided trade and com
merce and provided a system of sea
coast and tidewater defenses."
The house in which the Declaration
of Independence was written was No.
230 High street, afterwards No. 700
Market street, and located on the
southwest corner of Seventh and Mar
ket streets, Philadelphia.
A Wonderfully Clear Atmosphere.
The atmosphere is so clear in Zulu
land that it is said objects can be seer
by starlight at a distance of sever
miles.
All He llequired.
Skullins (the road agent)—" Lady,
I stand in great need uv sympat'y."
Lady—"lndeed?"
Skullins—"Yes, lady. I'm one uv
de unfortunate crew uv a Spanish
merchantship de United States ships
captured.
Lady—"Poor man! and so you are
looking for work?"
Skullins—"No, lady; food an' money
is ail I require."—Judge.
/,SOO MILES FROM ANYWHERE.
Shipwrecked Sailors Enjoy the Hospital
ity of Kanaka*.
When the steamship Cottage City
arrived at San Francisco from New
York to join the Klondike trade it car
ried three shipwrecked sailors, picke.l
up at Valparaiso.
They were Jack O'Neil of San Fran
cisco, William Walsh of New York
and John Dall, a Norwegian. They
had been seamen on the bark Monan
turn, wrecked seven months ago.
"We were on the way from Newcas.
tie, Australia, to Panama when the
bark sprung a leak," said O'Neil, at
the Sailors' home, "Captain Newhall
put us at the pumps, and he soon con
cluded that we would have to run for
Easter island. This island, mind, is
away oil' the coast of Chile, about
2500 miles from anywhere.
"The captain's idea was to run the
bark ashore, so he wasn't particular
what course he took, and, as hard luck
would have it, we banged into a reef.
That settled it, and we barely suc
ceeded in getting ashore with our
lives.
Easter island is about twenty miles
long and eight or nine miles wide. It
is inhabited by a simple and hospitable
lot of Kanakas—about 180 of them iu
all. There is a king at the head, and
there are three or four chiefs or offi
cers, who seem to hold office by right
of age.
"The king took a fancy to me. He
unceremoniously conducted me to his
house —a rude cabin of sticks, dried
mud and thatch. The captain and the
rest of the crew had to put up with
the homes of the ordinary citizens,
but we all had about the same amount
of beef and sweet potatoes to eat.
These are the only foods we saw on
tbe islaud, and as the cattle run wild
and have scant pasturage the beef is
pretty lean. They have only one meal
a day on the island, and that comes
about five o'clock in the afternoon.
"By one of those funny freaks that
always happen at shipwrecks, a chest
containing paint had floated ashore.
I painted the king's house for him red,
white and yellow, with trimmings of
tar. His barefooted highness tnouglit
that was out of sight. He had an
extra dinner that day, just as they do
at weddings and funerals, and he
never stopped chuckling.
"We hail been there six months
when a sailing vessel landed and took
us to Valparaiso. The king and all
the subjects—men, women and chil
dren —shouted in lamentation as we
came away."—San Francisco Exam
iner.
THE PAY OF THE ARMY.
What Our Gallant Soldier* Receive for
Serving Uncle Sam.
The following is the monthly sti
pend of officers and soldiers of tha
United States army :
Major-general, $625,00
Brigadier-general, 458 33
Colonel, 291 67
Lieutenant-colonel, 250 00
Major, 208 33
Captain, mounted, 166 67
Captain, not mounted, 150 00
Begimental adjutant, 150 00
Regimental quartermaster, 150 00
First lieutenant, mounted, 133 33
First lieutenant, not mounted," 125 00
Second lieuteutant, mounted, 125 00
Second lieut. not mounted, 116 76
Chaplain, 125 00
Companj,
Private, 13 00
Musician, 13 00
Trumpeter, 13 00
Wagoner, 14 00
Artificer, . 15 00
Corporal (artillery, cavalry and
infantry), 15 00
Blacksmith and farrier 15 00
Saddler, 15 00
Sergeant, 18 00
Private (engineers and ordi
ance), 17 00
Corporal (engineers and ordi
nance), 20 00
First sergeant, 25 00
{Sergeant (engineers, ordi
nance and signal corps) 34 00
Sergeants (signal corps) 45 00
Regiment,
Chief trumpeter, 22 00
Principal musician, 22 00
Saddler sergeant, 22 00
Chief musician, 60 00
Sergeant-major, 23 00
Quartermaster-sergeant, 23 00
Sergeant-major anil quarter
master-sergeant, 36 00
Post,
Ordinance sergeant, 34 00
Commissary sergeant, 34 00
Post quartermaster-sergeant., 34 00
Hospital corps,
Hospital steward. 45 00
Acting hospital steward, 25 00
Private, 18 00
Veterinary surgeon (senior), 100 00
Veterinary surgeon (junior), 75 00
Hospital matron. 10 00
Simple Antiseptic Dre*Bing.
A well-known Belgian physician, Dr.
Rasurei, is reported to have succeeded,
after long and thorough experiment,
iu producing a material composed of
peat fibres in combination with woolen
threads, iu this way utilizing the anti
septic qualities of the peat fibre for
all sorts of textures and of dress ma
terials. It is stated that the original
intention was to produce sanitary
undergarments, which, as attested by
medical authorities, show the follow
ing improvements over other fabrics
for similar purposes. The remarka
ble porosity of the fibre imparts to the
texture with which it is mixed, iu wool,
an unusual power of absorbing and
evaporating moisture ; its tendency,
too, to arrest decomposition renders if
a preventive against disease by check
ing the fermentation which usually ac
companies perspiration. Thus, gar
ineuts composed of mixed peat and
wool are said to protect one from tak
ing cold by any sudden change from
perspiration to chill whaterar b« Ui«
temperature.