Cuba and Porto Rico, with the other islands of the West Indies: their topography, climate, flora, products, industries, cities, people, political conditions, etc.

Front matter

jmMtiii w vm

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Chapter II The West Indian Waters

The American Mediterranean. Its area and littorals. Distinctness from the oceanic basins. The currents and winds inducing the equable temperature and conditions of life. The remarkable submarine configuration. The great deeps and flooded mountains. Peculiar aspects of the life of the waters. Influence of the coral polyps in making the rocks of the islands. Passes into the Atlantic 7

Chapter III

Their number, area, and populations. Antithetic nature of their origin, configuration, and resources. Classification into groups of similar type. The Great Antilles. The Bahamas. The Caribbean chain. The South American islands of the Trinidad type. Reefs and keys. Their political organization 18

Chapter IV The Great Antilles

Their individuality. Distinctness of physical characters from those of the United States. Continental diversity of their configuration as compared with the monotypic character of the other islands.

X CONTENTS

PAGE

The Antillean mountain system. Variety of resources. Total population. Diversity of social conditions presented in the four chief islands 27

Chapter V The Island Of Cuba

Physical features. Situation, commercial and strategic position. Outlines, dimensions, area. The configuration. The coast and littoral. Abundance of harbors. The bordering keys. The interior mountain ranges. The plains of Cuba. The cuchillas of the east. The terraces of Guantanamo. Valleys and depressions. Rivers, lakes, and swamps. Caves and scenic features . . . .33

Administrative departments. Numerical population. Resume* of previous history leading to present conditions. Administration and government. Absolutism of authority. Its effects and influences. Religion and education 62

Chapter IX The Resources Of The Island

Agricultural supremacy. The cultivation of sugar. The superior advantages of Cuba for sugar-culture. The plantations described. Tobacco-culture. The vegas of the Vuelta Abajo. Skill of Cuban tobacco-planters. Coffee, fruits, and minor agricultural products. Cattle and live stock. Minerals . 76

CONTENTS XI

Chapter X Page

Harbors, railways, highways. Sources of wealth. The large commerce of the island. Commercial value of the island to Spain. Trade with the United States 86

Chapter XI The People Of Cuba

Misconceptions concerning the people of Cuba. Degrees and variety of people. The five classes of people. The Spaniards and other foreigners. The white Cubans. Effects of disenfranchisement and conscriptions. Hospitality and courtesy. Strong family attachments. The Cuban women. The laboring classes. The colored and black population. No danger of negro supremacy . . 97

Chapter XII Cuban Cities: Havana

Large number of cities in proportion to population. Havana and adjacent towns. Imposing appearance from the sea, and picturesque location. The bay and shipping. Prevalent building-material and type of architecture. The central plaza. European aspect of the city. The Prado. Notable structures. Tomb of Columbus. Charitable institutions. Homes and private dwellings. The business streets. Street-cars and carriages. Places of recreation. Pinar del Rio. Cabanas and Mariel 107

TRANSPORTATION, AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRY, AND COMMERCE

Harbors. Railways. Highways. Telegraph. Diversified nature of the agriculture. Large number of small farms. Sugar-estates. Coffee-culture. Mefiores. Importance of the cattle industry. Commerce and trade. Bad condition of the currency. . . . 157

Chapter XVIII The People

Statistical details of number, sex, nativity, race, and literacy. Excess of males. Small proportion of foreign people. Divisions into classes. The " Spaniards " (white Porto Ricans). The gibaros, or peasantry. The negroes. Former conditions of slavery in Porto Rico 165

JAMAICA (Continued)

A model British colony. Respect for law and order. Early history and administration. Agriculture. Rise of the fruit industry. Commerce. Railways. Excellent highways 202

CHAPTER XXII JAMAICA (Continued)

Cities and villages. Kingston. Spanish Town. Port Antonio. Montego Bay. Rural life. The people. Excess of the black population. Color-line and distinctions. Dress and habits of the blacks. Folk-lore of the negroes. A peculiar alphabet. Dependencies of Jamaica . , 219

Chapter XXIII The Island Of Santo Domingo

Difficulties of nomenclature. Geographical features of the island. Irregularity of outline. Mountains and valleys. The Alps of the Antilles. Classification of the ranges. Rivers and lakes. Climate. Geology. Fauna 236

Chapter XXIV The Republic Of San Domingo

Political and social conditions of the island as a whole. The republic of San Domingo. Interesting early history. The present government and administration. Commerce and agriculture. Mineral resources. Population. Predominance of mulattos. Old San Domingo city. Early American landmarks. Other points of interest 251

XIV CONTENTS

Chapter XXV Page

Its mountainous character. Extensive coast-line. Its constitution and organization. Education and religion. Commerce and revenue. Communication. Cities (Cape Haitien, Port de Paix, Gona'ives, St. Marc, Port-au-Prince, Aux Cayes). The people. Supremacy of the blacks. Race antipathies. Personal appearance and domestic relations of the Haitians. Superstitions. The struggle for liberty. The blacks not to blame for the condition of the republic. Island products and commerce 263

Varied nationality and character of the inhabitants. Condition of the native whites. Possibilities of the white race. The negroes. Their general character, habits, and moral condition. Obiism, or witchcraft 387

Chapter Xxxviii The Future Of The West Indies

Vicissitudes which have been survived. Depression of the sugar industry. The bane of alien land-tenure. Bad effect of political distribution. Prospective relations with the United States . . . 400

I. Cuba since the War 411

II. Table of Distances between Towns in Cuba 413

III. Islands attached to the Government of Porto Rico . . 414

IV. Government and Resources of Porto Rico 417

V. Rainfall of San Juan, Porto Rico 424

VI. Table of Distances between Principal Cities in Porto Rico 425 VII. Railway Stations of Porto Rico 425

Index 427

LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS map of the west indies Frontispiece

FACING PAGE

TRAVELERS PALM, GARDEN, ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE—

NOT INDIGENOUS 16

COCOANUT-PALMS, PLUMB POINT LIGHTHOUSE, JAMAICA . 24

BANIAN-TREE, BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS 24

PLAZA IN FRONT OF CAPTAIN-GENERAL'S PALACE, HAVANA 32

GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE ISLAND OF CUBA 40

MATANZAS 44

Church of Montserrat— Yumuri Valley, near Matanzas

AFTERNOON DRIVE IN RURAL CUBA 48

Drive to the Beliamar Caves, Matanzas — Royal Palms, Sugar- Estate — Villanueve Railway Station, Havana

View in the Botanical Gardens — Fruit- Stand — A Market-Place — " Leche a Domicilio " — Donkeys Loaded with Wood

Pack-Horse Loaded with Rum — A Funeral Car

Plaza de Armas and Captain- General's Palace — Templete Monument, Erected at Site of First Mass Said in Havana

Regla, the Brooklyn of Havana, Ferry-Boat in Foreground — At the Boat-Landing — Water-Front, Havana Bay

SUGAR-HOUSE ON PLANTATION, CUBA 76

xvii

XV111 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PACING PAGE

A Car-Load of Sugar-Cane, Santa Anna— Cutting Sugar-Cane with Machete

Huts on Soledad Estate, near Cienfuegos— Hormiguera Sugar- Estate, Cienfuegos— Pineapples— Bananas near Cienfuegos

MINE OF IEON ORE NEAR JURAGUA, TWELVE MILES EAST

OF SANTIAGO DE CUBA 84

Morro Castle from the West— Panorama of the Prado

A Country House— A Cuban Peasant House of the Better Sort —Peasant Holding a Wooden Plow

A GROUP OF NATIVE CUBAN INSURRECTIONARY LEADERS . 100

A CUBAN TYPE 102

THE SAN CARLOS CLUB, SANTIAGO DE CUBA 104

THE YUMURI VALLEY NEAR MATANZAS, CUBA .... 108

Old Church Used as Custom-House— The Cathedral

GENERAL VIEW OF HAVANA FROM CABANAS SHORE . . 116

MATANZAS— GENERAL VIEW 120

VIEW IN THE PLAZA, CIENFUEGOS 124

General View— The Cathedral

Smith Key— Morro Castle

Plaza— Calle de Puerto

Plaza— Street Scene— Market— Negroes

BARACOA, CUBA 136

PONCE, PORTO RICO 145

Cascade of Plaza de las Delicias — Isabel Street

COUNTRY HUTS AND HIGHWAYS, PORTO RICO . . . .148 A bad road in the Pepino Hills — View on the Military Road — Tenements of the Poor, near Lares — Primitive Peasant Hut

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XIX

FACING PAGE

ENTRANCE TO SAN JUAN, PORTO RICO . . 152

SCENES IN PORTO RICO 154

Village Church, Abonito — Going to Adjuntas — View near San German — Municipal Building, San Juan

A STATE FUNERAL, SAN JUAN, PORTO RICO 160

REPRESENTATIVE PORTO RICANS 167

PORTO RICO 168

Utuado —Plaza and Cathedral at Arecibo — Palms near San Juan

PEASANT SCENES AND CUSTOMS, PORTO RICO 172

Pig- and Chicken-Pedler, San Juan — Hulling Coffee in a Village Street — Market Scene, Ponce — Pigs to Market, Military Road.

PORTO RICAN FAMILY AT COUNTRY HOUSE, NEAR MAYAGUEZ 178

Port Royal from the Sea— Rock Coast and Pseudo- Atolls, Montego Bay— Harbor of Port Royal JAMAICA 188

Mountain Scenery— Newcastle Barracks

EAST INDIAN COOLIES, JAMAICA 192

CEEBA-TREE AND COUNTRY ESTATE, JAMAICA 200

CULTIVATION OF SUGAR-CANE, JAMAICA 208

A CELBA OR SILK-COTTON TREE 216

CACTUS AND CHAPARRAL, JAMAICA 216

Country House, Retreat Pen, Clarendon— Kingston Street Scene

Negresses Transporting Charcoal— Logwood Collected for Shipment

JAMAICANS CARRYING BANANAS— BREADFRUIT-TREE OVER- HEAD 232

Santo Cerro Church and Nispero de Colon, or Tree of Columbus, beneath which Mass was Celebrated after the Great Victory over the Indians of La Vega— A Street Showing Cathedral

Citadel where Columbus was Imprisoned— Alleged Coffin of Columbus

XX LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS

FACING PAGE

POET-AU-PEINCE, HAITI 272

Cathedral— Street Scenes

BAHAMAS .296

Cliffs of Eleuthera Island— Watlings Island— United States Consul's House, Nassau— Street Scene, Nassau

BAY AND CITY OF ST. THOMAS , ... 312

ENTIEE POPULATION OF A NEGEO HAMLET, ANTIGUA . .320

ANTIGUA .322

Street Showing Cathedral and Public Library, St. John— Sugar-Estate

ST. JOHN, ANTIGUA 324

A Suburban Highway— View of City and Harbor

FOBT-DE-FEANCE, MAETINIQUE , . 326

CAEIBBEE ISLANDS 328

Town of Bottom, Island of Saba, Situated in an Old Crater— Gustavia, St. Bartholomew

ST. KITTS 332

Public Garden— View

MAEKET, GUADELOUPE 338

CAEIB INDIANS MAKING BASKETS, DOMINICA 340

MAETINIQUE 345

Statue of Josephine— Old Mill on Estate where Josephine was Born

MAETINIQUE 348

Landing, St. Pierre— St. Pierre

TYPES OF WOMEN, MAETINIQUE 352

Fille de Couleur — French Negress — Negro Woman — Mulatto Girl

ST. LUCIA 357

Plantations near South End— One of the Pitons

Georgetown— Kingstown

Sugar-Plantation, Fort Davinet— Windward Coast— Market

GEENADA 364

St. George's Harbor— St. George

TEINIDAD 366

Public Offices— Port of Spain

PITCH LAKE, TEINIDAD 368

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XXI

FACING PAGE

TRINIDAD 370

Coolies— Coolie Houses

Gathering Sugar- Cane— Public Library, Bridgetown— Laundresses— Turning the Windmill

BRIDGETOWN ROADSTEAD, BARBADOS 374

Street Scene, Bridgetown— Country Church— Landing Wharf, Bridgetown

BARBADIAN NEGROES .378

COAST VIEWS, BARBADOS 380

Rolled Boulder from Elevated Reef— Horizontal Sea Erosion of Rolled Boulders— Effect of Trade- Winds on Vegetation- Bathing Beach and Elevated Reef —Sea- Coast Scene— Elevated Reef Terrace

BARBADIAN TYPES 387

TYPES, BARBADOS AND GUADELOUPE 388

Going to Market, Barbados— Field-Hands, Barbados (Note Characteristic Barbadian Heads)— Woman in Characteristic Costume, French Mulatto, Guadeloupe

Carib Indians— Carib Rock-Inscriptions

Negro Hut— African Basket- Wattle House, Board House, Adaptation of Same

ANTIGUA AND BARBADOS 394

Negro Hut, Antigua— Negroes and Low Whites, East Side of Barbados— Fisherman's Hut, Barbados

NEGRO HUT, ST. VINCENT 396

SUGAR-CULTURE, BARBADOS 400

Newcastle Sugar-Mill— Spreading Bagasse to Dry for Fuel— Cane-Grinding by Windmill Power

IMPOVERISHED SUGAR-ESTATES, BARBADOS 404

INTEODUCTION

WE have recently been called a nation of Yankee traders. This compliment, although not so intended, classifies us among the most highly civilized nations, which are those that excel in commerce, and signalizes our need of foreign markets.

The great nations of Europe are apportioning the territories of weaker peoples among themselves for the purpose of monopolizing their trade. Whether the United States is to enter into such operations or not, we cannot say, nor is it the purpose of this book to discuss the question. Our future prosperity as a nation depends largely on the equality of terms upon which our products can obtain market abroad. Every square mile fenced in by tariff laws of prohibitive nations is our commercial loss ; every one opened is our gain. It was Spain's attempt to divert the trade of Cuba from its natural channels by discriminative duties that fomented the discord leading to the present war; it was the protective barrier placed by us against the sugar of the West Indian Islands which almost paralyzed them.

We are not only a nation of traders, but we are a nation of Yankee tinkers, and it is our scientific expert ness in developing natural resources, in increasing the productive labor of the individual, and in quickening transportation, that has enabled us to develop wildernesses and to revive countries which have grown old in conservative ways. Our methods of industrial development are scientific, and

xxiii

XXIV INTBODUCTION

the art of commerce goes hand in hand with geography. Not far from our borders is the wonderful and interesting West Indian region, which is already a fair field of trade, and which, present events indicate, will be a better one in coming years. American industrial methods may be applied to this region, and it is an opportune moment to make a scientific presentation of its conditions and possibilities.

It is a difficult task to convey a correct impression of the natural and economic conditions of the tropical American countries and their inhabitants. Too often these are judged by the standards of our own surroundings and customs, which are those of an entirely different environment. The configuration of the lands, geological structure, climate, and products of the soil— upon all of which culture depends— are so different from those of our own country that we are confronted at the outset with a lack of suitable bases for comparison. The peoples and countries of the American Mediterranean cannot be classified together as social or geographic units. Nowhere in the world are so many extremes of natural conditions, population, and government to be found. As elsewhere, climate, configuration, and fertility of soil are there the first considerations that influence productivity, while political organization has also largely conditioned the degree of civilization. Neighboring localities present great contrasts. Here are lands which have grown up through the agency of the coral-reef builders, eminences piled high by vast volcanic extrusions, high plateaus, and mountain ridges of the lifted and folded sediments of the ocean's floor, each of which, with modifications of altitude and climate, produces a soil differing from the others in agricultural and economic possibilities. The reef-veneered Barbados, the volcanic areas of Central America, the Windward Islands, and the high, arid plateau of Mexico, respectively, are types of these contrasting lands, and the Great Antilles are peculiar combinations of all.

INTRODUCTION XXV

There is an impression that the peoples of these conntries are either negro or Spanish, and that despotism or anarchy, dne to the character of the inhabitants rather than to environment and administration, are the prevalent political conditions. In these heterogeneous conceptions the dominant Indian population of Mexico, the negroes of Haiti, and the white Creoles of the islands are indiscriminately considered together. But this region is a most remarkable example of the combined influences upon mankind of geography, race, and government, and is practically a great sociological laboratory where many human species are being differentiated.

It is true that some people of Spanish descent, in countries like Colombia, Honduras, and San Salvador, where population is scattered and separated by topographic obstacles fatal to the establishment of strong governments, are normally in revolt. There are other Spanish- American republics which, in comparison with the government of the European country from which they seceded, are fair models of stability and prosperity, such as Costa Kica,— where capital punishment has been abolished,— which is as peaceful as Acadia, and boasts that it has never had a war. Argentina and Chile are worthy of consideration; and Mexico, by gigantic strides, since free from European interference, has changed from a land of revolution and banditti to the home of a prosperous industrial and commercial nation.

The conditions of the tropical countries in which the negro race prevails are indeed varied, but in some instances better than is generally supposed. The Haitians have made more progress than is credited to them ; their revolting experience has caused us to overlook the fact that other negro populations, such as those of Jamaica and Barbados, — where the blacks outnumber the whites in the proportion of fifty to one, — under beneficent English colonial control, at least present orderly spectacles. Of these tropical countries and peoples, we are now chiefly concerned with

XXVi INTRODUCTION

the West Indies, especially Cuba, with a secondary interest in Porto Eico— the only islands where the white race has become acclimated and numerically dominant, and whose political administrations have been most disturbed, despite their superior natural resources. The other islands present equally interesting economic and sociologic studies.

The West Indies since their introduction to European civilization have been attractive objects of interest and have presented a wonderful panorama of human and natural phenomena. They have been the theater of historic action, the center from which early American exploration radiated, and the base of geographic operations during those entrancing years when mariners ever scanned the horizon in expectation of discovering the new and the wonderful. They have been the battle-ground of the New World of nations from the formative centuries until the present civilization. They have been the grand arena of the war of races. First, the Spanish conquered the aborigines ; then English, Dutch, French, and Dane, anxious for participation, strove to share in the possession of the Indies, and even individuals, as pirates and bucaneers, took part in the general seizure. The din of European arms over these waters continued intermittently until the beginning of this century. Cities with old-world walls, fortifications, and institutions had grown opulent in the West Indies, or had been destroyed by the guns of foreign foes, before the landing upon Plymouth Eock or the settlement of Jamestown had initiated Anglo-American civilization. Every island is strewn with old cannon and picturesque ruins of antique battlements which attest the days when individuals and nations preyed upon the Spanish Main. Here Morgan, Drake, Grenville, De Grasse, Eodney, Nelson, Albemarle, and other sea warriors of note won victories or suffered defeat, and many a brave forefather from our own colonies participated in the struggle.

African slaves were implanted upon territory gained by Caucasian from aborigine. By the close of the last cen-

INTRODUCTION XXV11

tury, when the civilized nations had about adjusted their territorial disputes, the slaves had attained numerical strength, and from time to time rose in revolt— usually to be suppressed with a loss of life most appalling, but in some cases achieving a success that so completely banished European life and influences that civilization asks in wonder if this Eden of nature is not being transformed into an American Africa, with its barbarous rites and superstitions. As a climax to this tumult we have lately seen in Haiti the spectacle of pure negro blood exterminating the mulattos.

These islands were the commercial paradise of the first three centuries of American settlement, and lands now gone back to jungle sold as high as a thousand dollars an acre, "in those booming days when sugar was at 32." Here manufacturers found market for all the weaves and notions of their making. The West India trade enriched the merchants of Barcelona and London, and the products of the plantations established many a fortune in England, France, and Spain. Even now their trade exceeds that of all Mexico and Central America.

In the era of their prosperity noble families of European descent founded establishments of patriarchal grandeur, luxurious and hospitable beyond description. In these times the islands gave birth to Alexander Hamilton, our first great financier, and Josephine, who became Empress of the French. Here, too, Nelson, then a captain in the British navy, was married to the wife who was faithful to his unfaithfulness. No greater proof can be found of the value of the West Indies at the close of the last century than the fact that to England the loss of the colonies which now constitute our republic seemed of secondary importance to Bodney's great naval victory over the French off Martinique, whereby her supremacy in the West Indies was established. In the light of eighteenth-century values the American colonies were of trivial worth in comparison with the West Indies, and we may perhaps thank our

XXV111 INTRODUCTION

destinies that England at that time devoted her superior forces to retaining the latter.

To the naturalist the islands are a paradise, and in their plants, animals, and rocks he finds not only the new and wonderful, but grand problems of origin and distribution. How these lands arose from the sea, and what their relations to the continents are, must still be regarded as questions not satisfactorily answered.

From the esthetic standpoint these islands have been the inspiration of noble works of prose and poetry. Scenic pictures of mountains, valleys, and coast everywhere overwhelm the eye with wealth of form, while rich vegetation of a hundred tints, shaded or illuminated by clouds and sunlight, presents an unrivaled wealth of color. The whole, set in a framework of glorious sea, is a marvelous natural picture.

Books have been written treating of various places and parts of the West Indies, but, within the past quartercentury at least, none which presents a geographic and economic conspectus of the subject as a whole— a fact apparent to the traveler who searches in vain for such a reliable guide-book. Some writers, like Stoddard, Ober, St. John, and Bryan Edwards, have presented charming glimpses of certain portions of the islands. Kingsley? in " Westward Ho ! " and " At Last," has given descriptions of scenes and localities which will have a permanent place in literature. Michael Scott, the author of "Tom Cringle's Log," Mayne Eeid, Marryat, and Robert Louis Stevenson have produced amusing sketches of scenes here and there. Samuel Hazard has written two instructive books on th,e every-day scenes and life of Cuba and Santo Domingo. Lafcadio Hearn's "Two Years in the West Indies," giving the strange story of the life and decadence of the French island of Martinique, is a most readable and instructive book. St. John has graphically told the heroic story of black Haiti's struggles for freedom and its revolting sequence. Froude has written of the English in the

INTRODUCTION XXIX

West Indies, and Anthony Trollope has given a conspectus of the islands in the middle of the present century, just before the epoch of emancipation which upset their industrial system ; and this should be read by all who wish to see the changes which fifty years have wrought. Captain Marryat has recorded in fiction, and John Fiske in history, the stories of the bucaneering and freebooting on the Spanish Main. Of the more solid historical works, John Fiske's writings, especially his "Discovery of America" and "Old Virginia and her Neighbors," give admirable summaries of earlier West Indian events and the intimate relations that once existed between the American colonies and the islands.

Of economic treatises there are several special works, such as M. Ramon de La Sagra's "Histoire physique, politique et naturelle de Pile de Cuba," Humboldt's writings, Tippenhauer's "Haiti," Schomburgk's "Barbados," and several French works on the present and former possessions of France. These, however, with the exception of Tippenhauer's " Haiti," a report of the English Sugar Commission, and various consular reports, were written in the earlier decades of the century, and treat of slave conditions which are now obsolete. Captain Mahan, in his various books and magazine articles, has described the present strategic importance of the islands and the great naval battles of the past.

Of works treating of the natural history of the West Indies there are but few of a general or comprehensive character. Exploration has been sporadic and unsystematic, although in these islands is the key to all the higher problems of zoogeography and the evolution of the continents. There is one notable exception ; for years Professor Alexander Agassiz has personally conducted or inspired many explorations in this region, and has published valuable technical works thereon. His " Three Cruises of the Blake," a treatise on the wonderful configuration of the sea bottoms and their mysterious life, is a most read-

Introduction

able and instructive work on the geology and zoology. His works on the living and fossil coral reefs, such as " The Florida Reefs," " The Cruise of the Wild Buck;' and one on the Bahamas, are of greatest interest. To Professor Agassiz's desire to advance the knowledge of the West Indies the writer is indebted for the opportunity of several years' travel, whereby he was enabled to study their geography and geology, to observe their social and economic conditions, and to obtain experiences which have made this book possible.

The author cannot hope to present in the present work a better description of the West Indies than has been given in fragments by these earlier writers. He believes, however, that there is need for a comprehensive book on the region as a whole, and one which will treat its conditions as they appear to-day, giving the essential facts concerning the physical geography, climate, economic geology, agriculture, commerce, and social conditions of these islands, as well as the possibilities of their future development. While the work will be chiefly based upon the results of his own personal examinations, the scattered and in some instances almost inaccessible observations of others will be freely used. When statistics are given they will be presented as the best obtainable figures concerning a region where the arts of collecting and classifying such data are by no means the favorite occupations of the inhabitants.

WITH THE OTHER

ISLANDS OF THE WEST INDIES

Chapter I The Geographic Relations Of The West Indies

Position relative to the continents. Types of the surrounding lands. The east-and-west trends of the Antillean Mountains. Differences between the Gulf and Caribbean basins.

A PROPER conception of the social and economic conditions of the various West Indian Islands and their relations, or rather lack of relations, to the adjacent continents, will be facilitated by a few preliminary words upon the general geography of the American Mediterranean region, of which they are integral parts. This will avoid much unnecessary repetition in the descriptions of the various islands.

The western hemisphere is divisible into three distinct continental regions, the North, Central, and South American. North America is the most western * of the continents, and terminates in southern Mexico, at the end of the Rocky

1 In northern latitudes we look upon the Pacific as situated to our west ; but

were it not for the island of Cuba and the narrow isthmian neck, one could

strike it by sailing almost due south from New York, and the whole of the

South American continent is situated far east of the mass of North America.

1 1

Z CUBA AND PORTO RICO

Mountain region. South America is the eastern continent, and terminates with the end of the northern Andes in the Eepublic of Colombia. The Central American continent is an east-and-west isthmus connecting the termini of the North and South American continents. Central America and the West Indies, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea (together forming the American Mediterranean), are more complex features, largely individual in their aspects, although more nearly related to one another and to the northern coast of South America than they are to the main bodies of the larger continents.

Geography has taught that the American continents are dominated by a continuous Cordilleran system running like a backbone through South, Central, and North America, connecting the whole western border of the hemisphere by one great mountain system, which has persisted through long epochs of time. This is an erroneous idea, for the so-called continental backbone is not a geographic unit, but is disconnected in places. In a later chapter I will show that the Central American isthmian barrier between the oceans was once freely invaded by the waters of the Pacific, while an entirely different isthmian bridge on the windward or eastern side of the Gulf and Caribbean Sea, now partially destroyed, probably connected or almost connected the continents from Florida to the northeast point of South America. Either this, or much of the present Central American lands, with some of the West Indian Islands, long before man appeared on this earth, formed a great archipelago— a veritable Atlantis— extending east and west between and directly across the trends of the North and South American continents.

The east-front ranges of the North American Cordilleras are largely composed of old sediments of the Atlantic Ocean winch were pushed up against a preexisting land lying to the west ; they are mountain ranges with north-and-south trends, accompanied by volcanic intrusions and ejecta. Geographers show that this system abruptly terminates

THE GEOGRAPHIC RELATIONS OF THE WEST INDIES 6

with the great scarp, or ah/all, of the so-called plateau of Mexico, in longitude 97° W., a little south of the capital of that republic, and that the mountains have no orographic continuity or other features in common with those of the Central American region.

The Andean Cordilleras, which dominate the South American continental area, are largely composed of the old sediments of the Pacific Ocean, and are also accompanied by volcanic intrusions and ejecta now folded into north-and-south mountain trends. They too were pushed up against a preexisting land buttress, but this lay to the east, instead of to the west as in the case of the North American Cordilleras. The Andean trend, which follows the western side of South America, after crossing north of the equator, bends slightly eastward and abruptly terminates in northern Colombia, in longitude 70° W. Only one doubtful spur touches the coast of the American Mediterranean, the Sierra del Marta, lying between the Grulf of Maracaibo and the river Magdalena. The Andes have no genetic connection with the ranges extending east and west along the Venezuelan coast of South America, much less with the mountains of Central America or with the great Rocky Mountain region of Mexico and the United States. The northern end of the Andean system lies entirely east of the Central American region, and is separated from it by the Rio Atrato— the most western of the great rivers of Colombia. In fact, the deeply eroded drainage valley of this stream nearly severs the Pacific coast of the Republic of Colombia and the isthmian region from the South American continent.

The trends of the great North and South American Cordilleras, the Rocky Mountain and the Andean systems, if protracted from their termini in southern Mexico and Colombia respectively, would not connect with each other through Central America, but would pass the latitude of the Antilles in parallel lines nearly two thousand miles apart. The Andean trends, if extended, would pass through Jamaica and eastern Cuba, and continue almost east of the