T h e province of Matanzas, with an area of 3380
square miles and 283,120 inhabitants, is the only one
that has practically no southern coast, the next province
of Santa Clara being allowed to extend a narrow
wedge below it and include the great marshy region
of the peninsula of Zapata (“ the Shoe ). Matanzas
includes a large part of the richest sugar district,
and is agriculturally the most highly developed
section of the island. Santa Clara includes the old
Cinco Villas, and has an area of 9210 square miles
and a population of 321,397. It is the scene of most
of the earliest settlements of the island, and contains
some of the largest sugar plantations and mills. It
also produces a great variety of fruits, and is believed
to be rich in minerals. The available seaports
are on the southern coast, whereas farther west they
are on the northern. These four western provinces
contain rather more than half the length of the
island, but much less than half its area.
A little east of the boundary of Santa Clara is the
low and narrow section which practically divides
the island of Cuba into two parts. A sinking of
three hundred feet would actually separate it into
two distinct islands. Here is the old trocha, which
has been transformed into a military railroad, and
near by is the dividing line of the two dioceses.
The province in which this depression lies is officially
called Puerto Principe, though it is often referred
to as Camaguey. I t is bordered by lines of reefs on
both sides, and its only good seaport is Nuevitas
on the northern coast. A large part of it is mountainous
and covered with forests, and it contains the