coffee, cocoa, hides, and other products of the region.
I t is between the copper mines at Cobre and the
iron-works at Juragua, but the iron company has its
own wharf at Daiquiri on the outer coast. In the
outskirts about the old Indian village of E l Caney,
or “ The Grave,” suburban residences of the merchants
have been built.
T h e only other important seaport of Santiago
province is Manzanillo on the bay of Buena Esper-
anza at the delta of the Rio Cauto. It has a population
of more than 20,000, and in the region back
of it much sugar and tobacco are raised, and the descendants
of the bees which the French immigrants
brought here produce wax and honey for export.
In the basin of the Cauto is the old town of Baya-
mo. Farther inland toward the northern coast is
Holguin. Some thirty miles east of the entrance
to Santiago Bay is the broader and more open basin
of Guantanamo, which is rendered too shallow for
much use by deposits from the short streams that
come down from the Santa Catalina district. Gibara
on the north coast has an excellent harbour admitting
vessels of sixteen feet draught, and this advantage
has given it a considerable trade in sugar, coffee,
tobacco, fruits, and ornamental woods. According
to the best authority, it was here that Columbus
made his first landing on the coast of Cuba, though
others give the honour to Sabinal Bay where the
port of Nuevitas is situated.
We may as well terminate our notice of towns
where Velasquez began, when he came to establish
settlements on the island of Cuba. This was at
XX