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Points of Pictures: Columbus

The tower of the cathedral that is seen down the narrow street, and was built of white limestone, is the spire that we may regard as his monument, and we quote its history in "Cuba with Pen and Pencil," by Samuel Hazzard: "The grand object of interest, however, is the `Tomb of Columbua,' and it is astonishing how many people there are who come to Havana that are ignorant of the remains of Columbus being in the precincts of Havana--having been transferred from the place of his death. "History tells us that Columbus died at Valladolid, Spain, on Ascension day, the 20th of May, 1506; that his body was deposited in the convent of San Francisco, and his obsequies celebrated with funeral pomp in that city. His remains were afterwards transported, in 1513, to the Carthusian monastery of Seville, known as `Las Cuevas,' where they erected a handsome monument to him, by command of Ferdinand and Isabella, with the simple inscription, borne upon his shield, of:

A CASTILE Y LEON, NUEVO MUNDO DIO COLON. "In the year 1856 his body and that of his son, Diego, were removed to the city of San Domingo, in the island of Hayti, and interred in the principal chapel. But they were not permitted to rest even there; for on the 15th of January, 1796, they were brought to Havana, and interred in their present tomb, amidst grand and imposing ceremonies, participated in by the army, navy, and church officials, and an immense concourse of spectators. To use the words of a Spanish author: 'Havana wept with joy, admiration, and gratitude at seeing enter within its precincts, in order to guard them forever, the ashes of Cristobal Colon.' "The ashes, it is understood, were deposited in an urn, which was placed in a niche in the wall, at the entrance and to the left of the chancel of the cathedral. Over this has been placed a slab of stone, elaborately carved, in a stone frame, and representing the bust of Columbus in the costume of the time, a wreath of laurel around his head, and symbolical emblems at the foot of the medallion, upon which is inscribed in Castilian:

Oh, rest thou, image of the great Colon, Thousand centuries remain, guarded in the urn, And in the remembrance of our nation. "Well may the question be asked: Where then were all the muses when they inscribed such lines as these?"

The Spanish outpost is evidently on a railroad and in an open country. There is no ambuscade in sight. There may be rebels in the hills that are far away out of rifle range. The strange old town answers the purpose of a look-out and shelter for riflemen if the enemy should make a dash. The officer in command has just received a despatch that is attracting close attention, and may announce the movement of a Spanish column or an advance of the enemy. The messenger is mounted on one of those swift, easy single-footed rackers, the clatter of whose feet on the hard roads is musical, and the delightful gait one that all the Cuban horses of good breeding have. The inevitable palm tree disputes possession of the land with a telegraph pole. The sugar plantation, from a photograph, shows at a glance the scope of the fields on which the cane, so rich in sweets, grows with luxuriance and yields the raw material of the wealth that has made Cuba a prize to be fought for. The cane grows on year after year and when cut is carted to the machinery and furnaces marked by the towering chimney. An extensive plantation has hundreds of mules and horses and carts in strings of fifties. In war time this equipment is important in the transportation of the baggage of the armies. When the cane is carted to the grinding machinery, the juice is pressed out, and after the second squeeze is over the pulp quickly dries in the sun--the dry season is grinding time--and serves for fuel; and this supply is usually found sufficient. The sugar is transported in bags made of jute, each containing from three hundred to three hundred and forty pounds, the average package being three hundred and twenty pounds. The cost of the English bag is nine cents, but the duty, unless it is made in Spain, is ten cents, and the price to Cubans is twenty; so that Spain gets the job of making the bags and the Cuban sugar makers pay twice their value and five per cent. over. The sugar production of Cuba, under conditions of peace, is one million tons per annum.

The tobacco fields are adorned with the lofty and feathery palms which distinguish the scenery and do not cast a harmful shade. The finest tobacco plantations in the world are those in Pinar del Rio, the western province of the Island, and the industry has suffered from the incursion of the insurgents, who rode through the fields and enlisted the laborers just at the critical season for cutting and curing the leaves, and the Spaniards identifying largely the rebellion with the tobacco interests, have not hesitated to make their movements also destructive.