Camagüey

“ While Maceo was thus maneuvering in the eastern part of the island, the general-in-chief, Maximo Gomez, was fighting in Camaguey. The population in the provinces of Puerto Principe and Santiago de Cuba had risen almost to a man, and the movement was well under way in the province of Santa Clara. ”

“ Camagüey is characterized by rolling, open plains, slightly broken, especially in the W., by low mountains. The E. part of Santa Clara province is decidedly rough and broken. The W. part, with the provinces of Matanzas and Havana, is flat and rolling, with occasional hills a few hundred feet high. Finally, Pinar del Rio is dominated by a prominent mountain range and by outlying piedmont hills and mesas. There are mountains in Cuba from one end of the island to the other, but they are not derived from any central mass and are not continuous. ”

“ Some thirty leagues from Bayamo, and before entering the province of Camaguey, the expedition arrived at a town called Cueyba, where they were well received by the Indians and where they found, in a sort of chapel, a statue of the Blessed Virgin which had been presented to the cacique some time before by Alonso de Ojeda who, after shipwreck and untold hardships, had reached that place and been cared for by the natives. ”

“ The chiefest of these Provinces are Mayzi, Bayamo, Cueyba, Camguey, Macaca, Xagua, Habana, and Uhima; some of them are plain, others mountainous, and being more or less fruitful, were very populous, before the Spaniards came thither, but since their cruel Massacres, scarce any of the antient Natives are left: Nor are the Spaniards here at present very populous, considering the largeness of the Island.
In the Province of Camaguey is a Valley three Leagues in bigness, where Nature produces a great number of large Stones so exactly round, that no Man with a Compass can make a more exact Circle. ”

“ During 1895, the first year of the War of Independence, over a million head of sleek, fat cattle were registered in the Province of Camaguey, where the grasses are so rich that an average of seventy head can be kept in condition throughout the year on a hundred acres of land. The two grasses commonly found in Camaguey were both brought from abroad. Of these, the Guinea, imported from western Africa, grows luxuriantly on all the plateaus and higher lands of the province, while the Parana, a long running grass from the Argentine, does best in the lower lands and savannas. ”

“ As Major General he participated in many battles, including the capture of a part of Camaguey on July 20, 1869. President Cespedes made him Chief of the Department of Camaguey, and for a time he succeeded Quesada as commander in chief of the Revolutionary Army. ”

“ The country around the city is a vast plain, for many years, and still, a grazing country, a land of horses and cattle. The charm is in the city itself. If I could see only one place outside of Havana, I would see Camaguey. A little less than fifty miles to the north is Nuevitas, reached by one of the first railways built in Cuba, now if ever little more than the port city for its larger neighbor. Columbus became somewhat ecstatic over the region. ”

“ By the time of Governor Angulo, Havana had grown into—or been reduced to—a community of about two hundred Europeans, and perhaps three hundred Indians and negro slaves.
Santa Maria del Puerto Principe was originally founded in 1515 on the north coast, but a dozen years{168} later was removed inland for security against the rovers of the sea, and became known by its present name of Camaguey. For many years Vasco Porcallo de Figueroa was its chief man; a man of wealth and great force of character, who lived like a prince upon a vast estate with a great retinue of servants and slaves. ”

“ Andrés understands! I’d never be satisfied to be anything except a Cuban patriot. It isn’t necessary for you to understand that in a minute, an evening. I might be no good in Camagüey, but I am not as young as Tirso; I am more bitter and patient. By heaven, I will do something, I will be a part of your bravery! Not only the soldiers in the field, not only Agramonte, but sacrifice—”
Charles’ throat was closed, his words stopped, by the intensity of his feeling ”

“ Between these divergent ranges lies the broad undulating plain of the famous Cauto Valley, which increases in width as it extends westward. The northern half of this valley merges into the plains of Camaguey, whose surface has been disturbed by volcanic uplifts only by a small group known as the Najassa Hills, in the southeast center of the province, and by the Sierra Cubitas Range, which parallels the coast from the basin of Nuevitas Bay until it terminates in the isolated hill known as Loma Cunagua. ”

“ Several smaller colonies have been located along the Cuba Company’s railway and the line connecting the city of Camaguey with Nuevitas, but again the long distance between these points and large markets, either local or foreign, have worked to the disadvantage of the growers. If stock raising instead of fruit growing had occupied the time and attention of these American pioneers, more satisfactory results would have been obtained. ”

“ On June 9 and 10 near Najasa General Jiminez Castellanos was soundly beaten and forced to retreat to Camaguey. Then, hoping to bar the Cubans from Santa Clara, the Spanish reconstructed the eastern trocha, from Jucaro to Moron, and sent forces inland from Santiago and other coast towns to create a back fire in Oriente. Calixto Garcia turned upon these latter, and routed them on the Cauto River, at Venta de Casanova, and near Bayamo, and captured great stores of supplies. ”

“ Under the influence of their surroundings, they have developed into a gentle, industrious, and normally peaceable race, not to be judged by the combativeness which they have developed under a tyranny such as has never been imposed upon any other people. The better class of Camagueynos, as the natives are fond of calling themselves, are certainly the finest, the most valiant, and the most independent men of the Island, while the women have the highest type of beauty. It is their boast that no Cuban woman has ever become a prostitute, and crime is certainly almost unknown among them. ”

“ In later centuries that island could boast of poets and other writers worthy to rank with their best contemporaries of other lands. But in that marvellous sixteenth century she seems to have produced not a single name worthy of remembrance. In the rich productivity of Spanish intellect Cuba remained unrepresented. In Oriente, in{363} Camaguey and in Havana there may be found legends and ballads of unknown but ancient origin, which are assumed to have been composed perhaps in the days of Velasquez, and to have been passed down orally from generation to generation. ”

“ The natives of this city have long enjoyed and merited an enviable reputation for integrity, intelligence and social standing, traits that were inherited from a number of excellent families who came to Cuba from Southern Spain in the early colonial days. The rich grazing lands of Camaguey and the salubrious climate, not only of the north coast, but of the great plateaus of the interior, were very attractive to the better class of pioneers who came over in the sixteenth century in search of peace, permanent homes and wealth based on legitimate industry. ”

“ All men in those days went heavily armed for any danger that might threaten, while numerous slaves furnished protection from common thieves and highwaymen.
With the development of the outlying districts, trails and roads soon began to reach out both to the west and south, followed some years later by what were known as Caminos Reales or Royal Roads, connecting Havana with Matanzas, Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Sancti Spiritus, Remedios, Camaguey and Santiago de Cuba. ”

“ The sending of so many troops from the other provinces to Oriente emboldened the patriots of Havana and Matanzas to take up arms, and uprisings occurred at various places, particularly at Cardenas and the city of Matanzas. In the city of Havana itself a daring attempt was made to seize Cabanas and El Morro, liberate the political prisoners, and destroy the magazines if they could not be held. To encourage these movements Maceo sent detachments of his forces from Oriente westward, into Camaguey, then still known as the Province of Puerto Principe. ”

“ From childhood a fervent patriot, at the outbreak of the Ten Years' War he took the field under Donato Marmol. His native bent for military achievement assured him advancement, and at Santa Rita and Baire he was a Brigadier General under Gomez. In 1871 he besieged Guisa and Holguin, and then, when Gomez marched westward into Camaguey, thence to force passage of the trocha between Jucaro and Moron, Garcia was left in supreme command in Oriente. In that capacity he was active, triumphing at Santa Maria, Holguin, Chaparra, the siege and capture of Manzanillo, and at Ojo de Agua de los Melones. ”

“ The second line runs from Bahia Honda to Cape San Antonio. The third, which is the most numerous, forms a scattered group between the Isle of Pines and the mainland. The fourth, known as Cayos de las Doce Leguas, lies off the coast of Camaguey.
The Isle of Pines is distant sixty miles from Batabano, which is the point of communication with the mainland. Its area is about twelve hundred square miles. The northern shores of Cuba are generally characterized by rocky bluffs, which frequently rise to a height of several hundred feet. ”

“ East of Cardenas the general elevation of the plain is low, sloping gradually both north and south from the axis of the island. Considerable areas of this plain are found among the various mountain groups in the eastern half of Santa Clara province, beyond which it extends{50} over the greater part of Camaguey and into Oriente. Here it reaches the northern coast between isolated mountain groups, extending as far east as Nipe Bay, and toward the south, merges into the great Cauto Valley. ”

“ In the meantime, General Menocal and the loyal troops of the island, in the west, started a vigorous campaign to prevent the island from falling into the hands of the rebels. Officers whose loyalty was beyond question were placed in command of troops, and sent at once into Santa Clara, Camaguey and Oriente, and one of Cuba's gunboats, with a company of 300 men, was dispatched to the{336} City of Santiago de Cuba, to drive the disloyal element from that place. ”

“ Death or life imprisonment was to be the fate of all who circulated news unfavorable to the government, who interfered with the operation of railroads, telegraphs or{67} telephones, who by word of mouth disparaged Spain or Spanish soldiers or praised the enemy, who aided the enemy in any way, or who failed to help the government and to injure the revolutionists at every opportunity. All inhabitants of Oriente, Camaguey and the district of Sancti Spiritus in Santa Clara were required to register at military headquarters and receive permits to go about their business. ”

“ Entering this river of Guendari, to the north-east is the great city of Cambay, inhabited by Moors and Gentiles. It is a very large city of handsome houses of stone and whitewash, very lofty, with windows, and covered with roofs in the Spanish fashion; it has very good streets and squares, and is situated in a rich, fertile, and pretty country, full of abundant provisions. There are in it rich merchants and [65] men of great property, both Moors and Gentiles; and there are many workmen and mechanicians of subtle workmanship of all sorts, after the fashion of Flanders, and all very cheap. ”

“ The Camucones are a nation inhabiting some islands subject to the king of Burney. Sometimes alone, and sometimes in company with the Borneans, they have infested our seas with their fleets, pillaging our islands, capturing many Indians, and killing all the Spaniards whom they took, because they did not wish to carry these alive to their own country; accordingly they granted no Spaniard his life. They are a base and very cruel people. These robbers began as petty thieves, with a few small vessels ”

“ Cambray will not surrender! She would sooner starve and rot and be consumed by fire, but with her integrity whole, her courage undoubted, the honour of her women unsullied. Disease may haunt her streets, famine knock at every door; but at least while her citizens have one spark of life left in their bodies, while their emaciated hands have a vestige of power wherewith to grasp a musket, no Spanish soldier shall defile her pavements, no Spanish commander work his tyrannical will with her. ”

“ The yellow and red of the Spaniards becomes easily distinguishable, then the white and blue and gold of the French, the green of the arquebusiers, the black of the archers, and even that tiny moving speck, more brilliant even than the gleam of metal, the white banner of France, sown with her Fleur de Lys.
But the watchers up on the ramparts vainly strain their hollow eyes to see the man who has come to save Cambray. They can only guess that he is there, where the fight is fiercest, where death stands most grim and most relentless. ”

“ COMAYAGUA, the capital of the department of Comayagua in central Honduras, on the right bank of the river Ulua, and on the interoceanic railway from Puerto Cortes to Fonseca Bay. Pop. (1900) about 8000. Comayagua occupies part of a fertile valley, enclosed by mountain ranges. Under Spanish rule it was a city of considerable size and beauty, and in 1827 its inhabitants numbered more than 18,000. A fine cathedral, dating from 1715, is the chief monument of its former prosperity, for most of the handsome public buildings erected in the colonial period have fallen into disrepair. ”

“ Born and bred among the aborigines of the country, when the practices of the pagan age had not wholly become obsolete, Camargo was in a position perfectly to comprehend the condition of the ancient inhabitants; and his work supplies much curious and authentic information respecting the social and religious institutions of the land at the time of the Conquest. His patriotism warms as he recounts the old hostilities of his countrymen with the Aztecs; and it is singular to observe how the detestation of the rival nations survived their common subjection under the Castilian yoke. ”