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TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:

1) Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.

2) A few chapter sub-headings do not end with a period. For consistency,
  obvious errors have been corrected by ending these with a period.

3) A few obvious misprints where sentences did not end with a period have
  been corrected.

4) The words "manoeuvres" and "manoeuvre" use oe ligature in the original.

5) The following misprints have been corrected:
  "which we pet in our" corrected to "which we put in our" (page 243)
  "Britian" corrected to "Britain" (page 271)

6) Other than the corrections listed above, printer's inconsistencies in
  spelling, punctuation, hyphenation and ligature usage have been retained.




                               DUE SOUTH
                                  OR
                         CUBA PAST AND PRESENT


                                  BY
                           MATURIN M. BALLOU
        AUTHOR OF "DUE WEST; OR ROUND THE WORLD IN TEN MONTHS"


                          BOSTON AND NEW YORK
                    HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
                    The Riverside Press, Cambridge


                           Copyright, 1885,
                         By MATURIN M. BALLOU.

                        _All rights reserved._


                         ELEVENTH IMPRESSION


      _The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A._
    Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company.




                               PREFACE.


The public favor accorded to a late volume by the author of these
pages, entitled "Due West; or Round the World in Ten Months," has
suggested both the publication and the title of the volume in hand,
which consists of notes of a voyage to the tropics, and a sojourn
in Cuba during the last winter. The endeavor has been to present a
comprehensive view of the island, past and present, and to depict
the political and moral darkness which have so long enshrouded it.
A view of its interesting inhabitants, with a glance at its beautiful
flora and vegetation generally, has been a source of such hearty
enjoyment to the author that he desires to share the pleasure with
the appreciative reader. The great importance of the geographical
position of the island, its present critical condition, and the
proposed treaty of commerce with this country, together render it
at present of unusual interest in the eyes of the world. If possible,
Cuba is more Castilian than peninsular Spain, and both are so Moorish
as to present a fascinating study of national characteristics.

                                                              M. M. B.




                              CONTENTS.


                              CHAPTER I.
                                                                    PAGE
    Departure. -- On Board Ship. -- Arrival at Nassau. -- Capital
    of the Bahamas. -- Climate. -- Soil. -- Fruits and Flowers.
    -- Magic Fertility. -- <DW52> Population. -- The Blockade
    Runners. -- Population. -- Products. -- A Picturesque Local
    Scene. -- Superstition. -- Fish Story. -- The Silk-Cotton
    Tree. -- Remarkable Vegetation. -- The Sea Gardens. -- Marine
    Animal Life. -- The Bahama Banks. -- Burial at Sea. -- Venal
    Officials. -- Historical Characters. -- The Early Buccaneers.
    -- Diving for Drinking-Water.                                      1

                             CHAPTER II.

    Among the Islands. -- San Salvador. -- A Glimpse at the
    Stars. -- Hayti. -- The Gulf Stream. -- The Caribbean Sea. --
    Latitude and Longitude. -- The Southern Coast of Cuba. -- A
    Famous Old Fortress. -- Fate of Political Prisoners. -- The
    Oldest City in Cuba. -- The Aborigines. -- Cuban Cathedrals.
    -- Drinking Saloons. -- Dogs, Horses, and Coolies. -- Scenes
    in Santiago de Cuba. -- Devoured by Sharks. -- Lying at
    Anchor. -- Wreck of a Historic Ship. -- Cuban Circulating
    Medium. -- Tropical Temperature.                                  24

                             CHAPTER III.

    Doubling Cape Cruz. -- Trinidad. -- Cienfuegos. -- The Plaza.
    -- Beggars. -- Visit to a Sugar Plantation. -- Something
    about Sugar. -- An Original Character. -- A Tropical Fruit
    Garden. -- Cuban Hospitality. -- The Banana. -- Lottery
    Tickets. -- Chinese Coolies. -- Blindness in Cuba. -- Birds
    and Poultry. -- The Cock-Pit. -- <DW64> Slavery, To-Day. --
    Spanish Slaveholders. -- A Slave Mutiny. -- A Pleasant
    Journey across the Island. -- Pictures of the Interior. --
    Scenery about Matanzas. -- The Tropics and the North
    contrasted.                                                       46

                             CHAPTER IV.

    The Great Genoese Pilot. -- Discovery of Cuba. -- Its Various
    Names. -- Treatment of the Natives. -- Tobacco! -- Flora of
    the Island. -- Strange Idols. -- Antiquity. -- Habits of the
    Aborigines. -- Remarkable Speech of an Indian King. -- A
    Native Entertainment. -- Paying Tribute. -- Ancient Remains.
    -- Wrong Impression of Columbus. -- First Attempt at
    Colonization. -- Battle with the Indians.