The principal cities of this province, in the order of their importance, are Santiago de Cuba, which is the capital, Manzanillo, Gibara, Holguin, Guantanamo, Baracoa, Sagua de Tánamo, and Puerto Padre; Bayamo and Tunas were destroyed, but are being reconstructed slowly; Jiguaní, Cobre, Caney, and a multitude of small towns like these without special importance.

There exist only three railroads: That of Cuba to Enramadas and Hal to Songo; that of Gibara to Holguin (narrow gauge), and that of Caimanera to Guantanamo. Of private lines there is that of the mines of Juraguá, Daiquirí, and some kilometers in sugar plantations.

This province is eminently agricultural and not industrial, and its poverty and retrogression will continue increasing until a perfect state of peace is established which will permit work on farms without interruption; but as the proprietors have been ruined and there are no means of communication, only the establishment of an agricultural bank, the construction of a central railroad with its branches, and good roads will be the means of saving the sad situation which confronts this province and which, with these, would be converted into an emporium of riches without equal in the world.

I could describe other geographical characteristics if it were not for making the article too lengthy.

GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE POPULATION.

The general character, or the conditions, of the inhabitants of this province can be considered under four distinct aspects-civil, political, moral, and relative to the

census.

Civilly considered, the cities and towns of this province are very backward, because public instruction is limited and poor, due to the absolute lack of the establishment of first grade of public schools, and also real kindergartens-not from lack of desire on the part of the inhabitants, but due to the Spanish régime, who, not having in themselves the principles of education, consequently could not impart same to their colonies. For this reason the majority of the Cubans do not understand nor know what are their rights and duties as citizens. Politically, the towns of the east desire independence.

With regard to the moral part, these towns have generally good customs, and by instinct their inhabitants are good and humane, generous, and always disposed to offer the most open hospitality. The political tyranny of the last government and the no less lamentable tyranny of the Spanish clergy may perhaps have contributed as an efficient cause to certain antisocial customs, such as concubinage; but notwithstanding this they are moral. With regard to the census, the past bad administration did not know how or did not wish to give natural and exact limits to the different wards, and the people has shown itself diffident and distrustful in this census, concealing persons, ages, and even domestic animals, fearing that fiscal or municipal taxes, etc., would be levied. One sagacious enumerator, in order to make the people appear in a city, had the happy thought to tell them, “Do not fear; what I am doing now is for the distribution of rations to-morrow by the American Government." This was sufficient for all persons to present themselves and give correct answers.

The difficulties I have encountered in directing the census are various and of different characters. * * *

The absence of means of communication in general, ordinary, railway, and even telegraphic, with the most distant and inaccessible points caused two or three times the time to be employed in concluding the work intrusted to me, notwithstanding the employment of couriers and special private means, the expenses for which were authorized by the assistant director. The absence of pecuniary resources of the enumerators-all poor men, who did not have horses nor means of borrowing them for so arduous trips, each one being under the necessity of leaving some resources to

his family, etc.-was one of the troubles which made me believe that the realization of the census would be impossible.

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The large number of ignorant and suspicious colored people, kept in this condition by the Spanish Government as a political measure, has been sufficiently shown by the enumeration of the wards in which they reside. The division of wards, the absence of known limits in all the country districts, causing one enumerator to enter the district of another, requiring the immediate correction of errors, going back, remaking plans, investigations, etc., in order to avoid duplications, has disturbed the good order of this most delicate service. The limited time granted for the preparation, organization, and execution of the census has rendered the work so much more difficult that the little which has been well done deserves to be praised, because only an iron will, together with the good wishes and activity of the enumerators, encouraged, perhaps, by the hope of being placed in new works of real statistics, have contributed to the success attained. Six months of organization and six more of execution was the time which should have been employed to conclude this gigantic work, which has just been executed for the first time in the island of Cuba in fortyfive days only. It is the truth, and it must be included in this report, that a good management in the hands of Messrs. Sanger and Olmsted, and an abundance of money for general expenses, and a most active correspondence, have assisted most wonderfully, without which help we would still be at the beginning. The two rain and wind storms which detained the enumerators even after they were over, because the marshes became so dangerous they could not be crossed.

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The difficulty of the division into wards has been an obstacle which could not be passed over, and which will cause a certain confusion in the limits thereof in the census, especially in the country, where the mayors were not able to decide the limits of their own jurisdiction, except in a very vague manner. This is the reason some of the enumerators passed to neighboring wards. In order to correct this, it would be necessary to make corrections-go over some of the work—and the period fixed for the conclusion of the census did not permit this. The principal causes of this chaos are the absence of plans and topographical maps, perfectly prepared, indicating what belongs to each jurisdiction, the official arrangement of the limits by natural fixed boundaries, such as creeks, rivers, mountains, etc., and most especially that the office of ward mayor be given always to persons of well-known zeal and education, with larger salaries, in order to cause people of worth to aspire to these positions.

The difficulty of the rains was easily surmounted, because it had been foreseen, and competent men were selected well acquainted with the fording of rivers and pools which they encountered on their road. Nevertheless, more than twelve days were lost in both storms. In some places, such as Baracoa, Mayari, and Holguin, much more time was lost, the storm having lasted there twenty-three days.

NUMBER OF ENUMERATORS EMPLOYED.

The number of enumerators was at the beginning 323, distributed among 19 municipal districts in the following manner:

Alto Songo, 10; Balma, 12; Caney, 14; Cristo, 2; Cobre, 20; Guantanamo, 37; Sagua de Tanamo, 7; Niquero, 4; Bayamo, 16; Jiguani, 9; Holguin, 33; Gibara, 23; Puerto Padre, 18; Mayari, 9, and Baracoa, 27. Afterwards, when the monitors or delegates informed me of the number of inhabitants each ward had, it was necessary to add 9 enumerators more-in Guantanamo, 4; in Palma, 2; in San Luis, 1; in Caney, 1, and in Bayamo, 1—making a total of 332.

NUMBER OF WOMEN EMPLOYED AS ENUMERATORS.

The number of women employed as enumerators in this district was only one in Campechuela, called America Betancourt. In Santiago they could not be employed, because the supervisor was not authorized to furnish them a companion, which would

have avoided the insults to which they were exposed in this capital, at least from those opposed to the census.

GENERAL INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL CHARACTER OF THE ENUMERATORS, THEIR QUALIFICATIONS AND ZEAL.

With regard to the general intellectual and moral character of the enumerators, their qualifications and zeal, I must state that they must be divided into three groups: The monitors, the enumerators of the city, and those of the country. The first—that is, the monitors-all 19 showed great intelligence, activity, and good faith in all the work of organization, instruction, and vigilance, those of Santiago, Manzanillo, Bayamo, Holguin, Palma, and Gibara deserving special mention. These delegates personally paid for trips, going to all the places where their presence may have been required, gave proper account of the enumerators who did not work, and there were some who personally paid for the printing of proclamations and announcements for the others and for the public.

The enumerators of the city, numbering 33, have done work fairly correct, in view of the short period of preparation and the difficulties they frequently encountered, being obliged to wait until all hours of the night for the return of the husbands or heads of families, when the latter refused to give any information without the intervention of the former, as well as many other causes which have been included in the body of this report. There have been many who have distinguished themselves for their exactness in the census, the zeal and rapidity of the work, but the following deserve special mention: Nos. 150, 115, 49, 220, 57, 40, 30, 37, 36, 29, 44, 28, and 31, and others which would make a list too extensive to mention.

The enumerators of the country have been true Titans. Constantly having to cope with the inclemency of the weather, with the bad roads, and the poverty of the farmers who were not able to give them the proverbial hospitality of this class of people, being obliged to sleep in kitchens having no walls, detained in miserable hovels for days waiting for the rivers to go down in order to continue their work, living mostly on sweet-potatoes, and many of them losing their horses, they have finally conquered more by reason of their ambition than for the remuneration, which often was not sufficient to pay expenses. The Government, or rather the American people who read these descriptions, can not understand them and will probably believe that they are exaggerated, accustomed as you are to good roads, railroads, bridges, etc. It is necessary to see this and to go over the roads during the rainy season to get a correct idea. Who could be mentioned as the most worthy of these giants of duty and activity? All of them; and their work executed on foot, on a chair, standing in the mud of the interior of the huts of the natives, tormented by the ferocious mosquitoes of the woods, by the smoke of the fires, etc., have a relatively large value, even for those who, having enumerated a small number of persons, have traveled immense distances, as was the case with those who went to the Sierra Maestra. In general I can not say less here-that the education, morality, qualifications, and zeal of the personnel employed have been excellent. I only had to discharge two, one in San Luis because he was too old and did not write plainly, and the other in Campechuela for having absolutely ignored the instructions he had received. Two or three resigned on account of illness and were immediately substituted without interrupting the

census.

INTERESTING DETAILS RELATING TO THE WORK.

The details relating to the work, and which could be changed in a new census, are material and are confined to

First. The time. So delicate a work should never be executed in a country so destitute of means of communication and education, and especially during the time of heavy rains, in the period of forty-five days.

Second. A great difference should be made between the salary paid enumerators of cities and those of the country. If another census should be taken in the same

period and under the same conditions, it would not be possible to obtain a personnel similar to the present one; only ignorant persons or those forced thereto through necessity would apply for the positions. One enumerator of the country who took part in the ten years' insurrection and that of the last three years suffered so many hardships and perils taking the census that he was sorry he had accepted the position, saying that he preferred twenty years of war to repeating the work he executed only for pride's sake and to keep his sworn word. I repeat that these details appear to be exaggerated. I assure you that there is a pass on the road from Baracoa to Maisi where a person is obliged to make the horse go before him creeping through the stones and follow him on all fours, with great danger of falling down an immense. precipice. This road is that called "Mata Caballo," (kill a horse).

Third. The ink bottles sent to the enumerators were of no use, their long shape. making them upset easily, and this office has spent a good sum in ink and was obliged to authorize some delegates to do the same. Inkstands with a spring should. have been selected for the pocket, and, furthermore, a certain amount only should have been put in the bottles.

Fourth. If the enumerators had been authorized to take their data with pencil and afterwards fill in the schedules at their homes in ink, all the work would have been better. Only the enumerators of the towns who had a table on which to write and a chair to sit on were able to keep their schedules clean and neat.

Fifth. The portfolios allow the schedules of education and agriculture to slip out laterally. It would have been advisable, therefore, for them to have had two lateral, fastenings, or that the second and third schedules had been made larger.

Sixth. The waterproof covering is not sufficiently so, and allows the water to enter in crossing rivers. The tapes were sewn too near the edges; some became unfastened, and it was necessary to replace them.

CONCLUSION.

Finally, and in order to properly close this report, already of sufficient length, I consider it my duty to request the Assistant Director to use his influence in so far as possible to have established in this unfortunate island bureaus or offices of statistics, on the style of those existing in the United States, France, and Germany, which should, weekly or monthly, collect all the data relating to the increase or decrease of population, color, nativity, age, education, etc., of all the inhabitants, with a corps of agricultural engineers to make plans of the districts and fix natural limits for each one. Finally, that a general plan containing all the private plans of rural estates, leaving the ground belonging to the State and the royalties (realengos) clearly defined. In this manner everybody would know what he owns exactly, the large number of parcels of land without owners will be made use of, and without the expenses which have been incurred at the present time. In a short period these bureaus of statistics would be enabled to furnish these schedules filled in for a complete census and even more correctly.

In this manner complete statistics could be obtained in Cuba which would give a real knowledge of the country with regard to its different climates, geological conditions, production, and wealth, information which the Spaniards never had during the four centuries they dominated the island, the lack of which prevents a knowledge of the great advantages which if known would surely attract heavy immigration to develop them. These bureaus of statistics would reveal the great resources and sources of wealth which Cuba contains.

APPENDIX X.

WESTERN SWAMP OF ZAPATA, IN THE PORTION CORRESPONDING TO THE MUNICIPAL DISTRICT OF JAGUEY GRANDE.

[Details relating to the same compiled by the undersigned enumerator, No. 201.]

First excursion.-I left the town of Jaguey Grande on the afternoon of the 15th of October, 1899, spending the night at the Victoria plantation in order to commence my work in the morning of the 16th, the date fixed for taking the census.

At 5 o'clock on the morning of the 16th I left said plantation, accompanied by the guides, Polonio Miranda and Luis Gonzalez, all of us provided with repeating rifles, 200 rounds of ammunition, revolvers, machetes, bowie knives, shotguns, with ammunition therefor; also carrying rations to last us six days.

At 8.30 a. m. we entered the swamp, leaving our horses at the Victoria plantation above mentioned.

October 16-First visit.-This was to Crocodile Island, where we found nothing deserving of special mention. Immediately thereafter we continued to the islets of Verde, Cujal, and El Ahorcado, where we spent the first night. The trip between the islets is very difficult, the swamp being from one-half to three yards deep, at which depth there is a firm, stony bottom. Many and various woods and birds abound on these islets.

October 17.-Visit to the islets of La Galleta, La Caoba, El Ocujal, and La Cuchilla camping on the latter. During this trip we killed a number of crocodiles, measuring from 1 to 4 yards, making use of our arms and machetes for the purpose. The most abundant woods on this islet are mahogany and ocuje. The night was unpleasant and spent on guard, because crocodiles followed our party to the camp, four of them advancing to our mosquito bars, which we killed with great trouble.

October 18.-I visited the islets of Jiqui, Alonso, Los Negros, and Bejuco 1st. On this day we killed seven turkeys and one Indian rat (jutia) for our maintenance, because we had lost what we had with us on account of a storm. We spent the night on the islet of Bejuco, being followed again by crocodiles, with which we had an encounter lasting two hours, succeeding after killing two in dispersing them.1 The guide, Luis Gonzalez, was wounded and bruised, as well as Polonio Miranda. There are some human remains on this islet, it having been one of the Cuban camps during the last war.

October 19.-Visit to the islets Punta del Sinú, Palma Amarilla, Cuchilla Sola, and La Jutia. This day we killed nine crocodiles, from 5 to 6 feet in length. Our food consisted of turkey and fish and we spent the night on the last islet, where, by reason of being near the lake of Tesoro and many crocodiles infesting it, it was impossible for us to rest, as it was necessary to be on the lookout. On the islet Punta de Sinú, already mentioned, there exists a mineral spring within a rock, around which there are still some Cuban camps. The temperature is very agreeable on this islet, the nights being cold.

October 20.-On the morning of this day I visited the islets of El Agustin, Los Voluntarios, El Lazo, Lojita, and Retorno, where we spent the night. During the day we killed 7 white heron, 1 turkey and 1 mud turtle. We slept in a stockade of palms, a defense which it is customary to make in order to avoid the attack of the crocodiles which prowled about during the night. At daybreak we were surrounded by a large number of crocodiles; our position being somewhat difficult, we succeeded in killing 4 crocodiles, using all our ammunition, and therefore by the use of our machetes and ganotes we were able to reach some trees and through their branches

1 The Caiman or American crocodile is very large and courageous.