occupy whatever remaining
space there may be in the patios not taken up by the cisterns. The
risk of contaminating the water is very great, and in dry seasons
the supply is entirely exhausted. Epidemics are frequent, and the
town is alive with vermin, fleas, cockroaches, mosquitoes, and dogs.

The streets are wider than in the older part of Havana, and will
admit two carriages abreast. The sidewalks are narrow, and in places
will accommodate but one person. The pavements are of a composition
manufactured in England from slag, pleasant and even, and durable
when no heavy strain is brought to bear upon them, but easily broken,
and unfit for heavy traffic. The streets are swept once a day by hand,
and, strange to say, are kept very clean.

From its topographical situation the town should be healthy, but it
is not. The soil under the city is clay mixed with lime, so hard as
to be almost like rock. It is consequently impervious to water and
furnishes a good natural drainage.

The trade wind blows strong and fresh, and through the harbor runs
a stream of sea water at a speed of not less than three miles an
hour. With these conditions no contagious diseases, if properly taken
care of, could exist; without them the place would be a veritable
plague spot.

Besides the town within the walls there are small portions just
outside, called the Marina and Puerta de Tierra, containing two or
three thousand inhabitants each. There are also two suburbs, one,
San Turce, approached by the only road leading out of the city, and
the other, Catano, across the bay, reached by ferry. The Marina and
the two suburbs are situated on sandy points or spits, and the latter
are surrounded by mangrove swamps.

The entire population of the city and suburbs, according to the census
of 1887, was 27,000. It is now (1896) estimated at 30,000. One-half
of the population consists of negroes and mixed races.

There is but little manufacturing, and it is of small importance. The
Standard Oil Company has a small refinery across the bay, in which
crude petroleum brought from the United States is refined. Matches are
made, some brooms, a little soap, and a cheap class of trunks. There
are also ice, gas, and electric light works.

CHAPTER XXVI

The Ladrones.

The Island of Guam a Coaling Station of the United States--Discovery,
Size and Products of the Islands.

When the Philippine expedition on its way to Manila incidentally ran
up the Stars and St