comfortable and picturesque. The cost of such a house
in La Gloria was about fifty dollars. The general's house was
wonderfully cool, as I can testify from personal experience, having
occupied it daily for three months.

Within a dozen yards of the general's house stood a historic landmark
known as the "Lookout Tree," a gigantic tree used by the Cubans during
the Ten Years' War and the late insurrection to watch for Spanish
gun-boats that patroled the coast and for filibusters bringing arms and
ammunition. It was at or very near Port La Gloria--known to the Cubans
as Viaro--that the celebrated _Gussie_ landed her arms and ammunition
for the Cubans, just after the intervention of the United States. Up
through the "Lookout Tree" grow what appear to be two small and very
straight trees, about three feet apart; actually, they are the downward
shooting branches of a parasitic growth, taking root in the ground. The
Cubans have utilized these for a ladder, cutting notches into them and
fastening cross-pieces, or rungs, very securely with barbed wire. One
may climb high into the big tree by this curious ladder, and from the
top a good view of the coast is obtained. After our arrival the tree was
sometimes brought into requisition in watching for the boat from
Nuevitas, and the good climbers among the colonists often made the
ascent merely for the satisfaction of performing the feat, which was not
such an easy one as might appear, since the ladder did not reach to the
top by fifteen or twenty feet.

A space of about half an acre, chiefly in front of the house, General
Van der Voort had plowed and planted for a garden. Vegetables were sown
in February and a little later a good number of pineapple plants,
banana, orange and coffee trees, etc., were set out. The vegetables
began to come on in April, and the fruit trees and pineapples exhibited
a thrifty growth from month to month. Small palm trees were also set out
along the path leading from the house across the garden to Central
avenue. The company had another and larger garden near by which was
planted in the latter part of January. Some of its products were ready
for the table in March, and radishes even earlier. The soil of these
gardens was not of the richest, being red and containing oxide of iron;
but, for all that, seeds came up marvelously quick and plants grew
well. I have known beans which were planted Saturday morning to be up on
the following Monday. The soil of prac